Chapter 422: Forgiving Hat

An emperor, unlike most people, often cannot act solely on personal preference.

With his unparalleled power as the strongest in the realm and his status as emperor, it would have been quite easy for him to eliminate the Chu family and reclaim their salt and iron wealth. Yet, he still sent Sang Hong to orchestrate various schemes, dismantling the Chu family from within and uniting other families against them. Ultimately, it was all about finding a legitimate reason.

With such a legitimate reason, even if it couldn't fool the discerning individuals in the court, it could convince the general populace. This is an unwritten rule of the imperial court.

Otherwise, if everyone questioned the legitimacy of your actions, the very foundation of the dynasty's rule would be shaken.

While you might be powerful enough to suppress everything, what about your descendants? How would the nation function in the future?

Sang Hong was utterly bewildered. Based on his understanding of the emperor, His Majesty would never act so foolishly and impulsively, inviting endless criticism. Otherwise, there would have been no need to specifically send him to Brightmoon City.

After much deliberation, only one explanation emerged: Zu An was incredibly important to the emperor—more important than the Chu family, and even more important than anything Sang Hong could imagine—so much so that it caused His Majesty to lose his composure.

"What exactly did this fellow steal from His Majesty?" Initially, he scoffed at the reason provided by Prince Liang, but now he was beginning to believe it.

Beside him, Sang Qian was already wide-eyed with astonishment. He finally understood why his father was so afraid of those Embroidered Uniform Guards, even though each of them appeared to be only fifth or sixth rank.

However, he quickly reacted, exclaiming joyfully, "Doesn't that work in our favor? With the emperor's attention entirely on Zu An now, perhaps he won't punish us too severely?"

Sang Hong offered a wry smile. "If only it were that simple. The one who truly wants us dead has never been the emperor..."

Sang Qian paused, then quickly pressed for details, but Sang Hong no longer answered him. He merely wore a worried expression, deep in thought, clearly knowing that telling his son would not only be useless but would also cause him to mentally collapse.

In another prison cart, Zheng Dan overheard their conversation. Her slender fingers tightly gripped the bars, and her brow was furrowed with worry. "Ah Zu..."

Hidden on the other side of the city, Zu An's face was also extremely pale. The contents of the imperial decree, which had just appeared in the air for the entire city to see, did not surprise him.

Recalling the emperor's fleeting display of oppressive power, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness. Against such an absolute disparity in strength, strategy offered little help; he couldn't see any way out.

At this moment, Mi Li, who was beside him, couldn't help but sigh. "What am I supposed to say about you, you fool? Why do you always manage to court death and provoke all sorts of powerful individuals?"

She pondered how many times this had happened since their soul contract.

This fellow's cultivation wasn't high, yet every time he provoked enemies far stronger than himself.

"Empress Sister, can you defeat this emperor?" Zu An asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.

Mi Li rolled her eyes. "You provoked this enemy; why are you asking me if I can defeat him?"

Zu An replied, "Aren't we like two grasshoppers tied to the same rope now? If I die, you won't fare much better."

Mi Li snorted. "If I were in my prime, I wouldn't be without the power to fight. But as for now, don't even think about it. There's no saving you; just wait for death."

Zu An was speechless.

"Sister, do you have to be so blunt?"

Mi Li seemed a little curious. "Come to think of it, you weren't this scared when you faced me. Is it because I'm beautiful and not intimidating enough?"

Zu An couldn't help but retort, "How can that be the same? Back then, I had the rich lady's happy ball, so I didn't need to fear women no matter how high their cultivation. But facing the Great Zhou Emperor, that clearly won't work."

Mi Li clearly had no interest in getting to the bottom of it. "Actually, you don't need to worry so much. At worst, just find a deep mountain to hide in. This world is vast; they might not even find you. Then, diligently cultivate your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and Primordial Chaos Origin Sutra. One day, you won't need to fear that emperor."

Zu An's eyes lit up. "How long would it take to cultivate to that level?"

Mi Li glanced at him. "With your current aptitude, and with my guidance, it would take around eight hundred years at a slow pace, or five hundred years if you're quick."

Zu An was speechless.

Never mind if he could live that long; even if he could, what meaning would life have hiding in the deep mountains for centuries?

Mi Li yawned and stretched lazily. "This empress is tired; I'm going back to sleep. Take care of yourself."

After speaking, her form dissipated.

Zu An had to admit that when a person was beautiful, even a casual movement was captivating. "But Sister," he thought, "can't you be a little less irresponsible? Just leaving like that?"

Couldn't you at least comfort my wounded little heart a bit more?

Even if you can't defeat the emperor, a loving hug for encouragement would have been nice.

Complaining aside, he still had to come up with a solution himself.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He brought up the keyboard backend system and saw that he still had some Rage points left.

No other choice, he could only try his luck!

Zu An quickly found a basin to wash his face and hands. He even took out incense sticks and candles from his Glazed Pearl and lit them. Then he took out several vessels and placed an ox head, a lamb head, and a pig head on them—he had always felt that his prayers weren't solemn enough, so once he had the means, he bought a large number of such items to store. The inside of the Glazed Pearl was a vacuum, so he didn't fear them spoiling.

After a flurry of activity, he quickly set up an offering table.

Zu An prayed for a while, then began the lottery draw.

"Thank you for participating... Thank you for participating... Vitality Fruit... Thank you for participating... Vitality Fruit..."

Seeing these results, Zu An secretly clenched his fists.

In truth, for him now, a single Vitality Fruit wasn't much different from "Thank you for participating"; for the astronomical numbers required for him to level up, they were all drops in the ocean.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. The lottery cursor spun continuously and finally landed on the "M" key.

He noticed that the keyboard's virtual screen displayed a hat. Its design was very ordinary, no different from those seen daily, but its most significant difference was its color.

It was entirely green!

And it was a brilliant, sparkling green. As if it noticed someone watching it, green light flowed across its surface, finally gathering at a single point like a shining star.

Zu An was utterly bewildered. "What is this thing? It feels quite similar to the one I gave Sang Qian earlier."

However, since it came from the system, it surely wouldn't be that simple.

He quickly looked at the description below.

"Congratulations! You've drawn the 'Forgiveness Hat'!"

Forgiveness Hat Description: "Spring has arrived, and all things are reviving; what should be green and what shouldn't are all green. To get by in life, you always need a little green on your head. If one day you learn the cruel truth, what should you do? Of course, forgive them!"

Usage Instructions: "One-time use. Place this item on the target, and they will forgive you, no matter what mistake you've made."

Zu An was speechless.

He almost burst out laughing. "Such a ridiculous item, too? I'm beginning to suspect the creator of this system has a twisted sense of humor."

He felt a headache coming on. When he put a hat on someone, he never had to worry about whether they would forgive him; the function of this item seemed a bit useless.

"Wait," he mused, "what if I..."

As he was deep in thought, a faint voice suddenly echoed in his ear: "So this is your trump card."

Zu An jumped in surprise and quickly looked back, finding Mi Li sitting on the nearby offering table, her fingers gently stroking the incense and other items on the table, her long legs casually swinging in the air.

"Empress Sister, weren't you sleeping?" Zu An's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked.

A mysterious smile appeared on Mi Li's face. "Don't easily trust women, especially beautiful women like me."