Soon afterward, Zu An patted Bi Linglong’s shoulder and said, “It’s done. I’m leaving first so they don’t see me.”
“But they…” Bi Linglong hesitated when she looked at the two nurses.
Zu An moved closer to her face and asked with a smile, “What, you can’t bear to see me go?”
“Hmph! Get out, go!” Bi Linglong pushed him toward the secret tunnel, blushing as she spoke. When she closed the entrance, she locked it, and then unlocked it, and then locked it again… She was extremely conflicted.
The empress asked from outside, sounding confused, “Are you still not done?”
Bi Linglong jumped in fright. She quickly fixed the bedding and replied, “It’s already done.”
The two older nurses also recovered, and rushed over to open the doors.
The empress came in and saw that Bi Linglong’s clothes were back on. Then, she gave the two older nurses a look.
The older nurses nodded slightly toward her and said with hushed voices, “She is still a virgin.”
Bi Linglong sighed in relief as she listened carefully. She had really been scared badly earlier. That Zu An always managed to change the impossible into the possible somehow.
Since she had already gotten what she came for, the empress didn’t want to stay here any longer. She exchanged some more pleasantries with Bi Linglong before leaving with the two older nurses. She still had to report the results to the emperor.
…
Meanwhile, Zu An emerged from the secret passage and returned to the guard room the emperor had arranged for him. Even though he had his Embroidered Envoy courtyard in the imperial palace, that was for Sir Eleven to live in. In this situation, where he couldn’t reveal this identity, arranging an imperial guard’s quarters was obviously the most suitable choice.
He saw that two guards who were wrapped up in bandages like zongzi[1] were knocking on his door.
“Huh? Why is no one responding? We’ve already knocked for a long time.”
“Is he maybe asleep?”
Judging from their voices, they were clearly Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun.
“What’s going on?” asked another voice. Zhuxie Chixin just happened to be passing by, and couldn’t help but ask when he saw the two guards.
“Nothing…?” Piao Duandiao subconsciously replied. Then, he grabbed Jiao Sigun and left.
“We just came out to stretch our bodies out a bit!” Jiao Sigun also replied.
“The two of you were injured quite badly. Get some proper rest instead of running around.” Zhuxie Chixin harrumphed. He was just about to leave when he suddenly stopped. He turned toward the door and asked, “Is Sir Zu not inside?”
Piao Duandiao replied, “He’s probably asleep. I heard those lesser eunuchs mention that Sir Zu was injured badly, and that he was already feeling bad when he came back.”
“Is that so?” Zhuxie Chixin hesitated, but he still knocked afterward. “Brother Zu, brother Zu, are you inside?
“Let’s go inside and take a look; otherwise, something might have happened to him and no one would know,” he said while pushing open the door.
Inside, Zu An was lying on the bed. He ‘struggled’ to open his eyes. “Chief… Commander?” As he spoke, he began to get up.
But Zhuxie Chixin quickly said, “There’s no need for excessive formalities. I was just worried that something might have happened to you since you didn’t respond. I was going to call over the doctor for you.”
“Thank you for your concern, Chief Commander.” Zu An sneered inwardly. This person was clearly suspicious of him. If he didn’t come back in time, he might have already been exposed. Honestly, weren’t the two of us on good terms? We were at least drinking friends. Why is he constantly targeting me now?
Zu An figured that since Zhuxie Chixin was the emperor’s most trusted subordinate, his attitude, to some extent, mirrored the emperor’s attitude. Looks like even though the emperor trusts me, he still doesn’t like me. This bastard Zhuxie Chixin probably wanted to set clear boundaries to avoid drawing any suspicion regarding his loyalty.
Zhuxie Chixin looked around himself without giving anything away. When he saw that nothing was out of the ordinary, he got up and bid his farewell. “Since brother Zu is okay, then please rest well. I won’t disturb you any longer.” Having said that, he headed out.
Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun both got up to see Zhuxie Chixin out. When he left, they closed the door. Piao Duandiao rushed over to Zu An’s side and complained, “The Chief Commander clearly did that on purpose!”
Zu An smiled, but didn’t say anything.
