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

Su Mu sat cross-legged in a side hall of Weiyang Palace.

The moonlight outside the window was icy cold.

[System settlement complete]

The cold, mechanical voice echoed one last time in my mind:

Main quest "Prevent the forced marriage" completed.

[Lifespan +10 years. Internal Strength +50 years. "Free and Easy Steps" issued.]

[Family Luck Module Activated. Current Luck: Emerging Talent (White).]

Luck?

Su Mu could sense it.

A subtle yet real connection extended out from within myself.

On the other end, it connects to the depths of the main hall of Weiyang Palace, to that woman... and the life that has just formed in her womb.

This was his first child.

It was also the first root that allowed the Su family to take hold in this world.

The main hall of Weiyang Palace.

Li Qingge dismissed all the palace maids.

She leaned against the phoenix couch alone, her hand gently resting on her lower abdomen.

The area remains flat.

But a strange sense of fulfillment and an unseen pull made her realize that something was different.

The Emperor's ecstatic joy, the court officials' uproar, the Empress's silence...

All the reactions were exactly as she had anticipated.

Through this child, she temporarily escaped the fiery pit of a political marriage.

With the help of this man, she broke through the martial arts bottleneck that had plagued her for a long time.

This deal seems... to be a good one.

just.

She raised her eyes and looked towards the side hall.

There are too many mysteries surrounding that man.

Grandmaster level cultivation? Pure Yang body?

And that night, the strange power within him seemed capable of devouring everything…

Li Qingge's eyes flickered with a complex expression for a moment.

There was scrutiny, there was vigilance, and there was also a hint of...

A dependence that even she herself was unwilling to delve into.

The next morning.

Su Mu had just pushed open the palace door.

A familiar figure was already waiting at the foot of the stone steps in the courtyard.

It's Wang An.

The head eunuch of Changchun Palace who had led him into the palace.

At this moment, Wang An's face was plastered with a fawning smile.

But his eyes betrayed an undisguised anxiety.

"General Su... General Su."

Wang An bowed, his voice extremely low:

"Your Highness the Imperial Concubine... wishes to see you."

Su Mu paused in his steps.

My cousin, Li Wan'er.

The woman who almost became his first "mission target".

"Her Majesty said..."

Wang An leaned in half a step, his voice almost inaudible:

"There are some old stories about the eldest princess that you might know."

"At midnight tonight, in the northeast corner of the Imperial Garden, at the Drunken Moon Pavilion."

"Your Majesty...we're waiting for you."

Having said that, Wang An dared not linger.

He gave a hasty bow and quickly disappeared at the end of the palace road.

Su Mu stood still.

A morning breeze swept across the palace walls, carrying the coolness of early autumn.

An invitation from the Imperial Concubine?

Is it a trap, or is there really something else going on?

He looked up.

The windows facing the main hall of Weiyang Palace were tightly closed.

But he could sense it.

A gaze fell upon him across the layers of palaces.

Calm, yet unfathomable.

Su Mu stayed in the side hall all day.

He appeared to be meditating and regulating his breathing.

In reality, he had already slowly refined the newly acquired fifty years of internal energy.

The Nine Yang Divine Skill circulates within the body.

With each complete cycle of pure yang energy circulation, the aura becomes more profound.

It was evening.

A young eunuch brought over dinner.

Four dishes and a soup, exquisite and plentiful.

Compared to yesterday, there was an extra bowl of nourishing ginseng and deer antler stew.

No words were spoken.

But this exceptional "care" already indicates a certain attitude.

Su Mu slowly finished his meal.

Night fell, and the darkness deepened.

It's almost midnight.

He changed into a dark-colored casual outfit.

The mental techniques of "Free and Easy Steps" flowed through my mind.

He pushed open the door and slipped away.

His figure blended into the night, like a wisp of smoke.

Imperial Garden, Drunken Moon Pavilion.

A slender figure, draped in a cloak, was already waiting there.

I heard footsteps.

She turned around and pulled down her hood.

Under the moonlight was a pale yet beautiful face.

