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Chapter 486: Prelude to Creation

Did Liu Yanyan poison this wild man in his tea? she wondered.

"What a venomous woman," Fan Xiaoying thought as she hurried back to the palace after seeing Mr. Shui Jing\'s corpse torn apart.

Back in the palace, Fan Xiaoying tossed and turned, her mind racing. This adulterous woman, already married, had gone out to seduce another man for two months, and after tiring of him, she poisoned him. This woman could not stay by the king\'s side; she was too dangerous. Someday, she might even kill Fan Xiaoying herself, or worse, harm the Great Mysterious King.

Fan Xiaoying had never liked Liu Yanyan much. After what she witnessed, her dislike magnified a hundredfold. That night, Fan Xiaoying couldn\'t sleep. However, she didn\'t immediately tell the Great Mysterious King or Fan Yipin. Concubine jealousy wasn\'t something the king wanted to see, and stalking her sister wives might not only incur the king\'s wrath but also make other concubines wary of her.

Two days later, unable to bear it any longer, Fan Xiaoying saw Liu Yanyan preparing some drinks for the Great Mysterious King and watched with bated breath, afraid there might be poison.

In the king\'s study, Fan Xiaoying broke the silence.

"My lord, Shui Jing is dead!" she exclaimed.

"Huh?" The Great Mysterious King looked up from his documents, puzzled.

"I saw it with my own eyes. Three days ago, Shui Jing died, poisoned..." Fan Xiaoying began to recount.

"Impossible. Who could poison him? Don\'t speak nonsense," the Great Mysterious King interrupted.

"It\'s true. I saw it with my own eyes. The one who poisoned him was..."

The Great Mysterious King frowned at Fan Xiaoying. He knew her character well; she was a sensible woman and wouldn\'t make baseless accusations. But Shui Jing? It was more believable that a powerful enemy killed him rather than being poisoned. Shui Jing\'s wisdom wasn\'t for show.

"Who?" the Great Mysterious King pressed.

"Liu Yanyan!" Fan Xiaoying declared firmly.

The Great Mysterious King\'s pupils contracted sharply. Liu Yanyan? Indeed, only she could have poisoned Shui Jing.

"This woman is too dangerous. And she\'s been behaving improperly lately..." Fan Xiaoying proceeded to tell the Great Mysterious King everything she had "witnessed."

The Great Mysterious King listened in silence, his frown deepening.

"Wait until your brother arrives," the Great Mysterious King said, sitting at his desk with a furrowed brow.

Soon, Fan Yipin, the king\'s chief advisor, was summoned to the study. After understanding the situation, he sent people to search the Ancient Holy Capital, finding no trace of Shui Jing.

After dismissing Fan Xiaoying, Fan Yipin discussed the matter privately with the Great Mysterious King.

"My lord, although Xiaoying is my sister, I won\'t be biased. There are many inconsistencies in her story; we must proceed with caution," Fan Yipin advised.

"Yes," the Great Mysterious King agreed.

"There are two possibilities. One, as Xiaoying said, Liu Yanyan poisoned Shui Jing for your sake, eliminating external interference. This shows her to be extremely cunning. The other possibility is that this is all a setup," Fan Yipin continued.

The Great Mysterious King remained silent, contemplating the situation.

"A trap?" the Great Mysterious King asked.

"Yes, because this involves Zhong Shan. Shui Jing wouldn\'t do something like this, but Zhong Shan would. He wants to separate Liu Yanyan from you and deliberately put on a show for my not-so-bright sister. He aimed to make you neglect Liu Yanyan, allowing Shui Jing to win her heart back," Fan Yipin explained.

"A show?" the Great Mysterious King questioned.

"Yes, but there is a key person in this—Liu Yanyan. If the second possibility is true, then Liu Yanyan is not as wicked as Xiaoying described. Given her feelings for you, she wouldn\'t participate in such a deception. She will tell you everything if you ask. If she isn\'t acting, then everything she says will be true. Thus, a simple test will reveal the truth," Fan Yipin suggested.

"Indeed, it must be one of these two possibilities," the Great Mysterious King agreed.

That evening, the Great Mysterious King summoned Liu Yanyan to probe the truth.

"Yanyan, I\'ve heard that you\'ve been meeting with Shui Jing these past two months?" the Great Mysterious King asked.

"Forgive me, my lord," Liu Yanyan admitted, feeling no need to lie to him.

"I won\'t blame you. I just don\'t want you to see him again," the Great Mysterious King sighed, observing her expression.

A flash of pain crossed Liu Yanyan\'s face as she said, "Never again. You will never see him again."

Liu Yanyan remembered Shui Jing\'s words. He said he was leaving and wouldn\'t return. Since he wouldn\'t be coming back, naturally, the Great Mysterious King wouldn\'t see him again.

