Zu An froze. Upon closer observation, he saw that it was a group of Embroidered Envoys who were hiding nearby, and the one in the lead was actually Zhuxie Chixin.

His heart thumped. Had he ended up giving something away along the way? He subconsciously wanted to turn tail and run. After all, he had been carrying the crown princess naked in his arms. Even if he had been framed, that was a crime severe enough to warrant his execution.

However, he quickly calmed himself down. Even if they were here waiting in ambush, that didn’t necessarily mean they had proof. If he ran away, it would instead prove his guilt. The most important part was that the imperial palace’s guards had already been transferred, and the gates had been shut. He might not even be able to get away.

He took a deep breath, and then calmly walked over. As soon as he showed himself, a group of Embroidered Envoys surrounded him.

“May I ask what is happening?” Zu An asked gloomily.

Zhuxie Chixin walked over, his expression somewhat complicated. “Golden Token Eleven, please follow us. There is a matter that requires investigation.”

“What kind of matter?” Zu An calmly asked.

Zhuxie Chixin gave him a deep look. He didn’t reply, and instead gestured toward his subordinates. “Take him away!”

Zu An didn’t resist. With a pseudo-grandmaster here, all resistance was meaningless.

…

Zu An was quickly brought to the Embroidered Envoy’s headquarters, the Embroidery House, and taken into a private room. Zhuxie Chixin gestured for everyone else to leave. He was going to carry out this interrogation alone.

The other Embroidered Envoys were a bit surprised. After all, according to regulations, many people needed to be present during a criminal’s interrogation as a way of keeping others in check and preventing collusion. Their chief commander was breaking the rules here!

However, Zhuxie Chixin’s prestige was great, and the one being interrogated was the mysterious newcomer Golden Token Eleven. They didn’t say anything and obediently withdrew.

When everyone left, Zhuxie Chixin sat down across from Zu An and calmly stared at him.

Zu An had already removed his mask. After all, the other party already knew who he was. He asked, “Chief Commander, what kind of crime have I committed? Why did you need to arrest me?”

Zhuxie Chixin slammed the table fiercely. “You really are bold! You actually dare to defile the crown princess!”

Zu An put on a look of ‘horror’. “Chief Commander, where are these words coming from? That’s a crime punishable by the eradication of one’s entire clan! This isn’t something that can be joked around with.”

“Who’s joking around with you?” Zhuxie Chixin’s expression was stormy. “Someone reported that you and the crown princess carried out illicit relations. Did this happen?”

“Absolutely not. Even if you don’t believe me, do you not trust the crown princess?” Zu An quickly asked. “I haven’t even been in the imperial palace for that long. Who is the crown princess? Why should she care about me? I really don’t know who the hell is starting rumors and creating all this trouble. They must be fucking blind.” He knew that it was probably Shi Jun, but he couldn’t say so out loud, because only those present knew that Shi Jun had barged into the princess’ chambers with a group of men.

He had watched so much Detective Conan in his past life, and the offenders would always blurt out something important by accident. That was why he made sure to carefully think through everything he said.

“You don’t need to worry about who reported you. It isn’t only a single person who reported you; there are maids, servants, and even eunuchs who have personally witnessed it,” Zhuxie Chixin said coldly.

“That’s impossible, because I’ve never done that sort of thing! Chief Commander, please uphold justice!” Zu An thought to himself, They probably only saw my back while I was running, at most. There was no way they saw my face. The crown princess was buried in my chest the entire time, so there’s even less of a chance that they saw me. Looks like those who reported me are the ones who orchestrated this scheme after all.

“Then why didn’t you leave the palace after dark?” Zhuxie Chixin continued to ask.

“I saw that it was already dark, so I decided to stay in my courtyard. I’d be by myself if I stayed outside, too. I might as well stay in the palace where more things are happening,” Zu An explained.

“Where more things are happening?” Zhuxie Chixin laughed angrily. “What kind of place do you think the imperial palace is? There are concubines and princesses living here. How can a man casually reside in the palace?!”

Zu An mumbled, “Am I not an Embroidered Envoy though? What’s the point of this status if I don’t use it?”

Zhuxie Chixin was speechless. He took a deep breath and then asked, “Then why were you not there when we came earlier? Where did you go so late in the night?”

