Yu Nan and the others frowned. As core members of King Qiâs faction, even though they didnât necessarily know exactly what had happened in the dungeon, they knew that King Qi had definitely invested quite a bit. Yet in the end, everything had failed because of a final lack of effort. It was probably all because of Zu An.
They thought, This kid already made it clear that he was the emperor and the crown princeâs dog, so why the hell are you inviting him?
But King Qiâs prestige was great. Even though they didnât understand it, they wouldnât actually go against his decision.
Zu An was overjoyed. The fish took the bait! But he pretended to be troubled on the surface. âA meal might be a bit inappropriate. After all, I still have a case to investigate over here.â
King Qi smiled. âYou can just ask me directly about your questions regarding the case. After all, thereâs no one more familiar with this case in the entire manor. We can talk about it slowly inside.â
He had been absolutely confident in the cultivators he placed in the dungeon. After all, he had even sent in four of his powerful guardians as a failsafe! Despite that, it had still resulted in failure. He just couldnât figure out what had happened, but Zu An definitely knew.
Furthermore, his defeat was just way too bitter. Previously, they had been evenly matched against the emperor, but now, they had already been forced into a passive position with their strategy. No matter how capable those under him were, they still couldnât think of any ways of turning the situation around. Meanwhile, Zu An was a variable. If he could somehow obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and raise his strength greatly, he would be able to turn things around.
Zu An finally reluctantly agreed when he heard those words from King Qi. âSince King Qi has asked with such sincerity, Iâll stay for a meal.â
Those guards under him had originally been shaking in fear. But now, when they blinked, they seemed to have weathered this storm? And King Qi was even acting so politely?
Yu Yan and the others almost vomited blood. Why the hell does this kid even look reluctant to accept this? Is he trying to step all over us?
You have successfully trolled Yu Nan for +333 Rage points!
You have successfully trolled Lian Yu for +333 Rage points!
You have successfully trolled Zhao Xiao for +333 Rage points!
â¦
King Qi was a bit more shrewd in his thoughts. He wasnât too affected and gestured for those present to come in. Soon afterward, Zu An and Yu Nanâs party followed King Qi into the manor. As for Zu Anâs subordinates, Han Fengqiu took care of them.
Zu An asked many questions regarding King Qiâs concubine along the way, and King Qi patiently responded to all of them. Even Zu An was amazed at how good his attitude was. Only after sitting down did Zu An realize that even though King Qi had answered his questions, he hadnât provided any useful information. His ability to dodge questions left even Zu An impressed.
Just then, Madam Qi also arrived under the escort of a maid. She smiled when she saw Princess Chanshan and Lian Yuâs wife. But when she saw Zu An, her smile instantly froze.
You have successfully trolled Bi Fanghua for +458 Rage points!
She clearly still carried resentment after Zu An beat up her son.
She quickly looked toward King Qi. King Qiâs lips moved slightly, and he was clearly conversing with her in private through ki. Only then did her expression ease a bit. She sat down in her position and didnât even give Zu An a single look.
Yu Nan said with a smile, âMadam, itâs almost your birthday. I wonder how you plan to celebrate it?â This matter was the reason his group had come over to begin with.
Madam Qi shook her head. âWeâre in troubled times, and thereâs just been a death in our manor. Itâs not a good time to be arranging festivities.â
Yu Nan and the others fell silent. On the surface, she appeared to be talking about the concubine who had just died, but in reality, she was referring to their troops who had died in the dungeon. It was indeed unsuitable to hold a celebration after King Qi Manor had just suffered such a crushing defeat.
âThe madam is kindhearted after all.â Those present flattered Madam Qi, before the topic unknowingly drifted to the dungeon trip.
Lian Yu raised his head to look in Zu Anâs direction, remarking, âSir Zu has earned tremendous contributions from the dungeon test. Can you tell us a bit about what happened in the dungeon?â
King Qi nodded inwardly. Lian Yu is clever as expected. He said it so I donât have to.
âI merely killed some fools with impure motives; itâs not deserving of such praise. Itâs really not worth mentioning,â Zu An said. Despite those words, he couldnât stop himself from smiling.
This presumptuous brat! Those present cursed inwardly.
You have successfully trolled everyone for +444 +444 +444â¦
Lian Yu forced a smile and said, âSir Zu must be joking. How can someone who earned the title of Green Hat Viscount, personally conferred by his majesty, not have tremendous achievements?â
Zu Anâs face twitched when he heard the words âgreen hatâ. He felt that it would probably be better if he didnât work so hard, if things were going to end up like this. He replied, âAll of you are important subjects of the court. I believe you already know about what happened in the dungeon. Why is there a need for you to ask me any more?â
Just then, King Qi spoke up. âHow can some reports compare to hearing from someone directly involved? I hope Sir Zu can clear our confusion regarding some details in that report.â
âUnfortunately, Iâve been too busy with this case recently, and the matter of inspecting the distinguished concubineâs corpse has been a headache in itself. Itâs caused me to forget about many of the details from the dungeon,â Zu An said while holding his head, as if he were in pain.
Yu Nanâs expression changed on the spot. âRidiculous! You actually dare to threaten King Qi?â
King Qi quickly reached out a hand to stop him. âBrother-in-law, youâre speaking too seriously. Sir Zu currently bears the burden of his majestyâs orders, and all of us know what my brother the emperor is like. Sir Zu must have his frustrations with this assignment, with his life probably on the line, so his worry is completely understandable. Why donât we do this? If Sir Zu tells us the details of what happened in the dungeon, I can consider agreeing to your corpse inspection.â
The othersâ expressions changed. They were going to say something else, but King Qi raised his hand and stopped them.
