What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 253 A Night Visit to the Residence of the Left Commander of Fengming Division
Nangong Sheyue frowned as she looked at Su Mo's beggar's clothes, but finally couldn't help but laugh and said, "This concubine doesn't have any clothes suitable for my lord to wear."

"I will instruct my maid to buy a robe for my lord."

He then summoned the pretty little maid, gave her a few instructions, and then told her to go out and buy robes for Su Mo.

Just as Su Mo was about to speak, Nangong Sheyue took the initiative to say, "I have something to attend to and need to go out for a while."

"Once Xiaoyue has bought the robe, you may leave on your own."

"Furthermore!" Nangong Sheyue's expression suddenly turned serious, "It's best if you, my lord, don't get involved in the affairs of the Su Nu Palace!"

Su Mo was stunned upon hearing this.

Wei Zhengguang said this, and Nangong Sheyue said the same thing.
Compared to Wei Zhengguang, Nangong Sheyue was more aware of her own abilities and background, and even knew about her relationship with the Empress.

Does she think that even the Empress can't handle this situation?

He couldn't help but frown and ask, "Sir, what's the story behind this?"

Nangong Sheyue hesitated slightly before finally saying, "On the surface, this matter only involves the residences of Princess Jinling and the Duke of Anguo, but in reality..."

Actually, she didn't say anything more after that.

Su Mo said in a deep voice: "Actually, it was the Wang family who was behind it?"

Nangong Sheyue shook her head: "No, the Wang family and the Cui family have nothing to do with this matter."

"Both the Wang and Cui families know about the young master's relationship. They are not naive enough to think that the young master, who has the background of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division, would not have thought of the other side of the story. So they will not make a move easily."

Su Mo frowned.

But come to think of it.

As a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and a captain of the Phoenix Cry Division, he had connections with both intelligence agencies. Whether he took action or not, he would definitely use his connections to investigate this matter.

Even if the Wang and Cui families were foolish, they would never offend the imperial relatives, the royal family, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Phoenix Cry Division at the same time!
Once it's discovered that the Wang family is behind this, Princess Jinling and Zhang Shouning will surely not let it go easily.

However, judging from Nangong Sheyue's words, there is someone else behind this matter.

The question is, if it's not the Wang or Cui family, then who could it be? The other five surnames and seven prominent families?

I didn't offend them!

Aside from the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, who else had the ability and audacity to plot against Princess Jinling and Zhang Shouning?

Seeing Nangong Sheyue's hesitant expression, Su Mo's heart suddenly stirred!
Nangong Sheyue was the Empress's true confidant, and naturally had no fear of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families or important court officials.

Given their relationship, with a 55% favorability rating, she still couldn't tell him the inside story...

A member of the royal family?

Su Mo's expression instantly turned serious. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Could this matter be related to the soap trade?"

Nangong Sheyue hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Your skills in making a living are unparalleled in the world, and everyone knows them. Naturally, he is deeply wary of you."

"They wanted to seize the soap business, but they were afraid that their husband would interfere, so they devised this plan to distract him and keep him from doing anything else."

"Anyway, sir, please don't get involved."

Su Mo's face instantly darkened.

Whether he felt proud or frustrated, he was aware that even the King of Rong was wary of him and had deliberately set a trap for him!

It's like playing an online game; the higher you go, the stronger the bosses you encounter.
If only we encountered villains like Ma Da Liuzi right now!

He could suppress it with a simple counterattack.

Of course, Su Mo also understood that the interests of the Great Wu were basically solidified. If a hungry wolf suddenly broke in to compete for food, it would naturally provoke a fierce backlash from the original interest groups.

Unless one side chooses to retire gracefully and stay in their original little world to live a quiet life, the two sides might be able to coexist peacefully.

But is this possible?
People in the imperial court are often powerless to change their own fate. In fact, even if Su Mo wanted to back down, he might not be able to!

Could the Empress make him back down?

Could Princess Baicheng make him back?

The old generals of Changping County, the tens of thousands of households in Gufeng Mountain, the artisan soldiers, and so on—could they make Su Mo retreat?

Seeing that Su Mo remained silent, Nangong Sheyue sighed again: "Although the Wang family and the Cui family haven't made a move."

“Once the young master gets involved and becomes entangled with the Princess’s Mansion and the Duke’s Mansion, the Wang family and the Cui family will definitely take the opportunity to kick him while he’s down. We must be on guard.”

"I will keep an eye on the Wang and Cui families..."

"But my lord... well, my lord, you should also be careful."

As she spoke, Nangong Sheyue picked up a case file from the desk and handed it to Su Mo, seemingly having prepared in advance: "This is the case file of the department concerning this matter. Please put it back after you have read it, sir."

