Chapter 1488: Ominous Sign

Chapter 1473: An Omen of Great Disaster

The "Jade Spring Flying Snow" this time was truly overwhelming. Figures more than four feet away became indistinct; only the sound of sneezing could be heard in the daze. The old pear tree seemed intent on shaking down all its blossoms.

Within a few moments, the ground, the grass, and the treetops were covered with a thick layer of pear blossoms, about an inch deep. Officials and palace attendants didn't even have time to brush off the pear blossom "snow" and perfume from their heads. From afar, dressed in white, the Jade Spring Palace looked like a pure, unblemished world.

He Lingchuan asked Yuwen Yong, "Is it like this every year?" It was somewhat unbelievable. The last time such a large amount of petals fell was during King Baoshu's reign.

Yuwen Yong nodded, "But it was nowhere near as spectacular as this year." Could it be that the old tree had gained sentience, saving up all its flower buds, only to burst them open all at once today?

The fragrant "snow" continued to fall profusely. A five or six-year-old child from Prince Qing's mansion, hiding in his wet nurse's arms, pointed at the large tree and said in a childish voice, "It's losing so many leaves! Let's go pick them up!"

As the pear blossoms fell, the tree's leaves also visibly yellowed, then rustled down. After the pear blossom "snow," came a rain of leaves. Another gust of wind swept through, and yellow leaves swirled everywhere, instantly transforming the Jade Spring Palace into autumn.

The palace attendants were stunned. King Yao abruptly stood up, his expression drastically changed. "What is going on?!" Just moments ago, the fragrant flowers and snow were exquisitely beautiful, but in the blink of an eye, the flowers and leaves withered and fell, leaving only bare branches! This scene, of all things, happened on King Yao's fifty-ninth birthday celebration.

He pounded the table repeatedly in anger. "What's going on? Where is the Supervisor of Jade Spring?!" There was a dedicated person responsible for the maintenance of Jade Spring Palace, with the primary duty of looking after the old pear tree, known as the Supervisor of Jade Spring. He crawled out from a corner, knelt before King Yao, trembling like a sieve. "Reporting, Your Majesty, the pear tree was perfectly fine this morning! There were no problems! It was fine yesterday and before that too."

He didn't look up, so he didn't see the murderous glint in King Yao's eyes. "What do you mean? I hold my birthday celebration, and it suddenly falls ill?"

"No, no, no, not..." The Supervisor of Jade Spring was so frightened his tongue got tied.

King Yao pointed at him and roared, "Drag him out and beat him to death with sticks!"

The officials remained utterly silent, the atmosphere frozen. Only the cold spring continued to emit wisps of white steam, adding more chill to the air. Perhaps it was just a misconception, but ever since the pear tree lost all its leaves, the Jade Spring Palace seemed colder. It was mid-June, and outside, the heat was scorching, yet the jade railings by the spring quietly accumulated white frost.

King Yao stroked the pear tree, muttering to himself, "It's a pity Minister Qi isn't here." Qi Yunsheng had been killed; otherwise, with his extensive experience and profound knowledge, he might have been able to figure out the reason.

King Yao pondered for a moment, then turned and called out another name: "Lao Youguang!" He Lingchuan knew this man managed the Brocade Garden, the imperial treasury of Yao, specializing in the study of various heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and rare artifacts.

Lao Youguang stepped forward at the call. He appeared to be in his early forties, of average height and appearance, with deep forehead wrinkles. After bowing to King Yao, he walked to the old pear tree and reached out to snap off a branch. With a crisp snap, it broke.

King Yao frowned, and the palace attendants of Jade Spring Palace also found it unbelievable. The branches of the old pear tree were usually harder than iron; let alone breaking them by hand, even ordinary swords couldn't cut through them. How could it break so easily?

Lao Youguang examined the broken surface of the branch, then snapped it in half again. The sound was dry. Lao Youguang then chose another branch, one facing south and thicker, with a few remaining leaves. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, please have this cut down."

King Yao grunted, and a guard immediately stepped forward, hacking off the branch with a single stroke. Before the branch even reached Lao Youguang's hand, the few remaining curled yellow leaves on it fell off.

He examined it carefully for a moment, then dripped some liquid into the branch and blew some green smoke into it. After that, he took samples from the tree bark and roots, then called four or five people to consult together. During this time, Jade Spring Palace was as silent as a graveyard. King Yao's face was cold, and the palace attendants didn't dare to breathe loudly.

After a while, everyone finished consulting, and Lao Youguang addressed King Yao: "Your Majesty, the pear tree's life force is rapidly draining, like the meridians in a person's body withering."

King Yao's brow was so furrowed that vertical lines seemed to be squeezed out. "What is the reason? It was perfectly fine just moments ago!"

"The pear tree's interior cannot transport water and nutrients, but the part beneath the bark still has a bit of freshness, indicating that its life force drained rapidly in a short period." Lao Youguang hesitated. "I am not a tree doctor for Jade Spring Palace, and I don't know enough about this pear tree. I can only make a rough judgment that its rapid aging might have occurred in less than a month."

"Aging?" King Yao's expression changed to one of disbelief. "It's less than sixty years old!" For a tree, it wasn't even considered mature. Moreover, the old pear tree had long since attained sentience, so its lifespan should have been much longer.

"There's also another possibility, which is..." Lao Youguang observed his face.

King Yao almost roared, "Which is what? Speak quickly!"

Lao Youguang spoke rapidly, "It cannot be ruled out that the old tree's life force was rapidly drained in a short period, leading to this situation."

