Chapter 915: Raising Sharks Sea King

Seeing the surge of rage points in the system, Zu An knew she was truly angry. He immediately realized that the scent of Zheng Dan on him had been detected by her. He cursed inwardly, wondering how many times he had made such a foolish mistake.

He needed to find a way to solve this problem quickly. Washing and changing clothes was the safest solution, but often it wasn't practical. Hmm, in his previous life, an experienced person seemed to have used green tangerine peel juice to mask the scent of cosmetics on their body. He definitely had to try that next time.

However, the immediate priority was to resolve the current chaotic situation. Zu An showed no panic. Instead, he sighed, “I never thought that after all we’ve been through together, after facing so many life-or-death situations, you still wouldn’t trust me.”

Hearing the weariness in his voice, Bi Linglong couldn't help but feel a little sad. Thinking of how he had desperately protected her throughout their time in the secret realm, she unconsciously felt a pang of guilt.

However, she was also a smart person and not easily fooled. She quickly reacted, “Heh, don't tell me that isn't the scent of another woman's perfume on you?”

“This is indeed a woman’s perfume scent…” Before Zu An could finish, Bi Linglong’s eyebrows shot up. He then immediately changed his tone, “However, it’s the scent of the Prince of Qi’s concubine.”

Bi Linglong was utterly confused. She was momentarily stunned. The Prince of Qi’s concubine was dead, wasn’t she? How could her scent be there?

“Last night, I snuck into the Prince of Qi’s mansion to investigate a case. At a critical moment, I hid inside the Prince of Qi’s concubine’s coffin…” Zu An then slowly recounted what had happened last night. Of course, he conveniently omitted any mention of Sang Qian’s involvement, lest he provoke her jealousy again.

“You’re really audacious. The Prince of Qi’s mansion is practically a dragon's den. Are you hurt?” Bi Linglong’s attention was indeed diverted. She quickly scrutinized him from head to toe, fearing he might have any wounds.

“I was almost discovered several times; I walked a lap around the gates of hell,” Zu An said with feigned lingering fear. In reality, it wasn't that dangerous, but he wanted to create that kind of atmosphere.

As expected, Bi Linglong felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t intentionally being unreasonable. I just… I just…”

Zu An said with deep sorrow, “I originally thought that after experiencing life and death together in the secret realm, there would be no more ordinary misunderstandings between us. I never thought it was just wishful thinking on my part. If you doubt me over such a small matter, then in the future, our enemies could easily drive a wedge between us with any trivial thing, and we might even become bitter enemies…”

Seeing what seemed like tears welling up in his eyes, Bi Linglong’s heart ached. She quickly said, “I’m sorry, I won't doubt you so easily again. It’s just that lately, I've been waiting for you every day, but you never came once. I was upset, which is why I… acted that way just now.”

Given her usual proud nature, she would never have been able to say these words. However, Zu An’s acting was too convincing. He had unsettled her so much that she was flustered. Seeing his dispirited look, she felt her own heart ache. She felt as if she was about to lose something, which was why she spoke those words unconsciously.

Zu An looked at her with a half-smile. “So you’ve been waiting for me every night.”

A blush immediately spread across Bi Linglong’s pretty face. “I said during the day, not at night!”

“It’s all the same,” Zu An smiled, and tenderly lifted a strand of white hair. “It seems the palace tonics haven’t been very effective lately.”

Bi Linglong finally couldn't sit still. Their relationship was already intimate but not yet official, and she still had the mindset of a young girl. How could she endure such teasing? “Don’t talk nonsense!” she said. “Anyway, I lock the secret passage at night, so don’t come over.”

Zu An laughed and pulled her into his embrace. “I haven’t even said I was going to make it up to you yet,” he teased. “You’ve already gone there in your mind.”

Bi Linglong blushed deeply and playfully rained a flurry of light punches on him.

Just then, Rong Mo’s voice came from outside: “Crown Princess, the Emperor is about to finish his morning court. Eunuch Wen has sent someone to urge Lord Zu to go and wait.”

It was unheard of for an emperor to wait for a subject. While it might happen occasionally if the emperor had a sudden whim, today Zu An was the one requesting an audience. How could he possibly make the emperor wait?

