Chapter 632

Qingqiu City, the rear garden of the imperial city.

Riddled with holes and cracks, wind blew everywhere; on the artificial hill where countless orchids and ink bamboo grew in its apertures, a small pavilion stood atop the summit. The view all around was open, and the gentle slopes were planted with four-season maples.

Heaven and earth have extraordinary species; maples are among them.

Divided into spring, summer, autumn, winter, each with its own distinct leaf-color changes; the four-season maples are interplanted, and as the seasons shift, the maple grove surrounding the artificial hill shifts in hue from pale yellow to blood-red, dazzling like heavenly rainbows, exquisitely splendid and intoxicating.

Linghu Qingqing sat in the pavilion, turning a blood-red maple leaf between her fingers, eyes narrowed, coldly gazing at the commander of the Tianhu Guard's secret intelligence, Gu Shan, whom she had appointed.

The Tianhu Guard is the personal close guard that Linghu Qingqing herself organized.

And the secret agents within the Tianhu Guard, in terms of power, status, influence, etc., comprehensively surpass the royal intelligence organization of the Demon Forbidden Hall. This secret-agent force is of utmost importance; Linghu Qingqing even distrusts her own Linghu clan relatives, and from the outset she employed her own ironclad confidants.

Gu Shan is an orphan Linghu Qingqing adopted in childhood, personally trained from a young age, and having had his soul seized, his life and death are entirely in Linghu Qingqing's hands; he is utterly loyal and devoted to her, counting among her most trusted subordinates in this world.

Previously, Gu Shan lurked within the 'Fox Tail,' constantly monitoring Linghu Qingqing's eldest son, Linghu Gu, who had feigned death to escape—also the movements of Old Master Hu—fearing that the 'Fox Tail' would become Hu's private force and thus threaten Linghu Qingqing.

She doesn't even fully trust her own biological son; Gu Shan is more reliable than her son, showing his standing in Linghu Qingqing's heart.

Not tall in stature, he was small yet sturdy, his aura steady as a mountain, yet faintly exuding a substantive bloody killing intent; Gu Shan stood quietly before Linghu Qingqing, uttering each word slowly, delivering the results of his recent investigation.

Gu Shan spoke slowly and steadily; each word felt like a nail hammered hard into an iron plate, giving a sense of extreme reliability and reassurance.

All along, Gu Shan's performance has been thus; whatever task Linghu Qingqing assigns him, he always completes it to a degree that can be called perfect.

Linghu Qingqing listened to Gu Shan's report, pondering for a long time, then she crushed the blood-red maple leaf in her hand into powder.

"In other words, the head of the intelligence network of Great Wu within my Qingqiu domain, Bai Gui, reported that the assassins of the noble consort were definitely not them? Then, how do we explain the presence at the assassination site of that most advanced Xuanming Annihilation Cannon, secretly developed by Great Wu?"

Gu Shan calmly said: "According to Bai Gui's confession, I have penetrated all thirty-nine single-line intelligence channels of Great Wu within my Qingqiu territory; one of those channels reported that they were ordered by Great Wu to receive a batch of top-secret supplies entering Qingqiu."

Lifting his head, Gu Shan said solemnly: "Bai Gui himself is unaware of this matter."

Linghu Qingqing raised her eyebrows in surprise: "In other words, Bai Gui, the Great Wu Shen State's intelligence chief within my Qingqiu domain, failed to fully control his subordinates?"

Gu Shan fell silent for a moment, then gently shook his head: "According to the clues I have uncovered… it is not that Bai Gui lacks control, but rather that a third-party force seems to have infiltrated his intelligence organization, seizing part of his authority."

Linghu Qingqing opened her mouth.

Gu Shan nodded firmly.

"Ha, now I see." Linghu Qingqing murmured: "From the elder's mishap, then the attack on Huqiu, followed by the noble consort's assassination… heh, even more so, the Tangshan Hall—my Linghu clan's Tangshan lineage—has actually been used by Great Wei to deal with me."

