Chapter 571: Stunned

Zu'an was utterly bewildered. He genuinely considered it, and indeed, frogs don't wear pants when they jump. What a logical genius!

Following the sound, he saw a corpulent man by a pond, reprimanding several young eunuchs. The eunuchs were all prostrated on the ground, resembling Ouyang Feng practicing his Toad Skill. Their grim expressions, however, indicated they were clearly being forced.

The portly man had a round face, and his features suggested a lack of intelligence.

"Who is so arrogant in the inner palace?" he wondered, observing the man scold the eunuchs as if they were his grandchildren. The eunuchs merely kowtowed and begged for mercy, none daring to resist.

He carefully examined the man's attire, which was apricot yellow with faint dragon patterns. Could he be the Emperor? Zu'an immediately dismissed this notion. If the most powerful person in the world looked like a mentally challenged child, everyone else might as well commit suicide. A thought struck him. He remembered the rumors he had heard about the Crown Prince. A man who could move freely within the imperial harem, dressed in yellow robes resembling a dragon's — his identity was obvious. Chu Chuyan had mentioned on their journey that the Crown Prince's name was Zhao Ruizhi. Zu'an mused, with a name like that, it was no wonder he seemed intellectually deficient.

"Oh, that little eunuch over there, come here quickly." Just then, the Crown Prince spotted Zu'an and waved him over.

Zu'an was speechless. "I'm so tall and imposing," he thought, "how could I possibly look like a eunuch?" However, since he had nothing else to do, it wouldn't hurt to seize the opportunity to learn more about the Crown Prince. So he walked straight towards him.

The other eunuchs stared intently at him. "How dare you!" they exclaimed. "Who are you, to trespass into the imperial palace's inner court?" The Crown Prince didn't recognize the newcomer, but the eunuchs knew perfectly well that this man couldn't be one of them. Could he be an assassin? Yet, with the imperial palace teeming with masters and its defenses so tight, how could an assassin possibly gain entry? Fearing he might be the son of an invited minister, they didn't dare label him an assassin directly.

Just as Zu'an was about to explain, the portly man snapped impatiently, "Silence! Which frog can talk?" The eunuchs grimaced and quickly clamped their mouths shut. The corpulent man continued, "And where are your pants? Frogs don't wear pants, so take them all off." Zu'an chimed in, "Not only pants, but frogs don't wear any clothes at all."

The portly man was delighted, feeling as though he had found a kindred spirit. "You're right! Why didn't I think of that? Xiao Xuzi, Xiao Hezi, take off all your clothes and pants." The eunuchs cast resentful glances at Zu'an. "This fellow is really something, kicking us when we're down," they thought. "If we ever get the chance, we'll make sure to get even."

Rage points from Eunuch Xu Kun +444!Rage points from Eunuch He Te +444!From...

However, orders from above were not to be disobeyed. They knew their master was temperamental, or more accurately, he seemed to lack any concept of good or evil. Once, a companion who had clearly committed no offense was, for the Crown Prince's momentary amusement, casually ordered to be dragged away and beaten half to death by the guards. In the Crown Prince's mind, this wasn't evil; he merely wanted to test whether a stick was harder than human bones, purely for entertainment. Overall, the Crown Prince treated them reasonably well, but they had to cater to his eccentric way of thinking. Anyone who failed to be perceptive or compliant usually ended up dead.

Watching the eunuchs awkwardly begin to undress, Zu'an felt a pang of disgust. Eunuchs disrobing was an eyesore; if only they were palace maids. Strangely, only eunuchs attended the Crown Prince; there wasn't a single palace maid. As he looked around, he casually asked, "Why are you making them imitate frogs jumping?"

The corpulent man pointed to the frogs in the nearby lotus pond. "Oh, I just passed by and heard a lot of frogs croaking," he explained. "I asked them if the frogs were croaking on their own, or if they were making them croak to flatter me."

Zu'an blinked, taking a moment to differentiate between the human "they" and the amphibian "they" in the Prince's explanation. He was momentarily stunned by the peculiar workings of the man's mind. Following up, he asked, "And what did they answer?"

The corpulent man pointed to one of the slender eunuchs. "Xiao Xuzi said that in spring, these frogs hatch and then they croak." Zu'an thought, *the answer was perfectly reasonable.* To his surprise, the portly man continued, "How ridiculous! When I arrived, these frogs weren't croaking to welcome me! So, I punished Xiao Xuzi by making him croak like a frog to greet me. Unfortunately, he couldn't imitate the sound at all, so I made him jump like a frog instead."

Zu'an was speechless.

He swallowed, then looked at the other eunuchs and asked, "What about them?" The corpulent man replied, "Oh, I later asked Xiao Hezi, and he said that of course, they made the frogs croak to flatter me." Zu'an thought, *Xiao Xuzi already gave the wrong answer, so it would be foolish for the others not to change theirs.* He then asked, "Then why were they also punished?" The corpulent man answered indignantly, "I was happy at first, but then I wanted to hear the frogs' flattery again, and they couldn't make the frogs croak anymore! What is that if not lying to me?"

Zu'an was speechless.

*With all of you making such a racket here, the frogs would naturally be frightened away and wouldn't croak.* He cast a sympathetic glance at the eunuchs. To have such a master, where any answer was deemed wrong, truly made them pitiful. The eunuchs seemed to understand the sentiment in his eyes, nodding in deep empathy, thinking, "Finally, someone understands our plight." While they had initially resented his adding insult to injury, their animosity towards him significantly diminished after their eyes met.

At this moment, the corpulent man spoke again, "Oh, by the way, since you're here, you tell me: are those frogs croaking on their own, or are they deliberately flattering me?"

Zu'an was speechless.

*If I had known this, I wouldn't have spoken up earlier.* The other eunuchs each wore a schadenfreude smile. "Just you wait, smarty-pants," they thought, "you'll be taking off your clothes and jumping with us soon."

Seeing him ponder and not reply, the corpulent man grew slightly displeased. "I'm asking you a question," he said. "Are you looking down on me by not answering?"

"Of course not," Zu'an replied, glancing at the pond nearby, a confident smile playing on his lips. "These frogs are certainly croaking to flatter you."

The corpulent man was overjoyed. "Haha, I knew it!" he exclaimed. "Then can you make them flatter me a few more times so I can listen?"

The eunuchs exchanged glances, barely suppressing their laughter. They wondered where this simpleton had come from, always speaking out of turn and diverting the Crown Prince's attention. Now, they thought, let's see how he handles this.

"Alright," Zu'an said with a smile, walking to the pond's edge as if addressing the frogs. "My amphibian brethren, my friend here would like to hear a few more flattering croaks from you. Please, humor him." The eunuchs nearby all laughed. *How could this fellow be even dumber than the Crown Prince?* Of course, they only dared to think such thoughts, not voice them, but their gazes at Zu'an were no different from looking at a fool.

The corpulent man, however, seemed to have found a kindred spirit and rushed to Zu'an's side. "You can talk to frogs?" he asked excitedly.

"Just a little," Zu'an replied with a modest smile.

Xiao Xuzi, standing nearby, finally couldn't hold back. "Master," he interjected, "don't let this fellow deceive you. Who in this world can talk to frogs?" Xiao Hezi nodded in strong agreement. "Exactly, Mas..."

Before he could finish his sentence, however, frog croaks suddenly erupted from the pond. Initially sporadic, the sounds quickly grew louder and more unified, even becoming synchronized. They turned to the pond in astonishment, finding lotus leaves covered with various kinds of frogs. It seemed all the frogs in the pond had emerged, croaking in the Crown Prince's direction, their postures appearing respectful, as if bowing.