Chapter 941: The Happiest and Unluckiest Man

That day, Zu An went to the Eastern Palace as usual to see Bi Linglong, but she still refused to see him. With so many people watching, he couldn't show any unusual behavior or use his usual persuasive tactics, leaving him deeply frustrated.

Just then, a eunuch arrived to summon Zu An to the Imperial Study for an audience with the Emperor. While initially, people in the Eastern Palace might have been envious, they were now accustomed to it, acknowledging that Zu An was indeed highly favored by the Emperor.

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He wondered if the Emperor had noticed something amiss due to his persistent daily visits to Bi Linglong.

Considering the Emperor an imaginary enemy, every summons to the Imperial Study felt like facing a formidable foe.

After Zu An left, Rong Mo, who was in the room, looked at the distracted Bi Linglong and asked, "Princess Consort, what's wrong?"

Bi Linglong snapped out of her trance. "Nothing," she replied.

"Hmph, let him live or die for all I care."

Upon arriving at the Imperial Study, Zu An saw the smiling Eunuch Wen and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. While judging the Emperor's mood from Eunuch Wen's expression wasn't entirely reliable, it could at least offer some indication.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Zu An said. After entering the room, he quickly glanced at the Emperor, who, as expected, maintained his usual stern, impassive expression.

The Emperor put down his memorial. "Has Yu Nan bothered you lately?" he asked.

"To Your Majesty," Zu An replied, "there have been some minor conflicts between the Yu and Bi families recently, but they haven't come to trouble me directly."

The Emperor smiled. "Naturally. A while ago, rumors were rampant throughout the capital, and even the Yu family couldn't suppress them using their official influence. You don't possess that much influence, so they naturally aren't concerned with you for now."

"It's all thanks to Your Majesty's wise and mighty leadership," Zu An gushed, showering the Emperor with exaggerated flattery, "otherwise, your humble servant would have been in great trouble..."

The Emperor's expression softened. "Are you curious why I previously rejected Yu Xuanchong's resignation?" he asked.

"Forgive my dullness, but I truly don't understand," Zu An admitted frankly. He wondered why the Emperor was discussing this with him; an Emperor didn't need to explain himself to a subject, did he?

The Emperor rose and walked to a nearby bookshelf. Looking at the large map hanging on the wall, he said indifferently, "The Yu family controls more than half of the world's elemental stone business. Their former students and subordinates are spread throughout the court and government. Although the Minister of the Left is a high-ranking position, it makes little difference to Yu Xuanchong whether he holds it or not."

Zu An nodded inwardly. The Yu family was incredibly wealthy, comparable to a nation. Yu Xuanchong would soon recover even if he resigned. This whole incident was ultimately just about Yu Nan, and if it hadn't caused such a city-wide stir, even Yu Nan wouldn't have faced trouble. Naturally, it was difficult to use this to target Yu Xuanchong.

The Emperor continued, "The Yu family has always been close to Prince Qi. What I fear is not merely a Minister of the Left, but the entire Yu family."

Zu An's heart tightened. The Emperor had begun to systematically eliminate Prince Qi's allies; once Prince Qi became isolated, that would be when the Emperor made his move.

The implication of his words seemed to be not merely content with dismissing Yu family members from office, but to completely destroy the entire Yu family?

The thought sent shivers down his spine. This Emperor was truly ruthless.

As expected, the Emperor's gaze fell upon a northern region on the map. "The Yu family of Yunzhong, as the name suggests, has its base in Yunzhong Commandery," he stated. "That's also where the court's largest elemental stone mine is located. They've occupied it for so many years; they've had enough of its benefits."

Zu An secretly mourned for the Yu family. Once the Emperor set his sights on them, their fate was sealed.

Suddenly, a peerless face from inside a carriage flashed in his mind. He couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, Lady Yu seems to be a friend of yours."

Although he knew such an intercession wouldn't have much effect, Yu Yanluo had helped him before, and he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

The Emperor turned his head, looking at him with a half-smile. "Your relationship with her seems quite good too," he remarked, "considering she specifically interceded with me for you back then."

Zu An's heart tightened. He quickly explained, "It was merely because I accidentally saved her life in Mingyue City back then. I suppose she was just returning that favor."

God knew what the Emperor was thinking, so he naturally couldn't admit how good his relationship with her was.

Only then did the Emperor nod in understanding. After all, Yu Yanluo was peerlessly beautiful back then, and countless exceptionally talented people failed to catch her eye, so how could she possibly have feelings for this ordinary brat? "Don't worry," he assured, "Lady Yu is a good friend of mine. She will naturally be properly taken care of when the time comes."

Zu An inwardly scoffed, thinking, 'This "taken care of" likely means being placed in your harem, doesn't it?'

Although the Emperor had abstained from women in recent years to prolong his life, he would most likely make an exception for a beauty like Yu Yanluo.

