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However, the paint ignited much faster than the prince had imagined.
The flames quickly turned into roaring tongues of fire the moment they touched the paint!
The fire suddenly broke out and ignited several boxes of paint nearby!
"Fire! Fire!"
The prince had barely uttered two shouts when he was engulfed by flames!
What was originally intended as a small fire to attract attention turned into a raging inferno that engulfed the Eastern Palace.
The pigments were specially prepared by Li Chang'an for Li Chengqian.
The Crown Prince loves assassination, so let him experience the thrill of being assassinated.
Under the influence of the medication, the Empress Dowager slept very well and was completely unaware that her grandson had been burned to a crisp.
Because he couldn't be sure that Li Chengqian would use paint to start a fire, Li Chang'an arranged for double insurance to ensure that the Empress Dowager would not thwart Emperor Qing's anger.
Inside Guangxin Palace, men remained silent while women wept.
Not long after, Hong Sixiang came to report, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has committed suicide by self-immolation."
At least on the surface, it is true that people self-immolate out of fear.
"Giggle!"
"Your Majesty, you've scared the Crown Prince half to death!"
"You instigated your sons to fight each other, hoping to use Li Chang'an to hone the Crown Prince. Now you've miscalculated!"
Emperor Qing, enraged, abandoned Li Yunrui and turned to leave, while Li Yunrui continued her madness.
"The Crown Prince is terrified of you, and Li Chang'an is out of control!"
"Your Majesty, you're such a failure... What will you do without me...?"
Emperor Qing glanced at Li Chengqian's charred body, then returned to his study without saying a word.
The Crown Prince is doomed!
Even if he doesn't commit suicide, Emperor Qing will help him die with dignity.
The palace announced that the crown prince had died suddenly, but many people witnessed the fire that night.
There were many rumors circulating about the Crown Prince, but none of them came true.
Because this time, Emperor Qing killed relatively few people.
Three days later, Emperor Qing summoned several important officials to his study.
The six ministers, including Li Chang'an, the eldest prince, Qin Ye, Lin Ruofu, Chen Pingping, and Fan Jian, as well as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.
Of course, Chen Pingping's successor, the Director of the Censorate and concurrently in charge of one department, the currently popular young Master Fan, has also arrived.
"Gentlemen, today's matter was proposed by the Oversight Council."
"Because this matter is of great importance and involves a wide range of people, I have invited you all here."
"Dean Chen, please tell us."
Chen Pingping pushed the wheelchair and took out a stack of memorials from her sleeve.
"The Supervisory Council has discovered that Prince Qin, Li Chang'an, has attempted to usurp the throne! The evidence is conclusive!"
Emperor Qing's usually placid face suddenly revealed an expression of disbelief.
"Is the King of Qin going to rebel?"
"Does he have any need to rebel?"
"He is the number one hero of Daqing. Does Dean Chen have any evidence to prove it?"
The officials in the imperial study all understood perfectly.
The King of Qin's power was too great, and the emperor could no longer sit still.
Chapter 157 Ye Qingmei? She deserves to die! (33)
Li Chang'an remained calm in the face of Chen Pingping's accusations.
"Dean Chen, His Majesty and I are brothers, how can you talk about us rebelling or treason?"
At this moment, Fan Xian tried his best to appear calm.
Because Chen Pingping planned this, he was not involved.
Fan Xian knew that Chen Pingping would not let him participate in anything that carried even the slightest risk.
Chen Pingping hoped that Fan Xian could take over the Supervisory Council smoothly.
Chen Pingping said calmly, "Your Highness Prince Qin, did you have an imperial decree to transfer the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry and the Ink Armor Dragon Cavalry to the vicinity of the capital?"
"According to the laws of Daqing, how can troops be mobilized at will without an imperial edict!"
Li Chang'an dismissed the idea, saying, "I was assassinated at Hongshankou, and I only deployed these two cavalry units to guard against the assassins."
"In order to assassinate me, the enemy has mobilized its elite troops and siege equipment."
"What's wrong with me deploying cavalry for defense?"
Chen Pingping continued, "Now that Your Highness has returned to the capital safely, the cavalry should be sent back to Dingzhou."
