Chapter 770: Joy Turns to Sorrow

"We can chat now too, can't we?" Zu'an said with a smile.

Consort Bai said nothing. Her gaze fell on his hands. *How can I chat when you've made me so flustered by touching me?* she thought.

Zu'an said, "People from your Cult of the Devil really are liars. You just said that anything the Crown Princess could give me, you could give me too, but you've gone back on your word so quickly."

Consort Bai looked annoyed. "Does the Crown Princess let you touch her so casually?!"

Zu'an replied, "At least when she wasn't wearing clothes, yes. Your Ladyship, you were a witness yourself."

Consort Bai finally couldn't take it anymore. She struggled to get off the swing and stood far away from him. "I'm really afraid of you now. If my senior sister found out you treated me like this, she'd definitely slap you to death."

"Senior sister?" Zu'an asked, somewhat puzzled.

Consort Bai scoffed. "There's no point in hiding it from you now. The Cult Master is my senior sister. It's just that I was sent into the palace a long time ago."

Zu'an was surprised. "How did you manage to deceive the Emperor? How could he be careless enough to let a high-ranking member of the Cult of the Devil infiltrate his inner circle?"

Consort Bai looked a little smug. "My senior sister is the most formidable and intelligent person in the world. Besides, the Emperor is human, not a god; how could he be omniscient and omnipotent?"

Zu'an nodded in deep agreement. If the Emperor were truly omniscient and omnipotent, he would have long known that his empress had already become intimate with him.

He didn't dwell on this and instead asked, "By the way, is the Libationer also a member of your Cult of the Devil? Or does he have any close ties to your cult?"

When the Libationer secretly helped him during the Heart-Questioning ceremony, it had remained an unsolved mystery in his heart, and he couldn't feel at ease without understanding it.

"Didn't you just say that was your last question?" Consort Bai scoffed. "A man who goes back on his word."

"That's only because you went back on your word first; I learned it from you." Zu'an's gaze fell on her slender waist.

Consort Bai's face reddened. She knew he was referring to her recent attempt to seduce him, which she had abandoned halfway. "Alright, no harm in telling you. The Libationer has no connection with our Holy Cult. If he were one of us, the Cult Master and he, working together, would be enough to depose the Emperor; there would be no need for all this trouble."

Zu'an was startled. "The Libationer is that powerful?"

Consort Bai nodded. "Lord Libationer has always been mysterious and famously keeps out of politics, yet no one dares to ignore his existence. The three acknowledged top masters in the capital are the Emperor, King Qi, and the Libationer."

"The world generally believes that King Qi is only slightly weaker than the Emperor, making him the second strongest master. But from my observations over the years, the Libationer might be the true second strongest master. After all, even disciples he casually taught have become grandmasters, and there are many at the eighth and ninth ranks."

Zu'an's eyes widened. "Even his disciples are grandmasters? What kind of concept is that? How many disciples does he have?"

Consort Bai rolled her eyes at him, clearly surprised that he didn't even know this basic information. "All the students of the Imperial Academy can actually be considered his disciples and grand-disciples. However, most people only recognize 12 of them as his direct disciples."

Zu'an looked thoughtful. It seemed he would have to visit the Imperial Academy soon to clear up the doubts in his mind.

"By the way, last time in the imperial prison, someone tried to silence me. Was that your people?" he suddenly blurted out.

Consort Bai was taken aback. "Why would our people do such a thing? If I had thoughts of silencing you, let alone Honglei, even the Cult Master probably wouldn't let me off."

Zu'an smiled faintly. "That's good then. I hope we can help each other in the palace in the future."

Consort Bai scoffed. "I just hope you'll visit the Hundred Flowers Palace less often from now on."

If this man behaved so disrespectfully every time he came, she wouldn't be able to bear it.

Zu'an laughed heartily. "Then I suppose I'll spend more time with the Crown Princess from now on."

Consort Bai's expression subtly changed. She knew that while she and the Crown Princess currently maintained an amicable facade, everyone understood that it was an 'either her or me' situation between them. If Zu'an truly sided with the Crown Princess, she would be in trouble. After all, from their interactions recently, this man's capabilities and luck were truly exceptional.

"Is doing this fair to the Cult Master and Honglei? One of them thinks highly of you, and the other is deeply in love with you."

Zu'an sighed. "Who told the demonesses of your Cult of the Devil to be so deceitful? I strongly suspect you've been 'PUA-ing' me."

