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

Chapter 327 The Earth Dragon Turns Over! System Mission!
Upon learning of the progress made by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Nangong Sheyue and Gou Nu quickly went to the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commandery together.

Lu Su didn't say much, and simply pushed the dossier in front of the two of them.

"Please take a look, you two!"

Both commanders of the Two Phoenix Cry Division simultaneously turned their gaze to the dossier, and upon seeing the name affixed to the top of the dossier, their expressions changed in unison.

"It's actually him?"

Che Tu was already a Golden Core cultivator before the Great Wu Kingdom was even established.

Although it has not yet broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, it is undoubtedly an extremely powerful old Golden Core.

No wonder even Ip Man Shan couldn't stop him!

Such a powerful Golden Core cultivator was naturally a key target of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's surveillance. However, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's archives did not have much information about Che Tu.

In the relevant files of Jin.

Che Tu was originally from the Demon-Suppressing Cave in the northern desert. He was stripped of his cultivation and expelled from the sect for committing the crime of raping his fellow disciples.

Later, for reasons unknown, he regained his cultivation and even learned an extremely powerful escape technique.

Eighteen years ago, Che Tu sneaked back into the Demon Suppression Cave and stole its most precious treasure—the Demon Subduing Formation Diagram. He was then hunted down by the nine elders of the Demon Suppression Cave.

As a result, he not only escaped the pursuit of the elders of the Demon-Suppressing Cave, but also killed the three elders in return, and finally disappeared with the Demon-Subduing Formation Diagram.

The records of the chariot massacre in the Imperial Guard's files end here.

Nangong Sheyue was naturally surprised to see the chariot slaughter files that Lu Su pushed over.

"Commander Lu is certain that this person assassinated Su Mo?"

Lu Su nodded: "It should be right."

"News just came from Taizhou that Che Tu secretly entered Taizhou from the north seven days ago, and his whereabouts are unknown since then."

"Three hours ago, the Taizhou Imperial Guards discovered his whereabouts, and he was suspected of having a wound to his right arm."

"In terms of timing, it coincides extremely well with the assassination of Commander Su."

Nangong Sheyue was slightly taken aback: "Commander Su?"

Lu Su explained, "His Majesty has already ordered the promotion of Commander Su to the position of Commander of the Upper Left Office, in charge of all affairs of Qinghe Ward. He will take office after the New Year."

"It's just that the official document for Commander Su has not been issued yet."

Although Nangong Sheyue was somewhat surprised, he didn't say much.

She actually knew that His Majesty had decided to let Su Mo develop his career in the Embroidered Uniform Guard or even the Phoenix Cry Division.

It is normal to promote Su Mo to a higher official position.

Anyway, the Empress can promote the Imperial Guards if she wants; it's none of the court officials' business.

Gou Nu had already finished reading Che Tu's files.

It's similar to what was collected in the Fengming Division's archives.

However, in terms of real-time reporting from local areas, the Fengming Division was indeed far inferior to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Lu Su said with a solemn expression, "I'm sure you two are both aware of Che Tu's background and origins."

"The key point is that he entered Taizhou from the northern desert!"

He paused slightly, then said coldly, "And Taizhou... is where the Wang family's territory is located!"

If Che Tu hadn't appeared in Taizhou...

It wasn't easy for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to find his whereabouts so quickly!
Taizhou was one of the key prefectures monitored by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and countless Embroidered Uniform Guard spies were lurking there!

"besides!"

Lu Su hesitated for a moment, then continued, "One of the two assassins who were killed was a distant relative of the concubine of the Wang family's inner steward!"

“A month ago, he secretly met with the Wang family’s steward for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!”

"The identity of the other person has not yet been determined."

After saying that, Lu Su took a deep breath: "Everything points to the Wang family!"

Nangong Sheyue frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Commander Lu, do you mean that this was done by the Wang family?"

Lu Su shook his head decisively: "That's exactly right. That's why I have no doubt that this matter was the work of the Wang family."

"It's obvious someone is trying to distract us!"

As he spoke, his expression suddenly darkened, and he lowered his voice, saying, "I suspect that the assassination attempt on Commander Su is not as simple as it seems!"

"You two should know the position that Commander Su holds in His Majesty's heart!"

"If the assassins succeed, His Majesty will surely vent his anger on the Wang family..."

