Chapter 59 Confrontation.

Fan Xian listened to Emperor Qing's question with a surprised and innocent look on his face: "I really don't know."

"You really don't know? You have a reason to kill him!"

"I really don't know about this. Although he and I had some unpleasantness because of Wan'er, it's not necessary to kill him."

Emperor Qing put his hands behind his back and was silent for a moment. He seemed to be sensing the change in Fan Xian's tone and said quietly, "Lin Gong planned the Niulan Street assassination. You interrogated Si Lili at night, but didn't find out anything about this?"

Fan Xian was shocked when he heard this! He, he knew that I had sneaked into the Supervisory Council at night? He thought to himself, but his tone did not show anything wrong. He replied with a panic expression: "Si Lili did not say any useful information, Your Majesty!"

"You should have heard about it before you entered the palace. The Crown Prince and Prime Minister Lin both want to see you, and the Crown Prince knows about this!" Emperor Qing stared into Fan Xian's eyes with an expressionless face.

Fan Xian cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this is unjust!"

Emperor Qing rolled his eyes, turned around and chatted with Li An in a calm tone, as if the person who had just asked the aggressive question was not him. Li An, who had experienced many big scenes, was practicing Tai Chi with Emperor Qing with a smile.

"By the way, I heard that Master Li actually has the strength of a grandmaster?"

Li Ang smiled and said nothing, without denying it.

Emperor Qing nodded, and finally asked about this matter: "Who killed the two sons of the Prime Minister's Mansion?"

"Grandmaster."

Li An was very frugal with words. If he guessed correctly, he could earn double the rewards by using the word "Grandmaster" from Emperor Qing and Lin!

"Hmm." If it was really the Grandmaster who did this, then this matter would be extremely unbearable for the court.

"Isn't this exactly what Your Majesty wants?" In the face of Fan Xian's surprised gaze, Li An said calmly: "It doesn't matter who killed Lin Gong. As long as I can use this to achieve my own goals, isn't that enough?"

The death of Lin Gong this time can lead to the exposure of the master Si Gu Jian and his disciples, as well as evidence of his collusion with Si Lili, Cheng Jushu and others of Northern Qi. This is the result that Emperor Qing wants to see.

Secondly, this incident could be used as bait to induce the various forces to fight and consume each other again, while Emperor Qing would stay behind the scenes to balance the forces of all parties, which could be said to be the best of both worlds.

In addition, Emperor Qing knew who Lin Gong had secretly sided with and who he had chosen in advance. He deserved to die! His death could also be used to warn the people behind him and Prime Minister Lin. Emperor Qing had won this time.

"Mr. Li." Emperor Qing interrupted Li An and did not let him finish his words. Conversations with smart people are sometimes so easy. Emperor Qing smiled and said, "Sometimes, you must know that a strategy is enough to achieve a goal."

Li An was stunned and hesitated for a moment. "Am I overthinking?" He thought to himself.

The Niulan Street assassination and Lin Gong's death may not have been part of Emperor Qing's plan. Perhaps even Emperor Qing himself was caught off guard.

Even if the Niulan Street incident hadn't happened, Emperor Qing had personally arranged for the assassin to enter the palace and assassinate him, using it as an excuse to go to war with Qi. As for Lin Gong, he simply intensified the conflict between the parties. In this way, Emperor Qing didn't get much benefit, especially on the eve of the war. He could only see how to remedy the situation and quickly calm down the impact of this incident.

Thinking of this, Li An sighed and said, "Your Majesty is right."

Eunuch Hou entered the imperial study at this time: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Second Prince request to see you."

Emperor Qing looked at Li An, who was sitting calmly on a chair below him, and Fan Xian, who was bowing beside him, and unexpectedly asked Eunuch Hou to invite both princes in: "Call them in, and stop bowing here, stand up straight!"

The second half of the sentence was addressed to Fan Xian, who heaved a sigh of relief. However, no one noticed that the eagle-like gaze and wolf-like look flashed across his face the moment he looked up. "Yes."

Eunuch Hou slowly walked out of the door, and soon the two princes entered the imperial study.

Speaking of which, Emperor Qing was somewhat afraid of the university scholar in front of him. He seemed to have some purpose, but he did not make friends with any forces. As long as there was interest, he would accept their visits and solicitations. People said that this divine fortune teller was always right. Little did they know that this was exactly what made people hate him.

No one wants to be completely seen through by others, especially when that person is a grandmaster!

"Meet my father!"

The two princes knelt down and kowtowed, which made Fan Xian and Li An look at them sideways.

"Stand up and talk." Emperor Qing said coldly. Seeing the Crown Prince and the Second Prince quickly stood up, he continued to ask, "Come to see me. What do you want to say? You can say it now."

The second prince Li Chengze always gave people the impression that he would strike back, and this time was no exception. He stood in silence because he knew his brother. As expected, after hearing what Emperor Qing said, the prince spoke in anger: "Lin Gong has been my friend for many years. I cannot ignore his death! I beg Your Majesty to make the decision and let me find the real culprit and enforce the law!"

"Hmph!" Emperor Qing snorted, looking at the innocent prince in front of him, disappointment flashed across his eyes, "You came to see me in such a hurry, I guess you already know who the murderer is?"

"Of course." The prince bowed his hands and bowed his head. With a gleam in his eyes, he said excitedly, "I heard from the people in the Supervisory Council about the marks on Lin Gong's body. He died at the hands of a quick sword! And there were 18 other people traveling with him. All of them are skilled fighters. If they wanted to kill him under such circumstances, the murderer must be very powerful!"

"Tell the important point!"

"Yes, yes." Li Chengqian was startled by Emperor Qing's interruption, and said hurriedly: "As everyone knows, the only sword master in Kyoto who has the strength to do this is Xie Bian, who is under my second brother's tutelage!" After saying that, Li Chengqian glanced at Li An out of the corner of his eye.

"You mean that the second prince is the murderer of Lin Gong?" Emperor Qing looked at the second prince: "Then are you the murderer?"

The second prince looked very calm at this time, and he said in a loud voice: "According to the investigation, Lin Gong was killed a few days ago, and my disciple Xie Bian has been following me all these days. How could he do this?"

"Who can prove it?" The prince sneered.

Li Chengze smiled slightly: "Of course there is someone who can prove it! This person is in the palace, and that is Fan Xian. Lin Gong left Kyoto in the early morning. The next morning, Xie Bian and I met Fan Xian in the city and had a brief chat. In the next few days, Xie Bian was in Kyoto and many people saw him."

When the Second Prince said this, he not only cleared himself of suspicion, but also provided an alibi for Fan Xian.

"Who knows if you two have colluded and cooperated, and now you are giving the correct confession?" Li Chengqian said to himself, "Lin Gong came to see me when he was leaving the city. When we were chatting, he told me about Fan Xian's night trial of Si Lili to cover up the truth. Unexpectedly, Lin Gong's face changed drastically after hearing it, and he told me that he was the one who committed the Niulan Street assassination, and that's why he left the city overnight!"

"This is really ridiculous!" The second prince's voice gradually became louder. "I have no hatred or grudge against Lin Gong. Why should I kill him? Why should Fan Xian kill him too?"

"The Niulan Street assassination was committed by Lin Gong. He has a grudge against Fan Xian!" The prince shouted loudly, unwilling to be outdone.

"That's enough!" Emperor Qing suddenly shouted, his expression turned cold, and he said sternly: "Isn't it embarrassing enough? You are quarreling like this, losing your manners in front of the palace, do you still act like brothers?"

Li An was so happy at the scene in front of him that he cried out in joy.

There are still no melon seeds, it feels a bit off!

(End of this chapter)