In the following period, Li An continued as usual, collecting Celestial Slayer Stones while cultivating.

Morong sought Li An out many times because his collection speed of Celestial Slayer Stones did not meet her expectations, ranking only average in the entire Treasure Pavilion.

That night, she summoned Li An to her house late at night.

In the study.

"Zuo Wen, so far, our speed in collecting the Celestial Slayer Stones is still far from enough."

Morong's expression was grave.

Li An frowned slightly, "With our current progress, we should still be ahead of Xu Changkong…"

Morong shook her head: "To defeat Xu Changkong, it's not enough, as one of his granddaughters is a concubine of the Ninth Prince of the Prince Mansion!"

"Next month, the pavilion will announce the chief selection…"

She looked at Li An meaningfully, "I hope you can give me a hand!"

Li An said, "Zuo Wen has done his utmost…"

"The way you dealt with Lu Hua back then was quite impressive."

Morong disregarded Li An's excuse and said calmly, "Now, the Celestial Slayer Stones collected by Xu Changkong are also in the treasury. You know the treasury best. If, at this moment, the pavilion discovers a large number of issues with the Celestial Slayer Stones collected by Xu Changkong…"

"In this way, he will inevitably lose."

Li An was stunned for a moment.

Morong was… implying he should tamper with the treasury!

But now the overseer of the treasury has been replaced by someone under the Pavilion Master.

With Li An's current position and understanding of the treasury, it's not without opportunity.

However, the risk was too high!

If he wasn't careful, he would be shattered to pieces.

Being a scapegoat for Morong?

It was okay to pick sides usually, but this time becoming a scapegoat… it was unsafe.

Yet, he did not refuse, hesitating and pondering for a long time, he finally said, "If Deputy Morong becomes chief, can you help Zuo Wen become a Senior Artifact Evaluator?"

Morong resolutely said, "If I become the chief, you will definitely become a senior. Rest assured, I won't mistreat you."

Li An hesitated and struggled for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, "Alright!"

...

In the following period, Li An continued collecting Celestial Slayer Stones while deliberately getting close to the people in the treasury.

But in reality, he was just pretending and did not actually tamper with the treasury.

The risks were too high, and even if he gave everything and somehow helped Morong become chief, would she really give him the position of Senior Artifact Evaluator?

Not necessarily.

Li An knew that, in reality, Zheng Xiaoxiao was Morong's most trusted confidante.

If she didn't let Zheng Xiaoxiao handle this kind of thing and instead came to him, it was clear that she valued Zheng Xiaoxiao more. In the end, the Senior Artifact Evaluator position would most likely go to Zheng Xiaoxiao…

Rather than doing anything, it was better to sit back and watch Morong succeed or fail.

And what if Morong failed? As long as he didn't make mistakes, he could still be an Artifact Evaluator and gradually collect the poison medicine he needed.

So, crazy, to help her?

Is she worthy?

...

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

On this day, the Pavilion Master personally arrived.

Additionally, there was a heavyweight figure from the Prince Mansion – Jiang City, the butler.

Today was the day to announce the chief candidate.

"The previous chief has passed away, leaving the chief position vacant in the pavilion. To ensure the continued development of the Treasure Pavilion, today we have decided on a candidate…"

The Pavilion Master Qin Xuan spoke faintly.

"Reporting to the Pavilion Master!"

Morong directly stood up and said, "I have something to report."

"Senior Artifact Evaluator Xu Changkong has embezzled the Celestial Slayer Stones, greatly substituting the genuine with the fake. I request the Pavilion Master to investigate!"

After speaking, she handed over an account book.

Everyone's face in the room changed drastically!

"You're spouting nonsense—"

The elderly Xu Changkong stood up directly, anger written all over his face.

The two began a heated argument.

"Stop at once!"

The Pavilion Master Qin Xuan's face was extremely cold, and having this kind of scene happen in front of the Prince Mansion's chief steward was a disgrace to the Treasure Pavilion's reputation.

"Cai'Er, go to the treasury and check right away, and you'll know—"

She handed the account book to a maid beside her.

The maid left immediately.

Soon, she returned.

"Reporting to the Pavilion Master, there are no issues with Deputy Xu's Celestial Slayer Stones. This account book is a forgery—"

The maid reported.

Morong was directly stunned on the spot. She suddenly turned to look at Li An.

However, Li An appeared nonchalant and unmoved.

At this moment, there was almost murderous intent boiling in Morong's eyes, and she wished to kill Li An.

How dare he deceive her?

"Morong, what's going on here?" The Pavilion Master asked calmly.

Morong's face looked extremely unpleasant, but she could only take a deep breath and say, "Reporting to the Pavilion Master, it seems my information was wrong, and someone with malicious intent aimed to frame Deputy Xu… Morong acknowledges her mistake and asks for punishment from the Pavilion Master!"

As for matters concerning Li An, she dared not bring them up.

Admitting her mistake now and attributing the incident to a misunderstanding could lessen the severity somewhat. If she involved Li An, he would definitely reveal that she instructed him to do this.

Then she would become the one who deliberately framed Xu Changkong.

This crime… she couldn't bear it.

She could only suffer this dumb loss herself.

"Quite the misunderstanding indeed!"

Xu Changkong's eyes were icy cold. He wanted to say more, but the Pavilion Master Qin Xuan had already waved his hand. This matter had become messy enough, and she didn't want to further embarrass the Prince Mansion's entourage.

"Let this matter rest here, and now, continue with the candidate announcement—"

"Xu Changkong, assume the chief position!"

It was no surprise!

Everyone looked complicated, especially Zheng Xiaoxiao and several ordinary Artifact Evaluators who were with Morong, looking extremely disheartened.

Their days ahead… would definitely be tough.

Especially Zheng Xiaoxiao, who followed Morong alongside Lu Hua and became her most loyal confidant.

If Morong had successfully gained power, her position as a Senior Artifact Evaluator would have been assured.

But now…

It was all Zuo Wen's fault, all his fault!

Traitor!

She gritted her teeth.

On the other hand, the Artifact Evaluators on Xu Changkong's side were overjoyed.

Among them, one or two were exceptionally anxious.

With Xu Changkong's promotion to chief, his deputy position, the Senior Artifact Evaluator position, was vacant.

It would surely be filled by one of his own!

"There's a vacant position for a Senior Artifact Evaluator… after selection, the most suitable person for this position is…"

"Zuo Wen!"

Zuo Wen!

The room was in an uproar upon hearing these two words.

Everyone was bewildered, their gazes collectively falling on Zuo Wen.

What was going on?

Wasn't Zuo Wen one of Morong's men?

Did Xu Changkong promise the Senior Artifact Evaluator position to Zuo Wen in exchange for his defection?

But soon, everyone noticed that even Xu Changkong himself seemed utterly astonished, clearly not understanding what was happening…

"Why, why…"

Zheng Xiaoxiao was near a breakdown!

This position was clearly hers, and even if there were setbacks, it shouldn't be given to this betrayer Li An…

Morong also stared at Li An, feeling somewhat dazed for a moment.

From now on, was Li An on equal footing with her?

"This is the decision of the Prince Mansion."

At this moment, Qin Xuan had calmly spoken.

The decision of the Prince Mansion!

Everyone was even more shocked upon hearing this…

Zuo Wen, since when did he have such backing???

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