Chapter 636: Kill on Sight

Zu'an smiled sheepishly. "Eunuch, you misunderstand. I have the utmost respect for Her Majesty the Empress. How could I ever do anything to offend her?"

"Heh heh~" Eunuch Lu's expression was one of clear disdain.

Zu'an truly did not want to converse further with the old pervert. He quickly dismissed himself after a few perfunctory replies.

He quickly arrived at the side hall, where the Crown Prince was gorging himself, his mouth and hands greasy.

The Crown Princess, standing by, looked frosty. She clearly wanted to reprimand the Crown Prince but was hesitant because they were in Kunning Palace. She knew it would look bad if others saw her scolding him, so she forcibly restrained herself. However, the more she held back, the angrier she became, finally saying coldly, "Are you done eating, Crown Prince? We should go back now."

The plump Crown Prince shook his head. "Someone from the Empress's palace just said there are still many dishes to be served here. There's steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted spring chicken, roasted young goose, braised pork, braised duck, soy sauce chicken, cured meat, pine flower tripe, air-dried meat, sausages, assorted cold cuts, smoked chicken, blanched pork belly, steamed eight-treasure pork, glutinous rice-stuffed duck..."

The Crown Princess's eyelids twitched. This man could never recite more than three lines of the *Three Character Classic* on a normal day, yet he remembered all these dish names perfectly. *Were you a pig in your past life?* she thought.

As Zu'an approached, he could almost see white smoke fuming from her head.

He hesitated, wondering if approaching her now would be like walking into a firing squad.

But time was of the essence, so he couldn't afford to worry. He braced himself and went up to her: "Crown Princess."

"What is it?" the Crown Princess asked, clearly displeased.

Zu'an felt a surge of annoyance. This woman was truly fickle. *When I wore the mask, you were so gentle and lovely. How could you suddenly act like you don't know me?*

He patiently explained, "It's like this: Her Majesty the Empress just bestowed many gifts upon us. However, I wasn't in the Eastern Palace yesterday, so I feel undeserving of these items. Perhaps they should be given to someone who truly needs them."

"Someone who truly needs them?" the Crown Princess thought, *This fellow at least has some self-awareness.* "Never mind," she said aloud, "those who were meant to receive gifts have already received them. You should keep yours."

As a Crown Princess, she naturally wouldn't deprive her subordinates of their well-deserved rewards. Otherwise, the Empress would appear magnanimous, and she herself would seem like the villain.

"Oh, wait..." A thought suddenly struck her. She realized there was indeed one person who hadn't received a reward.

This realization excited her greatly. She immediately turned to the plump Crown Prince. "Crown Prince," she said, "we should go and thank Lord Gold Medal Eleven. He saved us yesterday."

Hearing her say that, Zu'an, who had been feeling anxious, breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Crown Princess was intelligent.

Precisely because she was intelligent, Zu'an, despite wanting to drag the Crown Princess directly to his residence to deal with Cheng Xiong, was wary that she might realize something later or that someone else might notice something amiss.

At this moment, he couldn't let anyone associate the identities of the Crown Prince's Retainer and Lord Gold Medal Eleven in any way.

So he could only subtly hint, allowing the Crown Princess to think of Lord Gold Medal Eleven herself. This way, there would be no issues.

The Crown Prince was enjoying his meal thoroughly. Hearing her, he waved his hand. "No, I'm not going. I haven't even finished eating."

"Eat, eat, eat! Is that all you know how to do?" The Crown Princess finally lost her patience. A look of disgust crossed her face as she watched the Crown Prince's flabby body jiggle while he spoke. "How can we not repay a life-saving favor? When His Majesty and the Junior Grand Tutor find out, they'll scold you again."

The Crown Prince shielded the food on the table with his body, as if afraid she would throw it on the ground. After all, she had done such things before in the Eastern Palace.

After successfully protecting his food, he finally let out a sigh of relief. "If we want to reward that guard, why don't we just summon him here and give him some gifts? Why do *we* have to go there personally?"

Zu'an's heart sank. What the Crown Prince said wasn't entirely unreasonable. At this time, ministers and guards were all subjects of the imperial family. There was no precedent for a master personally visiting a subordinate.

Fortunately, the Crown Princess snorted coldly. "Of course, we must express our sincerity for a life-saving favor. Moreover, as members of the imperial family, showing goodwill and winning over officials is a highly profitable endeavor."

