Chapter 667: Rising Suspicion

Just then, a crisp voice came from nearby: "Lord Zu, what took you so long?"

Hearing this voice, Prince Qi frowned.

Zu An, however, felt a surge of joy. He turned to look towards the sound and saw a beautiful woman in palace attire standing gracefully. Behind her was a retinue of guards, led by Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun.

He quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Crown Princess."

The members of the Demonic Cult also bowed their heads in greeting. Gu Yueyi secretly glanced at her, and his eyes immediately widened in awe. All his life, he had only encountered seductresses and demonesses. While they were alluring and charming, none could compare to the noble elegance of the woman before him.

Looking at her graceful and luxurious palace attire and various precious, extravagant ornaments, his mouth went dry. His heart pounded. "I'm going to die, I'm going to die, how can she be so beautiful?" he thought. "Junior sister, it's not that your senior brother is unfaithful; it's just that the Crown Princess is too stunning."

In truth, Qiu Honglei's beauty was not inferior to the Crown Princess'; in terms of charm and allure, she even surpassed her. The key was that Gu Yueyi lived in the lower strata of society and usually associated with the Demonic Cult, so those with noble attributes naturally held a fatal attraction for him. For instance, princesses or noblewomen, if their looks were comparable, these types of women were far more appealing to him than women from the martial arts world.

The Crown Princess slowly walked over, and a hint of sweet fragrance filled the air. This scent was unlike the common perfumes he often smelled in brothels; instead, it was an expensive incense. He couldn't quite describe it, but he felt as if he was smelling burning silver.

Prince Qi's attention was also diverted. He looked at the Crown Princess and said, "Linglong, what brings you here with such leisure?"

Hearing him call her by her given name instead of "Crown Princess," clearly speaking to her as an elder, the Crown Princess was secretly annoyed. However, she couldn't show her displeasure and merely replied, "I just asked Lord Zu to come over for something. He didn't return after waiting once, nor after waiting a second time. With assassins causing unrest in the palace lately, I was worried he might have been killed by someone with malicious intent, so I specially came to check on him."

Zu An felt a warmth in his heart. *Although this woman is a bit fierce usually,* he thought, *she's good at heart.* He then looked at Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun behind her. It was most likely them who reminded the Crown Princess. *Hmm, I'll treat them to a good meal at the Jiaofangsi later,* he thought.

The members of the Demonic Cult were secretly astonished. They hadn't expected Young Master Zu to have such influence. He had only been in the palace for a few days, and the General of the Right Guard was already calling him brother. Now, even the Crown Princess held him in such high regard.

Gu Yueyi, on the other hand, was filled with envy and jealousy. "That Zu An is only a tiny bit handsomer than me," he thought, "so why do all the beautiful women around him value him so much? My junior sister is like that, and now even the Crown Princess is the same. Are they even going to let us live?"

Prince Qi remained expressionless. However, he couldn't fail to notice the subtle jab aimed at him. "Lord Zu is indeed a talented and charming individual," he remarked, "Linglong values him so highly after only a few days."

The Crown Princess heard his veiled suggestion that she favored Zu An because of his good looks. She was secretly enraged and said coldly, "I value every person in the Eastern Palace who diligently serves the Crown Prince."

Prince Qi smiled, not wishing to argue further. "This prince has some things he wishes to discuss with Zu An. Linglong, you wouldn't mind, would you?" he asked.

The Crown Princess smiled slightly. "Please, Prince Qi, do as you wish," she said. "I'll just wait here." Her implication was that she would be watching, hoping he wouldn't cause trouble.

Prince Qi smiled and said to Zu An, "Lord Zu, come with this prince."

Zu An bowed and replied, "Please, Prince Qi."

Prince Qi nodded and led the way to one side. Zu An, with his back to them, waved to Sun Luzhen and the others, signaling them to leave quickly. Sun Luzhen and the others were naturally not foolish; they took the opportunity to slowly retreat. Only Gu Yueyi still cast a lingering, secret glance at the Crown Princess.

Prince Qi had already walked dozens of meters forward and stopped near a rock garden. "Let's stop here," he said. "If we go any further, Linglong won't be able to see you and might worry."

