Chapter 904: Listening to You Is Better Than Listening to Anyone Else

Yu Nan and the others collectively frowned. As core figures within Prince Qi's faction, while they might not have known the precise details of his plan for the secret realm, they were certainly aware of the immense effort he had invested. Now, with everything having gone to waste, they suspected it was all because of Zu An.

He was clearly the Emperor and Crown Prince's lackey, so why invite him?

However, Prince Qi's prestige had always been high, and although they were puzzled, they wouldn't openly object on the spot.

Zu An inwardly smirked, thinking the fish seemed to have taken the bait. On the surface, however, he feigned a troubled expression. "There's no need for a meal," he said. "I still have an investigation to conduct."

Prince Qi smiled faintly. "You can ask me directly about many aspects of the case. After all, I'm the most familiar with it in the entire manor. We can discuss it slowly during the meal later."

He had believed the masters he arranged in the secret realm were foolproof. To guard against any contingencies, he had even sent in his four Grand Envoys, ensuring significant redundancy. Yet, it had still failed, baffling him completely. Zu An, he realized, must be privy to what happened.

Furthermore, this failure was too devastating. It shifted his previously neck-and-neck struggle with the Emperor into a strategically passive position. Despite having numerous talented individuals under his command, he couldn't find a way to reverse the situation in the short term. Zu An, on the other hand, seemed like a variable. If Prince Qi could obtain his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and elevate his own power, he might be able to turn the tide.

Hearing this, Zu An reluctantly agreed. "Since the Prince is so insistent, then I suppose I'll stay for a meal."

His guards, who had been on edge, blinked in surprise. A potential conflict had been resolved just like that? And Prince Qi was being so courteous to him?

Yu Nan and the others nearby nearly choked. The audacity of this fellow, still pretending to be unwilling, was truly infuriating.

Rage points from Yu Nan +333!

Rage points from Lian Yu +333!

Rage points from Zhao Xiao +333!

...

Prince Qi, being more composed, showed no significant emotional fluctuations and gestured for everyone to proceed.

Soon, Zu An, Yu Nan, and the others followed him deeper into the Prince's manor.

As for Zu An's subordinates, Han Fengqiu led them away to be entertained.

Along the way, Zu An asked many questions about Prince Qi's concubine, and Prince Qi answered each one with great patience. Even Zu An was impressed by his accommodating demeanor.

It wasn't until they were seated at the banquet that Zu An came to his senses. Although Prince Qi had answered many questions, there was no useful information whatsoever. It was truly a case of "listening to a prince's words is better than listening to a prince's words"—his skill in speaking volumes without saying anything impressed Zu An greatly.

At that moment, Princess Consort Qi also emerged, surrounded by maids. A smile appeared on her face when she saw Princess Changshan and Lian Yu's wife, but it immediately froze as her gaze fell upon Zu An.

Rage points from Bi Shan +458!

Evidently, she still harbored resentment over Zu An injuring her son previously.

She quickly looked at Prince Qi, whose lips moved slightly, clearly transmitting a private message with his vital energy. Her expression then softened slightly, and she sat down in her seat without a single glance at Zu An.

At this point, Yu Nan spoke with a smile, "Princess Consort, your birthday is approaching soon. How do you plan to celebrate it?"

This was the main reason they had come today.

Princess Consort Qi shook her head. "It's a turbulent time, and someone has just died in the manor. It's not suitable to hold a birthday banquet or anything of that sort right now."

Yu Nan and the others fell silent. While she ostensibly referred to the concubine who had recently passed away, she was likely alluding to the warriors who sacrificed themselves in the secret realm. Given the Prince Qi manor's recent devastating defeat, it was indeed inappropriate to have overly joyous celebrations.

"The Princess Consort truly possesses a kind heart," everyone praised. The conversation then subtly shifted to the recent expedition to the secret realm.

Lian Yu looked up at Zu An and asked, "Lord Zu, you rendered great service in the secret realm this time. Could you tell us what exactly happened there?"

Prince Qi nodded subtly, acknowledging that Lian Yu was indeed much sharper, saving him from having to ask directly.

"I merely eliminated some ill-intentioned individuals; it's hardly a great feat, not worth mentioning, really," Zu An said, though the smugness on his face was impossible to hide.

"A small-minded person getting his way!" several people in the room cursed inwardly.

Rage points +444 +444 +444...

Lian Yu forced a smile and said, "Lord Zu, you jest. To be personally ennobled by the Emperor as the 'Green Hat Marquis,' how could that be an ordinary achievement?"

At the mention of "Green Hat," Zu An's face twitched. He thought it would have been better not to have achieved any merit. "You are all important ministers of the court; surely, you already know what happened in the secret realm. Why bother asking me again?"

Prince Qi then spoke up, "Looking at those written reports is ultimately not as convincing as hearing it from someone who was actually there. There might be details missing from those reports. We hope Lord Zu can satisfy our curiosity."

"Unfortunately, I've been busy with the investigation recently, particularly struggling with the autopsy of the concubine. As a result, many details from the secret realm have become a bit muddled in my memory," Zu An replied, clutching his head as if in pain.

Yu Nan's expression changed dramatically. "How dare you threaten Prince Qi with this?"

Prince Qi quickly raised a hand to stop him. "Brother-in-law, you're exaggerating. Lord Zu is currently carrying out an imperial decree. Everyone knows my imperial brother's temperament; serving him means always putting one's head on the line. It's understandable for Lord Zu to be anxious. How about this: if Lord Zu tells us in detail what happened in the secret realm, I will consider granting you permission for the autopsy."

