bayedsolid Chapter 542 Joy of Life 98
Chapter 542 Joy of Life 98
Yes!That's right!
Chen Pingping, the head of the Censorate, who struck fear into the hearts of all under heaven, whose name was said to stop children from crying at night, was actually a eunuch.
Chen Pingping's original name was Chen Wuchang. In his early years, he was just an insignificant eunuch in the palace. Later, after arriving at the Prince Cheng's mansion, he changed his name, so very few people knew his true identity.
Chen Pingping's expression was complex and hard to decipher. He stared at Emperor Qing for a long time before slowly saying, "The Prince Cheng of yesteryear had lofty aspirations, treated people with sincerity, and was extremely kind to his subordinates. I have always been like that; whoever is good to me, I will be good to them in return."
At this point, he paused, his expression wistful as he said, "Besides, what I did back then was nothing more than a meager contribution. The reason Your Highness was able to ascend the throne, and why you have achieved what you have today, is because someone killed those two princes."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing's eyes instantly turned sharp as knives, and the smile on his face vanished without a trace.
Clearly, he didn't want to hear Chen Pingping bring up the matter, and he didn't want the topic to continue.
So he flicked his sleeve and asked, "You know I have always treated you well, so why did you betray me?"
"Is this what Your Majesty is referring to?"
Chen Pingping pinched the powder pouch on her knee with two fingers and said softly:
"You should know in your heart how powerful this gunpowder is, and how much impact it will have on the world once it is manufactured. In fact, have you been researching this all along? Now that the Overwatch Council has produced it, you should be happy."
Emperor Qing glanced coldly at Chen Pingping, his eyes revealing a chilling intent.
At this moment, Chen Pingping was completely unaware that Emperor Qing had attributed all the recent events in the capital to him and Fan Jian.
They believed that they wanted to help Fan Xian rise to power, and that everything they did was to clear obstacles for Fan Xian.
Emperor Qing had long harbored murderous intentions towards these people, but the reason he hadn't acted yet was simply because he wanted to wait until the Great Eastern Mountain plan was completed before taking action.
After all, this plan had been in the works for so many years, and he absolutely could not allow any changes.
But now that Chen Pingping holds gunpowder, a weapon powerful enough to overturn the world, Emperor Qing has reached his limit and is unwilling to wait any longer.
It is true that Emperor Qing is a Grandmaster, but even the most powerful Grandmaster is still made of flesh and blood.
Emperor Qing feared no one in the world, but he had to be wary of gunpowder.
It can be said that Chen Pingping's choice to keep quiet about having gunpowder was tantamount to courting death.
The reason Emperor Qing is still willing to talk to Chen Pingping is because he wants to understand what could possibly make such a loyal dog as Chen Pingping betray him.
For various reasons, the court officials condemned, despised, or resented Chen Pingping, but in any case, they could not deny Chen Pingping's loyalty to Emperor Qing.
If we consider only this point, Chen Pingping can be considered the most loyal minister in the history of the Qing Kingdom.
And deep down, Emperor Qing also believed this.
This is why Emperor Qing was even more puzzled.
Was Ye Qingmei really that important to Chen Pingping, that even after so many years of her death, she could still make him devote himself to her son and even betray him?
This possibility was unacceptable to Emperor Qing.
Because he was unwilling to admit that his position in Chen Pingping's heart was actually inferior to that of Ye Qingmei.
Therefore, even though Emperor Qing was no longer willing to waste words with Chen Pingping, his confusion still made him patient and determined to get an explanation from the other party.
"It is precisely because I know the power of this thing that I am even more aware of how despicable your act of secretly researching gunpowder and failing to report it is, and how sinister your intentions are."
Emperor Qing's voice was sharp as a knife, piercing straight to the heart of the matter without any hesitation.
He had no intention of being polite to Chen Pingping now, and every word he spoke carried a chilling intent.
However, this straightforward manner caught Chen Pingping somewhat off guard.
He was very familiar with Emperor Qing's hypocrisy, selfishness, and cold-bloodedness.
So isn't Emperor Qing currently maintaining the superficial relationship between the two of them as ruler and subject, and then using gentle words to gradually entice him to reveal the things the other party wants to know?
This is the Emperor Qing that Chen Pingping knows—the emperor who is adept at manipulating people's hearts and plotting step by step.
But now?
Why is Emperor Qing not playing by the rules?
This direct confrontation is illogical.
Chen Pingping felt a sudden alarm bell ring in his mind. His intuition told him that something else must have happened, which was why Emperor Qing had this attitude.
However, Chen Pingping is Chen Pingping after all. Even though Emperor Qing's reaction exceeded his expectations, he quickly adjusted his state and regained his composure.
He narrowed his long, thin eyes and looked at Emperor Qing with a hint of mockery: "Since Your Majesty has already made up your mind, why bother summoning this servant to the palace to waste time?"
The implication was that he acknowledged Emperor Qing's earlier accusation that he was "harboring malicious intentions."
His open and fearless demeanor became the final straw that broke the camel's back, allowing Emperor Qing's long-suppressed anger to find an outlet in an instant:
"I have never doubted you in the slightest, and have always regarded you as my most trusted minister. I believed that together we could create a great and lasting legacy and a legendary tale in history. But why did you betray my trust? Why did you betray me?"
Emperor Qing was furious. He swept the documents off the table and shouted, "You have been scheming against me at every turn! You instigated the conflict between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, causing them to fight each other, and even encouraged them to become my enemies, trying to force them to take action against me!"
"You even plotted against the Crown Prince's affair, using others to kill the current prime minister and my personal eunuch. Now you've secretly manufactured gunpowder. You deserve to die!"
Facing the enraged Emperor Qing, Chen Pingping showed no fear.
He said in a low voice, "If Your Majesty had not tacitly approved of the infighting among the princes, how could I have overstepped my bounds? In the end, I only wanted to kill Your Majesty and, incidentally, have all the members of the Li royal family buried with you."
These words struck Emperor Qing like a heavy hammer blow.
Over the years, Chen Pingping's 'unwavering loyalty' has been deeply embedded in Emperor Qing's spiritual world, becoming an indispensable part of the foundation of his rule.
He was used to enjoying the sense of security and convenience that loyalty brought him, so even though he harbored resentment towards Chen Pingping because of Ye Qingmei, he still habitually chose to trust him.