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

This teleportation talisman is the ultimate life-saving item. What surprised him even more was that this talisman was not a one-time consumable; it contained enough spatial energy for three uses. Even if the energy was exhausted, it would not be damaged, and could be used again as long as spatial energy was replenished into it.

……

The Imperial Palace, Qianming Hall.

After learning that Liu Ruoyu had successfully recognized Su Mu as her adoptive father, Xiao Anxun felt somewhat relieved and immediately summoned the powerful figures sent by the Tianwu Sect. At this time, Xiao Anran and Xiao Changshan were also by his side.

The person sent by the Heavenly Martial Sect this time was the sect's Second Elder, a powerful expert in the late stage of the Grandmaster realm. He was over 120 years old, with a face full of wrinkles and a very old appearance. It was precisely because of his advanced age that he did not go to the western part of the empire to hunt demonic beasts, but stayed in the sect to preside over the sect's daily affairs.

"Second Elder, you have come from afar, you must be tired." Xiao Anxun spoke first, trying to appear calm. "To tell you the truth, the Empress and the Sixth Elder had already passed away before the capital was besieged by the enemy."

"Oh?" The Second Elder frowned, his eyes instantly sharpening, and he asked in a deep voice, "How did those two die?"

"He was killed by Su Qingshan, the leader of the Divine Judgment Organization, and a Grandmaster of the Barbarian tribe." Xiao Anxun composed himself and began to fabricate a lie. "Su Qingshan was also a Grandmaster. The two Grandmasters joined forces. Although the Sixth Elder fought hard, he was ultimately no match for them, but he still managed to kill Su Qingshan and died a heroic death."

"Where is the body?" The Second Elder did not believe it easily and continued to ask, his gaze sweeping across the hall, his expression becoming increasingly solemn.

Xiao Anxun hurriedly called out towards the palace gate, summoning Li Lianqing to enter. A moment later, Li Lianqing, accompanied by two guards, carried in two corpses—the bodies of Su Qingshan and Lin Zhengying.

"The Empress was worried about the Sixth Elder's safety at the time, and in her haste, she rushed forward as well, only to be severely injured by the barbarian Grandmaster and her body was never recovered." Xiao Anxun continued to cover up the lie, his tone tinged with "grief." "Fortunately, in the subsequent battle to defend the city, the Imperial Preceptor killed that barbarian Grandmaster, which can be considered as avenging the blood feud between the Sixth Elder and the Empress."

The Second Elder bent down and carefully examined the two corpses. His fingers gently traced Lin Zhengying's wounds, his expression growing increasingly complex. He naturally recognized Lin Zhengying's corpse; the other corpse, with its lingering rich primordial spirit aura, was undoubtedly Su Qingshan.

"When Su Qingshan and the barbarian Grandmaster entered the palace to assassinate him, why didn't the Imperial Preceptor intervene?" The Second Elder raised his head, his gaze fixed on Xiao Anxun, his tone tinged with suspicion as he continued to press, "The Imperial Preceptor is incredibly powerful. If he had intervened, the Empress and the Sixth Elder might not have suffered this calamity."

"The Imperial Preceptor was not in the core area of ​​the palace at the time," Xiao Anxun replied calmly, having already prepared his explanation. "The Imperial Preceptor resides in the library, which is located on the edge of the palace. The Phoenix Harmony Palace, where the Empress and the Sixth Elder reside, is not very close to the library. The fighting was extremely fierce at the time, but it lasted very short. By the time the Imperial Preceptor noticed the commotion and rushed over, it was already too late."

"Why didn't the palace maids, eunuchs, and imperial guards of Fenghe Palace send a message for help at that time?" The Second Elder still hadn't let go of his doubts and kept asking, his suspicions undiminished.

Just as the Second Elder was about to press further, Xiao Anxun cut him off.

"Second Elder, you may not know this, but when three Grandmasters clashed, the sheer aura emanating from their bodies was enough to crush any martial artist below the Innate Realm!" Xiao Anxun said earnestly, pausing briefly before adding, "I completely understand your doubts, Second Elder, but at that time, the Great Qian Empire was on the verge of collapse. The royal family wished nothing more than for the Empress and the Sixth Elder to be safe and sound; why would they harm them?"

"Your Majesty is too kind. This old minister has no doubts about Your Majesty and the royal family." The Second Elder slowly shook his head, his expression still solemn. "It's just that this matter is of great importance, and this old minister must get to the bottom of it. Otherwise, I will not be able to report back to the sect leader after returning to the sect."

