Chapter 425: Forgiveness Hat

An emperor, unlike others, often cannot act solely on personal preference. Despite being the world's most powerful cultivator and the emperor, he could have easily eliminated the Chu family and reclaimed their salt and iron wealth. Yet, he still dispatched Sang Hong to orchestrate schemes, dismantle the Chu family from within, and rally other noble families against them. Ultimately, this was to establish a legitimate pretext. With such a justifiable reason, even if it couldn't deceive the shrewd minds in court, it would convince the common people – this is the unwritten rule of governance. Without it, people would question the legitimacy of his actions, thereby shaking the very foundation of the dynasty's rule. While the emperor might possess enough power to suppress all dissent, what about his descendants? How would the nation operate in the future?

Sang Hong was utterly perplexed. Based on his understanding of the Emperor, he knew His Majesty would never act so impulsively and unwisely, inviting endless criticism. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been specifically dispatched to Mingyue City. After much thought, only one explanation remained: Zu An was incredibly important to the Emperor—more so than the Chu family, and perhaps even more than anything Sang Hong could conceive, causing His Majesty to lose his composure in such a manner. "What exactly did this fellow offer the Emperor?" Sang Hong had initially scoffed at the King of Liang's reasoning, but now he was beginning to believe it.

Sang Qian, who had been listening wide-eyed, finally understood why his father was so fearful of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, despite their seemingly low rank. He quickly reacted with delighted realization, "Doesn't this benefit us? Now that the Emperor's full attention is on Zu An, perhaps he won't punish us too harshly?" Sang Hong offered a bitter smile. "If only it were that simple. Because the one who truly wants us dead has never been the Emperor..."

Sang Qian was startled and quickly pressed for an explanation, but Sang Hong offered no further answers. He simply sank into troubled thought, his expression fraught with worry, clearly realizing that telling his son would not only be futile but would also break his spirit. In another prison cart, Zheng Dan overheard their conversation. Her slender fingers gripped the bars tightly, her brows furrowed with deep concern. "A'Zu..."

Meanwhile, hidden on the other side of the city, Zu An's face was also deathly pale. He wasn't surprised that the imperial decree's contents, now suspended in the air, were visible to everyone in the city. The fleeting, overwhelming power the Emperor had just displayed filled him with a sense of helplessness. Against such an absolute disparity in strength, cunning strategies were of little use; he could not see a single way out.

At this moment, Mi Li, who was beside him, couldn't help but lament, "What am I to say about you? Why do you always court disaster, provoking all sorts of formidable individuals?" She reflected on how many times this had happened since their soul contract began. Despite his relatively low cultivation, he consistently managed to provoke enemies far beyond his own level.

"Empress Sister, can you defeat this Emperor?" Zu An asked, clinging to a glimmer of hope. Mi Li rolled her eyes. "You're the one who provoked him; why are you asking if I can defeat him?" Zu An replied, "Aren't we in the same boat now? If I die, you won't be much better off." Mi Li snorted, "If I were in my prime, I wouldn't be without a fighting chance. But now? Don't even think about it. There's no hope. Just wait to die." Zu An was speechless. "Sister, must you be so direct?"

Mi Li grew somewhat curious. "You weren't this scared when you first faced me. Is it because I'm beautiful and not intimidating enough?" "Empress Sister, you've picked up my thick skin from spending so much time with me," Zu An couldn't help but quip. How could it be the same? Back then, he had his "rich woman's joy ball," so he didn't need to fear any woman, no matter her cultivation. But facing the Great Zhou Emperor, that was clearly not an option. Mi Li evidently wasn't interested in delving deeper. "Actually, you don't need to worry so much. At worst, you can hide in a deep mountain. This world is so vast, they might not even find you. You can then diligently cultivate your Phoenix Nirvana Scripture and Primordial Chaos Scripture. One day, you won't have to fear that Emperor."

Zu An's eyes lit up. "How long would it take to cultivate to that level?" Mi Li glanced at him. "Given your current aptitude, and with my guidance, it would take roughly five hundred years at the fastest, or eight hundred years at the slowest." Zu An was speechless. "Forget whether I can even live that long. Even if I could, what's the point of a life spent hiding in the deep mountains for centuries?"

Mi Li yawned and stretched languidly. "This empress is tired. I'm going back to sleep. Take care of yourself." After saying that, her form dissipated. Zu An had to admit that a beautiful person makes even the simplest movement appear graceful and charming. "But Sister," he thought, "couldn't you be a little less irresponsible? Just leaving like that? At least offer some comfort to my wounded little heart. If you can't defeat the Emperor, a loving hug for encouragement would also be welcome."

Complaints aside, he still had to devise a solution himself. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He brought up the keyboard backend system and saw that he still possessed 77,589 rage points. There was no other option; he could only try his luck!

Zu An quickly fetched a basin to wash his face and hands. He even took out incense sticks and candles from his Glazed Treasure Pearl and lit them. Then, he retrieved several vessels and placed a bull's head, a sheep's head, and a pig's head upon them. He had always felt his prayers weren't solemn enough, so once he had the means, he had bought a large collection of such items to keep, knowing that the vacuum environment inside the Glazed Treasure Pearl would prevent them from spoiling. After a busy period, he quickly set up a tribute altar.

Zu An prayed for a while before initiating the draw. "Thank you for participating... Thank you for participating... Vitality Fruit... Thank you for participating... Vitality Fruit..." Seeing these results, Zu An secretly clenched his fists. To his current plight, a single Vitality Fruit was barely different from "Thank you for participating"—both were mere drops in the ocean compared to the astronomical amount of energy required for him to advance.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as the draw cursor spun endlessly before finally landing on the "M" key. He noticed the virtual screen of the keyboard displaying a hat. Its design was quite ordinary, indistinguishable from hats one might see every day, but its most striking feature was its color: it was entirely green! Moreover, it was a dazzling, brilliant green, as if aware of being watched. Green light swirled across its surface, eventually concentrating into a single point, like a shimmering star. Zu An was utterly bewildered. "What is this thing? It looks quite similar to the one I gave Sang Qian earlier." However, anything from the system was surely not that simple. He quickly glanced at the description below.

Congratulations, you've drawn the "Forgiveness Hat"!Forgiveness Hat Introduction: "Spring has arrived, and all things are reviving; what should be green and what shouldn't are all green. To live a decent life, there must always be a little green on your head. If one day you discover a cruel truth, what should you do? Of course, forgive her/him!"Usage Instructions: "This is a single-use item. Place it on the target, and they will forgive you, regardless of any mistake you have made."Zu An was speechless. He almost choked. Such a ridiculous item existed? He began to suspect the system's creator had a deeply twisted sense of humor. He felt a headache brewing. When he was the one giving people hats, he never had to worry about whether they would forgive him or not. The function of this item seemed rather useless. "Wait, what if I..."

As he was deep in thought, a faint voice suddenly echoed in his ear: "So this is your trump card." Zu An jumped in surprise and quickly turned around. He found Mi Li sitting on the nearby tribute altar, her fingers gently caressing the incense and candles, her long legs swaying casually in the air. "Empress Sister, weren't you sleeping?" Zu An's heart skipped a beat as he quickly asked. Mi Li's face revealed a mysterious smile. "Never easily trust a woman, especially a beautiful one like me."