Chapter 696: The Crown Princess’ Worries

Translator: Pika

Chu Youzhao immediately rushed over to Zu An’s side. “Brother-in-law, be careful!”

She thought that King Qi's faction were already back to get revenge. However, Murong Qinghe saw who it was and said quietly, “They’re from the eastern palace.”

Chu Youzhao was stunned. Their group rushed over and surrounded their party.

Then, a carriage proceeded from behind the horses. A eunuch moved aside the curtains, and then a lavishly dressed woman slowly walked out. Her golden hairpin and jade jewelry dazzled under the sunlight, making her seem elegant and stunning.

“I greet the crown princess!” Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were both individuals who grew up in the capital, so they naturally recognized Bi Linglong. Even though they belonged to different factions, they had to admit that this woman was beautiful. What was even more exceptional was the noble air around her. These lavish clothes only served to further set off her beauty.

The crown princess nodded her head slightly towards the two of them. She naturally didn’t feel much towards those from King Qi’s faction, so she only showed them basic courtesy.

Then, she walked towards Zu An. Her eyes examined him. When she saw that nothing major happened to him, she sighed in relief. “I heard that something happened to Sir Zu, and I happened to be in the area. They didn’t do much to you, did they?”

She looked at Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe with puzzlement when she spoke to him. Isn’t King Qi’s faction a bit too careless if they are sending these two to deal with Zu An?

Zu An quickly said, “The crown princess has misunderstood. They are my friends.”

“Friends?” The crown princess raised her beautiful brows. This fella is actually friends with people from King Qi’s faction? Interesting…

Murong Qinghe sighed in relief. “We still have things to take care of back in our clans, so we’ll excuse ourselves for now.”

The Murong clan was always opposed to the crown prince, so she didn’t feel comfortable staying here.

She also dragged Chu Youzhao with her. Chu Youzhao was a bit unwilling, but she knew that she couldn’t really say anything with the crown princess here. Furthermore, after living in the Qin clan for a long time, their relationship with the eastern palace had never been too good. Being surrounded by the eastern palace’s people didn’t feel too great, so she left. When she left, she gave Zu An a wronged look.

The crown princess had no reason to keep them here. When she looked at their retreating figures, she couldn’t help but say, “Looks like your relationship with your little brother-in-law isn’t that bad.”

Chu Youzhao’s expression when she left didn’t escape her notice. She was a bit surprised. Didn’t the Chu clan chase Zu An out at the crucial moment? Why were the two sides still on such good terms with each other?

Zu An said with a smile, “Apart from being handsome, something else good about me is that I get along with people easily. People who hang around me for a while can’t help but like me.”

The crown princess: “……”

Why did she want to beat him up when she saw his smile?

“If there’s nothing else, then let’s head back to the eastern palace.” She harrumphed, and then she returned to her carriage.

“Okay.” Zu An thought to himself that even though the crown princess’ words were a bit harsh, she wasn’t a bad person. She immediately came when she learned that something happened to him. Even though she wasn’t too happy right now, she was still worried that King Qi’s people might act against him, so she was bringing him back to the palace with her.

They didn’t say anything to each other along the way. With so many people here, no matter how good Zu An was with words, he still couldn’t just head over to her carriage to talk to her.

They returned to the eastern palace soon afterwards. Zu An was surprised to discover that Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were currently kneeling at the entrance in punishment. He was shocked. “What are you two doing? Who dares treat the eastern palace’s guards this way? It’s absolutely preposterous!”

“I punished them.” The crown princess walked over from behind him. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun both forced a smile towards Zu An, and then they continued to kneel there with their heads down.

Zu An couldn’t help but ask, “Crown princess, why did you punish them?”

The crown princess gave him an indifferent look. “They dragged you into the government brothel, and they didn’t return with you. They even dragged you into King Qi Manor’s trap. Fortunately, you made it through this affair, or else this wouldn’t be all for their punishment.”

Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were a bit bitter. It was clearly Zu An who brought them to the government brothel, so why did it become them who brought him there?

But Zu An paid for them and even got into danger, so they couldn’t bring themselves to correct her.

Zu An was stunned. He didn’t expect her to care so much about him.

