Chapter 659: Hanging On By a Thread

Translator: Pika

Zu An felt his head go blank. The emperor seeking him out at this type of time was definitely not anything good!

He didn’t ask Eunuch Wen further about what the emperor wanted. He was already grateful that he told him these things, so he shouldn’t trouble this man any more.

Furthermore, he probably didn’t know what the emperor was really thinking either.

The two of them arrived at the imperial study. Eunuch Wen went ahead to report his arrival first. He quickly came back out and told Zu An, “His majesty invites Sir Zu inside.”

After saying this, he gave him a ‘best of luck’ look. Zu An released a bitter chuckle. Now that things were like this, he could only brace himself and go in.

When he arrived inside the Imperial Study, he saw that it was no longer the bronze mirror, but rather the emperor himself reading over a report.

When Zu An entered, the emperor didn’t react at all, as if he was just empty air.

Zu An stood to the side and bowed. “This subject pays his respects to your majesty.”

The emperor still didn’t respond. Zu An gulped. I’m finished. The reason this guy is unhappy is probably because of me!

He stared straight down and didn’t say anything, remaining silent to prevent this situation from getting any worse.

A while later, the emperor raised his head to give him a look. When he saw how he was acting, he laughed out of anger. “Normally, those court officials are all shaking in fear and reverence, yet you’re standing there like nobody’s business.”

Zu An replied, “I was scared that I would disturb your majesty from reading your report.”

“You’re just as slick as always.” The emperor harrumphed. “How is the investigation I assigned you going?”

Zu An thought over his words, and then slowly said, “I already found some clues. The Left Guard General Cheng Xiong colluded with the assassins through his son Cheng Gang. He exchanged information with the government brothel…”

The emperor declined to express anything after hearing his explanation. “Then what about the motive?”

Zu An replied, “Cheng Xiong is an important member of King Qi’s faction. I believe he wanted to use the assassination to get rid of the crown prince so King Qi can succeed to the throne.”

The emperor gave him a cold look. “Are you accusing my own younger brother, a respected and wise king! How brazen?!”

You have successfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 Rage points.

Zu An snorted inside. Is this emperor really going to put on this type of appearance even in this situation? Everyone in this world knows that you and King Qi are already like water and fire, that you’re itching to get rid of him. Who are you putting on this performance for?

Of course, mockery was mockery. He’d be courting death if he said any of this out loud. He could only continue based on the situation and say, “This subject does not dare vainly guess whether or not King Qi is really the one behind it all, but this is the most suitable deduction.”

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

His majesty tossed the report in his hands onto the table. “You’ve found an excellent reason, and you’ve even told me a reasonable motive. If it was anyone else, they might believe what you are saying. Unfortunately, I know that King Qi would never do something so stupid.”

Zu An was stunned. Wouldn’t King Qi receive the most benefits if the crown prince dies?

The emperor seemed to have guessed at his thoughts and said, “I have many sons, and there is no lack of sharp and powerful ones among them. Why then, did I choose the crown prince?”

Zu An’s head began to move quickly. He quickly recalled what he discussed with Chu Chuyan on the way to the capital.

Because of who the late emperor was, King Qi indeed had right to succession. The only thing the emperor could fight back with was his oldest son’s right to succession. The crown prince is the emperor’s oldest son, which is why he is the heir apparent to the throne. He has the law on his side as well, so King Qi’s faction has no choice but to acknowledge this fact as well.

But if the emperor didn’t go this path and instead chose to have his sons compete in brilliance and wisdom, who could compare to King Qi?

The emperor said coldly, “You are a smart person, so I believe you understand. That is why if something happened to the current crown prince, then I have a justifiable reason to switch to a more intelligent genius to serve as the new crown prince, because he is the next in line. Do you think King Qi would do something so foolish?”

Zu An immediately broke out into cold sweat, because he also understood what was going on now. King Qi likely doesn’t wish for the current crown prince to die either.

It was precisely because of this stupid crown prince that the so many knowledgeable and experienced members of the court were worried about their future. This was the foundation for why they chose to side with King Qi.

