Zu An felt a headache coming on. What the hell is wrong with this crown princess? Why does she always pop up out of nowhere?

This was going to be an annoyance. Even though Yun Jianyue’s disguise seemed flawless, the crown princess was already rather familiar with Golden Token Eleven. She would immediately notice that something was strange as soon as they began to converse.

The gate guards offered their respectful greetings. “We greet the crown princess!” 

The crown princess nodded in acknowledgement, her elegant bearing plain for all to see. She carried herself perfectly, as was appropriate for someone who was to become empress of the known world someday.

She waved her hands, dismissing her subordinates, then walked up to Yun Jianyue and said, “Lord Eleven, I wasn’t expecting to meet you here.”

Yun Jianyue mumbled an acknowledgement. She knew full well that her identity would be exposed as soon as she spoke. She’d observed how the crown princess had conversed with Golden Token Eleven outside his own residence before, and knew that she seemed to care a lot about him, especially after he’d saved her life.

A sudden thought came to her. Should she take this opportunity to capture or even kill the crown princess?

With the two of them this close, there was no need for her to tap into her grandmaster-level strength.

She immediately rejected this notion. Killing the crown princess alone was meaningless, and even if it had any significance, it would place Zu An in danger. He had helped her out so much, and this would be a terrible way to repay her benefactor.

The crown princess didn’t seem to mind this ‘aloof’ attitude that Golden Token Eleven was displaying. On the contrary, there was a faint smile on her face. “Lord Eleven, I hope you were satisfied by the gifts I gave you previously. If you need anything else, please let me know.”

Yun Jianyue was speechless. Wasn’t it common knowledge that the crown princess was cold and arrogant? Why was she so talkative today?

Fortunately, the crown princess continued without waiting for a reply. “By the way, I heard that Concubine Bai invited Lord Eleven to meet her as well. What did she give you, I wonder, and what is your opinion of her?”

The maid Rong Mo, who was standing nearby. looked at her mistress strangely. It was very unusual of the crown princess to behave in this manner. She was always cold and aloof, which gave many the impression that she was a rather fierce character.

Usually, if anyone around her acted in such a lovey-dovey manner, the crown princess would have blown her top. Now, though, not only did she fail to get angry, she was instead all smiles. She was also much more talkative than usual. Did she really harbor certain other feelings towards Lord Eleven?

She was frightened as soon as this thought appeared in her mind. She immediately told herself that this was absolute nonsense. As the crown princess’ maid, she knew the crown princess’ temperament well. She would never do something that would disgrace her clan. Furthermore, the crown princess was a strong and ambitious woman who valued authority, and it was the crown prince, and her current status as his wife, that granted her this. She would never throw it away recklessly.

She’s definitely just grateful that Lord Eleven saved her life.

When she remembered the situation they’d been in, and how Golden Token Eleven had seemed to have descended from the heavens themselves to rescue them, Rong Mo nodded to herself. Lord Eleven had indeed looked rather dashing at that point in time.

Yun Jianyue looked at the smiling crown princess in front of her, a half-smile on her own face. As a woman, she could clearly sense the goodwill the crown princess had towards Zu An.

She never expected Honglei to end up with this sort of rival in love…

Pah! When did I agree to the affair between him and Honglei?

Honglei can’t even sleep with him, so it’s better to use this opportunity to put an end to whatever feelings she might have for him. The pain will be over quickly, and her cultivation will remain unaffected.

I’ll just find another way to make it up to Zu An for what he’s done for the Holy Sect.

Though I have to say… this kid really must be the reincarnation of some crazy playboy. He hasn’t been in the palace long, yet the crown princess is already head over heels in love with him.

No wonder my own disciple, whom I raised with such care, ended up falling for him as well.

As her mind flew from one thought to another, the crown princess was confused by the complete lack of response. “Lord Eleven, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Yun Jianyue began to panic. She could sense the mysterious pursuer nearby. Once she said something, Zu An would be in danger.

Zu An’s voice sounded in her ear via voice transmission. “Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”

Immediately after that, he said to the crown princess, “Crown princess, please forgive me. Concubine Bai holds a special status in the palace, and a mere subject like me should not comment on her.”

