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

Chapter 499 Joy of Life 55

"Alas, with the Crown Prince, the Eldest Princess, and the current Prime Minister joining forces, how can Fan Sizhe possibly escape death?"

Sitting on the swing, Li Chengze analyzed the current situation briefly and felt a headache for Chen Pingping.

Fan Xian did everything in his power to protect Fan Sizhe because he didn't want Fan Jian to lose another son.

However, the evidence in this case is conclusive. Whether it is the account books that were seized, the identification by the girl in the building, or the body of the deceased girl, they all point to Fan Sizhe. It can be said that the evidence is irrefutable.

Under these circumstances, saving Fan Sizhe's life was virtually impossible.

Now, Fan Xian is just a minor official in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, with little power. He is now under house arrest along with Fan Jian, and all he can rely on is Chen Pingping.

Even though Chen Pingping was incredibly capable, he was still powerless against the combined attack of Li Chengqian, Li Yunrui, and Lin Ruofu, even with the secret assistance of Aunt Liu's family.

All he could do was try his best to ensure that Fan Xian was not implicated in the case.

However, Chen Pingping couldn't bring himself to refuse Fan Xian's request.

Therefore, they could only keep delaying the progress of the case and try their best to find a glimmer of hope.

Fan Sizhe was spoiled since childhood. After entering the prison, he answered almost everything people asked, and naturally he brought up the Third Prince.

This gave Chen Pingping a glimmer of hope.

Although it is said that princes are subject to the same laws as commoners.

But that's just empty talk. Could Emperor Qing really kill his own son?

So Chen Pingping sent someone to guide Fan Sizhe, making him push all the blame onto the Third Prince.

This move infuriated the Liu family.

When Aunt Liu insisted on marrying Fan Jian as a concubine, she directly ruined the reputation of all the daughters in the Liu family.

I wonder how many people secretly laughed at the Liu family for their corrupt family values ​​and how their daughter had willingly fallen into depravity.

This situation only gradually eased when a concubine from the Liu family appeared, and Fan Jianping rose rapidly in rank.

The reason they are now able to step in to save Fan Sizhe is not because they have forgiven Aunt Liu, but simply to prevent Fan Sizhe from taking a desperate gamble and implicating the Third Prince.

The death of Fan Sizhe is nothing, but the Third Prince is a completely different story for the Liu family.

Even though the Third Prince has three older brothers and his chances of ascending to the throne are slim, he can at least become a prince and provide some support to the Liu family.

Now, in order to protect Fan Sizhe, Chen Pingping wants to push all the blame onto the Third Prince. What if this makes Emperor Qing dislike the Third Prince?

If Emperor Qing is unwilling to kill his son, what will happen if the Liu family takes action?

Upon realizing this, the Liu family instantly became uneasy.

Previously, they tried every means to get Fan Sizhe out of prison, but now they wish he would die in prison so as not to implicate the Third Prince.

Chen Pingping was also helpless in this situation.

After much deliberation, the only option left was to take a risky gamble.

One of the conditions for the peace talks with Northern Qi was to exchange Xiao En, who was imprisoned in the Censorate, for Yan Bingyun, who had been captured.

Now that the mission is about to depart, it's a good opportunity to have Fan Xian lead the team to escort Xiao En back to Northern Qi.

This move not only allows Fan Xian to temporarily escape the dangers in the capital, but also provides him with an opportunity to learn the location of the temple from Xiao En, giving him an extra trump card to protect himself in front of Emperor Qing in the future.

Then, find a death row inmate who looks similar to Fan Sizhe to replace him, and then have Fan Xian take the real Fan Sizhe to Northern Qi.

Although Fan Sizhe had to live in anonymity for the rest of his life, at least he survived.

After a moment's thought, Chen Pingping had already made up his mind.

He ordered someone to prepare a double for Fan Sizhe, planning to send him to prison at the right time to replace the real Fan Sizhe.

However, the exact timing of the action needs careful planning.

The prison is guarded and patrolled daily, especially now that the Baoyuelou case is at the height of the controversy, Fan Sizhe is interrogated from time to time.

Therefore, even with a stand-in, the time that can be gained is extremely limited.

Moreover, every envoy sent to Northern Qi was carefully selected, and the sudden appearance of Fan Sizhe would easily arouse suspicion.

After careful consideration, Chen Pingping finally decided to schedule the operation at the time when the mission departed and the officials saw them off.

At that time, everyone's attention was focused on the mission, and no one paid attention to what was happening in the prison.

