Chapter 961, Part 1: Model for Us All

Zu An couldn’t help but pull Bi Linglong into his arms when he saw her nervous appearance. “Haha, you care about me after all! You treated me so coldly that even my own heart was going to turn cold.”

Bi Linglong was annoyed again when she heard those words, exclaiming, “It’s your fault for being like that to me last time!”

“Wasn’t that because you were just too beautiful?” Zu An replied with a smile while kissing her.

Bi Linglong knew that he was praising her in order to change the topic, but she was still happy to hear that. She was soon completely engrossed in the passionate kiss.

After some time, her entire body trembled. Then, she hit him a few times with her fists. This guy really was a rascal!

…

A while later, Bi Linglong lazily pushed away the man in her arms, saying, “It’s almost dawn. You need to leave.”

“I’m not leaving,” Zu An mumbled, burying his head into her chest.

“Don’t cause trouble. The maids are about to come in.” Bi Linglong was also reluctant, but she still retained her reason.

Zu An could only bid her farewell out of helplessness, saying, “I’m going to leave for Cloudcenter Commandery today. It might be a few months before we meet again.”

Bi Linglong’s eyes were filled with a warm expression. She helped him sort out his clothes while warning him, “You have to be careful. Even if you can’t find out the truth, it doesn’t matter. Returning safely is the most important.”

“Don’t worry, his majesty gave me an imperial decree this time. If there’s a moment of danger, I can use his power to help me,” Zu An said reassuringly.

Bi Linglong sighed in relief. She obviously knew how powerful the imperial decree was. However, she was rather surprised. Normally speaking, the emperor only entrusted his imperial decree to his trusted imperial envoys. He had actually given something like that to Zu An?

But after thinking about it, she knew that Zu An had already shown enough competency in the academy’s dungeon and helped the crown prince pass the great exam, winning his majesty’s trust. Something like that made sense.

Zu An lowered his head to look at her blushing face. He smiled and remarked, “You really sound like a wife talking to her husband right now, you know?”

Bi Linglong harrumphed. She quickly pushed him into the secret tunnel. She then returned to her bed and lay down. When she thought about her current identity, she couldn’t help but release a long and drawn-out sigh.

…

A while later, there was some activity by her door. Rong Mo knocked and said quietly, “Your highness, it’s time to wake up.”

Bi Linglong subconsciously pulled up the covers to hide the hickeys on her neck, but then she realized that she couldn’t be seen. As such, she said with a languid voice, “I feel a bit tired today so I’m going to sleep a bit longer. Don’t disturb me.” It’s all that rascal’s fault! We were tossing and turning for most of the night!

Her entire body felt as if it were about to break apart; there was no way she was getting up now. She was the master of the Eastern Palace after all, so she didn’t have to be on duty like the emperor. That degree of freedom was something she had.

Rong Mo was surprised. After all, the crown princess had always been extremely diligent. The crown prince never did any work, so it was the crown princess who handled the paperwork in the Eastern Palace. That was why she treated herself strictly. What was wrong with her today?

But she didn’t say too much either. The crown princess had suffered damage to her vitality in the dungeon, so she was probably not as energetic as before anymore. She thought, It’s all that bastard Zu An’s fault for not properly protecting the crown princess!

…

“Achoo!” Elsewhere, Zu An released a big sneeze. Which girl is thinking about me now?

He didn’t have much time to sleep after leaving the Eastern Palace. He reported to the Imperial Palace and left with a hundred armed escorts.

The Armed Escort Division was a branch of the Court Defense Army. They were all specially trained elites, and the members were practically all at the fifth rank. They might not be a match for some independent warriors, but they were proficient in coordinated warfare. If they fought an equal number of enemies of the same cultivation level, they would almost always bring back an overwhelming victory. They would also have a good chance even if they were to fight some opponents who were far above the fifth rank.

The number of men present was sufficient as well. In order to defeat a hundred of these Armed Escort Division soldiers, an army several times their number would be required. However, they were representing the imperial envoy this time, so it would constitute a huge rebellion if that happened. If the enemy really intended on rebelling, it wouldn’t make a difference if they sent a hundred or a thousand men.

Soon afterward, they met Sang Hong’s men by the city outskirts. Even though this world’s cultivation was developed, with all kinds of runes to make transportation more convenient, it still couldn’t compare to the science and technology of Zu An’s previous world, where there were trains and planes.

After all, rune formations exhausted a large supply of ki stones, making them too expensive. Only a few people could enjoy such luxury, while most people couldn’t. That was why, just like in the olden times of his previous world, traveling by water routes was the most convenient.

The Great Suidan River stretched several thousand miles from north to south. It just happened to pass by the capital as well. The tributary rivers had been cut wider, forming a convenient and fast system. The capital was an incredibly large city that used up a lot of food, wood, ore, and other resources; almost all of these resources came through water transport.

