After having been scammed the last time in the Hundred Flower Palace, Zu An really was frightened badly. As such, he quickly used his jade badge to control the small creatures around him. There were a lot of cats at night, so he used their eyes to examine the surrounding disturbance. When he was sure that there were no ambushes set up in the palace, he then quietly snuck in.
Suddenly, Zu An had a bad feeling. He quickly stopped and hid behind a tree. He saw a group of people head in his direction through the eyes of the cats. One figure in bright yellow robes was the emperor himself, Zhao Han!
Zu An’s entire body was covered in cold sweat. Empress, what’s the meaning of this?! She made me come here, yet the emperor came himself. Is she trying to destroy me?! He didn’t dare to even breathe too hard. At the same time, he used the Mirror Mirage technique to make his own aura more and more faint.
As the emperor passed by, no one else noticed anything, but the emperor suddenly stopped.
“Your majesty, is there something wrong?” Eunuch Wen stepped forward and asked.
The emperor turned around to look at the direction Zu An was hiding in. His eyes were incredibly sharp as he yelled, “Show yourself! You dare trespass here?!”
The tree in front of Zu An exploded as soon as the emperor finished speaking. He subconsciously wanted to evade, but he discovered that the air around him had become incredibly viscous. It was as if an invisible power were restraining him.
He suddenly realized something. The last time this had happened, he couldn’t move at all. But this time, it didn’t seem as ridiculous as before… However, he didn’t evade and instead stood in place, crying, “I pay my respects to your majesty!”
The guards around the emperor reacted then; all of them drew their blades, quickly surrounding Zu An. However, they hesitated when they saw the Embroidered Envoy outfit he was dressed in.
The emperor frowned and remarked, “It’s you?” Zu An was wearing a mask right now. However, with the emperor’s cultivation, he didn’t need to look with his eyes at all anymore. He asked, “Why are you here?” His gaze seemed to penetrate through Zu An.
Zu An quickly replied, “Your majesty put me in charge of investigating that case. That’s why I came here to look for clues.”
The emperor harrumphed. “And your investigation brought you all the way to the empress? Don’t tell me you suspect her?”
“This subject doesn’t dare.” Zu An replied. “It’s precisely because I don’t dare to suspect her highness that I came here in secret, to avoid drawing suspicion to her in this case.”
“Nonsense!” The emperor gave Eunuch Wen beside him a look. “How should we deal with a servant intruding upon the chambers of my wives?”
“He is to be executed by the law!” Eunuch Wen gave Zu An a look. He thought to himself, Did this Embroidered Envoy go crazy? Does he not even want to keep his own life for the sake of this case?
Zu An was alarmed. “Your highness, please forgive me. This subject is still a newcomer and doesn’t know the rules. Furthermore, the case’s deadline is approaching, so that’s why I became anxious…”
He knew that the emperor needed him for many things, so he definitely wouldn’t be killed here. However, he still had to display a show of strength in front of everyone else.
Sure enough, the emperor nodded. “Forget it. Out of consideration for your loyalty, I won’t take your life. However, a crime is still a crime. Men, flog him fifty times as a warning.”
Zu An was alarmed and furious. This guy really was something! Motherfucker! Ever since I came to the capital, I’ve always been forced to do this and that. Not even a production team’s donkey would be abused like this! The worst part was that apart from being given the status of a golden token envoy, he hadn’t gotten a single benefit afterward. He was only threatened again and again.
He wanted to say something else, but the emperor had already entered the Palace of Peace. He wasn’t given a chance to explain himself at all. Zu An was left speechless.
Then, Eunuch Wen walked over with a group of vicious looking guards and said, “Apologies, sir.”
He was always amiable, and even in this type of situation, he didn’t want to randomly offend anyone. After all, anyone whom the emperor would spare even after intruding so deep into the palace was definitely special. However, that didn’t mean that he could ignore the emperor’s orders.
Several guards pushed Zu An down, then used their scabbards to beat him viciously.
Zu An’s face remained expressionless. However, rage burned within him.
In truth, he didn’t suffer many injuries at all from this beating. It would actually even improve his strength a bit. However, this feeling of having been wronged was unbearable. Ever since he had arrived at the capital, he had always lived like a fucking slave.
Even though he was an optimistic person and acted in a carefree manner, there was still a limit to what he could take. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The emperor clearly needed Zu An to help with several cases and obviously wouldn’t kill him, yet he still continued to pretend to spare him out of kindness. Then, he would award Zu An with a vicious beating.
In the end, it was because Zu An was still too weak. In the emperor’s eyes, he was probably just a servant that the emperor could order around at will. He was probably seen as just a dog, and more than that, a dog that didn’t listen too well.
That was why the emperor always beat him down with these methods. These were actually the normal methods of a ruler. If it were any other person, they might already be incredibly scared and feel that the emperor was deep and unfathomable. Then, they would work tirelessly for fear of the emperor.
