Chapter 210 It’s not over, right?
Emperor Qing stared at Chen Pingping seriously and said heavily.
"The prime minister's son was murdered. As the head of the Supervisory Council, you still haven't found the murderer. You can't escape investigation!"
Chen Pingping lowered his eyebrows and nodded.
"Your Majesty! The murderer has been found!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes were focused on him, especially Lin Ruofu, whose eyes were already red, staring at him closely.
Emperor Qing sounded very surprised.
"Ah? The murderer has been found?"
Chen Pingping nodded again.
Emperor Qing's expression immediately became relaxed and he spoke happily.
"Okay, then, in front of Prime Minister Lin and them... what are you guys doing? There's not enough space in front for you to stand, right? Don't you think it's crowded? Come to the front!"
Of course, what Emperor Qing was talking about was Mei Chengan and the other three. The three of them were standing shoulder to shoulder far away from the guardrail, which Emperor Qing found a bit of an eyesore.
Upon hearing this, the prince looked at them quickly, feeling both amused and speechless.
These guys can interrupt Emperor Qing’s speech without doing anything. They are really unique!
Chen Pingping's eyes drifted over there and he wanted to look back, but it was not appropriate to do so in front of Emperor Qing, and Lin Ruofu was still staring at him.
Upon hearing this, Mei Cheng'an, Fan Xian and the Second Prince all shrank their necks and hurriedly stood in the front, distancing themselves a little.
Emperor Qing glanced at them with a look of disgust. After taking a deep breath to adjust his mood, he looked at Chen Pingping again and continued what he had just said.
"Tell them in front of them who the murderer is!"
Chen Pingping then put down his hand, raised his head, steered the wheelchair towards Lin Ruofu, took two steps forward, stopped, looked into Lin Ruofu's eyes and said in a sad voice.
"Minister Lin, I just returned to Kyoto and was shocked to hear the tragic news. Minister Lin, I'm so sorry!"
After saying that, he bowed his head and nodded.
The tone was full of sorrow and made anyone who heard it cry, but Lin Ruofu was not moved at all. He stared at him with red eyes and asked in a deep voice.
"Who is the murderer?"
Chen Pingping raised his head, looked at him, and said in a decisive tone.
"Dongyi City! Si Gu Jian!"
Fan Xian was shocked when he heard this. At noon, Chen Pingping asked him to clean up the matter, but he didn't expect it to end like this.
Although Mei Cheng'an had expected this, he still couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard it.
He was thinking that in this situation, Chen Pingping could actually say such a ridiculous result so seriously and frankly.
The older you get, the wiser you become. He should learn this carefully, as it will be very useful!
The second prince's eyes flickered when he heard this, and no one knew what he was thinking.
The prince's reaction was much bigger. His expression changed when he heard the words and he looked at Chen Pingping in shock.
Emperor Qing almost couldn't hold back when he heard this. This is too much, Chen Pingping! Can people believe it? Thinking of this, he glanced at Lin Ruofu.
Lin Ruofu's pupils dilated slightly and his voice became much higher.
"Grandmaster?"
Chen Pingping spoke very quickly.
"If you're not a Grandmaster, how can you have such a fast sword?"
Without waiting for Lin Ruofu to react, the prince couldn't help but glance at the second prince and said in a mocking voice.
"A great master came all the way to Kyoto just to kill Prime Minister Lin's son? There must be a reason!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Pingping lowered and raised his head, his expression became more serious. He waved his sleeves and steered the wheelchair towards the prince.
"The Second Young Master colluded with the Manager to assassinate Fan Xian in Niulan Street. Two of his disciples were caught and bit their tongues to commit suicide in prison."
The prince said angrily.
"Those two female swordsmen were captured by your Overwatch Council and died there. If Si Gu Jian wanted revenge, why would he go to Lin Gong instead of the Overwatch Council or you?"
Chen Pingping's tone remained calm.
"Everyone knows that Si Gu Jian is a sword fanatic. His disciples committed a crime in the capital of Qing Kingdom. Our Supervisory Council tortured them according to the law. It was reasonable and fair!
If you do something wrong, you must admit it! Si Gu Jian will not say much, but the second son and the Northern Qi Kingdom who are behind it are the targets of his revenge! "
It's strange to say, but after listening to Chen Pingping's reasons, all the prince's indignation and confusion seemed to disappear in an instant. Not only did he regain his calm, he even revealed a faint smile.
It was as if everything he had just done and said was to accomplish a certain task. Yes, now that it was completed, he relaxed.
Sure enough, there was a response from Emperor Qing soon, and he spoke with a puzzled look on his face.
"Wait, what does this have to do with Northern Qi?"
Chen Pingping turned to Emperor Qing again.
"Your Majesty, the Second Young Master was deceived by Northern Qi's secret agents, which led him to do this. Northern Qi disrupted the situation in Kyoto and involved Si Gu Jian in this matter. Their methods were extremely vicious!"
After speaking at an increasingly fast pace, Chen Pingping bowed.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to issue an order to raise the army! Choose a day to attack Northern Qi!"
Emperor Qing frowned, his tone somewhat incredulous.
"What did you say? Raise an army?"
Chen Pingping bowed his head heavily.
"Raise troops!"
Emperor Qing glanced at Lin Ruofu, then glanced at everyone else, turned his back and waved his hand.
"Raising an army is a matter of great importance, and we must not act rashly."
