Zu An didn’t say anything as he used the jade badge to control the smaller creatures around him and check his surroundings. Unfortunately, many of the smaller creatures had been scared off when their group stormed over. There were some insects, but he couldn’t see much through their eyes.

After some hesitation, he called out to Mi Li. “Big sis empress, help me look around to see who’s spying on me.”

Mi Li said lazily, “I’m sleeping; figure it out yourself.”

Zu An was speechless. This woman really needs to be taught a good lesson! Even though he knew she didn’t want him to rely on her too much, as that would affect his cultivation, there were times when he really wanted to give her a good whacking. What am I going to whack her with? Do you even need to ask?

“Be on your guard! Investigate the surroundings,” Zu An warned while taking the lead. Unfortunately, even though he moved quickly, he didn’t detect anything in the surroundings

He smelled a vague, faint fragrance, but he wasn’t sure whether it just came from some flowers in the fields. Even though the scent felt familiar for some reason, he couldn’t recall just where he had smelled it.

“Leader, what’s wrong?” Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth asked as they ran over. They hadn’t found anything from their search either.

“I feel as if someone was following me,” Zu An replied while thinking to himself.

“That can’t be, right? Who would dare go against the Embroidered Envoy? Let alone when we’re still in the capital’s domain?” The two of them couldn’t believe such a thing.

Zu An laughed in self-mockery. The Embroidered Envoy must have gotten so used to being high and mighty that they had developed a crazy sense of self-confidence. The same thing had happened when Huang Huihong had escorted him to the capital, but look at him now. Weeds were already growing all over his grave.

However, he remained silent and ordered them to remain vigilant. Then, he returned to the capital with a group of people. Even though it was already night and the city gates were closed, Embroidered Envoys had special status. After their waist tokens were inspected, the soldiers still opened up a small side door to let them in.

Zu An no longer felt that sensation of being watched at any point on the way back. He shook his head. Was he really so tense that he had become a bit paranoid?

He decided to go back to the Embroidery House first and saw Xiao Jianren flipping through all sorts of information in their database. As they hadn’t really gotten any results, he ordered everyone to go home and rest first, and then continue the investigation tomorrow.

Xiao Jianren voiced his understanding, but his eyes were still darting to the files on the table. His mind was clearly still on those files.

Zu An chuckled inwardly. This fellow really was a workaholic. I’m sure those 996 capitalists would love to have this type of worker.[1]

When he left the Embroidery House, Zu An thought to himself that it had been a long time since he had returned to his home. Thus, he left the palace and headed home first.

But when he reached a nearby alley, he suddenly frowned. He sensed that someone was hiding ahead. Was the spy finally going to be unmasked?

Zu An walked over calmly. At the same time, he was confused. Could it be that this person knows I have something to do with Golden Token Eleven? That shouldn’t be the case, right? Then why is this person waiting to ambush me?

When he felt he was close enough, Zu An suddenly attacked, grabbing the person’s shoulder. Huh? It feels like a normal person…?

“Ah!” came a suppressed scream. However, when the person saw that it was Zu An, his shout came to a halt with a grunt. “So it was Sir Zu; you finally came back.”

“Little Zhuo?” Zu An asked, startled. This was the lesser eunuch from the Palace of Peace. The assassin attack previously had caused them to lose a lot of eunuchs, so both he and Little Gui had been promoted. He continued, “What are you doing here so late at night?” The other party wasn’t wearing his eunuch uniform, so he looked just like an ordinary commoner.

Little Zhuo replied, “I was waiting for Sir Zu, of course, but you didn’t return for a long time.”

“Why were you looking for me?” Zu An asked out of curiosity.

“The empress told me to pass on a message. She has invited sir to inspect a treasure,” Little Zhuo replied somewhat vacantly. He didn’t know why the empress would ask for Sir Zu. However, he sensibly chose not to think too much about it. In the palace, the less you knew, the better.

Zu An almost burst out laughing. That empress had been left in a drought for so long she had ended up getting hooked.

Mi Li suddenly said, “That Liu Ning really is the shame of all empresses. Utterly disgraceful.”

Zu An smiled, amused. He said through ki transmission, “Didn’t you say she was going to use me to recover from her injuries? It might not be as bad as you made it sound.”