"Second Elder is right." Xiao Anxun chimed in, continuing to fabricate his story, "As for why I haven't informed the Tianwu Sect about this matter yet, firstly, the journey is long, and secondly, there were scattered enemy troops everywhere in the territory at that time. I was worried that the messenger might encounter something unforeseen on the way, which would cause the message to be missed. That's why I haven't sent the message yet."

The Second Elder remained silent for a moment, then looked up at Xiao Anxun and bowed, pleading, "Your Majesty, I humbly request permission to take the bodies of the Sixth Elder and Su Qingshan back to the Tianwu Sect, so that the entire sect can properly bury the Sixth Elder and investigate Su Qingshan's background."

"This..." Xiao Anxun's heart tightened, and he hesitated subconsciously. It was reasonable for the Second Elder to take back Lin Zhengying's body, but the fact that the Second Elder wanted to take Su Qingshan's body as well clearly indicated that he still had doubts and wanted to examine it carefully. But now that things had come to this, he had no reason to refuse, so he could only bite the bullet and nod, "Alright, Second Elder, please proceed."

"Thank you for your permission, Your Majesty!" The Second Elder said no more, immediately circulating his power, a light blue aura rising around him, firmly enveloping the two corpses. He then turned and walked out of the Qianming Hall. Xiao Anxun, Xiao Anran, Xiao Changshan, and the others naturally saw him off.

Outside the main gate of the palace, two experts at the Innate Realm of the Heavenly Martial Sect were already waiting there, with a black carriage parked beside them. The Second Elder carefully placed the two corpses into the carriage, exchanged a few polite words with Xiao Anxun and the others, then boarded the carriage and instructed the driver to set off.

The carriage rattled as it gradually drove away from the palace and disappeared into the depths of the imperial city's streets and alleys.

Xiao Anxun and the others turned and returned to Qianming Hall, where the atmosphere instantly became heavy. Xiao Changshan spoke first, his face full of worry, asking, "Your Majesty, will the sect leader of Tianwu Sect believe your explanation?"

"Without solid evidence, we have no choice but to believe it." Xiao Anxun rubbed his throbbing temples, his tone full of helplessness. "The Tianwu Sect will definitely send people to investigate this matter in secret. As for whether they can find out the truth, we can only leave it to fate. Since things have come to this, we can only take it one step at a time and deceive for as long as we can."

He paused, then said in a deep voice, "Once the Empire's military strength has fully recovered, immediately send a large number of troops to the west to guard against any unforeseen circumstances."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right." Xiao Changshan nodded repeatedly in agreement. "The Japanese, barbarian, and Northern Desert Kingdoms will certainly not dare to launch a large-scale invasion in the short term. Now the Empire's focus of defense should indeed be shifted to the west to deal with the monster threat in the Cangmang Mountains."

"Li Lianqing!" Xiao Anxun shouted loudly.

Li Lianqing strode into the hall and bowed, saying, "This old servant is here."

"By imperial decree, Consort Liu Ruoyu is of virtuous character, gentle and kind, and is hereby promoted to Empress. She shall move to Fenghe Palace. This is my decree!" Xiao Anxun's tone was firm and resounding.

"This old servant obeys the decree!" Li Lianqing bowed and accepted the order, then turned and quickly left to deliver the decree.

Xiao Anxun and Xiao Changshan had long been aware of this imperial decree. It was their idea to have Liu Ruoyu recognize Su Mu as her adoptive father—as direct descendants of the Xiao imperial family, they couldn't recognize Su Mu as their adoptive father, and appointing him as the Imperial Preceptor already exceeded the limits of ancestral rules. However, having the Empress recognize Su Mu as her adoptive father would demonstrate the imperial family's sincerity and determination to Su Mu, further strengthen their relationship, and solidify the imperial family's position.

……

Inside the library, Su Mu was carefully examining the Teleportation Talisman, feeling the spatial power flowing within it with his fingertips. After a moment, he put it back into his system warehouse. Then, he took out a Kunling True Fire Pill and examined it carefully in his palm—this high-grade pill required extreme caution when taken, allowing no room for carelessness.

But to his utter surprise, when he was completely unprepared, the gold on the bed suddenly flapped its wings and pecked the Kunling True Fire Pill from his palm, swallowing it whole.

Su Mu froze for a moment, then, both angry and anxious, he hissed, "Idiot! You can't just eat this stuff! Spit it out right now!"