Li Chang'an glanced at Qin Ye and said, "There are still assassins and their accomplices in the capital. I am not at ease."
Qin Ye said without batting an eye, "Your Highness, under the Emperor's nose, who dares to recklessly wage war?"
“This old minister is in charge of the Privy Council. Since Your Highness has already relinquished the position of Grand Commander, you have no authority to mobilize troops.”
Although princes of the Qing Kingdom are allowed to have private armies, they can only have a thousand men. Twenty thousand men is indeed too many.
"Therefore, Your Highness should immediately hand over the 20,000 cavalry to the Privy Council."
Li Chang'an said coldly, "Fine, but please have the Oversight Council thoroughly investigate the assassination attempt at Hongshankou."
"Qin Yi gave a confession before he was beheaded, stating that the assassination was instigated by Li Chengqian and Qin Ye!"
"They keep saying that I am the greatest hero of Daqing, but instead of investigating the assassination, the Supervisory Council asks me why I mobilized troops to protect myself."
"Is this how your Oversight Council monitors the world?"
"If you want me to withdraw my troops, first bring the mastermind to justice!"
"This matter..." Emperor Qing had just begun to speak when Li Chang'an ruthlessly interrupted him.
He pointed at Qin Ye and said, "Qin Ye, you old dog, commit suicide before the emperor immediately, and I will withdraw my troops right away!"
Qin Ye is a veteran general in the army and a confidant of Emperor Qing. Today, he is clearly going to take the lead for Emperor Qing.
He knelt down before Emperor Qing with a thud, "Your Majesty, this old minister knew nothing about Qin Yi's assassination attempt!"
"This old minister is willing to accept the investigation by the Oversight Council so that Director Chen can clear his name!"
Emperor Qing said slowly, "Alright, this matter doesn't involve treason."
"The Oversight Council should investigate thoroughly. If it is confirmed that the mastermind has been brought to justice, it will put the King of Qin at ease."
The unspoken message from Emperor Qing was that once the investigation was complete, Li Chang'an should be ordered to withdraw his troops immediately.
However, Li Chang'an came prepared today; these 20,000 elite cavalrymen will be permanently stationed in the outskirts of the capital from now on.
Chen Pingping said, "This old minister obeys the order."
"Your Highness, this old minister has a second question: After you conquer the capital of Western Qin, will you grant official titles and ranks to the civil and military officials of Western Qin?"
Li Chang'an said, "Now that I have conquered Western Qin, my first priority is to stabilize the people's hearts."
"Tell me, if I hadn't stabilized Western Qin in the first place, how could I have successfully seized Han Xin's military power in Gaoyao, and how could we have achieved such a great victory in the thousand-mile raid on the Northern Barbarians!"
"Chen Pingping, I'm risking my life on the front lines, and it's one thing that your Oversight Bureau didn't provide any intelligence support."
Instead, they're here stirring up trouble and spreading rumors; their intentions are despicable!
"If we did things your way, requiring approval for everything, we would have missed our chance to fight!"
Chen Pingping retorted sharply, refusing to back down, "His Highness Prince Qin may seem to act out of public interest, but in reality, he is still trying to win people's hearts!"
"This old minister has a third question: You made a decision on the personnel arrangements for the Dingzhou army without authorization, replacing important generals with members of the Ye family or generals you recruited in Western Qin. Did you request permission to do so?"
“Your actions in the Northwest show that you have no regard for His Majesty at all.”
You act on your own initiative in everything you do, disregard the law, and even harbor thoughts of defying the imperial court!
"You have made the entire Northwest and the Western Qin Kingdom impenetrable!"
If this isn't rebellion and treason, then what is it?
After Chen Pingping finished speaking, Li Chang'an scoffed, "Nonsense!"
"May I ask, which of Your Majesty's envoys did not enter the Northwest?"
"Didn't the pacification officials sent by the imperial court enter the Northwest?"
"It's not that the people from the imperial court are not allowed to enter the Northwest, but rather that people from your Overwatch Council are not allowed to enter!"
Because your Oversight Council has ulterior motives!