frightfiction Chapter 539 Joy of Life 95
Chapter 539 Joy of Life 95
At the end of the letter, Ye Wan specifically mentioned Ye Ling'er again, his words filled with the worry of an elder brother: 'My younger sister has a strong personality and may act in ways that are not entirely appropriate. I hope Your Highness will be forgiving,' and so on...
With just a few words, he spoke earnestly, vividly portraying the image of a brother who is worried about his younger sister.
After reading the letter, Li Chengze revealed a meaningful smile.
"That Ye Wan!"
They really went to great lengths to gain his trust.
Not only did he truthfully report the military situation in Dingzhou, but he also revealed all of the Ye family's secrets, handing over almost all of his vulnerabilities to Li Chengze.
No matter how you look at it, this is a sincere act of seeking refuge.
Unfortunately, in Li Chengze's eyes, who already knew about Emperor Qing's plan, Ye Wan's actions immediately aroused his vigilance.
From initially publicly reprimanding Ye Wan and transferring him away from the capital, to bestowing a marriage upon him and Ye Ling'er, and now to Ye Wan taking the initiative to show goodwill and the Ye family making every effort to get close to him, all of this was meticulously arranged by Emperor Qing.
Emperor Qing is now using the tactic of praising him to death, a method exactly the same as the one used against Li Yunrui.
First, give the other party power, gradually making them fall into the illusion of controlling the whole situation. Then, apply pressure little by little until the other party is driven to the brink of despair, and finally driven crazy, forcing them to move in the direction of his plan and become a pawn in his hands.
By arranging a marriage for him and having the Ye family pledge their allegiance, Emperor Qing sent him a strong signal, making him believe that he was very close to becoming the crown prince.
Then, when he lowered his guard, he struck without hesitation, plunging him into the abyss.
When he is driven to madness like Li Yunrui, and even willing to take desperate measures, Emperor Qing will be able to take action against him with a legitimate reason, and at the same time take the opportunity to eliminate all the hidden threats in the capital.
The Ye family was a sharp blade that Emperor Qing had planted inside him.
In order to gain his complete trust in the Ye family, Emperor Qing not only arranged this bestowed marriage, but also pushed the Ye family into his camp.
Ye Wan even deliberately revealed his own weaknesses to demonstrate his loyalty, all in order to gain his trust.
All that's needed is for Emperor Qing to give the order, and the Ye family will transform into the sharpest blade, cutting him to pieces.
By then, all his hopes will have vanished, and he will become a victim of Emperor Qing's consolidation of imperial power.
However, Emperor Qing's calculations were correct, but he did not expect that Li Chengze had already seen through his plan.
On the surface, they readily accepted the Ye family's offer of allegiance, but in reality, they remained secretly wary.
Li Chengze is now like a shameless john, using sweet words to deceive the Ye family, but in reality he is using the information sent by Ye Wan to plant his own confidants in the Dingzhou army without leaving a trace, and then begins to undermine and split the Ye family's control over the Dingzhou army from within, gradually diluting the Ye family's power.
As for the weaknesses that the Ye family had deliberately exposed, Li Chengze handed them over to the Qin family without hesitation.
Qin Family: ? ? ?
You can sit at home and good things will come to you.
As the saying goes, who understands you best? Your enemy!
As a military force on par with the Ye family, the Qin family had been engaged in open and covert struggles with the Ye family for over a decade. Naturally, they knew that the Ye family always followed Emperor Qing's lead and was utterly loyal to him.
Now that the Ye family has suddenly shown goodwill towards Li Chengze, how could Qin Ye not be suspicious?
Qin Ye was able to escape unscathed from Chen Pingping's great purge and then operate steadily for more than ten years afterward. His cunning and shrewdness were far beyond that of ordinary people.
After noticing the unusual behavior of the Ye family, he began to suspect their true motives.
Now that they have found the Ye family's weakness, although they won't act rashly immediately, they have secretly made preparations.
It wasn't until the assassination attempt on Fan Xian failed, and Chen Pingping noticed something amiss and repeatedly tested the operation, that the Qin family truly panicked.
Given Chen Pingping's unwavering loyalty to Ye Qingmei, once he learns of what the Qin family did back then, the entire Qin family will likely be doomed.
Now that the Qin family knows Fan Xian's background and has seen Emperor Qing's 'high regard' for him, they accepted Li Yunrui's offer in order to ensure the continuation of their family line.
The Ye family's weakness became the Qin family's pledge of allegiance to Li Yunrui.
Li Yunrui was overjoyed and easily persuaded Ye Liuyun with this intelligence to contact Si Gu Jian and Ku He to go to Da Dong Mountain to assassinate Emperor Qing.
The world is a circle. The information that came out of the Ye family eventually came back to the Ye family, as if everything had become a closed loop.
However, seeing that the Qin family had not made any move, Li Chengze simply handed over the intelligence he had secretly gathered about the Qin family to the Ye family, and then hinted to Ye Wan to take action.
He knew perfectly well that neither the Qin family nor the Ye family would be loyal to him, so why should he show them any mercy?
Upon receiving the message, Ye Wan was completely stunned, and hesitated for a long time, holding the letter in his hand.
The Ye family was ordered by Emperor Qing to gain Li Chengze's trust, and even sacrificed a daughter for it. They had paid so much, and if this matter aroused Li Chengze's suspicion, wouldn't all their efforts be in vain?
After much deliberation, Ye Wan gritted his teeth and decided to take action against the Qin family.
However, he also kept a backup plan. After learning that the Control Yuan was currently investigating the Qin family, he simply handed over the information about the Qin family to Chen Pingping.
Upon receiving the news, Chen Pingping was both angry and amused. The Supervisory Commission was no pushover, and they quickly followed the clues to the Ye family.
"But why did the Ye family suddenly attack the Qin family?"
Chen Pingping was somewhat puzzled.
Although the Qin and Ye families were rivals, they also checked and balanced each other in an invisible way, becoming two major pawns in Emperor Qing's balancing of power in the military.
This delicate relationship was both the result of Emperor Qing's deliberate efforts and the tacit understanding between the two families.
They naturally understood the principle of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold," so he always carefully abided by the unspoken rules. Although he occasionally took action, he never shook the other party's foundation.
However, the Ye family has now taken the initiative to break this balance and attack the Qin family, which is obviously illogical.
Chen Pingping squinted, her mind racing as she tried to piece together the whole story.
Was this a scheme orchestrated by the Ye family themselves? Or was someone secretly pulling the strings? Or was it at the behest of Emperor Qing?
Thinking of the last point, Chen Pingping felt a sudden tremor in his heart, and inexplicably felt that he had guessed the truth.
"What exactly does His Majesty want to do? Not only does he allow the Qin family to secretly contact Li Yunrui, but he also tacitly approves the Ye family's attack on the Qin family."
Chen Pingping murmured to himself, recalling Emperor Qing's recent actions, his withered fingers unconsciously sliding across the blanket on his knees.
"The Ye family is His Majesty's confidant. Why would His Majesty allow them to align themselves with the Second Prince? Could it be that, as the rumors are circulating, His Majesty intends to make the Second Prince the Crown Prince?"