"'PUA'?" Consort Bai paused, clearly not understanding the term.

"It means you're using false temptations to control me. In reality, you haven't given anything from beginning to end; instead, you've been 'freeloading' off me," Zu'an said solemnly. "Your behavior is the most obvious example."

"But you can feel that Honglei's feelings for you are genuine, can't you?" Consort Bai bit her lip slightly. This man was truly difficult to deal with.

Zu'an said indifferently, "That's not necessarily true. After all, she hasn't actually given me anything. Who knows if your cultivation method truly forbids 'breaking the body'? Perhaps she and her master are conspiring to deceive me."

Of course, he could feel Qiu Honglei's genuine affection, but he certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to say that to Consort Bai.

"To cultivate the Demonic Charm Music, one certainly cannot 'break the body,' I..." Halfway through, she suddenly realized her slip-up and scoffed, nearly falling for his trick. She quickly changed the subject. "Fine then. As long as you're not afraid of your Crown Princess getting jealous, you can often come to the Hundred Flowers Palace for a visit. You're always welcome here."

"Thank you, Your Ladyship. I shall take my leave now." Zu'an had achieved his objective. Fully aligning with either the Cult of the Devil or the Crown Princess was not a wise choice for him; only by maintaining the current balance could he maximize his benefits.

Consort Bai bit her lip, thinking, *What kind of subject dares to hug and touch me like this?* However, seeing a palace maid approaching, she decided against saying anything and dispersed the surrounding flower wall. "Farewell, Master Zu."

After leaving the Hundred Flowers Palace, Zu'an exited the palace gates and headed straight home. The Crown Princess had given him time off, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard's cases had been handed over to Zhuxie Chixin, so he was happy to be free of obligations.

His gains from this visit to the Hundred Flowers Palace were considerable. Many doubts he'd harbored recently were completely resolved, and crucially, he had also established a friendly alliance with Consort Bai.

Hmm, he had to admit, Consort Bai smelled really fragrant.

Pondering various issues along the way, he found himself back home before he knew it.

Hearing movement at the door, several graceful figures emerged to greet him:

"Ah Zu!""Brother-in-law!""Brother Zu!"

Zu'an immediately brightened at the sight. It was Chu Chuyan and her sister, along with Murong Qinghe, who was inseparable from Chu Youzhao.

"I just heard the news that you were assassinated. Are you hurt anywhere?" Although she could see Zu'an standing safely before her, Chu Chuyan continued to examine him all over.

"I'm fine, aren't I?" A wave of warmth filled Zu'an's heart. Sure enough, his own wife was the most caring; those women outside were each more bewitching than the last.

At this point, Murong Qinghe, standing nearby, said, "I heard news from the army that the major camps outside the city are all undergoing rectification. I heard that siege crossbows were used in this assassination attempt, and at the scene, there seemed to be traces of someone being hit by a siege crossbow..."

"Siege crossbows!" Chu Chuyan's expression changed. She naturally knew how terrifyingly powerful siege crossbows were. "Where exactly are you hurt? Tell me quickly!"

Seeing her almost tearful expression, Zu'an felt even warmer inside. "Don't worry, thankfully I dodged in time. I only got grazed and suffered a minor injury, which is almost completely healed now."

He didn't want to describe the exact situation at the time, to spare Chu Chuyan unnecessary worry. Moreover, Murong Qinghe, a girl from the Murong family, was also present. If the news spread that he had been pierced by a siege crossbow but recovered so quickly, people would surely become suspicious, and a crowd might come to study him.

Chu Chuyan, however, was not reassured. She hurriedly unbuttoned his clothes. "Let me see."

Murong Qinghe, standing by, blushed slightly and awkwardly turned her face away.

She hadn't expected Zu'an, who appeared slender, to be so muscular underneath.

Chu Youzhao, in contrast, shyly stared at his body, two blushes burning on her fair cheeks, yet she found it difficult to look away.

Only after finally confirming that he had no injuries did Chu Chuyan breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, thank goodness."

Just then, Chu Youzhao suddenly let out a small "Oh?" "Brother-in-law, why do you smell so fragrant?"

Murong Qinghe also sniffed the air. "It does smell quite nice. I've never smelled such a pleasant fragrance before."

Chu Chuyan's gaze also became dangerous as she looked at Zu'an with a faint, knowing smile. "That seems to be another woman's scent, doesn't it?"