But jokes were just jokes. The crown princess was a smart person. She quickly reacted, screaming and howling while hitting Zu An. “You’re a disgusting brute with absolutely no conscience! You told me just now that you would never leave me, but now, you dare say this?!”

Zu An gave her a huge thumbs up inside. The crown princess wasn’t just a pretty decoration after all! She had managed to play along so well.

Zhuxie Chixin frowned. His expression was full of revulsion when he looked at Zu An. Even husbands and wives would abandon each other in the face of a real tragedy, never mind the fact that these two weren’t even real spouses.

This imperial guard probably knew that his actions might constitute a clan eradication offense, so he wanted to find a way to clear his name. However, would he be able to? He shouldn’t have done this in the first place.

“What division are you from? Who is your immediate superior?” Zhuxie Chixin asked with a stormy voice.

“I am from the armed escort division. My boss is Sir Qu Zhishang,” Zu An replied. He had already spent a few days in the palace, so this wasn’t something too difficult for him to answer.

Zhuxie Chixin looked off to the side. Then, an Embroidered Envoy nodded toward him, indicating that there was indeed someone named Qu Zhishang in the armed escort division. He now felt at ease. He pointed at the crown princess, asking, “And you? Which palace are you from? Which elder is in charge of you?”

The crown princess lowered her head and replied carefully, “This servant is from the Palace of Grace, under Elder Liang.” She had lived for so long in the palace, so she knew these things even better than Zu An.

Zhuxie Chixin’s subordinate was already nodding, indicating that such a person existed. His suspicions were lowered. “Have someone bring them to Eunuch Wen. Have him deal with this situation.”

He didn’t have the leisure of tending to these two right now. He had received news earlier that the crown princess and Zu An seemed to have had an affair, so he had to quickly find the two of them and cut off all information as soon as possible.

“Understood!” Two Embroidered Envoys accepted the order and began to escort the two of them toward Eunuch Wen.

Zu An sighed in relief. This was what he had been gambling on, that Zhuxie Chixin wouldn’t be in the mood to deal with this. Furthermore, he was the emperor’s personal investigator, so he was in charge of important matters. This type of illicit relationship stuff was better handled by someone else.

The crown princess also sighed in relief. She had to admit that Zu An’s plan was utterly flawless. No one would suspect an imperial guard and a palace maid of having a secret affair, as it was a crime punishable by death. It might even involve their families.

Now that they had done such a thing, it seemed as if they were dead for sure on the surface, but they could instead use the Embroidered Envoys to bring them out of the encirclement.

These two Embroidered Envoys can’t possibly be a match for Zu An and myself… Actually, I’m just a plus one. Zu An should be able to get rid of both of them on his own.

They had really managed to get out of such a dangerous situation! She felt more and more admiration. This Zu An really couldn’t be judged based on his usual frivolous appearance. No wonder the Chu clan’s first miss had been married to him! This was indeed a top level talent.

Zhuxie Chixin was already a few dozen li away when he suddenly voiced his surprise and turned around to look at the maid’s rear figure. As the leader of the Embroidered Envoys, he had handled countless cases. He had much sharper insight than normal people.

Even though the woman’s figure was ordinary, her bearing was elegant, and her back was straight when she walked, carrying a sort of noble aura. She didn’t really seem like an ordinary maid!

“Wait!”

Zu An and the crown princess’ faces both changed greatly when they heard Zhuxie Chixin’s voice. They both instantly realized what the problem was.

The crown princess quickly gave Zu An a look. They might have to just risk it all and run while Zhuxie Chixin was still a few dozen li away. However, Zu An shook his head without giving anything away. That distance was absolutely nothing for a grandmaster. It was completely meaningless to try and run.

The crown princess bit her lip. She was really panicking now. Only when she saw that Zu An was still calm did she feel a bit more at ease.

Zhuxie Chixin arrived in front of the two of them with his subordinates. He waved his hand and said, “Interrogate them separately.”

The Embroidered Envoys immediately understood what he meant. This was something they were extremely experienced in. Even though they didn’t understand game theory, the many cases they handled had taught them that interrogating criminals separately would often reveal many holes in their stories.

Zu An and the crown princess’ hearts were pounding crazily right now. They didn’t have time to make sure their confessions matched up at all! If they were interrogated on information regarding the other party separately, then wouldn’t they be immediately exposed?

