Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

"Your Highness, Cheng Ping'an greets you!"

When Cheng Ping'an saw Consort De and her entourage enter the courtyard, he immediately bowed and paid his respects with standard and respectful movements, displaying a composure rarely seen at his age.

During the Great Qian Dynasty, the kneeling ceremony was only performed on extremely solemn occasions such as worshipping Heaven and Earth and ancestors, and bowing to parents and teachers. Even when facing the imperial family, kneeling was not required for ordinary audiences. This was a set of etiquette established by the imperial family to demonstrate benevolence and win the hearts of the people.

"Rise." Consort De raised her hand, her voice gentle yet carrying an undeniable air of authority. Her gaze swept lightly over Cheng Ping'an before finally settling on Su Mu, scrutinizing him for a moment. "You've had a hard time these past few days, Su Mu."

"It's my duty, I dare not complain." Su Mu returned the greeting with clasped hands, his tone calm and revealing little emotion.

"Are you resenting me for not pleading for you, for letting you suffer those hundred nails?" Consort De stepped forward. Today, she wore an elegant moon-white embroidered orchid dress, her figure slender and her demeanor dignified and noble. Her features were exquisite, but her phoenix eyes were bright and piercing, with a glint of shrewdness in them. She exuded a heroic spirit that rivaled even the most valiant men, clearly demonstrating considerable talent and skill in martial arts.

"Su Mu dares not." Su Mu shook his head slightly, his gaze lowered. "Su Mu understands that Your Majesty, being in the inner palace, also has your own difficulties and considerations."

After all, they were distant cousins, and Consort De had always valued him highly. Their relationship as master and servant had been deep for many years, so Su Mu didn't need to be too cautious when speaking to Consort De. He maintained a measured and composed demeanor.

"Su Mu, Su Mu! I heard they beat you really badly. I've come to see if you're badly hurt..." The five-year-old sixth prince, Xiao Jingye, released his grip on Su Mu's leg, took two steps back, and looked up at Su Mu with his delicate, porcelain-like face and innocent concern in his dark, grape-like eyes.

"Jingye has been thinking of you these past few days. He can't eat or sleep peacefully without you by his side, so I brought him to see you." Consort De bent down, gently pulled her son to her side, and said softly. Then she looked at Su Mu, "You should stay here and rest for now. After some time, when everyone in the palace has gradually forgotten about Jingye falling into the water, we will find a way to transfer you back to Shude Palace."

"I will obey Your Majesty's orders," Su Mu replied, but sighed inwardly. He knew that returning to Shude Palace would be extremely difficult.

Sending him to this secluded library was an order personally given by the "Old Ancestor"—the "Old Ancestor" whom the palace eunuchs revered was none other than Wei Zhongxian, the Grand Eunuch who had served the Empress Dowager for decades and whose martial arts skills were unfathomable. This man wielded immense power and was deeply trusted by the Empress Dowager; not only Consort De, but even the Empress herself had to give him some leeway.

The Empress, the ruler of the inner palace, was a ruthless and decisive woman. Her family's power was deeply entrenched and profound. Not only did a Grandmaster reside in the family, but her elder brother was also a powerful general who commanded a large border army, making him a figure of great prestige.

Consort De's family background was equally extraordinary. She was not an ordinary daughter of an official, but rather from the ancient and prestigious Tianwu Sect. This was a super-powerful force on the Tianyuan Continent, whose mere presence could cause a stir. Over its long history, it had produced more than one Grandmaster, and rumors even circulated about peerless figures surpassing the Grandmaster realm. Even though its power had waned somewhat, its profound foundation remained formidable. Consort De's grandfather was a high-ranking and influential elder within the Tianwu Sect. It was precisely because of this backing that she had the confidence to rival the Empress in the palace and vie for the Emperor's favor.

However, in any case, Consort De was ultimately subject to the Empress's control. The Empress dared not directly deal with Consort De, but she dared to target Consort De's trusted confidants. When the Sixth Prince, Xiao Jingye, accidentally fell into the water, the Empress immediately issued an imperial edict, ordering Su Mu to be beaten one hundred times with a cane mixed with iron nails for "failing to protect his master." This was clearly intended to teach Consort De a lesson and curb her arrogance.

Xiao Jingye spent more than an hour in the study telling Su Mu folk tales and strange stories, until Consort De urged him to leave, at which point he reluctantly prepared to depart.

Before leaving, Consort De looked at Cheng Ping'an, who was standing to the side, and gently instructed him: "You must follow Eunuch Su closely, observe and learn more about everything, be careful in your words and deeds, and take good care of his diet and daily life."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have remembered." Cheng Ping'an bowed respectfully in response.

The palace maids and eunuchs brought by Consort De put down the things they brought one by one—a whole bag of fine white rice, various exquisite pastries, fresh green vegetables, and a large bag of pickled and dried meat. The amount was quite generous and enough for Su Mu and his companion to eat for a while.

Seeing Cheng Ping'an secretly swallowing as he gazed at the package of dried meat, a barely perceptible tenderness flickered in Su Mu's eyes. This child had indeed endured some hardship while following him. But hardship was only temporary; with him around, he would eventually give this child a different life.

The meager rations they had collected from the Imperial Kitchen ten days ago were long gone. If it weren't for Consort De's timely help today, they, the master and servants, would probably have had to go to the Imperial Kitchen again to be treated badly by Yang Mao and the others.

For the next five days, Su Mu focused intently on consolidating his newly achieved Innate Realm breakthrough. He swallowed one Spirit Essence Pill after another, and the vast and pure spiritual energy was rapidly refined by the Imperial Supreme Body Technique. The drop of true essence in his dantian became increasingly solid and profound, slowly growing in size.

It should be noted that even within a super sect like the Heavenly Martial Sect, ordinary inner disciples are already considered to have received an enviable amount of Spirit Essence Pills per month. The vast majority of martial artists can only rely on slow, painstaking effort to absorb the thin and impure spiritual energy from heaven and earth, resulting in slow cultivation progress. For someone like Su Mu to consume precious pills like candy without interruption is an extreme luxury, enough to make countless martial artists green with envy.

However, even with ample elixirs, accumulating sufficient true qi in a short period still requires a massive amount of spiritual energy conversion. More importantly, a martial artist's essence (life source) is limited, and once excessively depleted during cultivation or combat, recovery is extremely difficult. This is another major constraint restricting the rapid advancement of innate martial artists' cultivation—pure energy that nourishes the life source in the world is far too scarce. Otherwise, Grandmasters and even higher-level experts wouldn't be so rare and revered by thousands.

Cheng Ping'an took great care of Su Mu's diet while finally being able to enjoy the delicious jerky to his heart's content, his little face beaming with satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Su Mu took advantage of a break in his cultivation to go to a secluded spot in the courtyard to test his newly acquired low-grade Xuan-level hidden weapon—the Bone-Penetrating Needle.

He took out the bone-piercing needle, about an inch long, as thin as a cow's hair, and with a cold metallic luster, from his storage space. With a slight thought, a wisp of pale golden innate true energy emanated from his fingertip and slowly flowed into the needle.

Immediately afterwards, his gaze sharpened, locking onto a rockery several feet away used to decorate the courtyard, and his wrist suddenly twitched!

"Whoosh—!"