The black-clad individual up ahead had already removed his mask. Who else could it be but Eunuch Lu?

All of his clothes were in tatters, and there was quite a bit of blood on his body too. He was in a haggard state. His cultivation was already extremely high, so he always completed his missions easily. When was the last time he had experienced something like this?

Eunuch Lu wiped away the blood from the corner of his lips, saying, “Sigh, I ran into a mysterious expert in Ma An’s place just now.”

“What happened?” The empress also got rid of her playful expression. She sat up from her seat, her beautiful eyes becoming sharp.

Eunuch Lu said, “I sneaked into the imperial hospital, but Ma An wasn’t in his bed. A mysterious expert suddenly attacked me while I was searching his room…”

There was a big black cat lying on a distant window. Its tail curled up lazily.

Outside of the Palace of Peace, Zu An’s eyes widened. The empress had wanted to kill Ma An after all! But why?

Inside, the empress frowned. “His cultivation was higher than yours? But after Old Mi and Wei Dan, those two old things, passed on, when has anyone this powerful been inside of the imperial palace?”

Eunuch Lu became upset. “That person’s cultivation wasn’t necessarily higher than mine, and I could sense that his use of power and his understanding of his cultivation realm weren’t steady. However, his body was incredibly tough. I didn’t want to use elemental skills out of fear of alarming the emperor, so that was why I ended up at a disadvantage.”

The empress gave him a look. “A loss is a loss; when did you start making so many excuses?”

Eunuch Lu’s expression became serious. “Your highness is correct.”

“You weren’t followed, right?” The empress suddenly got up from her seat and walked over to the windowside. She sighed in relief when she saw that there was no strange activity.

Eunuch Lu said, “Your highness, please feel at ease. With my movement technique, only someone with Old Mi’s Sunflower Phantasm would have a chance of catching up to me, and Old Mi is already dead. Furthermore, the Palace of Peace’s defenses have been upgraded. We would know immediately if someone followed me here.”

The empress nodded. Then, she picked up the big black cat by the neck and took it into her embrace. “You little brat, are you messing around with those female cats again? Your life seems to be even better than that of the one living in this palace.”

Eunuch Lu didn’t dare to say anything when he sensed the deep resentment in her voice. It was all his fault for making that decision impulsively back then. Now, he didn’t even have the confidence to console her.

“Meow~” The big black cat struggled for a bit, but it then calmed down, enjoying the gentle stroking of the empress’ long fingers.

Zu An had a weird expression on his face. He had already experienced them himself last time, but he was still amazed. They really are soft… and big.

The empress carried the black cat back into the room. She asked, “Did you obtain any information from fighting against that person?”

Eunuch Lu gave the big, comfortable black cat a look of jealousy. He thought to himself, I bore the burden and worked tirelessly all these years and never enjoyed something like this, yet a brute like you ended up enjoying this first. “That person’s moves were varied and mixed; I couldn't tell where he was from. The only impression I had was that his body was extremely hard.”

“His body is hard?” The empress suddenly chuckled. “If you say it like that, there is someone that comes to mind.”

Eunuch Lu obviously knew who she was talking about when he saw the blush on her face. He was about to explode out of jealousy and anger.

You have successfully trolled Eunuch Lu for +233 +233 +233…

The empress was just making a joke; she obviously didn’t think that Zu An could leave Eunuch Lu in such a sorry state. She sighed and said, “Things are tricky now. I didn’t expect there to be another power after Ma An. There’s no way of knowing if he’s still alive or already dead.”

Eunuch Lu said, “I believe he’s already finished, if someone like that was hiding in his room. Your highness doesn’t need to worry.”

“I hope that’s the case.” The empress said, “Pay close attention to the imperial hospital in the following days. Report to me immediately if there is any news.”

“Understood!” Eunuch Lu bowed. “Your highness, even though I don’t know who that mysterious person is, this is still a good thing for us. Now that someone else has helped us deal with him, your highness doesn’t have to worry about that matter being exposed.”

The empress sighed. “If I knew Zu An’s blood essence could help me recover, why would I have asked you to get that medicine from Ma An? I was worried that he might instead fall out with us with that piece of information in his hands.”

Outside, Zu An felt a huge headache. Even though she hadn’t gotten into any details, he could already deduce the truth.