However, to the Great Mysterious King\'s ears, this sounded like a revelation. "Never see him again"? Could it be that Shui Jing was already dead? Such certainty and finality could only mean she knew this for sure. And her expression, filled with deep reminiscence, suggested profound sorrow. If Shui Jing had merely left, she wouldn\'t be this distressed. Only his death could explain such depth of emotion. But the Great Mysterious King could not have known that Liu Yanyan\'s deep melancholy was not only for Shui Jing but also for the sixty paintings, sixty melodies, a guqin, and a deeply cherished love rekindled.

Believing he had "understood everything," the Great Mysterious King\'s attitude toward Liu Yanyan turned cold.

"You may go. I don\'t need your service tonight," he said coldly.

Liu Yanyan, bewildered, sighed and left, not understanding what had gone wrong. She hadn\'t lied.

From that day, Liu Yanyan noticed the Great Mysterious King\'s attitude changing. He became more distant.

Fan Xiaoying, knowing the "truth," began to sow discord, spreading rumors and subtly informing the other concubines. The concubines kept silent but united against Liu Yanyan, filling her life with gossip and isolation.

The concubines, after confirming the story\'s authenticity, whispered incessantly in the Great Mysterious King\'s ear.

The Great Mysterious King\'s palace turned into a battlefield of intrigue. Liu Yanyan, unable to defend herself, found herself increasingly isolated and was eventually confined to the cold palace.

From the harsh words of the other concubines to the Great Mysterious King\'s cold treatment, Liu Yanyan\'s heart broke. She saw through everything, realizing that the Great Mysterious King\'s affection was merely a reflection of his feelings for Shui Jing. She was just a pawn.

With that, Zhong Shan\'s second phase of the plan succeeded.

Liu Yanyan\'s heartache made her see through the world\'s illusions. Though her feelings for the Great Mysterious King persisted, they began to fade with time, becoming ever more distant.

In her despair, Liu Yanyan still had supporters among the Great Mysterious King\'s followers, but their respect waned. With the tree fallen, the monkeys scattered; her former allies quickly turned into spies for the other concubines, reporting her every move.

Indeed, as the saying goes, extreme yin gives birth to yang, and extreme opposites ultimately reverse. Even amidst the ashes, there remains a spark of hope. For the Great Mysterious King, that spark was Shui Jing. This tiny flame of hope sustained Liu Yanyan, preventing her from collapsing entirely. However, this hope felt distant, as Shui Jing had said he would never return.

Liu Yanyan declared that she was returning to the Yuheng Sect, her birthplace, intending to spend the rest of her life there. The Great Mysterious King did not stop her, and the other concubines were more than happy to see her leave sooner rather than later.

Thus, Liu Yanyan left, taking with her the spark of hope, leaving the Ancient Holy Capital behind.

As for whether the Great Mysterious King or the other concubines would harm her, Zhong Shan didn\'t concern himself with that. Liu Yanyan\'s journey back would inevitably lead her to "coincidentally" meet Shui Jing again.

In the Eastern Mansion, Zhong Shan and Gu Qianyou discussed the recent developments.

"So, you\'ve gained another strategist," Gu Qianyou said with a smile.

"It\'s the will of heaven! I\'m merely following the flow," Zhong Shan replied, his mood bright, joining in the lighthearted banter.

"How many girls have you tricked with this method?" Gu Qianyou asked, suddenly turning serious.

"None at all. I\'m very upright," Zhong Shan quickly replied.

"Pfft!" Gu Qianyou burst into laughter.

"What\'s so funny?"

"You, upright? You\'re wicked to the core," Gu Qianyou said, though her tone softened, her face flushing as she saw Zhong Shan\'s playful smile.

"I heard the four crown princes have been summoned to the Ancient Sacred Hall?" Zhong Shan suddenly remembered something.

"Yes, the Holy Emperor has something to discuss with them privately," Gu Qianyou nodded.

"At the final moment, what could he be discussing? Could it be the method to elevate the dynasty?" Zhong Shan pondered, frowning.

"The method to elevate the dynasty?" Gu Qianyou\'s brow furrowed as she considered the possibility. At such a critical time, what else could warrant a secret meeting with the four crown princes?

"The Holy Emperor is making contingency plans. This doesn\'t seem right," Zhong Shan said with a hint of worry.

"What\'s not right?" Gu Qianyou asked.

"To create a new world, to battle the heavens, it\'s either you die or I perish. Either the heavens or the Holy Emperor must die. At this moment, there should be no contingency plans. If it were me, I would charge forward without hesitation. Victory is the only option. All preparations should be for victory. If you can\'t convince yourself, how can you expect fate to be on your side?"

"You\'re talking about self-deception."

"No, this mindset is crucial. Even if you\'re weak, you must move forward with unwavering determination. Body, mind, spirit, intent, and will—all must be focused on advancing without hesitation. The Holy Emperor, if he\'s only seeking immortality, it\'s one thing to teach the method for dynasty elevation, but creating a new world is different. It requires immense courage. I hope the Holy Emperor isn\'t preparing his last will and testament," Zhong Shan said, deeply concerned.

Gu Qianyou nodded thoughtfully, understanding the gravity of Zhong Shan\'s perspective. The success of such a monumental endeavor depended heavily on the unyielding spirit and absolute conviction of the leader.