Nangong Sheyue and Gou Nu's expressions changed.

Although Lu Su didn't finish his sentence, they all knew what he meant!
This is intended to incite a major war between His Majesty and the royal family, or even the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families!

If His Majesty were to engage in a major conflict with the powerful clans, who would benefit?

Gou Nu, who had been silent all along, suddenly said coldly, "This matter cannot be concluded lightly!"

"Commander Lu, do you know the whereabouts of Che Tu?"

"Could we arrest him, interrogate him thoroughly, and then report back to His Majesty?"

Lu Su gave a wry smile: "I roughly know where he is hiding in Taizhou."

"But this person is not only extremely skilled in escape techniques, but also possesses a demon-subduing formation diagram. This time he has reappeared, and we don't know what kind of supernatural powers or techniques he has comprehended. We must not act rashly, lest we alert him."

"It would be difficult to take them down with the strength of the Taizhou Imperial Guards alone."

Nangong Sheyue and Gou Nu fell silent.

A Golden Core cultivator skilled in stealth techniques is indeed quite troublesome.

In particular, we must capture this person alive.

Back then, even the nine elders of the Demon-Subduing Cave couldn't subdue this person when they joined forces. Let alone now, eighteen years later, he's probably even stronger than before.

Seeing that neither Nangong Sheyue nor Gou Nu spoke, Lu Su could only say in a deep voice, "I think this matter should be reported to His Majesty!"

"If we can get the people from the Imperial Observatory to cooperate with us, we'll have a sure thing."

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard has a large number of personnel, the true high-end military strength of the Great Wu lies not in the Embroidered Uniform Guard or even the Phoenix Cry Division.

That's the department called the Offering Hall!
It was not among the Twenty-Four Offices, but rather under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Observatory!
The Imperial Observatory was not only knowledgeable in observing celestial phenomena.

Others may not know, but Lu Su and the other three intelligence chiefs know very well that the Hall of Worship under the Imperial Observatory enshrines at least six Golden Core cultivators, more than a dozen Returning Aperture Realm sorcerers, and a Heavenly Infant True Person in charge!
However, the people enshrined in the temple are mostly old and frail, with little life left.

Each use of one's lifespan results in a significant loss.

Unless ordered by His Majesty or Yuan Xingdao, the supervisor, they rarely go out.

Nangong Sheyue hesitated for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "In my opinion, Commander Lu's words are reasonable."

"This matter must first be reported to His Majesty."

"They only said the clues pointed to the Wang family, but they suspected that someone else was framing the Wang family for ulterior motives."

Lu Su nodded: "That's what I mean too."

None of them are stupid.

If the Empress goes to war with the powerful clans, the one who will benefit is naturally the prince who is qualified to inherit the throne!
That's treason!

And it was a rebellion by members of the imperial family!

Once the Empress suspects something, the prince in charge of the investigation will naturally rebel, and it will be the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division.

Regardless of the outcome, those who conduct the investigation will not fare well!

Otherwise, why would Lu Su have taken the initiative to invite Nangong Sheyue and Gou Nu over and drag them into this mess?

The three of them exchanged information and set the tone.

They then went to the palace together to request an audience with the Empress!

……

As expected, upon hearing that Lu Su and the others were requesting an audience, the Empress, who had just returned from Lonely Peak Mountain, immediately summoned the three to the Ziwei Palace.

Upon hearing Lu Su's report, the Empress's pretty face suddenly darkened.

After a moment of silence, she parted her lips slightly and said coldly, "Go and summon Yuan Xingdao..."

"never mind……"

The Empress remembered that she was on leave starting today, so she didn't bother to summon Yuan Xingdao.

He picked up his brush and wrote an imperial edict. "You shall take my decree and go to the Imperial Palace to borrow three Golden Elixir offerings to cooperate with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division!"

Lu Su and the others had just received the imperial decree and were preparing to go to the Imperial Palace to summon people.

Unexpectedly, Ning Jing, the head of the Directorate of Ceremonial, rushed into the Ziwei Palace with a memorial in his hand and a look of fear on his face.

"Your Majesty, an urgent report has arrived from Tiannan Circuit!"

"The land of Sanshan County in Tiannan Circuit has been transformed!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Su and the other two's expressions changed drastically.

