If it truly succeeded, it would prove that He Lingchuan could now think from the perspective of the Heavenly Palace, the Demon Emperor, and National Preceptor Qingyang.
The more closely his thinking synchronized with theirs, the better he could understand them.
"Th-that still isn't right, though," the mirror said, catching a flaw. "How long has it been since Nian Zanli defected to Beijia? National Preceptor Qingyang has run her elixir of immortality enterprise for years. Claiming he is the source of the divine blood doesn't match the timeline. Pushing Nian Zanli forward to take the fall—wouldn't any discerning eye see through that?"
"Discerning eyes?" He Lingchuan asked. "Who are these discerning eyes you're talking about?"
"Uh..." The mirror froze. "Aren't all those people out there watching with eyes wide open?"
"The elixir of immortality case might be causing a tremendous uproar and setting tongues wagging everywhere, but do commoners know the actual formula for the elixir?"
"Well... probably not." The mirror had heard all sorts of versions of the elixir's recipe circulating outside. The most extravagant claimed that aside from pulp beads refined from demon bodies, it required ten-thousand-year lingzhi, ten-thousand-year holly, blood from pure-yang virgin boys, and ancient immortals' fingernails and urine.
Did any versions mention "divine blood"? Naturally, some did. But lost amid the multitude of sensationalist rumors, it lacked shock value and failed to catch the imagination, so few believed it.
He Lingchuan went over to pour some water. "Have you ever seen them care where the divine blood came from?"
To ordinary folk, "divine blood" was far too remote; they had no real concept of it, and the authorities certainly would not guide or educate them on the matter. Their attention and outrage focused entirely on the "pulp beads." Because pulp beads were extracted alive from ordinary demonfolk, cruel and utterly inhuman, anyone could understand it, and everyone was filled with righteous fury.
"Those who know for sure that divine blood serves as the medicinal primer are all insiders," He Lingchuan said flatly. "The dignitaries of Lingxu City know, the noble lineages know, and some students at the Imperial College might know. Which of them do you think will march up to the Heavenly Palace to protest that Nian Zanli was framed and that the divine blood came from somewhere else? What good would that do them?"
"..."
Nian Zanli was merely a surrendered general with no roots or connections in Lingxu City. He was indeed the ideal sacrificial lamb.
"Spectators looking for excitement won't speak up, and those implicated certainly won't bring it up." He Lingchuan shrugged. "Didn't I just explain? Pinning the blame on Dong Rui or Nian Zanli is complete nonsense either way. Do you think any of them don't realize Nian Zanli is innocent?"
"Well... even if they ignore Nian Zanli, can't National Preceptor Shuangye's faction come forward to object?"
"If the guilt doesn't fall on Nian Zanli, tracing the source of the divine blood means continuing to investigate Dong Rui. Would National Preceptor Shuangye allow that?" With Dong Rui's snail-toad involved, National Preceptor Shuangye was hardly clean in this affair.
That was why he refused to be dragged in personally.
To steer Bai Ziqi toward the key witness, Kong Jiaxiang, National Preceptor Shuangye had even borrowed forces from a foreign state and engaged He Lingchuan to step in.
"Then will the god behind National Preceptor Shuangye let it drop?"
"Since the Demon Emperor personally escorted National Preceptor Qingyang up Mount Xu, it means the Demon Emperor and the Lingxu celestial gods have each given ground and reached a compromise," He Lingchuan shook his head. "I don't know the specifics, but it's nothing more than that business with the divine blood. Hunting demons for pulp beads alone would never bring down National Preceptor Qingyang."
"There's one other faction: the vassal demon kingdoms," he added. "But all they want is to drag National Preceptor Qingyang into the light and embarrass Lingxu City. Why would they care who Nian Zanli is? Those in power understand the essence of focusing on the big picture and letting the small things slide."
When the main parties involved no longer pursued the matter and had each achieved their aims, did the truth still matter?
"You see, in a sensational affair shaking all of Beijia, the attackers want their goal, the participants want to protect their interests, and only ordinary people want the truth," He Lingchuan said languidly. "Unfortunately, the more desperately someone wants the truth, the further they end up from it."
There were always secrets outsiders could never touch.
The mirror sighed. "What if you're wrong? What if an upright official really speaks out and insists on getting to the bottom of it?"
"Why not wait and see?" He Lingchuan smiled. "Man proposes, Heaven disposes. What plan is ever guaranteed a hundred percent? Even taking a few steps back, suppose Nian Zanli doesn't end up the scapegoat; he is already linked to the elixir case and the divine blood. Given the administrative efficiency of Lingxu City, do you think they'll release him back to Xunzhou within six months?"
"Hmm..." That seemed unlikely.
"Even if he eventually leaves Lingxu City, it won't be for the better part of a year, and he'll be stripped to the bone even if he survives. With that much time, won't his rivals have plenty of opportunities to scheme and devise a few more ways to ruin him?" He Lingchuan bared his teeth in a cold grin. "It won't end until he's dead."
The mirror fell silent.
After finishing his water, He Lingchuan tossed the cup onto the table. "Heh, an ancient capital of six hundred years."
Even a man like Nian Zanli, who threw the entire Yuan Kingdom into turmoil, couldn't keep his footing in Lingxu City and got swept into the vortex. What chance did a small fry like himself have?
He Lingchuan had long harbored the desire to leave.
Once his business was done, how could he make a clean getaway?
***
Starting the following day, bits and pieces of news reached He Lingchuan from various channels. Some came from Old Ge, some from Fang Canran, and some were dug up by those scholars from the Lingxu Imperial College—after all, several of them already held posts in the royal court or under high-ranking officials.
