However, her face turned red the moment she finished speaking. Zu An’s powerful physiological reaction had already told her the answer.
Concubine Bai was starting to feel dizzy. She had originally thought that he would be frightened. After all, the emperor was the world’s most powerful man; who dared to offend him in this world? Even King Qi, who had fought with him for so many years, didn’t dare to touch his women. However, not only was Zu An not scared, he had instead become even more excited. Did I misunderstand the situation, or is there something wrong with him?
“You’re the emperor’s woman?” Zu An was momentarily distracted. However, he also snapped out of his daze, because that was what made the most sense. There were many rumors involving Concubine Bai and the emperor.
“If you know, then let go already!” Concubine Bai did her best to put on an angry and dignified appearance. Unfortunately, her figure was too weak and petite. Not only did she not look scary at all, but her appearance would instead only encourage men to think even weirder thoughts.
“Why do I have to let go? Since I’ve already touched his majesty’s woman, then I’m dead either way. In that case, I might as well enjoy myself a bit longer before I die. For better or for worse, I can leave this world without any regrets,” Zu An said with a chuckle.
Concubine Bai was completely speechless. Why wasn’t this kid behaving the way a normal person would act? She didn’t even know how to continue. Eventually, she took a deep breath and said, “Okay, I promise I won’t tell his majesty about what happened. Can you please let go now?”
Zu An replied with a smile, “You’re not even going to tell his majesty, so shouldn’t I make the most of this situation then?”
Concubine Bai was stunned. How can this guy be that shameless? The infant in her arms seemed to have sensed his mother’s predicament and immediately began to wail. She began to panic.
While Concubine Bai was racking her brains over how to get out of this situation, however, Zu An actually let go. She was shocked. She quickly stood up and gave him a suspicious look.
Zu An laughed. He had only planned to mess around with her to see if he could obtain some information, so he naturally didn’t press the issue further. “I only acted on impulse just now. If I’ve offended your highness in any way, please don’t take offense and take care of the child first.”
Concubine Bai harrumphed. “You’re really not a good person.”
Even though this fellow had groped around a bit, he still hadn’t done anything to her in the end. As a rule, if one made a terrible first impression at first, it would only become easier to gain favor afterward.
Zu An didn’t try to justify himself either. He said, “We’re all in the same boat. Your highness has left me quite troubled with your lies too.”
Concubine Bai gently patted the infant in her arms and softly hummed him to sleep. Her soothing voice quickly calmed him down and stopped his wailing. Then, the child began to laugh.
Zu An stared at Concubine Bai’s side profile. She was currently radiating a motherly warmth, her figure exceptionally gentle, able to calm even the most agitated of hearts.
After Concubine Bai calmed down the child, she placed him into a cradle and slowly rocked it back and forth. Then she replied, “When have I lied? You never asked me about those things.”
Zu An was speechless. He didn’t want to play these word games with her. He continued to ask, “Does the emperor know about your relationship with Yun Jianyue?”
“His majesty is more formidable than you can imagine. He knows everything; it’s just that he might not tell you,” Concubine Bai said in a profound manner.
Zu An sneered. There’s no need to try and make that guy seem more mysterious. At the very least, he doesn’t know what I did with the empress. The emperor might be able to remain calm on the surface, but there was no way he could avoid Zu An’s Rage system.
“Since he knows your identity, why would he let you do as you please, and furthermore treat you so well?” Zu An asked out of curiosity.
Concubine Bai’s gaze landed on the child in the cradle. “What do you think?”
Zu An was shocked. “He wasn’t the imperial grandson, but a prince after all!”
Concubine Bai smiled and didn’t say anything. She squatted down by the cradle and gently stroked the child inside. “I only wish for him to grow up safely. It’s fine if the emperor remains strong, and it’s fine if the Holy Sect comes out on top. None of it has anything to do with me.”
Zu An frowned. There was a huge clash of power going on right now. How could it be that easy to survive on her own?
“Why would his majesty make you the crown prince’s concubine and make his son become his grandson instead?” Zu An asked.
He finally understood why Bi Linglong despised Concubine Bai so much. After living with the crown prince for so long, she obviously knew that that stupid fatty had no way of producing a child. That meant this woman and her child’s situation was already abundantly clear.