"I'm leaving!"

Nangong Sheyue didn't change out of the armor Su Mo had given her. She casually grabbed a white cloak, put it on, and then hurriedly left the house, seemingly having urgent business to attend to.

As the Left Commander of the Fengming Division, she held a high position and wielded great power, but naturally, she had a great deal of work to do and rarely had any free time.

Su Mo carefully read through the dossier given to him by Nangong Sheyue, his brows furrowing even more.

The cause of the matter is simple.

Su Nu Palace failed all the martial arts exams, which naturally made her resentful, and she couldn't help but speak angrily when she saw the results.

But someone nearby said that the Su Nu Palace seemed nothing special.

The two sides started arguing, and it's unclear who started it, but then they started fighting.

If it weren't for the fact that the other side included Princess Jinling's husband and Zhang Shouning's nephew, it would have been just an ordinary conflict.

Martial artists and immortals have always respected the strong, and it is common for them to fight each other over a single word. Such incidents have occurred frequently at this time of year.

That's all there is to the case file.

However, it is more detailed than what Wei Zhengguang said, and there is one very important person that Wei Zhengguang did not mention.

That was Han Yong, the fourth son of Marquis Heyuan and Han Yu's younger brother.

Combined with Nangong Sheyue's words of reminder.

Su Mo roughly figured out the inside story.

The Prince of Rong instigated the scheme, the Marquis of Heyuan carried it out, and the Prince Consort of Jinling and Zhang Wenxing fell into the trap.

Zhang Shouning should really have nothing to do with this matter.

Although the Duke of An had a grudge against him, he was not foolish enough to collude with King Rong.

His power came from the Empress and Empress Dowager Zhang.

Prince Rong is not Empress Zhang's son!
However, Zhang Shouning is a petty and vindictive man, and there is no guarantee that he won't take this opportunity to make trouble for me.

Su Mo's head ached more and more as she thought about it.

What started as a minor conflict has now escalated into something involving Prince Rong, the Emperor's brother-in-law, the eldest princess, and even the Wang and Cui families, who could potentially get involved at any moment.

The disciples of Su Nu Palace should be quite strong, but they failed to gain anything in this Immortal Martial Arts Tournament, which may also be related to me!
You can ignore it.

Will she be able to let go and ignore everything once Lin Moyin returns?

If Lin Moyin gets involved, can I just stand by and do nothing?
Thinking of this, Su Mo couldn't help but curse under his breath.

These cunning old foxes are indeed not easy to deal with. With just a slight move, they employ open and aboveboard schemes, forcing you to get involved!

Never mind, I'll discuss it with my second and third uncles when I get back.

You can also ask Ding Yu, Lao Wang, and Du Zhongbai for advice.

Su Mo put that matter aside and decided to check the rewards for this mission first!
Don't be fooled by the fact that the task seems easy to complete. If it weren't for Su Mo's many tricks up his sleeve, along with the second-grade sword embryo treasure, the Dragon Whip magic weapon, and the power bank-like Demon-Subduing Pestle, it would have been really difficult to complete!

He used his magic to examine himself.

My physical strength has actually improved quite a bit.

The Dragon Step and Dragon Whip Technique were mastered and integrated, which also greatly enhanced the power of the Green Wood Technique.

In terms of martial arts cultivation alone, he is now considered to be at the half-step grandmaster level. Even without using any magical artifacts, he can be on par with Zhang Xuzu's one-armed guard.

Then, a cold glint flashed in Su Mo's eyes, and he opened his mouth and spat out a beam of white light that landed in his palm.

It was a sword embryo treasure that had already advanced to the fourth rank!

As Su Mo poured his magic power into it, the sword embryo suddenly swelled to a full two feet long, and then rapidly shrank to only three inches in size.

With his five fingers spread, the sword embryo, like a beam of light, darted and moved between his fingers like lightning.

Su Mo sighed!

My sword control technique should now be considered to have reached a minor level of mastery.

Whether it was the unity of man and sword that sword cultivators spoke of, or the state of sword mind clarity, Su Mo felt that the sword embryo was as if it were an extension of his own body, as easy to use as an arm and finger, hitting wherever he pointed, and he even had a faint feeling that the sword embryo had a kind of closeness to him!
The system mentioned a half-sword spirit?
After twirling the sword embryo for a while, Su Mo suddenly sensed a hunger emanating from it, as if it wanted to devour magical power.

Su Mo's magical power was almost completely exhausted by Nangong Sheyue, and the Demon-Subduing Pestle also had no energy left. Where would he find the magical power to feed the sword embryo? He could only return it to his dantian and nurture it slowly in the future.

