Chapter 78 A Dream: The Answer
Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.
When Yueying heard those three words, her pupils instinctively contracted.
By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late to suppress my emotions.
Tang Yu saw this and a faint smile played on her lips, a silent mockery.
Is it hard to guess?
At that moment, a night wind suddenly rose, causing the candlelight in the room to flicker wildly, reflecting the panic she was trying so hard to hide.
Yueying knelt on the ground, her face as pale as paper, yet she stubbornly refused to admit it: "It wasn't him."
Tang Yu glanced coldly at her, her body tense, her slender hands digging into the ground until they almost drew blood.
"Then who should I guess?"
One sentence plunged the room into silence once more. Everyone had different expressions as they secretly pondered the possible identity of the person behind the scenes.
"Why is it King Xia Nan?" Wang Shanyue thought for a long time but was still confused, so he frowned and asked.
“Since she has already admitted to her relationship with the Prefect of Xia Nan, why isn’t Xue Qingshu the one pulling the strings behind the scenes? Besides… the official family and the royal family of Xia Nan are completely different systems with different responsibilities and even more different powers.”
He paused, puzzled, and said, "King Xia Nan has almost no real power."
Wang Shanyue said this not to question Tang Yu, but because she might not be familiar with the power structure of Xia Nan.
Back then, King Xia Nan, as the ruler of the Nanzhao Kingdom, was the first to take the initiative to seek peace and submit to the Great Xia. Emperor Wen of Chu granted him the title of Prince in order to persuade other small states to surrender.
Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.
Emperor Wen of Chu was naturally wary of him, so he never granted King Xia Nan any real power.
Therefore, in the eyes of the government, the King of Xia Nan was nothing more than a Xia Nan citizen of slightly higher status.
Wang Shanyue continued, "Although King Xia Nan was busy with both the Blood Well case and the plague, wasn't that also because the prefect wasn't doing his job properly..."
Xiao Fangliang interrupted him, his voice light and steady, yet carrying an undeniable chill: "But isn't what you're saying precisely the point of suspicion surrounding King Xia Nan?"
"Suspicious points?" Wang Shanyue turned his head in surprise and hurriedly asked, "A Liang, do you also think it's him?"
“My initial suspicions only extended to the Xia Nan Prince’s residence. That’s why I insisted that you personally entrust the task of sending a message to the Tang Clan to Yan Keli,” Xiao Fangliang said calmly.
"As you said, the Xia Nan government has soldiers and power, so why is it that whenever something strange happens, the King of Xia Nan always has to step in to resolve everything? Even if the prefect is incompetent, and there are no capable people to be found in this vast Xia Nan, then behind him is our great Xia. Could it be that even if we report to the court, they can't send out any capable ministers?"
"Perhaps he's afraid of getting into trouble? Or maybe he's afraid of being blamed by the imperial court?" Wang Shanyue speculated.
Xiao Fangliang raised an eyebrow. "If all matters are handled by a prince of a different surname, won't the court blame us when they investigate?"
Wang Shanyue was stunned, unable to think of a rebuttal for a moment, and could only ask dryly, "But if he really is the mastermind, why not just stand by and watch? Why does he have to be so concerned, helping Xia Nan solve the Blood Well problem and worrying about this epidemic?"
"I ask you, what did King Xia Nan gain by resolving all of this?" Xiao Fangliang asked seriously.
Wang Shanyue asked, puzzled, "Wh...what?"
"Of course, it's trust."
Looking at the mountains, my heart felt as if it had been struck by a muffled thunderclap.
"It's not just our trust, but the trust of all the people of Xia Nan."
Xiao Fangliang's eyes darkened slightly as he coldly stated what could be considered a fatal fact: "These events, seemingly forced upon King Xia Nan, are in fact a charade deliberately staged by him and the government for the outside world. Now, compared to the government officials who only flatter and do nothing, King Xia Nan is seen by the people as someone who is courageous in taking responsibility and possesses both virtue and talent."
"What he gained was the hearts of the people."
The moment these words were spoken, the wind slammed against the windowpane, and the candlelight snapped open with a "pop," making the entire room unusually quiet.
Everyone finally realized that it was different from what Nan Yue wanted—the overthrow of the kingdom.
