Chapter 767: Dark Plotting

Bai Fei, who had maintained a relaxed expression, finally saw her face change. "I don't understand what you mean. Prince Wu is far away in Jibei Prefecture. A vassal prince cannot enter the capital without an imperial edict. How could I possibly be allied with him?"

"But I know he's been in the capital these past few days," Zu An said with a smile. "Today, at Xinrui's house in the city suburbs, I was surrounded by assassins from the Shi family, and I happened to encounter Princess Wu there."

"The Shi family wanted to kill you?" Bai Fei frowned, then scoffed, "A bunch of fools."

Seeing that she didn't seem to be feigning, Zu An smiled. "You can't really blame the Shi family. Huabao suddenly ran out and was caught by the Embroidered Uniform Guards. To save him, they exposed the casino owner who had been operating for years. To silence the casino owner, they then exposed Jiasili, the spirit medium from Southern Xinjiang. The Embroidered Uniform Guards would have found them sooner or later, so they had no choice but to take a desperate gamble and try to pin everything on me..."

Bai Fei looked somewhat surprised. "According to your description, the Shi family's operation should have been a sure thing. With the power they can wield, killing you should have been more than enough. How did you manage to survive?"

"No choice, I guess it's because I'm so charming and always lucky. I always manage to escape death," Zu An said with a relaxed expression.

Bai Fei, however, gave him a deep look. "Indeed, Sir Zu's composure is truly beyond ordinary people."

Zu An scoffed, "Flattering me now won't do you any good."

Bai Fei smiled. "I'm not flattering you; I genuinely admire you. You truly accomplished something many people could never do."

Then she changed the subject. "Of course, admiration is one thing, but I don't accept your slandering me like this. You should know that I am the Crown Prince's concubine. Only when the Crown Prince ascends the throne can my interests be maximized. Why would I cooperate with Prince Wu and his faction?"

Zu An replied, "Prince Wu's involvement in this matter clearly stems from his coveting the throne. This is easy to understand. The Crown Prince isn't particularly clever, and Prince Wu considers himself a brilliant genius, so how could he not entertain thoughts of replacing him? But simply eliminating the Crown Prince isn't enough; he also needs to get rid of Prince Qi, another strong contender for the throne. That's why he participated in this scheme, hoping to kill two birds with one stone, eliminating both Prince Qi and the Crown Prince's factions simultaneously. At the very least, he could ensure they both suffer heavy losses, thus creating an opportunity for him to rise."

"As for you, in the palace, you're constantly watched by countless eyes. You couldn't execute this plan alone; you had to rely on others to do some things for you. For example, killing Ou Wu and faking his family's escape. And Huabao—honestly, I don't believe such a good-for-nothing gambler could escape from the Shi family's strict custody. Most likely, you sent someone to arrange that."

Bai Fei continued to sway on the swing, a beautiful, faint smile curving her lips. "That's an interesting deduction, but as I said before, these are just your conjectures; you have no evidence. As for Ou Wu, although I don't know what happened to him, looking at the current situation, you most likely won't find him."

"From your tone, I gather Ou Wu has already been disposed of, body and all," Zu An said with a smile. "It doesn't matter if we can't find Ou Wu; there's other evidence."

"Are you talking about Xinrui?" Bai Fei asked, her small legs gently swaying as she sat on the swing, indicating her excellent mood. "Since she's been on the run for so long, I presume Sir Zu won't be able to find her either."

"Don't get too happy too soon, Your Highness," Zu An said, his gaze falling upon her fluttering skirt. "Your Highness has forgotten about one more person. Prince Wu and his party probably haven't had time to leave the capital yet. All I need to do is send people to apprehend them, interrogate them casually, and everything will surely come to light."

Bai Fei's smile froze on her face, and she said somewhat unnaturally, "Hmph, even if Prince Wu is here, he is still a dignified prince. How can he be arrested and interrogated just like that?"

"It seems Concubine Bai has a lot of confidence in Prince Wu?" Zu An said. "Don't overestimate the willpower of those who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths. They haven't experienced much hardship. As long as His Majesty issues an order, the Embroidered Uniform Guards can easily make him talk. You know, a vassal prince entering the capital without permission is a serious crime, punishable by at least the loss of his title. Do you think he'll expose you to save himself and earn merit when the time comes?"

Bai Fei's expression indeed changed. She fell silent, even stopping the swing.