He had always thought himself a scoundrel with many female confidantes. However, the influential figures in the capital who only had twenty or thirty concubines still managed to gain a reputation for not being lustful. Compared to them, he was as pure as a white flower.

Suddenly, his heart tightened. Why was the Emperor telling him all this? He feared another difficult task was coming his way.

As expected, the Emperor said, "Prepare yourself. In a few days, you will go to Yunzhong Commandery."

Zu An was speechless.

The Emperor completely disregarded his feelings and continued, "A few days ago, the local officials in Yunzhong Commandery jointly submitted a memorial, stating that the Duke of Yunzhong has been missing for a long time and requesting the court to reconsider the ducal title."

"Heh," the Emperor sneered, "It seems someone is already impatient to take over."

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't the Duke of Yunzhong Yu Yanluo's husband?

That man was probably the happiest man in the world, though now, of course, he was the unluckiest.

He cautiously asked, "What exactly happened regarding the Duke of Yunzhong's disappearance?"

The Emperor replied, "About a year ago, the Duke of Yunzhong suddenly disappeared from his residence. No one knew where he went. At first, everyone thought it was normal, as it was easy for someone of his cultivation level to enter and exit the ducal mansion unnoticed. However, when he didn't return after a long time, people realized something was wrong."

"Did he go somewhere on his own, or was it foul play?" Zu An quickly asked.

The Emperor shook his head. "After the incident, the local yamen sent people to investigate. Everything appeared normal, and there were no traces of harm. The court was still uneasy, so it specifically sent officials from the commandery to investigate, but they still found nothing."

Seeing the Emperor's calm expression, completely devoid of any grief over the loss of a duke, Zu An thought that with Yu Yanluo losing her husband, the Emperor was probably secretly delighted, if anything.

However, based on his answer, Zu An roughly concluded that the Duke of Yunzhong's disappearance was likely not orchestrated by the Emperor.

At this point, the Emperor continued, "Go to Yunzhong Commandery and quickly find out the truth behind the Duke of Yunzhong's disappearance. Furthermore, do not shield the Yu family because of your connection with Yu Yanluo. Otherwise, I will show no mercy, do you understand?"

Hearing this, Zu An immediately understood the Emperor's true meaning. Regardless of the reason for the unfortunate man's disappearance, the Yu family would ultimately take the blame, allowing the Emperor to seize the opportunity to wipe out their influence.

So he respectfully said, "Your humble servant is naturally willing to share Your Majesty's burdens. However, the injuries I sustained in the secret realm last time were too severe, and I haven't fully recovered. Furthermore, investigating the drowning of Prince Qi's concubine and bringing down Yu Nan required too much mental exertion to complete Your Majesty's tasks in a short time. I am now extremely weak, and even thinking about problems gives me a headache. My health is a minor matter, but if it affects Your Majesty's grand plans, that would be a grave concern. Therefore, I humbly ask Your Majesty to find someone more capable."

'What a joke!' Zu An thought. 'What does this Emperor take me for? In my previous life, those capitalists at least paid well for the 996 work schedule, but he just threatens me every time. I'm not a masochist; why should I passively accept this?'

Of course, he wasn't so stubborn as to want to break ties with the Emperor immediately. In his previous words, he had subtly highlighted his significant achievements of late, partly to show that even if he didn't have great accomplishments, he had put in considerable effort, and partly to prove his unique value. As long as the Emperor still had needs, he wouldn't be able to do without him for a while.

All of this was what he had learned from visiting the Sang family recently, taught to him by the old fox Sang Hong — an essential skill for a seasoned politician.

Hearing him say this, the Emperor's eyes narrowed, and a flicker of anger rose within him. How long had this rascal been in the capital, and he already knew how to bargain with him like those old foxes in court!

He already disliked Zu An, and this only intensified his anger, making him feel provoked.

Rage value from Zhao Hao: 444444444...

Seeing the constantly rising rage value in the system, Zu An also grew extremely nervous. Although he was quite confident the Emperor wouldn't openly turn hostile, as he was a mature ruler,

'But anything can happen,' he thought, 'what if he goes mad?'

After a moment, the Emperor's calm voice rang out. "My dear subject, you have indeed worked hard these past days. Later, I will have Eunuch Wen select some calming and invigorating elixirs from the Imperial Hospital for you; you can slowly recuperate on your way to Yunzhong Commandery. Furthermore, I've noticed you seem to dislike your current title of viscount. Once you complete the matters in Yunzhong Commandery, I shall promote your peerage by one rank."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your humble servant will do his utmost," Zu An replied. In this era, peerage was even rarer than official positions, and the Emperor's offer was undeniably generous. Zu An knew it was wise to stop while he was ahead; if he continued to be impudent, he might not leave the palace alive today.

Besides, he genuinely wanted to get rid of that humiliating viscount title.