Chapter 576: Young Noblewoman

Zu An frowned, feeling that while the woman was beautiful, she was too cold.

This coldness was different from Chu Chuyan's reserved aloofness. Chu Chuyan's nature was inherently ethereal and serene, and coupled with her practice of the 'Snowflake Divine Sword' technique, she exuded the aura of an ice beauty.

However, the woman before him possessed a superior, detached coldness. Despite her seemingly young age, her demeanor carried a maturity and authority that belied her years.

No wonder the chubby man next to him, who had been cheerful and lively just moments ago, now looked like a mouse seeing a cat in her presence.

Zu An was no fool; he immediately understood that she must be the Crown Princess.

The beautiful woman glanced at both of them. Zhao Ruizhi sprang up from his seat as if his backside had been scalded, standing rigidly like a well-behaved child.

Noticing Zu An still leisurely eating fruit while seated, she couldn't help but frown.

Observing her expression, a maidservant standing nearby immediately understood and stepped forward to rebuke him, "How dare you! Who do you think you are, sitting in the Crown Prince's seat?"

Zu An mused that this Crown Princess was truly arrogant, perhaps feeling it beneath her dignity to speak to him directly, choosing instead to have her maidservant play the villain.

He shot a glance at the maidservant. "Your Crown Prince told me to sit here. Do I need your permission? Who are you, anyway?"

"You!" The maidservant trembled with rage.

Rage points from Rong Mo: 999!

As the Crown Princess's personal attendant, she was accustomed to being flattered everywhere she went. Never before had she encountered such direct insults. For a moment, she couldn't formulate a response, which only made her angrier.

Zu An secretly thought, "Rong Mo, your sharp tongue suggests you're not an easy person to get along with."

The Crown Princess next to her gave him an unexpected look, surprised by his audaciousness.

Rage points from Bi Linglong: 258!

Zu An also glanced at her. Her name was pleasant, but she seemed a bit fierce.

Sensing his direct gaze, the Crown Princess became even more displeased and let out a hmph.

As the Crown Princess, men usually lowered their heads and bowed in her presence, not daring to look at her directly.

Even high-ranking court officials would avoid looking at her too much to prevent suspicion, yet this man dared to gaze at her so brazenly.

Rage points from Bi Linglong: 479!

At this point, Zhao Ruizhi timidly interjected, "Xiao Mo, I did ask him to sit here."

The maidservant was about to say more, but the Crown Princess stopped her. The foolish girl was using the Crown Prince's name to question him, but who knew that the other party was also claiming the Crown Prince's authority? It was pointless to argue on this point.

She turned her head directly and asked the disheveled eunuchs nearby in a low voice, "What are you doing here?"

Little Xu and Little He, trembling, quickly replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, we were impersonating frogs."

Bi Linglong: "..."

She was well aware of her husband's character and knew that such bizarre antics were par for the course. So, she changed her question, "What just happened here, and who is this person?"

Zu An's eyes narrowed. This Crown Princess was far cleverer than her maidservant. It seemed she intended to find another pretext to punish him.

Little Xu and Little He quickly gave a rough description of what had just happened. They dared not offend the Crown Princess, nor did they wish to displease the Crown Prince, so their account was relatively impartial, merely stating what had objectively occurred.

To their surprise, Bi Linglong became furious upon hearing their report. "Chatting and communicating with frogs? This is preposterous! Guards! Give this wicked person who misled the Crown Prince twenty slaps to the mouth as a warning! From now on, anyone who dares to use strange and perverse techniques to deceive the Crown Prince will be severely punished!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Upon receiving her command, several eunuchs behind her advanced towards Zu An with sinister smiles.

Zhao Ruizhi opened his mouth several times, but seeing the Crown Princess's sharp gaze, he guiltily swallowed his plea.

Zu An inwardly cursed him as henpecked. Of course, he wouldn't let these eunuchs strike him. He directly shouted, "Hold on!"

Bi Linglong gave him a cold glance, showing no intention of engaging him.

