Joy of Life: Me, the Second Prince? Summon Yuan Tiangang!

"Anzhi, I finally understand. Emperor Qing is dead, the Grandmaster is gone, and the game of chess in this world is over. There is no point in me staying in this dark Forensic Academy, guarding those cold files and bloodstained instruments of torture."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed intently on Fan Xian's eyes, and said, word by word, "I will protect you."

Fan Xian was stunned. He looked at the withered-faced "old poisoner" in front of him, who had spent most of his life navigating intrigues and schemes, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"You are the only bloodline left by Xiao Yezi in this world. You are the continuation of her life, and you are her last and most precious legacy in this world." A gentle smile appeared on Chen Pingping's lips. The smile on his deeply lined old face had an indescribable kindness about it. "In this life, I failed to protect her. This is a pain that I can never make up for in my next life. But God has been kind to me in the end. He left you to me."

"Dean..." Fan Xian's eyes suddenly stung, and his throat felt like it was stuffed with a wad of water-soaked cotton, making it hard to speak.

"Don't call me Dean anymore. This Forensic Institute, the number one secret service agency in the world, let whoever wants to sit here sit here." Chen Pingping released his grip, leaned back in his wheelchair, and exhaled a long breath, as if releasing all the gloom, hatred, and scheming that had accumulated in his chest over the past twenty years.

"Since Li Chengze wants absolute imperial power and a pure and untainted court, then I will grant his wish. I will hand over the Censorate to him completely, and I will hand over the entire dark web of the world to him. I will not fight against him, nor will I fight against you, because that would be risking Xiao Yezi's son."

Chen Pingping turned his head and glanced at Ye Qingmei's portrait on the wall again, saying softly, "Little Ye's greatest wish back then was that everyone in this world could live peacefully and happily. She absolutely did not want to see you spend your entire life, or even risk your life, in this cannibalistic capital for the sake of so-called power and so-called checks and balances."

"Anzhi, you just said you wanted to go back to Danzhou and live a carefree life." Chen Pingping turned around, her smile growing even brighter, even carrying a hint of childlike slyness. "How about taking this old cripple with you? The sea breeze in Danzhou is good for you. I, this old man, also want to feel the sea breeze, see the rooftops you used to climb on as a child, and taste the dishes your grandmother made. And... I'll also watch over you on your mother's behalf, making sure you get married and have children, and watch you live out your days in peace."

Fan Xian stared blankly at Chen Pingping, two lines of tears finally flowing down his cheeks.

Over the past year, he had experienced too much betrayal, scheming, life and death separations, and the collapse of his faith. He thought he had become an isolated island in this world, but unexpectedly, in the deepest and coldest abyss, it was this old man, who had always been regarded as a devil by the world, who extended the warmest hand to him and gave him a harbor where he could dock.

"Alright." Fan Xian nodded heavily, tears blurring his vision, but his smile was more relieved than ever before. "We'll go back to Danzhou. I'll push you in the wheelchair, and we'll go together. We'll leave this hellish place and never come back."

The two looked at each other and laughed. The laughter echoed in the dim basement, but it no longer contained the previous sorrow and despair, only the calm and carefree feeling after the dust had been washed away.

……

……

The fifteenth day of the winter month in the first year of Zhaowu.

A memorial jointly submitted by Chen Pingping, the director of the Imperial Observatory, and Fan Xian, the supervisor, flew over the palace gates as if it had grown wings and was delivered to the desk in the Imperial Study.

The contents of this memorial were extremely simple, without even using any flowery language or bureaucratic pleasantries. The memorial stated only one thing: Chen Pingping was old and frail, his old illness had relapsed, and he felt that his days were numbered. He earnestly requested to resign from his position as head of the Censorate and all his posts in the court, and to retire to his hometown; Fan Xian also felt that he was not talented enough to shoulder such a great responsibility, and wished to resign from his position as supervisor, to accompany Chen Pingping, and to retire to Danzhou to live out his days in seclusion.

When the contents of this memorial quietly circulated among the top officials of the cabinet and the six ministries, it triggered an unstoppable earthquake throughout the officialdom of Kyoto.

Everyone believed that Chen Pingping and Fan Xian were using a feigned retreat to test the new emperor's bottom line; or perhaps, it was the new emperor's ultimatum to force them to relinquish power. Some even more so, some veteran officials who were well-versed in the ways of the emperor were already secretly sighing, believing that once the two left the protection of the capital, they would probably encounter "bandits" or "die of a sudden illness" on the way.

After all, that's Chen Pingping! He's the Ninth Prince who holds the most secrets and the largest assassination network in the Qing Kingdom and even the world! And that's Fan Xian! He's the late Emperor's illegitimate son, the actual controller of the Imperial Treasury, and the once all-powerful Lord Fan in the court!

How could the new emperor possibly let a tiger return to the mountain?

However, to everyone's astonishment and disbelief—

When this memorial was delivered to the Imperial Study, it was approved by the Emperor in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

There was no attempt to retain him, no testing, no reprimand, and no reward laced with hidden danger.

On the folding document, only one large character was written in a flamboyant style by the new emperor, Li Chengze, using cinnabar ink:

"allow!"

Not only that, Li Chengze also issued a special imperial edict, granting Chen Pingping the honorary title of the first director of the Observation Bureau, bestowing upon him countless gold, silver and jade artifacts, granting him thousands of acres of fertile land in Danzhou, and specially dispatching a thousand Imperial Guards, led by Gao Da himself, to escort Chen Pingping and Fan Xian south to Danzhou, in order to demonstrate the royal family's favor and care for the old minister.

The imperial edict caused an uproar throughout the court.

The ministers, who had been living in constant fear and worry about when the new emperor would raise his sword to purge the court, were all dumbfounded.

They couldn't understand this young Emperor Zhaowu.

Throughout history, which founding emperor who rose to power through ruthless means (although Li Chengze inherited the throne, his achievements and methods were no different from those of a founding emperor) didn't first dispose of his tools after pacifying the country? Didn't he purge those powerful and influential old officials who had overshadowed him?

Chen Pingping and Fan Xian voluntarily relinquished power, which should have been the perfect opportunity to make an example of them. But Li Chengze just let them go so easily? Was he truly magnanimous, or did he have a more terrifying scheme at play?

The courtiers stood in the court with trepidation, exchanging bewildered glances. The political atmosphere in the capital remained as tense as a string about to snap.

Little did they know that at this very moment, Li Chengze, sitting deep within the imperial palace, a place symbolizing supreme power, and seated on the grand dragon throne in the imperial study, did not take them, these so-called "important officials of the court," seriously at all.

Purge the imperial court?

If Li Chengze heard this word, he would probably just scoff at it.

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