Chapter 1978: Ascension of the New Emperor

Meanwhile, Zu An walked into a secluded alley before he suddenly turned around, calling out, “You should come out. You’ve already followed me for a long time.”

Soon after, Meng Chan appeared from around the corner. Her beautiful face was full of awkwardness and nervousness.

“Why is the madam following me?” Zu An asked seriously. Even though the two of them had experienced a wild night, Meng Chan had taken the initiative to use Worries Be Gone on him back then, and should’ve forgotten about what happened.

Will he think I'm a scheming woman and feel disgusted if I tell him the truth? Meng Chan thought.

When he saw that she didn’t say anything, Zu An turned around. Their relationship was quite… unique, so it was better if they interacted as little as possible.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Suddenly, someone threw out a catcall. “What do we have here? Which family’s hot chick is this? Why did you run all the way here in the middle of the night?”

It turned out out there were a few drunk unaffiliated cultivators who were passing by. When they saw Meng Chan around the corner, their eyes immediately lit up. When had they ever seen someone so beautiful before? Moreover, there was a kind of inherent beauty to her appearance that was entirely different from the girls of this district. For people like them who hung around those of lower status, that posed an irresistible temptation.

Zu An, who had been about to leave, frowned. He had made sure to take unnecessary turns to try and shake her off, but that had only ended up bringing her to the city’s north side. The law and order here was far from that of the king manors’ streets, a place where people could drink together and claim to be brothers one moment, only to slam their beer bottles on the heads of those same ‘brothers’ a moment later. The darker alleys were even more so places for murder and business that didn’t want any unwanted attention.

Even so, Zu An still didn’t want to get involved. Meng Chan was a princess and a well-known talented cultivator. Dealing with these ruffians wasn’t difficult at all.

For some reason, though, Meng Chan only shrunk further into the corner and didn’t do anything. She didn’t even say a word and only had a look of fear on her face. And yet the more she acted like that, the more it brought out the beast inside those people.

To them, it looked as if the madam of some great clan had accidentally gotten lost and ended up in the wrong place. She seemed to be a young lady who rarely left home and didn’t have any common knowledge or ability to protect herself. The prostitutes they met normally couldn't compare to even a single finger of this woman. Normally, this was a woman who, forget about their current lifetime, even if they were given another lifetime, they still couldn't touch. And yet the heavens had dropped this delicious pancake right out of the sky for them!

The woman's clothes were exquisite and made of good material, so she was clearly from a wealthy clan, and yet they weren’t worried at all. This kind of woman cared the most about their reputation. For the sake of protecting their own name, they wouldn’t dare to talk about what happened.

Who knew, the men could even have a chance of forcing her to speak her identity. That way, they could use what happened today to continue to blackmail her. Then, they would have both this beautiful woman and endless resources. None of them would have to live their damned bloody lifestyle anymore.

They were getting more and more excited. One of them couldn't hold himself back and reached out to stroke Meng Chan’s face, saying, “Babe, don’t be scared. Big brother here will make you feel amazing!”

Meng Chan turned her face and did her best to shrink backward and avoid his hand. Unfortunately, there was a wall behind her and she couldn't avoid it any longer.

When they saw her act so weak and delicate, the others also couldn't take it anymore. They grabbed straight at her chest to tear away her clothes.

Meng Chan closed her eyes in ‘fear’, but no one touched her body. Instead, several groans quickly filled the air. She was overjoyed. When she opened her eyes, sure enough, Zu An was standing in front of her, and the ruffians were already lying motionless on the ground.

Zu An asked, “Was your cultivation harmed?”

Meng Chan bit her lip and shook her head, but her face was radiant with happiness. The dusky alley suddenly seemed as if it were blossoming with flowers and full of light.

“Then why didn’t you fight back?” Zu An asked impatiently.

“I wanted to see if you would save me,” Meng Chan finally said. Her eyes were full of smiles.

Zu An was speechless. Is there something wrong with this woman?

“We're enemies, so why would I save you?” Zu An replied with a stiff expression.

Meng Chan didn’t say anything and just continued to look at him with a beaming smile.

“Then what if I didn’t come back? Would you have let them do all that to you?” Zu An couldn't help but ask.

“No, I would have killed them,” Meng Chan said matter-of-factly. “But if I had to do that, I would really have been broken-hearted.”

Zu An was speechless again. He turned around to leave.

Meng Chan suddenly hugged him from behind, crying out, “Don’t go!”

Zu An was stunned. Then, he reacted and asked, “You remember what happened that night?”

Meng Chan had a bashful expression as she replied, “How could I possibly forget such an unforgettable experience?”

