She could only brace herself as she said, “I woke up and heard a bit toward the end.”
Zu An didn’t expose her and gave her an explanation of what happened.
“It was actually a eunuch?” Xie Daoyun exclaimed in shock. That alone already explained many things. When she saw Zu An’s grave expression, she asked, “What does big brother Zu think?”
When he saw that she was still a bit wet, making her clothes a bit transparent, Zu An felt something stir a bit inside. He didn’t reply and soaked himself directly in the ice-cold pool. He sighed in relief.
“Big brother Zu, what’s wrong?” Xie Daoyun jumped in fright. At the same time, her heart began to pound.
I already soaked in that pool earlier, and big brother Zu is actually soaking in there now…
All sorts of wayward thoughts appeared in her head, making her flush red from ear to ear. She even wondered if that poison was flaring up again.
“I was also affected by that poison,” Zu An said with a sigh. It was only because of his higher cultivation that his resistance was a bit stronger.
“Ah!” Xie Daoyun covered her face and didn’t know what to say. She just felt that her face was scalding hot. Some scenes began to appear in her mind.
Big brother Zu should have just helped me detoxify right there, then both of us would have been fine…
Still, she quickly gathered her thoughts.
Why am I thinking such things! Big brother Zu is a true gentleman!
She took a deep breath and continued the earlier topic. “Could it be someone the crown princess sent? After all, she's the only one who knows about your return.”
Zu An shook his head and said, “It’s not her.”
“Why is big brother Zu so certain?” Xie Daoyun asked, sounding a bit surprised.
Zu An couldn't tell her that he and Bi Linglong had that kind of intimate relationship, right? He could only explain, “The crown princess doesn’t have a motive. Everyone knows that I'm someone from the Eastern Palace, her most capable subordinate. She's currently at a disadvantage in the capital and needs people to use, so why would she possibly act against me?”
“If it isn’t the crown princess, it has to be the empress’ faction. From what big brother Zu is saying, the empress’ faction is at odds with the crown princess’ faction. The emperor has already died, and the crown prince is weak intellectually. The one who seizes the advantage here will be able to seize the greatest authority. Meanwhile, the empress and crown princess all have proper reasons to aim for that authority, so of course they're bound to fight," Xie Daoyunsaid. “Since you're a capable subordinate of the crown princess, as long as the empress eliminated you, the crown princess’ side would be greatly weakened. She wouldn’t have much strength to fight back.”
Zu An shook his head and said, “It can't be the empress either.”
“Why?” Xie Daoyun replied, now feeling really confused. Zu An was so certain when he said that it wasn’t the crown princess, and he was just as certain in his rejection of the empress being the culprit.
Just where does big brother get his confidence from?
Zu An was starting to get a headache. He couldn't just say he had an affair with the empress, right? He replied, "The empress and I actually share a personal friendship. Our relationship isn’t bad, so I believe that she wouldn’t harm me.”
Xie Daoyun was quite surprised to hear that. The empress usually stayed inside and rarely left, so her presence was already so low that not even the court’s officials had seen her. Xie Daoyun hadn’t expected her to actually have a good relationship with Zu An! It seemed that the empress had already been plotting for a long time. Still, she didn’t suspect Zu An’s relationship with the empress. After all, with the empress’ status, that was too inconceivable. An ordinary person wouldn’t think of something like that.
Even though Zu An said those words to the emperor in the secret dungeon, that was likely just to provoke him in order to save us.
“Big brother Zu, even though I don't understand politics too well, I still grew up in an official’s family and know that personal relationships are never reliable. You absolutely can't act on impulse,” Xie Daoyun couldn't help but warn him.
Zu An now began to think to himself.
Don’t tell me it really is the empress?
He really couldn't imagine that fiery and passionate woman would set her hand against him. Still. his thoughts moved quickly. Their relationship was still just an exchange of interests in the end. She'd needed his transcendent aptitude blood to treat her injuries, and now that she had recovered, she naturally didn’t need him anymore.
She also lied to me back then. She said she needed many sessions to recover, and yet she's already recovered ahead of time, becoming a grandmaster at that. Who could have expected that, really…
If the empress is willing to make that kind of choice, why wouldn’t the crown princess be willing either?
The royal family was entirely different from others. The imperial clan was the most ruthless of all.
Ling’er is right. The one who understands my itinerary best is the crown princess.
Still, he didn’t let that problem bother him for too long. He didn’t care what kinds of schemes they had; he’d just end it all with a single sword slash.
“There are still a few hours before daybreak. You should get some rest first,” Zu An said to Xie Daoyun.
Xie Daoyun bit her lip. After some hesitation, she asked, “Big brother Zu, can you sleep with me?”