Chapter 892: I suspect you did it on purpose

Although no one else was present, Bi Linglong instinctively didn't want anyone to overhear such an important discussion.

Feeling her fragrant breath near his ear, Zu An's heart softened further, thinking how delicate a young woman's breath always was.

He couldn't resist turning and pecking her lips. Bi Linglong recoiled like a startled rabbit, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, and glared at him exasperatedly.

Zu An chuckled, "Linglong, you're truly brilliant. That idea was absolutely fantastic."

Her plan was similar to his, but even more detailed, with many nuances considered. If they followed it, they had a strong chance of succeeding in their deception.

Hearing his praise, Bi Linglong forgot to reprimand him for his earlier audacity, and her eyes sparkled with amusement.

One had to admit, she wouldn't have been able to orchestrate the conflicts between the Eastern Palace and Prince Qi without some cunning strategies.

"However, there's still a crucial issue," Zu An paused, gazing at her endlessly charming face. "You're no longer a virgin. If Zhao Hao finds out, it's a dead end for you, especially since he sees you as his future wife."

In this world, those with malicious intent had many ways to determine if a woman was a virgin.

Bi Linglong's face flushed crimson. She bit her lip and said, "You don't need to worry about that. I have my own way to conceal it."

Zu An looked bewildered. How could something like that be concealed?

After her explanation, he finally understood that she possessed a special magical artifact capable of simulating the relevant physical state.

She had relied on this artifact previously to remain undetected as the Crown Princess for so long, even without consummating the marriage. Now, she could use it in reverse to hide the fact that she was no longer a virgin.

Next, the two discussed some further details before preparing to wake Zhao Ruizhi and bring him back in, to "inform" him of the various events that had transpired.

After all, he was a witness to the events, and people would certainly question him later about what had happened.

However, Zu An walked partway, then returned, scrutinizing Bi Linglong from head to toe.

"What's wrong?" Bi Linglong felt a little shy, unaccustomed to his intense gaze.

Zu An reached out and gently stroked her soft, smooth hair. "Your hair looks too perfect right now. Zhao Ruizhi saw your hair turn white earlier, and if you used a forbidden technique without any side effects, Zhao Hao definitely won't believe it."

"But it's already turned black again. It won't be easy to make it white now, and we don't have any dye," Bi Linglong worried. Even with dye, it would be difficult to fool Zhao Hao's discerning eye.

Zu An looked at her. "Do you trust me?"

Bi Linglong retorted exasperatedly, "I've entrusted... everything to you, and you still ask me such a question!"

"Then relax your body, don't be nervous, and trust me," Zu An said, taking her hand.

Bi Linglong's pretty face flushed. Although they had already shared the most intimate relationship, the leap was so immense that she was still somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Just as she was about to pull her hand away, she suddenly felt a suction from his palm. She instantly became incredibly weak, clearly feeling her cultivation and even her life essence rapidly draining away.

She stared at him with wide eyes, countless thoughts and conjectures flashing through her mind, but ultimately, only the phrase "trust me" remained.

Shortly after, Zu An quickly released her hand. "How do you feel now?"

"Not great," Bi Linglong's voice was hoarse. She felt utterly weak, as if she might collapse at any moment.

Zu An said, "I just absorbed some of your life essence. It's normal for you to feel weak."

Bi Linglong froze, then suddenly remembered something. She quickly touched her hair to check, and sure enough, her once dark and lustrous hair was now streaked with grey.

Her mouth drooped, and tears streamed down her face.

What woman didn't care about her appearance? The key was that the feeling of gaining something only to lose it again was truly unbearable.

Zu An quickly comforted her, "Linglong, don't worry. This is only temporary, just to deal with the Emperor. Later, I'll gradually return this life essence to you. Once you're back in the Eastern Palace and have recovered with various nourishing items, your recovery won't raise any suspicions."

Bi Linglong blinked, tears still clinging to her eyelashes. "How will you return it?"

Zu An smiled and said, "Have you forgotten how your white hair turned black before?"

Bi Linglong first froze, then blushed deeply. "Are you doing this on purpose?!"

Zu An protested vehemently, "No, really! It's only to deceive the Emperor."

Bi Linglong gritted her teeth. Reason told her that this was indeed the only way to fool the Emperor, but the thought of his method of returning it was too much for her maidenly sensibilities.

"Never mind, you don't need to return it. I'll just rest and recover more when I get back to the palace," Bi Linglong ultimately decided, too embarrassed to agree to such a humiliating arrangement.