The expressions of the others slightly changed, but he stopped them with a raised hand before they could speak further.

Zu An glanced at Yu Nan, inwardly sneering. These pampered children of aristocratic families, born with silver spoons in their mouths, truly lacked resilience.

In contrast, Prince Qi was far more calculating. Zu An had just thwarted his grand scheme, years in the making, yet Prince Qi wasn't acting on emotion. Instead, he was leveraging the situation to sow discord between Zu An and the Emperor while also trying to win Zu An over. No wonder he was such a formidable threat to the Emperor.

"Since the Prince wishes to hear, how could I refuse?" Zu An immediately changed his demeanor and slowly recounted the events in the secret realm.

After listening, Prince Qi's expression was peculiar. The other party had indeed revealed many details not included in the previous reports, yet he still made no mention of Lu Xiao and his group.

It was as if he had listened to Zu An for a long time and gained nothing. Zu An had just given him a lesson on the road, and he was already applying it effectively.

After finishing his account, Zu An inquired, "May I know when I can examine the concubine's remains?"

Prince Qi smiled. "I merely said I would consider it. But after some consideration, I feel such a matter does not conform to royal etiquette. It would still require the Emperor's decision. If he issues an edict, then Lord Zu may proceed with the examination."

Zu An rolled his eyes. Prince Qi had said nothing useful. How could the Emperor possibly issue an edict for such a thing? The elders of the imperial clan would surely jump out and criticize it, one by one. Moreover, the Emperor was currently avoiding a complete fallout with Prince Qi and would certainly not break ties over something like this.

Seeing the atmosphere in the room grow tense, Princess Consort Qi remembered her duty and decided to shift to a lighter topic. "Everyone, don't just chat; please start eating. This roasted suckling pig won't taste good if it gets cold. Oh, Yu Nan, why did you only try one piece and stop eating? Is there something wrong with the dish? I can have the chef improve it next time."

Yu Nan shook his head. "The chefs in the Prince's manor have perfected their techniques. The problem lies with the ingredients."

"Oh, but the ingredients for this dish are carefully selected suckling pigs, just one month old. There shouldn't be any problem," Princess Consort Qi asked, puzzled.

Yu Nan poked the roasted suckling pig in front of him with his chopsticks. "A piglet like this doesn't truly deserve the 'suckling' designation. A genuine suckling pig must be fed human milk from birth, then slaughtered after exactly one month. Its meat is most tender at that time, and only then does the name 'suckling pig' truly fit."

Zu An frowned. "Who would ever feed pigs human milk?"

Yu Nan said indifferently, "It's normal for Lord Zu, coming from a small place like Brightmoon City, not to have seen such things. In my manor, I keep over a dozen wet nurses specifically for feeding suckling pigs. I'll send one to Lord Zu another day."

Zu An's expression changed drastically. To think there were people in the world capable of such extreme extravagance, completely disregarding the wet nurses as human beings!

Not just him, even Prince Qi and his retinue frowned.

Lian Yu couldn't help but say, "You're going too far with this. Such luxury and wastefulness will surely invite scrutiny from officials in the imperial court."

Yu Nan scoffed, "What's wrong with spending my own money? I can't be as stingy as you. Don't think I don't know that back then, when Lord Wang heard your peach tree bore sweet fruit and asked you for some to taste, you worried he'd take your peaches and plant them himself. So you deliberately pierced the pit of every single peach you gave him with a needle... Hmph, you might not care about appearances, but our Yu family does! To do something like that!"

Zu An couldn't help but glance at Lian Yu, only then noticing that while his clothes were appropriate, some less obvious areas seemed to have been washed so often they were turning pale. Even his wife's jewelry was noticeably less elaborate than that of Princess Changshan and Princess Consort Qi.

It was known that his wife was a young lady of the Yu family before marriage; how could she possibly lack jewelry?

Who would have thought that someone with such prominent features would be like this?

Lian Yu's face flushed red, and he retorted angrily, "Lord Wang asked me for peaches, he didn't say he wanted to take them back to plant! What was wrong with me giving him peaches?"

Yu Nan chuckled. "Your frugality and stinginess have nothing to do with me, but don't make my sister suffer with you."

Zu An had been a little puzzled as to why these two were bickering in front of him. It turned out the elder brother had always doted on his younger sister and looked down on his brother-in-law, while the brother-in-law had always disdained the elder brother's behavior. Thus, some friction between them was inevitable.

Seeing that the two were about to start a full argument, Princess Consort Qi and Lady Lian intervened to defuse the situation. However, after this incident, the banquet quickly ended on a sour note.

Zu An, meanwhile, was quite satisfied with the gossip he had witnessed, realizing that Prince Qi's faction was clearly not a united front.

In the end, he was unable to examine Prince Qi's concubine's remains. After leaving the Prince's manor, he first sent his guards back—though they claimed to be his subordinates, who knew if the Emperor had sent them to monitor him? Being with them made him feel uneasy.

As he walked along the main road, pondering his next move, he suddenly felt a stir within him and turned to look to the side.

Standing before him was a handsome young man with rosy lips and white teeth, slender and delicate—clearly a woman disguised as a man.

She held an object out to him. "Brother, did you drop this jade pendant?"

Looking at the dark, lumpy object in her hand, which by all appearances was nothing more than a common roadside stone, Zu An couldn't help but retort, "You call this a jade pendant? Why didn't you pick up a brick and ask if I dropped that?"

The girl's eyes lit up. "That's actually a good idea! Another pick-up technique for next time."

Zu An rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?"