His eyebrows and eyes bear a faint resemblance to Su Mu's.

Consort Li Wan'er.

Her eyes were slightly red.

It looked like he had been crying.

"cousin……"

She spoke, her voice trembling:

"Do you know why the Eldest Princess cultivated the 'Mysterious Ice Technique' back then?"

Su Mu remained silent.

"Because she naturally possesses a yin and evil aura within her body."

Li Wan'er stepped forward, her voice even more urgent:

"That's a cold toxin from birth! Only a supremely yang cultivation method can neutralize it!"

"But she chose the extremely Yin 'Mysterious Ice Technique'!"

"This isn't a case of demonic possession—it's intentional!"

Su Mu's pupils contracted slightly.

"She is refining that Yin energy."

Li Wan'er's voice was cold in the night wind:

"Using her own body as a furnace and the cold poison as fuel... what she wanted to achieve was not the mastery of the 'Mysterious Ice Technique' at all."

"It's the legendary 'Mysterious Yin Sacred Body'!"

Mysterious Yin Sacred Body?

Su Mu was startled.

Pure Yang versus Profound Yin...

Was the "detoxification" that night really just a coincidence?

"She needs the vital energy of a virile man, not to detoxify."

Li Wan'er stared at Su Mu, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"It is for 'ignition'."

"Ignite the chilling furnace within her...help her to completely forge a sacred body!"

The wind rustles through the treetops.

The pavilion was quiet.

Su Mu looked at the woman in front of him who was nominally his "cousin".

Suddenly he laughed.

"Your Highness, Imperial Concubine."

He spoke, his tone calm:

"You risked your life to meet me late at night just to tell me this?"

Li Wan'er was taken aback.

"Are you trying to remind me that the Princess is using me?"

Su Mu shook his head:

"I still want to say..."

"Are you more worthy of cooperation than she is?"

Li Wan'er's face turned pale instantly.

"I……"

"Your Majesty."

Su Mu interrupted her, his gaze sweeping over the deep shadows of the trees outside the pavilion:

How many people did you bring?

"Three? Or five?"

"Let them come out."

The words fell.

The shadows of the trees swayed.

Five figures in black silently darted out.

The Drunken Moon Pavilion is surrounded in the center.

Their auras were subtle, indicating they were all masters.

"cousin……"

Li Wan'er took a half step back, her voice tense:

"Don't blame me."

"If you refuse to help me... I absolutely cannot let you stay by her side!"

Su Mu sighed.

"Your Majesty."

He raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Weiyang Palace:

"What do you think...?"

"Where are the Princess's people right now?"

Li Wan'er's expression changed drastically!

Almost simultaneously—

A whooshing sound filled the air!

Several silver arrows shot swiftly from the distant palace wall!

puff!puff!puff!

Extremely accurate.

Blood simultaneously bloomed from the throats of the five black-clad experts.

With eyes wide open, it fell straight down.

Outside the pavilion, a figure in crimson slowly approached.

A long phoenix-tail skirt, as red as blood under the moonlight.

Li Qingge.

In her hand, she held a small silver crossbow.

His gaze swept over Li Wan'er's pale face.

A cold smile curved at the corner of his lips.

"My future husband..."

"Is it something you can move?"

Li Wan'er's legs went weak, and she collapsed to her knees.

"Princess...spare me..."

Li Qingge didn't look at her.

Their gazes fell on Su Mu.

"go back."

The voice was calm, yet undeniable.

Su Mu bowed respectfully.

He turned and walked towards Weiyang Palace.

Behind.

Li Qingge's icy voice came through:

"Li Wan'er".

"He is confined to Changchun Palace and is not allowed to leave without an imperial decree."

"There will be a next time..."

You know the consequences.

Night returned to silence.

Su Mu returned to the side hall.

Open the window.

In the distance, towards the direction of the Drunken Moon Pavilion.

A crimson figure still stood in the moonlight.

It was as if she was waiting for him to turn around.

Su Mu closed the window.

he knows.

After tonight, his position in this palace will be completely clear.