"All along, I have faintly sensed that another hand is stirring up trouble behind the scenes."

Linghu Qingqing rose to her feet; she was more than two heads taller than Gu Shan, she slightly bent forward, looked down at him, and said in a deep voice: "Find for me the person who is secretly stirring up trouble… I will personally exterminate his nine clans."

Gu Shan lifted his head, staring unwaveringly at Linghu Qingqing: "Your Majesty, who do you think this person is? Is this third-party force someone from the current court, or… remnants of the previous dynasty?"

"Could remnants of the former dynasty possibly still exist? What are Sima Xian and the others doing these days?" Linghu Qingqing asked, pointing at Gu Shan's nose.

"Eating, drinking, carousing, living in a drunken dream… every move they make each day is under surveillance. The fief of the Jin King is surrounded on all sides by a sealed void; even transmitting orders is impossible, so they cannot have any contact with the outside world. I guarantee it with my head." Gu Shan answered Linghu Qingqing with great confidence.

"Then who could it be? Prince An Huo Xiong?" Linghu Qingqing sneered: "Could it be that fellow who in one fell swoop annihilated the First Army and its followers, provoked countless aristocratic clans, reeking of infamy for eighteen miles… and still dare to provoke the brute of the Xiang family?"

Gu Shan fell silent for a moment, then firmly shook his head: "It is not Prince An; these days he has been recruiting troops and buying horses to expand his strength, but his invincible army prioritizes speed of expansion—without the aid of the Five Elements Spirit Tribe vassals he brought back from the southwest, his private forces could hardly even control his own fief."

He let out a cold snort, then Gu Shan said calmly: "Prince An's strength is entirely out in the open; one must admit that, combined with the Four Spirit Warships, his invincible army and the Five Elements Spirit Tribe possess frontline combat power that is astonishing… but his covert methods… are not that I underestimate Prince An; they are simply abhorrent."

Gu Shan curled his lip and said coldly: "Your Majesty, Prince An has directed Lan Changqing and the elderly Huang Lang beside him to each establish a secret-agent force—one dedicated to gathering intelligence, the other to assassination—but neither Lan Changqing nor Huang Lang is fit for this task."

Linghu Qingqing pointed at Gu Shan and laughed while scolding: "So, don't tell me you haven't been mixing sand into it."

Gu Shan spread his hands and said lightly: "Now, of the two secret-agent units under Prince An, thirty percent of the personnel are those I placed inside; aside from the two overt leaders, Huang Lang and Lan Changqing, nearly all the mid- to high-level commanders are my direct subordinates."

Gu Shan raised his head proudly and said coldly: "Prince An's fief holds no secrets for me. Therefore, the one who did these things cannot be Prince An."

Linghu Qingqing said wistfully: "Then who could it be?"

Gu Shan fell silent for a while, then said wistfully: "According to the leads I have uncovered, yet someone has decisively severed all connections… such methods indicate that this person holds a high position in the court, with immense hidden power… I have no evidence, so I dare not speculate wildly."

From afar came a soft chime of a jade bell.

Linghu Qingqing furrowed her brows and issued a low rebuke: "Speak, what matter is it?"

Gu Shan gave a slight flicker, turning directly into a wisp of shadow that merged into the shadow beneath Linghu Qingqing's feet.

The secret agents of the Tianhu Guard are the most concealed force in Linghu Qingqing's hands; even her closest confidants at her side, such as Linghu Ayi, her loyal old servant, merely know of Gu Shan's existence but have never seen his true appearance.

Concealing, hiding, protecting all his own information—this has become an instinct etched into Gu Shan's bone marrow.

Far off, Linghu Ayi, dressed in a first-rank official's eunuch robes and attired as a senior eunuch, stepped out of the maple grove in small steps, stood at the entrance of a jade-board path in the distance, and bowed far off toward this side.

