Chapter 1489: Check, Must Investigate Thoroughly

**Chapter 1474: Investigate, Thoroughly Investigate**

The Soul Mirror in Helian Chuan's arms shrieked: "Even he suspects it's Qingyang, what do you think King Yao will think?"

"His Majesty won't believe the old tree withered naturally," Helian Chuan said to Fan Shuang. "I didn't expect His Majesty to care so much about a pear tree."

Fan Shuang whispered, "It happened once before, over a decade ago. The pear tree's blossoms became sparse, and many yellow leaves appeared. His Majesty was furious, sat in the Jade Spring Palace all day, and even executed the then-supervisor of Jade Spring Palace. Since then, everyone knows how much His Majesty values it."

"How did it recover afterward?"

"It's said that His Majesty had a dream one night," Fan Shuang continued, "He dreamed of a small figure in white sitting on the old pear tree, telling him it was very tired of staying in the Jade Spring Palace, overwhelmed, and wanted to move elsewhere. His Majesty recognized it as the spirit of the pear blossom, so he appeased it with kind words and buried many Mystic Crystals for it. Afterward, the old pear tree recovered."

"This pear blossom indeed has a spirit," Helian Chuan mused, stroking his chin. "Is His Majesty's affection for the old tree due to a shared lifespan?"

"It's said that the late King received guidance from a wise person, insisting that a pear tree be planted in Jade Spring Palace on the very day our King was born."

Helian Chuan nodded.

As people age, they tend to become more superstitious. King Yao believes this tree can ward off disaster for him. So, of course, he's terrified now that the pear tree has 'perished'!

But whether this is a coincidence or deliberate, it's a welcome surprise for Helian Chuan's future plans.

The more irrational King Yao becomes, the more likely he is to make impulsive decisions.

After Fan Shuang got out of the carriage, Helian Chuan took out the Soul Mirror to examine the cracks on its surface.

Although the mirror spirit was talkative, Helian Chuan knew that if it hadn't warned him today, he wouldn't have been able to dodge the destructive force shot by the golden little monster.

"There was even a bit of divine power mixed into that ability," Helian Chuan thought. "I'll ask Granny Zhu about it later."

The mirror groaned, "Oh, it hurts terribly."

Helian Chuan couldn't even be bothered to say, "You're a shield, aren't you destined to be hit?"

He took out a jar of paste from his pocket and carefully applied it to the cracks on the mirror's surface.

This was a spiritual medicine jointly developed by Ling Guang and Songyang Manor, its main ingredient being Emperor's Flow Nectar. It could quickly heal the mirror's wounds and also provide good nourishment.

Putting away the box, he asked, "How long do you reckon it'll take to heal?"

"At least ten days! You black-hearted master, so eager for me to get back to work!" the mirror grumbled. "Forget it, for the sake of the highly nourishing Emperor's Flow Nectar, I won't mind."

"That ability of your kind was a bit strange. You actually managed to absorb it? You've improved."

"It's not just Ghost City that's improved!" the mirror muttered. "You haven't even seen my power during the Middle Ages!"

"By the way," Helian Chuan continued, "between those two dead men, Heyang and Xue Zongwu, who do you think was harder to fight?"

"In terms of martial arts, they were equally matched. Xue Zongwu was a top disciple personally trained by Qi Yunsheng, and Heyang was a student of Qingyang. Their cultivation levels were both extraordinary, with no obvious weaknesses."

"But in terms of actual combat, Heyang was far inferior to Xue Zongwu. The resilience of character, tenacity of will, and quickness of response of someone who has endured countless life-or-death trials on the battlefield are unimaginable to ordinary people. If there was a crack in purgatory, he could crawl out even with broken legs," Helian Chuan said calmly. "How could someone who trains martial arts in the palace or competes within their sect possess a truly battle-hardened body?"

Xue Zongwu's powerful cultivation also indicates his high standard of military leadership. Therefore, he had to die. Helian Chuan eliminated Xue Zongwu not only to intensify the conflict between King Yao and Qingyang but also to clear obstacles for his own future 'Flash Gold' plan.

Night fell, and the temperature dropped. The Jade Spring Palace became even colder, with a palpable chill in the air. The ocher ground was covered in a layer of ice, half a finger thick.

King Yao still sat under the tree, each breath he exhaled turning into a puff of white mist.

Elderly palace attendants tried to persuade him to leave several times but were instead severely reprimanded.

The others kept their distance, fearing they might incur the old King Yao's wrath.

King Yao certainly possessed treasures that warded off cold, but after sitting under the tree for a long time, and as his anger gradually subsided, he began to feel some soreness in his muscles and bones—he had already been sitting for several hours at the earlier birthday celebration.

Just as he stood up to stretch his limbs, Zhao Song rushed in from outside, holding a booklet high above his head:

"The confessions have been recorded!"

King Yao stood under the tree, flipping through the pages one by one.

The booklet contained records of visitors to Jade Spring Palace over the past month.

Jade Spring Palace was not accessible to just anyone. Besides the palace's own maintenance staff, every visitor had to be escorted by an attendant. Therefore, the quickest way to investigate now was to have the attendants carefully recall the circumstances at the time.

In the past month, sixty-seven palace attendants, three consorts, and nineteen visitors had entered Jade Spring Palace.

The palace attendants and consorts would be interrogated separately; King Yao first reviewed the visitor records.

You Rongzhi, Bai Tan... these were regular visitors to the Imperial Study, passing through Jade Spring Palace monthly, so there was nothing remarkable about them.

Then came several foreign envoys.

When King Yao summoned them, these foreign envoys would mostly pass through Jade Spring Palace.

Soon, King Yao saw Helian Xiao's name.

That's right, he had just recently received Helian Xiao and finalized the plan for Youhu Villa.

Regarding Helian Xiao's visit to the palace this time, the escorting attendant described it as follows:

"Upon passing through Jade Spring Palace, he admired the pear tree greatly. As it happened to be the Jade Spring Snow season, both Helian Xiao and Fan Shuang picked up a few fallen blossoms."

"Helian Xiao did not touch the pear tree at all during his visit, maintaining a distance of at least two *zhang* (over six meters) from its trunk."

"When leaving the Imperial Study and passing through Jade Spring Palace again, Helian Xiao did not stop and left directly."

These actions seemed perfectly normal.

Moreover, King Yao couldn't think of any reason why this person would harm the pear tree.

So he quickly flipped past these pages and continued to examine other confessions.

After another quarter of an hour or so, he finished reading all the information and snapped the booklet shut.

Among the nineteen visitors, two had touched the pear tree, so they required further investigation.

And one, though he hadn't touched it, was more suspicious than anyone else:

Regent Qingyang!

She had once said that the old pear blossom didn't like staying by the cold spring.

"What were her exact words?" King Yao clapped his hands.

"I remember! 'It doesn't like that cold spring, and it probably won't last much longer.'"

Why would Qingyang know it wouldn't last much longer?

At the time, King Yao thought she was cursing him, but now, upon reflection, it was clearly a warning!

In the past month, Regent Qingyang had visited King Yao in the Imperial Study at least seven times, passing through Jade Spring Palace almost every time.

She had more opportunities than other visitors to observe the large tree and find a chance to act.

With her methods, even without directly touching the pear tree, she could still harm it, right?

The old pear blossom was growing perfectly well, hadn't offended anyone. What faction would want to get rid of it?

And she chose precisely the day of his birthday celebration!

King Yao thought it over and over, and could only think of Qingyang.

Helian Xiao had just killed Heyang. In her rage and desire for revenge, did Qingyang deliberately kill his old pear blossom, an eye for an eye?