After a long silence, she finally spoke. "What is the meaning of you coming here specifically to tell me all this today? Is it to mock me, or have you secretly laid an ambush, waiting for me to reveal something before arresting me?"

As she spoke, she looked around, checking for any hidden ambushes.

Zu An said in a deep voice, "There's just one thing I want to ask you. Logically, Prince Wu would definitely want me dead, so why did you let me go back then? You could have easily manipulated things to only release the Crown Prince's wife, letting me be captured by the palace guards, and still achieved your objective."

"So you *do* remember that I was the one who let you go," Bai Fei scoffed, stepping down from the swing and walking towards him. "And this is how you repay kindness with hostility, pressing me step by step?"

Hearing her seemingly pathetic tone, Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. "Your Highness, speaking so softly, are you perhaps planning to use a honey trap on me?"

"And if I were to use a honey trap on you, would you like it?" Bai Fei gently plucked a small white flower from her hair ornament. Her mature updo instantly fell apart, and her long, silky hair cascaded down like a waterfall. At that moment, she looked less like a mother and more like a peerlessly beautiful maiden.

Smelling her unique, faint fragrance, like a blend of a hundred flowers, Zu An's heart skipped a beat. This woman was truly captivating. How delightful it would be to hold her in his arms. What virtue or ability did that Crown Prince possess to have such a woman bear his children?

In that instant, Bai Fei, who had seemed to be full of grievances and delicate shyness, suddenly lashed out, aiming directly at a vital acupoint on his chest.

Her previously jade-like nails now gleamed with a dangerous, cold light.

Zu An smiled faintly. "I was already on guard against you."

He wasn't the kind of man whose judgment was clouded by beauty, rendering him unable to move at the sight of a pretty woman. Given their current relationship, how could he not be on guard at all?

He raised his hand and pressed directly against her wrist, blocking her fierce killing move.

Bai Fei's expression remained unfazed, and her other hand quickly launched an attack.

Zu An's heart tightened. Bai Fei's arm was so slender, yet her attack was surprisingly powerful?

Had he not just broken through to the eighth rank, enabling him to wield the power of heaven and earth, he might truly have struggled to defend himself in a head-on confrontation.

This woman was actually an eighth-rank cultivator?

But how was that possible!

Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were widely recognized as geniuses, yet before they met Zu An, they were only at the sixth rank. Their advancement to the seventh rank was thanks to Zu An's encounters. Bai Fei, by appearance, wasn't much older than them, yet she was already at the eighth rank?

However, he quickly realized that this was a world of cultivation, and one couldn't simply judge by appearance. Just like the Empress, who was considerably older than Zu An, yet her appearance remained like that of a young, blooming woman, with every inch of her skin indistinguishable from that of a young girl—something Zu An had personally experienced.

Similarly, although Bai Fei looked young, her actual age might be a full cycle older than Chu Yan and the others.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, he wondered if anyone in the palace knew her true age. The Crown Princess and Crown Prince clearly didn't. Did the Emperor know?

His thoughts raced, yet his hands moved without hesitation. In an instant, they exchanged twenty to thirty moves.

Bai Fei was also secretly astonished. She had tried to overestimate Zu An as much as possible, but in actual combat, she still found that she had underestimated him. If she had known this earlier, she would have...

She bit her red lip, her moves growing increasingly fierce. However, neither of them seemed to want to alert the Emperor, so the force of their attacks was held back, ensuring their power was only effective at close range.

Zu An also noticed that a rain of petals had subtly begun falling nearby. Glancing outwards from the corner of his eye, he couldn't make out the situation outside at all. Presumably, Bai Fei was using this to block the sight of the palace maids and nannies, preventing their actions from being seen.

Sensing her concern, Zu An chuckled. "Close-quarters combat, I'm good at that."

With that, he executed the Feathered Garment Entangling Hand technique, which Pei Mianman had taught him. A moment later, he had both of Bai Fei's hands firmly clasped.

Zu An exerted force, pulling her closer. He gazed at the struggling beauty before him from close range. Her facial skin was truly as delicate as snow, without a single flaw.

"Your Highness is out of options now, aren't you?" Zu An was about to have a proper talk with her.

At that moment, a hint of seductive smile suddenly appeared on Bai Fei's face. "Is that so?"

Simultaneously, a puff of pink mist emerged from her cherry lips, spraying directly onto Zu An's face. At such close range, even though Zu An immediately held his breath, he still inhaled some of it.