After retrieving the sword embryo, Su Mo's gaze fell on the Dragon Whip.

The appearance of the Dragon Whip has changed slightly; to be precise, it has become a rope-like shape with black and gold accents.

As Su Mo poured his remaining magic power into it, the Dragon Binding Rope flew out of his hand and instantly wrapped around a large locust tree in the courtyard more than a dozen times, binding it tightly!

With a thought, Su Mo tightened the Dragon Binding Rope instantly, causing the tree bark to crack!
"nice one!"

Su Mo was overjoyed!

The Dragon Binding Rope is definitely a great tool for capturing and restraining criminals!

If it's so effective at tying up a big locust tree, wouldn't it be even better for tying up a person!
I wonder if she will be able to break free when I use this Dragon Binding Rope to bind Nangong Sheyue in the future!
However, the Dragon Binding Rope is of a very low grade, only a first-grade treasure, equivalent to a third-grade magic weapon. It is probably not very reliable to bind a cultivator like Nangong Sheyue who is at the Returning to the Aperture Realm. If Lord Qianhu breaks free, the consequences will be unimaginable!
I need to find a way to upgrade her rank before I can bind her.

The most fundamental difference between magic treasures and precious artifacts is that magic treasures and precious artifacts can be stored and nurtured within the body!

Su Mo opened his mouth and took a breath.

Sure enough, the Dragon Binding Rope shrank rapidly and flew back, then was absorbed into Su Mo's stomach!
After checking his mission results and seeing that the maid hadn't returned yet, Su Mo simply tore off his tattered beggar's clothes, bared his shirt, sat cross-legged, and began practicing the Yang Tian Technique.

My magical power is depleted, and I always feel insecure.

After a full cycle of cultivation, which took about half an hour, Su Mo finally recovered more than 10% of his magical power, and the Demon-Subduing Pestle also recovered about 10% of its power.

As the number of people in the Lone Peak Mountain fiefdom and the artisan camp increased, the amount of magic power stored in the Vajra Pestle and the speed at which it was replenished both improved significantly, and it could be used by Su Mo at any time.

Su Mo's magical power is definitely more than twice that of other Soul-Stabilizing Realm sorcerers.

When Su Mo finished cultivating, he was surprised to find that the maid named Xiao Yue hadn't bought the clothes yet!

Su Mo looked at her bare upper body, feeling both amused and exasperated.

If I walk back down the street like this, will I be arrested for indecent behavior?

Does the Great Law prohibit walking shirtless in the street?
But Jiang Laoshi drove the carriage back.

Or perhaps we could spend the night at Lord Nangong's residence?
……

Xiao Lizhuang looked at Master Pufa, who was sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat, holding Buddhist prayer beads, looking like a kind and compassionate virtuous monk.

"Brother Pufa, is there really no way even you can do it?"

Pufa sighed, "Junior Sister Xiao, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that this matter is too complicated, and I really can't do anything about it!"

He came from the Hanging Temple on Feilai Peak. The Hanging Temple and the Su Nu Palace on Nanqin Island were allies. Together with the True Immortal Valley, the three sects formed their own faction within the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

The three factions, being of the same generation, also habitually addressed each other as senior and junior brothers and sisters.

Upon hearing Pufa's words, Xiao Lizhuang's expression darkened further. She said calmly, "None of the disciples of Su Nu Palace passed the Immortal Martial Arts Trial. There must be a reason for this."

"This incident was clearly instigated by someone in the dark."

“Our three factions have always stood together through thick and thin. Senior brother is the abbot of Datong Temple and has extensive connections in the capital. Even if you are unwilling to take action, are you really unwilling to reveal the inside story to junior sister?”

Master Pufa clasped his hands together, uttered "Amitabha," and solemnly said, "Please forgive me, Junior Sister Xiao."

"Although my senior brother is the abbot of Datong Temple, he only has some minor dealings with some nobles in the capital, and the relationship is not deep."

"My junior sister's disciples include the consort of Princess Jinling, as well as the sons and nephews of Zhang Guojiu, among other top-tier nobles and imperial relatives in the capital!"

"Let alone my senior brother, even if all the noble people in the capital came together, I'm afraid they would be powerless to help."

Xiao Lizhuang's expression changed slightly.

Master Pufa then said calmly, "Junior Sister Xiao, you don't need to worry too much."

"The current sage ruler is wise and righteous, diligent in governing and loving the people, and will surely ensure that the Dali Temple upholds justice."

"If the disciples of Su Nu Palace have truly been framed, His Majesty will naturally clear Su Nu Palace's name!"

Xiao Lizhuang remained silent for a moment, then got up and left!

