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

Chapter 342 The Empress's status as the First Wife is confirmed!
On the small orchid pavilion on the boat.

Ling Yanyao is currently meditating with her eyes closed.

Suddenly, the screen in the secret room began to shake violently!
Ling Yanyao's pretty face changed, and she stared at the screen with surprise and suspicion.

Immediately, Gu Yunshu, her face deathly pale, clutched her prominent chest and stumbled out of the painting of ladies on the screen.

Gu Yunshu, who was originally like a fairy in the sky, now looked extremely disheveled!
Ling Yanyao gasped sharply.

This screen is a secret treasure of the Qiongxiao Immortal Sect. Even Ling Yanyao is not very clear about its hidden and powerful features. She only knows that this screen has extremely powerful concealment abilities.

Once Gu Yunshu enters the screen using a secret technique, she can block all spiritual eye techniques and the prying eyes of the soul!

She stared in shock at Gu Yunshu, who had stumbled out, and asked anxiously, "Senior Sister Gu, what happened?"

Gu Yunshu wiped her lips with her delicate hand, and a hint of blood appeared.

She took several deep breaths, reached into the brocade belt at her waist, took out a pill, swallowed it, and circulated her magic power, causing purple energy to appear around her.

It took about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea for his face to regain some color.

After Gu Yunshu finished healing her injuries, she looked at Ling Yanyao with a serious expression.

"I just used the spirit-binding talisman to go to the residence of the Imperial Guard commander."

"I originally intended to meet him in my avatar to test whether he was still alive today!"

She took a deep breath, her beautiful eyes revealing a look of fear: "I never expected that the mansion of the Thousand-Household Commander would have such an extremely powerful immortal sorcerer who could take my talisman clone with the back of his hand!"

Ling Yanyao's expression changed immediately upon hearing this: "The Su Qianhu residence actually has such a powerful immortal sorcerer?"

"Senior Sister Gu possesses the Golden Core cultivation level, and her spirit possession talisman is unparalleled..."

Before she could finish speaking, Gu Yunshu interrupted her with a furrowed brow: "This person is a True Person of the Heavenly Infant Realm!"

Ling Yanyao's voice abruptly stopped!

Gu Yunshu is indeed the most powerful third-generation disciple of the Qiongxiao Immortal Sect. Among the second generation of the sect, there are few who can compare with her.

On the surface, she is just a martial arts master.

In reality, he advanced to the Golden Core Realm after only twenty years of cultivation and was hailed as a once-in-a-millennium genius of the immortal sect!

She also possesses many secret treasures of the Qiongxiao Immortal Sect.

Otherwise, the Qiongxiao Immortal Sect would not have been willing to let Gu Yunshu leave the mountain and travel in the world.

Such a prodigy, it must have taken countless resources from the Qiongxiao Immortal Sect to cultivate him, and he is the successor to the next sect master.

If they were to perish, it would be an incredibly heavy blow to the Qiongxiao Immortal Sect, and it would probably take them ten or even several decades to recover!
However, no matter how talented Gu Yunshu was, she was no match for a true Heavenly Infant Immortal.

No wonder they suffered such a huge loss!
After a long silence, Ling Yanyao asked in a low voice, "Does Senior Sister Gu know the origin of this person?"

Gu Yunshu shook her head: "I only know that she is a young woman, but her strength and cultivation are beyond anything I have ever seen in my life!"

"If I hadn't used a secret technique to sever the connection with their spiritual senses in time, I fear they would have already tracked me down!"

Ling Yanyao was speechless for a moment.

Gu Yunshu has a steady personality and never speaks recklessly.

The fact that the other party said "never seen before in my life" is enough to show that the other party is more powerful than the elders and elders of the Qiongxiao Immortal Sect!

In terms of experience and knowledge, she was born and traveled ten years earlier, so she was naturally more advanced than Gu Yunshu.

However, in terms of immortal cultivation, he is nowhere near as good as Gu Yunshu.

Gu Yunshu frowned and looked at Ling Yanyao: "Fairy Ling has traveled for many years and has also been operating in the capital for more than ten years. Do you know who in the capital has such amazing cultivation?"

Ling Yanyao shook her head with a wry smile: "Among the Heavenly Infant Realm True Persons, considering only the present age, Yanyao knows no more than a dozen!"

