Chapter 1877: Baited Trap

Zu An was speechless. He found that the women around him were all incredibly imaginative, and often, their unintentional guesses hit upon the truth.

"Your Majesty, you exaggerate. She's the Crown Princess; how could that be possible?"

Liu Ning scoffed. "I'm the Empress, yet you didn't seem to hold back when we were intimate." Perhaps thinking of their past intimate moments, a faint blush appeared on her fair cheeks.

"Actually, nothing is impossible. Come over to my side, and I'll help you handle that girl."

"Huh?" Zu An was truly stunned, never expecting her to say such a thing.

"Surprised?" Liu Ning smiled. "Then, with the palace, inside and out, under our control, we'll find an excuse to summon her. Could she resist being intimate with you? The Crown Prince is a simpleton anyway; he wouldn't know what happened, much less stand up for her."

"Of course, if another prince ascends the throne in the future, it would be even easier. As a deposed Crown Princess, no one would care whether she lived or died. Perhaps she'd even beg for your favor then, and that way, she'd have someone to protect her."

Perhaps imagining that amusing scene, the Empress giggled.

Zu An wondered why these two women hated each other so much.

"Your Majesty, why do you dislike the Crown Princess so much?"

Liu Ning rolled her eyes. "Have you ever seen many good mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships in this world? Though I'm not her mother-in-law, my sister is."

"Bi Linglong appears delicate and frail on the outside, but she's extremely strong-willed at heart. In previous years, backed by the Emperor's support, she was truly arrogant and domineering towards outsiders. I, as the Empress, suffered greatly at her hands. Within the palace, everyone only knew her as the Crown Princess and completely forgot about me, the Empress."

"Back then, my injuries hadn't healed, and I was disheartened, so I wasn't in the mood to contend with her. Now, the tables have turned, and I must find a way to repay the grievances I suffered."

"What I've said above is about personal grievances. As for official matters, although the Liu and Bi families are nominally in the same faction, there have been many private conflicts and animosities. If the Bi family rises to power, our Liu family will certainly face utter destruction."

"Furthermore, Bi Linglong is backed by the Bi family and is the legitimate future Empress. The Crown Prince is foolish, so she'll undoubtedly be the one making decisions. Without our checks and balances, the imperial power might fall into the Bi family's hands."

Zu An slightly furrowed his brows. "Isn't that a bit of an overstatement? The Bi family shouldn't be so bold."

"Right now, the Bi family naturally isn't that bold because their power isn't sufficient. But once she holds absolute power and the Bi family's members are spread throughout the court and government, then see if they dare?" Liu Ning sneered, "Bi Qi is already an old fox, and Bi Linglong's brother, Bi Zi'ang, is even more ambitious. Our Liu family naturally must protect the Great Zhou Dynasty."

Zu An's expression was odd. So, after all this, the Liu family had become the loyal faction?

However, he also knew that the Liu family didn't have any outstanding next generation. They were likely just greedy for power and wealth, with absolutely no ambition to usurp the throne.

As for the Bi family, their next generation was far more outstanding, and their ambitions were consequently much greater...

Alas, hearing about one matter from different people resulted in completely different perspectives; it was truly bewildering.

"So, you plan to replace the Crown Prince?" Zu An asked.

"It's not that I want to replace him; it's the collective will of our group," Liu Ning replied. "The Crown Prince's foolishness already made it difficult for him to win public support. Previously, with the Emperor's strong backing, no one dared to speak up. Now that the Emperor is gone, who would be willing to serve a fool as Emperor? Otherwise, the country will surely face great turmoil in the future."

Zu An thought for a moment and then cautioned, "I've met the other princes before; they are all shrewd and formidable individuals. If they ascend the throne, you might not find them so easy to control."

Liu Ning snorted. "The foolish Crown Prince is indeed easy to control, but the one controlling him is Bi Linglong. What good is that to me? It's better to replace him with another, who would at least owe me some gratitude."

"Your Majesty, which prince do you favor?" Zu An actually understood her motivations, which was precisely the dilemma. Neither Bi Linglong nor Liu Ning was truly wrong; both were acting to maximize their own interests, yet their interests directly conflicted.

Being caught in the middle was truly difficult. The crucial point was that he couldn't let either of them know his relationship with the other, nor did he have a position to mediate.

What method could make everyone happy?

"Nothing has been definitively decided yet. Each party has its own considerations, and the private maneuvering is intense," Liu Ning suddenly realized. "I've been talking to you for ages, and you haven't even agreed to come over to my side, yet I've told you so many secrets. What if you turn around and betray me to Bi Linglong?"

