Chapter 989: Hot Potato

"Now you can only rage impotently." Zu An sneered for a moment, then pulled Sun Ji aside and whispered, "Prime Minister Sun, can I discuss something with you?"

Sun Xun cupped his hands and said, "Sir Zu, you helped me find the murderer of my son. I am so grateful that words cannot express it. So please, speak freely. Whatever Sun can do, I will certainly help you with."

Zu An rubbed his hands and glanced towards Qiu Honglei, deliberately making an 'understanding' expression. "Prime Minister Sun, I suffered a great loss because of this vixen in the capital last time. I've been holding a grudge and wanting to find a way to get back at her. I thought her identity was mysterious and she was too cunning, so I'd never get a chance for revenge in this life. Who knew fate would intervene and let me meet her here again? Prime Minister Sun, I wonder if you could hand her over to me for an hour or two so I can properly get my revenge?"

Seeing his gaze, Sun Xun naturally understood instantly. What kind of "revenge" could a man and a woman alone in a room enact? He showed a look of difficulty. "Sir Zu, this might be a bit inconvenient. Her cultivation is very high. If you were to go in, it could be dangerous."

"It's fine," Zu An replied. "My cultivation is just about enough to control her. Besides, couldn't we simply disable her cultivation?" When Zu An had first seen her, he noticed the elemental energy fluctuations in her body were still normal, which he found somewhat strange, so he took this opportunity to probe for the reason.

"That would create an endless, irreconcilable vendetta," Sun Xun replied. "Her master is the Demonic Cult Master and also a Grandmaster. If she truly sought revenge without restraint, even the Prince might not be able to withstand it. Sir Zu, we are all on the same side, so I won't hide anything from you. If it were anything else, I would certainly agree to your request, but this vixen's identity is too sensitive. Any mishandling could easily cause a major upheaval, so please understand, Sir Zu."

Zu An sighed, "What a pity for such a devastatingly beautiful woman."

Sun Xun thought, 'He really is a lecher.' He sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he was very sincere. "Sir Zu, I'll have someone arrange something for you later. The women from Yi Commandery are all tall and leggy, not much worse than this vixen."

"Forget it, it'd be pointless," Zu An flatly refused. He walked over to Qiu Honglei, looking as if he was captivated and couldn't bear to leave, but secretly transmitted a message to her with his elemental energy.

"Honglei, don't be afraid. I'll get you out."

"What are you looking at? Stare any longer and I'll gouge out your eyeballs!" Qiu Honglei glared at him fiercely on the surface, but secretly transmitted her reply: "Absolutely not! The Yan Prince's manor is swarming with experts, and the guards are strict. The Yan Prince himself is a Grandmaster. It would be far too dangerous for you to try and rescue me. Not only would you fail to save me, but you'd also get yourself implicated. Don't worry, I'm fine. They wouldn't dare do anything to me."

"Go ahead and try to gouge them out, then. I'm sure it would be quite comfortable, even having my eyes dug out by a lady's slender fingers," Zu An responded verbally while transmitting. "Don't worry, I won't act recklessly. I'll only proceed when I'm certain."

Sun Xun, standing nearby, rolled his eyes. He thought, 'This guy's flirting is so awkward. Has he never seen a woman before?'

Just then, a guard hurried over and whispered a few words to him. After a brief puzzled moment, he walked up to Zu An. "Sir Zu, the Imperial Envoy has arrived. Shall we go over together?"

Hearing that Sang Hong had arrived, Zu An nodded, then blew a kiss to Qiu Honglei in the cell. "Little lady, wash up and wait for me. You'll be mine sooner or later."

Sun Xun smiled outwardly, but sneered inwardly. 'This fellow truly has baffling self-confidence.'

Only Qiu Honglei understood the true meaning of his words. Her face flushed slightly as she secretly spat in disdain. 'It's been a long time, and this guy is still the same.'

At the same time, she felt a little worried. What if this guy really acted impulsively? It was a shame she couldn't inform her master.

Zu An and Sun Xun walked all the way to the Yan Prince's bedroom, where they found Sang Hong chatting amiably with the Prince. One party was inquiring about the other's injuries, while the other was praising the Imperial Envoy's hard work. Sang Hong, in turn, complimented the Yan Prince on his great achievements.

Zu An was filled with admiration. This kind of bureaucratic platitude was something he could never learn; it was truly an art of language.