What King Xia Nan wanted were subjects who were willing to support him as king.
In the silence that filled the room, Yueying let out a soft snort.
"It's all just your wild guesses. Tang Yu, you're destined to lose."
Tang Yu's expression was complicated.
She always felt that Yueying liked to treat people like fools. Since she could confidently name the King of Xia Nan, there must be a reason, but there was no need to explain to her and waste her breath.
"As for whether I will lose, why don't you come with us to the Xia Nan Prince's Mansion?"
*
Leading Yueying, the group hurried through the night, through the slightly uneasy, sleeping streets of Xia Nan.
The wind swept across the rooftops like a knife, making the air throughout the city tremble.
Upon arriving at the Prince's residence, Xie Xingzheng, who was at the front, raised his hand to signal everyone to stop.
Because the huge palace was not only brightly lit, but also filled with countless black-clad Gu people.
Now, no explanation is needed; the facts before us are irrefutable proof that King Xia Nan is the mastermind behind everything.
Standing behind those black-clad Gu people was Xia Nan Wang, who was dressed neatly and composed.
There was no trace of panic on his face, nor was his usual kind smile; instead, his eyes revealed a hint of anticipation and bloodlust.
Looking at his current demeanor and expression, who could connect him with the kind and honest prince who was once so polite and courteous? Who would have thought that his haggard and emaciated appearance due to the epidemic in Xia Nan was just a facade?
Wang Shanyue roared in fury: "It really was you!"
King Xia Nan wore a faint smile: "Naturally it is me. It's just a pity that you should have all died with confusion, instead of appearing here."
His gaze shifted to Tang Yu, suddenly turning cold as he sighed, "As expected, I failed to kill you back then. Now, you've truly ruined my grand plan."
"But..." His eyes were full of inquisitive interest as he chuckled, "I consider myself to be quite careful and discreet in my actions, but I'm quite curious how you guessed it was about me?"
“You did hide it very well. Although I was puzzled when the Blood Well case happened, I didn’t think much of it at the time. The Xia Nan Prince’s Mansion was located in a bustling area of the city, far away from the pollution source Mangshan and without any converging water veins. Why did a Blood Well appear there? But I didn’t think much of it then. Later, after leaving Xia Nan, the things I encountered were closely related to the Southern Frontier, which completely diverted my attention.”
Tang Yu curled her lips and continued to explain slowly, "Even when you returned to Xia Nan this time, your haggard and thin appearance due to the plague was very convincing and did not arouse my suspicion."
"So what exactly is it that made you realize something was wrong?" King Xia Nan's interest was also piqued.
Tang Yu looked at him calmly: "Naturally, they are the servants of the Prince's mansion."
Upon hearing this, King Xia Nan laughed instead: "I killed all those people. Does the Holy Maiden of Nan Yue have the ability to communicate with ghosts?"
Tang Yu shook her head. "According to your account, the Prince's mansion was looted by people from the Southern Frontier. They not only stole valuables but also massacred many of the servants. Afterward, most of the remaining servants fled for their lives, is that correct?"
"So what if it is?"
"With so many servants escaping, surely someone will see them? And surely someone will notice how those corpses are being disposed of?" Tang Yu retorted.
"You didn't actually go looking for him, did you?" King Xia Nan narrowed his eyes, somewhat suspicious.
No, not at all.
Tang Yu smiled slightly and continued, "However, I learned some strange things from the people around the Prince's Mansion."
"Originally, I just wanted to know more about Yueying's movements that night. After asking, I found that no one had heard any strange noises from the Xia Nan Prince's Mansion that night. Even the common people never saw anyone escape from the mansion, or you dispose of the corpses."
King Xia Nan's expression changed.
"Even though it was a night raid, with so many people to kill, surely not even a single scream could have been heard?" Tang Yu asked.
“Perhaps, the people of Southern Xinjiang have used medicine to silently kill everyone in my Xia Nan Royal Palace,” said the King of Xia Nan.
“That is indeed possible, but…” Tang Yu raised his hand and pointed towards the warehouse, “It would be almost impossible to transport such a huge amount of wealth out of the city at night without alerting the people and the government, wouldn’t it?”