But with things being how they were, they had no choice. They could only allow the Embroidered Envoys to lead the two of them in separate directions.

Zhuxie Chixin personally interrogated Zu An. “What is that maid’s name?”

Zu An’s expression sank. He knew that the crown princess was being asked the same question. However, everything had happened so suddenly that they hadn’t had time to pay attention to these details.

He secretly used the jade badge, wanting to draw on the ground through the ants to contact the crown princess. However, he immediately gave up on that thought. Even if he answered this question, how was he supposed to answer the harder questions to come?

Furthermore, the Embroidered Envoys were all sharp individuals. If he used ants to contact the crown princess, he might just end up drawing their attention. If that happened, he would have used up one of his trump cards for nothing.

Zhuxie Chixin’s expression became overcast. “What? Is this a hard question to answer?” His aura had already locked onto Zu An, as if he would immediately strike if Zu An said something wrong.

Zu An replied, “Her name is Tian Xiue.”

Just then, a figure rushed past them. How could Zhuxie Chixin not notice it? He suddenly turned around and yelled, “Show yourself!”

That person didn’t reply, and instead continued to run away.

“Bring them to Eunuch Wen! Everyone else, follow me!” Zhuxie Chixin quickly chased after the figure. Even though the guard and the maid were suspicious, there wasn’t anything too significant. It was instead that figure who had rushed past that drew his suspicion. It seemed to be a woman! Was it Yun Jianyue?

But in order to guard against the unexpected, he assigned two more Embroidered Envoys to escort the pair. Four Embroidered Envoys would no doubt be enough to deal with most situations.

Then, he brought everyone else with him to chase after the woman who had just run past them. He didn’t dare reveal any carelessness, since it might be Yun Jianyue. He also suspected that it might be the crown princess. He had to find her as soon as possible and figure out what was happening, to see if Zu An had done anything to her.

When the group left, the remaining four Embroidered Envoys escorted Zu An and the crown princess out.

The crown princess was still quite shaken up. Her eyes were full of relief when she looked toward Zu An. The very first question they asked would have already exposed her, and yet a glimmer of hope had suddenly appeared in the darkness.

Zu An wasn’t in any state to react to her right now at all. Instead, he was completely focused on controlling Daji.

The figure that had rushed past was precisely the valkyrie he had summoned, Daji!

He’d really had no other options left, so he had to use Daji to draw Zhuxie Chixin away. But Daji only had five ranks of cultivation right now. It was just too difficult for her to escape Zhuxie Chixin’s pursuit. He used the jade badge so Daji could avoid danger ahead of time, but no matter how great he was at manipulating her pursuers, the difference in strength was too great.

In the end, Daji finally couldn’t get away, and Zhuxie Chixin grabbed her shoulder.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Zhuxie Chixin roared in anger. Just as he was about to strike the other party, Daji suddenly turned around.

Zhuxie Chixin was stunned. There was actually someone this beautiful in this world?

This woman looked like the lone goddess in a world of mortals, and yet also like a devastating beauty who could bring down an entire country. He would never have imagined that these two entirely different auras could actually appear on the same woman’s body.

The other Embroidered Envoys were even more stunned. All of them felt great pity. How could they bring themselves to do anything to this woman? Even the capital’s former number one beauty Yu Yanluo probably didn’t exceed this level, right?

It was still Zhuxie Chixin who remained calm. He snapped back to reality and said, “Ma’am, who are you?”

Daji only looked at him silently without saying anything. Zhuxie Chixin felt as if he had treated this beauty a bit rudely when her eyes swept over him, and he subconsciously drew his head back.

Zu An could sense all of this. He almost burst out laughing. Zhuxie Chixin’s face was so feminine, Zu An had thought he was some transvestite or something. He hadn’t expected this man to have an appreciation for beauty.

When had he ever treated an enemy this nicely before? Wasn’t this still all because Daji was too pretty in the end?

However, Zhuxie Chixin still snapped out of his daze. “Ma’am, why did you trespass into the imperial palace?”

Daji still didn’t say anything. In reality, she didn’t have the ability to talk at all at the moment.

Zhuxie Chixin’s expression sank. “If ma’am is still unwilling to speak, then don’t blame me for being rude.”

He was someone with a firm will after all, so he immediately remembered his duty. It was just too strange for this ridiculously beautiful woman to show up out of nowhere. As such, he reached his hand toward her and planned to detain her for the time being.