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

Now, even a grandmaster like Lu Xiang has fallen there!

In addition, there are Geng Ming, Yang Mao, Hu Zhichun, and others...

Situ Wan couldn't help but shiver.

"Could it be... that the Grandmaster in the palace has truly sided with Consort De?"

"The war in the north is going poorly, and the Situ family desperately needs strong external support. How dare he do this!"

"Only a grandmaster could take Lu Xiang's life so silently..."

Situ Wan was in a state of utter confusion and didn't know how to respond.

After dismissing Luo Teng, she forced herself to remain calm, quickly ate breakfast, and then left the palace with the Fifth Prince Xiao Jinghuan and several eunuchs and palace maids.

Before leaving the palace, she had requested permission from the emperor—according to ancestral rules, concubines were not allowed to leave the palace without permission, and the empress was no exception.

Situ Wan obtained the emperor's permission on the grounds that "the fifth prince misses his family and wishes to return home to visit them."

That morning, she braved the snow to return to her mother's home.

The vast manor originally had a plaque that read "General's Mansion," but due to Situ Sheng's repeated defeats in the north and the reduction of his military power, the words "General's Mansion" have now been removed.

In a quiet courtyard of the Situ family home.

In a hall that resembled a secret room, Empress Situ Wan and three key figures from the Situ family gathered together.

The doors and windows were tightly shut, and there were no servants to serve tea.

Situ Wan's great-grandfather, Situ Jing—an ancestor over 180 years old—sat upright in a grand chair facing due north.

He wore a gray-blue cloth robe, his beard and hair were all white, and his face was lined with deep wrinkles, making him look very old.

The average lifespan of ordinary people on the Tianyuan Continent is only sixty or seventy years; innate martial artists can live up to one hundred years; and grandmasters can live up to one hundred and fifty years. And if no accidents happen, it is not difficult for a great grandmaster to live to two hundred years old.

This means that Situ Jing has at most twenty years left to live.

Situ Lie, the head of the Situ family, and his son Situ Sheng sat on the left and right respectively.

Situ Lie is the grandson of Situ Jing. He is a Grandmaster and although he is old, his appearance does not show his age because of his profound cultivation.

Situ Lie's father had passed away long ago because he had not yet become a Grandmaster.

Currently, only two members of the Situ family have reached the Grandmaster level: Situ Lie and Situ Wan's elder brother, Situ Sheng.

Without extraordinary circumstances, it would be virtually impossible for this father and son to advance any further. Reaching a higher level would be incredibly difficult!

Even for a family like the Situ family, with a Grandmaster at its helm, where cultivation resources are never lacking, spiritual medicines like the "Spirit Nourishing Pill," which can rapidly enhance the soul, are extremely rare. One of the biggest obstacles to breaking through to the Grandmaster level is the excessively slow growth of the soul!

As people age, their bodies weaken and their qi and blood become deficient, which is a constraint that cannot be ignored.

True martial arts prodigies often reach the Grandmaster level before the age of fifty. Those with excellent talent but not yet at the prodigy level may also have a chance to break through if they have sufficient resources.

Situ Sheng was the latter.

He was thirty-five years old, in the prime of his life, and the Situ family spared no effort in nurturing him, never sparing him any resources. Unfortunately, the only area where the Situ family could not provide him with much assistance was in enhancing his spiritual essence.

"What a pity, Lu Xiang..."

After listening to Situ Wan's account, Situ Jing, who was sitting in the main seat, slowly opened his eyes. His aged face remained calm. "I have guided him many times and have long seen that he has extraordinary talent. Although he has no hope of becoming a Grandmaster, he has the potential to reach the peak of the Grandmaster level. I never expected him to die like this."

"Yes," Situ Lie agreed, "By the time Lu Xiangxiu reaches his peak, the one in the palace will have reached the end of his life, which will be the perfect time for him to take over the inner court."

"In my opinion, Lu Xiang must have been murdered by that person in the palace!" Situ Sheng's face was gloomy and his voice was cold. "This is to cut off our arms in the palace so that the Xiao family descendants can sit firmly on the throne! Even if I had not suffered a defeat in the northern border, the Xiao family would have found a reason to reduce my military power sooner or later."

