He sneered, "Showing off your intelligence in front of me is not a good thing."

Zuan replied, "I'm not showing off my intelligence, I'm just stating a fact."

The emperor gave him a deep look, then changed the subject: "What do you think of the Crown Prince?"

Zu An thought to himself, "Doesn't the Crown Prince know what kind of person he is? Doesn't he have any idea?"

However, he still dared not say that the Crown Prince was stupid. After all, no matter how selfless a father is, he would feel disgusted to hear such words: "The Crown Prince is simple and honest, which is quite like the style of ancient times."

He was almost in tears. It wasn't easy for me to find such a tactful way of putting it.

The emperor was taken aback, a smile flashing across his face: "You're quite cunning."

Zu An tentatively asked, "Did His Majesty specifically send Eunuch Li to lead me to see the Crown Prince?"

Having served as an emperor in the Yin Ruins, he naturally understood the mindset of an emperor. There was no need to be subservient all the time; offering appropriate questions would actually facilitate communication.

The emperor snorted: "That guy has already been chopped up and fed to the dogs."

Zuan felt a chill run down his spine, not expecting such an answer.

In fact, he had always felt that his encounter with the Crown Prince was a bit strange. Now, the Emperor's words revealed that he had not instructed Eunuch Li to bring him to the vicinity of the Crown Prince.

Obviously, Eunuch Li couldn't have acted on his own initiative, so someone must have instructed him to do so.

As for their purpose, they probably wanted to get rid of him through the Crown Prince or the Crown Princess. After all, given the Crown Prince's character, it's easy for ordinary people to offend him. The Crown Princess also has a bad temper and is prone to beating people to death at the slightest provocation.

He was in dire straits and was being humiliated by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. He might choose to take a desperate gamble and kidnap or even kill the Crown Prince to accompany him in death.

Whether the Crown Prince killed him or he killed the Crown Prince, it would be advantageous for the mastermind behind the scenes. Obviously, that person did not have the ability to arrange assassinations within the palace, so they could only use this method.

But the person behind the scenes had no idea that he was not desperate, but rather that he originally intended to meet with the emperor to resolve the matter, and naturally he would not do things according to their wishes.

At this moment, the emperor walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the distant landscape with a hint of infatuation in his eyes: "Do you know why I arranged for you to stay outside the palace for one more night?"

Zu'an hesitated, but the emperor smiled and said, "It's fine to act smart. What I need to do next is to be a smart person, not a fool."

Zuan then said, "I've always found this strange. Logically speaking, every extra day spent outside increases the chances of something going wrong. Sure enough, assassins came. As the strongest person in the world, Your Majesty shouldn't have done something so unwise."

The emperor snorted: "Stop flattering me."

Zu An chuckled and then continued, "After seeing the Emperor, I suddenly realized that the Emperor was using me as bait to lure out various disloyal forces, and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

Previously, only the Prince of Liang and a few embroidered-robed envoys were sent. They seemed powerful, but with the allure of immortality, their strength was no match for the forces that would flock to them upon hearing the news.

He was really ruthless. The arrangements along the way weren't enough, so he made a point of giving those guys in the shadows another chance when he got to the capital.

If it weren't for his various extraordinary encounters, his grave would probably be overgrown with weeds by now.

The emperor then said, "But there must be some clever people among those forces who would knowingly jump into a trap?"

Zu'an replied, "Your Majesty's actions are very clever and not so obvious; and even if a few experts have doubts, it doesn't matter, because this is an open conspiracy. Everyone wants immortality, and those people certainly don't want Your Majesty to gain immortality, so even if there is a pit ahead, they have no choice but to jump in."

The emperor looked him over with some surprise: "If it weren't for the intelligence showing that you were indeed raised in the city, I would have suspected that you were a cunning old fox who had been in politics for decades, and that you could see things so clearly."

"Just guessing, just guessing." Zu An chuckled. Actually, the other party was right. He had been an emperor in Yin Ruins for decades, and he was already used to these tricks.

The emperor then continued, "You're right. I have indeed caught many fish lurking in the water this time. Many seemingly loyal regional officials have already sided with the other side. It seems I need to find a way to relocate them. Also, the fact that an open assassination attempt occurred in the capital means the Murong family's position as Commandant of the Capital Region is no longer valid..."

The Commandant of the Capital Region was responsible for supervising the central ministers and imperial relatives in the capital region, and also had the duty of maintaining the security of the capital region. He was similar to the head of the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Ministry of Public Security in later times, and held a very important position in the court.

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He vaguely remembered that Chu Chuyan had mentioned that her maternal grandmother seemed to be from the Murong family. Damn it, he had accidentally ruined his wife's family halfway through his life.

The emperor gave him a half-smile and said, "Tell me, what should I do with you?"

Zuan chuckled: "Seeing how cooperative I've been along the way, and how many fish I've helped catch, just casually bestow upon me a duke or marquis title or something."

emperor:"……"

Does this guy think dukes and marquises are as common as cabbages, that he can just casually bestow them upon them?

He snorted coldly: "I think you're quite clever, kid. It just so happens that my trusted eunuch died recently, so you can stay by my side and serve me as a eunuch."

Zuan: "???"

He instinctively clamped his legs together, feeling a chill in them.

----

That's all for today's chapter. I'll finish it tomorrow.