Chapter 1497

Was it then that he struck?

This old witch has always wanted to suppress him, weaken his authority, but recently she's been thrown into chaos by He Xiong's Yuhu Villa development, and many officials have bought lodges to show loyalty to the Yaowang, rendering her recent strict surveillance futile. Qingyang probably also feels a surge of resentment, choosing the longevity celebration to give the Yaowang eye drops? After all, everyone in and outside the Wang Ting knows Old Pear Blossom has grown alongside him, deeply tied to the royal lineage. Did Qingyang kill the pear tree to warn him—that she could kill him as easily as she killed the tree? This old witch, has she gone mad? He is the ruler of Yaoguo, a sovereign of a nation! Thinking this, the Yaowang clenched his fists, bloodshot veins appearing at the corners of his eyes.

His eldest legitimate son was implicated in the Lingxu City Immortality Elixir case, dying obscurely. Who is the mastermind behind the Immortality Elixir case?

Qingyang.

His most capable confidant, the great general guarding the border, Xue Zongwu, was killed by the Jia Yu Great Emperor, thus triggering this series of events in Shuishui City. The Yaowang suspects the Jia Yu Great Emperor is whose doing?

Qingyang.

After Xue Zongwu's death, who brandished the accusation rod, stirred panic in the Wang Ting, and sought to wrestle part of the military authority from the Yaowang's hands? Still Qingyang.

If saying "endure" bears a blade on the head, the Yaowang's heart has already been stabbed three or four times, bleeding without cease.

Now, does Qingyang not even spare the old pear tree that has grown with him, warded off disasters and eliminated calamities for him? Long-suppressed hatred and fury erupted, nearly melting the ice and snow on the ground.

He rose to his feet, pacing back and forth in the Yuchuan Palace.

At this moment, he forgot that he had already bested Qingyang in tonight's match—the most loyal disciple sent by the Between Between Between Beijia faction to supervise the state, who died in his presence during the martial contest.

Damn it, damn it!

If he doesn't do something, how can he quell the hatred in his heart? …

Qingyang returned to the Yuhu Cottage.

Opposite, the Yuhu Villa was under construction, digging up her return route into pits and mounds; even with the coachman's skill, the carriage jolted unevenly.

Usually, Qingyang could laugh it off.

But today she burned with fury, only wanting to issue one command to slaughter everyone in the villa to the last!

Yaowang, He Xiong! These two fellows took her magnanimity for weakness, her goodwill for compromise!

Qingyang lifted the carriage curtain—at this very moment, if the villa made even a sound, whether tapping a stone or driving in a few wedges, she would order attendants to dismount and slaughter those blind craftsmen to the last! She knows she's too impulsive, knows she's irrational, but this resentment in her chest truly cannot be suppressed! Heyang died, so here she could naturally appoint a new Left Commander of the Qing Guard. But do Yaowang and the He-surnamed think they can strut and show off before her? Hah! The gatekeeper dog grew fat, now wants to bite its master—she must give them a lesson? Yet along the way, all was silent; the Yuhu Villa, usually bustling day and night, today had not a single person in sight.

Work stopped?

The vast construction site lay empty and deserted, only the small hut by the woods seemed to have a shadow moving.

That was the caretaker left to guard the site.

Qingyang furrowed her brows: "What's going on?"

Even the Yaowang's garrison stationed here seemed not to have appeared.

As soon as she asked, the Qing Guard naturally sent horsemen to find the people in the hut.

Soon, the Qing Guard returned, reporting: "No one at the villa's construction site. Because of the Yaowang's longevity celebration, work has ceased for three days starting today! The host even gave them red envelopes."

Qingyang smirked.

This halt is truly well-timed—avoiding a catastrophe.

The Yaowang's longevity celebration already mandates three days of national festivity, with all trades taking leave.

But what if it's premeditated? Did He Xiong let the site rest to prevent Qingyang from returning in rage, to kill the craftsmen and vent?

If so, this in turn shows he had long prepared a scheme, to provoke her during the Yaowang's longevity celebration! He Xiong repeatedly provoked Heyang at the Yaowang's banquet; now it seems, he deliberately provoked him into speaking out and challenging.

Heyang was loyal but rigid; Qingyang originally needed such a subordinate when handling affairs in Yaoguo, yet once facing He Xiong, Heyang's strengths became weaknesses.

While Qingyang schemed against him, he too was scheming against Qingyang!

Heyang is the Left Commander of the Qing Guard sent by the supervisory state; Yaowang and He Xiong normally had no reason or opportunity to move against him.

Only by exploiting the Yaowang's longevity celebration martial contest could they possibly assassinate Heyang!

Open and aboveboard, with no repercussions.

The carriage creaked, driving back to Huaji Island.

Qingyang stepped down from the carriage, passing the small flower garden, when she suddenly pressed hard against the artificial hill. This artificial hill was taken from a single block of granite deep in the Shenshan, standing five zhang high, naturally formed, unpolished, with astonishing hardness.

This time she exerted exceptional force, her fingertips turning white.

Even her cloak stirred without wind.

The guards dared not approach, scattering around.

Qingyang closed her eyes, took several deep breaths, her chest rising and falling, then withdrew her hand and entered the house without looking back.

Within twenty breaths, the artificial hill collapsed.

Not into fragments, but into powder. When the wind blew, the dust floated upward.

The palace master truly is furious. The guards exchanged glances, none daring to speak.