In fact, Xiao Lizhuang could guess that she would most likely return empty-handed after seeking out Abbot Pufa.

the reason is simple.

The Hanging Temple has a branch temple called Datong Temple, which connects with the powerful and wealthy of Dawu. It earns millions of taels of silver every year, and its number of believers is increasing, making it more and more powerful.

True Immortal Valley, with its superb medical skills, has close relationships with many powerful and influential people, and its income is also very high.

For example, many imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy came from or were connected to the True Immortal Valley, with direct connections to the palace.

Of the three factions, only the Su Nu Palace was poor and had no connections in the court.

The only one, Lin Moyin, was only recently promoted to the position of Right Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

In the eyes of the Hanging Temple and the True Immortal Valley, the Su Nu Palace is probably no longer an ally, but a vassal!

Why would Pufa truly help Su Nu Palace and offend Princess Jinling and Zhang Shouning?

After leaving Datong Temple in a huff, Xiao Lizhuang's face was as dark as water. She couldn't help but wave her sleeve, and a rock next to her instantly shattered into pieces!

Unfortunately, venting anger is of no use.

One of her master's old friends, a powerful being at the Heavenly Infant Realm, had been cultivating in seclusion in the capital for many years.

When Xiao Lizhuang visited him earlier, the gatekeeper said that her master had not returned from gathering herbs and she could not even see him!
Xiao Lizhuang's expression suddenly turned bitter.

So what if you're at the Golden Core stage?

Could they really storm into the Dali Temple and rescue the person? Even if they could rescue them, where could they escape to?
Xiao Lizhuang then understood.

So-called strength is utterly insignificant in the face of the true powerful figures of the Great Wu!
Unless you become powerful enough to disregard all the laws of the world!
But is this possible?
Even the Nine Dragons Taoist, who is at the half-step terrestrial immortal realm, cannot achieve this!

They could only wait for their beloved disciple to appear before making any further plans.

Xiao Lizhuang firmly believed that no matter where her beloved disciple was, he would rush back as soon as he learned that the disciples of the sect had been robbed.

However, even if her beloved disciple intervenes, Princess Jinling and the Duke of Anguo will likely not let this matter go easily.

There will definitely be a lot of money involved.

Xiao Lizhuang hesitated for a moment, then took out the porcelain bottle Su Mo had given her and looked at it.

Then, in a flash, he quickly headed towards the Chi residence!

……

Nangong Sheyue returned to the front of his house with a solemn expression.

The Grand Examination and the Imperial Examination were two major systems for selecting officials in the imperial court. If someone reported that there was cheating in the Xianwu Grand Examination, it would naturally be a very serious case.

Once the cheating becomes public knowledge, it will surely shake the world.

The Empress was furious and immediately summoned her to the palace to investigate the matter thoroughly.

Nangong Sheyue had a terrible headache.

Nai Chi Wu Lei, the chief examiner of the Immortal Martial Arts Grand Examination, is a minister whom the Empress is grooming.

Needless to say, the cheating was aimed at Chi Wulei.

Once the investigation is thorough, no matter what, Chi Wulei will definitely be implicated, at the very least for negligence.

The capture of Chi Wulei dealt a severe blow to the Empress's authority, and it's likely that no minister will dare to pledge allegiance to her in the future!
We can't not investigate!
Nangong Sheyue returned to the front of the house with a heavy heart, only to find to her astonishment that her little maid was huddled in front of the door, her arms wrapped around herself, her face turning purple from the cold.

Upon seeing Nangong Sheyue return, the little maid ran towards her with a look of joy: "Young Miss, you're finally back!"

Nangong Sheyue frowned slightly: "Why don't you go inside and sleep?"

It's already past midnight!
The little maid looked at Nangong Sheyue with a wronged expression, tears welling up in her small eyes: "Miss asked me to buy robes for Lord Su, but all the clothing shops on the street are closed, and I can't buy any."

Nangong Sheyue was speechless: "If you can't buy it, you don't have to stay outside!"

The maid explained with utmost seriousness, "Lord Su is still at home, and Xiaoyue dares not go back!"

A look of horror suddenly appeared on her face: "Miss, didn't you say that men are all tigers and will eat people? You're not even at home, what if Lord Su eats Xiaoyue?"

Nangong Shoots the Moon...

She knew that her little maid wasn't very bright.

But I didn't know the illness was so serious!
I need to be more careful in the future!

She glared at the maid with annoyance and said irritably, "Come with me!"

Then, they pushed open the door and entered the house.

Upon arriving at the side hall, they looked around and saw only scattered robes on the ground, but no sign of Su Mo!
Nangong Sheyue was taken aback.

Where did Su Mo go?
(End of this chapter)