But no matter how she tried to persuade him with emotion and reason, the Crown Prince remained unmoved. "If you want to go, go by yourself," he said.

Clearly, in his mind, a life-saving benefactor was not as important as the food.

The Crown Princess bit her lip and finally said nothing more. She waved her hand. "Let's go!"

Zu'an followed her from a distance, hearing the clinking sound of her jade pendants colliding against her dress. He secretly sighed. She must be in a bad mood now; otherwise, she wouldn't be walking so fast that her pendants clanged so fiercely.

Courtiers and members of the imperial clan traditionally wore jade pendants. Firstly, it symbolized a gentleman's uprightness, as the sound announced their presence wherever they went, preventing any suspicion of eavesdropping. Secondly, it served as an ornament and also helped to regulate the wearer's deportment. Only with a slow, unhurried, elegant gait would the jade pendants produce the most pleasant and softest sounds.

Therefore, the Crown Princess's clanging jade pendants indicated a degree of impropriety, clearly a result of being thoroughly angered by the Crown Prince.

As he mused, he quietly left the group. In a secluded spot, he quickly took out Lord Gold Medal Eleven's attire from the Glazed Pearl and swiftly changed into it. Then, he hurried towards his residence in the palace.

*I hope I make it in time!* he thought.

He silently prayed. Cheng Xiong's actions were clearly aimed at him. Perhaps at first, he would superficially investigate other Embroidered Uniform Guards as a pretense, but before long, he would surely head straight for Zu'an's residence.

Sure enough, by the time Zu'an arrived, Cheng Xiong was already there with a large contingent of imperial guards, surrounding the courtyard.

Cheng Xiong was saying, "Lord Eleven, we are conducting a routine search. If you don't respond, I will bring my men inside."

After speaking, seeing no movement inside, his lips curved slightly upwards. He then instructed his subordinates, "Since Lord Eleven isn't present, go ahead and open the door."

Zu'an noticed two specially dressed individuals among the guards. They looked less like guards and more like researchers from a library. A thought struck him: these must be rune masters. They were skilled in carving rune formations, which could serve many unexpected purposes.

The defensive rune formations for these palace residences were made by them, so they could naturally open them.

Seeing the two about to break the formation, Zu'an snorted coldly and stepped out directly. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

Seeing him arrive, a sinister smile flickered across Cheng Xiong's face before he feigned an apologetic expression. "Lord Eleven, you've returned just in time. It saves us the trouble of breaking in. We are currently investigating the uniforms issued to the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Please present your uniform for inspection."

Zu'an sneered, "Nonsense! What right do you have to inspect the Embroidered Uniform Guards? You tell me to hand it over, and I hand it over? Who do you think you are?"

Cheng Xiong's breath caught. He hadn't expected this fellow to not even bother with pretenses.

Rage points from Cheng Xiong +888!

*In that case, don't blame me for being impolite.*

Cheng Xiong's face instantly turned cold. "According to reports from the palace guards, an assassin disguised in an Embroidered Uniform Guard's attire slipped out of the palace yesterday. Therefore, today we are thoroughly investigating the uniform usage of all Embroidered Uniform Guards who were in the palace yesterday."

Zu'an directly interrupted, "Ridiculous! If the palace gate guards discovered it was an assassin, why didn't they capture them on the spot? Why wait until afterwards to report it? I have every reason to suspect you are trying to frame me."

Having risen to his position, Cheng Xiong was naturally a man of firm resolve. He immediately retorted, "As the saying goes, 'The clear will clear themselves, and the turbid will muddy themselves.' Lord Eleven, if you truly have a clear conscience, why not let us investigate? It would conveniently silence any rumors."

Zu'an sneered, "What kind of logic is that? You just throw a pot of shit on me and expect me to prove my innocence? Well, I say you ate two bowls of shit this morning. Why don't you cut open your stomach and pull it out for everyone to see that it's not shit to prove your innocence?"

The surrounding guards struggled to suppress their laughter. They wanted to laugh but dared not, which was truly uncomfortable.

"Scoundrel!" Cheng Xiong roared in fury.

Rage points from Cheng Xiong +999!

"Men, seize this wretch! If he resists, kill him on sight!" He had completely decided to kill Zu'an, and there was even a glint of excitement in his eyes. He now had the moral high ground of an investigation, and his suspicions were seemingly well-founded. If this fellow resisted, he could claim Zu'an was resisting due to his guilt being exposed, making his killing entirely justifiable. Afterwards, not even Zhuxie Chixin would be able to say anything.