Yun Jianyue was wearing a mask, and the crown princess’ cultivation wasn’t high enough for her to determine who it was that was sending her the voice transmission.

“Special status?” The crown princess sneered, clearly dissatisfied by this reply. “That woman is good at putting on a pitiful act, if nothing else.”

Yun Jianyue was shocked. Because he had sent a voice transmission, she didn’t know what Zu An had said. From what the crown princess was saying, though, it seemed she was referring to Concubine Bai.

The crown princess quickly snapped out of her daze and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I seem to have lost my composure for a moment, Lord Eleven. I’ve let you see a poor side of me.”

Yun Jianyue shook her head, dismissing the matter.

It seemed to Zu An that the crown princess’ resentment towards Concubine Bai ran deep. Was it because she felt threatened by her, since she had borne the crown prince’s son?

Now wasn’t the time to worry about this, though. He was afraid that Yun Jianyue would eventually be exposed if they continued to converse, so he decided to go on the offensive instead. “Why is the crown princess so concerned about my opinion of Concubine Bai? Are you jealous, perhaps?”

The crown princess’ face immediately turned entirely red. She glared fiercely at Yun Jianyue. “Pervert!”

She stormed off in a huff, although the way she hurried off made it seem as though she were fleeing.

Shocked, Rong Mo and her other retainers ran after her. They wanted to ask her about what had happened, yet the crown princess didn’t say a single word, and they didn’t dare speak first. They could only hurry after her.

Yun Jianyue had a strange expression on her face. Why had the crown princess pretended to be displeased?

“What did you just tell her?” she couldn’t resist asking Zu An.

Zu An snorted in annoyance. “Quickly take this opportunity to leave. Is now the right time for gossip?”

Yun Jianyue felt her cheeks warming. Her behavior was rather inexcusable. She mumbled in agreement, then left.

Before long, she sent back a voice transmission. “That person seems to have followed me out of the palace.”

Zu An was stunned. “I didn’t see anyone else leave the palace.”

He’d been paying close attention to the situation the entire time. Apart from Yun Jianyue, no one else had passed through the palace gate.

Yun Jianyue was silent for a moment, then she said, “I think I know what’s going on. There are certain clans that possess special skills for concealment. Take the dark elves, for example, who can move through the shadows. This individual is probably using a similar skill.”

Zu An’s voice was clouded with worry. “I’ll come help you!”

“There’s no need. Once I’m further away, I’ll find a chance to get rid of him.” Yun Jianyue was back to her domineering sect master self.

“Please be careful!” Her plan made sense to Zu An. Once she was away from the palace, she didn’t have to worry about the emperor’s divine will, and dealing with a hidden assassin wouldn’t be too difficult. If he went to help her, he could easily expose his connection to Golden Token Eleven.

After leaving the western gate, Zu An returned to the Eastern Palace to report to the crown princess. As he was walking towards the Eastern Palace gate, he noticed the crown prince playing Go with some lesser eunuchs.

Little He and Little Xu looked absolutely miserable. They were both being abused by the big fatty.

The crown prince was extremely pleased by Zu An’s appearance. “Come here, come here! These dummies don’t even know how to play Go.”

Little He and Little Xu both cursed him in secret. Like hell we’d know how to play! If we were the sort that knew how to play this game, why would we become eunuchs?

In this age, Go was a game played only by the upper class. Only the nobles and the wealthy knew how to play.

“Go?” Zu An gave him a confused look. Did this fellow really possess the intelligence necessary to play such a complicated game?

Even someone as smart as me can’t play it well.

“The crown prince knows how to play Go?” he couldn’t help but ask.

The fatty’s face darkened. “That’s why I want you to teach me! I don’t care. If you don’t teach me how to play, then I’ll have you sent to the castration room.”

Zu An wanted to hit his head against a wall.

This damn fatty really is annoying sometimes!

The eunuchs gave him looks of sympathy. They had no idea what had seized the crown prince today. He had suddenly insisted on learning how to play Go! Leaving aside the fact that neither of them knew how to play this game, even if they did know, teaching this crown prince would be an impossible task.

The crown prince squinted at Zu An. “Why are you staring blankly at me? Don’t you know this game?”

Zu An coughed and said, “It’s just Go. This is but a simple matter.”