The protagonist of this crossover film and television series is disrupting the plot again.

Chapter 453 Joy of Life 9

Chen Pingping and Ye Qingmei knew each other and had a good relationship.

Chen Pingping's massacre of the Empress's maternal clan was actually an act of revenge for Ye Qingmei.

Emperor Qing was aware of the relationship between the two, so he chose to let Chen Pingping do as a way to appease Chen Pingping and the others under Ye Qingmei's command, and to vent his anger.

However, what he did not expect was that Chen Pingping would go to such extremes in the end, daring to storm into the palace and kill someone in front of the empress.

This is not only punishing the Empress, but also trampling on Emperor Qing's dignity.

Logically speaking, Emperor Qing should find it difficult to tolerate Chen Pingping's behavior.

However, the fact remains that the Censorate, under Chen Pingping's command, still firmly holds its position as Emperor Qing's confidant, which seems quite contradictory.

Emperor Qing was cunning, suspicious, decisive, and had an almost obsessive control over power.

Realizing that Ye Qingmei might pose a threat to his throne, he did not hesitate to devise a plan to eliminate her.

If Chen Pingping truly becomes someone he fears, he will eliminate him at all costs, rather than continuing to regard him as a confidant.

In this situation, either Emperor Qing is confident and has no fear of Chen Pingping, who has already harbored disloyal intentions;

Either Chen Pingping holds a crucial bargaining chip, enough to rival Emperor Qing.

Or perhaps, each of them holds their own trump card, maintaining a facade of harmony while secretly searching for the other's weaknesses.

However, neither Emperor Qing in the palace nor Chen Pingping of the Censorate could be infiltrated by Li Chengze's current power, so they had no way of investigating.

In that case, to find out the whole truth, he had to take a different approach and start with other people.

When Ye Qingmei was alive, she was so fearful that even the emperor of a country dared not kill her directly, but instead had to find a scapegoat.

Even after her death, Chen Pingping, a confidant of Emperor Qing, rushed into the palace to avenge her.

This demonstrates the extent of her connections and influence, which is truly remarkable.

So, who else in the capital knows Ye Qingmei?

Judging from the timeline, the Empress Dowager, Empress, Eldest Princess, Consort Shu, and Consort Ning in the palace were very likely to have had interactions with Ye Qingmei. Even if they had never met, they must have heard of her reputation.

However, these people are all in the palace, making the investigation extremely difficult. His investigation should focus on the previous dynasty.

So, among the officials in the court, besides Chen Pingping, were there any others who had any connection with Ye Qingmei?

Li Chengze's thoughts raced like a flywheel, constantly searching for possible clues and trying hard to recall people and events related to Emperor Qing and Chen Pingping.

He felt like a piece of driftwood floating on a boundless sea, drifting with the current, rising and falling, trying his best to find a way to reach the shore.

After an unknown amount of time, a person suddenly flashed into Li Chengze's mind—Fan Jian, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue!

Fan Jian's relationship with Emperor Qing was extraordinary. His mother was Emperor Qing's wet nurse, and the two were practically childhood playmates.

Against this backdrop, Fan Jian naturally became one of Emperor Qing's most trusted confidants.

If Emperor Qing and Ye Qingmei had any interaction, then Fan Jian was also very likely to have known Ye Qingmei.

Just then, news of the investigation into "Dream of the Red Chamber" that he had previously ordered to be carried out also returned.

"You mean, this book was first leaked by Fan Jian's daughter, Fan Ruoruo?" Li Chengze looked at the person who came to report with some surprise.

The guard nodded quickly: "Yes, Your Highness."

"This book has been widely circulated among noblewomen in the capital in recent years. After tracing its origins, my subordinates finally discovered that it was traced back to Fan Ruoruo."

"When Fan Ruoruo was young, Fan Jian sent her to his hometown of Danzhou. After returning to the capital, she was ostracized by the noble ladies of the capital. But after she took out this book, she successfully integrated into the circle of those noble ladies. In addition, she was exceptionally talented and proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She quickly won the reputation of 'the most talented woman in the capital'."

"As for where Fan Ruoruo obtained this book, there is no way to find out."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengze walked to the table and sat down, his fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the teacup on the table, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

Given Fan Ruoruo's age and experience, she clearly did not possess the ability to create a masterpiece like "Dream of the Red Chamber".

However, the fact that she was able to obtain this book undoubtedly means that the person who provided it had some close connection with the Fan family.

Fan Jian actually had connections with two time travelers at the same time.

"This is interesting," Li Chengze muttered to himself, a hint of barely perceptible excitement in his voice.

"Immediately order someone to investigate everything concerning Fan Jian. Remember! Everything! No detail should be overlooked."

At this point, Li Chengze frowned slightly and added, "We must proceed with extreme caution during the investigation, and absolutely avoid alerting the other party to prevent any unforeseen complications."

Seeing Li Chengze's solemn expression, Fan Wujiu knew that this matter was of great importance, and he immediately felt a heavy sense of responsibility.

He nodded solemnly, then tucked the book into his pocket and turned to personally lead his men to investigate.

Xie Bi'an remained inside, guarding his master's safety without leaving his side.

Li Chengze sat quietly in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. His thoughts had already drifted far away, and then he remembered something else.

Based on his earlier deduction, the Empress Dowager and Emperor Qing's concubines should all be aware of Ye Qingmei's existence.

However, neither Consort Shu, the original owner's birth mother, nor the Eldest Princess, who supported the original owner, mentioned this matter to the original owner, which is somewhat unreasonable.

Consort Shu saw through Emperor Qing's true intentions in treating the original owner well, and that was why she distanced herself from and became cold towards the original owner in order to protect her family.

The original owner did not want to implicate her mother in the future, so she took the initiative to distance herself from her mother and almost never went to the palace to see her except for necessary occasions such as festivals.

Therefore, it's understandable that Consort Shu didn't tell the original owner about Ye Qingmei.

But the eldest princess is his supporter; the two of them are allies. Why has she never mentioned Ye Qingmei in front of him?

It should be known that most of the assets in the Imperial Treasury, which was managed by the Eldest Princess, were Ye Qingmei's inheritance, so it was impossible for her to be completely unaware of Ye Qingmei.

It seems highly likely that the eldest princess is playing a double agent game with him.

On the surface, she supported the Crown Prince, but in secret she also tried to curry favor with him. In reality, she still truly supported the Crown Prince.

Of course, it's also possible that she didn't want to support either side at all, and simply let him and the crown prince fight each other, because no matter who ultimately ascended the throne, she could rely on her power to remain in control.

Thinking of this, Li Chengze couldn't help but snort coldly, adding the eldest princess to the list of people he wanted to get rid of.