Chapter 638: As If Awakening from a Dream

After Cheng Xiong led his men away, the Crown Princess turned around. Her phoenix-like eyes, which had been stern, immediately softened, and her dignified gaze became more gentle. "Are you alright, Sir Eleven?"

Zu'an's mind was still replaying her imposing aura and powerful presence from when she had just reprimanded Cheng Xiong. He thought to himself, "That was truly impressive."

Seeing her smiling at him so gently, he was momentarily taken aback.

"Sir Eleven?" Seeing him staring intently at her, the Crown Princess's face flushed slightly, and she quickly cleared her throat to prompt him.

It was strange. Zu'an had looked at her with similar eyes before, but at that time, she had found it annoying and had even reprimanded him. But now, with Sir Eleven looking at her like this, her heart immediately began to pound.

Oh, what was wrong with her?

Zu'an then snapped back to reality. "Thank you for helping me out, Crown Princess. I'm fine."

The Crown Princess was still somewhat worried. "Last time at the Imperial Hospital, you mentioned injuring your soul, and you just fought Cheng Xiong. I hope it didn't aggravate your injury?"

Zu'an chuckled. "A mere Cheng Xiong cannot harm me."

"Sir Eleven's cultivation is indeed profound, truly admirable." Seeing his confident demeanor, the Crown Princess thought to herself, "Now *this* is a man."

Zu'an cupped his hands in a salute. "I also have to thank Your Highness for the medicine you gave me the other day; otherwise, I wouldn't have recovered so quickly."

The Crown Princess's face reddened slightly. "I'm glad I could help."

After speaking, she avoided his gaze and quickly added, "You saved the Crown Prince and me before, and we haven't had a chance to thank you properly. The Crown Prince is still shaken and cannot come himself, so he specifically asked me to bring some items for you, Sir Eleven. Please do not refuse them."

She motioned with her hand, and a group of palace maids and eunuchs brought over trays laden with gold, silver, and jewels, among which were also many precious medicinal herbs.

Zu'an thought to himself that it must be difficult for her, as she was clearly angry with the Crown Prince inwardly, but still had to maintain her husband's dignity outwardly.

Seeing the gold, silver, and jewels, Zu'an did not pretend to be modest. "Many thanks for the generosity of Their Highnesses, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess!"

He was not as lofty as many protagonists in TV dramas. Money was a good thing; the more the better, the more the better.

Seeing that he accepted the gifts, the Crown Princess's anxious heart instantly settled. She had been worried he would refuse her good intentions, but now that he had accepted them, they had formed a positive connection. Although she was the noble Crown Princess, the Golden Badge Embroidered Envoy held a very special status, and gaining his friendship would greatly benefit the Crown Prince in the future.

Yes, this was her purpose in coming; there was absolutely no other reason.

She kept telling herself this, then smiled and nodded at Zu'an. It was not appropriate for someone of her status to speak too much with other men, so after the gifts were presented, she slowly departed.

Zu'an then collected all the gold, silver, and jewels into his Glazed Pearl, and promptly vanished from the spot.

Inside the room, Yun Jianyue, who had been waiting for him to enter, couldn't help but stamp her foot. "That scoundrel!"

Meanwhile, Zu'an found a secluded spot, quickly changed out of the Embroidered Envoy's attire, and then went to meet the Crown Princess's retinue.

Seeing him approach, the Crown Princess's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "Where did you go just now?"

Zu'an chuckled awkwardly. "I had a bit of an upset stomach just now, so I went to relieve myself."

The Crown Princess: "..."

Every time she saw this fellow, he was going to the toilet. Was there something wrong with his body?

And why did he have to tell her such details? How disgusting.

Compared to the cold and arrogant Sir Eleven, there was truly a world of difference.

She instinctively took a step back, as if worried she would be tainted by being too close to him. "The Crown Prince is resting today, and the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor is also recuperating. There's nothing else in the palace, so you may go back first."

Zu'an was just worrying about not being able to be in two places at once, and seeing this, he was overjoyed. "Many thanks, Crown Princess."

The Crown Princess waved her hand dismissively and left with her attendants, a look of disdain on her face.

