Chapter 574: Stunned

Zu An was completely bewildered. He actually gave it some serious thought: frogs really don't wear pants when they jump. What a logical genius!

He followed the sound and saw a large, corpulent man by a pond, scolding several young eunuchs. The eunuchs were all prostrate on the ground, resembling practitioners of the "Toad Skill" martial art. However, their miserable, frowning faces clearly indicated they were being coerced.

The portly man had a round face, and his features suggested a distinct lack of intelligence.

"Who in the inner palace is so arrogant?" Zu An wondered. The man was scolding the eunuchs as if they were his grandsons, and not a single eunuch dared to resist, only bowing their heads and pleading for mercy.

He scrutinized the man's attire: apricot yellow, with faint dragon patterns visible. Could it be the Emperor? Zu An immediately dismissed the notion. If the most powerful person in the world looked like a mentally challenged child, then everyone else might as well give up and die.

A thought struck him. He recalled the rumors about the Crown Prince. A man who could move freely within the imperial harem, wearing yellow attire reminiscent of a dragon robe—the individual's identity was unmistakable. On the journey, Chu Chuyan had mentioned that the Crown Prince's given name was Zhao Ruizhi. Zu An privately mused that with such a name given by his parents, how could he *not* be a simpleton?

"Hey, you little eunuch over there, come here quickly!" Just then, the Crown Prince spotted Zu An and gestured for him to approach.

Zu An was speechless. *I'm so tall and imposing, how do I look like a eunuch?* he thought. Still, with nothing else to do, there was no harm in taking the opportunity to learn more about the Crown Prince. So he walked straight over.

The other eunuchs stared intently at him. "How dare you! Who are you, to intrude upon the inner courts of the imperial palace?" they demanded. While the Crown Prince didn't recognize Zu An, the eunuchs clearly saw that this person couldn't possibly be a eunuch. Could he be an assassin? Yet, with the imperial palace teeming with masters and its defenses so tight, how could an assassin have possibly gotten in? Concerned that he might be the summoned son of some minister, they dared not openly accuse him of being an assassin.

Just as Zu An was about to explain, the corpulent man snapped impatiently, "Quiet! Which frog can talk?" The eunuchs immediately looked distressed and clamped their mouths shut.

The portly man then continued, "Where are your pants? Frogs don't wear pants. Take them all off!"

Zu An added, "Not only pants, frogs don't wear any clothes at all."

The corpulent man was ecstatic, feeling as if he had found a kindred spirit. "You're right! Why didn't I think of that? Little Xu, Little He, take off all your clothes and pants!"

The eunuchs shot Zu An resentful glances. *This kid is truly skilled at kicking someone when they're down. If I ever get the chance, I'll make sure you regret it,* they fumed internally. A wave of anger registered from Eunuch Xu Kun (444)! A wave of anger registered from Eunuch He Te (444)! And so on...

Yet, a superior's command was absolute. They knew their master was capricious—no, more accurately, he completely lacked a concept of good and evil. On one occasion, a fellow eunuch, who had done nothing to offend the Crown Prince, was casually ordered by him to be dragged away and beaten half to death, simply for his amusement. In the Crown Prince's mind, this wasn't an act of malice; he merely wanted to see whether sticks were harder than human bones, purely for fun. Overall, the Crown Prince treated them reasonably well, provided they followed his bizarre line of thought. Those who lacked the quick wit or failed to comply generally found themselves with tall grass growing on their graves.

Watching the eunuchs awkwardly begin to strip, Zu An felt a wave of exasperation. Eunuchs disrobing was truly an unpleasant sight; if only they were palace maids. It was also strange that the Crown Prince was attended exclusively by eunuchs, with not a single palace maid in sight.

As he looked around, he casually asked, "Why are you making them jump like frogs?"

The corpulent man pointed to the frogs in the nearby lotus pond. "Oh, I was just passing by and heard a chorus of frogs. I asked them if these frogs were croaking on their own, or if *they* made *them* croak to flatter me."

