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

Su Mu assumed that Yang Mao was dead and the matter was over, so he didn't think much of it and chatted with Geng Ming for a while about borrowing books. He intended to inquire about the aftermath of Yang Mao's death, but Geng Ming only shook his head and remained silent, keeping quiet about the matter.

The next morning, Geng Ming actually came to return the copy of the "Nila Sutra".

This aroused Su Mu's suspicions.

This book is over 500,000 words long, and it would be extremely difficult for an ordinary person to finish reading it in a single day. Moreover, the Imperial Kitchen is a very busy place; where would they find the time to devour such a massive volume?

"Eunuch Geng, is this book any good?" Su Mu asked with a smile. "If it's really good, I'll take a look at it later."

"It's...it's alright," Geng Ming replied vaguely.

Su Mu knew he was lying as soon as he heard it. With his enhanced perception, his ability to read people's expressions had also improved considerably.

"I never expected that Eunuch Geng could read so quickly, finishing such a thick volume in just one day." Su Mu's gaze fell on Geng Ming.

Geng Ming's eyes darted away, and a hint of unease flashed across his face.

He was, after all, just an ordinary eunuch. Under Su Mu's oppressive gaze, he gradually began to falter and showed signs of fear.

Su Mu concluded that Geng Ming's visit was definitely not for borrowing books.

He was ordered by Hu Zhichun, the newly appointed head of the Imperial Kitchen, to use the pretext of retrieving books to investigate whether anyone in the library had died from poisoning!

Of course, Hu Zhichun also asked Geng Ming to return the book—to avoid arousing suspicion.

As Hu Zhichun's confidant, Geng Ming often handled his shady dealings.

From Geng Ming's flickering eyes and subtle reactions, Su Mu had already deduced that Hu Zhichun was the Empress's lackey, and that the "added ingredients" on the braised pork earlier was a trick that Hu Zhichun and Geng Ming had conspired to do at the Empress's behest.

This Geng Ming is definitely not a good person.

"Did Hu Zhichun already know that Yang Mao had put the Heart-Eating Powder in that dish of meat?"

"That must be it!"

"Hu Zhichun sent Geng Ming here to confirm whether Yang Mao had succeeded."

"Perhaps this was a conspiracy between him and Yang Mao!"

Su Mu understood this. Regardless of whether Hu Zhichun personally participated in the poisoning, this action alone proved that he and Yang Mao were both henchmen of the Empress.

Since that's the case, this person must not be allowed to live!

Under the influence of Su Mu's Soul-Suppressing Technique, Geng Ming left the library in a daze.

He first returned to the Imperial Kitchen, took out a boning knife from a hidden pocket in his sleeve, and then found Hu Zhichun.

Before Hu Zhichun could even speak, Geng Ming had already slit his throat with a single stroke!

Hu Zhichun never expected that his trusted confidant, whom he had personally promoted, would suddenly turn against him and die on the spot.

"You bastard! You bully us all the time and force us to hand over half our salary every month! Die!"

Geng Ming stabbed Hu Zhichun several more times before raising the knife to slit his own neck.

Everything happened in full view of everyone.

Everyone in the Imperial Kitchen was dumbfounded!

By the time they realized what had happened, Geng Ming had already died, which was considered a "suicide out of fear of punishment."

Hu Zhichun lay in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open, his face filled with disbelief—he had always been dissatisfied with Geng Ming, how could he have expected to suffer such a backlash?

Everyone knew that Geng Ming was Hu Zhichun's confidant, and they had often heard that Hu Zhichun forced his subordinates to "pay tribute." Therefore, they were somewhat inclined to believe that Geng Ming had suddenly killed someone. No one sympathized with Hu Zhichun; most people secretly cursed: Retribution!

The sudden deaths of two chief eunuchs in the Imperial Kitchen were suspicious, causing a stir not only within the Imperial Kitchen but also among the upper echelons of the palace.