Qingyang vented her anger on the artificial hill, then returned indoors to change her clothes; her mind cooled, her thoughts resumed flow.

The Yaowang has already used the Yuhu Villa to give her trouble, now again so offensively provoking her—what good could come of it? Frankly, none.

Beyond venting anger and damaging her prestige, these acts will only further enrage her.

In short, what can the Yaowang do to her, dare to do to her?

She is the supervisory envoy sent by the Between Between Between Beijia sect; ultimately, Yaoguo must still act according to Between Between Between Beijia's countenance.

Is the Yaowang's mind overheated, too arrogant and rash in suppressing her, or is something else amiss?

The sun slanted westward, the sky gradually dimming.

Hooves pounded urgently, a rider galloped up the island.

Qingyang heard the hoofbeats, slowly opened her eyes.

Soon, the rider galloped in to report: "The old pear tree in the Yuchuan Palace suddenly withered, blossoms and leaves fallen, branches and trunk withered, the Yaowang flew into a rage."

Qingyang startled, hurriedly asked for details.

The rider recounted them one by one.

Qingyang listened, then smirked: "Where is he angry to death? Clearly, he's afraid to death. The old man treats the pear tree as his lifeline. Now the tree is dead, and it died on his longevity celebration—this is a great omen of misfortune; he's about to be frightened mad."

The older one gets, the more one clings to life—she understands this too well.

But Qingyang soon wiped the smile from her face: "Is he suspecting me in his heart?"

The two of them had been playing opposing roles for so long that when the old tree suddenly changed, the Yao King would be ninety percent sure she was behind it.

She often went to the Jade Spring Palace, and last time she had said a few things about the old tree; if she were the Yao King, she would also think her suspicion was the greatest.

But Qingyang herself knew best that killing that tree brought her no benefit at all.

It was meaningless, only serving to provoke the Yao King into a rage.

Of course, she had no way to prove her innocence, let alone explain it to the Yao King.

So this was yet another puzzling matter.

Thinking back to how Xue Zongwu and Qi Yunsheng had died—both had been shoved hard from behind, throwing her original rhythm and pace completely into disarray!

It seemed a powerful force was secretly stirring up trouble on the Jinjin Plains.

As for her relationship with the Yao King Wang Ting, it had already fallen into chaos.

If it couldn't be repaired, there was no going back.

She thought of He Xiong again.

This brat had helped the Yao King offend her with such zeal—what was he after? He should know this was the last chance to sever his ties with Yao Du forever! He Xiong was a smart man, capable of offering counsel and gauging the situation; there was no reason for him to keep going down a self-destructive path without turning back.

What was he after?

Profit, fame, revenge? Or was he doing someone else's bidding?

If he had someone behind him, who would it be?

Could it be Shuangye again?

No, what benefit could Shuangye have on the Jinjin Plains? Suddenly, a flash of insight struck her: when had her conflict with the Yao King begun to intensify? Right—it was from the moment He Xiong arrived in Yao Guo! This man truly had talent, but why was his luck always so good? Whatever he set out to do, he could accomplish! After He Yang died, Qingyang was enraged; when the old pear tree withered, the Yao King was enraged.

He Yang died at He Xiong's hands—could that old tree have too?

The more she thought, the more it seemed so.

She drew a deep breath: "Come here."

A Qingwei guard flashed by nearby.

"Send word to the owner of Red Lodge—he still owes me a favor; now he can repay it."

No matter what He Xiong secretly harbored in mind, she did not wish to investigate.

Such a person is best killed—once and for all.

￥￥￥￥￥

White Dog Mound, a small tavern.

This place is in Cangzhou of Puyi State. Although its name includes the character for "mound," there is no grave here; it is merely said that a powerful white canine demon died on a local high ridge, giving rise to this place name.

The tavern is not beside the post station; usually there are few passersby, and it remains closed for twenty-eight days a month, opening only two or three days at irregular intervals.

This is not the rhythm of doing business, and only a specific clientele would patronize it.

Today the tavern was open, its seven or eight tables all filled with people, each carrying clubs and knives; at a glance, their faces showed they were not ordinary folk.

Occasionally, two innocent passersby would come by, just wanting to enter for a bowl of water, but upon seeing this scene they would turn and flee, fearing they would be seized, stripped clean, and made into large meat buns.

The noisy crowd in the tavern glanced at them distractedly, then resumed their clamor: "We've already gathered for two days; today we must surely push forward a mountain chieftain!"

"Yes, if we don't act now, it will be too late. The Pang brothers of neighboring Runhai have summoned over a hundred men and eliminated the chief villain of their hometown!"

"The Pang brothers are nothing—before, they'd scold someone and not even utter a sound; this time they actually got ahead of us! Besides, they're still holding a large banner embroidered with a black dragon. I've seen it; the embroidery is not very good."

"What mountain chieftain? We're choosing the leader of the Righteous Alliance, not a bandit head!"

"What's the difference?"

"The mountain chieftain is……" this person faltered, "Anyway, we don't do wicked deeds; even if we rob money, it's to help the poor!"

"Can we rob money, then? Then I choose Boto'er!"

"Nonsense—you've called it the Righteous Alliance, yet you still want to rob money?"

Inside the tavern, another uproar shook the heavens.

Finally, someone stood up, seized the bronze gong beside them, and struck it several times: "Silence, everyone be quiet!"