The two held each other quietly. As the sun began to set outside, their shadows reached into the distance…

Yan Xuehen was a bit alarmed when she saw their reflection in the shadows. Just what am I thinking about right now?

She was about to push him away when Zu An suddenly lowered his head and kissed her gently. Yan Xuehen’s eyes widened, perhaps out of embarrassment, maybe out of anger. Her neck turned red at a visible rate.

She was just about to explode when Zu An suddenly let go of her first. He waved his hand while smiling, saying, “With big sis Yan’s caring kiss, I’m sure this trip will go extremely smoothly!” He didn’t give her a chance to act up and slipped into the distance afterward.

Yan Xuehen’s cold expression gave way to a smile when she saw him flee for his life. She muttered, “He really is a rascal…”

…

Meanwhile, Zu An’s mood was incredible after what had just happened. He sped along while riding on the Wind Fire Wheels, continuing for several days.

Finally, he encountered the emperor’s troops near a small city. The emperor had left to conduct the Fengshan Ceremony, so the procession was extremely grand. Lines of troops stretched for several dozen li, and there were tens of thousands of people. Zu An didn’t show himself rashly; instead, he saw some familiar people in the group and snuck in while they were setting up camp.

The ones who seemed to be in charge of the outpost work were the thick-browed and big-eyed Qin Guangyuan, and the more delicate-featured Qin Yongde. Even the Murong clan’s young miss was present, dressed in military attire. Between that and her tanned skin, she really looked valiant and outstanding. Their group was actively discussing the layout of the camp.

When they saw Zu An, they were startled. However, this was a reunion of friends, so the mood quickly became lively. Murong Qinghe was especially happy to see him, perhaps because of Chu Youzhao. The only regret was that Chu Youzhao hadn’t come with her on this trip.

Zu An naturally knew the reason. Chu Youzhao was a crossdresser, after all. She could continue the act in the capital with the Qin clan covering up for her, but it was hard to keep her identity a secret in the long term in an army.

After talking to them for a bit, Zu An learned roughly how large the Fengshan procession was. Apart from the empress, who was recuperating from her illness, almost all of the other top-tier figures of the capital were present. They were all familiar faces.

King Qi, Zhao Jing, was here; however, his heir, Zhao Zhi, hadn’t come. They were likely worried about putting all their eggs in one basket.

Apart from him, there was also the Director of the Imperial Secretariat Pei Ming, who could be considered Big Manman’s great-uncle. The Imperial Secretariat’s Right Confidential Assistant Bi Qi, the crown princess’ father, had also come; he was accompanied by the crown princess’ older brother, Bi Ziang. The Imperial Secretariat’s Left Confidential Assistant had previously been Yu Xuanchong, but because of the scandals surrounding Yu Nan and then Cloudcenter Commandery’s Yu clan, he had been dismissed from office and wasn’t present.

The Imperial Secretariat’s five important ministers hadn’t come and remained in the capital to deal with governmental affairs. Zu An cried out inwardly in disappointment. He had wanted to catch up with Sang Hong and ask about Sang Qien’s situation. He wondered how she was doing with her pregnancy.

The Central Secretariat Supervisor Meng Yi and Secretariat Director Lian Yu were both present. So was the Emperor’s subordinate Chief Attendant Pei Zheng, Pei Mianman’s grandfather; and Chief Attendant Dongfang Bai, whose wife was the previous dynasty’s princess. Zu An recalled Zhang Jie mentioning them when he talked about the previous dynasty.

The Nine Ministers’ Supervisor of Attendants Murong Tong, Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang, and Imperial Director Zhen Xueyi had also arrived. The Supervisor of Attendants’ responsibility was ensuring the safety of the emperor, so that his presence was to be expected. Unfortunately, Jiang Luofu wasn’t present.

As for Zhen Xueyi, Zu An also remembered what Zhang Jie had said. Zhen Xueyi also had a strong connection with the former dynasty, but his treatment was vastly different compared to Dongfang Bai. However, when Zu An was thrown into prison over his scandal with Bi Linglong, Zhen Xueyi had secretly helped him a bit, so that was a favor he had to remember.

When the emperor set out on a journey, his safety was definitely the number one priority. King Liang, Zhao Yi, was the Rear General. He followed the emperor with the elites of the capital’s first six battalions. However, the six battalions’ respective military officers hadn’t come, and were instead guarding the capital with another group of people. King Qi’s heir Zhao Zhi was none other than the Reserve Diary Officer.

Apart from those people, there was also the War Chariot General Liu Yao. Zu An had previously met him all the way back in Brightmoon City. Even though back then, he had thought that this man’s cultivation was really high, it now seemed fairly average. With their resources, the fact that such individuals only had their current levels of cultivation meant that their talent was really ordinary.

Compared to the six battalions, the two higher-level figures’ forces were more complete. Left Guard General Lu He was the brother of Eunuch Lu, who always followed at the empress’ side. Right Guard General Guo Zhi was someone whom Zu An had frequently interacted with back in the Imperial Palace. Guerilla Warfare General Zhao Yuan was only part of a rather distant branch of the imperial family, and he also had the title King Guangling.

