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

"Fine! What are you all standing there for? Get out of here!" Xiao Anxun snapped impatiently. "Bring Li Lianqing here and fetch another three hundred iron needles!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the crowd responded in unison, as if granted a pardon, and scrambled out of the library courtyard. Although the three hundred iron needles would tear the skin and cause excruciating pain, for a Xiantian Realm expert, this pain was bearable and better than losing their life.

"Quickly, invite Her Majesty the Empress over!" Xiao Anxun instructed the eunuch beside him.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The little eunuch hurriedly retreated and headed towards the Phoenix Palace.

"Elder Su, there must be some misunderstanding here, please don't be angry!" Xiao Anxun's expression was quite uneasy. Currently, the Great Qian Dynasty is engulfed in war, the border is in dire straits, and the situation is unstable. The imperial palace can no longer withstand such internal strife. If the border is in chaos and the imperial palace is also in chaos, the Xiao royal family may really be doomed.

"I hope this is all a misunderstanding." Su Mu said calmly, knowing that tonight's events were instigated by Lin Wen and had nothing to do with Xiao Anxun. If Xiao Anxun had been involved, things would not have happened so quickly.

Not long after, Lin Wen arrived from Fenghe Palace and appeared in the library.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Lin Wen bowed slightly to Xiao Anxun, his gaze sweeping over Wei Zhongxian's corpse in the courtyard, his brows furrowing instantly.

On her way here, she had already received the news that Wei Zhongxian had been killed by Su Mu. She still couldn't believe it. Although Su Mu had killed Duanmu Ping, Duanmu Ping was an elderly Grandmaster, and the circumstances at the time were special. Logically speaking, it was impossible for a Grandmaster to kill a Grandmaster, even an elderly one!

"Your Majesty, Wei Zhongxian said that he was ordered by you to lead men to capture Elder Su. Is this true?" Xiao Anxun had just finished speaking when Xiao Changshan and Li Lianqing rushed over.

"Yes!" Lin Wen nodded, not denying it, then turned his gaze to Xiao Anxun and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, Su Mu has committed four serious crimes, each of which is enough to put him to death!"

"Oh?" Xiao Anxun raised an eyebrow, looked at Su Mu, and said irritably, "Old Master Su, what exactly did you do to anger the Empress so much?"

"First, he secretly instructed his maid, Xu Qian'er, to assassinate me!" Lin Wen explained firmly. "Xu Qian'er has a close relationship with Su Mu; her testimony is absolutely true!"

"Secondly, harboring an assassin and protecting the murderer! Su Mu himself confessed that he hid the body of Xu Shan'er, the assassin who killed me, in the basement of the library and burned it. This is a serious crime, and there is both witness testimony and physical evidence!"

"Third, Wei Zhongxian has concrete evidence proving that Su Mu is a remnant of the Western Chuan royal family, and that his father is Su Da, the ruler of Western Chuan, who intends to overthrow our Great Qian Dynasty!"

"Fourth, Su Mu is secretly colluding with the Divine Judgment! His father, Su Qingshan, is an important member of the Divine Judgment. He owns a residence in the capital city, and members of the Divine Judgment frequently come and go. Wei Zhongxian has already captured a master of the Divine Judgment, who confessed that after Su Mu was punished, he has been secretly contacting the Divine Judgment!"

"Just recently, the Divine Judgment sent someone to the palace, but they were intercepted by Eunuch Li and Eunuch Wei. The letter contained evidence of Su Mu's collusion with the Divine Judgment. The evidence is conclusive, and we hope Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly!"

Xiao Anxun's brows furrowed deeply after hearing Lin Wen's words, and his expression grew increasingly solemn.

"Lord Su, what do you have to say about the Empress's accusations?" Xiao Anxun asked in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on Su Mu.

"What I think is not important; what matters is what the Emperor thinks," Su Mu said calmly, handing the floor back to Xiao Anxun.

All eyes immediately focused on Xiao Anxun.

"Elder Su, don't worry, I'm not so easily fooled!" Xiao Anxun's expression was solemn, but he still chose to believe Su Mu and said in a deep voice, "Elder Su, why don't you go back to the library and rest?"

"As you command!" Su Mu bowed slightly, turned and walked towards the library, quite satisfied with Xiao Anxun's reaction.

"Follow me to the Qianming Palace!" Xiao Anxun said with a dark face, flicking his sleeves as he left, already having made his decision.

Li Lianqing quickly ordered his men to clean up Wei Zhongxian's body and then had the seriously injured martial arts school master carried out. Xiao Anran, Lin Wen, and the others followed closely behind Xiao Anxun, rushing towards Qianming Hall.

At Xiao Anxun's command, Xu Qian'er, the captured Divine Judgment expert, and the two letters and other evidence were sent to the Qianming Palace.

"Xu Qian'er, I ask you, was your assassination attempt on the Empress instigated by Eunuch Su of the Library Pavilion?" Xiao Anxun asked, a strong aura of royalty emanating from him, the power of a grandmaster permeating the entire hall, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

"Yes!" Xu Qian'er's heart skipped a beat. She lowered her head, but still spoke without hesitation. She knew she could not escape death and was angry at Su Mu's "ruthlessness," so she wanted to drag Su Mu down with her.

"Is what you say true? Do you have any evidence?" Xiao Anxun asked again, his gaze sharp as a knife as he stared directly at Xu Qian'er.

"When I met with Eunuch Su in private, he said that the Empress treated him badly, was unworthy to be Empress, and should be assassinated!" Xu Qian'er gritted her teeth and continued to fabricate lies.

"Your Majesty, everything I have said is true. I beg Your Majesty to do justice for me and severely punish Su Mu!" Lin Wen fanned the flames from the side, looking both aggrieved and angry.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" Xiao Anxun looked at Lin Wen and reprimanded her sternly, then looked at Xu Qian'er and said coldly, "This matter was discussed privately between you and Eunuch Su, and you are the only witness, aren't you?"

"Yes!" Xu Qian'er nodded, feeling a little uneasy.

"You are a member of the Situ family, and the murderer of the Empress, deserving of death; while Eunuch Su is a Grand Eunuch appointed by the court, renowned for his loyalty and filial piety, who has rendered outstanding service to the Great Qian Dynasty and the Imperial Family. Tell me, should I believe you or him?" Xiao Anxun sneered, his tone icy. "Don't think that just because you're prepared to die, you can slander others at will! Let me tell you, you're still too green! If you haven't framed anyone, you can die a quick death; but if you dare to slander a loyal and virtuous person, I will make you wish you were dead!"

"Your Majesty, how can you be so biased towards Su Mu..." Lin Wen wanted to say more.

"Shut up!" Xiao Anxun shouted angrily, interrupting Lin Wen.

He was a master at the mid-stage of the Grandmaster realm, with incredibly sharp eyes. Even an ordinary maid with no cultivation could lie to him; her every move and word would not escape his notice.

Lin Wen's face flushed crimson as Xiao Anxun publicly berated her, her chest churning with overwhelming resentment and anger. She had just ascended the throne, full of youthful vigor, and had assumed the Emperor would always grant her his wishes. She never expected that the Emperor would so vehemently criticize her in front of the royal family and court officials for the sake of a mere eunuch.

She gripped her sleeve tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh, the tips turning white. Anger blazed in her eyes, but reason ultimately prevailed over impulse. She knew Xiao Anxun valued Su Mu far more than she imagined, and she knew that Su Mu's achievements in quelling the Situ rebellion and intimidating all sides were beyond her reach. Further words were useless; silence was the wisest choice.