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

"Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life," presented with utmost sincerity by Flowing Fingertips, is exclusively released here!

Fan Xian's words in the imperial court were naturally taught by Chen Pingping.

In this world, no one understands Emperor Qing better than Zhou Cheng.

Leaving the palace, Fan Xian thought that Emperor Qing was going to lift Li Chengze up high and then gently bring him down again.

Upon arriving at the Observatory, Chen Pingping listened to Fan Xian's story and then smiled.

He knew that Li Chengze was completely out of the game this time.

Fan Xian was still completely bewildered, not understanding why Chen Pingping could still laugh at this moment.

Chen Pingping, however, was already pushing her wheelchair out herself.

"Dean, where are you going?" Fan Xian quickly offered a helping hand from behind.

Chen Pingping simply waved his hand.

"You don't need to push me. You stay here. I'm going to the palace."

"Enter the palace? Now?"

"That's right, now. Enter the palace and plead guilty!"

"Apologize? Apologize for what?"

Fan Xian was dumbfounded.

Chen Pingping turned his head and smiled slightly at Fan Xian:

"Fan Wujiu died in my forensic dungeon, yet the real mastermind behind this has not been caught. This is a grave crime!"

"But..." Fan Xian wanted to say something more,

Chen Pingping raised her hand and patted his hand.

"Don't worry, once you admit to the crime, the matter will be over. The longer you drag it out, the greater the sin will become!"

He then reassured Fan Xian with his eyes, and then called over a guard who, under Fan Xian's watchful gaze, pushed him onto the carriage and sped towards the palace.

Fan Xian watched the carriage drive away, but still felt uneasy, so he stayed at the Observation Bureau to wait.

This wait lasted for an hour.

An hour later, Chen Pingping returned.

Fan Xian quickly went up and carefully examined Chen Pingping from head to toe.

"Why haven't you gone back yet? Don't worry, I'm fine!"

Seeing Fan Xian's nervous expression, Chen Pingping was quite moved.

He felt that everything he had done for Fan Xian was worthwhile!

"What did His Majesty say?"

After confirming that everything was alright, Fan Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Pingping laughed and said, "Fortunately, I confessed in time, and as a veteran official, His Majesty wanted to punish me severely, but he couldn't say anything. In the end, I was only fined half a year's salary and given twenty strokes of the cane."

"That's good! That's good!"

Fan Xian was finally completely relieved after hearing this.

A six-month salary deduction is nothing to Chen Pingping.

Chen Pingping received countless rewards from Emperor Qing, and his extravagant lifestyle was evident to him. The meager salary from the imperial court couldn't even compare to the few bottles and jars he casually owned.

As for recording those twenty strokes of the cane, Fan Xian thought it was just a way for Emperor Qing to show his authority, and that it wouldn't actually be used against Chen Pingping.

Seeing that Fan Xian was relieved, Chen Pingping was also relieved.

He really didn't want Fan Xian to overthink things; he quite liked Fan Xian's personality these days.

As for Emperor Qing's punishment of him, he didn't care about the six-month salary deduction. What he really feared was the twenty strokes of the cane that were still pending.

Since Emperor Qing said he would remember it, he naturally did.

He's still useful now, so the blame won't fall on him yet.

Once he becomes useless, or violates Emperor Qing's taboos, these twenty strokes of the cane will fall like divine punishment, taking his life.

However, he felt that it was best for him to know these things himself.

After chatting with Chen Pingping for a while, Chen Pingping instructed Fan Xian to continue investigating Li Chengze and arranged for the Jiancha Institute to cut off the Second Prince's residence from the outside world.

Afterwards, Fan Xian returned home with peace of mind.

That night, the Second Prince's storeroom caught fire.

The fire started in the warehouse and, fueled by the night wind, quickly engulfed the entire large warehouse.

The firelight illuminated the entire prince's residence, thick smoke billowed, and the smell of burning wafted for miles.

By the time the servants in the mansion had desperately tried to put out the fire, the three storerooms had been reduced to rubble, and more than a dozen servants had perished in the flames, their bodies burned beyond recognition.

When the news reached Fan Xian, he was fast asleep on his couch in the Fan residence.

By the time he arrived at the Second Prince's residence, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

With members of the Censorate standing guard outside, no one came out even though the gates were wide open.

Fan Xian showed his waist token, and no one dared to stop him.

When Fan Xian arrived at the scene, he was met with a scene of utter chaos.

The warehouse was completely reduced to ruins, and the contents inside were burned beyond recognition. Charred beams lay scattered haphazardly, still emitting wisps of smoke, with occasional sparks crackling softly.

The dozen or so corpses were carried out and lined up in an open space, emitting a strong, acrid smell that made people feel nauseous.

Fan Xian squatted down and examined the corpses.

Unsurprisingly, there was no ash deep in the throats of these corpses. This suggests they were silenced beforehand and then burned after death.

At this moment, Li Chengze, dressed in plain clothes and slippers, walked over while yawning.

