Chapter 226: Cousin

Mo Yuanjiao glanced at Bao Jian and initially planned to ignore him, wanting to continue spending time with his grandmother and mother. However, the old lady noticed Bao Jian as well and kindly said to Mo Yuanjiao:

"If you have something to attend to, go ahead. Our Yuanjiao is no longer a child and has important matters to handle. Don't let this old woman hold you back from your duties."

But instead of leaving, Mo Yuanjiao plopped down beside his grandmother and said, "What could be more important than spending time with you, Grandmother? Today, you're feeling well enough to sit outside, so of course, I need to keep you company."

After accompanying his grandmother for another half hour, Mo Yuanjiao noticed that she seemed a bit tired, so he and his mother helped her back to her room. Once they had settled her in, his mother turned to Mo Yuanjiao and said, "All right, your grandmother has me here with her. If you have something to do, go ahead."

Mo Yuanjiao didn't stand on ceremony with his mother. He simply said, "Take care of yourself too!" before darting off. Watching him run off, his mother couldn't help but smile wryly.

Back in his courtyard, Mo Yuanjiao found Bao Jian waiting at the entrance. As soon as he saw Mo Yuanjiao return, he quickly approached and, lowering his voice, began reporting as they walked into the room:

"Today, all the people from Sunyang Sect's capital residence left the city. It seems they were scouting for locations, visiting several mountains. Since you instructed us that the target might be highly skilled, our people didn't dare follow too closely, so the details are unclear."

On the second day after Mo Yuanjiao's return, Bao Jian had successfully identified the fortune teller as Song Jusheng, a Sunyang Sect elder, just as Mo Yuanjiao had suspected. Later, Mo Yuanjiao sought information from his father.

Initially, Mo General didn't want to share too much with his son. However, after hearing Mo Yuanjiao's analysis, which was nearly spot-on, he began to see that his son might have truly matured. As a result, he started discussing matters related to the cultivation sects with him.

This made it easier for Mo Yuanjiao to use the family's resources to gather information. Given their long-standing dealings with cultivation sects, the people under their command were well-trained in intelligence gathering. Moreover, Mo Yuanjiao and his team weren't trying to dig too deeply but rather get a general sense of the situation.

Thus, even for a Jindan stage cultivator, it wasn't easy to detect these experienced spies if they weren't particularly vigilant.

After hearing Bao Jian's report, Mo Yuanjiao nodded to show he understood. He then asked, "What about the other two sects? Any movement?"

Bao Jian replied, "Representatives from Yunyan Sect and Qinghe Sect visited Sunyang Sect's residence in the past couple of days, but for some reason, Sunyang Sect didn't receive them."

Once inside the room, Mo Yuanjiao sat at the table, deep in thought. His father had told him about Sunyang Sect's change in leadership and the elders' plans to rebuild the sect. Considering the dynamics between the royal family and the three major sects, as well as the emperor's intention to ally with Lingxian Sect, Mo Yuanjiao concluded that the court didn't seem to have any intentions of setting a trap for them.

So, he decided to use the tracking communication talisman infused with Liu Yunan's spiritual power to send the latest intelligence back to the sect.

Although the decision to engage with Lingxian Sect was made by the emperor and the court, not many people were actually aware of it. The county magistrate of Anqun had submitted a report, which just happened to be seen by Grand Secretary Yang. Instead of following the usual bureaucratic process, Yang directly presented it to the emperor as a confidential document.

Afterward, the emperor privately discussed the matter with a few key ministers, never bringing it to the court. As a result, apart from a few officials in nearby counties and prefectures, only the Mo General's family was aware of Lingxian Sect's existence.

Mo Yuanjiao pondered for a long time before deciding that it was time to reveal the truth. With his decision made, he headed to his father's study. He was going to request an audience with the emperor.

There wasn't any special reason for this—he and the emperor were actually quite familiar with each other. When they were young, Mo Yuanjiao had even peed on the emperor's robe, back when the emperor was still the crown prince. Of course, Mo Yuanjiao didn't remember this; it was something his grandmother had told him.

There was another reason—they were cousins. Mo Yuanjiao's mother and the emperor's mother, the empress dowager, were close sisters. By birthright, Mo Yuanjiao should address the emperor as his cousin.

And so, after entering the palace, Mo Yuanjiao, guided by an attendant, arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where he met his cousin, the emperor, whom he usually only saw during the annual banquet. There was no helping it; the emperor was a busy man, with many siblings. Although Mo Yuanjiao had a childhood connection with him, they weren't particularly close.

After all, Mo Yuanjiao was playful and disliked restrictions, so he avoided the palace whenever possible. But now, for the sake of his sect, he voluntarily entered this palace, which always made him feel uneasy.

Seeing Mo Yuanjiao enter, Emperor Li Zhouxuan raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "You, boy, aren't you the one who hates coming to the palace? I usually summon you, and you never come. What brings you here today? Did the sun rise from the west?"

Hearing this, Mo Yuanjiao felt slightly embarrassed and forced a polite smile. "Your Majesty, cousin, it's been a while."

Li Zhouxuan nodded, not suspecting anything. "Indeed, it has been a while. After the spring banquet, I haven't seen you. I heard you tested positive for spiritual roots but didn't join any of the three major sects. Instead, you went traveling. Have you returned from your travels now?"

Looking at his cousin standing in the upper seat, Mo Yuanjiao felt uncomfortable standing below him. He decided not to waste any more time and went straight to the point.

"Your Majesty, cousin, I'm here to confess. I didn't go traveling. I went in search of my destiny, and it just so happens that the sect you've been considering allying with is my destiny."

Li Zhouxuan, who had been casually flipping through memorials, paused and looked up at him. "What did you say?"

Seeing that his cousin wasn't catching on quickly, Mo Yuanjiao patiently repeated, "I went to cultivate. The sect I joined is the Lingxian Sect, the very one you've been thinking about allying with."

"So if you have any matters to discuss, you can tell me directly. I can relay them to my sect. Any questions you have, I can answer directly. Isn't that faster than you trying to figure it out on your own?"

Hearing this, Li Zhouxuan was utterly shocked.