Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

At the same time, inside the Prime Minister's residence.

"Miss Liu, the Prime Minister is waiting for you inside. Please come in."

Ye Xiang, acting on Ye Mo's orders, found Liu Qinghuan that very night and personally brought her to the Prime Minister's residence.

Looking at the ancient-style "Prime Minister's Residence" plaque in front of him, Liu Qinghuan couldn't help but tighten his grip on the long sword in his hand.

Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and strode into the gates of the Prime Minister's residence.

After passing through a long corridor, the main hall was brightly lit.

Liu Qinghuan couldn't help but feel nervous again.

She was stunned when she entered the main hall and saw Ye Mo, guided by Juan.

At the table, an old man in plain clothes was shoveling rice porridge into his mouth.

There was only a dish of pickled vegetables, a fish, and a plate of boiled green leafy vegetables on the table, which looked very meager.

On the edge of the table, there seemed to be a plate of something covered with red silk.

"Master, Miss Liu has arrived."

"Well, please step back first."

Ye Mo picked up a piece of pickled cucumber, chewed it a few times, then finished the entire bowl of rice porridge in one gulp. Only then did he get up, drink some water, and look at Liu Qinghuan.

This one glance startled Liu Qinghuan so much that she instinctively raised her sword to block in front of her chest.

The old man in front of her clearly had no cultivation, yet he exerted immense pressure on her.

"Hehe, Miss Liu, there's no need to be nervous. Have you eaten yet? It's just a simple meal, please excuse my poor palate."

As he spoke, he picked up the empty bowl and added a spoonful of rice porridge to the porridge jar on the table.

Liu Qinghuan: "What do you want from me?"

"No big deal."

Ye Mo sat back down at the table, picked up a leaf of green vegetable, stirred it in his bowl, and put it directly into his mouth.

"I just wanted to ask Miss Liu, what brings you to the capital?"

Liu Qinghuan sneered: "What do I need to do in the capital? Do I need to report to you, Prime Minister?"

"Excuse me, Liu Qinghuan, what law have I violated, and what crime have I committed?"

Ye Mo smiled and shook his head: "No, even if there are crimes, the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice are involved."

I was simply curious as to why Lady Liu, as the chief disciple of the Zixia Sect and possessing considerable renown in the martial arts world, would be involved in matters of the imperial court.

"You've come to the capital at this time, presumably because of the opening of the Jinling Secret Realm, right?"

"Yes."

Liu Qinghuan replied proudly.

"The secret realm of Jinling has attracted the attention of all parties in the martial arts world. I intend to go to the capital to explore it. Is that also against the law?"

"It's not illegal."

Ye Mo put down his chopsticks and picked up a white handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

"But if it conflicts with the arrangements of the imperial court, then it's not a matter of whether it's illegal or not."

Liu Qinghuan was taken aback and unconsciously took two steps back.

"Miss Liu, you are a member of the martial arts world, so you shouldn't meddle in the affairs of the imperial court."

The waters here run deeper than you imagine, with all your sentimental notions of chivalrous heroes and heroines.

Once you step into it, there's probably no turning back.

Liu Qinghuan: "I just want to see the Jinling Secret Realm. It's not as complicated as Prime Minister Ye made it out to be."

Ye Mo: "The Jinling Secret Realm is the treasure of the Great Chu Kingdom. Only the imperial court can decide who can enter. It's not something you can just decide to do!"

Liu Qinghuan remained silent.

Ye Mo continued, "Miss Liu, I have long known your purpose in coming to the capital, but I have simply not said it outright."

Take my advice: as long as you stay out of this mess, everything will be fine.

Liu Qinghuan: "I don't understand what Ye Xiang means by that."

Ye Mo smiled and said calmly, "Do I really have to spell things out for you?"

"Then I can tell you, if you don't want His Majesty to be embarrassed by this matter, then don't interfere in the affairs of the Jinling Secret Realm."

Liu Qinghuan was taken aback: "You, you knew everything?"

"As the Prime Minister of the Great Chu Kingdom, I naturally have an understanding of the affairs of the world, including those within your Zixia Sect."

Ye Mo spoke in a calm tone, maintaining a faint smile on his face throughout.

This overwhelming aura gave Liu Qinghuan the illusion that she was suffocating.

"What if I insist on interfering?"