“She needs treatment, but looking for you so frequently clearly means she has other needs as well.” Mi Li harrumphed. This fella is like a freaking donkey! No wonder Liu Ning, that vixen, couldn’t forget the taste after experiencing it once.

Zu An chuckled when he sensed her resentment. He told Little Zhuo, “I’ll have to trouble you to report to the empress that there’s no need to inspect the treasure. Perhaps another day.”

Little Zhuo panicked and asked, “How can we subjects refuse the orders of an empress?”

Zu An said with a smile, “Don’t worry, you only need to deliver my words to her. She won’t blame you.” Little Zhuo couldn’t convince him, so he could only leave nervously.

Mi Li asked curiously, “Why aren’t you following him back? Even though that vixen is a bit of a slut, she’s decent looking. Furthermore, I’m sure that sleeping with her feels incredible.”

Zu An gave her a warm look. “Since you don’t like it, I won’t go. I’ll stay here with you instead.”

Mi Li’s fair cheeks quickly reddened. “Get lost! Who wants your company? I’m going to go cultivate!” She harrumphed and disappeared into a wisp of smoke.

Even though this woman was normally fierce, Zu An had already learned how to deal with her from being around her for a while. As for why he had refused Liu Ning, the main reason was that he didn’t want to turn into the empress’ tool. He understood the reasoning behind pushing and pulling.

He had researched too much in the field of green tea and sea king in his past world, so how could he let Liu Ning seize the advantage?[2] He had managed to curry some favor from Mi Li as well.

At this point, he was even starting to look down on himself. He had once condemned all those sea kings and green tea bitches with righteous indignation in the past, but wasn’t he having a great time doing the same thing right now?

When he returned home, Zu An noticed that the building was brightly lit. He rushed inside happily, and sure enough, a stunning, icy-blue figure was standing there. He couldn’t help but pounce on her, and then he began to shower her with kisses.

Chu Chuyan jumped in fright. But when she saw who it was, her body softened up and subconsciously welcomed him. The two of them embraced each other for a while longer. She suddenly remembered something, and then her face reddened. She pushed Zu An away and said charmingly, “There’s someone else here…”

Zu An turned around. Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were staring at the two of them with stupefied expressions. Chu Youzhao’s fair skin was completely red, while Murong Qinghe had healthy tanned skin. The two of them really did look like a good match.

Zu An gave Chu Chuyan an upset look and said, “Why do you always have these third wheels wherever you go?”

Chu Youzhao had been happy to see Zu An, but she immediately became unhappy when she heard his words. “Third wheel? You should thank me for helping you, or else big sis would have been stolen by another man already!”

Murong QInghe tugged on her sleeves. “It’s not like that at all. My brother was just enthusiastic; he doesn’t have any other intentions.”

When she saw Chu Chuyan act like a pampered little girl in front of Zu An, then compared it to how cold and aloof she was in front of Murong Luo, she sighed inside. She had to tell her clan brother to give up; there was no hope at all.

Zu An obviously knew that they were talking about Murong Luo. However, with his current status, there shouldn’t be any reason for him to know what had happened in that building, so he didn’t say anything. Either way, an ant like Murong Luo would never affect his relationship with Chuyan.

Just then, he noticed that there were many cases in the house, and he was surprised. “Did someone bring gifts?”

Chu Chuyan gave Murong Qinghe a look. The little girl pursed her lips and said, “Big brother Zu, I was the one who brought these gifts this time. I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

Then, she explained why she had come over. When the Embroidered Envoys had left, Murong Luo had sighed in relief. But soon afterward, some vicious soldiers had seized him. He seemed to have been implicated in the crown princess’ case. Sir Eleven had expressed his friendship with Zu An previously. Furthermore, Zu An was now the Eastern Palace’s chamberlain, so Murong Qinghe had figured that he could save her brother.

“So that was what it was.” Zu An looked at the little lioness with an ambiguous smile. He shook his head and said, “No way.”

1. A derogatory term for labor in China. It refers to working from 9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week.

2. A ‘green tea bitch’ is a girl who looks prim and proper, but is a crazy bitch. A ‘sea king’ is a playboy.