Chapter 232: Death and Rebirth

The corpse indeed tested positive for the mind‑altering drug!

Moreover, when compared with the mind‑altering drug in Zhao Hao's sachet kept by the Ministry of Justice, it turned out to be exactly the same kind!

Meng Yuan and Meng Qian were both greatly startled.

Only then did they realize, and the truth seemed even more shocking than they had previously imagined!

"Zhao Yan, how do you explain this?"

Meng Qian asked in a deep voice.

Everyone also stared at Zhao Yan, their hearts full of doubt.

Ye Qingran's earlier words not only cleared most of her own suspicion, but also pointed every accusation toward Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan's heart hardened, "Even if the mind‑altering drug in Meng Yao's body is the same as that in Zhao Hao's sachet, so what? That doesn't prove this matter is necessarily linked to me! But you, Ye Qingran, how do you know so many details? Could it be that you deliberately used the same drug to frame me?"

She actually turned the accusation back on Ye Qingran.

Many people, hearing Zhao Yan's words, nodded on their own, finding them very reasonable.

Zhao Yan knew she had cleaned up the crime traces thoroughly, even silencing all participants; only she and Ye Huanhuan knew the truth, so as long as she clung to it, no one else could prove that she killed Meng Yao!

Unless Meng Yao comes back to life!

But that can never happen!

However, she also knew that after this uproar, before more solid evidence appears, Ye Qingran could not be thrown back into Heaven Prison!

She harbored extreme hatred.

Clearly she had made everything flawless, with much evidence pointing to Ye Qingran, yet in the end she herself cleared each point!

"The reason I know this is, of course, because someone told me…" Ye Qingran said ambiguously.

Zhao Yan's pupils instantly contracted, and she instinctively looked at Ye Huanhuan.

Besides her, only Ye Huanhuan knew the truth.

Could it be that Ye Huanhuan told Ye Qingran?

Ye Huanhuan, seeing Zhao Yan's gaze, tensed instantly and shook her head at her.

How could she have told Ye Qingran about this?

It must be that Ye Qingran deliberately sowed discord!

The senior National Master had long noticed the two's oddity. In his mind, he instantly understood that Meng Yao was likely killed jointly by these two women.

At this moment, with his supreme cultivation, he heard the mental transmission Ye Huanhuan sent to Zhao Yan.

"Don't trust her! She's sowing discord between us; you must believe me. I could never speak of this matter!"

The National Master lifted his lip slightly, showing a 'I see' expression.

Reason told Zhao Yan she shouldn't trust Ye Qingran's words. Yet at this moment, her thinking was not wholly guided by reason; emotion strongly struck her in some respects…

Clearly it was she and Ye Huanhuan who plotted Meng Yao's murder, so why is Ye Huanhuan now safe while she is forced to endure so many doubts, isolated and helpless?

Why did Ye Huanhuan then promise her that if she killed Meng Yao, she would help her eliminate Ye Sisi?

Ye Sisi is her own younger sister; would she really cause her sister's death for an outsider like herself?

Could it be…

Is Ye Huanhuan actually helping Ye Sisi? Is her purpose to get rid of herself?

Once that thought formed, Zhao Yan felt waves of dread, like a demonic melody echoing repeatedly in her mind.

Seeing Zhao Yan's expression, Ye Huanhuan thought inwardly that it was bad, yet she could do nothing but silently curse Ye Qingran, calling her a scoundrel for ruining her plans!

Mu Qingrou noticed Ye Huanhuan's oddity, her gaze flickered briefly, as if recalling something; she lowered her eyes slightly, and when she lifted them again, a chill filled her gaze.

"Ye Qingran, Zhao Yan also said that the mind‑altering drug in Meng Yao might have been placed there by you deliberately, with the purpose of framing Zhao Yan! That doesn't indicate any fault in Zhao Yan; rather, it shows how malicious and scheming you are!"

Gu Huanghou spoke at this moment: "Indeed, Ye Qingran, what you just said at most relates to the case of Zhao Yan and Zhao Hao, and does not prove any connection to Meng Yao's death. On the contrary, you, having disclosed so many details, make my palace doubt whether you truly are the murderer; otherwise, how could you know so much?"

