Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life

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The name Li Chengcheng is naturally more useful in the capital of Qi than in the capital of Qing.

After all, the former was a grandmaster, while the latter was just a prince.

"Isn't it a good thing that it's useful?" Zhou Cheng smiled, his tone nonchalant. "When I advised Ruoruo to go to Northern Qi, I told her that if she encountered any trouble she couldn't handle, she could report my name to the Holy Maiden or the young emperor of Northern Qi. It seems she took my advice to heart."

"What?" Fan Xian's eyes widened, his voice unconsciously rising a few decibels. "You sent Ruoruo to Northern Qi?"

Zhou Cheng shrugged, looking completely innocent: "I just offered a word of advice, what? Didn't she tell you?"

Fan Xian remained silent.

Fan Ruoruo had never mentioned this to him.

His usually obedient younger sister insisted on going to Northern Qi, and he thought it was her idea. He never expected that it was this bastard who was stirring things up behind the scenes.

But it's pointless to know now, since she's already stayed in Northern Qi.

Fan Xian took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions, and asked again, "Was it you who made Ruoruo a disciple of Grandmaster Kuhe?"

When they first arrived in Kyoto, they found it extremely difficult to move around.

Yan Bingyun was detained by Shen Zhong, who refused to hand her over, so he had no choice but to take a risky step and rescue her himself.

He was locked in a fierce battle with Shen Zhong, and since Shen Zhong couldn't do anything about him for a while, he started targeting the people around him.

He was isolated and powerless in Northern Qi, lacking intelligence and manpower, and had to protect his own people. He was constrained at every turn and could hardly move an inch.

Then, news suddenly came from the Northern Qi royal family that Ku He, the Grandmaster of Northern Qi, wanted to take Fan Ruoruo as his disciple and pass on his medical skills.

Now that Fan Ruoruo had become a disciple of a Grandmaster, her safety was guaranteed, and he was finally able to free up his hands.

To be accepted as a disciple by a grandmaster, even one from the State of Qi, is an immense stroke of luck.

He couldn't refuse, nor could he refuse.

At the time, he didn't understand why Ku He did that. Later, he asked the Northern Qi saintess, Haitang Duoduo, about it, and she replied sarcastically:

"Wasn't it because there was that incredibly powerful person from the Qing Kingdom who, from a thousand miles away, sent a letter to the Imperial Palace in the capital, asking His Majesty to take care of his people and to have my master give me a junior sister!"

He suspected that the powerful person was Chen Pingping, after all, Chen Pingping had arranged for him to work as the ninth-rank swordsman He Daoren in the capital.

But upon closer reflection, I realized that Chen Pingping didn't actually have that much power.

Then an unbelievable thought popped into his head.

"it's me."

Zhou Cheng readily admitted it.

About a month and a half ago, Zhan Doudou's secret letter was finally delivered to his residence through a spy from Northern Qi.

The letter stated that she had successfully conceived, a fact confirmed by the imperial physician.

As for the date, Zhou Cheng calculated that it was a month earlier than Li Yunrui's.

He remained relatively calm upon seeing the letter, after all, he and Zhan Doudou hadn't slept together much and didn't have a deep emotional connection; their relationship was more of a business-related one.

In his reply, he comforted Zhan Doudou, reaffirmed their agreement, and then casually mentioned Fan Ruoruo, suggesting that Ku He take her as his disciple and teach her the art of medicine and poison.

His expectations for Fan Ruoruo were even higher than for Fan Xian, and he didn't care about owing Kuhe a personal favor in nurturing Fan Ruoruo.

Whether Kuhe will have a chance to get back at the favor in the future is still uncertain.

"It really is you!"

Although Fan Xian was somewhat prepared, he still couldn't help but be shocked when he heard Zhou Cheng admit it himself.

A letter could reach the emperor of Northern Qi and even get a grandmaster to accept a disciple—that's some kind of power.

There are not many coincidences in the adult world; it's all about the exchange of interests.

He could hardly imagine what kind of secret dealings Zhou Cheng had with Northern Qi, or what price he had paid to accomplish all this.

For Fan Ruoruo to become a disciple of a Grandmaster is undoubtedly an unparalleled opportunity.

But she had no choice but to stay in Northern Qi, so wasn't she also a hostage?

He went straight to his sister's house upon returning to Beijing because he was worried about her safety.

"Your Highness, why do you do this?" Fan Xian asked after a moment of silence.