If the crown prince became someone intelligent… No, even if he was only an ordinary person, as long as he had the ability to preserve the work of his predecessors, then why would so many of the court’s subjects brace themselves to clash against the most powerful emperor? Why would they side with King Qi?

It now seems like Yun Jianyue miscalculated as well. Regardless of how she tried to frame King Qi, the emperor knew that it was definitely not done by King Qi.

Zu An quickly said. “His majesty is wise and brilliant. This subject will continue searching for the culprit.”

“Heh, you are going to continue searching?” The emperor put away his smile. “You’ve colluded with the Devil Sect to take down the Left Guard General, who are you planning to frame with the Devil Sect next?”

Zu An’s heart stopped. Cold sweat soaked through his clothes.

The emperor knows everything!

Wait, calm down first. Maybe he is just testing me?

As such, he pretended to be completely innocent. “What does your majesty mean? This subject is slow-witted and does not understand.”

The emperor instead nodded in praise. “Your temperament is not bad. Your mind has not collapsed even at this point.”

Zu An sighed in relief, but the emperor’s expression became completely cold. “Unfortunately, the proof is undeniable. All excuses will only seem even more laughable.”

He tossed the accounts book he was reading over. “Take a look for yourself.”

Zu An gulped. He opened the document in front of him. This was clearly a confidential document, yet when he saw the contents on the surface, an explosion went off in his head. Every single cell in his body was quivering.

His dealings with Qiu Honglei in Brightmoon City were written in detail. There was even the matters of how Qiu Honglei took the initiative to marry herself to him.

Later on, on their way to the capital, the Devil Sect’s experts tried to seize Zu An. The one in the lead was precisely Qiu Honglei.

According to various sources, Qiu Honglei was the saintess of the Devil Sect.

Furthermore, the long haired female grandmaster was the Devil Sect Master Yun Jianyue, and Qiu Honglei was her direct disciple.

There seemed to be a girl who looked like Qiu Honglei coming in and out of Zu An’s baron residence during these past few days. Later on, Zu An headed into the government brothel and Cheng Gang was crippled. The case of Cheng Gang colluding with the government brothel followed right after…

One could make reasonable deductions from all of this information even without seeing it for themselves. Furthermore, the deductions were practically the same as reality.

He could tell from a single glance that this was Zhuxie Chixin’s handwriting. Motherfucker, that guy called me a brother to my face but stabbed me right in the back.

But he knew that blaming Zhuxie Chixin was meaningless. It was probably the emperor who had him investigate him. Damn it, they’re all ruthless old foxes.

“Looks like Cheng Xiong wasn’t wrong previously. It was you who sent out an assassin after all.” The emperor’s cold eyes surrounded him, as if he was looking at a dead person.

In this instant, his aura erupted. Zu An felt as if the air around him became incredibly viscous, and he couldn’t even move a finger. It was as if he would be blown to ashes with a single thought from the emperor.

Zu An’s brain moved quickly, trying to find a way to deal with this. His first reaction was to deny it to the very end, because there was no conclusive proof recorded.

But he immediately rejected this idea. Investigation and proof were only used to convince the common people. For the emperor, as long as he believed something happened, would he let you go just because there wasn’t any proof?

Wait, I didn’t seem to have received much Rage points from the emperor in the backend?

Furthermore, why is he telling me all of this? If he really wanted me dead, he could have just killed me. Is there a need to talk so much?

When he thought of the mission he was given, he suddenly thought of something and immediately said, “This subject has committed a mortal crime! But I didn’t collude with the Devil Sect, it was all because I just happened to run into Qiu Honglei! She saved my life before, so I couldn’t just watch her die without doing anything. That was why I let her live!”

He spoke half truths. Of course, he couldn’t talk about how he saved Yun Jianyue. The emperor would never permit a grandmaster to slip through his grasp.

The emperor gave him an expressionless look. “Oh? So you were just repaying a past gratitude. Then should this emperor reward you for that?”

Zu An quickly said, “This subject doesn’t dare! I should die by a thousand cuts. I’ll let your majesty decide how this situation should be dealt with.”