However, Zu An was a transmigrator. He had been raised according to an entirely different set of values. Furthermore, he had even served as a ruler before in the secret dungeon, so how could he possibly tolerate this?
I need to grow stronger! This thought was stronger and more powerful than ever before in Zu An’s mind.
Meanwhile, in the Palace of Peace, the empress walked forward with Eunuch Lu to greet the emperor. “This humble wife greets your majesty!”
The emperor gave her a look of surprise. “It’s been a while. Ning’er has grown prettier and prettier.”
The empress seemed to have paid special attention to her appearance today. Her eyelashes were long and elegant, and her lips were red and moist. Her clothes were also tighter than usual, making her curves seem even more outrageous. Even the emperor, who was used to seeing all kinds of beauties, was a bit surprised.
The empress blushed and replied, “Thank you, your majesty!”
Eunuch Lu secretly gave the emperor a look. Don’t tell me he’s going to stay in the Palace of Peace tonight? Tsk tsk tsk, he hasn’t come over for so many years, yet he just had to choose today. Could it be that this is the will of heaven?
When faced with her clear and beautiful eyes, the emperor didn’t immediately continue and instead looked around. “Hm? There don’t seem to be many people in the Palace of Peace tonight. It’s also quite dark…?”
Eunuch Lu began to panic. He gave the empress a worried look. Despite that, the empress remained calm and replied, “Something happened to the crown princess recently, so everyone in the Palace of Peace has been busy investigating all manner of intelligence. Now that things have settled, I gave them some time to rest.”
The emperor smiled. “The empress is truly a model example in treating your subordinates. Men, grant every single member of the Palace of Peace half a year of salary as a bonus.”
The empress immediately bowed respectfully. “This humble wife thanks your majesty in their place. Ah, why did your majesty suddenly think of the Palace of Peace today?”
The emperor replied, “I was carried away by a whim and decided to take a look around. Ah, right, have your injuries improved?”
The empress lowered her head and said dejectedly, “This humble one has already acknowledged my fate.”
The emperor said, “I will search the world for medicine. Your past injuries will definitely be healed.”
“Thank you, your majesty!” the empress cried happily. However, inside, she sneered. I might have believed you if this had been a few years ago, but so many years have already passed. In the end, they’re always the same half-hearted goods. I already know you’re only doing this to keep the other wives in check, and not because you want me to recover at all. In the end, she had to find a solution herself.
“Ah, right, I heard some clamoring outside. What happened?” The empress was worried that the emperor might read her true intentions and quickly changed the topic.
“Just an ignorant Embroidered Envoy. I already dealt with him.” The emperor sounded as if he were just talking about something insignificant.
The empress was alarmed. She immediately thought of the Embroidered Envoy uniform she had given Zu An. Was it him? This was just too unlucky, right? All of my plans are falling apart!
Even though she was furious right now, she didn’t show anything. She didn’t continue to ask about it either. After all, it would be strange for a powerful empress to be concerned about a single Embroidered Envoy. Furthermore, this man in front of her was also quite the paranoid person.
The two chatted for a while longer before the emperor got up and said, “Empress, please take some time to rest and recover. This emperor will head back first.”
The empress looked disappointed. “Your majesty is not going to stay for the night?”
The emperor’s brows furrowed ever so slightly. Then, he shook his head. “Too many things have happened recently. There are still many official matters for me to take care of.”
The empress’ expression seemed to suggest that she had expected this. But of course, she was still reverent and respectful on the surface. “The affairs of the empire are the most important. I will accompany your majesty!”
“Empress, there is no need to see me out!” the emperor replied before turning to leave the Palace of Peace.
As the emperor exited, he came across Zu An, who had just been punished. Eunuch Wen returned to give a report, to which the emperor replied before looking at Zu An. He said, “Make sure to pay more attention next time. The inside of the palace is different from the outside. If you make this mistake again, not even I can protect you.” He thought, This kid is from the streets. He’s a bit too wild and needs to be beaten once in a while.
Zu An was filled with curses inside. How could someone like him, who was familiar with the ruler’s art of statecraft, not see through these methods? This guy was clearly threatening him, yet he was putting on this benevolent appearance.
Of course, even though that was what he thought, he didn’t show a trace of it on the surface. He said, “Thank you, your majesty, for your grace.”
When he saw Zu An’s weak and dispirited appearance, the emperor left in satisfaction. Looks like the results of beating this kid are pretty good.
Zu An sat in place, meditating. He circulated his Primordial Origin Sutra. He could even quickly recover from life threatening injuries, so these superficial wounds weren’t much at all. His wounds quickly recovered, leaving only some scabs on the surface.
However, though his physical wounds had healed, his rage didn’t settle in the slightest. His expression was overcast. All sorts of thoughts that would normally be considered disgraceful and blasphemous filled his head.
He needed to become stronger. He couldn’t be at the mercy of anyone else ever again.
Suddenly, a mind-clearing fragrance swept over. When Zu An raised his head, he saw that the beautiful empress was already standing in front of him. She asked, “Are you okay?”