Gao Ying and Pei You, who were behind Sang Hong, secretly breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Zu An. They had worried that Zu An might encounter danger by himself with Sun Xun, so they had ridden back quickly to report.

Upon hearing this, Sang Hong dared not delay. He didn't care about the Yan Prince's safety; he had come purely for Zu An's sake.

At this point, the Yan Prince spoke, "Oh, by the way, Minister Sang, there's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you."

"Your Highness is too kind. Please speak freely," Sang Hong replied, feeling a hint of hesitation. This was precisely why he had chosen not to disembark earlier; he wanted to avoid dealing with local powers.

The Yan Prince said, "I mentioned to you earlier that we captured the Demonic Cult's Saintess. I hear this vixen caused a great commotion in the imperial palace recently, so I intend to send her to the capital for the Emperor to deal with. This would also serve as a measure of relief for the Empress and Crown Prince."

Sang Hong was momentarily stunned, but quickly understood. The Demonic Cult Saintess's identity was likely too sensitive; the Yan Prince dared not kill her, nor dared he release her, so he was sending this hot potato to the capital.

Naturally, he didn't want to get involved in such matters. "Your Highness," he replied, "it is certainly our duty to assist in such affairs. However, we have another mission on this journey and must reach Yunzhong Commandery as quickly as possible. I'm afraid we cannot spare the attention to help you escort this vixen."

Zu An felt anxious, wishing Sang Hong would agree immediately. But he quickly calmed down. Why would the other party propose such a request, which an Imperial Envoy obviously couldn't agree to?

As expected, the Yan Prince immediately said, "Naturally, I wouldn't dare trouble the Imperial Envoy with this matter directly. I only hope the Imperial Envoy could speak with Governor Zhang of Yi Commandery and ask him to dispatch men to escort that vixen to the capital. We've been continuously at war with the Demonic Cult recently, and we are truly stretched thin."

"This might..." Sang Hong immediately realized that this matter involved a power struggle among local factions. It was most likely that the Yan Prince's manor wanted to offload the hot potato onto local officials, which would both displease the other party and create a dilemma for them.

Firstly, if the Governor's manor successfully transported the person to the capital, it would be considered their due responsibility, as the Yan Prince's manor captured the Demonic Cult Saintess. Therefore, the primary credit would undoubtedly go to the Yan Prince's manor, and no one would reward the Governor's manor.

Secondly, if any accident occurred during the prisoner's escort, the responsibility would be enormous. If the Emperor blamed them, even the Governor might be dismissed.

So, Sang Hong naturally didn't want to get involved and was about to refuse immediately.

At this moment, Zu An readily agreed, "We all serve the imperial court. Such matters are naturally our inescapable duty. We will speak with the Governor about it."

Sang Hong was somewhat surprised, but he knew Zu An wouldn't speak idly, so he tacitly accepted.

The group chatted for a while longer, then Sang Hong rose to take his leave. After seeing them off, Sun Xun returned to the Yan Prince's bedroom.

By this time, the Yan Prince had already risen from his bed, showing no signs of his previous weakness.

"Congratulations, Your Highness," Sun Xun said. "Now the problem rests entirely with Governor Zhang."

The Yan Prince frowned slightly. "What I don't understand is why Zu An seemed so eager. Could he be planning some scheme?"

Sun Xun smiled faintly. "Your Highness worries too much. He's simply lecherous..."

He then briefly recounted what had just happened in the dungeon. "He probably thinks that once Qiu Honglei leaves the Yan Prince's manor, it will be easier for him to get close to her."

After listening, the Yan Prince scoffed. "He truly doesn't know his place. To dare to lay hands on Yun Jianyue's precious disciple—he'll die without even knowing how."

Sun Xun's expression remained neutral. Although Zu An had helped him find the murderer, the conflict with his son, Ji'er, was also real. So, if anything happened to Zu An, it would be a form of closure for Ji'er.

At this moment, the Yan Prince said in a deep voice, "Prime Minister Sun, you are truly working hard, having to deal with these tedious matters today, even after suffering the pain of losing a son."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness," Sun Xun replied. "Although I am grieved, it will not affect my duties. After all..." Sun Xun paused, "I have more than one son."

His voice was cold and detached, sending chills down one's spine.

The Yan Prince laughed heartily. "Another day, I shall grant you several more beautiful concubines, so you can have more sons."

Meanwhile, after Sang Hong and his entourage left the Yan Prince's manor, he pulled Zu An aside and whispered, "Why did you agree to that matter?"