"Your Majesty, Senior Tutor Gongyang Sanlü is gravely wounded… requests an audience."

Linghu Qingqing opened her mouth, both surprised and tinged with an inexplicable joy, saying: "Seriously wounded? Heh, he's badly hurt, yet instead of tending to his wounds he comes to see me—what for? Eh, eh? Badly wounded? Could he have gone to the front-line battlefield?"

Gu Shan's voice issued from Linghu Qingqing's shadow: "Your Majesty, twelve shichen and three ke before, Gongyang Sanlü led a large detachment to Qiuzhou… among those he brought were the very few individuals I have been closely monitoring these days."

"For what purpose?" Linghu Qingqing frowned and asked him.

"Sixty thousand formation masters were ambushed, the entire army wiped out." Gu Shan's answer made Linghu Qingqing's eyebrows rise, and she muttered a curse under her breath.

"Could it be a grand scheme arranged by Prince An to embezzle these formation masters?" Linghu Qingqing immediately pressed on.

"As I said, Prince An has no usable secret-agent force under him; this kind of exquisite, intricate work is beyond him." Gu Shan let out a cold snort: "It's not that I underestimate Prince An; he simply cannot pull off a clean, silent seizure of sixty thousand formation masters."

"Moreover, my people have already examined the scene in detail… the perpetrator wielded an artifact of immense power, a fire-attribute innate spiritual treasure that could rank among the top-tier state artifacts. Prince An does not possess such a treasure." Gu Shan said coldly: "The one who struck is someone else."

"Then perhaps it's not a case of the thief shouting 'catch the thief'?" Linghu Qingqing waved at Linghu Ayi, making a gesture.

"I will pursue this with all my effort." Gu Shan replied in a low voice: "Before I have evidence, I will not make any speculation."

Linghu Ayi nodded, turned and left. Having served Linghu Qingqing for so many years, he knows that the slightest twitch of her brow means she is either thirsty or itching to kill and burn.

Not long after, Gongyang Sanlü appeared before Linghu Qingqing, disheveled, his body covered in bloodstains, clutching his stomach with both hands, carried in on a soft chair by two sturdy palace maids—utterly disheveled.

Linghu Qingqing stared at Gongyang Sanlü with a look of shock.

This is not him deliberately putting on an act; rather, in this lifetime Linghu Qingqing and Gongyang Sanlü have known each other for nearly ten thousand years—one representing the military aristocracy, the other the civil officials—and since they met in their mid-teens they have been entangled and opposed due to the forces behind them.

All along, in Linghu Qingqing's heart, Gongyang Sanlü has always been that refined and scholarly, that literary-spirited, that carefree and transcendent, that calm and composed—like a jade-carved bamboo stalk, spotless and full of vigor.

But now, Gongyang Sanlü resembles a large pet dog that has been savagely torn apart by a pack of mad dogs, lacking any of his former genteel bearing, utterly waned and withered.

"Senior Tutor… how could this be?" Linghu Qingqing's voice changed, becoming like the true little eunuchs standing behind Linghu Ayi, letting out a sharp, thin squeak.

Actually… if her self-cultivation were not sufficient, Linghu Qingqing would have almost burst out laughing while pointing at Gongyang Sanlü's nose.

It's really... so refreshing.

Back when they were young, for a courtesan's top beauty, Linghu Qingqing and Gongyang Sanlü gathered their followers for a street brawl…… Linghu Qingqing ended up covered in blood, while Gongyang Sanlü stood afar, on high ground, spotless, exchanging glances with that top beauty……

No matter when, Gongyang Sanlü was always as clean and spotless as a precious jade pendant—how could he have become so disheveled?

Seeing the huge black footprints on Gongyang Sanlü's bared snow‑white belly, Linghu Qingqing almost burst out laughing, almost broke into song—'Ayoyo, Gongyang Sanlü, you too have such a miserable day?'