Are they really worth such a huge favor?

"Don't you already have the answer in your heart, Lord Fan?" Zhou Cheng glanced at him with a half-smile: "I'm just doing you two a favor."

"In Kyoto, it's very difficult to do you favors. The Crown Prince and the Second Prince are watching you closely. But it's different in the capital. I'll make you owe me favors openly and honestly, so that you'll have to serve me even if you're unwilling. Just like now, you came to my residence as soon as you returned to the capital, which is very good."

"Isn't Your Highness afraid I'll deny it?"

"I trust my judgment."

Fan Xian fell silent.

Although he was reluctant, he had to admit that Zhou Cheng was very good at judging people.

"You just said my name is useful, so you must owe me more than one favor." Zhou Cheng rested his chin on his hand. "I made Ku He take Ruoruo as my disciple because I saw her talent, so I'll leave that favor behind. I won't ask any more questions, anyway, I believe Lord Fan knows what's going on."

Fan Xian didn't reply, but he felt bitter inside.

He felt that repaying Zhou Cheng's favor was even more difficult than bringing Yan Bingyun back from Northern Qi.

He felt that repaying Zhou Cheng's favor was even more difficult than bringing Yan Bingyun back from Northern Qi.

Zhou Cheng was right. The siblings had borrowed Zhou Cheng's name and owed him not just one favor, but three!

When he escorted Xiao En and his team into the Qi Kingdom, they were ambushed and killed by Haitang Duoduo and Lang Tao.

Tiger Guard restrained Wolf Peach, while he engaged in combat with Begonia Duoduo.

The Holy Maiden of Northern Qi possessed unparalleled talent, reaching the ninth rank at the tender age of fifteen.

When he encountered Ye Liuyun, he was stimulated by the spiritual power of a Grandmaster and managed to break through to the ninth rank by chance. However, the gap between the ninth rank and the upper ninth rank was still astonishingly large.

From the start of the fight, he suffered repeated defeats and faced constant danger.

Just as he was about to give up and was about to resort to some underhanded tactics, Fan Ruoruo, worried about his safety, disregarded the danger of the aftermath of their fight and called out Zhou Cheng's name to Haitang Duoduo.

At the time, he wondered why Fan Ruoruo would call out that lunatic's name for no reason—did she think that calling out a name would make the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi stop?

To everyone's surprise, Haitang Duoduo actually stopped!

That was the first favor they owed Zhou Cheng.

Afterwards, he asked Fan Ruoruo and learned that Zhou Cheng had told her that if she encountered the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi, she could mention his name.

Fan Ruoruo might not have believed it before, but after the incidents involving Ye Liuyun and Xiao En, she took Zhou Cheng's words to heart.

Given the truly dangerous situation at the time, she shouted it out with a try-it-out mentality.

After arriving in the capital, he entered the palace to pay his respects to the young emperor Zhan Doudou, and also had a chance encounter with Haitang Duoduo.

In order to rescue Yan Bingyun and to make a breakthrough in the capital, he sought help from Haitang Duoduo.

Haitang Duoduo said that she chose to help Zhou Cheng out of respect for him.

Later, when he brought down Shen Zhong, Zhan Doudou helped him a lot and also mentioned that it was related to Zhou Cheng.

Fan Xian knew that Zhan Doudou and Haitang Duoduo helped him largely for their own purposes and interests.

No matter how you look at it, it's still inextricably linked to Zhou Cheng.

The help from these two people constitutes two favors.

Including the previous one—even excluding Ku He taking Fan Ruoruo as his apprentice—he still owed Zhou Cheng three favors.

"I will certainly repay the favor." Fan Xian carefully chose his words, wanting to take the opportunity to clear up more doubts, "But I wonder what exactly is the relationship between Your Highness, the young emperor of Northern Qi, and the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi?"

He paused, then added, "I am a person who clearly distinguishes between public and private matters, and I acknowledge the favors I owe. However, if Your Highness betrays the interests of the Qing Kingdom and secretly colludes with the Northern Qi royal family, thus making me owe a favor, I will not acknowledge it."

He raised his head and looked directly into Zhou Cheng's eyes. He really wanted to know how Zhou Cheng, a prince who rarely left the capital and had no property or money, had managed to get in touch with the Northern Qi royal family.

"You're quite direct!"

Zhou Cheng smiled.

When Fan Xian returned to the capital, he was noticeably bolder in front of him.