Zu An said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I would never be the kind of person to casually betray you." Although these were confidential, given Bi Linglong's shrewdness, she had already guessed most of it.

"That's more like it," Liu Ning suddenly snuggled into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. "But you've been avoiding that question. I've given myself completely to you; what else are you worried about?"

Zu An was about to speak, but two fingers pressed against his lips. Liu Ning then said, "Bi Linglong could never give you as much as I can. The young Demon Empress could make you a Regent, so why couldn't I, a human Empress, also make you a Regent? Now that Zhao Hao is dead, I'm the one in charge of the palace. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we lived together in the palace, like deities?"

Holding her, feeling like a soft ball of cotton, Zu An thought, no wonder she was the Emperor's sole favorite in the harem back then. The former Empress's younger sister had leaped to become the new Empress, indeed exuding extreme femininity from head to toe.

Zu An said awkwardly, "Your Majesty, I'm only a Marquis right now, and I haven't achieved anything significant. How could I be qualified to be crowned king?"

"If I say you're qualified, then you are. Besides, how can you say you haven't achieved anything?" Liu Ning traced circles on his chest with her finger. "You rendered distinguished service protecting the Emperor on Purple Mountain, and later, you brought back news of the Emperor, King Qi, and the Grand Libationer from the dangerous secret realm. Without you, the entire realm would have been at a loss. These are already immense contributions."

"That's still not enough to be crowned king, and the major families in the capital wouldn't agree." Zu An's meteoric rise in rank over the past two years had already drawn much envy. If he were to be directly promoted several ranks from Marquis to King, the entire capital would probably erupt.

If Zhao Hao knew that he had become a loyal subject who rendered distinguished service to the Emperor, and that his Empress was lying in his arms, thoughtfully planning for him, Zu An wondered if Zhao Hao would be so enraged that he'd come back to life.

Liu Ning smiled, "Under normal circumstances, these contributions would indeed be somewhat insufficient. But don't forget another of your identities: you are the Regent of the Demon Race. If we give you a lower position than that, wouldn't it be an obvious insult to you, pushing you towards the Demon Race?"

"Moreover, now that I am in charge of the capital, if I say you can be king, then you can be king. Then, you'll be able to enter and leave the palace freely and come to keep me company every day."

Zu An felt a headache coming on. If he were constantly entangled with her in the palace, Bi Linglong would naturally discover their relationship, and the thought of that chaotic scene alone was unbearable.

Furthermore, how would he cultivate then?

During his trip to the secret realm, he obtained the *Baopu True Scripture*. Its contents were vast and profound, requiring him to seclude himself for diligent study to fully comprehend them.

As for these titles of king or not, he didn't care about them.

So he could only say, "Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty, but I am a married man after all, and I cannot stay in the palace long-term..."

"What family? Didn't you divorce that Chu woman?" Liu Ning was somewhat displeased but eventually sighed. "Fine, my future status will be Empress Dowager, so indeed, I can't openly be with you. In that case, let other girls accompany you outside. In the palace, you are mine, but outside, you can marry wives and concubines as usual. Not only will I not object, I'll even send you generous gifts."

Zu An: "..."

He had originally thought that coming here would involve mutual probing, verbal sparring, and the like, but none of that happened. Liu Ning was too kind to him, which completely disarmed him.

Zu An thought for a moment and said gravely, "On the way back to the capital this time, I encountered assassins."

"Assassins?" Liu Ning sat upright abruptly. "Who would want to harm you?"

"I don't know," Zu An hesitated for a moment before revealing the information that the person who hired them was an eunuch.

"It must be that woman, Bi Linglong," Liu Ning said coldly, her eyes flashing with anger, clearly upset that the other party dared to harm her man.

Zu An shook his head, "The Crown Princess has no motive."

"How can she have no motive?" Liu Ning sneered. "I've been pressuring her so much that she's suffocating, and she's constantly looking for my weaknesses to counterattack."

"If something happened to you, the ostensible general of the Eastern Palace, no one would suspect her, and she could then conveniently frame me."

"There's an unspoken understanding in court struggles: everyone plays by the rules. Assassinations are the most taboo acts because once they start, they're hard to stop, leading to a lose-lose situation and widespread panic. So, if the civil and military officials believed I sent the assassins, many ministers would become alienated from me and side with her." The more she spoke, the more serious her expression became. "What a masterful 'self-inflicted injury' plot! That woman is truly formidable!"

Zu An: "..."

Are they playing Werewolf? It seems everyone is a suspect now.