The diplomatic fleet would follow the Great Suidan River north. They would then get off and head west until they reached Cloudcenter Commandery. After all, the Great Suidan River didn’t pass through Cloudcenter Commandery.

This time, Sang Hong was acting as the imperial envoy. There were also some officials present, representing the court. The emperor had even sent over some eunuchs to read his decree and make their send-off grander.

Zu An yawned. Thank goodness he had Sang Hong to help him deal with the formalities. Otherwise, he would really have been annoyed to death.

Suddenly, he noticed some familiar figures among the crowd. He was happy and surprised, exclaiming, “How come you guys are here too?”

The two young men had impressive bearings. Their style was entirely different from everyone else.

One of them had a square face, giving off an upright and earnest feeling. He looked quite reliable. The other one had more of a gloomy handsomeness, clearly a young man who had some psychological pains.

The two of them were naturally Gao Ying and Pei You.

Gao Ying’s serious expression also gave way to a smile. He said, “This trip to Cloudcenter Commandery is a great chance to shine that many clans have competed over. Many people tried to join it, but the fact that we’re able to be here today is also from sharing your spotlight.”

Pei You didn’t try to keep up his aloof and cool exterior anymore. He lowered his voice and said with a smile, “I heard that all of the girls up north are slender with long legs. I’ve been itching to go there for a long time already, and now I finally have a chance. How can I miss a chance like this?”

Zu An had a strange look on his face. This kid looked like an antisocial recluse, and yet he was actually like this in front of his close friends! Wasn’t there a phrase for someone like this? Right, it was ‘cold outside but passionate inside’. Many of his fellow students in his previous world were like that. He suddenly felt a strong sense of closeness then.

“This time, things might not be smooth sailing in Cloudcenter Commandery.” Zu An couldn’t tell them too much at the moment, so he could only vaguely warn them.

Gao Ying replied, “Don’t worry, brother Zu. The two of us haven’t lived all these years for nothing. At the very least, we won’t hold you back. We might even be of some help.”

Zu An figured that made sense as well. The two were both at the peak of the sixth rank, already the best among their peers. Furthermore, they had the Liu clan and Pei clan backing them, so they would be powerful assets.

“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law!” A young man’s melodious voice rang out. The ridiculously handsome man waved toward Zu An.

Zu An smiled. He quickly greeted her, asking, “Why are you here, Youzhao?” When he saw Murong Qinghe next to her, he nodded toward her and added, “Greetings, Qinghe.”

“Greetings, big brother Zu,” Murong Qinhe replied naturally. However, her attention quickly returned to Chu Youzhao. Her big brother was so handsome; no other man could compare to him!

Gao Ying nudged Pei You, saying, “Tsk tsk tsk, you’re being completely outdone here.”

“How much admiration did Chu First Miss draw from the other aristocratic heirs in the capital back then? With such a stunning beauty as his big sister, how can the little brother be inferior?” Pei You didn’t really mind. He added, “Furthermore, when did a real man ever have to depend on their face to prevail?”

Gao Ying had a bitter smile on his face. You handsome men might not have such misgivings, but the rest of us with ordinary appearances have to worry about this a lot! But he was an open-minded person and quickly snapped out of those negative emotions.

Meanwhile, Chu Youzhao had a huge smile on her face. “Brother-in-law is going on a long trip, so of course we have to come and see you off! Here, these are the warm clothes I prepared for you. It’s cold up there, so you have to make sure to wear more. These are some pastries from Auspicious Virtue Restaurant for you to nibble on when you get peckish along the way. These are…”

Zu An felt warm inside when he saw her give him all kinds of things. It really is nice to have someone care about you.

“Thank you, but this doesn’t seem to really suit your nature…?” Zu An still quickly realized something. Even though Chu Youzhao was a girl, she had been raised as a boy, so she was a bit more crass. How could she think things through so meticulously?

Chu Youzhao’s expression became a bit unnatural, but in the end, she still said truthfully, “Qinghe helped me prepare a lot of these things; for example, your clothing measurements and other stuff…”

Murong Qinghe blushed and said, “I was just helping my big brother Chu.”

Zu An was surprised. Murong Qinghe, this little tomboy, actually had such a meticulous side to her! It seemed a girl was a girl after all. Comparatively speaking, Chu Youzhao was much more simple-minded.

“Thank you guys. I’ll bring you around to have fun once I come back from Cloudcenter Commandery.” Zu An really wanted to smack himself in the mouth as soon as he said that. Why did it sound as if he were setting a flag for himself? Pah pah pah, knock on wood…

“Yay!” Chu Youzhao became excited. Murong Qinghe didn’t actually care that much, because if her big brother Chu was happy, then she was happy too.