"How could this be…… who dares so much? Who is it? I, I will……" Linghu Qingqing gritted their teeth, forcing themselves to control their expression.

They were worried that if they spoke their true feelings now, would it make Gongyang Sanlü vomit blood from anger?

Actually, at this moment what Linghu Qingqing wanted to say was, they didn't know who had injured Gongyang Sanlü—such talent, a pillar of the state, they definitely wanted to richly reward them…… yes, definitely wanted to richly reward them.

However, as the Grand Preceptor of the state, this face still had to be given.

Although they wanted to chop Gongyang Sanlü into pieces with one blow, this fellow had so many disciples and followers—the Gongyang clan's retinue practically controlled the state's administration, so they had to plot slowly, slowly……

Linghu Qingqing looked at Gongyang Sanlü with a face full of clouds, trembling all over; those who didn't know would think they were extremely angry.

"Your Majesty, old subject, old subject……" Gongyang Sanlü trembled as they looked at Linghu Qingqing: "In the realm of my Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, there actually exists such a reckless, lawless madman…… and they even committed such heinous acts…… I beg Your Majesty to execute the traitor Huo Xiong!"

After finally escaping from Ju Prefecture City, Gongyang Sanlü even abandoned their most beloved gray‑haired grandson, Gongyang Si, in Ju Prefecture City.

They forced themselves to endure the injury and went straight to the Imperial City to see Linghu Qingqing, intending to borrow the state's power to kill Wu Tie.

Right now Gongyang Sanlü's killing intent blazed; as for whether it would be embarrassing for Linghu Qingqing to know this, they no longer cared.

If they don't say it, could Linghu Qingqing possibly not know?

"Beloved subject, who do you want to kill?" Linghu Qingqing stared wide‑eyed in shock, looking at Gongyang Sanlü in disbelief: "Beloved subject, that Prince An Huo Xiong has rendered great service to the state……"

"Prince An Huo Xiong is plotting treason; I beg to execute the traitor Huo Xiong!" Gongyang Sanlü loudly repeated their request.

"Beloved subject…… the state is now locked in battle with Great Wei and Great Wu; within the state, harmony should be prized above all!" Linghu Qingqing shook their head forcefully, using an utterly high‑sounding excuse, flatly refusing Gongyang Sanlü and beginning to muddy the waters.

"Beloved subject, you too are an elder statesman of the state; you should know that state affairs come first, state affairs come first…… at this moment, in this situation, within my Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, harmony should be prized, harmony should be prized!"

"Beloved subject, you are a pillar of the state, but Prince An Huo Xiong is also a meritorious official of the state…… flesh and blood, after all…… I…… am in a difficult position……"

"Beloved subject, prioritize state affairs, Ah Yi—open the secret treasury, take the finest healing treasure pill, and escort the Grand Preceptor back to their residence to rest…… Beloved subject, you should just rest and recuperate; if your body hasn't recovered, don't attend court discussions—put your health first."

Linghu Qingqing held Gongyang Sanlü's hand, gazing at them with deep affection: "The state cannot do without you, Beloved subject…… I, I could not do without you…… therefore, please, Beloved subject, prioritize the state, the world, the people of the world…… be sure to rest and recuperate, rest and recuperate—by all means, do not leave behind any lingering illness."

Gongyang Sanlü stared coldly at Linghu Qingqing, straining to pull their hands back.

Linghu Qingqing smiled while holding Gongyang Sanlü's hand, letting them pull as hard as they wanted…… hehe, you little thing, you pure spell‑cultivator—do you really think you can match my strength?

Today, I must thoroughly disgust you.

Linghu Qingqing flung an arm around Gongyang Sanlü's shoulders and shouted, "Someone, bring the healing treasure pill—I will personally attend to the Grand Preceptor's medicine!"

Gongyang Sanlü shuddered all over, feeling countless goosebumps pop up one after another.

"Old scoundrel, Linghu Qingqing, you old scoundrel!" Gongyang Sanlü cursed inwardly.