Zu An blinked, taking a moment to distinguish between the "they" and "them" in the man's speech. He was instantly astounded, finding the man's thought process truly bizarre. Playing along, he asked, "And how did they answer?"

The corpulent man pointed to one of the thinner eunuchs. "Little Xu said that in spring, when these frogs hatch, they will start croaking."

Zu An thought that the answer was perfectly reasonable. To his surprise, the corpulent man continued, "That's preposterous! When I arrived, these frogs weren't even croaking to welcome me! So, I punished Little Xu by making him croak like a frog to greet me. But he couldn't imitate a frog's croak at all, so I made him jump like a frog instead."

Zu An was speechless. He swallowed, then looked at the other eunuchs and asked, "And what about them?"

The corpulent man replied, "Oh, I then asked Little He, and he answered that, of course, *they* made the frogs croak to flatter me."

Zu An thought, *Little Xu already tried the wrong answer, so anyone else not changing their tune would be foolish.* He then asked, "Then why were they punished too?"

The corpulent man angrily replied, "I was happy at first, but then I wanted to hear the frogs' flattery again, and they couldn't make the frogs croak anymore! What else could that be but deceiving me?"

Zu An was speechless. *With all of you making such a commotion here, those frogs were startled and fled, so naturally, they wouldn't croak here anymore,* Zu An thought.

He cast a sympathetic glance at the eunuchs. To be saddled with such a master, where every answer was wrong, was truly pitiful. The eunuchs seemed to understand the sentiment in his eyes, and each of them nodded in profound empathy, thinking, *Finally, someone understands our plight.* Originally, some of them were furious at him for kicking them when they were down, but after meeting his gaze, their animosity towards him significantly lessened.

Just then, the corpulent man spoke again. "Oh, by the way, since you're here, tell me: are those frogs croaking on their own, or are they deliberately flattering me?"

Zu An was speechless. *If I had known this, I wouldn't have opened my mouth just now,* he thought. The other eunuchs each wore a gleeful, mocking smile. *Just you wait, kid, you were showing off. Soon you'll be stripping and jumping with us too,* they thought.

Seeing him lost in thought and not answering, the corpulent man grew slightly displeased. "I'm asking you a question. Are you not answering because you look down on me?"

"Of course not," Zu An said, glancing at the nearby pond, a faint, confident smile playing on his lips. "These frogs are croaking, of course, to flatter you."

The corpulent man was overjoyed. "Haha, I knew it! Then can you make them flatter me a few more times so I can hear?"

The eunuchs exchanged glances, almost bursting into laughter. *Who is this clueless fool, diverting the Crown Prince's attention with his blabbering? Let's see how he gets out of this now,* they thought.

"Alright," Zu An said with a smile, walking to the edge of the pond. As if addressing the frogs, he said, "My frog brothers, my friend here would like to hear a few more flattering croaks from you. Please, grant us the honor and croak a little."

The eunuchs nearby all started laughing. *How is this guy even dumber than the Crown Prince?* they wondered. Naturally, they only dared to think such thoughts, not daring to utter them aloud. But their gazes upon Zu An were no different from those directed at an imbecile.

The corpulent man, however, seemed to have found a kindred spirit. He rushed to Zu An's side. "You can talk to frogs?" he exclaimed.

"Just a little, just a little," Zu An replied with a modest smile.

Little Xu, standing nearby, finally couldn't hold back. "Master, don't let this boy fool you. Who in this world can talk to frogs?" Little He nodded in strong agreement. "Exactly, exactly, Mas—"

Before he could finish his sentence, however, a chorus of croaking suddenly erupted from the pond. It began sporadically but quickly grew louder and more unified. They stared, dumbfounded, at the pond, seeing lotus leaves covered with various kinds of frogs. It seemed as if every frog in the pond had emerged, croaking towards the Crown Prince's direction, their postures appearing remarkably respectful, as if they were bowing.