"But none of them match the young woman that Senior Sister Gu described."

She frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Among those who appear young and have profound cultivation, Palace Master Xiao Lizhuang of the Su Nu Palace could be considered one of them. She has recently arrived in the capital and has a very close relationship with Su Mo."

"However, Xiao Lizhuang is also at the Golden Core stage, so her magic should not be more powerful than Senior Sister Gu's."

No matter how much Ren Lingyan thought about it, she would never think of the Great Wu Empress!

How could the mighty Empress Wu possibly appear at the residence of a male Imperial Guard late at night?

Besides, not many people know about it.

Empress Leng Liuxi's true cultivation level was actually at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Infant Realm!

Even Su Mo only witnessed the Empress's true strength when he was in Wanghai County, and only then did he realize how terrifying the Empress's cultivation was!
Ling Yanyao couldn't have imagined it, and Gu Yunshu even less could have.

Her journey through this world is actually more about cultivating her Daoist heart through trials and tribulations in the mortal realm.

Aside from occasionally appearing to perform sword dances, he mostly cultivates behind a screen and has little understanding of worldly affairs.

Ling Yanyao remained silent for a long time before finally saying with a somber expression, "Fortunately, that person did not discover Senior Sister Gu's whereabouts."

"Since Su Mo has such a powerful immortal cultivator protecting him, he must have come prepared. I'm afraid we'll have no choice but to pay the commercial tax this time."

She paused, her pretty face growing even more bitter: "Now I can only beg him not to be too ruthless!"

The Xiaolanting Pavilion ship was something she had painstakingly built up over many years, and she was naturally reluctant to abandon it.

The tower ship not only brings great benefits to the immortal sect, but also allows them to gather a lot of intelligence. It is an important reliance for maintaining the immortal sect's status and obtaining cultivation resources.

Gu Yunshu possesses extraordinary talent, and the Qiongxiao Immortal Sect practically begs her to cultivate with them.

Ling Yanyao is different.

She could only rely on her own efforts, trudging step by step with great difficulty, to finally achieve her current status and level of cultivation!

Seeing this, Gu Yunshu didn't say anything more.

She and Ling Yanyao were not from the same immortal sect.

The reason he hid in the Little Orchid Pavilion was simply to conceal his identity as a person in the world.

With Xiaolanting gone, she simply departed.

Hearing Ling Yanyao say this, she nodded: "In that case, Yun Shu will return to the painting to heal her injuries in seclusion. If nothing happens, she should not appear within a month."

Ling Yanyao nodded: "Senior sister, go ahead."

If Gu Yunshu's clone infiltrates the Su residence, Su Mo will definitely send his subordinates to investigate the matter.

It's good that Gu Yunshu went into seclusion behind the screen to heal her injuries.

To avoid causing other trouble.

When Gu Yunshu re-entered the screen.

Ling Yanyao immediately frowned and began to think.

The Heavenly Infant True Person who destroyed Gu Yunshu's clone was almost certainly sent by the Great Wu Empress to protect Su Mo.

This shows the status of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Empress Wu's heart!
The Empress must have made a tremendous decision to send such a trusted confidant to Qinghefang to collect commercial taxes.

Such determination will certainly not be easily thwarted by the resistance of the merchants of Qinghefang.

Regardless of whether Empress Wu's plan to collect commercial taxes succeeds in the end, the process will almost certainly involve bloodshed.

Ling Yanyao certainly didn't want to be the one bleeding!

After pondering for a long time.

Her expression suddenly hardened.

Perhaps this is also an opportunity?
Ancient immortal sects mostly emerged from the mountains during times of chaos, risking their lives to seize opportunities. During times of prosperity, they would only send disciples to travel and observe the general trend of the world!

Despite the fact that the world is still in chaos and people are struggling.

But Ling Yanyao could see that the chaos would eventually disappear and a golden age was about to arrive.

The ancient immortal sects were also very involved.

Cultivation resources don't appear out of thin air.

Thanks to Xiao Lanting's contributions, he obtained the resources to advance to the Guiqiao Realm, but that was the limit.

It's impossible to go any further.