After Fan Sizhe was replaced, Wang Qinian, who had the best lightness skill, was immediately sent to escort him to catch up with Fan Xian.

Thus, even if someone notices something amiss afterward, it will be too late.

The mission has successfully left the capital and there is absolutely no way it will turn back.

"When the time comes, you just need to take Fan Sizhe north, and I will handle everything in the capital," Chen Pingping said confidently to Fan Xian.

As the head of the Control Yuan, Chen Pingping was naturally well aware of the Control Yuan's strength.

Although he couldn't legitimately save Fan Sizhe's life, he could still quietly replace him from the Kyoto government office.

Fan Xian hesitated slightly upon hearing this.

He had already met with Fan Sizhe with Chen Pingping's help and figured out the ins and outs of the matter.

In fact, in the eyes of these privileged classes, a human life is not as valuable as the flowers and plants in their own yard.

Even if Fan Sizhe was completely ignorant, he knew exactly what kind of business he was running.

However, in order to satisfy his desire to make money, he chose to ignore the suffering of the girls in Baoyue Tower.

After all, all he had to do was talk, and his subordinates would take care of all the dirty work, so he felt no guilt or remorse whatsoever.

What you can't see is as if it didn't happen.

For him, making money is the only goal.

As for the cruel methods used in the process, and the darkness hidden behind it, he turned a blind eye to it all.

Therefore, Fan Xian understands that even if Li Yunrui was behind the case, Fan Sizhe is not innocent.

"A life for a life" is a principle that Fan Xian has understood since childhood.

But now...

Fan Xian took a deep breath and acquiesced to Chen Pingping's arrangement.

As he prepared to leave, his gaze unconsciously avoided the stone tablet left by Ye Qingmei at the entrance.

Not long ago, he was still angry about the injustices of the world.

But in the blink of an eye, he found himself in a position that perpetuates injustice in the world.

This made him feel ashamed.

Tonight is the second time since Fan Xian transmigrated that he has felt such torment.

The last time was because of the assassination attempt on Niulan Street. Suffering injustice, he could only vent his frustration by repeatedly wiping the stone tablet, telling himself that he had to change everything.

This time, however, he knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he had no choice but to do it anyway, and personally shattered the meaning of existence that he had found in front of the stone tablet last time.

He will betray his own principles and become part of the very injustice he once opposed.

Fan Xian huddled in a dark corner, feeling angry, helpless, ashamed, and even somewhat desperate.

I am angry at the injustice of this world, helpless at the tricks of fate, ashamed that I have to resort to such means, and desperate that no matter what I choose, I seem unable to escape my predicament.

These complex emotions intertwined, forming a heavy burden that made it hard for him to breathe.

He desperately wanted to find someone to confide in, even just someone who could understand his pain and struggle.

Unfortunately, Wu Zhu has now been killed by Li Chengze, and Lin Wan'er, because of Lin Gong's death, does not want to see him again.

As for Fan Ruoruo, ever since Fan Xian learned from Aunt Liu that Fan Ruoruo's twin brother died because of him, he felt a deep sense of guilt towards her.

Even though Fan Ruoruo himself has come to terms with it, he always feels at a loss whenever he faces his younger sister, not knowing how to start a conversation.

So Fan Xian endured several agonizing days until the day the delegation was finally ready to depart.

Chen Pingping had arranged everything flawlessly. As soon as the delegation to Northern Qi left the city, the people he had arranged in advance immediately arrived at the capital's government office with the prepared decoys.

Seeing that the Supervisory Yuan's plan was going well, Li Chengze kindly reminded Lin Ruofu.

Lin Ruofu, upon receiving the message: ? ? ? !!!

Someone actually dared to break into the Kyoto Prefectural Government office from prison?!

What kind of ridiculous joke is this?

Is the Control Yuan planning a rebellion?

Was Chen Pingping insane?

After a moment of silence, Lin Ruofu thought for a moment and, adhering to the principle of "better safe than sorry," passed the message to Li Yunrui.

He was well aware of the methods used by the Control Yuan.

If Chen Pingping really intended to break into the prison, the power of the Kyoto government alone would not be able to stop him.

Li Yunrui, however, is a different story.

Although she was a woman who lived deep within the palace, she had a subordinate named Yan Xiaoyi, who was the only ninth-rank archer in the world.

Previously, because Ye Zhong was killed by Yan Shendu, Yan Xiaoyi was ordered to reflect on his mistakes by Emperor Qing for failing to properly educate his son. He has just been released from confinement.

