Chapter 1495

This time, the "Yuquan Flying Snow" was truly too explosive; one couldn't even see people four feet away, and in a daze, one could only hear the sound of sneezing. The old pear tree seemed as if it couldn't wait to shake off all its flowers.

After only a dozen breaths, the ground, the grass, and the treetops were all covered with a thick layer of pear blossoms, a finger thick. The officials and palace servants didn't even have time to brush the pear snow and fragrant powder off their heads.

Looking from afar, it was silver-clad, and Yuquan Palace was like a pure white world.

He He Lingchuan asked Yuwen Yong: "Is it like this every year?"

It was a bit unbelievable. The last time there was such a large amount of falling flowers was during the time of the Treasure Tree King.

Yuwen Yong nodded: "But it was nowhere near as spectacular as this year."

Could it be that the old tree has a spirit, having saved up enough flower buds to burst open all at once today?

The fragrant snow continued to flutter as before, and the five or six-year-old child of the Prince of Qing hid in the nurse's arms, pointing at the big tree and saying in a milky voice: "It's dropping so many leaves, let's go pick them up!"

As the pear blossoms fell, the leaves also visibly turned yellow and then fell with a rustle.

Following the pear snow, it was immediately followed by a rain of leaves.

Another gust of wind blew, and yellow leaves filled the sky, fluttering about; Yuquan Palace entered autumn in a second.

The palace servants were stunned, and King Yao stood up abruptly, his face changing drastically: "What is going on!"

Just a moment ago, it was beautiful with flowers and fragrant snow, and in the blink of an eye, the flowers and leaves were scattered, leaving only bare branches!

And this scene happened to occur at King Yao's fifty-ninth birthday ceremony.

He was so angry that he slapped the table repeatedly: "What is going on, where is the Yuquan Supervisor!"

There was a person specifically responsible for the maintenance of Yuquan Palace, whose top priority was to look after the old pear tree, known as the Yuquan Supervisor. He crawled out from a corner and knelt before King Yao, his body trembling like chaff: "Returning to the King, the pear tree was still fine this morning, there were no problems at all! Yesterday, and before that, everything was fine."

He didn't look up, so he didn't see the murderous intent in King Yao's eyes: "What do you mean, I'm holding a birthday ceremony, and it suddenly becomes unwell?"

"No, no, no, it's not..." The Yuquan Supervisor was so scared that his tongue was tied.

King Yao pointed at him and shouted: "Drag him out and beat him to death with sticks!"

The officials were silent as cicadas in winter, the atmosphere frozen like ice, and only the cold spring continued to emit white smoke, adding even more chill to the place.

I don't know if it was an illusion, but ever since the pear tree lost its leaves, Yuquan Palace seemed even colder. It was mid-June, with high temperatures roasting the outside, but white frost was quietly forming on the jade railings by the spring.

King Yao stroked the pear tree and muttered to himself: "It's a pity that Minister Qi is not here."

Qi Yunsheng had been killed; otherwise, with his rich experience and profound knowledge, he might have been able to see the reason.

King Yao thought for a moment, turned his head, and named another person: "Lao Youguang!"

He He Lingchuan knew that this person was in charge of the Yao Nation's palace treasure pavilion, the Jin Garden, and specialized in researching all kinds of natural treasures, rare items, and strange objects.

Lao Youguang came out upon hearing the call; he looked to be in his early forties, his height and appearance were plain, and the forehead wrinkles on his brow were very deep.

After bowing to King Yao, he walked to the old pear tree and reached out to break off a branch.

With a 'crack', it was very brittle.

King Yao frowned, and the palace servants of Yuquan Palace also felt it was unbelievable. The branches of the old pear tree were usually harder than iron; let alone breaking them by hand, even using ordinary swords and knives to cut them wouldn't work.

How could it be so easy to cut? Lao Youguang observed the broken surface of the branch and broke it in two again.

The sound was dry.

Lao Youguang chose another branch, facing south, thicker and stronger, with a few leaves still hanging on it: "My King, please forgive me, please have it cut down."

King Yao gave a hum, and guards immediately stepped forward and cut down the branch with a knife.

Before the branch even fell into Lao Youguang's hands, the few remaining curled yellow leaves on it fell off.

He examined it carefully for a moment, dripped some liquid into the branch, poured some green smoke into it, then took samples from the bark and roots, and then called four or five people to consult together.

During this period, Yuquan Palace was as quiet as a graveyard, King Yao had a cold face, and the palace servants didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

After a long while, when everyone had finished discussing, Lao Youguang said to King Yao:

"King, the pear tree's vitality is rapidly draining away, like a person's meridians drying up."

King Yao's brow was almost squeezed into vertical lines: "What is the reason? It was perfectly fine just a moment ago!"

"The pear tree cannot transport water and nutrients internally, but the part beneath the bark of the trunk still has a bit of freshness, indicating that it is a rapid loss of vitality in a short period." Lao Youguang hesitated for a moment, "I am not a tree doctor for Yuquan Palace, and I don't know enough about this pear tree, but I can only make a rough judgment that it may have aged rapidly in less than a month."

"Aged?" King Yao was furious, "It's not even sixty years old!"

In terms of a tree's age, it wasn't even in its prime. Not to mention that the old pear tree had long since become a spirit, and its lifespan should have been even longer.

"There is another possibility, which is..." Lao Youguang was observing his expression.

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

Lao Youguang spoke very fast: "It cannot be ruled out that the old tree's vitality was rapidly extracted in a short period, leading to the current situation."