If you want to condense the Golden Core, you must truly focus your attention on the present world!
Could Su Mo, who is deeply favored by the Empress of the Great Wu, be the opportunity for me to advance to the Golden Core stage?

However, according to the rules of the ancient immortal sects, they cannot interfere in the affairs of the current imperial court...

……

The Empress did indeed settle down at the Su residence.

However, the thing Su Mo was worried about didn't happen; the Empress didn't force herself on him.

In fact, he was only staying in the room next to Su Mo's.

Su Mo was extremely disappointed!

The next day, Su Mo got up, and as usual, the sun was already high in the sky.

With Jiang Lan, Liu Siyun, and others absent, and no maidservants to serve Su Mo, she had to fetch water to wash herself.

After washing up, before he could check if Leng Liuxi had returned to the palace, he heard Old Master Jiang calling from outside, "Master!"

"There's a woman in black outside, looking for you, sir."

Su Mo was taken aback: "Who?" Jiang Laoshi quickly replied: "The woman claims to be Song Xi, and is a subordinate of the master."

Su Mo immediately recalled Song Xi's information!

Yesterday, Nangong Sheyue sent over the Qinghe Guard register, which included this woman's information, and she was listed first.

Originally the head of the Fengming Division, now a probationary centurion of the Qinghe Guard under the Fengming Division.

He was also the only probationary centurion under Su Mo, the newly appointed centurion of the Fengming Division.

Normally, a centurion has three probation centurions under his command.

However, the Qinghe Guard was hastily established, and it's possible that the Empress intended to reserve two positions for trial centurions so that Su Mo could win over the hearts of the people. Therefore, Su Mo only had Song Xi as a trial centurion.

The booklet only had four words to describe Song Xi: extremely capable!

It's already past nine in the morning, and it's also the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Outside the mansion, the streets were already bustling with activity, and many wealthy households had lanterns and decorations in front of their gates, but there was no sound of firecrackers that Su Mo was familiar with.

Su Mo figured the Empress must have already returned to the palace.

He didn't even bother to check if the Empress was there, and then said in a deep voice, "Tell her to come to my study!"

Then, Su Mo tidied herself up and went to the study.

Not long after, a woman in black knocked on the door and entered.

Su Mo looked the other person up and down.

Slightly unexpected.

This Song Xi is probably around thirty years old. She looks ordinary and her figure is not particularly outstanding.

Well, you could barely call her a girl from a modest family—if she were ten or so years younger.

Of course, the fact that he was able to become the commander of the Fengming Division and has now been appointed as a probationary centurion of the Qinghe Guard shows that his abilities and methods are truly exceptional.

When he met his boss, he was respectful but not reserved.

According to the records, Song Xi was born into a lowly family. Her grandfather was a corrupt clerk in the government office who later surrendered. Her family background was considered clean.

Song Xi also got married, but her husband was bedridden for many years and had no children.

Of course, in Song Xi's eyes, Su Mo, this young man, was already her boss, which made her even more shocked.

After sizing up the other party, Su Mo smiled and said, "I am Su Mo, and from now on I will be considered a colleague of Lord Song."

"Lord Song, please don't be so formal, please have a seat!"

Song Xi bowed and said, "This humble servant dares not!"

"This humble servant requests an audience with you, sir, as I have important matters to report!"

Su Mo narrowed his eyes slightly: "Lord Song, please speak!"

"The study has a soundproof array, so there's no need to worry about being eavesdropped on."

Song Xi's expression immediately turned serious, and she said in a deep voice, "This subordinate has investigated and found out."

"The brothels and boat merchants of Qinghefang, led by the owner of Xiaolanting Boat Shop, have contacted 137 merchants and agreed to begin a market strike on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year!"

"These 137 shops are mostly shops selling rice, grain, salt, cloth, and other goods."

"Today, of the more than 500 businesses in Qinghefang that are required to pay commercial taxes, 90% are closed... In addition, a large number of small businesses are also closed today..."

After listening to Song Xi's report, Su Mo sighed inwardly.

This Song Dynasty official, though seemingly ordinary, was actually quite capable.

In just one day, they managed to gather such detailed information.

He nodded and said, "It's normal for businesses to be closed today because it's Chinese New Year."

"However, those merchants who were able to contact so many businesses to close their shops on the fourth day of the new year are quite capable."

