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

Countless innocent people in the palace have been implicated and lost their lives because of similar incidents, and they don't want to be the next ones!

"I will investigate this matter thoroughly." Seeing the change in their expressions, Huang Yuan stopped pressuring them and said, "Whether you were involved or not, I hope you will fully cooperate with the investigation to avoid attracting more attention. If things escalate, it won't benefit anyone!"

"Yes, yes! We will definitely cooperate fully!" Yang Mao and Hu Zhichun nodded hurriedly, their faces full of ingratiating smiles.

Huang Yuan said no more, had his men carry Li Mo's body, and turned to leave.

Of course, he also left two powerful warriors from the Martial Arts Bureau to keep a close eye on Yang Mao's movements and take immediate action to control him if anything seemed amiss.

After Huang Yuan and the others left, Hu Zhichun breathed a sigh of relief and said to Yang Mao, "Don't be impatient. I'll deliver breakfast to the Empress later, and then find an opportunity to bring up this matter, insisting that it has nothing to do with us. As long as we have the Empress's orders, the Imperial Guard won't make things difficult for us anymore!"

"Thank you very much, Eunuch Hu!" Yang Mao quickly cupped his hands in thanks, his heart filled with gratitude.

"No need to be so formal, we're all family!" Hu Zhichun waved his hand and turned to leave the small reception room.

"Damn Cheng Ping'an! And that Su Mu!" Yang Mao slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted with rage.

He didn't resent the "Imperial Guard" who killed Li Mo; after all, the man was incredibly strong to kill Li Mo with a single blow, and he couldn't afford to offend him. But he vented all his resentment on Cheng Ping'an and Su Mu—if it weren't for these two, Li Mo wouldn't have died, and he wouldn't be in this mess!

……

An assassin was killed around the library, but it didn't cause much of a stir.

After all, no substantial damage was caused, nor did it alarm the noble ladies in the palace or the Emperor. When the Empress learned of this, she merely issued an order: without evidence, no rash action is permitted; all staff members of the Imperial Kitchen shall be fined six months' salary, and the Imperial Martial Arts Bureau shall be ordered to strictly supervise all personnel of the Imperial Kitchen.

In fact, assassins or killers often appear in the palace. As long as the deaths are not too serious and the victims are insignificant people, few people would bother the busy emperor.

The main reason Huang Yuan went to the library to ask Su Mu and Cheng Ping'an was actually for Cheng Ping'an's sake—he valued Cheng Ping'an's martial arts talent and wanted to confirm whether Cheng Ping'an was safe.

"Ping An, keep up the good work and break through to the Innate Realm as soon as possible, and enter the Martial Arts Bureau. When you're in the Martial Arts Bureau, with my protection, who would dare to have any improper thoughts about you!" Huang Yuan patted Cheng Ping An on the shoulder and encouraged him.

"Yes! Thank you, Eunuch Huang! We will definitely do our best to help Ping An!" Cheng Ping An nodded in deep agreement, his eyes filled with longing.

"Eunuch Su, you seem like a completely different person." Huang Yuan's gaze returned to Su Mu, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.

The Su Mu of the past, though a favorite of Consort De, was gentle and even somewhat timid. The Su Mu of today, while still low-key, possesses an undeniable aura of power, and his eyes have become deep and sharp, making him a completely different person.

"I was originally Consort De's personal eunuch, but now I've become a disgraced official punished and confined to the study. Such a change is to be expected," Su Mu said with a hint of sarcasm. "I think Eunuch Huang would never understand the feeling of falling from grace to the depths of despair, of a carefree, complacent existence!"

"Don't be discouraged, Eunuch Su. You might be able to return to Shude Palace soon!" Huang Yuan smiled and comforted her.

He could sense that Su Mu's cultivation level was also at the early stage of the Innate Realm, and there wasn't much difference between him and Su Mu.

"The odds of winning are slim." Su Mu shook his head, a bitter look on his face—he knew that without sufficient strength, returning to Shude Palace was almost impossible.

Huang Yuan hesitated, but ultimately said nothing more. He led Cheng Ping'an into the courtyard and personally instructed Cheng Ping'an in martial arts cultivation.

Not wanting to arouse too much suspicion, Su Mu did not enter the courtyard, but instead went into the library, randomly selected a book, and quietly began to read it.

He understood that Huang Yuan was doing this to cultivate a good relationship with Cheng Ping'an and invest in him in advance. Once Cheng Ping'an grew into a powerful figure, Huang Yuan would naturally benefit as well—it must be said, Huang Yuan had excellent foresight!

For three days in a row, the weather was calm and no one dared to trespass into the library.

Under Su Mu's guidance and with the aid of elixirs, Cheng Ping'an made rapid progress. With the help of a Spirit Gathering Pill, he successfully condensed true qi, completely stabilizing his late-stage Qi Induction realm.

Just as Cheng Ping'an condensed his true energy, the system notification sounded in Su Mu's mind again:

[Ding! Congratulations on your godson Cheng Ping'an's successful breakthrough to the Innate Realm!]

The generous rewards have been distributed to your system storage. Please check!

Perhaps because Cheng Ping'an broke through to a higher realm, Su Mu received a much richer reward this time than before:

Twenty Qi-Strengthening Pills!

One hundred and fifty Spirit Essence Pills!

One hundred and fifty Qi Gathering Pills!

Twenty Spirit-Nourishing Pills!

A Concealing Breath Bead!

There's also a Xuan-level advanced martial arts manual called "Thunder Fist"!

The more descendants one has and the higher their cultivation level, the better the rewards one receives. However, Su Mu currently only has Cheng Ping'an as his godson, so he is already very satisfied with the rewards he has received!

That Concealing Breath Bead is a mid-grade Xuan-level magic artifact! As long as it is stored in the Qi Sea, one's aura can be completely hidden. Neither blood qi fluctuations nor true qi fluctuations will be leaked in the slightest. Even a Grandmaster-level expert would find it difficult to discover one's true cultivation level without careful examination!

Two days later, Cheng Ping'an took some pills and spirit-gathering pills to completely gather his true energy and stabilize it at the innate realm.

"Ping An, you've already reached the Innate Realm. You can tell Eunuch Huang that you're preparing to enter the Martial Arts Bureau," Su Mu said to Cheng Ping An.

"Godfather, I want to serve you a little longer!" Cheng Ping'an knelt down with a thud, his face full of reluctance.

His ability to reach the Innate Realm in such a short time was entirely due to his adoptive father! His adoptive father even fed him water containing precious elixirs, and taught him the most exquisite shortcuts to cultivation. His adoptive father didn't say anything, and he dared not ask, but he knew in his heart how much effort his adoptive father had put into nurturing him!

He wanted to stay by his adoptive father's side, not to take advantage of him, but to repay his adoptive father's kindness—with him around, his adoptive father would no longer need to do his own laundry, cooking, cleaning, or airing his books.

"Go." Su Mu waved his hand, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable force. "You're now valued by the Martial Arts Bureau, and Eunuch Huang comes to check on you occasionally. You won't be staying here for long."