The Empress stood up abruptly, her phoenix eyes flashing with a sharp light as she stared intently at Ning Jing: "What?"

"The earth dragon turned over?"

Ning Jing's voice trembled: "Your Majesty, the earth dragon in Tiannan Road has stirred!"

"All three prefectures and counties of the prefecture were affected, especially the Sanshan prefecture, where countless houses collapsed, more than 100,000 people were killed or injured, and more than 100,000 people were affected!"

The Empress's face darkened. She took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Summon the six ministers of the cabinet to the Lizheng Hall for a meeting!"

"Summon the six ministers to stand outside the Hall of State Affairs and await an audience!"

Ning Jing accepted the decree, but then hesitated slightly: "Your Majesty, it seems that Grand Secretary Xiao has gone to Lonely Peak Mountain, and it may take some time..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Empress interrupted him in a deep voice: "Go and deliver the message with the purple talisman!"

Ning Jing was about to accept the order when the Empress suddenly hesitated: "Summon Su Mo to the outside of the Lizheng Hall as well!"

Ning Jing was stunned for a moment, but dared not ask any more questions, and accepted the order to leave.

At this point, Lu Su and the others were unsure whether they should continue to the Hall of Offerings.

However, the Empress immediately said to them in a deep voice, "Gou Nu, you are in charge of arresting Che Tu!"

"Lu Su, Nangong Sheyue, you two immediately dispatch men to closely monitor all movements in Tiannan Road, and absolutely prevent any chaos from arising!"

Lu Su and the others immediately accepted the order with solemn expressions and left!

The earth turning over is a matter of utmost importance.

The earthquake affected one state and three counties, causing millions of people to be overturned. The severity of the disaster was unprecedented in the fifty years of the Great Wu Kingdom!
If not handled properly, it will surely cause great turmoil.

Despite the incredibly difficult task of investigating Su Mo's assassination attempt, the matter has now fallen to Gou Nu.

But neither Lu Su nor Nangong Sheyue showed any joy on their faces; instead, they looked very bitter!
The earthquake has affected millions of people, and the death toll has exceeded 100,000. Who knows how many more will starve to death next!

It's definitely going to get chaotic!

It's practically a foregone conclusion that the disaster victims will revolt!
Furthermore, according to convention, such a natural disaster should be attributed to the Empress!
The emperor's loss of virtue led to heaven sending down calamities as a warning to him!
Although the Empress and the powerful clans haven't actually started a full-blown conflict, she has previously taken down several royal officials, including Wang Yi, and her relationship with the court forces represented by the powerful clans is far from harmonious.

It's hard to guarantee they won't use this incident to their advantage and join forces to force the Empress to back down!
At that time, not only will there be local unrest.

The imperial court will also be in turmoil!

How could Lu Su and Nangong Sheyue possibly be optimistic?
However, it is only when chaos erupts that the value of the imperial court's henchmen becomes apparent.

The problem is too chaotic, and it's easy to capsize!
……

On Lonely Peak, Xiao Yuan had found Su Mo.

He prepared many words to persuade Su Mo to resign from his positions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division.

They even planned to offer a green branch, promising to mediate between Su Mo and the Wang family, and even offering Su Mo a real civil official position of the eighth rank.

Unexpectedly, Su Mo's words caught Xiao Yuan completely off guard.

Xiao Yuan looked at Su Mo in surprise: "Prince Su wants to resign from his position as the registrar of Tianchang County?"

Su Mo nodded and smiled, "That's true."

"I also feel that it is really inappropriate for someone who holds the positions of both the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division to also serve as the clerk of Tianchang County."

"Actually, I didn't want to take on this post, but His Majesty has given the order, so I have no choice but to comply."

He paused slightly, then looked at Xiao Yuan sincerely: "Now that we have achieved our goal, it is time for me to retire."

Xiao Yuan was both amused and exasperated!

He naturally understood what Su Mo meant.

His Majesty appointed him as the clerk in Tianchang County to oversee the regulation of merchants.

But is the position of a clerk of the ninth rank problematic?
He couldn't possibly think that he, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Junior Tutor, Grand Academician of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and Minister of Rites, would personally come to Gufeng Mountain to discuss something with him because of a mere ninth-rank county clerk, could he?
The problem is, what about Su Mo's other identity?