With him going to provide support, everything will be absolutely foolproof.

Lin Ruofu was able to hold the position of prime minister because he was a man of deep cunning. When he wanted to scheme against someone, the probability of failure was extremely low.

Just like with Fan Sizhe's incident, even though he was the one who stirred things up behind the scenes, everyone pointed the finger at Li Yunrui, while he cleverly stayed out of it. Even Chen Pingping couldn't find any trace of his involvement.

He always acts with reason and evidence.

Every step was meticulously planned to ensure that each step was logical and reasonable, yet the goal was achieved subtly and quietly.

Even though everyone knew about his feud with the Fan family, it was difficult to accuse him of settling personal scores under the guise of public office.

Now he wanted to use Li Yunrui to stop the Censorate, and the latter indeed sent Yan Xiaoyi as he had predicted.

So, just as the people from the Overwatch Council successfully swapped Fan Sizhe with a double and were about to have Wang Qinian use his light-footed skills to take him away, an arrow shot through the air like lightning.

Even though Wang Qi was a first-rate fighter, he couldn't dodge Yan Xiaoyi's arrow at all.

He was shot directly in the thigh.

"Ah!" Wang Qinian cried out in pain, realizing that their actions had been discovered.

He couldn't care less about taking Fan Sizhe with him at that moment, and tried to escape the scene despite the excruciating pain.

A cold smile appeared on Yan Xiaoyi's lips. After losing his son, the already stern man became even more gloomy.

Just as Wang Qinian leaped onto the wall, Yan Xiaoyi raised his hand and fired another arrow.

The arrow flew like a shooting star, swift as lightning, and struck Wang Qinian's other thigh with pinpoint accuracy.

With both legs wounded by arrows, Wang Qinian fell heavily to the ground with a thud.

Yan Xiaoyi waved to the Imperial Guards behind him, ordering the arrest of everyone involved in the prison break, including Wang Qinian.

After looking around and finding no way to escape, the people who came to break into the prison chose to end their own lives without hesitation.

If this mission fails, only their deaths can ensure that the Control Yuan remains unscathed.

Wang Qinian hesitated for a moment, thinking of his wife and daughter. But when he finally made up his mind, he was captured by Yan Xiaoyi.

After confirming that he had nothing left to commit suicide, Yan Xiaoyi ordered his men to chain him up.

Fan Sizhe originally thought he could escape and regain his freedom.

Unexpectedly, he was discovered as soon as he stepped out of the prison gate. Those who came to rescue him were either dead or wounded, and blood was everywhere.

The pampered young master had never seen such a horrifying scene before. Terrified, he collapsed to the ground, screaming in terror, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Yan Xiaoyi watched all this coldly, without a trace of sympathy or pity in his eyes, and then turned back to the palace to report to Emperor Qing.

"What did you say? The Censorate's people broke into the Kyoto Prefectural Government prison?"

Emperor Qing was astonished, and his face darkened instantly after receiving Yan Xiaoyi's affirmative reply.

Chen Pingping!

Emperor Qing gritted his teeth inwardly, his anger rising.

He had the Censorate intervene in the case in order to prevent Fan Xian from being implicated. As for Fan Sizhe's life or death, it was nothing more than a trivial matter to him.

However, he never expected that Chen Pingping would be so bold as to openly send people to break him out of prison!

How is such behavior any different from treason?!

Emperor Qing's face turned ashen with rage, his anger almost bursting forth.

He was furious at Chen Pingping's audacity, which not only openly challenged the laws of the court but also challenged his supreme authority.

What's even more infuriating is that Chen Pingping acted carelessly, leaking the information beforehand, which allowed Yan Xiaoyi to ambush the Supervisory Council.

What could have been handled quietly has now become a city-wide scandal, spreading throughout the entire capital. Even if they wanted to suppress the news, it was already too late.

What should have been a problem that could have been solved simply by the death of Fan Sizhe has taken a sharp turn for the worse and become increasingly difficult due to Chen Pingping's planned prison break.

And most importantly—Chen Pingping actually went to this lengths for Fan Xian!

This behavior is tantamount to betrayal, a crime that Emperor Qing can never forgive.

In his eyes, Chen Pingping was nothing more than his servant, while he was the master who controlled Chen Pingping's fate and the one Chen Pingping should swear to serve to the death.

But now, just because Fan Xian wants to save Fan Sizhe, Chen Pingping dares to risk his life to break him out of prison.