kvmb Chapter 471 Joy of Life 27
Chapter 471 Joy of Life 27
In recent years, signs of deficits have appeared in the internal treasury, and Li Yunrui has rarely misappropriated funds from the internal treasury.
The fact that she can now take out one million taels of silver without hesitation shows just how much she wants to kill Fan Xian.
However, her hopes were ultimately dashed.
Li Chengze originally wanted to use her to cause trouble for Fan Xian, so how could he let this matter end up back in his own hands?
As a result, the second prince, who had just recovered from his illness a few days earlier, fell ill again and summoned the imperial physician overnight.
The person who came to deliver the message for Li Yunrui could only return empty-handed in the end, faced with this situation.
As for the Crown Prince...
Everyone said that the Crown Prince was weak and incompetent, and even Emperor Qing thought so, which is why he supported Li Chengze as a whetstone for the Crown Prince.
But no one knew that the Crown Prince was the one who most resembled Emperor Qing.
Such people only think about themselves. How could they possibly take action without being absolutely certain?
Besides, the Crown Prince isn't really stupid.
Although Li Yunrui had previously hinted at wanting to get rid of Fan Xian, the sudden urgency now suggests there must be something fishy going on.
How could the Crown Prince, unaware of the full story, act rashly?
Even a million-dollar reward couldn't sway the Crown Prince and Li Chengze, leaving Li Yunrui furious. He stood in his palace, pointing at their residences and cursing for a long time.
Just as she was preparing to find another solution, she suddenly thought of the Empress in the palace.
The Empress's family perished because of Ye Qingmei. How could they possibly sit still once they learned that Fan Xian was Ye Qingmei's son?
The Crown Prince could refuse her request, but if he learned about the past grievances from the Empress, he probably wouldn't stand idly by anymore.
After all, the Empress and Fan Xian have a deep-seated hatred for each other. Once Fan Xian takes over the Imperial Treasury, where will the Crown Prince find a large sum of money to squander?
With that thought in mind, Li Yunrui no longer hesitated and immediately activated a eunuch who had been planted in the palace for many years to convey the news that Fan Xian was Ye Qingmei's son to the Empress.
Upon hearing the news, the Empress felt as if she had traveled back in time to that nightmarish night, where the cries of her loved ones echoed in her ears and blood stained her entire palace.
But she could only helplessly have her eyes covered by the palace maids, silently listening to those desperate cries.
"Fan Xian must die! Ye Qingmei's son must die!" The Empress gritted her teeth, and every word she uttered seemed to be blood and tears squeezed from the bottom of her heart, filled with determination and hatred.
The next day, when the Crown Prince went to the Empress's residence to pay his respects as usual, the Empress impatiently told him about Fan Xian's background and the grudges and entanglements between her maternal clan and Ye Qingmei.
Crown Prince: ...
Damn it!
The Crown Prince couldn't hold back any longer. His face darkened abruptly, and a flash of anger appeared in his eyes: "Mother, why are you only telling me now about something so important?"
The Empress was also aggrieved, saying that she had only just found out herself.
The crown prince took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger.
If he had known about this earlier, he would never have let Fan Xian make it to the capital alive.
Being an emperor is difficult.
But what's even harder than being the emperor is being the crown prince.
Throughout history, very few crown princes have been able to successfully ascend the throne.
Every crown prince faces immense pressure from his father, brothers, court officials, and even himself.
For many years, he has carefully maneuvered among various forces in an attempt to preserve his position.
Li Chengqian understood that Emperor Qing had always disliked his inferior methods and weak nature.
But isn't this a self-preservation strategy he deliberately created?
It was precisely because he displayed benevolence and weakness that Emperor Qing supported Li Chengze to counterbalance him.
If Li Chengze hadn't fought against him, then his opponent would have been Emperor Qing himself.
Therefore, he could not make himself too outstanding, and even had to expose some shortcomings so that Emperor Qing would know that he was still lacking in ability and needed to be trained, thereby reducing his vigilance and suspicion.
This balance, though subtle, is the result of his years of painstaking effort.
When he learned that Fan Xian would be taking over the Imperial Treasury, he felt resentful, but he also understood that once Emperor Qing made a decision, it would be difficult to change it. Forcibly removing Fan Xian would surely anger the Emperor.
Fan Xian is no match for us; his death is not a loss.
But if this incurs His Majesty's dislike, then it would be a loss that outweighs the gain.
That's why he decided to sit idly by and watch Li Yunrui and Fan Xian fight.
If Fan Xian ultimately succeeds in taking over the Imperial Treasury, then he will extend an olive branch to show goodwill.
After all, he was the crown prince, the future emperor of Nanqing.
As long as Fan Xian has any sense, he won't easily become his enemy.
Even if Fan Xian is a hothead, what difference would it make if he refused his offer and was unable to profit from the Imperial Treasury in the future?
In any case, although the internal treasury looks good on the surface, it actually has a huge deficit and there is really no money left to be made.
As for the evidence of his previous embezzlement of funds from the imperial treasury...
Ha! He hasn't been doing nothing these days.
He had made thorough preparations to ensure that the evidence would not become leverage against him.
Therefore, whether or not the personnel in the Imperial Treasury are changed does not actually have a significant impact on Li Chengqian at present.
Yes, you can change it.
It's better not to change it.
The key is to ensure that Li Chengze does not join forces with Fan Xian, thereby disrupting the existing power balance.
As long as he can keep a close eye on Li Chengze and prevent the two from joining forces, the situation will remain under his control.
All of the above are precisely the reasons why he has been able to remain in a stable position.
But who could have imagined that the Empress would drop such a bombshell on him today?
Unlike other princes, Fan Xian naturally has many supporters in the world because of his mother, Ye Qingmei.
The following are names and titles: Fan Jian, the Earl of Sinan; Chen Pingping, the Director of the Censorate; Prince Jing of the Prince Jing's Mansion; the Inner Treasury, which originated from the Ye family's business; Lin Ruofu, the current Prime Minister and future father-in-law; and even... Emperor Qing.
Li Chengqian became increasingly alarmed as he pondered the matter, realizing that even as the crown prince, he didn't have as many powerful backers.
Not to mention the legacy Ye Qingmei casually left behind elsewhere, and the hidden forces that could surface at any time to provide Fan Xian with more support.
If Fan Xian truly harbors ambitions to ascend to the throne, and were to reveal his status as a prince to the public and rejoin the royal family, even the crown prince himself would likely find it difficult to contend with him.
If things are already set in stone, and Fan Xian has successfully taken over the Imperial Treasury without any ambition to rise to power, then Li Chengqian might choose to force the Empress to submit, using this as leverage to befriend Fan Xian.
But now—
kill!
A ruthless glint flashed in Li Chengqian's eyes.
The Empress, her face filled with grief and indignation, lamented her inner turmoil and demanded that Li Chengqian eliminate Fan Xian, which only made Li Chengqian more agitated.
"Mother..." Li Chengqian frowned, then suddenly remembered something and interrupted the Empress's weeping: "Fan Xian's background should be a top secret. How did you find out?"