Rapidly drained? King Yao's face turned a mottled green and red. Someone wanted to kill this tree? "How can it be saved?" King Yao refused to accept the tree's demise.

"Thanks to the cold spring, otherwise its life force would drain even faster. It's a pity the Qi family's mutton-fat jade cold flask isn't here; otherwise, moderate cold energy could prevent the pear tree's aging." Lao Youguang thought for a moment. "I can mix Jade Spring Ointment with White Water Caltrop Dew and inject it into the tree's core, trying to slow down its deterioration."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go quickly!" Lao Youguang hurried off to prepare the medicine.

He Lingchuan secretly nodded. Lao Youguang's actions were orderly and systematic, a textbook example of crisis management – extinguishing the monarch's wrath. With the old tree's sudden demise, King Yao's anger was flaring, and at such a time, he would not accept any bad news. If Lao Youguang had simply said "it can't be saved," King Yao might have, in a fit of rage, chopped off his head, as evidenced by the unfortunate Supervisor of Jade Spring just moments ago. Lao Youguang's approach, simply put, was a strategy of 'delay.'

Delaying for another day meant another day's safety. By the time King Yao calmed down and eventually had to accept the facts, Lao Youguang and his subordinates would be safe. He Lingchuan had also heard of Jade Spring Ointment. The primary ingredient in this ointment was Imperial Nectar! Even now, a Hundred Good Deeds Pill made from a single drop of Imperial Nectar could sell for several hundred taels of silver, and that was the discounted price offered by the Yangshan Archipelago. To treat such a large pear tree, the dosage certainly couldn't be small.

King Yao's concern for it went beyond mere fondness for a tree. He Lingchuan recalled that the last time he entered the Imperial Study, King Yao had mentioned that this tree was personally planted by the previous monarch, said to be able to protect his descendants. Now, this tree suddenly met with a disaster, and it happened on King Yao's birthday celebration, in front of all the officials. Could this be—

He Lingchuan guessed that these four words were circling in everyone's minds: An Omen of Great Disaster!

King Yao turned around, and an old palace attendant automatically leaned closer. "Who has entered Jade Spring Palace in the past month?" King Yao said coldly, "Investigate! Don't miss a single one!" Lao Youguang had said that the pear tree's anomaly might have appeared within the last month. Therefore, anyone who entered Jade Spring Palace within that month was a suspect in harming the tree!

King Yao's gaze swept over the ministers, as if scrutinizing each person. No one knew what he was thinking, and everyone was filled with apprehension. Finally, King Yao said, "The birthday celebration ends here. I'm very happy that you came to celebrate my birthday. Now... you may all withdraw." Even the dullest person could sense his utmost suppression and restraint.

The foreign envoys and ministers felt a huge sense of relief, but dared not show it, merely bowing respectfully before withdrawing. After the old pear tree's accident, even Qu Ruhai, the Left Clan Elder of Luodian, who usually behaved so unrestrainedly, remained silent. He wasn't foolish; it was best to keep quiet at a time like this. Everyone was eager to make a swift exit, yet they still had to calmly and orderly depart from Jade Sound Palace.

Before leaving, He Lingchuan looked back and saw King Yao standing beneath the tree. His slightly stooped figure surprisingly matched the bare old tree. Although it was his birthday celebration, and the ground was beautifully paved with fallen flowers and yellow leaves, He Lingchuan felt a sense of twilight years and desolation emanating from him. Like a wounded old wolf, the old pear tree's decay had dealt him a heavy blow. His eyes, however, had become gloomy and ruthless.

It wasn't until they walked out of the palace that everyone sighed in relief, as if a suppressive dark cloud overhead had temporarily dispersed. Inside the palace, no one dared to discuss the matter, fearing they might be caught saying something wrong.

It wasn't until they were in the carriage that Fan Shuang collapsed into his seat. He was already exhausted from standing for two hours, and just now he had to walk on thin ice, fearing the king's wrath might fall upon him. He gulped down two large mouthfuls of warm water, then murmured, "What exactly happened? Did someone tamper with the old tree?"

He Lingchuan remained silent. The Soul-capturing Mirror had asked him this question even before he left the palace. He had no answer. But he vaguely remembered the old pear tree giving him a pink flower with gilded edges a few days ago when he entered Jade Spring Palace. Both the Questioning Tree and the old pear tree seemed to like giving him flowers and leaves. But strictly speaking, wasn't that pink flower meant for the Divine Bone Necklace?

He Lingchuan still remembered the feeling of helplessness and unwillingness he experienced when he passed under the tree. Why the unwillingness? King Yao provided meticulous care for it, even assigning dedicated guardians and tree doctors. What could it be dissatisfied with? He also had a strange thought: Could it be that the old tree's sudden wilting was related to the pink flower it gave him? But that was days ago. Logically, the more reasonable explanation was that the old tree was harmed by someone, wasn't it?

Fan Shuang also asked him, "Brother He, do you think it might be...?" He pointed eastward. The Quiet Lake Pavilion was in the eastern suburbs of the city.

He Lingchuan glanced at him. "Who are you talking about?"

"Could it be Qing..."

He Lingchuan immediately hushed him. "Don't speculate recklessly; be careful what you say." He said these two sentences ominously, and Fan Shuang shivered.

"Tianshui City is about to face turmoil. Brother Fan, protect yourself wisely, and remember to be cautious in your words and actions." Some things others could say, high-ranking officials and nobles could say, but Fan Shuang could not. His meager foundation and fragile build couldn't withstand a storm.

Fan Shuang scratched his head repeatedly. "Understood, understood!"