Piao Duandiao immediately began to chatter on, complaining, “We risked everything in the dungeon to protect the crown prince and princess, and we almost lost our lives! And yet when we came back, not only did we not see any rewards, there were only all sorts of interrogations. It really doesn’t feel great.”
Zu An shivered inside. It seemed the emperor had already interrogated everyone involved this time. He should already know about my great battle against all those experts. The emperor must think that he’s now completely figured out my hidden strength… Okay, that’s perfect. He’ll think he has everything within his grasp.
Jiao Sigun snorted and said, “You’re talking too loud. We’ll be in big trouble if someone hears you.”
“Why are you being so annoying? Big bro Zu isn’t a stranger. I’m only saying this here in private, too,” Piao Duandiao said resentfully.
Zu An said in consolation, “Something so major happened this time, and so many people died. It’s natural for there to be a serious investigation going on. I’m really happy to be able to see you two again.”
Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun both began to choke on their emotions. “If it weren’t because of brother Zu, we would’ve already died in that dungeon.”
Zu An patted their shoulders. “Don’t treat me like an outsider now. Would you two not save me if I were the one in danger instead?”
The two both blurted out, “Of course we would!” But they quickly became dispirited. “But with big bro Zu’s cultivation, why would you ever need us to save you?”
“That may not be so.” Zu An remembered how the two of them had immediately covered up their actions when they saw Zhuxie Chixin. He felt warm inside.
Piao Duandiao wanted to say something, but he hesitated. He wanted to warn Zu An to not go after the crown princess. The two of them had clearly been a bit too close inside the dungeon. But after thinking about it, he decided not to. It was best for them to keep that a secret forever.
Afterward, the three chatted casually about some things. They reminisced about how they had fought together, and shared in the joy of being able to get out of the situation alive.
Suddenly, a lesser eunuch cried in a shrill voice, “The empress has arrived!”
Then, a lavishly dressed madam walked in with a graceful stance. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun jumped in fright. They quickly stood up to greet her and almost fell down. Only Zu An continued to lie on his bed.
“All of you are brave soldiers who have done much for our country. There’s no need for excessive formalities.” The empress gestured for them to be at ease with a smile. Her beautiful eyes remained on Zu An.
“Thank you, your highness!” Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were both a bit moved. After all, they were being praised by the dignified empress herself! They suddenly felt as if all of their previous suffering was worth it.
The empress nodded toward the two of them. “This empress has brought some medicines with me. You two can take some to share with the others.”
Jiao Sigun thought to himself, We were the only guards who survived this trip. Who are we supposed to share with…
Fortunately, Piao Duandiao reacted quickly and pulled him aside, exclaiming, “Thank you, your highness. Thank you!”
When the two of them left the room, Jiao Sigun was a bit unhappy. “Why are you dragging me out? I still have a lot of things to say to big bro Zu.”
“Are you stupid? Her highness clearly has things to say to Zu An. What are you still sticking around like an eyesore for?” Piao Duandiao retorted mockingly.
“So that’s why! Besides the crown princess, I didn’t expect the empress to favor Sir Zu as well!” Jiao Sigun was envious.
“Shush! Watch your mouth!”
…
While the two of them were chatting with each other, the empress had Eunuch Lu watch the entrance. Meanwhile, she herself gently touched Zu An’s bandaged wounds, saying, “I couldn’t talk much with you with Linglong there earlier. Does it hurt?”
Zu An breathed in the intoxicating fragrance of the mature woman and said with a smile, “It did hurt before, but now that you’ve touched it, it’s stopped hurting.”
“That slick tongue of yours never changes.” The empress scolded him with a smile. “I’ve brought you a bunch of medicines; you can take them when you need to. Don’t leave behind any residual illnesses.”
Zu An said with a laugh, “Don’t worry, your highness. Even if there are residual effects, the most important part will be fine.”
The empress’ face turned red. She harrumphed. “Hmph, your complexion is clearly awful, and yet you’re still putting on a front. If you think you’re all that, then just come to the Palace of Peace in the evening.”
1. Glutinous rice wrapped in leaves ☜