Soon after, Li Lianying was ordered to come to the Imperial Kitchen to investigate.

Almost simultaneously, a spy from the Imperial Kitchen reported the news to the Empress—the same head steward who had also been placed in the Imperial Kitchen was another pawn secretly cultivated by the Empress.

As the morning sun rises, Fenghe Palace is bathed in sunlight.

At this moment, Empress Situ Wan, the Empress of the Great Qian Dynasty, was giving a lecture to her biological son, Xiao Jinghuan.

"It's already dawn, isn't it too early?"

"You feel hot in summer and cold in winter. As a martial artist, you have to be very careful with time. How can you expect to achieve great things in martial arts in the future?"

Situ Wan was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, holding a slender branch in her hand, and made an attacking gesture towards the seven-year-old Fifth Prince Xiao Jinghuan.

Just then, a palace maid rushed in and said, "Your Majesty, Luo Teng, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Kitchen, has come to pay a visit!"

"Bring him here!"

Situ Wan didn't actually make a move; she simply threw the thin branch in her hand and angrily turned around and went to a spacious hall.

Before long, the chubby Luo Teng, led by a palace servant, came before Situ Wan.

"Welcome, Empress!"

Luo Teng bowed slightly, and the maid who had led the way quickly left.

"Why are you here so early? Is there something you need?"

Situ Wan was somewhat puzzled. Although Luo Teng was a lackey he had planted in the Imperial Kitchen, much like Hu Zhichun, the person he met with was Hu Zhichun.

"Your Majesty, Hu Zhichun is... is no longer alive!"

"What?!" a middle-aged man exclaimed in surprise.

Situ Wanqiao's face held a hint of sharpness, yet also a hint of surprise.

Why is this happening?

Luo Teng recounted how Hu Zhichun was killed by Geng Ming.

Did Hu Zhichun force Geng Ming to give him half of his salary?

After listening to Luo Teng's account, Situ Wan felt that something was amiss.

"have no idea!"

Luo Teng shook his head and said, "Geng Ming and I don't have much of a relationship, but based on my understanding of Hu Zhichun, he's not the kind of person who's insatiable!"

"Yang Mao's death was already suspicious, and now he's even killed Hu Zhichun. Could there be some connection between the two?"

Situ Wan seemed to be deep in thought.

She suddenly remembered the person Hu Zhichun had just mentioned, the eunuch in Shude Palace, named Xiao Suzi!

Then, she remembered Xu Qian'er's older sister, Xu Shan'er, and Xu Qian'er.

According to the original plan, Xu Qian'er failed to assassinate Consort De and was unable to leave the palace, so she would hide in the study. However, she seemed to have vanished into thin air, and even her body could not be found. This is too strange!

Since Xu Qian'er couldn't get any information about Xu Shan'er out of Xiao Suzi, whenever Hu Zhichun mentioned Xiao Suzi, Situ Wan ordered him to kill Xiao Suzi.

"Li Mo was disguised as an assassin, and he was killed near the library. Could he be involved in this?"

"He's just an ordinary eunuch, with no martial arts skills whatsoever; he certainly doesn't possess such formidable strength!"

"It must have been Consort De, along with the martial arts masters in the palace, who used Xiaoshu Su as bait to lure out all my trusted confidants, and then killed them one by one!"

"They dared not touch me, so they targeted those close to me, leaving me with no one I could use in the palace!"

Situ Wan's expression turned even uglier. Since she had set her sights on her, she had to fight back.

"When Lu Xiang returns from the north, I'd like to know if my bait is big enough, big enough for a grandmaster to swallow!"

"Perhaps, a powerhouse at the Innate Realm is enough!"

Thinking of this, Situ Wan said a few more words to Luo Teng.

……

The afternoon sun was warm.

Around noon, Su Chen, who had just finished lunch, leaned against the library door, enjoying the sunshine.

"Father, Eunuch Li has arrived!"