Zu An replied respectfully, "The Crown Princess is considerate of us, her subjects." *At the same time, he secretly grumbled, "Don't you have any self-awareness? Why is the Crown Princess worried? It's because you used to kill people from the Eastern Palace at the slightest provocation."*

Prince Qi looked him over with some curiosity. "Linglong has never cared for anyone like this before," he said. "You are the first."

Zu An remained silent. He guessed that Prince Qi was saying this deliberately to make him develop unnecessary fantasies about the Crown Princess. If he could make the Crown Princess fall for him, Prince Qi would probably wake up laughing from his dreams.

Prince Qi continued, "I heard that the eldest daughter of the Chu family chose you as her husband. This prince was truly surprised. I have met that Chu girl once; it's no exaggeration to call her astonishingly talented and beautiful. All the families in the capital privately speculated where such a heavenly blessed maiden would end up. When they heard she married you, everyone was utterly shocked. I also initially found it strange, but given that even the Crown Princess so quickly holds you in such high regard, it seems you do possess unique qualities."

Zu An put on an embarrassed expression. "Actually, I'm not as good as Prince Qi says," he replied. "At most, I'm a bit handsome, have a prominent aura, and am a little loyal and upright... There's nothing else beyond that. All these qualities are far inferior to Prince Qi's."

Prince Qi's face twitched. For some reason, listening to this fellow's tone, he really wanted to give him a good beating. He took a deep breath, suppressed the impulse in his heart, and wisely ended the topic. "Lord Zu, what is your opinion on the Cheng Xiong case?" he asked.

Zu An feigned ignorance, saying, "I've only been in the capital for a few days, and I'm just a trivial official. My information is limited, so I truly don't know the inside story of Minister Cheng's case."

Prince Qi couldn't help but stare at him. *How can there be such a brazen scoundrel in this world?* If the Crown Princess weren't watching from nearby, he might have directly slapped him to death.

Even though he was usually very shrewd and composed, today's successive situations had broken his composure. He said coldly, "As far as this prince knows, the assassins in the imperial prison only implicated General Cheng after meeting Lord Zu."

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. *This fellow's reach is long,* he thought, *he even has informants in the imperial prison.* He said impassively, "Prince Qi should be clear on who truly wants to incriminate General Cheng. How could a small figure like me influence the grand scheme?"

Prince Qi looked at him with some surprise. "You're quite bold," he said. "You dare to say such things."

Zu An said earnestly, "Before Prince Qi, how could I dare to conceal anything?"

Prince Qi gave a half-smile. "Really?" he asked.

Zu An patted his chest and vowed, "Of course it's true, heaven and earth bear witness."

"Very well, I have something to ask you," Prince Qi said, staring intently into his eyes. "Can the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra' truly grant immortality?"

Zu An gave a wry smile. "The Emperor has already proclaimed it to the world, so why does Prince Qi need to ask me?" he said.

Prince Qi said coldly, "I want you to tell me now."

Zu An immediately replied, "Of course, the Emperor cannot achieve immortality through this." *As for whether I can achieve immortality through it, I didn't say,* he thought.

Sensing the sincerity and certainty in his tone, Prince Qi was somewhat surprised. "Do you know that if words like these reach the Emperor's ears," he said, "you would likely be sentenced to death?"

Zu An gave a wry smile. "Prince Qi is a renowned wise prince," he said. "I trust you wouldn't make things difficult for me."

Prince Qi laughed heartily and lightly patted his shoulder. "You, young man, have a promising future," he said. "This prince thinks highly of you."

Zu An's expression changed. His gaze fell on the hand on his shoulder. *Holy crap, this isn't Bone-Dissolving Palm, is it?* he thought. *A Grandmaster's technique—if he leaves some hidden energy, I won't even know how I died!*

"Go back quickly," Prince Qi said with a smile. "Linglong is getting impatient."

"Thank you, Prince Qi," Zu An said, hastily departing. Being with this fellow was simply too stressful.

Once Zu An had walked away, a figure appeared about ten feet from Prince Qi. The smile on Prince Qi's face vanished instantly. "Investigate two matters for this prince," he commanded. "First, what does the Emperor want with Liu Chenyu? Second, keep an eye on Golden Badge Eleven. I have a feeling he and Zu An are the same person. Their appearances are simply too coincidental."

The figure in the shadows replied in a deep voice, "Understood!"