Zu'an then quickly returned to his courtyard, where Yun Jianyue was lying on a silk ribbon suspended in mid-air, swinging back and forth, as if she had grown fond of resting there.

Although it was easy to fall off if one truly fell asleep, there was no problem resting on it while awake during the day. "Hmm, lying up here feels very stylish. I'll have to set one up like this when I return to the main headquarters."

"Sister Cult Master, you certainly have refined tastes. I was almost scared to death just now," Zu'an said, sitting down beside her with a smile and pouring a cup of tea to moisten his throat. Running back and forth was too troublesome. "It's a pity I don't know the Monkey King's hair transformation technique."

However, at this moment, while drinking tea and quietly observing the exquisite figure before him, he felt quite refreshed and content.

Yun Jianyue snorted softly. "The Crown Princess has such a good relationship with you. With her protecting you, how could anything happen to you?"

Thinking about how she had just offered to help him, only to be refused without hesitation, and then he turned around and relied on another woman, she thought, "Hmph, does this Cult Master have no dignity?"

Zu'an explained, "It's mainly because I saved her before, so she's simply returning the favor; there's no personal connection."

In front of one woman, it's best not to admit to a special relationship with another woman. This was the self-cultivation of a playboy.

Who knew this would still provoke her? Yun Jianyue abruptly sat upright, the silk ribbon tightening around her hips, making them appear even more voluptuous. "Speaking of which, it infuriates this Cult Master! If you hadn't interfered, we would have already killed the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, successfully framed Prince Qi, and wouldn't have had to confront the Emperor head-on, and this Cult Master wouldn't have been injured..."

At first, she was just speaking casually, but the more she spoke, the angrier she became.

Rage points from Yun Jianyue +555 +555 +555...

Zu'an felt like he had poked a hornet's nest, and quickly said, "Actually, I still don't quite understand your methods. The struggle between Prince Qi and the Crown Prince is currently fierce; wouldn't eliminating the Crown Prince just benefit Prince Qi? No matter how angry the Emperor gets, he wouldn't immediately take Prince Qi's life, and once he calms down afterward, he will surely notice something suspicious about this matter."

If Prince Qi ascended to power in the future, he would be far more formidable than the foolish Crown Prince, and the survival of the Demonic Cult would only become more difficult.

Yun Jianyue snorted. "You don't need to concern yourself with that; we have our own intentions."

Zu'an frowned. "But now the Emperor and others already know your identity. Your plan to frame someone has completely failed, hasn't it?"

"My identity being exposed is all because of you, isn't it?" Yun Jianyue said with annoyance. "As for the Emperor knowing my identity, so what? Who says the Holy Cult cannot pledge allegiance to Prince Qi?"

Zu'an's expression was strange. "Are all beautiful people so cunning? Prince Qi is certainly taking a huge blame this time."

Sensing her resentment towards him, Zu'an quickly said, "I already saw Honglei when I left the palace earlier and conveyed your message to her. Also, this is the hammock I bought for you."

Seeing him busy himself for her, and then remembering his life-saving grace, the anger in Yun Jianyue's heart dissipated considerably. "Is Honglei alright?"

"She's fine, just a little sad thinking that some of her companions were implicated and captured," Zu'an replied.

Yun Jianyue hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke. "It seems you're doing quite well in the palace. If possible, please help rescue the captured members of the Holy Cult. If you can't rescue them, then at least give them a quick end to spare them further torture."

Zu'an rolled his eyes. "I can barely protect myself right now; how would I have time to save others?"

Yun Jianyue said impatiently, "I told you long ago to strike first, but you didn't take it seriously."

"How was I supposed to strike first? It's easy to say," Zu'an said with some dissatisfaction.

Yun Jianyue scoffed. "Idiot, didn't the Emperor ask you to investigate who leaked the information about his absence from the palace to me? With this imperial authority, can you not deal with a mere Cheng Xiong?"

Zu'an's expression brightened. "Cheng Xiong told you? Uh, no, that's not right."

However, he immediately dismissed this guess. If Cheng Xiong were Yun Jianyue's informant, she would never have spoken like this.

Yun Jianyue smiled faintly and retorted, "Do you think the Emperor, by sending you to investigate, doesn't have a suspect in mind? And who do you think his most suspected target is?"