Chapter 549: The One Who Enters the Game

"Does the Emperor have only one imperial prince?" He He Lingchuan asked in surprise. "That is truly a monumental contribution."

"The higher one's cultivation, the longer one's lifespan, but the weaker one's reproductive capacity—this is the way of the Dao. For instance, the previous ruler of the Yuan Kingdom only abdicated the throne to humans because he had no heirs. Fortunately, every Emperor is blessed with the fortune of a great nation, allowing them to bear one or two heirs, thus preventing the bloodline from ending. This is truly what one calls divine protection," Fu Fu Shanyue said with a smile. "The current Emperor has only one imperial prince. When it was born over twenty years ago, its vital energy was too weak to survive. Fortunately, with the guidance of the gods, Yao Yao Xingning—who possesses a unique constitution and practices a special cultivation technique—had a balance of yin and yang energy in her body, making her perfectly suited to warm and nourish the prince. Yao Yao Xingning was only a few years old at the time, yet she carried it with her, eating and sleeping alongside it."

"As expected, the prince's condition gradually improved, and three years later, it successfully broke out of its shell."

"Perhaps because it was familiar with Yao Yao Xingning's scent, the little prince was not close to anyone after it came into the world, not even the Emperor..." Fu Fu Shanyue coughed. "It is said that several servants in the palace were bitten to death and eaten by it; only Yao Yao Xingning was permitted to accompany and approach it."

"So Yao Yao Xingning has cared for it for many years, and to this day, she must enter the palace twice a month to accompany the prince, otherwise this sole imperial relative would fly into a rage," Fu Fu Shanyue said with a wry smile. "With this special honor bestowed upon her, who would be willing to offend her before the prince comes of age?"

"Uh..." He He Lingchuan did not know what to say.

With the affection of the future Crown Prince, Lady Cen could indeed walk sideways in Lingxu City. Moreover, her words and actions would influence the little Crown Prince, which was a massive political advantage.

It was no wonder that even the Capital Cloud Envoy was unwilling to provoke her.

"When will the prince come of age?"

"It only begins to gain wisdom at thirty, so it will likely take at least sixty years to reach adulthood," Fu Fu Shanyue coughed. "The prince is still young, and the Emperor already intends to reduce the number of her visits to the palace."

He He Lingchuan understood: "Lady Cen is indeed special. No wonder the mastermind behind this case used Cen Boqing as a smokescreen. Cen Boqing himself is neither capable nor shrewd, making him easy to control. With the dual protection of the Grand Minister of Agriculture and Yao Yao Xingning, the case would be very difficult to investigate further."

With the authority of the Grand Minister of Agriculture and the influence of Yao Yao Xingning as an "imperial relative," what could the various vassal demon kingdoms do even if they discovered their own demon citizens were being hunted? Now he finally understood why Xiang Yan, a retired official, did not want to wade into these muddy waters once he heard the Cen family might be involved.

But the old man was a sly ghost; he specifically chose not to lay it all out for him.

Fu Fu Shanyue said bitterly: "That fool Cen Boqing, wouldn't it have been enough to just be a henpecked husband? He didn't have the ability, yet he insisted on inheriting such a massive black-market enterprise!"

"You don't think Yao Yao Xingning is involved?"

"Although she is overbearing, she hates evil as much as she hates a personal enemy; she is a person of true temperament," Fu Fu Shanyue shook his head. "She shouldn't be capable of hunting demons to extract pearls."

"Besides, these great clans in Lingxu City have countless businesses under their control. Yao Yao Xingning may not necessarily know her husband had such a shady enterprise."

"I originally thought the Grand Minister of Agriculture might cut off his tail to save himself and abandon Cen Boqing, which would have made the pressure of the investigation lighter," he paused and added, "Now that Yao Yao Xingning has come in person, it means the Grand Minister of Agriculture must find a way to save his life. If not for deep affection between husband and wife, Cen Boqing would be dead for sure this time."