Imperial Tutor!

How can the imperial guards, the Jinyiwei, be His Majesty's teachers?
Could the Imperial Tutor not be a scholar?
At the very least, they would be at the level of a Grand Pillar of State or a Celestial Infant True Man.

Having henchmen as imperial tutors? Isn't that just chaos?
Throughout history, such situations have occurred on numerous occasions!
He was considering whether he should reveal his trump card now in order to persuade Su Mo to change her mind.

Being a lackey of the imperial court is nothing compared to the pleasure of being an official in the imperial court!
But before he could speak, a beam of purple light flew straight toward him.

Xiao Yuan's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately reached out and grabbed the purple light, which turned out to be a purple paper crane.

The purple crane burst into flames, turning to ashes.

A beam of divine light entered Xiao Yuan's brow!
Xiao Yuan's expression instantly turned extremely ugly. He took a deep breath, no longer caring about persuading Su Mo to change his mind, and said in a deep voice, "Prince Su, His Majesty has urgently summoned us to the palace for an audience!"

Su Mo was immediately stunned.

Even during her annual leave, the Empress still summoned Xiao Yuan.
He immediately replied, "Since His Majesty has summoned the Grand Secretary for important matters, I will not keep you any longer."

Xiao Yuan said in a deep voice, "They've summoned us!"

Su Mo stared in disbelief, then pointed at himself and asked, "His Majesty summons this humble official?"

Although Xiao Yuan didn't understand what the earth-shattering event in Tiannan Road had to do with Su Mo, he still nodded and said, "That's right!"

"His Majesty has sent an urgent message, summoning us to the palace immediately for an audience!"

Su Mo...

"Ahem...May I ask, Your Excellency, do you know why His Majesty summoned me?"

Xiao Yuan shook his head solemnly: "After Su Xianzi enters the palace to meet the Emperor, he will naturally know!"

After saying that, he hurriedly walked out of the villa and was already ten feet away in the blink of an eye.

Su Mo was secretly taken aback.

Who would have thought that Xiao Yuan also possessed the ability to shrink distances to an inch!
Despite his own cultivation level being at the Divine Realm, which was considered high-end, he couldn't tell at all that Xiao Yuan was also a Daoist sorcerer.

It seems this chief minister is very good at hiding his true identity.

He was suspicious, wondering why the Empress had summoned him.

I've never tried this before.

This was the first time he had been summoned so openly.

Even if someone were asked to enter the palace to sleep with him in the past, at most An Wu would secretly inform him.

However, Su Mo could only immediately find An Wu, and then take a carriage, following Xiao Yuan's carriage, and quickly head towards the capital.

The carriage drove straight into the palace and stopped several hundred meters away from the Rikjeong Hall.

This was Su Mo's first time visiting the front hall.

From afar, one could clearly see six officials in scarlet peacock robes with serious expressions waiting outside the Lizheng Hall.

Judging from their official robes, one can tell that they are ministers of the Six Ministries—Zhong Yin, the Minister of War, is also among them.

Su Mo was even more surprised and suspicious!

What major event has occurred that has prompted the Empress to urgently summon all six cabinet ministers and the six ministers of the government to meet her?
What does this have to do with me?
Xiao Yuan hurriedly approached the Lizheng Hall.

He Jiang, the Minister of Personnel, immediately came forward and said in a deep voice, "Chief Minister Xiao, His Majesty has instructed you to enter the hall for a meeting as soon as you arrive, without needing to announce your arrival!"

Xiao Yuan nodded, quickly walked up the steps in front of the hall, and entered the Lizheng Hall.

Just as He Jiang was about to walk back to discuss matters with the other ministers, he caught a glimpse of Su Mo following An Wu toward the Lizheng Hall out of the corner of his eye.

He was immediately stunned.

Although He Jiang never actually met Su Mo, he had certainly seen Su Mo's portrait!
Su Mo's expression suddenly froze.

Their attention was completely elsewhere, not on He Jiang, the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel.

The moment Xiao Yuan entered the Hall of Establishing Government and the hall doors opened.

In a fleeting glimpse, one is astonished to see the Empress sitting upright on the dragon throne, her expression extremely solemn, with an exclamation mark appearing above her head!

A scarlet color, an exclamation mark as striking as blood!

(End of this chapter)