In the novel "Joy of Life," the protagonist wakes up at Li Chengze's residence.

Tao Jingyang picked up a fruit and carefully wiped it with a handkerchief in his hand:

"Your aunt is the knife in His Majesty's hand."

After wiping it with a handkerchief, she took a bite. It was a little sour, but she quickly suppressed the sour expression on her face.

Li Chengze was truly puzzled and continued the topic: "Is Aunt a knife? But she has already been demoted back to her fiefdom in Xinyang."

"If it's a 'knife,' it shouldn't be treated like this."

"Therefore, we have to pay more attention to our Emperor."

After all, if we were to award the grand prize to the person in Nanqing as the number one "ungrateful wretch, backstabber, hypocrite, and fickle person," what would the winner be?

That must be our most, most, most, most worthy of respect, His Majesty!

After saying that, she looked at Li Chengze's expression and added, "Brother, brother~ I didn't say that about your father, will you be angry with me~~"

Li Chengze looked back at her, then slowly covered his ears and said, "What did you say just now? I didn't hear you."

Tao Jingyang smiled slyly and said, "In that case, I'll 'talk to myself' for a while."

Looking at the extremely sour fruit in her hand, she revealed the secret that Kyoto had kept hidden for sixteen years.

------------

I don't know the "woman" the prince mentioned, but I know her.

He single-handedly established the Censorate and built the Imperial Treasury, gaining immense power and influence over the court, with countless followers around him.

By the way, this woman also helped Li Yunqian seize the throne.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengze added, "I've heard about these things before."

Tao Jingyang nodded: "Yes, how could such a legend simply vanish into thin air because he was killed by Li Yunqian..."

Even though Tao Jingyang had never met her, a sense of sadness still lingered when he told her story.

Upon hearing the cause of "her" death, Li Chengze was momentarily stunned: "You mean, she was killed by His Majesty?"

After a moment, she came to her senses and murmured, "Thinking about it this way, it all makes sense now. His Majesty... he's always been this kind of person."

But what does this have to do with my aunt?

Tao Jingyang smiled and didn't rush to answer the question: "Anyone can see that the 'woman' is naturally smarter than others."

Why would such a capable woman support your father's bid for the throne?

Li Chengze was speechless, and it was unclear whether he had made any connection to anything at that moment.

She ignored everything else and continued, "Maybe it's because of love, or maybe it's not even love."

But ultimately, her feelings for His Majesty were always more special than her feelings for others. For example... Fan Xian was actually her and His Majesty's child.

Li Chengze was stunned: "...What?"

"Chengze, don't be surprised yet, this isn't over yet."

Emperor Qing knew about Fan Xian and his wife's child from the very beginning, precisely because he knew she was pregnant and that childbirth was a woman's most vulnerable time...

"So His Majesty then..."

"Yes, Emperor Qing chose the day of her delivery to lure away her most capable bodyguards using a diversionary tactic. He then sealed off the city's military forces, tacitly allowing the Princess, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress to surround and kill her."

This statement contained far too much information, and Li Chengze was momentarily confused: "Why would it be these people who made the move?"

Tao Jingyang patiently explained, "Because the Empress and the Eldest Princess are jealous, while the Empress Dowager is wary."

"Wait, it's understandable that the Empress is jealous, but why is the Eldest Princess also jealous?"

"Because the eldest princess is in love with her own brother."

"...?"

Such a bizarre story left Li Chengze somewhat bewildered: "Jingyang, did you just say that your aunt admires His Majesty? Not the kind of affection a younger sister has for her older brother?"

Tao Jingyang lowered his eyes and said softly, "If you don't believe me, I won't say anything."

The latter hurriedly stated his position, saying in a rapid voice:

"I believe you. But I still don't quite understand. If His Majesty wanted to kill 'that woman,' he could have easily found any pretext. Why did it involve so many other things?"

Tao Jingyang smoothed his hair and said:

"On the day he killed her, the emperor tacitly allowed Chen Pingping to vent his anger and permitted the Censorate to purge the Empress's influence. From then on, Li Chengqian was forever a 'Crown Prince' without a maternal family."

Those relatives of the empress dowager who had sided with her were all killed, including the empress dowager's own brother.

And your aunt... being a member of the royal family and the most loyal "sharp blade" to His Majesty, naturally became the emperor's most trusted person.

After washing the blood off his hands, he began to manage the imperial treasury on behalf of the emperor.

Your father didn't just kill "that woman"; he killed everyone, everyone who posed a threat to his throne.

Throughout, Li Chengze listened quietly to everything, but now he was somewhat agitated.

"I never imagined that no one in this palace would be doing well."

"But Chengze, everyone is still living 'well'."

The eldest princess controls the finances and has an affair with the crown prince; the empress and empress dowager are both alive and well...

Tao Jingyang was still talking to himself, but Li Chengze's eyes widened once again.

He lost his voice and almost shouted, "What?! Who's having an affair with whom?!"

"The Princess and... or perhaps you could pretend you didn't hear that?"

Li Chengze ignored one sentence and repeated to himself, "My aunt had an affair with Li Chengqian?"

His worldview is truly shattered...

(Deduct 1 to help Li Chengze repair his shattered worldview.)

Tao Jingyang also realized he had made a mistake; tsk, he shouldn't have told him about the "affair"...

So she tried her best to explain: "What I mean is... now that Fan Xian is back, he should be the one who has the biggest grudge against Emperor Qing, the Crown Prince, and others."

Your father wanted to kill him too back then, but look, he's still alive.

The reason is quite simple: Chen Pingping and Fan Jian were both followers of his mother, and Fan Xian was his mother's only son, so he would naturally be more loved.

Fan Xian has a good background, so he can win against anyone.

Li Chengze received this information and casually asked, "Fan Xian 'killed' everyone else, so what about me?"

Tao Jingyang patted the back of his hand and said, "Fan Xian won't 'fight' you."

Li Chengze's eyes were dark and unfathomable, which made Tao Jingyang immediately realize his anxiety.

"Chengze, you're starting to be wary of him."

"Shouldn't it be?"

Tao Jingyang remained calm and said, "Fan Xian will not vie for the throne, nor has he ever had such ambitions. He has always only wanted to..."

Li Chengze suddenly interrupted her: "Jingyang, why do you know him so well?"

Tao Jingyang wanted to explain, but the "beep beep" in his mind rang again.

Seeing that she opened her mouth but didn't speak, Li Chengze continued to press:

"Also, Jingyang. I didn't want to ask you these things before, because I know you have some 'unspeakable secrets' that you can't tell me."

But these "secrets" are far beyond the knowledge of ordinary people, and as for that silver, this book...

“Chengze,” Tao Jingyang said calmly.

"You're starting to doubt me."