Zu An felt a bit wronged. He said, “It seemed the Worries Be Gone doesn’t live up to its reputation.”

“That’s not true. I actually forgot about what happened that night, but I wrote a letter for myself ahead of time. Once I read the letter, I gradually recovered my memories,” Meng Chan said. She hadn't dared to speak about it before, but she'd already sensed his tender feelings toward her from what had just happened, so she decided to talk about it now.

Zu An now understood what had happened. It seemed that Worries Be Gone Rosemary didn’t make one completely lose a memory, but rather buried it. If there were other triggers, one would still be able to remember what happened.

“Even so, we're still enemies,” Zu An said seriously.

“No, you are our benefactor. It's because you were generous that more people were able to survive from the Meng clan and King Dai Manor,” Meng Chan said, holding his hands even tighter.

In that instant, Zu An didn’t even know if she was telling the truth or not anymore. When he smelled her body’s scent and felt the graceful yet delicate sensation on his back, he felt as if the ki he had finally suppressed with great difficulty was starting to stir again.

“Do you know what your actions are implying right now?” Zu An turned around and asked in a a somewhat hoarse voice.

“I do,” Meng Chan said, her voice starting to shake a bit when she saw his intense gaze.

Zu An didn’t say anything else and turned her around before pressing her against the wall.

Meng Chan’s heart was now beating fiercely. Even though she had already made her mental preparations when she sought him out, she really was a bit unprepared if they were really going to do it right here!

However, this novel experience brought her a bit of expectation despite the fear. Her body was shockingly flexible, as her upper body was pressed up against the wall, but her waist was almost parallel with the floor.

…

The next day, Zu An returned to Dong’e Peak. He felt completely refreshed, with all of the malicious feelings from the bloody battle with the monsters completely vented out. The cultivation he had obtained from the War Priest was also fully digested.

He had felt that Bi Linglong was just too precious before, causing him to be unable to achieve such a result.

Meanwhile, in King Dai Manor, Meng Chan had just dragged her exhausted body back to the manor. King Dai was already waiting for her in his wheelchair.

“Didn’t you say you were going to talk to your close friend? Why did you come back so late?” King Dai asked as he gave the distant setting sun a look. His tone seemed a bit cold.

“I chatted too late last night and was a bit tired. I slept in a bit today too,” Meng Chan said, her expression a bit unnatural.

King Dai’s hands gripped the wheels tighter, but then he let go in resignation. He replied, “Just which close friend was it that they would still be willing to interact with you in this kind of time? A friend in need truly is a friend indeed.”

“It was the Wang clan’s madam; we were friends since we were young. Sigh, you wouldn’t even know if I told you,” Meng Chan said as she hurriedly moved to leave.

King Dai suddenly called out after her, “What’s wrong with your neck? Why is it covered by your shirt collar? Were you hurt?”

“It’s cold out there and this helps me keep warm.” Meng Chan left thoese words behind before hurriedly leaving so he couldn't ask anything else.

“You have to take care of your body no matter what!” King Dai shouted after her.

Meng Chan staggered and almost fell, perhaps because her legs were weak, or because she was scared badly by his words.

…

In the next few days, crown prince Zhao Ruizhi officially became the new emperor. The name of this era was Peace Eternal, implying peace and prosperity for the entire world. Crown princess Bi Linglong thus became the new empress, and the former empress Liu Ning became empress dowager.

Normally, Bi Linglong should have moved into the empress’ Palace of Peace, and Liu Ning would be bestowed the Palace of Compassion after becoming empress dowager. But Liu Ning was used to living in the Palace of Peace and didn’t want to move. Bi Linglong didn’t want to stay in the palace Liu Ning had stayed for so long in either, and she had too many beautiful memories in the Eastern Palace. This place also symbolized the love she shared with her sweetheart, making her want to move away even less.

The situation made all of the officials in the palace lose their minds. In the end, however, Zu An thought of a win-win solution.

The two of them would reside in their palaces, but then the Palace of Compassion placard would be given to Liu Ning, and the Palace of Peace placard would be given to the Eastern Palace. The Eastern Palace would thus be remodeled into the new Palace of Peace. Either way, Zhao Ruizhi didn’t have a crown prince and didn’t need to use the place. The two women thus reluctantly accepted this solution.

Then, with Zu An taking the lead, the subjects carried out a grand ascension ceremony. At the same time, they granted the world a great amnesty. They hoped it would help quell the unease of the common people brought about by Zhao Han’s death, while also bringing the entire court together. That way, they could face the following dangers better.

However, an issue appeared in the ceremony. All officials were supposed to kneel to the new emperor, and yet Zu An alone remained standing and didn’t kneel. The gazes of those present shifted to him, and a strange silence fell.