She was worried that the child might endanger the crown prince’s position one day, yet she needed his status as the imperial grandson. In her opinion, getting rid of Concubine Bai would solve both problems.
As for Concubine Bai, she had probably been thinking similar thoughts. No wonder that last scandal had almost destroyed the crown princess.
Concubine Bai shook her head. “I don’t know either. His majesty probably has his own considerations. I don’t dare to ask too much about things he’s decided on.”
Zu An became quiet. All kinds of possibilities appeared in his head, but he still couldn’t figure it out in the end.
Concubine Bai removed a spice bag from her waist and said, “This should be what you need. While you wear it, it can conceal your aura and prevent your ki fluctuations from exceeding the sixth rank.”
Zu An accepted it. It was quite the exquisite spice bag, its material similar to silk, yet not quite. There was a small flower embroidered on the surface, alongside the character for ‘Bai’.
“Is this yours?” Zu An asked, shocked.
“His majesty bestowed it to me in the past. It was able to conceal my cultivation,” Concubine Bai replied. “Take it; I need to breastfeed my child. I don’t believe Sir Zu will want to stay here and watch.”
Zu An gave her heavy chest a look, and then his face turned red. He quickly shifted his gaze and asked, “Aren’t there wet nurses in the palace? Why does your highness need to do it yourself?”
“Because having swollen breasts is uncomfortable.” Concubine Bai blushed slightly. She looked at him with an ambiguous smile. “Does Sir Zu really wish to continue having this girl talk with me?”
Zu An was still too embarrassed in the end. He quickly received the spice bag and left.
Concubine Bai picked up the child. When she saw Zu An leave flustered, she couldn’t help but chuckle. Then, she said quietly, “My little darling, you must be careful of women in the future. The prettier the girl, the better they are at lying.”
…
Time quickly passed. A day before the exam, Bi Linglong brought Zu An into the eastern palace. She quietly stared at him without saying anything.
Even though looking at a beautiful young lady face to face was enjoyable in a way, Zu An still couldn’t suppress his curiosity in the end and asked, “Crown princess, why are you looking at me like that?”
Bi Linglong pursed her lips. In the end, she quietly asked, “Can I trust you?”
Zu An was stunned. “Why would you suddenly ask that?”
Bi Linglong said, “I can only try to send in one person whose cultivation level is a bit higher than the limit. The clan actually has another candidate, and I was the one who stood my ground to choose you. However, I’m a bit nervous, because I don’t know if I should trust you.” The first reason was that she wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to take care of this exam. The second was that she wasn’t sure if he would help her wholeheartedly.
Normally, Bi Linglong intentionally spoke with a dignified air, but right now, she sounded weaker than ever before. Zu An knew that the crown prince’s exam wouldn’t only concern her own fate; it was also related to her clan’s glory. That was why she was in such a dilemma right now. As such, he put away his usual frivolousness and said seriously, “Of course you can!”
Bi Linglong’s deeply furrowed brows instantly relaxed when she heard his reply. Her smile was as beautiful as a flower. “Alright.”
Zu An asked, “Have you decided on who will enter the dungeon tomorrow?”
Bi Linglong replied, “From the Eastern Palace, it will be the two of us, as well as Guard Piao, Guard Jiao, and the others. Apart from that, there will be disciples from King Liang Manor, the Bi clan, the Liu clan, the Meng clan, and the Pei clan. Each clan has only sent people at the sixth rank and below.”
Zu An couldn’t help but smile, saying, “Then that’s almost a hundred people in total. I’m sure that’s enough to get rid of any serpent.”
Bi Linglong smiled as well. “Ruizhi is the crown prince after all, so it isn’t going too far to have all of these people accompany him. King Qi’s side can’t say too much about it either.”
Zu An couldn’t help but ask, “If all of the elites of the younger generation are heading inside this time, if something happened in the dungeon, or if King Qi messed around inside, then wouldn’t the crown prince’s younger faction be practically wiped out?”
Bi Linglong shook her head. “The ones that are being sent inside aren’t going to be the heirs, precisely to prevent that. However, there’s no need for you to worry about them being too weak, because even if they aren’t the strongest heirs, they were carefully selected. All of them are the best among the younger generation.”
Zu An didn’t agree. No matter how outstanding they were, how could they compare to him? He asked, “Right, who did the Pei clan you spoke of send?”