Bi Linglong quickly separated from him. While tidying her clothes, she reminded him, “Be careful.” After what happened in the secret realm, every meeting with the Emperor now felt like walking through the gates of hell.

“Don’t worry, I still need to keep this life to heal your injuries,” Zu An said. He kissed her cheek, then left with a smile.

Bi Linglong covered her face and muttered under her breath. This fellow was truly shameless. She had originally intended to keep her distance from him, but she couldn't resist his relentless assertiveness. Unconsciously, she let him have his way. However, she soon thought of his so-called 'healing her injuries' and immediately fell into a dilemma. Should she unlock the secret passage…?

Meanwhile, Zu An arrived outside the Imperial Study. Soon after, the Emperor returned, and he was summoned inside.

“What’s so urgent that you’ve come to see me?” The Emperor picked up his teacup and took a sip. His throat was dry from the morning court session, and he took the opportunity to moisten it. At this moment, it certainly wouldn’t be misinterpreted as a gesture to dismiss a guest.

“Your Majesty, I have concluded the investigation into the drowning of the Prince of Qi’s concubine, the case you assigned me last time.” Zu An maintained his distance from the Emperor. He suddenly remembered that he had just been hugging and kissing the Crown Princess. Surely her scent hadn't rubbed off on him and been detected, had it? However, men were generally not sensitive in this regard. Moreover, the Emperor and the Crown Princess had no opportunities for private interaction, so he shouldn't be able to detect it. Hmph, I still have the scent of Zheng Dan and the Prince of Qi’s concubine on me. If he could distinguish Bi Linglong’s scent among those, I’d cut off my head and let him kick it like a ball.

“You’ve found it out so quickly?” The Emperor frowned. “Tell me, what happened?”

Zu An’s heart tightened. The Emperor’s first reaction wasn’t surprise, nor did he seem concerned about who the murderer was. Could it be that he already knew something? So he explained his findings, while observing the Emperor’s expression. Sure enough, when he heard that the murderer was the Prince of Qi, the Emperor didn’t show the slightest hint of surprise.

“How did you find it out so quickly?” the Emperor frowned.

Zu An was taken aback. “Isn’t it good to solve the case quickly?”

“Of course not,” the Emperor said displeasedly. “I assigned you this case not only to investigate the truth, but also to use this opportunity to build a closer relationship with the Prince of Qi and then find a way to give him the fake secret manual. Now that you’ve uncovered the truth so quickly, what about the fake manual?”

Zu An thought, 'Just as I suspected.' For the Emperor, the life or death of a woman was of no concern to him; he was more concerned about those who threatened his power. He then explained, “Your Majesty need not worry; I have already gained the Prince of Qi’s initial trust.”

“Oh?” The Emperor immediately grew interested. “How so?”

“Before coming to the palace today, I went to the Prince of Qi’s mansion and pretended to pledge my allegiance to him…” Zu An recounted the morning’s events, mixing truth with falsehood. He omitted only the fact that he genuinely wanted to ally with the Prince of Qi, but revealed all other details, including the Prince of Qi’s own words.

This was part of his initial plan. Operating between two powerful figures, he couldn’t treat them like fools. They would find out about his maneuvers sooner or later; rather than let that happen, it was better to proactively disclose it. Normally, the Prince of Qi would assume he would hide things from the Emperor, and the Emperor would assume he would hide things from the Prince of Qi. However, Zu An did the opposite, becoming someone who juggled two relationships simultaneously. Only, other 'sea kings' kept beautiful ornamental fish in their ponds, while his own pond held two ferocious great sharks.

After hearing his account, the Emperor was indeed overjoyed. “You truly are a talent!” He was visibly excited, pacing back and forth in the study, clearly processing the information he had received.

After a moment, he stopped pacing. “The Prince of Qi isn’t easily trusting,” he said. “He will definitely set some extremely difficult tasks for you to complete later.”

Zu An said with a smile, “So, at that time, I might need Your Majesty’s cooperation.”

The Emperor also smiled. “You truly are cunning as a ghost, young man. Zhao Jing probably never dreamed he would fall into your hands.”