First annul the engagement, then sever ties with the empress; the empress reigns supreme.

"It seems that it was that evil Taoist Qingyanzi who, after leaving the palace through the secret passage, returned to the Imperial Preceptor's residence and took Su Li away," Mu Qingfu said angrily.

After learning that Su Li was staying with Qing Yanzi and suffering so much inhuman torture, her attitude towards Su Li changed.

From initial rejection and doubt to current pity and sympathy, I have come to accept Su Li as my cousin from the bottom of my heart.

If Su Li hadn't written down the list of the thirty-six officials who had been controlled by Qingyanzi with poison, this encirclement and suppression would never have gone so smoothly.

Zuo Chengfeng gently patted Mu Qingfu's shoulder, comforting her and trying to calm her down. He also offered to help her think of a solution: "But we've searched the entire capital, where could Qingyanzi and Wei Ming have taken Su Li?"

Gu Junxi stayed by Ning Hanshuang's side, holding Ning Hanshuang's hand, which was also a way of persuading Ning Hanshuang.

She thought things through more thoroughly than Zuo Chengfeng and Mu Qingfu, addressing the problem at its root.

“Ordinary people cannot suddenly develop the ambition to seize the throne. Qingyanzi has been planning all this for almost twenty years. I also had someone check Wei Ming’s file and found that he entered the palace twenty years ago. Moreover, his household registration is in Shuang County. I have already sent people to Shuang County to investigate Wei Ming.”

"I think once we figure out why Qingyanzi and Weiming are so obsessed with vying for the throne, and find out their true identities, we can probably figure out where they will go."

After listening to what Gu Junxi said, everyone nodded in agreement, feeling that what Gu Junxi said made sense.

After finishing his duties in court, Mu Lingye returned to the Crown Prince's residence and, upon hearing about Su Li's situation, offered his advice: "Qingyanzi and Wei Mingneng know about the secret passages in the palace; their identities may be related to remnants of the previous dynasty."

"Remnants of the previous dynasty?" Gu Junxi turned her head, blinking in confusion.

Mu Lingye reached out and pulled Gu Junxi into his arms, then lifted her up and sat her on his lap, explaining as he held her close.

"In the beginning, the Sheng Kingdom was not surnamed Mu. It was only from the generation of the great-grandfather that the Sheng Kingdom was firmly established. The previous emperor, Xuanwen, was ambitious and loved to make great achievements, and he valued civil affairs over military affairs. This caused the people to suffer greatly, the military officials to be dissatisfied, and the civil officials to be arrogant."

This resulted in the loss of both popular support and popular support. My great-grandfather seized that opportunity to depose Emperor Xuanwen, and was enthroned as emperor, officially beginning the dynasty belonging to our Mu family.

When Mu Lingye spoke of his great-grandfather, his eyes lit up, showing how much he admired him.

Mu Lingye paused for a moment, then tapped Gu Junxi's pretty nose with his index finger: "What I'm going to talk about next is the secrets of the royal family."

"I heard that one of my great-grandfather's concubines was Emperor Xuanwen's favorite, whom my great-grandfather had snatched from Emperor Xuanwen. This favorite had a very close relationship with Emperor Xuanwen. When she was with my great-grandfather, she was already pregnant with Emperor Wenchang's child. In order to preserve Emperor Wenchang's bloodline, she concealed the fact that she was pregnant."

"Later, after sharing a room with my great-grandfather, I claimed that the child was his. He was born in July, supposedly premature. But the child was much bigger than a premature baby. That's when my great-grandfather became suspicious and sent people to investigate, and he found out the truth."

“At that time, the Emperor Zeng had feelings for this pet. He gave the pet two choices: die with the child, or die with the child and live. The Emperor Zeng was willing to forgive and forget.”

"And then?" Mu Lingye seemed to be deliberately teasing people, pausing again after saying this. Gu Junxi clung to Mu Lingye's neck, asking in frustration.

Seeing Gu Junxi's anxious look, Mu Lingye smiled.

He seems to be getting worse and worse, and he likes to bully his Ah Xi.

Mu Lingye deliberately tapped Gu Junxi's nose again, then spread his hands: "Then she didn't choose anything, and disappeared from the palace overnight."

"How could this be? You're lying to me!" Gu Junxi raised her voice and suddenly tightened her grip on Mu Lingye's neck.

Actually, Mu Lingye wasn't being strangled very tightly, but to scare Gu Junxi and see her panic, Mu Lingye deliberately acted as if he was in pain. His eyes widened, and he struggled with his hands, as if he really couldn't breathe.

Gu Junxi was indeed startled and nervously let go of his hand.

As soon as Mu Lingye was freed, he bent over and coughed violently.

"What's wrong? I don't think I hit you that hard." Gu Junxi quickly reached out to pat Mu Lingye's back. Seeing that Mu Lingye kept coughing and showed no signs of stopping, she moved away from under Mu Lingye and went to pour him some water.

Before she could take two steps, Mu Lingye pulled her back into his arms and sat her on his lap. He rested his head on Gu Junxi's shoulder and chuckled softly.

If Gu Junxi still hasn't realized that Mu Lingye is deliberately playing a prank, then she's truly stupid.

In fact, given her intelligence, she should have realized that Mu Lingye had a problem long ago, but she was blinded by concern.

She slapped Mu Lingye hard on the shoulder, which was trembling as he tried to suppress his laughter: "Stop laughing. I'm asking you something serious. If you keep this up, I'll get angry."

Having barely spent any time with his wife, Mu Lingye had no desire to experience another cold war with her. He almost immediately gave in, coaxing, "Okay, okay, I won't do that. My dear Axi, don't be angry."

My dear Axi, this is too cheesy! But Gu Junxi didn't find it offensive; instead, she felt as if she had drunk a sip of honey that sweetened her heart.

Mu Lingye is getting better and better at it, and their interactions are becoming more and more natural.

Gu Junxi rolled her eyes at Mu Lingye: "Stop fooling around, I'm worried about Su Li. Be serious."

Mu Lingye blinked and lightly tapped Gu Junxi's head: "I'm being serious. You've forgotten about the secret passage in Fengyi Palace."

"That's right, they disappeared overnight, most likely they left the palace through this secret passage." Gu Junxi slapped her forehead, instantly realizing the key point.

That's how people are; sometimes they don't see the little details, but once someone points them out, it's as if all the key points have been unlocked.

"Ah Ling, you mean to say that the favored concubine was Qingyanzi and Wei Ming's great-grandmother, and their grandfather was the child born to that concubine. After the concubine left the palace with her son, she went into seclusion and waited for an opportunity to restore the kingdom. By the time of Qingyanzi and Wei Ming's generation, their obsession had deepened. In order to restore the kingdom, Wei Ming did not hesitate to enter the palace and become a eunuch?"

Mu Lingye nodded, agreeing with Gu Junxi's speculation: "That's right, my Axi doesn't seem to be stupid after all. I looked at the Shadow Guard's handbook. Thirty years ago, they tracked down the remnants of the previous dynasty and hunted them down, but in the end, two teenagers escaped. This matches the identities of Qingyanzi and Wei Ming."

Gu Junxi also recalled some details: "I heard my uncle talk about Qingyanzi's background. When my master brought him back to Medicine King Valley, he was seriously injured and seemed to have lost his memory. After staying in the valley for a while, he went out and came back with a change in personality. I guess it must be that Qingyanzi met Wei Ming after leaving the valley and remembered his background."

"Mm." Mu Lingye nodded in agreement.