As Gu Huanghou spoke, she squinted, and a cold gleam poured out from the corners of her eyes!

Ye Huanhuan clenched her fist, unable to bear it, "Ye Qingran, you said so much—where's the evidence?" She refused to believe and demanded strong proof!

A faint glimmer flashed in Zhao Yan's eyes, like a drowning person clutching a lifeline.

Indeed, Ye Qingran's many words were merely speculation or deduction; she had no evidence! Unless Meng Yao comes back to life, no one will ever believe she killed Meng Yao!

As for Ye Huanhuan…

Zhao Yan squinted, a hint of deeper meaning passing through her eyes…

"You want evidence, don't you?" Ye Qingran's lip curled with a sharp edge.

That mysterious, evil demeanor made Fu Hanxiu's heart itch; his star‑like eyes instantly turned terrifyingly black, and he couldn't help but develop a seductive thought…

He was also helpless; the self‑control he had always prided himself on was merely a façade before this woman!

Her slightest move could cause his reason to crumble.

Damn Little Fairy!

Ye Qingran scanned the surroundings, and under the gazes of many, she uttered a startling sentence.

"If I say Meng Yao didn't die, would you believe me?"

When those words were spoken, the effect was like a massive stone thrown into a calm water surface, sending ripples upon ripples!

Meng Yao didn't die?!

Everyone's eyes widened, clearly showing the horror within.

Especially Ye Huanhuan and Zhao Yan were most shocked.

If earlier they could maintain composure with reason, now that reason has been shattered, their facial expressions are no longer under control…

Shock? Horror? Fear? Despair?

All in all, it's extremely thrilling.

Of course, the most agitated were the father‑daughter pair Meng Yuan and Meng Qian.

Meng Yuan let out a loud shout, the gleam in his eyes dazzlingly bright, "What did you say? Yao'er is still alive?"

Meng Qian was shocked into silence, until Meng Yuan's shout startled her awake.

She hurriedly grabbed Ye Qingran's both arms, eyes flashing like lightning, "You say my sister hasn't died? Is that true?!" The excitement in her tone was so intense that her words trembled.

At this moment, she no longer cared who the murderer was; as long as her sister was alive, nothing else mattered! Even if she had to trade her own life for her sister's, she would not hesitate.

"What? Meng Yao hasn't died? Is it real?"

"Ye Qingran must be crazy, right? Didn't General Meng even find the corpse? How could she not be dead?"

"Indeed, General Meng and Second Miss Meng couldn't possibly fail to recognize Meng Yao's corpse, right?"

……

After the massive shock, the crowd murmured endlessly, and the vast Yuhua Yuan instantly became noisy.

Zhao Yan recalled the words Ye Qingran had just spoken, and felt a chilling dread upon close reflection.

If those details weren't what she had uncovered, could it be…

Zhao Yan's heart sank to the bottom of a valley, a ringing filled her ears, and she could no longer discern other sounds.

"Ye Qingran, you have such nerve, speaking nonsense before His Majesty—do you know this is the crime of deceiving the ruler?!" Ye Huanhuan shouted boldly. She didn't believe that a person already dead could return to life!

Gu Huanghou, after hearing, also wore a face as still as water, "Ye Qingran, Meng Yao's corpse has already been found; how could General Meng fail to recognize Meng Yao's corpse? Since Meng Yao is dead, how could she possibly be revived? This is a crime of deceiving the ruler; you should be executed along with the Nine Clans!"

……

Others also began to voice doubts.

Everyone's words, one after another, gradually doused the hopeful fire that had barely risen in Meng Yuan and Meng Qian's hearts.

The gleam in Meng Yuan's eyes dimmed, gradually turning into a cold ray of despair.

Indeed, even the corpse of his own daughter, reduced to ash, he still recognized!

That corpse is his daughter Meng Yao!

Meng Qian and Meng Yuan share the same thought.

Her sister's clavicle had a crack; they had just examined it, and indeed the corpse's clavicle bore the same crack.