Apart from that, there were the divisions named Fierce Tiger, Armed Escort, High Rider, Unique Force, and so on. Zu An himself was an officer of the Armed Escort Division, so he was technically supposed to be part of the procession.

When he saw that almost all of the major figures of the capital had appeared, Zu An couldn't help but become a bit curious. He said, “The court’s bigwigs are all here. Are they not scared that something might happen back at the capital?”

Qin Guangyuan explained, “That is why the middle-level officials in charge of specific government affairs all remained in the capital. Together with the capable crown princess and other competent individuals from the Eastern Palace, assisting the crown prince in presiding over the empire’s affairs isn’t too big of a problem.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Zu An said. He naturally knew about Bi Linglong’s ability. He continued, “It’s more that the high-level military strength of the court has all left, so what if the Devil Sect or rebel army decides to incite trouble in the capital again?”

Murong Qinghe said with a smile, “There’s something big brother Zu is overlooking. There are still the eight dukes in the capital. Those old monsters are always cultivating in seclusion within their manors. If something really does happen, they definitely won’t just remain bystanders.”

Qin Yongde added, “The eight dukes are powerful, all having grandmaster rank cultivation. Who would dare to stir up trouble in the capital? But strictly speaking, there are only seven dukes now, and that has to do with Brother Zu.”

Zu An was startled. He replied, “The Shi clan?”

Qin Guangyuan nodded and said, “Right. To be honest, the Shi clan was the clan with the weakest background out of the eight great clans. Their clan leader needed some more time to reach the grandmaster rank, but you single-handedly destroyed the entire clan, so he no longer had a chance. That matter  really caused quite the stir among the capital’s great clans.”

Zu An had a blank look on his face for a moment. He had already provoked such a giant as the Shi clan not long after he transmigrated… The naive truly were fearless!

He had already known about the so-called eight dukes for a long time, but had rarely seen any of them. They were similar to the Committee of Elders in the Fiend King Court. They normally rarely showed themselves and only appeared when there were big events.

Zu An found a chance to ask about Concubine Bai, but the others only replied with bewilderment.

“His majesty did bring some concubines, but Concubine Bai is the Crown Prince’s concubine. There’s no reason for her to be here, right?”

Zu An could tell from their dumbstruck looks that only a few people knew about the emperor’s relationship with Concubine Bai. As for the more important ministers, they likely had their guesses, but there was no way they would mention such things to their children.

…

After figuring out recent developments from them, he went to look for Zhao Han. After all, Zhao Han was too powerful. It wouldn’t be a good thing if his sneaky actions were found out.

With his status, it wasn’t too difficult for him to meet with the emperor. Eunuch Wen quickly emerged to bring him to the giant imperial tent. There were threads of gold and pieces of jade and agate everywhere, making it extraordinarily extravagant.

When a servant went in to announce Zu An’s arrival, an indifferent voice called out, “Enter.”

When Zu An entered the tent, he saw that even though the outside of the tent was luxurious, the layout inside was extremely simple. Inside, Zhao Han was on a soft seat. In front of him were two pots of precious incense. The tent wasn’t inferior to any top-notch cultivation paradises in this world; it had clearly been reinforced with special rune formations. At the same time, the incense likely had many precious ingredients added to them to aid in enhancing cultivation and longevity.

Zhao Han didn’t even open his eyes when he heard Zu An enter, asking, “What are you doing here?”

Zu An replied, “Violet Mountain’s affairs have already been wrapped up, so I wanted to make a report to your majesty. I didn’t dare to disturb your majesty further, so I made a special trip all the way back.”

Zhao Han then opened his eyes. When he recalled how he had been summoned like a monkey in a performance show again and again, his face twitched slightly. When he heard those words, however, he felt a bit better and said, “Not bad, you’ve shown some progress.”

Zu An then told him about what he had discovered on Violet Mountain. He didn’t hide Yun Jianyue’s appearance. After all, with so many people there, this man would find out even if he didn’t report it.

“That witch Yun Jianyue really is daring. But the daoist sects really are declining as they struggle. They actually only found out at the finals,” Zhao Han said with a snort, showing clear dissatisfaction.

Zu An replied, “The more the daoist sects decline, the more it proves that the court is flourishing. Your majesty should be happy.”

Zhao Han raised a brow and said, “It’s been a while, but it seems you’ve learned how to speak properly, brat.”

“This subject is only speaking the truth,” Zu An said with flawless etiquette.

Zhao Han nodded in approval and asked, “Was there anything else strange at Violet Mountain?”

“There wasn’t,” Zu An replied. After some hesitation, he chose not to mention Wang Wuxie’s situation. The first reason was that he didn’t have proof, and the second  was that even if there was something wrong with Wang Wuxie, why did he have to warn Zhao Han? It wasn’t as if he really was a loyal slave.

“You’ve dealt with the Violet Mountain task decently,” Zhao Han said, his expression easing. He continued, “You’ve returned at a good time. There just happens to be something that I need you to take care of.”

Zu An cursed inwardly. This guy immediately gave me something to do as soon as I returned! Of course, though, he still said, “I will do my utmost.”

“It isn’t anything too hard. I only need you to secretly execute a woman,” Zhao Han said casually.