"His actions are perfectly reasonable," Situ Jing said calmly. "If it were me, I might have done the same. At this age, who doesn't think about their children and grandchildren?"

"But we have no intention of rebelling!" Situ Sheng roared. "His suspicion and suppression are tantamount to destroying the very foundation of the Great Qian Dynasty!"

"Perhaps Wan'er is too assertive in the palace, which displeases the royal family and arouses their suspicion." Situ Lie glanced at his empress daughter, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. She was intelligent, but lacked composure and was too sharp.

"Everything I've done is for Huan'er, and also for the Situ family." Situ Wan's words were not self-defense, but from the bottom of her heart. Her marriage to the current emperor was a huge gamble for her family. With her status, she didn't need to compete for favor; she could have easily chosen a suitable husband and enjoyed being pampered.

"It's not your fault, you were too hasty," Situ Lie replied. "The Fifth Prince is still young, and the Emperor is in his prime. It would be best for us to wait until the one in the palace passes away before taking our time."

Situ Wan pursed her lips and remained silent.

"Things have come to this point. Even if we have no intention of rebelling, the other side has already decided to kill us." Situ Sheng's eyes flashed with a fierce light. "There have been rumors in the palace that His Majesty intends to depose the Empress. Whether it is true or not, we should make plans as soon as possible."

"As long as I have a breath left, the deposing of the empress will remain just a rumor," Situ Jing said slowly. "That old friend in the palace probably won't outlive me. After Wan'er returns to the palace, she should remain patient for now. If that person still doesn't give up... I'll just risk my old bones and perish with him."

……

The Imperial City of the Great Qian Dynasty, the Library.

Su Mu sat by the window on the first floor, idly flipping through books while admiring the snow in the courtyard.

Leisurely and content.

Since Li Lianying's interrogation that night, no one in the palace had bothered him again. Su Mu knew that Lu Xiang's death had a significant deterrent effect. Even though everyone believed that Lu Xiang's death was related to him, no one dared to act rashly.

—After all, he has a master who can kill grandmasters behind him.

afternoon.

Su Mu had just finished lunch when he saw a hunchbacked old man strolling alone into the library's gatehouse.

The old man had a withered face and was weak and feeble. He walked with a faltering gait, as if he would collapse at any moment.

Su Mu's eyelids twitched the moment he saw it.

—This is no ordinary old man on his deathbed!

An ordinary eunuch of this age should have been released from the palace long ago, unless... he is a martial arts master.

"Little Su" had been in the palace for over thirty years and had seen most of the eunuchs, including "Wei Zhongxian," who was often talked about in private by the palace staff. Apart from the newly arrived eunuchs, there were very few people in the entire palace he had never met.

The old man in front of me is one of them.

No one accompanied him, no one led the way.

The fact that he could move so freely in and out of the palace speaks volumes about his extraordinary abilities.

"Old man, what is this...?" Su Mu guessed that the old man was probably a reclusive figure from the royal family.

In any case, as a eunuch guarding the palace, one must first ascertain the purpose of the visit. Deliberately avoiding the question would only arouse suspicion.

"I am Xiao Yuanhou, and I have come looking for a book."

"What?!" Su Mu was shocked upon hearing this.

Xiao Yuanhou—he had seen this name in "Little Su's" memory before!

When the current emperor recorded the names of past ancestors, he mentioned Xiao Yuanhou. At that time, "Little Su" asked Li Lianying curiously who this person was, but Li Lianying quickly covered his mouth.

A few days later, Li Lianying took the opportunity to privately warn: Xiao Yuanhou is the Emperor's great-grandfather, a Grandmaster-level expert who lives a secluded life, so don't ask too many questions.

"So it was him..."

Xiao Yuanhou, dressed in an old gray-white robe, strolled across the porch and into the courtyard: "No need to be alarmed, I'm just here to look at a few books."

"Please make yourself at home. This servant will make you some tea."

Su Mu dared not neglect such a person.