69: Chapter 69: Cooperation between Di Xuan and others, undercurrents surging.

Moonlight still hung on the tips of the locust trees. Chen Xuan stood in the center of the secret room, a corner of the plan scroll in his hand fluttering in the wind.

He looked down at his cuff, where half a slip of paper with undelivered clues was hidden—a copy of Liu Ruyan's fragmented letter.

He knew that some things could be reported, while others had to be kept firmly in his own hands.

He turned and walked out of the secret room with steady steps. As he crossed the front courtyard, he picked up a pot of cold tea by the door and took a gulp.

The coolness slid down his throat, clearing his mind. It was time to see the Empress.

The palace was heavily guarded, but Chen Xuan did not take the main entrance.

He stopped at the West Corner Gate, took a folded military intelligence summary from his robes, and handed it to the messenger eunuch: "Please inform Your Majesty that there is an urgent report from the Northern Border that needs to be delivered in person."

The eunuch sized him up, took the document, and hurried inside. Chen Xuan leaned against a pillar and looked up at the sky.

The moon was leaning west, the night breeze was cool, and the palace walls were so high they made one feel a bit suffocated.

He knew this trip wouldn't be easy. Empress Murong Wan was not an easy character to deal with. A woman who ascended the throne at twelve and took personal control of the government at fifteen, carving a blood-stained path through the imperial court, her schemes were sharper than a blade's edge.

If he spoke too directly, he would seem like a brute; if he spoke too vaguely, he would seem like an opportunist. He had to strike the right balance, making her feel he was useful without making her feel he was too ambitious.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the eunuch returned and nodded: "Your Majesty summons you. Follow me."

Chen Xuan straightened his collar and followed. Along the way, blue bricks paved the ground, and palace lanterns on both sides cast a dim yellow glow. Occasional patrolling guards passed by, their gazes sweeping over him but not daring to linger.

In his heart, he silently rehearsed the rhetoric he had prepared: don't mention Liu Ruyan, don't mention the meeting of the four women, only talk about the abnormal movement of documents in the Ministry of Justice, and frame it as a matter of national stability. After all, in the eyes of this Empress, everything was politics.

Outside the Imperial Study, the wind suddenly grew stronger. Chen Xuan stopped, took a deep breath, habitually wiped the bridge of his nose with his right hand, and whispered to himself: "Even for a salted fish to flip over, he has to pick the right time."

Entering the room, the candlelight flickered. Empress Murong Wan sat behind the desk, her bright yellow Dragon robe making her figure appear tall and upright. The Nine-Dragon Nine-Phoenix Crown shimmered in the light.

She was reviewing memorials. Her vermilion brush hung over the paper. She didn't look up upon hearing the sound, only lightly tapping the tabletop three times.

"Sit."

Chen Xuan didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled up a chair and sat down, hands on his knees, his posture respectful but not stiff.

"Military intelligence from the Northern Border?" she finally spoke, her voice not loud, but every word clear.

"It's the beginning," Chen Xuan placed the summary on the table. "But what's truly important is the movement within the capital."

She looked up at him, her gaze like a blade.

"In these past three months, seventeen old file records in the Ministry of Justice have been marked as incinerated, nine of which involve major cases from the previous dynasty.

According to regulations, such archives should be sealed for five years awaiting review. Unless there is a personal approval from the Emperor or a joint signature from the Three Excellencies, they cannot be destroyed."

He paused. "Yet these documents have vanished without a sound."

Empress Murong Wan put down the vermilion brush and lightly rubbed her earlobe with her fingertip—a small habit she had when thinking. Chen Xuan noticed but remained composed.

"Why are you investigating this?"

"Because I discovered that someone is systematically cleaning up evidence."

Chen Xuan took a stack of organized papers from his sleeve. "This isn't an isolated incident. Old clerks keeping secret accounts, Vice Ministers frequently entering and leaving the archives, abnormal capital flows at the borders—three lines pointing to the same goal: letting certain truths rot in the ground forever."

He pushed the materials over. Empress Murong Wan didn't take them immediately but stared at him for a few seconds before slowly reaching out to pick them up.

"The truth you speak of—whose truth is it?"

"It is the innocence of a loyal official's descendant."

Chen Xuan looked directly into her eyes. "It is also a question of whether the court's Foundation can stand firm. Your Majesty rules the world relying on laws and the people's hearts.

If even case files can be burned privately, then tomorrow they could change imperial edicts or replace the Imperial Jade Seal. I'm not afraid of offending people; I'm afraid that this empire might one day no longer be named Zhou."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Empress Murong Wan's lips curled slightly in a half-smile: "You certainly have a way with words. But why do you, a Jianghu Martial Artist, bother with the court's concerns?"

"I'm not doing it for the court, but for myself."