Zu An was frustrated. Normally, shouldn't she have asked, "What else do you have to say?"

Left with no choice, he said, "I am a friend invited by the Crown Prince. If you don't believe me, you can confirm with him." As he spoke, he nudged the chubby man beside him with his elbow.

Zhao Ruizhi, as if waking from a dream, then spoke, "Linglong, he really is my friend, and he hasn't deceived me. I even want to invite him to be my teacher and teach me how to talk to frogs. It's much more interesting than what the Grand Tutor and Junior Tutor teach."

"He even enticed you to take him as your master?" Bi Linglong's expression grew even colder. "Truly audacious! Guards! Forget the slaps, drag him out and give him a hundred strokes with a cane!"

Rage points from Bi Linglong: 581!

Seeing this, the eunuchs quickly quickened their pace and lunged towards him.

Zu An turned his head and gave them a cold stare. The eunuchs felt a chill run through their bodies, as if they had seen something terrifying, and dared not take another step forward.

Even the Crown Princess and her maidservant standing nearby instinctively felt their hearts skip a beat.

Why were this person's eyes so terrifying?

Little did they know, Zu An had fought on the brink of life and death countless times, had been an emperor for decades in the Yin Ruins secret realm, and had always carried the Sword of Authority with him. His entire demeanor was extraordinarily unique; ordinary people felt a sense of suppression and fear in his presence, though he usually deliberately concealed this aura.

Now, seeing the Crown Princess's ruthlessness, he would no longer hold back.

How could an ordinary person survive a hundred strokes with a cane? Even cultivators would be severely injured, as those administering the punishment would also be cultivators.

Zu An then said coldly, "The Crown Prince is already an adult. Does he not even have the right to choose his friends or decide whom he wants to learn from? As his wife, you interfere far too much. One might even think you are the Crown Prince and he is merely a son-in-law who married into your family."

Bi Linglong's expression shifted slightly. How could she possibly accept such an accusatory statement? If it reached the ears of those with ulterior motives, it would be big trouble. She quickly bowed slightly to Zhao Ruizhi, saying, "Your Highness, I was merely concerned that your pure nature might lead you to be inadvertently deceived by others. I had no other intentions."

Zhao Ruizhi, completely oblivious to the verbal sparring between them, chuckled and said, "It's fine, it's fine."

Seeing the Crown Princess bow to him, he instinctively reached out to help her up.

However, Bi Linglong rose a step ahead of him. Although most people watching would have thought the Crown Prince had helped her up, Zu An, being close by, noticed that their bodies did not actually touch.

A hint of amusement appeared on his face. The relationship between this couple was quite interesting.

He cleared his throat lightly and continued, "Does the Crown Princess's implication mean that the Crown Prince is foolish, lacking even the basic ability to discern right from wrong?"

Upon hearing his words, everyone else's expressions changed drastically. The matter of the Crown Prince's perceived foolishness had long become an unspoken secret, one that everyone kept hushed about, and no one dared to openly mention it. Yet, this fellow was something else; not only did he reveal it publicly, he said it right in front of the Crown Prince.

Bi Linglong was about to reprimand him when, to her surprise, Zhao Ruizhi on the side chimed in, "Mm-hmm, Linglong, Zu An is right, I'm not foolish at all."

Bi Linglong: "..."

With her unhelpful husband openly undermining her, what could she do?

But she was unwilling to let Zu An off so easily, and so the two sides remained in a standoff.

Wait, the name Zu An, why does it sound familiar?

Just then, a gentle and pleasant voice came from nearby: "Sister Linglong, who are you angry with?"

Hearing this voice, Bi Linglong's expression subtly changed, but she quickly adopted a smiling and amiable look before turning around. "Consort Bai, what brings you here today with such leisure?"

Zu An followed the sound and saw a graceful young noblewoman not far away. Her eyebrows were like distant spring mountains, and her eyes like autumn waters. Though strikingly beautiful, she exuded an air of gentle dignity and inviolable majesty.