After he finished speaking, he paused, suddenly turned around, looked at Lin Ruofu, walked up to him and asked.
"Lin Xiang, what do you think?"
Lin Ruofu's eyes were blank at this time. He didn't know what he was thinking about and was in a daze. It was not until Emperor Qing called him again that he came back to his senses.
Lin Ruofu lowered his head, hiding the anger and humiliation in his eyes, and knelt down unwillingly to cooperate with the performance.
"I beg Your Majesty to seek justice for my dead child!"
Emperor Qing hurriedly leaned over to help him.
"Hey, Prime Minister Lin is the head of all officials, come on, get up quickly!"
Lin Ruofu knocked his head to the ground, turning a deaf ear to the words, and repeated his request in a loud and screaming voice.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to seek justice for my dead son!"
Emperor Qing gave up, stood up straight, looked at him solemnly, sighed softly, and said after pondering for a moment.
"In that case, issue an edict immediately! Order Dongyi City to hand over the murderer."
"As for the Northern Qi Kingdom..." Under everyone's gaze, Emperor Qing paced back and forth in circles, seemingly in a mad struggle.
"Northern Qi...hiss, Northern Qi, I never want bloodshed, but they are going too far! They are pressing us step by step! This war..."
The more he spoke, the angrier and louder Emperor Qing's eyes flickered, and he spoke in a deep voice, making the final decision.
"Just hit him!"
Except for Lin Ruofu, no one else was shocked or surprised by this result.
Even the most dull-witted person would come to his senses sooner or later, not to mention that everyone present was smart.
This is just a performance, everyone is an actor, the only difference is that some people realize it sooner or later.
Lin Ruofu figured it all out the moment Chen Pingping requested the use of troops, so he cooperated with the performance.
But even so, he couldn't help but be shocked when he heard the result. His son was dead! His only heir was dead!
Emperor Qing actually wanted to make a fuss about this matter, that would have been fine, but he actually forced him, a man who had just experienced the pain of losing his son, to cooperate in the performance.
How cruel!
How absurd!
Tears welled up in Lin Ruofu's eyes.
Emperor Qing helped him up and said solemnly.
"I will use the power of the whole country to punish those who are unjust."
Lin Ruofu's eyes were a little dull. After looking into Emperor Qing's eyes, he lowered his gaze and slowly lowered his head and nodded.
"My lord, I understand!"
Emperor Qing nodded, took two steps back and glanced at everyone.
"I see, the truth is out now."
After saying this, he pointed at the prince.
"you!"
The prince knelt down hurriedly.
"His Majesty!"
Emperor Qing pointed at him and walked forward.
"For slandering my brother, I will be confined to the East Palace for three days and ordered to read more books of sages!"
After the verdict was announced, he glanced at the second prince and waved his sleeves.
"You all get down!"
Upon hearing this, the prince immediately stood up and walked away quickly.
Although the Second Prince was not punished, he was afraid that Emperor Qing would change his mind, so he slipped away very quickly.
……
Outside the Imperial Study Room.
The second prince, who was one step behind, called out to the crown prince in front of him, and the crown prince stopped in front of the stairs.
The second prince walked slowly to his side, put his hands in the other's sleeves and held them in front of his abdomen.
"It's been a long time since we've had a heart-to-heart talk. When can we get together?"
The prince looked straight ahead and replied indifferently.
"I'm under house arrest for three days. I dare not disobey your orders."
The second prince raised his eyebrows when he heard this, but turned his head away without saying anything.
The prince glanced at him and started down the stairs.
The second prince stood in front of the steps, looked at his back and smiled.
……
Imperial study terrace.
After the two princes left, Emperor Qing thought for a moment and turned back to Lin Ruofu, grabbed his arm and made him face him, looked into his eyes and advised him gently.
"Minister Lin, I completely understand your grief over the loss of your son, but now that the national war is imminent, you must take good care of yourself and lead the six ministries well!"
Lin Ruofu, whose eyes were still red, trembled when he heard this and nodded.
"I, your old servant, feel mixed emotions, and I can't express them in words."
Emperor Qing patted his arm gently.
"Ah, just understand it in your heart."
Lin Ruofu said in a deep voice.
"In that case, I, the old minister, will take my leave!"
After saying this, he bowed to Emperor Qing and immediately turned to leave. He had only taken two steps when Chen Pingping suddenly called him softly.
Lin Ruofu stopped and turned to look at him.
Chen Pingping pushed his wheelchair closer to him.
"Minister Lin, the Second Young Master has a grudge against Fan Xian. So it seems that his marriage to Wan'er..."
After hearing these words, Fan Xian's eyes widened and he looked at Chen Pingping.
What does Lao Deng want to say?
Chen Pingping smiled and finished his words.
“Is this the end of it?”
When Fan Xian heard this, he couldn't help but speak, but Mei Cheng'an at the side stopped him, signaling him with his eyes to wait.
Lin Ruofu spoke.
"My son made a mistake, it has nothing to do with Fan Xian!"
Fan Xian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and patted his chest. Mei Chengan rolled his eyes at him, saying that he was such a loser.
Lin Ruofu continued speaking.
"What's more, Fan Xian personally tracked down the Northern Qi spy, so there is no need to change the engagement."
Chen Pingping said after hearing this.
"But, according to etiquette, when the prime minister loses his son, he cannot marry within three years."
Fan Xian hissed and squinted at Chen Pingping. He wanted to kill this old man. It was not over yet, was it?
……
(End of this chapter)