The crown princess was stunned when she saw his scorching eyes. Then, her face turned red. “You’re thinking too much. This princess would do my best to save any member of the eastern palace if they are being targeted by King Qi Manor. It isn’t just you.”

Zu An smiled. “Thank you, crown princess. This subordinate will definitely strive to the utmost for the crown princess in the future.”

Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun’s eyes widened. Look at how good he is at flattery! Our big bro is worthy of being our big bro.

The crown princess’ eyes lit up. She didn’t expect him to use the classics in this way. Her eyes carried a bit more admiration when she looked at him. As expected of the man who made the King Qi father and son duo suffer in succession.

However, isn’t this kid a bit too brave? He dares to stare at me like this?

Hmph, if I shift my eyes now, then wouldn’t that mean that I am scared of him? How will I control him in the future?

What a joke!

As such, she decided not to move her eyes first and waited for him to move his eyes away first. However, Zu An was shameless and didn’t have any intention of shifting his gaze.

The two of them stared at each other just like that. The crown princess finally couldn’t take it anymore. A faint redness spread across her fair neck.

The people around them had weird expressions. Why did it look like the crown princess and Sir Zu were staring at each other like lovers? How is that possible?

Suddenly, a chubby fella moved over. “What is a government brothel?”

The crown princess finally snapped out of her daze and retracted her eyes. She gave the crown prince an annoyed look and said, “A dirty place. You are not allowed to go.”

“Oh…” The big fatty was given a scare. All of his fat trembled. He was clearly scared of this wife of his.

The crown princess then quickly left. She felt her cheeks become a bit heated. What is up with her today? She actually made such a huge mistake! She had to make sure this Zu An got a good beating in the future!

However, according to the information she received, this kid could even fight on par with King Qi’s heir! He really is a rare genius. The eastern palace has already been in decline for so long. She needed a powerful general like him to face King Qi Manor! But what could she use to rope him in?

When she left, the crown prince quickly pulled Zu An over and asked quietly, “Tell me, tell me. What kind of place is the government brothel?”

Zu An gave him a weird look. “Didn’t the crown princess just tell you?”

“I know she won’t tell me the truth!” The crown prince pouted, as if he was recalling the two years he had been oppressed by her. “Hurry and tell me! Otherwise, I’ll tell someone about how you stared at Linglong earlier!”

Zu An was shocked. Is this fella really stupid? He even managed to figure this out? Was he acting the whole time?

But he quickly realized that the fact that he could control the crown prince for a moment meant that he really was stupid. His intellect was about the same as a ten year old child.

“Ahem, the government brothel is a… a place of exercise.” Zu An thought for a bit. He used the most tactful words to describe it. Otherwise, the crown princess would definitely become annoyed if she found out he told the crown prince what kind of place it was.

“Place of exercise?” The crown prince frowned. “You’re lying to me. If it’s a place of exercise, then it’s definitely no fun. But you and the guards played for an entire night.”

As a fatty, he had a natural rejection towards any form of exercise.

Zu An had a weird look on his face. “Who said that exercising isn’t fun? That place is a heaven for men.”

The crown prince immediately became interested. “So it’s a fun place! You have to bring me next time.”

“Uh…” Zu An felt a headache. He could only say half-heartedly, “Sure, next time, next time.”

The crown prince left in satisfaction when he received his promise.

A lesser eunuch came over to give him a report. The emperor invited Zu An to his study for an audience.

The crown princess watched as Zu An quickly left. Her beautiful eyes were surprised. The imperial concubines in the palace only met the emperor a few times a year, yet this kid seemed like he was visiting him practically every day?

This type of person is definitely worth investing in. But how am I going to rope him in?

This fella seems to be quite the pervert, so honey traps will probably work. But his wife is a famous beauty! He probably doesn’t care about normal girls…

Hm… I can’t do it myself, right?

…

While the crown princess was conflicted, Zu An already arrived at the imperial study. The emperor was giving off an imposing aura. He looked at Zu An indifferently and said, “This emperor gave you the task of infiltrating the Devil Sect. Have you found any traces of Yun Jianyue yet?”