When she heard the seriousness in Zu An’s voice, Bi Linglong couldn't be bothered to maintain her anger. She quickly asked nervously, “What happened?”

“I was ordered to go on a trip to Yi Commandery by his majesty…” Zu An explained the mission Zhao Han had just given him in detail.

This was the first time Bi Linglong had received news of the situation. Her expression changed slightly when she heard the explanation. Seeming extremely unhappy, she furrowed her brows and muttered, “You just came back, and yet you’re already being sent to Yi Commandery?”

In that instant, Zu An felt warm inside. He could tell that she treated him as one of her own from her tone.

Bi Linglong’s resentment also vanished into thin air. When she heard Zu An share everything about his mission without hiding anything, it indicated to her that they were truly close. She suddenly felt like she had no reason to get so angry at him.

“What can I do? It’s my duty,” Zu An said with a sigh.

Bi Linglong naturally knew that it wasn’t really because of his duty, but because the emperor was so powerful they didn’t have any way of going against him. When she thought of that, she said with a sigh, “It’s really unfair for you. You have to be careful along the way. I’ll wait for you to come back here.”

When he heard her reveal her true feelings, Zu An couldn't help but walk over and wrap his arms around her thin waist. Then, under her shocked gaze, he kissed her. Bi Linglong’s body trembled. She instinctively wanted to push him away, but he didn’t move at all. Soon afterward, his familiar aura made her entire body gradually soften.

The two of them continued to kiss each other for a while just like that. Bi Linglong eventually got a chance to catch a breather, saying, “You really are daring. The crown prince is still outside…”

“So what?” Zu An replied, kissing her even more passionately when he heard her warning.

Bi Linglong’s waist bent like a willow tree. Her body was pushed back until it pressed against her desk. When she felt a familiar pressure, her entire face grew red as she protested, “We’ll be done for if his majesty finds out about what we’re doing!”

She couldn't be bothered to deal with that stupid crown prince anymore, but she couldn't ignore the emperor. He had earth immortal rank cultivation. If his divine senses swept out, not a single area of the Imperial Palace could escape his detection.

“Don’t worry. He doesn’t have the energy to bother with these things right now,” Zu An said, feeling confident in his claim. If Zhao Han were always monitoring the palace, he and the empress would already have been dead a long time ago.

Bi Linglong didn’t know about that, and the emperor’s power left an impression that was hard to erase within her. However, now that she was being embraced by her sweetheart, her entire body grew soft. She didn’t have any strength to resist. As such, she yielded after making a show of resistance. The two returned to their most intimate moment in the secret dungeon.

Because she was worried that they would be found out by the emperor and the servants, or perhaps even the crown prince outside, Bi Linglong was more sensitive than usual. Zu An experienced it firsthand and felt as if he were constantly enveloped in trembling waves. The two of them soon reached a state where their bodies and souls connected. The two of them had never done it like this before, nor had it ever felt so wonderful.

After they hugged each other for a long time, Bi Linglong finally came to her senses. She pushed Zu An away and lowered her dress. She carefully sorted out the wrinkles on it and said with a trembling voice, “You annoying man, you only know how to bully others every time.”

“Are you still upset?” Zu An replied. When he saw the beautiful complexion that remained on her face after the wonderful time they shared, he felt a sense of tenderness.

“Who would be upset at you?” Bi Linglong replied, feeling a bit guilty. When she looked at his ambiguous smile, she could only protest playfully, “Alright, alright. It’s your fault for only keeping Chu Chuyan company and ignoring me this whole time.”

Zu An was between laughter and tears as he said, “She is my wife. Who would I stay with, if not with her after being apart for so long?”

“She clearly divorced you already; what do you mean she’s your wife?” Bi Linglong replied somewhat unhappily. “Then what am I to you?”

She regretted it as soon as those words left her mouth. Then, she felt a bit alone and dejected. She knew that their relationship could never be known to the world, which made her feel extremely frustrated.

Just then, Rong Mo called out from outside, “Crown princess, Sir Jiang is outside and requests an audience.” It was clear that as Bi Linglong’s personal maid, she knew that meeting with a man alone in private for so long wasn’t reasonable. As such, she found a pretext to remind Bi Linglong.

Bi Linglong also realized that. She sorted out her clothing again, and after making sure that there was nothing out of place, she called out loudly, “Let Sir Jiang in.”

Soon afterward, a handsome young man walked in and said, “I greet the crown princess.” He quickly froze, because he discovered that the crown princess’ complexion was much better than before. However, he quickly caught himself and said to Zu An, “Greetings, Sir Zu.”

Zu An had seen this person before. He was the crown prince’s aide-de-camp, Jiang Gui. Whenever the crown prince went on a trip, he would be at the very front of the fleet. He was one of the Eastern Palace’s most important officials.