Zu An smiled, not pressing the matter further. "Shall I go get Zhao Ruizhi now?"

"Mm-hmm." Bi Linglong watched as he spoke, tearing his clothes to rags and smearing some blood on himself, making his appearance even more wretched.

In truth, he had been covered in wounds, but they had long since healed, necessitating this disguise.

Being intelligent, she naturally understood the purpose of his actions. She silently mused that he seemed carefree normally, but was surprisingly meticulous.

Soon, Zu An brought in the awakened Zhao Ruizhi. Bi Linglong's expression was always a little unnatural when she saw him, so Zu An "recounted" the events of the past period, with her only occasionally adding details.

Once they had conveyed enough information, the group decided to look for an exit.

Zu An had initially considered "shearing the wool" from this secret realm, as it was the ancestral ground of successive Qin Kings and surely contained many treasures.

However, before he could act, the world suddenly trembled, and everything began to crumble apart.

Clearly, after the deaths of Xu Fu and Qin Shi Huang, the place lacked certain core elements and finally could no longer sustain itself, beginning to collapse.

In fact, it was a testament to the realm's sturdy construction that it hadn't collapsed immediately after Xu Fu and Qin Shi Huang's demise.

Left with no choice, Zu An carried Bi Linglong with one arm and Zhao Ruizhi with the other, leaping back and forth across small floating islands, evading the catastrophe of the world once again turning upside down.

Fortunately, with their previous experience, this time was not difficult.

Moreover, this spatial inversion didn't last long. After only a few hours, the Western Quanqiu Secret Realm vanished, replaced by the familiar secret realm they had been in before.

Looking at the surrounding green mountains and clear waters, Bi Linglong couldn't help but exclaim, "It's truly miraculous! I thought this place would turn into an apocalypse."

Zu An also couldn't comprehend the underlying principle. Logically, this secret realm should have been, if not destroyed, at least scarred and desolate. Yet, it looked as if nothing had happened.

"I want to go home, I want to go back to the palace!" Zhao Ruizhi wailed from the side. This outing hadn't been fun at all; the palace had good food, and he could sleep and play various interesting games whenever he wanted.

Zu An and Bi Linglong didn't want to delay, so they led him straight toward the entrance they remembered.

Not long after, they suddenly saw a group of people and horses approaching from a distance.

The people there had clearly spotted them too, and a commotion immediately broke out.

With a flash of red light, one person appeared before the trio: "Crown Prince! Crown Princess!"

This was, of course, Zhu Xie Chixin, the Grand Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. As soon as the secret realm stabilized, he immediately led his men in to investigate.

Because of the grave importance of the matter, he hadn't allowed anyone from Prince Qi's manor to enter, even blocking the academy's personnel outside.

Since everyone suspected the Crown Prince and others had met a grim fate, no one dared to bring bad luck upon themselves by interfering at that moment.

That's why Zhu Xie Chixin was so overjoyed to see the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.

Zu An then spoke in a hoarse voice, "Grand Commander, I have not failed my mission. I have finally safely brought the Crown Prince and Crown Princess back."

After speaking, he "collapsed from exhaustion," immediately causing a flurry of exclamations as those nearby rushed to check on him.

Bi Linglong, watching from the side, secretly marveled. "This man is a born actor," she thought. "Hmph, I wonder how many times he's fooled me before."

Despite her thoughts, she knew what needed to be done. She cleared her throat and said at the opportune moment, "Lord Zu, to protect the Crown Prince and me, fought bravely and sustained severe injuries. Quickly, attend to him."

By immediately defining his actions in front of everyone, many subsequent matters would become much simpler.

Zhu Xie Chixin hastily instructed his subordinates to comply, then suddenly realized something and gazed at Bi Linglong in shock. "Crown Princess, your hair, it's..."

"It's a long story. I need to see His Majesty," Bi Linglong stated. Her proactively requesting an audience with the Emperor, rather than waiting to be summoned and questioned, created a vastly different impression. This would unconsciously make everyone believe that her loyalty still lay firmly with the Emperor, and that she was staunchly aligned with him.

Zhu Xie Chixin nodded. "His Majesty is already waiting in the palace. He ordered us to bring anyone we find back to the palace immediately to report."

Bi Linglong took a deep breath. Whether they could successfully overcome this ordeal hinged on this moment.

Zu An, in his "unconscious" state, was equally solemn. Although they had rehearsed many scenarios, who knew what unexpected events might occur during the actual execution?