When he and the crown princess had had that scandal and he was locked up in the imperial prison, there was someone who had suddenly poisoned his food. He couldn't find the one who had done that, and he had been wondering why the other party would use a medicine that wasn’t lethal, but rather one that attacked the mind.

Now, everything was clear. Because of the matter between him and the empress, she was worried that he would blackmail her, so she wanted to get rid of him. But she was worried that he had backup outside, that if he died, then someone would immediately announce their secret. That was why when she met with Chu Chuyan, she had agreed on the surface, but she had actually used this chance to get rid of him.

This woman really is vicious! Zu An clicked his tongue. He had even saved her before, and the reason they had even touched each other was also because of that day. He hadn’t expected her to suddenly turn on him like this.

Eunuch Lu spoke up again. “Your highness is thinking too much. Once your highness uses him a few more times and recovers, he will lose his value. Furthermore, there’s no way he would know about this matter. Even if he does, at this time, it doesn’t matter. Unless… Your highness really has developed feelings for him?”

“Feelings?” The empress sneered. “Stop trying to test me like this. Indeed, I like his young and strong body, but he’s nothing more than that. In this life of mine, I had some feelings for you when I was young and didn’t know anything. Unfortunately, all sorts of things happened and I learned that things like feelings are the most useless things in the world. I don’t need love. I didn’t need it before, and I won’t need it in the future.”

Eunuch Lu became excited when he heard that he was the only man she’d had feelings for. Suddenly, he didn’t feel that all of these years of work had been in vain. “After hearing your highness say that, it would be worth it even if I died right now. Your highness, don; worry. I’ll do my utmost to help you accomplish your dream.”

…

Zu An silently left. He didn’t feel anything within him, because he only enjoyed the empress for her body. He didn’t feel anything for her. He had felt a bit embarrassed about that before, but now, he instead felt relief. This sort of woman was only worth playing around with. Both parties would only take what they needed.

Mi Li’s voice sneered in his ear, “A whore and a dog really are a good match.”

Zu An was speechless. “Who’s a dog?”

Mi Li’s figure appeared, a look of delight on her face. “It’s fine for this kind of thing to happen. Otherwise, you might really start thinking you could get any girl in the world just because you’re talented, even if you were actually just a boy toy for them.”

Zu An asked resentfully, “Are all you empresses so cold-hearted?”

Mi Li became furious. “You dare compare this empress with that slut?!”

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +444 +444 +444…

Zu An laughed when he saw her strong reaction. “I knew you were different.”

Mi Li’s expression became a bit unnatural. “What kind of nonsense are you saying? It was just something interesting to watch before I fell asleep.” She disappeared promptly.

Zu An was already used to her slipping in and out like this. He continued to smile.

…

Over the next few days, Ma An’s mysterious disappearance sparked quite the commotion in the palace. The emperor even specially put the Embroidered Envoy in charge of investigating this case.

However, they couldn't find any leads after looking around. The Embroidered Envoy might have invested more resources into the investigation, but the crown prince’s test was coming up. Both the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin were thinking about that matter, so the disappearance of a trifling commissioner assistant naturally paled in comparison.

Zu An’s days were rather leisurely in that time. The Eastern Palace had given him a vacation, so he usually spent his time resting at home. His little sister-in-law Chu Youzhao visited him from time to time and gave him some stuff because of what Chu Chuyan had told her before she left. She even took him around for sightseeing.

Zu An was bored, so he took the chance to familiarize himself with the capital’s surroundings. Chu Youzhao was young and lively, and together with the inseparable Murong Qinghe, having those two young beauties accompany him was also a happy thing.

Because of what had happened, Murong Qinghe completely changed her attitude, to the extent that she was deliberately currying favor with Zu An. He wasn’t sure if it was because he had helped her clan brother out in prison, or if it was because she wanted to get along with her future brother-in-law. But the amount of effort she put in made Zu An feel a bit embarrassed. Seeing how nice the little girl was being, he also asked for a favor from the crown princess.

The crown princess had originally planned to use Murong Luo to involve King Qi, but that didn’t bear many results. As such, she did this favor for Zu An and let Murong Luo go, making Murong Qinhe behave more and more sweetly toward him.

However, their period of leisure was destined to end. The crown prince’s examination was drawing closer and closer. The crown princess called Zu An back to discuss the matter of the exam.