Zu An panicked and grabbed her: "You just caught us off guard before, but now the palace guards have reacted and the entire defense system is activated. If you go back now, won't you be sending yourself to your death?"

"But my master has been so kind to me, how can I just sit idly by?" Qiu Honglei cried anxiously.

"Old lady?" Zu An's expression was strange. That long-haired woman didn't look very old. Damn, the world of cultivation is just so unreliable. She looks like a little girl, but she's actually older than your grandma.

But when you think about how those mythical fairies were at least thousands of years old, and how perverts throughout history have been fantasizing about those fairies, like Chang'e and the Seven Fairies... would you care about their age?

Let alone celestial fairies, even some beautiful and wealthy women would be tempted by many to say, "Auntie, I don't want to work hard anymore"...

He coughed lightly, putting aside his wild thoughts, and hurriedly said to Qiu Honglei, "But you can't risk your own life to save others. I just saw you holding a dagger, ready to commit suicide. What if you go into the palace now and get captured again?"

Qiu Honglei pursed her lips: "At worst, I'll die with Master. Master must be in dire need of help right now. If I abandon him, not only will my conscience be troubled for the rest of my life, but my Dao heart will also be damaged, and I won't be able to make any progress in my cultivation for the rest of my life."

Zuan knew she wasn't lying. Many cultivation sects in this world placed great importance on cultivating one's mind and character. If something went wrong, let alone gaining insight into the Dao in the future, it would be difficult to even maintain one's current level.

He had no choice but to say, "I will first get you out of the palace safely, and then I will go to rescue your master."

"Really?" Qiu Honglei was overjoyed and threw herself into his arms, kissing him on the cheek.

Seeing the other person's surprised expression, Qiu Honglei's face turned red as she backed away: "What are you looking at? It's not like we haven't kissed before. I even sucked the poison out of your wound."

Zu An laughed: "Does that count as being related?"

“Of course not,” Qiu Honglei snorted, then a look of worry appeared on her face. “I’ll go with you, at least we can look out for each other.”

Zuan shook his head: "No, I now have the identity of an Embroidered Robe Envoy, which allows me to do many things. If you were with me, it would only cause more inconvenience."

Qiu Honglei nodded. She wasn't the kind of woman who would argue unreasonably, and she naturally knew what was important and what was not: "Then I'll have to trouble you. You must help me rescue Master."

"Yes, I will do my best. You don't need to worry too much. After all, your master is a grandmaster. He won't get into trouble so easily," Zu An comforted her, holding her hand.

Qiu Honglei's brows still showed worry: "I wouldn't be worried under any other circumstances, but this time she's facing the emperor."

"Don't worry, even if it's just for you, I will do everything I can to save her," Zuan said.

Qiu Honglei looked at him tenderly with her beautiful, watery eyes, and was so moved that she burst into tears: "Aunt, you are so kind."

The resentment he harbored for helping the Crown Princess oppose his side had long since vanished.

Zuan said with a grin, "Since it's so nice, how about another kiss?"

Qiu Honglei blushed slightly and tiptoed to kiss him on the other cheek, but he suddenly turned his face and greeted her with his mouth.

Caught off guard, their lips met tightly. She was filled with shame and quickly stepped back, her pretty face flushed red: "You...you cheated."

Zuan laughed heartily: "Having received Hong Lei's sweet kiss, I'm even more motivated to save our master."

Seeing him call her "Master" so casually, Qiu Honglei couldn't help but roll her eyes. This guy is still as shameless as ever, but... I like him.

She felt her cheeks burning and hurriedly said, "But my master is wearing a mask, how will you know which one is her later?"

Zu An's expression was strange as he recalled the woman's charm in the Eastern Palace: "With her long hair, it would be hard not to recognize her, wouldn't it?"

“That’s true.” Qiu Honglei couldn’t help but laugh. Over the years, she had always envied her master’s cascading hair.

“I’ll send you out of the palace first,” Zu’an said, glancing at a city gate nearby. “I’ll distract the guards while you climb over the wall and get out.”

He specifically chose this location because the palace walls are relatively low.

"Alright!" Qiu Honglei looked around. As long as no one was guarding above, with her cultivation level, she should be able to climb out.

Immediately afterwards, Zuan swaggered toward the city gate not far away.

"Halt! Who goes there!" The guards at the city gate quickly spotted him.

He did not answer, but slowly walked out. The embroidered-robed messenger's distinctive attire made the guards' eyes narrow.

"May I ask what brings you here, sir?" a junior officer asked tentatively, his eyes constantly glancing at the officer's badge. He was increasingly surprised to learn that the officer was a gold-level envoy.

"I need to leave the palace," Zu'an said in a muffled voice.

The guards looked troubled: "Sir, there was just an assassination attempt in the palace. The palace gates are now closed, and no one is allowed to enter or leave."

Zu An took out the embroidered-robe envoy's gold token and placed it in front of them, deliberately shouting angrily, "I am carrying out the emperor's orders, how dare you stop me? If you delay important matters, can you bear the consequences?"

The guards looked at each other and hurriedly tried to dissuade him, but Zu An acted arrogantly, which made them gradually get angry.

The gold medalist is amazing!

Uh, that seems impressive.

However, since there was an assassin in the palace today, they dared not let anyone in or out, and they were confident in confronting him.

As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, the guards on the nearby city walls slowly moved closer. After all, if a conflict broke out, these people at the gate would likely suffer a great loss if they faced the Golden Embroidered Robe Envoy.

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