He He Lingchuan smiled: "If that is truly the case, the Lord Zhongsun family will also make trouble for them."

"Lord Zhongsun Mou is dead, so the Lord Zhongsun family's resentment is naturally great; they are one of the leaders of the water tribes in Lingxu City," Fu Fu Shanyue smiled even more comfortably than him. "But he provided false testimony for Cen Boqing, and the Lord Zhongsun family privately purchased the Immortality Pill—both these matters were confessed by Wu Kai. They will soon reach the Emperor and the Heavenly Gods, which will be enough to give them a headache."

"In any case, who knows how many powerful and wealthy families will be dragged into this mess of the Immortality Pill!"

He He Lingchuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head instead: "If there are indeed too many noble families who privately purchased the Immortality Pill, it is very likely that the matter will be downplayed in the end."

"Oh?" Fu Fu Shanyue was no fool and quickly understood his meaning. "You mean, the law does not punish the masses?"

"The word 'masses' is open to debate," He He Lingchuan sneered. "If they were all commoners, it wouldn't matter if they were slaughtered until the ground was covered in blood. After the fall of the Yuan Kingdom, the Lingxu army massacred for thirty days, and millions of civilians became souls under their blades. The Twilight Plains remain a barren land to this day, which shows the heart of the sage is as hard as iron."

Fu Fu Shanyue pursed his lips.

Facts speak louder than words; he had nothing to say.

"If they are all high-ranking families and pillars of the nation in Lingxu City—" He He Lingchuan said leisurely, "—then it is merely a case of being blinded by greed. Arrest those who refined the pills privately, arrest those who bought and resold them in large quantities, and punish them according to the law to rectify the atmosphere; as for the others, well, the law does not punish the masses, and a minor reprimand will suffice. Otherwise, it would shake the foundations of the nation."

Fu Fu Shanyue smiled bitterly: "You speak so lightly of it..."

"Shall we wait and see?" He He Lingchuan glanced at him. "Want to make a bet?"

"No need to bet," Fu Fu Shanyue sighed. "I think you are right."

"Tch." He knew he was guaranteed to lose, right?

"Is the Fu Kingdom the same?"

"Isn't the officialdom of the world the same everywhere?" He He Lingchuan said lazily. "They say that water that is too clear has no fish."

Back at the inn, Fu Fu Shanyue asked him: "Really not having a midnight snack? I heard the braising broth at this inn hasn't stopped boiling for fifteen years; even the table legs braised in it are delicious. I'll have someone go buy some."

At this hour? "No." He He Lingchuan yawned. "I'm sleepy and want to go back to bathe and sleep. I still have to accompany you and the White Envoy to struggle tomorrow."

Fu Fu Shanyue eyed him with suspicion: "You weren't this easily tired back when you were working against me. Confess, was Cheng Yu's life half-lost because of your meddling?"

To this day, he still hadn't figured out how many true skills He He Lingchuan had up his sleeve.

He He Lingchuan knew Fu Fu Shanyue would definitely be suspicious.

This guy was never easy to fool.

He looked left and right; there was no one around.

Seeing this action, Fu Fu Shanyue knew he was about to reveal something, so he consciously pricked up his ears and leaned in: "What?"

"What I said to Bai Bai Ziqi earlier was basically true, except I didn't mention that the one Cheng Yu sent to assassinate me was a Yin Spirit!" He He Lingchuan's voice was as soft as a mosquito's. "That fellow Cheng Yu did indeed burn the Yin Spirit's Golden Body; isn't it only natural that it went back to cause him trouble?"

"Just like that?"

"Of course, just like that," He He Lingchuan smiled. "Do I need to swear to the heavens?"

The Chiyan Kingdom's ruler and his son were now his backers and allies; he couldn't keep them entirely in the dark, as it would easily create a rift.

Swearing to the heavens would certainly be good! Fu Fu Shanyue shook his head: "No need, I believe you."

He asked He He Lingchuan again: "What other moves do you think Bai Bai Ziqi will make next?"