Hearing Liu Qinghuan say this, Ye Mo simply shook his head and smiled.

"If Miss Liu insists on getting involved, it will only harm the Zixia Sect and His Majesty."

This will bring endless trouble. Perhaps in a few days, the Great Chu court will receive official reports that the Zixia Sect has betrayed the country and has been jointly wiped out by the Great Chu army.

"Miss Liu, would you want to see this happen?"

"you……"

Such a blatant threat, made without any attempt at concealment, immediately left Liu Qinghuan completely bewildered.

The Prime Minister's mansion held absolute power, and his words were definitely not just a threat.

At this moment, she hesitated, truly not wanting anything to happen to the sect.

But how should I explain this to my junior sister?

Ye Mo continued, "Miss Liu, things aren't as complicated as you think. I still maintain that those in the martial world should concern themselves with their own affairs."

Don't get involved in the mess of the imperial court. After all, you don't want your sect to be falsely accused of colluding with foreign enemies, and the current emperor being forced to abdicate really will happen, right?

Take my advice: stop interfering and give up.

Liu Qinghuan was unable to say anything more.

Only now did she realize what kind of opponent Jiang Mengxuan was facing.

If possible, she really wanted to draw her sword right now and kill this treacherous minister.

However, this will only plunge my junior sister and the Zixia Sect into an abyss of no return.

The next moment, Ye Mo stood up and lifted the red silk on the table.

Immediately, a stack of two thousand-tael silver notes and a pile of gold nuggets, each weighing one tael and totaling four hundred taels, appeared before Liu Qinghuan.

"I've heard that the Zixia Sect is currently expanding its operations. I would be grateful if Miss Liu could convey this message to Sect Leader Wu on my behalf."

This is just a small token of my appreciation. Rest assured, every penny here is clean and honest.

"Just use it without worry. When I have some free time in a while, I will definitely visit the Zixia Sect in person."

By employing both carrot and stick tactics, Liu Qinghuan had completely lost the confidence she had when she arrived.

At that moment, she even had the illusion that Jiang Mengxuan was no match for Ye Mo.

And this feeling is becoming increasingly intense.

"Miss Liu, after all I've said, what are you really thinking? Can you give me a response?"

Faced with Ye Mo's earnest questioning, Liu Qinghuan finally gave in.

"Alright, I promise Prime Minister Ye that I will absolutely not be involved in the Jinling Secret Realm incident this time, but you must not make things difficult for my junior sister."

"Miss Liu, you are overthinking it. His Majesty is the sovereign, and I am but a subject. How could a subject make things difficult for the sovereign? I, Ye Mo, am utterly loyal to the Great Chu."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qinghuan left the Ye residence in a daze.

As soon as everyone left, Ye Mo immediately called out softly, "Hu An."

Juan immediately appeared beside Ye Mo: "Master, what are your orders?"

Ye Mo pointed to the gold and silver notes on the table: "Send these to Lady Liu. No one would refuse a gift I give."

"Yes, little one, let's do it right now."

Juan immediately wrapped up the gold and silver notes, then ran out of the hall to catch up with Liu Qinghuan.

Ye Mo sat back down at the table and then waved.

Ye Xiang quickly appeared beside Ye Mo: "What are your orders, Prime Minister?"

Ye Mo: "Go and quickly inform the disciples of Qingyi Tower that if they want to obtain the secret realm treasure, they should hurry up."

"Yes……"

"Wait a minute."

"Does Your Excellency have any further instructions?"

Ye Mo thought for a moment and then said, "Go to the Jingwei Division on the way and tell the Prince that Qingyi Tower will arrive in the next two days."

Ye Xiang asked, puzzled, "Prime Minister, what do you mean by this?"

Ye Mo raised his eyes and looked at Ye Xiang without saying a word.

Ye Xiang immediately bowed his head and said, "Your Excellency, please calm down. I will take care of it right away."

After saying that, he quickly left the Prime Minister's residence.

He had barely left when Juan came running back.

"She accepted the things?"

"I dare not refuse."

"Humph."

Ye Mo snorted coldly, then leaned back in the recliner.

"People of the martial world are ultimately useless. I really hope that one day, these sect disciples can be controlled by the imperial court. That way, there won't be so much deceit and treachery in this world, and there won't be so much trouble."