In the past, the other party would have investigated secretly and would never have asked so directly.

It seems that after confirming that he was Emperor Qing's illegitimate son, his mentality changed significantly.

At least I'm more confident than before.

"Rest assured, my deal with Northern Qi did not betray any of Qing Kingdom's interests. It's just that they saw my potential and were willing to invest in me."

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms:

"Young Master Fan may not believe me, but I'll say it again: I never lie. If you still don't believe me, you have time to investigate further!"

Fan Xian pursed his lips.

He didn't believe Zhou Cheng's answer.

He simply couldn't see what reason the Northern Qi royal family and the Grandmaster had for investing in the other party in such a way.

He instinctively scoffed at Zhou Cheng's claim of "not lying".

He wanted to refute the lies the other party had told, but with his extraordinary memory, he recalled what Zhou Cheng had said during their several meetings. Although many of them sounded like jokes and were very unreliable at the time, after a while, he found that those words didn't seem to really count as lies.

Of course, even so, he still refused to believe that there were people in the world who did not lie.

In his view, lies are essentially a form of protection for both oneself and others.

It's estimated that only someone so powerful that they have no scruples could refrain from lying to disguise themselves.

As for Zhou Cheng, he couldn't understand him and felt that the other party was shrouded in many mysteries.

But this doesn't mean he believes Zhou Cheng can escape the lies.

At most, he felt that Zhou Cheng rarely lied.

Those who lie less, when they do lie, are bound to tell a colossal lie.

Fan Xian didn't want to get entangled in this matter any further because he had no evidence to prove it.

So he changed the question: "When can Ruoruo return to Qing Kingdom?"

Zhou Cheng didn't think much of it and said directly, "Of course, I'll come back after I've finished my studies. This is also Ruoruo's opportunity, isn't it?"

"..."

Fan Xian was speechless.

He didn't trust Zhou Cheng, so he couldn't be sure whether Zhou Cheng truly valued Ruoruo or was using her as a hostage.

Fan Xian still had many questions to ask, but before he could speak again, a report came from outside.

Zhou Cheng didn't delay and had carriages and horses prepared before leaving the mansion with Fan Xian.

It was still the courtyard behind the Imperial Study, where Emperor Qing had a family banquet prepared.

The small square table has been replaced with a long table.

At the last family banquet, the four of us sat around the table, and even when Emperor Qing came, there wasn't a seat. Judging from this long table, it must have been changed after that banquet.

The Crown Prince and the Second Prince were also summoned.

When the Crown Prince saw Fan Xian, he was incredibly enthusiastic. He didn't even need the eunuchs and personally led Fan Xian to a seat. Fan Xian was a little overwhelmed by his enthusiasm.

The Second Prince sat to the side with a sour face—not only because of Fan Xian, but also because he had just been refused entry when he went to visit Li Yunrui. The female official said that the Princess was unwell and would not see anyone.

He didn't know what had gotten into Li Yunrui this time, but it made him very unhappy.

Everyone took their seats, and soon the waiters began to serve the meal. Emperor Qing also walked over from the corridor, and everyone rose to pay their respects. Only after he sat down did they all take their seats.

Emperor Qing looked like a kind old father today. He raised his hand to signal everyone to start eating, and then asked Fan Xian to tell him about his experiences in Northern Qi.

Fan Xian clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then began to recount his experiences and observations along the way with a calm expression.

At this banquet, he concealed the fact that Xiao En had revealed that he was Emperor Qing's son, concealed the role Zhou Cheng played in the whole incident, and even subtly raised a finger to Zhou Cheng when no one was paying attention.

The meaning is clear: this counts as a favor.

After reading it, Zhou Cheng nodded slightly and smiled.

Everyone present already knew pretty much about Fan Xian's experiences. Only the Crown Prince seemed to be hearing it for the first time, his expression constantly changing as Fan Xian recounted his story, showing tension in times of crisis and relief when things were out of danger, acting as a perfect straight man.

It's clear that he really wants to win Fan Xian's favor.

The Second Prince glanced sideways at the Crown Prince's performance, his face expressionless, struggling to suppress the urge to roll his eyes in front of Emperor Qing.

After Fan Xian finished speaking, Emperor Qing nodded and said, "You've worked hard."

Then, changing the subject, he asked whether Sean had mentioned the location of the temple before he died.