Zu An said, “I was just going for a stroll around the imperial palace. It hasn’t been long since I came here, so I wanted to familiarize myself with this place. I was worried that an attack like last time might happen, so I wanted to be more prepared just in case. That way, I’d be ready once something happens.”

“You were going for a stroll around the imperial palace so late at night?” Zhuxie Chixin laughed again. “What did I tell you before? The imperial palace is full of distinguished individuals, and you can’t casually roam this place; you have to avoid them. Did you already forget?”

“But I went out for a bit because I was bored. I didn’t expect that I would become suspicious because of that!” Zu An quickly added, “Chief Commander, even though it hasn’t been long since I joined the Eastern Palace and I don’t know the crown princess too long, judging from what I do know, she would never do something illicit with another man.”

Zhuxie Chixin harrumphed coldly. “If it weren’t for my trust in the crown princess’ character, do you think his majesty would still have the patience to have me ask you so many questions?”

Zu An looked shocked as he said, “So it was his majesty who wanted to question me.”

“Who else did you think it would be? Now that something so major happened, how could his majesty not get involved?” Zhuxie Chixin said coldly, “Through our analysis, we’ve determined that you and the crown princess have most likely been framed. You need to tell me everything that happened between you and the crown princess. Only then can I properly deal with the aftermath.”

Zu An said with an honest expression, “Chief Commander, why don’t you believe me? There’s really nothing that happened between me and the crown princess. I didn’t see the crown princess after I left the imperial study.” He obviously wouldn’t admit what had happened even though he sensed some sincerity, feeling that both the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin wanted to deal with the aftermath. Even if that happened, the crown princess might remain alive, but he would be dead for sure.

He still remembered how even though he had clearly saved the crown princess during Yun Jianyue’s attack, he almost lost an arm because he had touched her back then. Meanwhile, today, the two of them had gone through all that. There was no way the emperor would allow another man to defile his daughter-in-law, right?

Zhuxie Chixin gave him a deep look. A while later, he said in a low voice, “Very good. In the future, no matter what anyone asks you, you need to just grit your teeth and say that no matter what.”

Zu An looked at him in surprise. Is this fella secretly helping me? Looks like the favor from last time is coming in clutch now!

Zhuxie Chixin coughed. His voice returned to normal as he asked, “Then have you seen anyone suspicious?”

“No.” Zu An shook his head. “The entire palace went crazy not long after I left. The Imperial Guards seemed to be looking for someone. I was worried that something might have happened, so I returned. Then, I saw you guys waiting here.”

Zhuxie Chixin sat down in his chair again. His fingers tapped lightly on the table. He began to think to himself. The sound of his tapping was magnified in the sealed room, giving off a natural feeling of pressure.

A while later, Zhuxie Chixin said, “Someone will bring you into the imperial prison for further interrogation in a bit. You should understand what you should say and shouldn’t say when the time comes. Furthermore, his majesty has instructed me to tell you that you’re not to expose your identity as an Embroidered Envoy.”

“Understood!” Zu An didn’t feel that bad inside. Since the emperor had said so, that meant that he still wanted him to deal with King Qi. That was why, as long as he didn’t expose that he had done anything to the crown princess, the emperor wouldn’t kill him.

Zu An couldn’t help but ask, “Why is this matter reaching all the way to the imperial prison? Shouldn’t this matter be investigated in private as much as possible? Making it public like this will tarnish the crown princess’ reputation.”

After a bit of hesitation, Zhuxie Chixin explained, “There isn’t just one giant in the palace. Many powers belong to King Qi. They’ve begun to stir, so how can we possibly put this matter down quietly? The crown princess’ identity is special, so we can’t interrogate her. We obviously need to start from you.”

Zu An smiled bitterly. The ordinary people of this world had no authority after all.

…

When Zhuxie Chixin left, Zu An was quickly escorted to the imperial prison. The Right Guard General Guo Zhi sighed when he saw him. “Brother Zu, I didn’t expect to meet you again in this type of situation.”

Zu An forced a laugh and said, “Me neither.”

Guo Zhi wanted to say something, but then hesitated. While no one was paying attention, he said through ki transmission, “The Imperial Director, Commandant of Justice, and Supervisor of Attendants will interrogate you one after another. Good luck.”