Chapter 570: Inescapable After All

Distant water cannot put out a nearby fire. So for the next twenty-plus days, he had to rely on his own skills to hold on! Li Qingge put away the box, her eyes flickering, and suddenly looked at him with a smile: "I saved your life; shouldn't you repay me?"

He Lingchuan bit the bullet: "That's a must. Lord, please give your orders; I will definitely go through fire and water."

In the end, he suffered from having no one under his command, so even such a crucial task could only be handed over to outsiders.

He only hoped Li Qingge could be as capable as ever.

"Good, you'll know at the Dun Garden Auction in a few days." Li Qingge put on her gloves. "Go, I still have to go elsewhere."

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For the next few hours, He Lingchuan wandered around the post house, and only when the Eyeball Spider monitored that Fushan Yue was already at the post house did he return leisurely.

"Where did you run off to? Haven't seen you since last night." Fushan Yue wondered. "Envoy Bai sent someone to look for you, but I sent them back."

"Someone came to search for me right after you went to the Star-Plucking Tower last night." He Lingchuan shrugged. "I avoided the limelight and went for a stroll around the area."

"They came to search for you last night?" Fushan Yue's expression changed. "Nine times out of ten, it was the Star-Plucking Tower."

"Did the Emperor make things difficult for you during the audience last night?"

Fushan Yue casually set up a soundproof barrier before continuing: "Asked about the Anti-Aging Pill case. The evidence we submitted was all complete. The Emperor first praised us, then scolded me, asking why I hadn't collected evidence of Zhongsun Mou fabricating false testimony, making the Zhongsun family now jump up and down with righteous indignation."

He Lingchuan smiled bitterly. If he could have caught the sore spot of Zhongsun Mou fabricating false testimony, he would have had a way to deal with this merman long ago; would he have needed to scheme to get Zhongsun Mou killed?

Wu Kai had forged the evidence so well that he sent Zhongsun Mou directly to the Yellow Springs.

Fushan Yue added: "Also, he asked about the death of Fushan Ji."

He Lingchuan looked sideways.

"My father announced to the outside world that Fushan Ji died of illness. But I told the Emperor the truth: I killed Fushan Ji." Fushan Yue casually picked up a pear and took a bite. "As a result, I was scolded."

He Lingchuan didn't make a sound. Fushan Yue being able to sit here relaxed showed that the Heavenly Gods and the Demon Emperor didn't truly blame him.

This guy was originally favored by the Heavenly Gods. Now that he had earned the position of Crown Prince himself, everyone was relieved.

"Also." Fushan Yue crunched on the pear. "They already know I've been to the ruins of Thousand Star City."

He Lingchuan's heart sank—sure enough.

"The Emperor asked about my itinerary two months ago." Fushan Yue added. "I figured he knew, and continuing to hide it would be the crime of deceiving the Emperor, so it was better to admit it generously."

He Lingchuan nodded; Fushan Yue had passed this test without any danger.

"The Emperor is very concerned about the second scene of the illusion in the Thousand Star City ruins and asked repeatedly. I think the other case Bai Ziqi is investigating probably has something to do with it." Fushan Yue leaned over and lowered his voice. "Remember this: I didn't mention what I saw in the Yuan King's Palace, only that I strolled around in the Thousand Star City illusion, and it was peaceful and quiet everywhere, and nothing happened."

He Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief, but asked him: "Why?"

"My father said that as long as it involves Twilight Plain and the Yuan State, Lingxu City will go crazy and be unreasonable, preferring to kill the wrong person rather than let one go. Look at what Twilight Plain is like now, and what the descendants of the Yuan State are like now; was my father wrong?" Fushan Yue said. "If I had told the truth about the conversation between the Yuan King and his nephew, the Heavenly Gods and the Emperor would have repeatedly questioned why only the two of us saw it? Even if I had a mouth all over my body, I couldn't prove my innocence."

"Forty years ago, the very year I was born, a court historian writing history and examining the past two hundred years of Beijia spoke two kind words for the Yuan Nation. Just two understated words—" Fushan Yue swallowed. "As a result, the Heavenly God brought down judgment and the Emperor was furious, claiming he was summoning the souls of the Yuan traitorous remnants and whitewashing the rebellious ministers and chaotic party, a crime punishable by death. Originally, they were to execute his three clans, but court officials pleaded for mercy one after another. The Emperor grew even more enraged, killing three of the officials who pleaded and sentencing six to the rod. In the end, this historian was cut in half at the waist in the marketplace and exposed for seven days, while nearly a hundred members of his three clans were hanged; not a single one escaped."

He Lingchuan didn't know what to say: "This is truly..." Willful! "But whenever it involves the Yuan State, the Heavenly Gods and the Emperor are exceptionally hateful. I am about to inherit the position of state monarch and cannot touch this bad luck." Fushan Yue stared at He Lingchuan fiercely. "I have already forgotten about the Yuan King and his nephew; what about you?"

"What did you say?" He Lingchuan blinked blankly. "What nephew? What happened?"

"That's it." Fushan Yue grinned. "I know there were several other merchant caravans in the mountains that night; what they saw must be much the same as ours. Even if Lingxu City sends people to investigate, the testimonies recorded will be the same as mine."

The conversation between the Yuan King and his nephew was known only to him and He Lingchuan. As long as the two didn't speak, this matter simply never happened.

"However, the appearance of the second scene of the illusion—does it really have nothing to do with you?"

