Zu An became a bit dejected. He had constantly been on the brink of life and death for a long time, but now that he finally had some leisure time to spend with Chuyan, this guy was making him do something again! Not even donkeys on a production team would be used to that extent!

“Can I refuse?” Zu An asked, thinking to himself that not a single task the emperor had made him do had ever been easy; naturally, he wasn’t all that willing.

Zhao Han was stunned. He had never expected Zu An to give such a reply. Normally, even the most important ministers wouldn’t dare to show the slightest bit of arrogance around him. When had they ever negotiated with him before? He thought, This kid has gotten much braver recently!

“You cannot!” he replied.

You have successfully trolled Zhao Han for +244 +244 +244…

Still, the emperor did need Zu An to work for him, so he didn’t act violently. Instead, he said directly, “Golden Token Seven, who was in charge of Yi Commandery’s affairs, suddenly died. Recently, Zhuxie Chixin has not been around, and the other Golden Token Envoys have their own responsibilities to take care of. You are to go and investigate what happened.”

Zu An immediately received several key pieces of information from the explanation. So Zhuxie Chixin wasn’t in the capital, as expected! He wondered what Zhuxie Chixin had to do that prevented him from coming back for so long.

Apart from that, the other Golden Token Envoys were probably scattered throughout the world, managing their respective regions. They were all up to their necks in work and not as free as he was.

Huh? Wait, why does the name Golden Token Seven sound so familiar?

He finally remembered who it was. Previously, the Imperial Envoy fleet had passed by King Yan’s fiefdom on their way to Cloudcenter Commandery. The Golden Token Envoy there had contacted him, and the two had even fought together. At the time, Golden Token Seven had been deeply worried. Didn’t that mean what he found might very well have been real, and that a mistake had ended up getting him silenced?

In that instant, many thoughts passed through Zu An’s mind, but he didn’t report them to the emperor. Whether he was loyal to the emperor or not, it was best not to talk about such unconfirmed suspicions and give others false hope. Otherwise, if something happened later, it could easily create grievances.

“Alright,” Zu An agreed.

The first reason was that he had fought side by side with Golden Token Seven before and they could barely be considered friends, so he couldn't just watch without doing anything. The second reason was that he also wanted to see just what was going on in the dark behind the scenes. If he could find the many powers that resisted the emperor, it could be useful to get into contact with them.

The emperor then said, “Also, there is another thing. There is a Violet Mountain in Yi Commandery. The court will carry out a great Fengshan ceremony there soon. You should go there and root out any potential trouble ahead of time.”

Yi Commandery was where King Yan’s fiefdom was. Meanwhile, Violet Mountain was the most famous mountain in Yi Commandery, perhaps even the entire empire. Whenever the sun rose from the east, a layer of violet covered the mountain peak, bringing to mind the common sayings about ‘violet ki’. That was how it had received its name.

People all thought the mountain hid a great treasure. But even after tens of thousands of years, countless capable individuals hadn’t found anything after searching the mountain. In the end, people all tacitly agreed that there was nothing special about the mountain and that it was just a vestige left behind by the heavens.

Still, successive generations of the royal family had continued to produce all manner of literature on it, making its status climb higher and higher. That was why there was no better choice for the Fengshan ceremony.

Zu An had heard of those things before, but as a transmigrator, he didn’t have as much of the adoration that most natives of this world felt. What he was more concerned with right now was whether Zhao Han was being serious. During the morning court session, all of his subjects had proposed that he carry out the Fengshan ceremony. At the time, Zhao Han had humbly refused it, and yet he was already having people prepare for it immediately afterward.

“That might be beyond my individual capability,” Zu An said, feeling a bit reluctant. He was supposed to investigate Golden Token Seven’s death, and he was also in charge of the Fengshan Ceremony’s security? That was just a difficult and unrewarding situation.

