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

Lin Wen took the confession, carefully read through it, her face growing increasingly grim, her hands trembling slightly with anger. She cursed sharply, "You scoundrel! Back in Shude Palace, I treated him well, yet he not only showed no gratitude but also secretly plotted against me, harboring treacherous intentions!"

Wei Zhongxian stood with his head bowed, silent. He knew in his heart that Xu Qian'er was most likely seduced, or deliberately implicated Su Mu for self-preservation or revenge. During the interrogation earlier, he had noticed that Xu Qian'er's words were evasive, as if she was hiding something, but he did not expose her—he wanted to bring down Su Mu anyway, and Xu Qian'er's accusation was exactly the opportunity he had been hoping for.

Moreover, he could tell that Xu Qian'er and Su Mu might have some old grudges, which was why they cooperated so well in framing Su Mu.

"How is Xu Qian'er now?" Lin Wen suppressed her anger and asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, Xu Qian'er is still alive," Wei Zhongxian replied. "I knew Your Majesty wanted to detain her for questioning, so I did not torture her. She was quite cooperative and confessed a lot of things."

"Very well!" A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Wen's eyes as she sharply ordered, "Eunuch Wei, you immediately lead a team to the library and arrest Su Mu for me!"

Wei Zhongxian did not immediately accept the order. Instead, he bowed and advised, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! Su Mu is the Grand Eunuch of Loyalty and Filial Piety, personally appointed by the Emperor. He is highly regarded by the Emperor. It would be too hasty to rely on the testimony of a palace maid. I'm afraid it would not convince the public. Moreover, to arrest Su Mu, we must report to the Emperor. Otherwise, it would be disobeying the imperial decree. I dare not act on my own."

Lin Wen frowned and interrupted him impatiently, "How's the investigation going on with those two letters accusing Su Mu of colluding with the Divine Judgment?"

"Your Majesty, we have made progress, but we have not yet found conclusive evidence." Wei Zhongxian quickly replied, "Your Majesty, please be patient. Once we find irrefutable evidence of Su Mu's collusion with the Divine Judgment, and combine it with Xu Qian'er's confession, we will report to the Emperor. At that time, arresting Su Mu will be justified, and the Emperor will not object."

Lin Wen remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. Her hatred for Su Mu had already reached its peak—Su Mu's past indifference towards her, coupled with Xu Qian'er's accusations, made her want to tear Su Mu to pieces immediately. But she also knew that Wei Zhongxian was right; without solid evidence, rashly arresting Su Mu would only incur the Emperor's displeasure.

"Fine, we'll wait a few more days," Lin Wen said in a deep voice, her tone full of resentment. "But we can't just let him go like this!"

A glint of light flashed in Wei Zhongxian's eyes, and he quickly added, "Your Majesty, Xu Qian'er also confessed that her sister, Xu Shan'er, fled into the library after her failed assassination attempt on Your Majesty and never came out again. I verified this with Situ Wan, and Situ Wan confirmed it as well. She also said that Xu Shan'er never returned to the Situ residence and must have perished in the library long ago."

He knew perfectly well that Situ Wan hated Su Mu to the core and would never hide this matter. On the contrary, she would deliberately exaggerate and wish Su Mu would be implicated.

A calculating glint flashed in Lin Wen's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "Alright! Then, under the guise of searching for Xu Shan'er's remains and investigating the remaining members of the assassin's gang, lead a team to the library for a thorough search. Don't miss a single corner! You must find Xu Shan'er's remains or any clues she left behind. As long as we can implicate Su Mu, even if it's just for harboring a criminal, we can punish him!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" Wei Zhongxian bowed and accepted the order, overjoyed—he finally had a legitimate opportunity to enter the library and find evidence to bring down Su Mu.

After leaving Fenghe Palace, Wei Zhongxian did not set off immediately. Instead, he first sought out the eunuch who had served in the library in the past and carefully inquired about the layout of the library, especially the hidden places, for fear of missing any clues.

The palace was already heavily guarded tonight due to Xu Qian'er's assassination attempt, and with the previous infiltration of assassins, there were patrolling guards and martial arts experts everywhere.

At midnight, Wei Zhongxian led a large group of martial arts experts and many powerful figures sent by the Xiao royal family to the library, where they surrounded the entire library.

Hearing the commotion, Xiao Anran quickly came out of her room. Upon seeing Wei Zhongxian and the others, her face immediately darkened: "Steward Wei, what brings you here to surround the library in the middle of the night?"

Wei Zhongxian bowed to Xiao Anran, his tone respectful yet firm: "Your Highness, I am acting on the orders of Her Majesty the Empress. Due to the recent spate of assassin infiltrations into the palace, a thorough search of all parts of the palace is necessary to eliminate any potential threats. I ask for Your Highness's understanding. The library is no exception; it must be thoroughly searched to prevent any remaining assassins from hiding there."

"You want to search this place too?" Xiao Anran asked, her face full of displeasure. "The library has always been quiet, only Elder Su, Feng Bao, and I live here. How could there be assassins hiding here? Steward Wei, this is unnecessary!"

"Princess, this matter is of great importance, and I am only acting under orders, so I have no choice but to do so," Wei Zhongxian said slowly. "However, Princess, rest assured, this is just a routine search. I will complete it as soon as possible and will not disturb Elder Su and the Princess's rest too much. This is also to give Her Majesty the Empress an explanation."

"Search it." A calm voice came from behind. Su Mu walked over slowly, his expression indifferent, showing no sign of panic.

Although Xiao Anran was dissatisfied, she knew that Wei Zhongxian was acting on Lin Wen's orders, and insisting on stopping him would only cause more trouble. Besides, there were indeed no assassins hiding in the library, so she wasn't afraid that Wei Zhongxian and his men would find anything.

Perhaps, avoiding Lin Wen's sharp edge and letting them do the searching would actually save a lot of trouble.

"Search! Hurry up, thoroughly check every corner, don't miss any clues!" Wei Zhongxian shouted, giving orders to the people behind him.

The group of experts immediately dispersed and began a full-scale search: some checked the rooms on both sides, some browsed through the books in the library, some searched the corners of the courtyard, and some even went into the kitchen to carefully search every hidden place.

One of Wei Zhongxian's trusted confidants was the first to find the hidden spot in the kitchen. He moved a dry piece of firewood and lifted a wooden plank, revealing a concealed entrance to the basement.

At this moment, Su Mu was standing on the second floor of the library, his divine sense already covering the entire courtyard, allowing him to see everyone's movements clearly.

"So that's how it is. We finally found it." A strange smile appeared on Su Mu's lips, but there was no panic in his eyes—all of this was within his expectations, or even something he had deliberately arranged.

That basement contained Xu Shan'er's remains. Years ago, Xu Shan'er failed in her assassination attempt on Lin Wen and fled to the library, where he killed her. Instead of thoroughly cleaning up the evidence, he burned Xu Shan'er's remains to ashes and hid them in the basement along with her invisibility cloak, dagger, and a jade hairpin she always wore.

These items are enough to prove that the deceased was Xu Shan'er—he wanted to leave these traces to see how the Xiao royal family, Lin Wen, and Wei Zhongxian would react.