King Xia Nan was stunned. He finally realized that the flaw in Tang Yu's statement was not the missing servants, but the fact that there was no one, or even a corpse, to corroborate what happened that night.
"At that time, I suspected that there might be a secret passage in the Prince's mansion to transport these valuables and corpses out. But this only made me suspicious of the Xia Nan Prince's mansion, not enough to confirm that you were the person behind it."
Tang Yu sighed and slowly said, "What truly made me certain it was you was the appearance of the Gu Master."
"A Gu person?" King Xia Nan asked, puzzled.
"Back then, in order to spread the plague, the people of Southern Xinjiang first had to send live fetuses into Xia Nan. After the mice grew up and emerged from the bodies, they would then be used to create blood midges within the bodies a second time. So when and how were these Gu people, who appeared in various parts of Xia Nan, transported into Xia Nan? If they were Gu people cultivated in the city, how could so many be raised without anyone noticing?"
Tang Yu looked at him coldly, "The answer is obvious."
"You not only use secret passages to transport war supplies, but also to transport Gu people. Perhaps those who died in the Xia Nan Prince's Mansion have now become materials for you to cultivate Gu people."
King Xia Nan suddenly burst into laughter, his eyes full of admiration: "Not bad."
He paced among the puppet-like Gu people, his eyes gleaming as if admiring his most prized creation.
Then, he reached out and removed the mask from the Gu man in front of him, revealing a pale, ordinary human face.
Unlike the emaciated, eerie Gu people they had seen before, their skin looked no different from that of ordinary people.
He said with fascination, "Look, this is the kind of truly mature Gu master that only I can make."
"I see." Tang Yu looked at the Gu figure and raised an eyebrow. "The method of making Gu figures... so it was you who provided it to Yueying."
"I originally didn't want to share such a secret recipe with others." King Xia Nan smiled calmly and said with emotion, "Unfortunately, those old fogies who were hoping to bring down the country with 'Moon Dream' refused to kill you, so I had no choice but to use this number to support Yue Ying in killing you. It's just that she failed, otherwise, it would have saved a lot of trouble."
He chuckled and glanced at the crowd. "Fortunately, since the Blood Well case, I have never underestimated your abilities. That's why I didn't go to the south of the city with Xue Qingshu tonight. Otherwise, I would have truly become a sitting duck for you."
"You recognized me back then?" Tang Yu asked, somewhat surprised.
"I knew you would come, but I didn't expect you to come so soon."
He smiled enigmatically: "Back then, the little thief who sneaked into the Prince's mansion to steal medicine... was you, wasn't he? It's just a pity that General Xie was in the mansion at the time, so no matter which force we used, there was a risk of being exposed prematurely."
"So, I planned to spread the news that Xue Jin was in the Xia Nan Prince's Mansion, and then lure you to come again. But unexpectedly, you infiltrated the Wang Family Escort Team ahead of time, making it difficult for me to take action." He sighed, seemingly with genuine regret: "After missing two good opportunities, I ordered that Xue Jin be handed over to the Southern Frontier delegation, so that they could take it to Zhongjing as tribute."
No wonder.
Tang Yu suddenly realized: "No wonder the people of Southern Xinjiang were so sure that I would see the Blood Hibiscus appear in the Floating Light Ceremony. No wonder when we were in the Lower City, Yue Ying clearly knew that I was Yue Qimeng, which is why she wanted to kill me, but the blind old man seemed to be overjoyed. It turns out that you and the people of Southern Yue are not of the same mind."
King Xia Nan nodded and praised loudly, "You are truly intelligent."
Tang Yu remained indifferent and continued to deduce: "So, because you couldn't kill me back then, and the Beauty Ruins were destroyed, you were willing to go to great lengths to teach Yueying the Gu-making method. You hoped that she could completely kill us before Xie Xingzheng and I returned to the Tang Clan."
King Xia Nan remained calm: "That's right."
"But how do you know that I am the same Yue Qimeng from back then?" Tang Yu still had a question.
"because……"
King Xia Nan curled his lips into a smile, his tone pleasant yet chilling, "Back then, it was I who sent people to hunt you down to Yunling Mountain."
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