Zhao Han tossed him a command token, saying, “All of King Yan’s Embroidered Envoys will be at your command. Furthermore, you can use this token to order the local officials’ cooperation. However, the local officials belong to King Yan, so you have to know where to draw the line. Do not order them around willfully.”

“Understood,” Zu An replied, fiddling with the command tile in his hands. Things will be much easier with this.

When he saw Zhao Han fall silent, Zu An knew it  was a sign to leave. He bowed, then asked to withdraw. However, just as he reached the door, he was suddenly stopped.

Zhao Han remarked, “I’ve heard that you’ve been visiting the Empress frequently recently?”

Zu An’s heart immediately shot up to his throat. Why does it always have to be that one thing you’re worried about that has to freaking happen?!

Still, he was someone who had gone through his fair share of dangerous experiences, so he quickly replied, “That’s correct. Her highness summoned me to ask me about what happened in the Unknown Region.”

Zhao Han frowned, but he couldn't find any problems with the response. Previously, he had just questioned Zu An about the latter’s interaction with the crown princess. Any normal person would definitely feel guilt. If they had a guilty conscience, there was no way they would approach the Empress again. With that, he felt more reassured; he said, “Acknowledged. You can leave.”

When Zu An emerged from the Imperial Palace, he secretly wiped his sweat. The Empress really is a dangerous person! Sure, it is fun, but it’s really easy to lose your life in the process…

Not long after he left the Imperial Study, two imperial guards approached from a distance, calling out, “Sir Zu, Sir Zu~”

When he looked at them, he saw that it was Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun. Zu An laughed and exclaimed, “Wow, what a coincidence!”

The two of them replied with a scowl, “What do you mean, a coincidence? We came all the way here to wait for sir.”

Zu An was stunned. He pointed at the Eastern Palace, asking, “You were looking for me over there?”

The two of them voiced their agreement. Then, Piao Duandiao moved over to Zu An’s side and quietly said, “Recently, the crown princess’ temper hasn’t been too good. Sir Zu needs to be careful.”

Jiao Sigun added quietly, “That maid Rong Mo said a lot of bad things about you. If you don’t go back and apologize, there might be a lot of trouble.”

Zu An felt warm inside. The two of them really treated him as their friend, which was why they spoke so honestly. After all, if their words were overheard by anyone else, both of them would be done for in the Eastern Palace.

Zu An said with a smile, “It’s fine. They’ll sort themselves out as long as I pay the Eastern Palace a visit.”

Both of the guards expressed their suspicion about the matter. However, Zu An didn’t bother explaining himself. He followed the two of them to the Eastern Palace.

…

Zu An first paid the master of the Eastern Palace, the crown prince, a visit. That fatty only knew how to play all day, so Zu An was chased away quickly, as if his presence would take away from playtime.

Zu An thought to himself that ever since he had gotten rid of the emperor’s split soul inside of the crown prince, the latter seemed to have become even more stupid than before. Soon afterward, however, he entered Bi Linglong’s office.

Bi Linglong was sitting in front of an office table, her back perfectly straight. Her posture was extremely proper, as if she were an imperial mother overseeing the world. But upon closer inspection, Zu An could sense that she was slacking off a bit too. It seemed as if she couldn't handle the weight of her chest and was secretly using the desk to support herself…

Bi Linglong seemed to not have seen Zu An at all as she focused on the documents in her hands. Zu An didn’t mind, so he continued to quietly watch her just like that.

After a long time passed, a hint of redness appeared on Bi Linglong’s neck. It was obvious that she couldn't stand his scorching gaze anymore.

“Sir Zu really is quite the busy official. It’s been such a long time already. It seems we have to invite you before you show your face here,” Bi Linglong said; she was clearly upset and still didn’t look at him. The pen in her hand continued to sort out the paperwork in front of her.

Zu An sighed and said, “I came here to say goodbye to you.”

Bi Linglong was startled. The pen in her hand trembled, splattering ink all over the document. She suddenly raised her head to look at him, no longer able to keep her composure.