Zu An gave Yu Nan a disdainful look. These young masters who had been pampered from birth really are quite lacking in temperament. Comparatively speaking, King Qi was much more shrewd. Zu An had just ruined his plan that had been prepared for many years, and yet he didnât let his emotions affect his decisions at all. On the contrary, he had not only sown conflict between Zu An and the emperor, but also tried to rope Zu An in. No wonder he had been able to face the emperor for so long!
âSince the king wishes to listen, how could I dare not to comply?â Zu An immediately changed his attitude and slowly told them about what had happened in the dungeon.
King Qi had a strange expression on his face. Zu An spoke about many details that hadnât been included in the report, but he still hadnât said a word about Lu Xiaoâs group. He basically received nothing after listening to Zu An talk all day. It was almost as if he had taught Zu An a lesson about doing such things on the way, and the kid really learned quickly.
After Zu An finished his story, he asked, âMay I ask when I can examine her highness the concubineâs remains?â
King Qi chuckled. âI said I would consider it, but after thinking about it, I feel like such a thing isnât in accordance with the royal clanâs etiquette. Iâll have to wait upon his majestyâs decision. If he issues a decree, Sir Zu can come and inspect it.â
Zu An wanted to roll his eyes when he heard those words. The other partyâs words were completely meaningless. Why would the emperor ever write such a decree? Wouldnât the elders of the royal family all start criticizing him? Furthermore, the emperor didnât want to become completely hostile with King Qi at the moment, so he wouldnât break off relations with King Qi over this.
Now that the atmosphere had become a bit stiff, Madam Qi stepped up to fulfill her duty. She decided to change to a lighter topic. âEveryone, letâs not end up so busy chatting that we forget about the food. This roast pork over here wonât taste good once it gets cold. Hm? Yu Nan, why did you stop after just trying a piece? Is the food not good? I can tell the cook to change it next time.â
Yu Nan shook his head. âThe manorâs chefs are excellent; the problem is with the ingredients.â
âHm? But the meat is from a carefully chosen month-old pig, so there shouldnât be any issuesâ¦â Madam Qi replied in confusion.
Yu Nan prodded the roast pork in front of him. âThis kind of little pig isnât a real young roast pig. True suckling pigs are fed by human milk after theyâre born, and are then butchered once they turn a month old. That produces the most tender flesh, and only then can this dish truly justify its name.â
Zu An frowned and asked, âWho in the world would feed pigs with human milk?â
Yu Nan said with an indifferent tone, âSir Zu comes from a small place like Brightmoon City, so itâs understandable if youâve never experienced this before. There are a dozen suckling nannies who specialize in feeding the pigs in the lower mansion. Iâll send Sir Zu one another day.â
Zu Anâs expression changed. There are people who live so extravagantly in this world? He isnât treating those suckling nannies as humans at all!
Forget about him, even King Qi and the others frowned.
Lian Yu found it even harder to accept and remarked, âArenât you going too far? Youâd better be careful, or else there might be people in the court whoâll come after you for going too far with extravagance and waste.â
Yu Nan didnât seem bothered at all. âWhatâs wrong with me spending my own money? I definitely canât live as miserly a life as you. Donât think I didnât know that back then, when the king heard that your peach treesâ peaches were especially sweet and wanted to try some, you secretly poked holes in them for fear that he might plant some of your peaches in his own garden⦠Hmph, you might not care about dignity, but my Yu clan does! You could even do something like that?!â
Zu An couldnât help but shoot Lian Yu a look. He then noticed that even though the latterâs clothing was appropriate, there were some areas that seemed to have lost color from overwashing. Even his wifeâs jewelry was clearly inferior to Princess Changshan and Madam Qiâs. His wife came from the Yu clan, so how could she lack jewelry? Wow, I really didnât expect this honest looking guy to be someone like thatâ¦
Lian Yuâs face reddened. He exclaimed angrily, âWhat the king wanted from me were peaches, and he didnât say that he was going to plant them! Whatâs wrong with me giving him just the peach flesh?â
Yu Nan chuckled. âYour stinginess has nothing to do with me, but please donât make my little sister suffer with you.â
Zu An had found it a bit strange earlier. The two of them were arguing right in front of him because the older brother felt sorry for his little sister and looked down on her husband. But Lian Yu had never approved of this spoiled in-law of his, so they naturally didnât get along.
Madam Qi and Madam Lian both tried to ease the situation when they saw the two fighting. But because of the conversation, the mood of the meal had already been soured. On the other hand, Zu An was having a great time. It didnât seem that King Qiâs faction was all that unified either.
In the end, Zu An wasnât able to examine Concubine Qiâs remains. When he left King Qi Manor, he first sent the guards under him back. Even though they were his subordinates, who knew how many of them were actually acting as the emperorâs eyes? He just didnât feel too comfortable with them around.
He kept walking along the main road. While he was thinking about what he should do next, he suddenly felt something and turned to look. He saw a handsome young man standing in front of him. His build was rather slender. Clearly, he was a crossdressing woman.
She held up something and brought it in front of Zu An. âExcuse me, fellow brother, did you drop this pendant?â
When Zu An saw the black object, no matter what angle one looked at it from, it was just a completely ordinary rock. He couldnât help but remark mockingly, âYouâre using just a rock? Why donât you pick up a brick next time and ask me if I dropped that?â
The young ladyâs eyes lit up. âThatâs a great idea. I now have another way to start a conversation.â
Zu An rolled his eyes and asked, âWhat are you doing here?â