Chapter 711: Big Losses

The Crown Princess explained, "There are several maids inside; I need you to knock them out immediately." It was utterly beyond her own cultivation capabilities.

"Why do you need to knock out your own maids?" Zu An asked, puzzled.

The Crown Princess replied, "How can anyone else know about such an incident? Should I entrust my safety to whether others are loyal? Moreover, I can't even guarantee that these maids aren't spies planted by other forces, so it's better to knock them out."

Zu An nodded secretly. This woman was indeed born to be in a position of power; her perspective on issues was completely different from that of ordinary people. He had to admit, her plan was much more secure.

The Crown Princess leaned over and peeked through a hidden small hole: "There are two maids chatting in the southeast corner, one maid tidying things up in the west, and two more guarding the door outside."

Zu An clicked his tongue in amazement, thinking that even when she wasn't in the room, so many maids were still guarding it. The Crown Princess was truly the Crown Princess.

Zu An also leaned in and observed for a while, firmly memorizing all their positions.

The Crown Princess stepped back slightly, her face flushed. Fortunately, it wasn't very noticeable in the dark, as he had just leaned so close that his face almost touched hers. However, she immediately recalled when Zhu Xie Chixin had arrived earlier; it wasn't just his face close to hers, he had even kissed her... At this thought, her complexion fluctuated between pale and flushed, and her eyes grew profound.

"All right, I have a clear idea now. How do we open the mechanism?" Zu An asked.

The Crown Princess moved to the side: "When I count to three, you immediately rush out and subdue them. You absolutely cannot let them have a chance to alert the guards outside."

"Okay!" Zu An focused and listened as the Crown Princess counted beside him. As she reached three, a patch of light suddenly appeared above them. At that instant, he darted out. The nearby maids turned around in surprise at the commotion, but unfortunately, they merely saw a blur before their pressure points were struck, and they fainted. The two maids at the door tried to run, but Zu An decisively used 'Great Wind Teleportation' to appear behind them, knocked them out, and dragged them back into the room.

At this point, the Crown Princess also climbed out of the secret passage. Zu An then noticed that the secret passage entrance was actually under the bed. However, upon reflection, this was to be expected, as it allowed for immediate escape if an assassin were to appear while she slept.

"Mission accomplished, fortunately. It's a good thing your personal maid, Rong Mo, isn't here; otherwise, it probably wouldn't have been this easy," Zu An sighed in relief.

The Crown Princess replied, "She accompanied me to the Hundred Flowers Palace and has been guarding outside. She must be looking for me everywhere now, so she's not here."

Zu An nodded. Given such a major incident involving the Crown Princess, it would be utterly unnatural if Rong Mo weren't searching for her.

Glancing at the unconscious maids on the floor, he couldn't help but say, "You're not going to kill them to silence them, are you?"

The Crown Princess frowned: "Did they just see your face?"

Zu An shook his head: "No, they didn't."

"Then there's no need, why would I kill them?" The Crown Princess snorted. "Do you think I'm some kind of cold-blooded demon who kills without batting an eye?"

Zu An gave an awkward smile but said nothing.

The Crown Princess removed the mask from her face, then found a set of robes from a nearby chest and said in a low voice, "Come here."

"What for?" Zu An was somewhat puzzled but still walked over.

"Help me get dressed," the Crown Princess said indifferently, as if it were a trivial matter.

Zu An was immediately dumbfounded: "Help *you* get dressed?" For a moment, he even thought, 'Are you a child? Do you need help just to get dressed? You and that idiotic Crown Prince really are a pair.'

As if she had read his mind, the Crown Princess said, "My clothes have always been intricate and complex. I usually need several maids to help me put them on; I can't manage by myself."

"Oh," Zu An murmured, realizing his misunderstanding. He walked over to her side and asked, "How do I help with this?"

The Crown Princess glanced at him, then unfastened her belt, letting her robes slide down her satiny, delicate skin, revealing her glowing white body. Zu An's breathing immediately hitched. For a moment, he was bewildered: What was happening?

"You already saw everything, didn't you—what you should and shouldn't have seen? Why the expression now?" The Crown Princess's tone was calm, but her gently rising and falling chest proved that her composure was not as complete as her outward appearance suggested.

Zu An gave a wry smile: "That was just an accident before."

The Crown Princess spread her arms: "Take the clothes over there and put them on me."

Zu An felt as though he was being teased, but given the circumstances, he found it difficult to say anything. So, he obediently took the set of palace robes. It had to be said, the clothes were beautiful, but they were indeed very elaborate; it would be almost impossible for one person to put them on properly.

Zu An silently helped her put on the elaborate attire. Throughout the entire process, the Crown Princess's face was also flushed.

After a moment, the Crown Princess's crimson lips parted slightly: "I don't want anyone to know about today's events."

Zu An hummed in affirmation: "Okay, I won't tell anyone about this."

"I hope you'll forget about it too," the Crown Princess took a deep breath.

"Alright!" Zu An wasn't flippant as he usually was. He knew she took this very seriously, so it wouldn't be appropriate to joke around.

"In the future, I will do my best to promote you and give you more resources to repay you for your help today. As for anything else, you shouldn't think about it. After all, I am the Crown Princess... there's a difference in our statuses." The Crown Princess's eyelashes fluttered slightly, clearly indicating her mixed emotions at that moment.

"Okay!" Zu An continued to nod.

The Crown Princess showed a hesitant expression. After a moment, she suddenly spoke: "The Crown Prince and I have never consummated our marriage."

Zu An froze: "Why are you telling me this?"

The Crown Princess turned her head away, seemingly annoyed: "It's nothing."

Zu An's mind was churning at this moment. Although he had vaguely suspected this before, it was only a guess. Now, hearing her personal admission, the feeling was entirely different. What made him even more curious was why she would tell him this. Could it be that after his heroic rescue today, her heart had been captured, and she had developed a strong liking for him?

That's right, considering my character, appearance, and abilities, I completely overshadow that fat idiot. It's perfectly normal for her to like me. But something still felt off...

Seeing him half-kneeling to tighten her waistband, with the back of his head slightly exposed before her, the Crown Princess, who had been shyly arranging her hair, suddenly had a cold glint in her eyes. She directly pulled out a golden hairpin and fiercely thrust it towards the back of his head. The golden hairpin emitted a faint blue glow, clearly indicating it had been soaked in potent poison for years; a stab from it would undoubtedly be fatal.

However, the golden hairpin did not penetrate Zu An's head as intended; it stopped an inch away from the back of his head. It wasn't that she held back, but that two steady fingers had clamped down on it.

The Crown Princess's expression changed: "How did you know I was going to kill you!" At such close range, with her acting intentionally against his presumed unawareness, it should have been virtually impossible to defend against, unless he had been fully on guard the entire time.

Zu An flicked his wrist, sending out a gentle force that snatched the golden hairpin from her hand. He then slowly stood up.

"To be honest, I was initially quite fooled by you," Zu An said, tossing her hairpin aside with a sigh. "A beautiful and noble Crown Princess undressing completely in front of you—tell me, what man in the world could resist such a temptation? Even the most rigid person would probably assume the Crown Princess had feelings for them, which is why she would undress in front of them. They might even start fantasizing, believing they could form a romantic bond with her. Especially when you emphasized that you and the Crown Prince had not consummated your marriage, it would further fuel those fantasies, making one believe that, given the right timing, they could replace the Crown Prince and become your actual man."

"Then why did you become suspicious?!" This was what puzzled the Crown Princess most. According to her usual intelligence, this man was a typical philanderer. It made no sense that such a significant honey trap, involving such a great sacrifice on her part, would be seen through by him.