He's too lazy to even pretend anymore in front of Fan Xian.

He covered his nose, waved his hand in disgust, and said in a muffled voice:

"Young Master Fan is very diligent, arriving so early to investigate the case. However, it seems that Young Master Fan is still a step too late."

Fan Xian stood up and stared intently at him.

"Your Highness," his voice was low, "fire can burn many things, but it can't burn everything."

Li Chengze's expression changed slightly.

Fan Xian said no more and turned to leave.

As a new day began, the political climate in the court changed completely from that day onward.

Not to be outdone, the censors under Zhou Cheng's command of the Censorate used even stronger language than those of the Crown Prince, impeaching not only Li Chengze but also every official in Li Chengze's faction who could be impeached.

Foldings fell like snowflakes in front of Emperor Qing.

Each book is full of classical allusions and righteous indignation, as if the sky of Qing Kingdom would collapse if Li Chengze's crimes were not determined and he was not punished.

Officials from Li Chengze's faction initially tried to offer some explanations.

However, Emperor Qing remained silent, and the impeachment proceedings grew increasingly intense, quickly drowning out any attempts to defend themselves.

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. Those officials who had previously relied on the Second Prince either switched sides if they could, or cowered and wished they could sever all ties with Li Chengze.

In the following days, those officials who were involved in bribery, smuggling, or had connections with private armies were either forced to commit suicide if they could, or forced to commit suicide if they could not.

Within just a few days, the officials in the imperial court noticed that some familiar figures were missing from their lives.

As these figures disappeared, the power that Li Chengze had painstakingly built up over many years melted away rapidly, like snow under the scorching sun.

Emperor Qing remained indifferent to the changes in the court.

His inaction only accelerated the pace of change.

In the imperial study, Emperor Qing glanced at the signature on the folded document and then tossed it aside.

He doesn't even need to look to know what's inside the folded book.

It's nothing more than severely punishing Li Chengze, and so on.

In Emperor Qing's view, the punishment for Li Chengze was already sufficient.

To be abandoned by him would be a tremendous punishment. Those who have been clinging to Li Chengze these past few days are clearly failing to grasp the situation and the importance of things; there's no need for them to remain in Kyoto any longer.

Emperor Qing read through the documents for a while longer and categorized them into several types.

After he finished distributing the tea, he had just caught his breath when Eunuch Hou, who was waiting nearby, immediately brought him tea.

Emperor Qing drank some tea to moisten his throat, then leaned back in his chair and slowly relaxed.

Li Chengze said things he shouldn't have said and did things he shouldn't have done. The whetstone he had cultivated for so many years was wasted. He felt a little regretful, but not too much.

He has so many sons, one more Li Chengze wouldn't make a difference.

Fortunately, he has already helped Zhou Cheng up, and there is also Fan Xian.

With these two people, it's enough to hone the Crown Prince's skills.

Thinking of the Crown Prince and Li Chengqian's performance in this incident, Emperor Qing felt somewhat disappointed.

Aside from constantly putting on that same act of brotherly affection and respect, Li Chengqian really couldn't find any redeeming qualities.

Emperor Qing knew in his heart that Li Chengze's elimination was, on the surface, due to Fan Xian's efforts.

But he knew that Zhou Cheng had also put in a lot of effort.

Everything leaves a trace. His intelligence system isn't just sitting idly by.

He kept a record of all the interactions and meetings between Zhou Cheng and Fan Xian.

The Li Chengze incident reveals too many suspicious points.

Putting everything else aside, the evidence Fan Xian had was obtained in a very strange way.

He knew very well that Wu Zhu had only brought back three people from Shijia Town and had not brought any others.

The case files in the forensic institute also did not contain any record of going to Shijia Town to collect evidence.

When did Fan Xian obtain the evidence?

After Zhou Chengfu's carriage appeared at the entrance of the Censorate!

Emperor Qing could almost deduce that the evidence Fan Xian had regarding Li Chengze's smuggling was likely provided by Zhou Cheng.

But where did Zhou Cheng get the evidence?

He didn't know.

He only suspected that it was either related to the Northern Qi or to Li Yunrui, with the latter being more likely!

As for why Li Yunrui would support Zhou Cheng, he couldn't figure it out for a moment.

However, he knew that although Zhou Cheng remained silent on the surface, he must have secretly put in a lot of effort to get Li Chengze out.

This third brother always surprised him time and time again.

Emperor Qing got up, stretched his arms, stood in front of the window of the Imperial Study, and stared blankly at the pot of golden chrysanthemums on the windowsill.

The golden petals, layer upon layer, are in full bloom under the autumn sun.

For some reason, after confirming that Zhou Cheng played a key role in Li Chengze's case, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

It was as if something had slipped out of his control.

It should be noted that from the very beginning, he never intended to eliminate Li Chengze.

But now, Li Chengze is out of the game!

Even though it was his own decision, for some reason, he always felt like there was an invisible hand pushing him to make that choice and make him do it!