Fan Xian replied, "Xiao En didn't say. He only said that the secret of the temple is known only to Ku He in the whole world."

Fan Xian was actually lying. What Xiao En told him was that there were only two people in the world who knew the secret of the temple.

One was Ku He, and the other was his fellow villager, "Da Sheng".

When Zhou Cheng obtained the Heavenly Dao Technique from Xiao En in the dungeon of the Observatory, he mentioned that he knew the secret of the temple.

Unexpectedly, Sean believed it directly.

Fan Xian was unaware of the reason behind it. He simply didn't want his only fellow countryman and only kindred spirit in the world to be targeted by Emperor Qing, so he chose to lie and only mentioned Ku He.

Upon hearing this, a clear look of disappointment flashed across Emperor Qing's face.

He had Chen Pingping imprison Xiao En for twenty years in order to obtain the secrets of the temple. Unexpectedly, Ye Liuyun suddenly appeared, and Xiao En then guessed Fan Xian's identity, causing their plan to fail at the last minute.

However, there was nothing they could do; there were simply too many unexpected events that exceeded their calculations.

Just like Ye Liuyun's move this time.

Fortunately, Ye Liuyun ruined one of his important plans, but it also provided him with an excuse for his next scheme.

When news of Ye Liuyun's interception of the delegation reached the capital, he summoned Ye Chong to the palace and reprimanded him, and then issued an imperial edict to Ye Liuyun.

Many people outside the industry probably feel that Ye Liuyun and the Ye family have become estranged from him.

Having obtained no clues about the temple, Emperor Qing seemed completely unconcerned and asked Fan Xian what else he had.

Fan Xian hesitated for a few moments, then seemed to have made up his mind, left his seat, and knelt heavily before Emperor Qing.

"Before his death, Shen Zhong, the commander of the Northern Qi Imperial Guard, gave instructions that the Northern Qi Imperial Guard had long-standing smuggling dealings with our Qing Kingdom, and that the ones responsible for this were the Eldest Princess and the Second Prince!"

"Snapped!"

The soup plate in front of him jumped, spilling soup onto the back of his hand.

The eunuch Hou, who was standing nearby, shuddered in fright. Seeing this, he quickly brought over a crystal cup filled with water and knelt before Emperor Qing to wash his hands.

Emperor Qing wet his hands and let Eunuch Hou carefully wipe the water off them. He just looked at Fan Xian coldly.

In the deathly silence, the Crown Prince's eyes darted around twice, then he quickly rose and bowed deeply to Emperor Qing.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Knowing my second brother as I do, he would never do such a thing. There must be some misunderstanding!"

The second prince also hurriedly rose from his seat, knelt down, and spoke in a terrified voice:

"Your Majesty, my aunt and I have never done anything to betray the Qing Kingdom. We beseech Your Majesty to investigate!"

Having said that, he straightened up, looked at Fan Xian, and changed the subject:

"But for someone of Lord Fan's stature to dare speak like this, there must be concrete evidence. Perhaps, it really is I who have done something?"

"Don't you know whether you did it or not?"

Emperor Qing cursed irritably, then waved his hand, signaling Eunuch Hou to step aside.

He raised his eyelids, about to say something, when he caught a glimpse of Zhou Cheng still picking up food with his chopsticks, looking completely indifferent.

He opened his mouth, but in the end he took a deep breath and turned to Fan Xian first, saying:

"Fan Xian, you said the Second Prince was smuggling with the Eldest Princess, do you have any witnesses or physical evidence?"

Fan Xian: "Shen Zhong is the witness!"

Emperor Qing sneered, "A dead man as a witness?"

Before Fan Xian could defend himself, he turned to Zhou Cheng, his tone unfriendly: "Still eating? Are you so desperate for food? Tell me, you're quite close to the Eldest Princess, and Fan Xian accused the Eldest Princess and the Second Prince of smuggling. What do you think?"

All eyes turned to him. Zhou Cheng reluctantly put down his chopsticks, picked up a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, glanced at Fan Xian, and then his gaze fell on the Second Prince.

"Putting aside the fact that my aunt isn't here, as for my second brother, he's definitely involved in smuggling!"

While everyone else was still somewhat bewildered, not expecting Zhou Cheng to be so outspoken, Zhou Cheng had already clasped his hands in a fist salute to Emperor Qing again.

"As the Emperor's younger brother, I cannot bear to see my second brother make one mistake after another! Therefore, I suggest... that we simply kill him!"