Su Mo thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you know anything about the background of the owner of Xiaolanting Pavilion?"

Song Xi hesitated slightly for a moment, then shook her head: "Please forgive me, sir."

"All I know is that the owner of the Little Orchid Pavilion is named Ling Yanyao. She is no more than forty years old and has an extremely mysterious background. Moreover, she seems to have no court officials or powerful families to rely on."

"Based on our intelligence analysis, this person is very likely a contemporary figure from an ancient immortal sect and is a key target of our surveillance. I have no authority to access further information about him."

Su Mo was stunned upon hearing this.

He had heard Lin Moyin mention the ancient immortal sects.

They also had a general understanding of some of the things that the ancient immortal sects did in the present day.

In Su Mo's view, these ancient immortal sects should be some reclusive immortal cultivation sects.

Those who walk in the mortal world are disciples sent out by ancient immortal sects to understand the ways of the world and prevent the immortal sects from becoming disconnected from the world.

Of course, this is in the eyes of those in power, like Leng Liuxi.

The ancient immortal sects possess formidable strength and resources, making them an absolute destabilizing force for any dynasty.

They need to be suppressed!

Su Mo never expected that there would be someone in Qinghefang who seemed to be a contemporary figure from an ancient immortal sect. Even collecting commercial taxes could implicate an ancient immortal sect.

He was about to press for more information about the ancient immortal sects.

Then, Jiang Laoshi's voice came from outside the study again: "Master! Lords Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng are requesting an audience outside the mansion!"

The soundproofing array is amazing.

People outside cannot hear what is inside, but people inside can hear what is outside, just like the one-way glass in the interrogation room.

Upon hearing this, Su Mo knew that Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng must have come because of the merchants' strike.

The Qinghefang Hundred-Household Office was the key to their success and their dream of being ennobled.

The two of them were probably even more concerned than he was.

They couldn't bear to stop working even during the Chinese New Year.

Su Mo thought about it and realized that it might not be appropriate for them to see Song Xi at this time.

He then instructed Jiang Laoshi to lead Zhang and Cao to a side hall, and then asked Song Xihua about it.

……

Although Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng told the gatekeeper of the Su residence to inform Su Mo, in fact the gatekeeper went to inform Jiang Laoshi, and the two of them entered the Su residence.

The gatekeepers of the Su family naturally knew their relationship with their master, and there was no need to make them wait outside.

Hearing that Su Mo was busy, they told them to wait in the side hall.

Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng were naturally taken aback.

What could be more important than the merchants' strike?
If it is not stopped in advance.

Once it's the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, when people go out to buy rice and other grains and find that the shops selling rice and other grains are closed, there will be a big problem.

Although shops close during the Lunar New Year, people still prepare New Year's goods before the holiday.

However, most people don't have much money and won't buy much for the New Year. If shops close on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, people won't be able to buy anything, and the consequences will be extremely serious.

Although Zhang and Cao were puzzled, they could only suppress their curiosity and wait for Su Mo in the side hall.

Upon arriving at the side hall, Jiang Laoshi brewed tea, and Zhang Xuzu dismissed him. He then frowned and looked at Cao Feng: "What could be more important than the merchants' strike, Lord Su?"

They didn't think that Su Mo couldn't get a word of this.

The lady of that household is the Right Commander of the Thousand Households.

Nangong Sheyue, the Left Commander of Fengming Division, also had a very close relationship with him.

Su Mo knew far more clearly and in greater detail than they did.

Cao Feng shook his head with a wry smile: "How would I know... we'll know when Lord Su comes out."

Zhang Xuzu was also helpless.

He could only drink tea with Cao Feng while frowning and deep in thought, trying to come up with a solution.

They couldn't possibly wait until Su Mo asked them questions and find themselves clueless and without any way to respond.

Just as the two were deep in thought, they suddenly heard a noise coming from the back door of the side hall.

Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng also said that Su Mo had finally arrived.

Upon closer inspection, they were immediately dumbfounded!

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"

The woman in green gauze who walked out of the back door of the side hall, who else could it be but the Great Wu Empress?

Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng were sweating profusely, their voices trembling!
Leng Liuxi looked at Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng with slight surprise, then frowned slightly and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Where is Su... Qing?"

(End of this chapter)