Rapidly extracted? King Yao's face turned from green to red; someone wanted to kill this tree? "How to treat it?"

King Yao simply did not accept the death of this tree.

"Thanks to the cold spring, otherwise its vitality would have drained away even faster. It's a pity that the Qi family's mutton-fat cold jade bottle is not here, otherwise moderate cold air could prevent the pear tree from aging." Lao Youguang thought for a moment, "I can use Yuquan ointment mixed with white lily dew and inject it into the heart of the tree, trying to slow down the speed of its deterioration."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go quickly!"

Lao Youguang left the venue in a hurry to prepare the medicine.

He He Lingchuan nodded secretly; Lao Youguang's approach was orderly and methodical, which could be called a textbook method for extinguishing a fire—extinguishing the monarch's anger.

The old tree died suddenly, and King Yao was furious; at this time, he would not accept any bad news.

If one said "it can't be saved" directly at this time, King Yao might have cut off his head in a fit of rage; the previous example was the unlucky Yuquan Supervisor just now.

Lao Youguang's method of response was nothing more than the word "drag."

Dragging it out day by day, dragging it until King Yao calmed down, dragging it until he finally had to accept the facts, Lao Youguang and his subordinates would be safe.

He He Lingchuan had also heard of "Yuquan ointment"; the main ingredient in this ointment was Imperial Flow! Even now, a hundred-good pill made from a drop of Imperial Flow could sell for hundreds of taels of silver, and that was the discounted price provided by the Yangshan Archipelago. Moreover, to treat such a large pear tree, the dosage certainly couldn't be small.

King Yao's emphasis on it exceeded his love for a tree.

He He Lingchuan remembered the last time he entered the Imperial Study, King Yao had once said that this tree was planted by the previous monarch himself, saying that it could protect his descendants.

Now that this tree had suddenly received bad news, and it was at King Yao's birthday ceremony, in front of all the officials, could this be—

He He Lingchuan guessed that these four words were circling in the minds of everyone present:

A sign of great misfortune!

King Yao turned around, and the old palace servant automatically moved closer.

"Who has entered Yuquan Palace in the past month?" King Yao said coldly: "Investigate! Not a single one is allowed to be missed!"

Lao Youguang said that the pear tree's abnormality might have appeared within the last month.

Then everyone who entered Yuquan Palace within this month had the suspicion of harming the tree! King Yao's gaze swept over the officials, as if he were carefully examining everyone. No one knew what he was thinking, and everyone was uneasy.

Finally, King Yao said: "The birthday ceremony ends here. You came to celebrate my birthday, and I am very happy. Now... everyone withdraw."

Even the dullest person could hear his extreme suppression and restraint.

The foreign envoys and ministers were relieved, but they didn't dare to show it, and only bowed and respectfully withdrew after saluting.

After the accident with the old pear tree, even Qu Ruhai, the Left Clan Chief of Rodian, who usually appeared unconcerned, remained silent.

He wasn't stupid; at a time like this, it was best to say nothing at all.

Everyone wished they could grease the soles of their feet and run, but they still had to leave the Yuyin Palace calmly and in an orderly manner.

He He Lingchuan took one last look before leaving and saw King Yao standing under the tree; his slightly hunched figure was surprisingly in tune with the bare old tree. Clearly, it was his birthday ceremony, and the ground was paved with beautiful flowers and yellow leaves, but He He Lingchuan felt the twilight and loneliness from him.

Like an old, wounded wolf.

The decay of the old pear tree had dealt him a heavy blow.

His eyes, however, had become gloomy and vicious.

It wasn't until they walked out of the palace that everyone let out a long sigh of relief, as if a depressing dark cloud overhead had temporarily dissipated.

In the palace, no one dared to discuss this matter, for fear of being caught by others.

It wasn't until he sat in the carriage that Fan Shuang collapsed into his seat. He was already very tired after standing for two hours, and just now he had to walk on thin ice, fearing that the thunderous rage would sweep over his own head.

He gulped down two large mouthfuls of warm water before muttering: "What exactly happened? Did someone do something to the old tree?"

He He Lingchuan didn't say a word.

The Soul-Stealing Mirror had asked him this question before he even walked out of the palace.

He didn't have an answer either.

But he inexplicably remembered entering Yuquan Palace a few days ago, when the old pear tree gave him a pink flower with a gold-painted edge.

Whether it was the Questioning Tree or the old pear tree, they seemed to like giving him flowers and leaves.

But strictly speaking, that pink flower was given to the divine bone necklace, right?

He He Lingchuan still remembered the helplessness and unwillingness he felt when he passed under the tree.

Why unwilling? King Yao took meticulous care of it, even assigning it special guards and tree doctors. What was it dissatisfied with?

He had another strange thought.

Could it be, might it be, that the old tree's sudden withering was related to the pink flower it gave him?

But that was already several days ago. Come to think of it, the old tree being harmed by someone was a more reasonable explanation, right?

Fan Shuang was also asking him: "Brother He, do you think it could be...?"

He pointed to the east.

Youhu Villa was in the eastern suburbs of the city.

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

"Could it be Qing...?"

He He Lingchuan immediately shushed him: "Do not speculate recklessly, be careful that trouble comes from the mouth."

These two sentences were said gloomily, and Fan Shuang shivered.

"Tianshui City is about to be in turmoil; Brother Fan, protect yourself, and remember to be cautious in your words and actions." Some things, others could say, high-ranking officials and dignitaries could say, but Fan Shuang could not.

His foundation and his strength could not withstand a storm.

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