Perhaps it was the sensitivity of an emperor's mind that he couldn't explain it clearly, but he knew that he was very unhappy right now!

Emperor Qing turned around and his gaze fell on the imperial desk.

The memorials above were divided into three stacks.

One pile represents those who were eliminated. One pile is related to the Crown Prince, and the other pile is related to Zhou Cheng.

After Li Chengze was placed under house arrest, the power base under Li Chengze has now been divided between the Crown Prince and Zhou Cheng.

Fan Xian was a loyal minister he chose, and the court forces could not be too involved with him.

Those officials who wanted to join Fan Xian's faction were put into the elimination pile by him.

Without Li Chengze, the current situation in the court is that the Crown Prince and Zhou Cheng are clearly divided, each occupying their own territory.

Compared to the chaotic situation when Li Chengze was in power, things are much clearer now, and it's easier to make moves.

"The third brother's momentum seems a bit too great right now."

Looking at the two stacks of folded paper with a clear difference in height, Emperor Qing secretly made a plan.

After Li Chengze's supporters were scattered, far more joined Zhou Cheng's faction than the Crown Prince's.

Perhaps it was because he gave too many signals in the past that he was not optimistic about the Crown Prince that there are still very few people in the court who are optimistic about him.

On the contrary, the tolerance and favor he showed to Zhou Cheng caused those who couldn't wait to take sides to all side with him.

This resulted in the support for Zhou Cheng being far too strong!

The Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Ye family, and even Fan Xian are all very close to Zhou Cheng!

Administration, military, censors, intelligence—Zhou Cheng has it all!

He's now more like a prince than the crown prince himself, more like a crown prince than the heir apparent!

This one-sided situation is not what he wants.

His purpose was to train the crown prince, not to support Zhou Cheng's ascension to the throne.

Given the current situation, he was truly afraid that if the Crown Prince lacked resolve, he would be worn down by Zhou Cheng.

Therefore, he must limit Zhou Cheng's power!

"Perhaps it's time for the Ye family to leave the capital!"

Emperor Qing sat back down at his desk, spread out a bright yellow silk scroll, and began to write.

The Ye family wields immense power in Kyoto, and once Zhou Cheng and Ye Ling'er are married, the influence of both the Ye family and Zhou Cheng will further increase.

He could not allow this situation to occur and the balance between Zhou Cheng and the Crown Prince had to be readjusted.

This time, getting the Ye family out of Kyoto is just the right time to perfect the grand plan that he has been brewing for a long time!

Soon, Emperor Qing stopped writing.

He summoned Eunuch Hou to come closer.

"By imperial decree, I intend to hold a chrysanthemum appreciation event at the Hanging Temple on the outskirts of the capital in three days," he said, enunciating each word clearly. "Officials of the fifth rank and above must attend unless there is urgent business to attend to."

Eunuch Hou bowed and accepted the silk, his eyes quickly scanning the writing on it, a slight thought stirring in his heart.

Chrysanthemum appreciation gatherings have always been a tradition of the imperial family.

Normally it's held every three years, but this time it's being held before the three-year period is up, which is unprecedented.

Of course, he dared not ask any more questions, and replied "Yes," before holding the imperial edict and backing out of the imperial study.

Emperor Qing stood by the window, looking at the already desolate autumn scenery outside.

It's a bit late to appreciate chrysanthemums at this time of year, but fortunately, the first snow hasn't fallen yet, so it's all acceptable.

.......

The news of the chrysanthemum appreciation event extinguished Li Chengze's last remaining enthusiasm.

The day before the conference, Zhou Cheng, the Crown Prince, and Fan Xian received an imperial edict from Emperor Qing.

Three carriages passed through the heavily guarded area at the foot of the mountain. Under the watchful eyes of the imperial guards, the three men disembarked and climbed up the mountain path beside the Autumn Stream for a long time. After turning past a waterfall with a slightly weaker flow, a temple built in the style of the Qing Temple suddenly appeared before them, on the cliff face carved by an axe.

The Hanging Temple is built against the mountain. The passageway is made of wooden pillars inserted into the cliff face layer by layer, stacked up. The narrowest part is no more than three feet wide, and the widest part is no more than ten feet wide.

The autumn wind in the mountains was quite strong, carrying a hint of early winter chill. It howled past, making the travelers on the mountain path feel a chill.

The Hanging Temple is said to be the earliest temple in the land of Qing Kingdom. It was built brick by brick and stone by ascetics who believed in the temple, and it took hundreds of years to complete.

Its aim is to proclaim the supreme light of the temple, to exhort people to do good, and to be equally open to all believers and non-believers.

However, after many changes, this place has become a private reserve for the royal family to enjoy the scenery.

Zhou Cheng had naturally visited the Hanging Temple before, more than once in his life.

But every time I come here, every time I see this ancient temple that is nothing short of a miracle, and think about standing at the highest point to look out or look down at that magnificent view,

He couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion:

"It's a shame that this place is fenced off but doesn't charge an entrance fee!"