After hearing Yunxi's words, Su Yan was so worried that she almost lost her composure, but she quickly calmed down and carefully inquired about the situation.

"What exactly happened to them in the ghost market?"

Yunxi told Su Yan the whole story of what happened between Xie Yu and Shen Yao in the ghost market.

Upon hearing this, Su Yan couldn't help but frown. "You mean the Dark Moon Pavilion is using Gu to create puppet soldiers that are impervious to swords and spears?"

Yunxi thought for a moment and felt that her explanation was not quite appropriate, so she continued to explain: "They are not invulnerable to swords and spears. They put the 'child gu' into living people. Although the living people are not completely dead, they are in a state of being half dead and half alive. Although they are no different from puppets, they have signs of life, such as pulse and breathing, and are no different from living people."

After listening, Su Yan recalled the Empress Dowager's symptoms, which were exactly the same as the puppet soldiers described by Yun Xi. It seemed that the Dark Moon Pavilion's ambitions were truly considerable.

This matter is beyond Su Yan's ability to handle. If she wants to completely wipe out the Dark Moon Pavilion, she needs an army or the Golden Guard. It's a pipe dream for her to rescue Shen Yao and Xie Yu with her bare hands.

Su Yan felt that the Crown Prince must be informed of this matter.

Although the Crown Prince was confined to the Eastern Palace to reflect on his mistakes, the Emperor did not strip him of his military power, and he was still fully able to command the Imperial Guards.

After thinking it over, Su Yan settled Yunxi down and hurriedly left Dali Temple to find the Crown Prince.

Of course, Su Yan also guessed that Li Shen's disguise was not just to see her alone, but that he was really going to see Lin Shu, the son of the Duke of Lin.

Duke Lin was the Grand General of the State of Liang. After the power of the Prince of Zhennan was dismantled, the Lin family became the second subject to possess military power.

However, perhaps out of fear that the Lin family would become the second Prince of Zhennan, the Duke of Lin has been sent to guard the border and is not allowed to return to Chang'an without imperial decree.

The main reason is that the Lin family belongs to the Emperor's own power base, not to Xie Xiao's family. The Crown Prince's trip is to discuss the next steps with Lin Shu.

Several years ago, the Crown Prince had already brought Lin Shu into his camp, but the Lin family kept a low profile, and the world thought that the Lin family was attached to the Emperor.

Originally, Su Yan did not know that the Lin family was the Crown Prince's own power; she accidentally stumbled upon the Crown Prince and the Lin family's young lady having a private meeting.

The Crown Prince already has a Crown Princess, but she comes from a respectable family, so the Crown Prince cannot rely on her family's influence.

Therefore, when Su Yan saw the Crown Prince meeting with Miss Lin in secret, she already guessed which side the Lin family was on.

Su Yan didn't make a fuss or mention it to anyone, intending to keep it to herself.

Now that the Crown Prince is under house arrest, the fact that he was allowed to risk leaving the palace suggests that he wanted to discuss the next steps with Lin Shu.

The current turbulent situation in the court may not be a bad opportunity for the Crown Prince.

His Majesty is old and frail; this is the perfect opportunity to eliminate the Xiao and Xie families.

Su Yan arrived at the Lin family's residence. Seeing the guards at the entrance, she glanced at the plaque, took a deep breath, and mustered her courage to walk towards the Lin family's guards.

Su Yan's trip was not only to rescue Xie Yu and Shen Yao, but also primarily to surrender.

Although she had met the Crown Prince several times, Su Yan clearly sensed that he had not fully accepted her.

If we want to save Shen Yao and Xie Yu, we must completely join the Crown Prince's camp.

The Lin family guards saw a man in official robes approaching and immediately called out to her, "Stop! What are you doing?"

Su Yan cleared her throat. "I am Su Yan, the head of the Surveillance Bureau. I request an audience with Prince Lin."

Lin Shizi holds a position in the army. Although his official rank is not as high as Su Yan's, Lin Shu is to succeed the Duke of Lin after his death.

Therefore, Su Yan felt that when it was time to curry favor, one should do so as soon as possible.

The guard sized up Su Yan and continued to press, "Do you have a visiting card?"

Su Yan shook her head. "No, could you please inform them?"

After saying that, Su Yan secretly took out five taels of silver and stuffed it into the guard's hand.

After weighing the silver in his hand, the guard immediately beamed with joy and became much more enthusiastic towards Su Yan, "Wait... I'll go and inform them right away..."

After saying that, the guard smiled and turned to leave.

At this moment, Li Shen was discussing matters with Lin Shu in the study.

Because the Crown Prince was in disguise, he did not enter through the main gate of the Lin family. Apart from a few trusted confidants, no one else in the Lin family knew that Li Shen was in the study.

So when the messenger arrived at the study in high spirits, ready to deliver the message, he was stopped by a trusted confidant guarding the study door.

The messenger informed his confidant about Su Yan's request to see Lin Shu, but the confidant still blocked him from entering and did not intend to inform Lin Shu.

The two quickly started arguing.

Soon, the noise from their argument alerted Lin Shu and the Crown Prince in the study.

Amidst the argument, Lin Shu's furious shouts rang out.

"What are you all shouting about outside?"

Upon hearing the commotion inside, the messenger immediately knelt down in fright and shouted, "Your Highness, the Director of the Surveillance Bureau, Su Yan, is requesting an audience outside the door."

Su Yan was a civil official, while Lin Shu was a military officer. Although they served in the same court, they had never even met.

So when Lin Shu heard the name Su Yan, he had no recollection of it at all. He originally intended to inform the servant to leave and let him send Su Yan away, but Li Shen stopped him.

Li Shen couldn't understand why Su Yan would approach Lin Shu, so he stopped Lin Shu, "Let him in..."

Lin Shu was completely bewildered by Li Shen's order and didn't understand it at all, but he still ordered someone to bring Su Yan in.

After the messenger was given permission to leave, Lin Shu looked at Li Shen with a puzzled expression, "Why did His Highness the Crown Prince call the people from the Surveillance Bureau in?"

"Su Yan is exceptionally intelligent, and there must be a reason why he came to see you. I'm merely curious as to why he did so..."

"Does Your Highness wish to see him?"

Li Shen waved his hand, "You may see him for now. I want to see what he's up to."

"Your Highness, shall I take Su Yan to another room first?"

Li Shen shook his head and rejected Lin Shu's suggestion, "It's alright, just bring her to the study, and I will hide behind the screen."

After saying that, Li Shen walked towards the screen.

Lin Shu wanted to step forward to stop him, but Li Shen had just hidden behind the screen when a messenger brought Su Yan into the study.

When Lin Shu saw the androgynous beauty in front of him, he was quite amazed. He hadn't expected that the head of the Supervisory Council would be such a beauty.

He and Xie Yu were childhood friends, but they were rivals who would fight as soon as they met, so Lin Shu didn't have a good impression of the Surveillance Bureau.

However, when he saw Su Yan, his worldview was completely shattered.

Although Lin Shu was a fairly upright person, he had a slight quirk of liking beautiful women, though he was different from the county magistrate Guo Huan.

Guo Huan liked to hold beautiful women in his arms, but Lin Shu preferred to paint beautiful women in portraits. As long as the appearance was beautiful, he did not care whether the woman was male or female.

When Lin Shu saw Su Yan, his eyes instantly flashed with a wolfish glint.

Su Yan felt a little embarrassed by Lin Shu's gaze, so she deliberately coughed twice to break the awkward atmosphere.