Jiang Yucheng answered naturally, “Others don’t know what the Princess was thinking, but everyone knew that the next day was also her ascension ceremony, other than her wedding. Perhaps she did this to hold up the Tianling Power Staff and stand at the top in a better position. Besides, she had a Tianjing Yuan meridian. For normal cultivators, breaking through to become a stage-nine warrior might be something they can only wish for in their lives. However, it might be much easier for her.”
This made sense.
Not long after the Princess was born, she was tested to have a Tianjing Yuan meridian. Ever since then, she had been the top talent in the entire Tianling Dynasty. No matter as a warrior, Xuan Master, or a heavenly doctor, she had a lot of potential!
If she had such thoughts, it wasn’t strange.
Chu Liuyue nodded in deep thought and then asked, “Since this is so, why would the Princess go to the ancestral hall instead of cultivating at her own place if she had planned on focusing on her cultivation? I recall that the Tianling royal family’s ancestral hall was also ruined because of this, right?”
“As the descendant to the Tianling Dynasty’s throne, what’s wrong with the Princess going to the ancestral hall?” asked Jiang Yucheng in return.
“Of course, there’s nothing wrong. According to what you said, the Princess had been in the ancestral hall for the entire day or night the day before, right? Eldest Young Master Jiang, you… were also guarding outside the whole time?”
“Of course. Everyone serving us that day can attest to this.” Jiang Yucheng had already answered all these questions countless times, and he could do it naturally and easily.
He gradually knitted his brows and looked at Chu Liuyue as he coldly said, “If your reinvestigation means asking these questions again in front of the crowd, let me tell you that there isn’t any meaning at all. If you really doubt what happened back then, you must produce evidence. If not… There’s no need to continue!”
“Why are you so anxious? I’m not done asking.” Chu Liuyue smiled and suddenly looked at Weichi Song at the side. “Mentor, you should also have some things to ask Eldest Young Master Jiang, right?”
Upon hearing this, the crowd looked at Weichi Song in unison.
Weichi Song nodded and looked at Jiang Yucheng as he boomed, “Previously, I went to Thousand View Garden to retrieve some items I left there before. However… I discovered something wrong with the Princess’s phoenix-tailed zither there.”
Hearing the words ‘phoenix-tailed zither,’ Jiang Yucheng’s heart suddenly sank.
“Everyone knows that the Princess loved that zither when she was alive, but I discovered that she had left behind a Xuan formation on it!” Weichi Song stared at Jiang Yucheng and said every single word clearly. “Even though I’m not a top Xuan Master, I have also dabbled in this area. The Xuan formation that the Princess carved on the zither was just a third-grade Xuan formation, but the most important point is that the Xuan formation’s name is ‘Trap Dragon Formation!’”
“If there really was no problem at all, why would the Princess leave such a Xuan formation on the ancient zither that she liked so much? From what I see, that Xuan formation’s standard and suppression are nothing, but the Xuan formation’s name has great meaning!”
“Trap Dragon Formation—because the dragon was trapped and was asking for help! The Princess clearly met with danger and purposely left such a Xuan formation behind, hinting to people that she had been harmed by villains!”
Everyone was shocked when he said this.
If what Weichi Song said was true, there would then be a huge problem with this! One had to know that the Princess was already very talented and outstanding in this area since she was born. She definitely wouldn’t leave behind a mere third-grade Xuan formation on such a precious object!
Weichi Song’s explanation was the only logical answer!
Jiang Yucheng was stunned, and he clenched his fists tightly! I was careless! I took care of the zither room for two years, yet I never discovered such a hint on the ancient zither! Back then, I gave Shangguan Yue the last cup of tea in the zither room after she finished playing a tune. This was so the poison in her would be activated. Later on, she swiftly discovered that something was wrong and wanted to retaliate. But at that time, she was already not my match. In the end, I secretly sent her to the palace and brought her to the royal family’s ancestral hall.
Back then, I always thought that everything progressed very smoothly. But thinking back on it now, she did struggle next to the ancient zither for quite some time. Did she leave the Xuan formation behind at that time?
Jiang Yucheng tried his best to calm himself down as he said with a dark expression, “Cabinet Master Weichi, everything said must be based on evidence.”
“The evidence is on that phoenix-tailed zither!” said Weichi Song immediately. “The zither room has always been in your care. As long as you send someone to retrieve the phoenix-tailed zither, we’ll know what’s going on!”
When the crowd heard this, they felt that it made sense as they gradually looked at Jiang Yucheng.
Jiang Yucheng pressed his lips against each other tightly. At this moment, he finally understood that this was the secret Weichi Song discovered in the zither room! No wonder his attitude changed greatly after that. It turned out that he had already confirmed Shangguan Yue was harmed by others at that point. And as one of the closest few people to Shangguan Yue—one that regularly accompanied her to the zither room—I am the most suspicious!
Jiang Yucheng took a deep breath and said, “That phoenix-tailed zither… went missing a while ago.”
At this point, he felt very grateful that the ancient zither went missing! If not, this matter could never be brushed aside if it really was like what Weichi Song said and they brought the zither out to verify!
The crowd was stunned! Missing?! How could such an important thing go missing?!
“Wasn’t Jiang Yucheng guarding the zither room all along? Why would the item suddenly go missing for no reason? Isn’t it too much of a coincidence…” Soft doubts were heard from the crowd.
Jiang Yucheng was also in a difficult position, but this was undoubtedly his best shield at this moment. “I failed in guarding it, causing the phoenix-tailed zither to be lost. During this period, I’ve always been sending people to find it in secret, but there hasn’t been much progress… I’m afraid that this trail of clues will be broken.”
Jiang Yucheng looked guilty, but his gaze was determined. “The item is not here, so we can’t verify if what Cabinet Master Weichi said was true or false. Cabinet Master Weichi, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but this matter is very important. Without concrete evidence, I wouldn’t dare to say much.”
Weichi Song retorted, “Does it mean that you will believe what I say if I can find the phoenix-tailed zither?”
Jiang Yucheng paused. “Yes. If the phoenix-tailed zither isn’t here, we can’t proceed on with everything today. This will all be empty talk.”
Quite a few people looked disappointed. They thought that there were finally some clues, yet they disappeared just like that…
If the Princess was really harmed by someone, then… The longer it drags on, the harder it will be to unearth the truth from back then!
Right at this point, Weichi Song suddenly said, “What a coincidence. Someone coincidentally sent me a gift yesterday.”
Jiang Yucheng looked up in shock! He then saw Weichi Song waving his sleeves, and an ancient zither appeared in front of the latter!
It was that phoenix-tailed zither!
“The item is here. Why don’t we take a closer look at it?!”