To some extent, he was an acquaintance. He was the son of Jiang Boyang’s third son, Jiang San. His mother was a daughter of the Yu clan, so he was actually a relative of Yu Yanluo. Apart from that, Jiang Luofu was Jiang Boyang’s daughter, so she was Jiang Gui’s aunt.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, apart from the Yu clan, the Jiang clan was probably the clan most known for its attractiveness. Every single son and daughter was beautiful and handsome.

On top of that, Jiang Gui had inherited both the strengths of the Jiang clan and the Yu clan. Ever since he was little, he had been known as the capital’s most handsome man… until Zu An entered the capital. Only then was his title seized. He was really unhappy about that and felt that Zu An’s appearance wasn’t that much better than his own, and Zu An’s cultivation didn’t seem all that much stronger either. Jiang Gui’s only weakness was that he came from a distinguished clan, which meant that everything had gone too smoothly for him and he had never experienced too many setbacks. As such, he’d never gotten many opportunities to show off.

Of course, as the son of a distinguished clan, he had his own pride and self-restraint. Even though he didn’t feel great inside, it wasn’t to the point that he would loathe Zu An. It was just that he felt a sense of competition.

However, from Zu An’s perspective, between Jiang Gui’s relationship to Yu Yanluo and Jiang Luofu, this guy was just like his own nephew, and not a competitor at all. He gave the other man a smile, then looked for an opportunity to say goodbye to Bi Linglong.

Bi Linglong felt a bit ‘guilty’, so she was more than happy for him to leave earlier. She naturally permitted it.

When he saw that, Jiang Gui was a bit surprised. People all said that Zu An was an important person to the crown princess, but from the looks of it, their relationship didn’t seem to be that good. He suddenly felt more spirited when he thought of that. He immediately told Bi Linglong the reason for his meeting, and explained the solutions he proposed in a clear and logical manner. He just needed Bi Linglong to choose one of them.

Even though Bi Linglong was the crown princess, she was young and beautiful. Furthermore, her husband, the crown prince, was clearly an idiot. As such, many young and outstanding men felt an indescribable sense of favor and fantasy about her. Still, it wasn’t to the point where they would have any bad thoughts.

However, it was normal for young men to feel admiration. If the crown princess merely showed them a smile, they would already feel happy for a long time. That was also why the crown princess’ prestige was so high. With such a group of energetic young talents to support her, how could her reputation not be good?

Jiang Gui looked at the crown princess with great expectation. He figured that he had prepared really well, so this time, she would definitely have a whole new level of respect for him. 

Look, there’s a slight smile that she can’t even hold back on the corner of her lips. She clearly feels admiration toward my competence!

Unfortunately, he had no idea that Bi Linglong was busy thinking about what had happened before he entered. It was as if she were in a dreamland. She wasn’t paying him any attention.

…

After Zu An left the Eastern Palace, he found a place to change his outfit before heading to the Embroidery House. He had to investigate just what had happened to Golden Token Seven.

When they saw him enter, Xiao Jianren, Dai Seventh, and Chen Eighth all rushed out to welcome him. It was natural for them to feel excited, because their superior really was hard to get a hold of. Their colleagues were all dying from work, while they were dying from boredom.

It wasn’t really that big of a deal to not have work, but the Embroidery House looked at how much one did to decide on rewards and promotions. As such, doing nothing carried its own problems.

Zu An gave them a rough explanation of his new task. He asked Xiao Jianren where he would have to go to get the corresponding information about Golden Token Seven.

Sure enough, as he knew all of the Embroidery House, Xiao Jianren quickly came up with an answer. He brought Zu An to the place where the Embroidery House’s most confidential information was kept.

The guards there stopped Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, making them feel a bit unhappy.

Xiao Jianren proudly said, “This is a place where senior officers have conversations. Lower-level soldiers like you two should just wait off to one side.”

Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth had helpless expressions, but they knew that the Embroidery House cared a lot about hierarchy. They could only wait outside for the other two.

…

Soon afterward, under the guidance of Xiao Jianren, Zu An obtained the corresponding case file. When it came to information surrounding Golden Token Seven, there was only an asterisk that said that he was male.

Zu An thought, You don’t say. After fighting side by side with Golden Token Seven, he naturally knew the other person was male.

As if seeing through his displeasure, Xiao Jianren said, “The eleven Golden Token Envoys are the best hidden individuals in the Embroidery House. It’s rumored that apart from Zhuxie Chixin and his majesty himself, no third person knows about them.”

Then, he added, “If one day an accident befalls Sir Eleven and you perish, the information the other Golden Token Envoys will have about you will only be about the same.”

Zu An frowned. This guy really had a way with words… No wonder he hadn’t gotten that far in the Embroidered Envoy despite being so talented.

Fortunately, Xiao Jianren lived up to expectations. With his help, Zu An was able to collect the corresponding file about Golden Token Seven’s death. It recorded that one day, Golden Token Seven had passed by a pool, and then he slipped and fell in the water. He had died by drowning.

Zu An was completely stunned. A glorious Golden Token Envoy had fallen into water and drowned?