He He Lingchuan thought for a moment: "Setting aside his other schemes, Bai Bai Ziqi's goals in Baishaju are nothing more than two: first, to investigate the Immortality Pill case, and second, to track the whereabouts of Lord Zhongsun Mou. The Immortality Pill case is basically clear; the important raw material, the pulp beads, were obtained by Cen Boqing sending people to hunt demons—this is set in stone and cannot be escaped. As for the abducted Lord Zhongsun Mou—"

He shrugged: "I think this guy is already dead."

At the mention of this, Fu Fu Shanyue felt great: "I think so too."

"Mai Xuewen didn't leave many clues. This person has been planning for many years; I think he likely succeeded in one strike and fled a thousand miles away, and won't appear again for a short time," He He Lingchuan said smoothly. "In other words, Bai Bai Ziqi probably has no chance of catching Mai Xuewen, so he can only pour all his energy into handling the Cen Boqing case."

Fu Fu Shanyue nodded: "Lord Zhongsun Mou helped Cen Boqing provide false testimony, only to be killed by Cen Boqing's lackeys. If the Lord Zhongsun family hears this investigation result, how could they accept it?"

He couldn't help but laugh: "The best part is that this case is being investigated by Bai Bai Ziqi himself. If they want to argue, they can only go to the Capital Cloud Envoy... Who in all of Lingxu City doesn't know that daring to question the Capital Cloud Envoy is just asking for death!"

He didn't even have to carry the burden of this case; Bai Bai Ziqi took the pot directly, otherwise the Chiyan Demon King would have felt the pressure.

This time, the Demon Emperor's standard for choosing people to handle cases was very high.

"The gods won't be satisfied either, because Cen Boqing doesn't count as the true mastermind," He He Lingchuan said slowly. "The Immortality Pill case is worth digging deep into, but it seems the root cause is in Lingxu City, and there's nothing left for us to do."

"How could it end here?" Fu Fu Shanyue sneered. "I'm just starting to feel satisfied."

"Your father's letter of complaint has just reached the Emperor's eyes, and not two days later, the Qingfu Temple caught fire, burning all the physical and testimonial evidence to ashes," He He Lingchuan smiled at him. "Have you ever been to Qingfu Temple?"

"I have, it's very large and the incense is very popular," Fu Fu Shanyue thought for a moment. "You're right, what kind of place is Lingxu City? Qingfu Temple also has fire prevention measures; how could an ordinary fire burn it clean in two strokes?"

"The true mastermind has connections and means, which means they have status," He He Lingchuan said unhurriedly. "Daring to hunt demons for pearls in a demon kingdom, defying the world's common consensus—their cruelty and ruthlessness are evident. I think these waters are too deep; does the Chiyan Kingdom really want to step into this whirlpool?"

This case was truly being investigated deeper and deeper; Cen Boqing, the eldest son-in-law of the Grand Minister of Agriculture, was actually just a smokescreen.

Then what kind of status would the true mastermind have? When the Chiyan Kingdom's ruler and his son first started investigating this case, they certainly didn't expect it to involve such deep and wide-reaching matters.

"If we want to stop, now is the opportunity."

These words were spoken by Fu Fu Shanyue. He He Lingchuan had already gone over them in his heart, but had not spoken them aloud. He could not say such things.

"Even if the one investigating is Bai Bai Ziqi, if my father doesn't insist, and Lingxu City wants to hush things up, then the true culprit will only be Cen Boqing," Fu Fu Shanyue actually sighed deeply. "But my father must investigate to the end, because this is no longer just a matter for the Chiyan Kingdom."

He He Lingchuan pondered this sentence, slightly moved: "You mean, there are other forces involved as well?"

"Just from what I know, the Treasure Tree King has just submitted a petition to Lingxu City, saying that the demon citizens in his territory have also been poached for pearls; this matter is intolerable to both gods and men and must be thoroughly and strictly investigated."

(End of chapter)