Yet all remained quiet on Li Qingge's end.
He Lingchuan knew this was to avoid suspicion. After Nian Zanli's arrest, he had tried to drag her down even without evidence. Because Li Qingge had no ties to the elixir case, Lingxu City did not haul her in for questioning, but they might well have placed Songyang Mansion under secret surveillance.
At a time like this, the further He Lingchuan stayed from her, the better.
Fortunately, everything he had commissioned from Songyang Mansion was already in hand. Moreover, Old Shan had delivered another item:
The Dragon-Torture Pillar.
The Dragon-Torture Pillar Li Qingge had dispatched her people to deliver had made a round trip to the Wange Marsh and was back with its original owner, He Lingchuan.
The Dragon-Torture Pillar looked no different than before, except that inside was a swirl of dark-red liquid and vapor.
He had asked Old Shan; to the old servant, the pillar's glazed crystal tube looked entirely clear and empty.
Indeed, it was nightmare energy, invisible to ordinary eyes.
He Lingchuan had created the Dragon-Torture Pillar and had Li Qingge send it to the Wange Marsh merely to divert the attention of the Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City. He had never expected it to harvest a substantial amount of nightmare energy on its return.
"What happened in the Wange Marsh?" Only the death of vast numbers of living beings could allow the Dragon-Torture Pillar to gather so much nightmare energy in such a short time.
"Ah, I heard a plague of pests broke out across the Wange Forest—devouring people, trees, and livestock. At its worst, entire villages and towns were wiped out. The Ju Kingdom has been at its wit's end," Old Shan said. "The people the Marquis sent only stayed a single night, didn't dare get too close, and hurried straight back."
"A pest infestation?" The world truly held no shortage of wonders. Pests could eat humans alive now?
With so much on his plate, however, he had no time to dwell on it. The return of the Dragon-Torture Pillar was an unexpected bonus.
Now, with National Preceptor Qingyang under arrest, all of Lingxu City had turned into a massive vortex of public opinion.
The common folk were thrilled as if injected with chicken blood, churning out one conspiracy theory essay after another. People across the city began anticipating and looking forward to seeing which powerful nobles would fall in this terrifying tempest.
They didn't know the truth, but they longed to see splendid mansions topple overnight.
In contrast to the lower city, where residents grabbed stools to watch the spectacle, the upper city of Lingxu was shrouded in an atmosphere of dread and unease, with nerves fraying everywhere.
First, certain dignitaries quietly sent their families out of the capital.
This was likely an aftershock of National Preceptor Qingyang's arrest. Some feared she would implicate them, while others had previously backed her faction and now feared retaliation from her rivals.
The news from Fang Canran was concise and definitive:
*Governor of Xunzhou Nian Zanli was abruptly taken from his residence by the Minister of Justice and Duyun Emissaries, and has now been transferred to the Yang Palace on Mount Xu.*
Few words, immense import.
He Lingchuan immediately grasped the profound implications.
Only criminals who had offended the gods were sent to the Yang Palace. Furthermore, Fang Canran used the phrasing "transferred," indicating Nian Zanli had been routed through an intermediate stop after his arrest—most likely demanded directly by the celestial gods for transfer to the Yang Palace.
Unlike National Preceptor Qingyang, he enjoyed no protection from the Demon Emperor. What awaited him in the Yang Palace was something He Lingchuan dared not even imagine.
The soul-snatching mirror was shocked upon hearing this. "National Preceptor Qingyang actually testified against him?"
"Otherwise, he should be in the Imperial Prison. Why would he be rushed off to the Yang Palace so swiftly? Even if someone wanted to help him, they've lost their chance." Heh, six hundred years of bureaucracy. "Have a safe journey, scapegoat."
Nian Zanli had borrowed troops but could no longer deploy them. The Yuan Kingdom was likely safe for the moment, and Xiazhou, under He Chunhua's governance, was spared the scourge of war.
Though the road had been winding and a few hiccups had occurred along the way, the matter had ultimately concluded according to plan.
He had delivered an answer to Li Qingge, to the Yuan Kingdom, and to himself.
He Lingchuan would never forget that he and his father had faced life and death in the Panlong Desert because Nian Zanli sent his son to fake a royal decree.
Now, this personal score was finally settled.
A gentleman's revenge was never too late, even after ten years.
Moreover, with Nian Zanli unable to return to Xunzhou, he could not coordinate with the rebel army of Grand Marshal Dong Haoming in western Yuan, greatly easing the pressure on the kingdom.
Having gained experience and perspective over time, He Lingchuan looked down on the ways of the Yuan royal court, yet he still had no wish to see the country plunged into the fires of war.
When armies clashed, it was always the common people who suffered most.
Next, he needed to attend to his own business. Dong Rui was already being watched; remaining here an extra day meant an extra risk of discovery.
That evening, as He Lingchuan returned to Pianxiang Villa, he ran into Fu Shanyue rushing out.
The fellow's hat was crooked without him even realizing it, and a servant was standing on tiptoe trying to straighten it for him.
Surprised, He Lingchuan asked, "What's the rush?"
Fu Shanyue grabbed him. "You're back just in time! Hurry up and come watch the show with me!"
Seeing his restless, eager expression, He Lingchuan asked, "What show?" What could make the Crown Prince of Chiyan cast aside all reserve?
Not that Fu Shanyue had ever had anything to do with "reserve" to begin with.
"I'll tell you on the way!" His mount was already waiting outside, and Fu Shanyue leaped onto it. "If we get there late, we'll miss it, and that would be a crying shame!"
Chapter 676