"Thousand Star City is already in ruins; can it still recognize a person? Besides, it's my first time in Twilight Plain; why would it be special to me?" He Lingchuan said solemnly. "Maybe it was someone from another merchant caravan, or maybe it was Taozi... She absorbed a large amount of Earthly Yin Qi in Thousand Star City."

Fushan Yue had also thought about this and nodded: "It's possible. Don't let it slip."

"I won't." He Lingchuan also asked him: "Does your father know about this?"

"Of course not!" Did they look like a father and son who were happy and talked about everything? The two simultaneously switched the subject and chatted about the scenery of Lingxu City.

He Lingchuan couldn't help it: "This place is extravagant, even the food is frighteningly expensive. People like luxury, but what about the monsters?"

Fushan Yue laughed loudly: "Soaked in a land of wealth for six hundred years, do you think monsters can't learn to enjoy themselves?"

He pointed to the sky: "The most beautiful garden on Tianji Island belongs to the Zhongsun family. They don't live in the lakes in their territory, but specially carved a lake in the sky, called 'Half-Mountain Hidden Sea,' creating the only underwater garden in the entire Lingxu City."

"Underwater garden?"

"Correct, a garden made of strange stones, sunflower grass, coral, and various fish underwater; it's much more interesting than the one on land." Fushan Yue spat. "These mermen of the Zhongsun family aren't satisfied with just playing by themselves, so they even built glass houses under the lake so that other wealthy nobles can come to their home to watch together."

Isn't that just a large aquarium? He Lingchuan was speechless: "So Zhongsun Mou didn't want to be a good second-generation official and came to oppose us?"

"He was just bored." Fushan Yue said solemnly. "I'm not scolding him. There are as many such official children in Lingxu City who are bored and looking for trouble as there are grains of rice."

The moon was bright tonight, and He Lingchuan looked up at the sky. The figures of the floating islands were clearly visible; they were the great mountains pressing down on everyone's heads.

He sighed.

The next day, someone came to look for He Lingchuan:

"The Heavenly Palace sends a message: He Xiao is to go to the Star-Plucking Tower immediately, no mistakes allowed!"

This group of four or five people stared at He Lingchuan with burning eyes. If he dared to disobey the order, it would be inevitable that he would be carried out.

This matter should have been handled two days ago, but it was snatched away by He Xiao, which was annoying.

Today, they finally found him.

He Lingchuan also knew that as long as he was in Lingxu City, these people were those he couldn't escape after all.

What should come, will come.

But before they finished speaking, Fushan Yue rushed over: "Eh, what's going on?"

"Envoy Bai summons He Xiao to the Star-Plucking Tower to assist in the investigation."

Fushan Yue tightened his belt: "Good, let's go."

These few people didn't move.

Fushan Yue wondered: "Still not going? How long do you want to keep Envoy Bai waiting?"

The leading Lamp-Guarding Envoy said helplessly: "Your Highness, Envoy Bai only summoned He Xiao to go alone."

"I know that." Fushan Yue said as a matter of course. "I, Chiyan, am also a victim, and I also want to understand the progress of the case, so it's just right to go and assist."

The Lamp-Guarding Envoy wanted to say more, but Fushan Yue glared and sneered: "Why, Envoy Bai summoned my Chiyan envoy; is there anything he can't say in front of me?"

Fushan Yue insisted that he also wanted to assist in the case, so the Lamp-Guarding Envoy was helpless against him.

Envoy Bai summoned the Chiyan envoy for questioning but didn't allow the Chiyan Crown Prince to listen in; it wouldn't be appropriate in terms of etiquette either.

So the opportunity the night before last was missed; it was truly a pity.

With Fushan Yue coming forward, He Lingchuan didn't say a word, watching his performance quietly.

The fear of the Heavenly Gods and the Demon Emperor toward the Thousand Star City ruins illusion made Fushan Yue and him even more closely linked. Fushan Yue also didn't want He Lingchuan to be interrogated alone, as it would easily expose secrets.

The situation fell into a stalemate.

At this time, someone else came from outside with his hands behind his back, laughing: "What is this doing?"

It was actually Bai Ziqi who came in person.

"He Xiao and I both want to see the progress of the case." Fushan Yue said calmly. "This case will fall on Lingxu City in the second half; my father sent me to follow up, striving to get to the bottom of it."

He used words to pressure Bai Ziqi. The Anti-Aging Pill case was divided into the first and second halves; the first half was investigated in the Chiyan State, and He Lingchuan had already dragged Cen Boqing out; Bai Ziqi had to take over the second half of the investigation, continuing to dig deep into the black hand behind the scenes.

But the Chiyan State couldn't contribute in the second half, so the state monarch sending the Crown Prince to Lingxu City to follow up was also reasonable.

Even the Chiyan state monarch and other demon kings demanded that Lingxu City give an explanation for this case and give the victimized demon people an account.

So Fushan Yue saying this was righteous and confident.

"His Highness's request is reasonable and legal." Bai Ziqi didn't mind his rhetoric at all, turning to the Lamp-Guarding Envoy: "You all go back."

The subordinates all saluted him and withdrew.

"These boys are unreasonable; they only heard that I wanted to see He Xiao and came to invite him indiscriminately."

The three of them laughed, knowing he was talking nonsense.

Bai Ziqi then pointed outside the door, amiable: "We're all so familiar, no need to go to the Star-Plucking Tower. How about this, I'll host, and we'll have a casual meal at the Qianjin Xiaozhu opposite?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 571 =====