Chen Xuan grinned. "If anyone dares to touch the people around me, I have to let them know that those who dig holes to bury others will eventually fall in themselves."

This sounded roguish but carried a ruthless edge. Empress Murong Wan's gaze shifted, and she finally nodded: "Fine. I grant you the authority to investigate the case."

She changed the subject: "But I will not give you the order to mobilize troops. You may use the registration query qualifications of the Ministry of Justice, access local courier reports, and enter the Forbidden Ground for verification with my token. However, all actions must be reported every three days. If there is any concealment..."

Her fingertip lightly tapped the Imperial Jade Seal. "You know the consequences."

Chen Xuan smiled: "In a cooperation, we must give each other some sense of security."

"So you are here to talk about cooperation?" she countered.

"Otherwise? I thought you had seen through it long ago."

He spread his hands. "You knew I was investigating, and I knew you were waiting. Instead of wasting time with our own hidden motives, it's better to put it on the table so neither of us loses out."

Empress Murong Wan stood up and walked to the window. Moonlight spilled over her shoulders, casting a long silhouette.

She was facing away from him, and her voice lowered: "Do you know why I have been able to survive until now?"

"Because you never fully trust anyone," Chen Xuan replied.

"Clever."

She turned back to look at him. "So, my agreement to cooperate does not mean I trust you. On the contrary, I will have people watching your every move. If you cross the line, even by one step, I will not hesitate."

"I don't plan on letting you feel at ease either." Chen Xuan stood up and patted his pants. "If I were truly obedient, I wouldn't be standing here negotiating terms with you."

The two stared at each other for a moment; neither backed down.

Finally, Empress Murong Wan looked away first and sat back down: "After the morning court session tomorrow, the Imperial Household Department will deliver a silver tally. With this, you can enter and exit the Document Pavilions of the Six Ministries. Remember, you only have three months. If there is no solid evidence within three months, this matter will be dropped, and you are not to interfere further."

"Enough," Chen Xuan nodded. "It's enough to dig something up."

He turned to leave. Just as his hand touched the doorknob, he heard her say from behind: "Chen Xuan."

"Hmm?"

"You said someone wants to bury the truth." She stared at him. "Then have you ever considered that perhaps some people don't want it to be dug up at all?"

Chen Xuan turned back and smiled: "I know. That's why I came to you for cooperation—because you don't want it buried too deep either, right?"

She didn't answer, only lightly tapped the tabletop three times.

Just as when he had entered.

Chen Xuan pulled open the door, and the night breeze hit his face. He walked out of the Imperial Study and along the corridor toward the palace exit.

The blue bricks beneath his feet were damp. The moon had already tilted west, casting a cold light over the palace path.

He stopped, looked up at the sky, wiped the bridge of his nose again with his right hand, and whispered to himself: "Cooperation is fine, but I still have to walk my own path."

He reached into his sleeve and felt the half-slip of hidden paper. On it was written a name, Zhou Yuantong, and three coordinates. This was written in invisible ink on the back of Liu Ruyan's fragmented letter; he hadn't told anyone, including the Empress.

He knew that the authority Empress Murong Wan gave him seemed broad but was actually restricted everywhere.

She wanted a controlled investigation, not a world-shaking liquidation. And what he wanted was to drag those old things hiding in the shadows, feasting on human blood buns, out into the sun one by one.

Therefore, some cards could not be shown yet.

He continued forward with steady steps. Outside the palace gates, the carriage was still waiting. He boarded the carriage, and the driver asked where to go. He thought for a moment and said: "Back to the manor."

The wheels rolled, crushing the night. The capital remained quiet, the streets empty, with only the distant sound of the night watchman's drum.

Chen Xuan leaned against the carriage wall and closed his eyes to rest. The conversation from just now played in his mind; every sentence was like a blade scraping against a stone, sparks flying everywhere.

He knew that this cooperation was calm on the surface but full of undercurrents beneath. The Empress wanted to use him to scout the way, and he wanted to use the Empress for backing. Who was using whom was not yet certain.

But he wasn't afraid.

What he was best at was playing the fool while forcing his opponents into a dead end.

The carriage drove through a narrow alley and suddenly jolted.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes and saw a dark shadow flash past the window. It was a man in a gray robe, hurriedly turning into a small alley, holding a wooden box in his hands.

He narrowed his eyes and remembered that direction.

That was the back street of the Old Ministry of Justice Office.

He didn't make a sound, only reached into his robes and tightly gripped that half-slip of paper.

The carriage continued forward, gradually moving away from the palace.

Chen Xuan leaned back in his seat and whispered: "Tomorrow, first go to the Document Pavilion."

He paused and added another sentence: "And while I'm at it, see who that person with the box is actually hiding from."