The Crown Princess could only accompany him. She didn't need to worry about the pastries being poisoned, since the Crown Prince was born to the Empress's sister, and they were still on the same side in their fight against Prince Qi.

However, seeing her nominal husband wolfing down his food made her feel extremely ashamed, but she couldn't show it at all. She could only stand there in a daze, and unconsciously thought of the Eleventh Lord who had saved her in the crisis last night. She sighed softly in her heart.

The other members of the Eastern Palace were also taken to another side hall and given refreshments. They were all thrilled to receive such favor from the Empress.

Zuan was secretly taken to another palace by Xiao Guizi, where the empress was lying lazily on the couch, her dress outlining her voluptuous curves.

A bottom wider than shoulder width, better than a living god...

Zu'an silently offered a comment, thinking to himself that he wondered what the emperor was thinking, ignoring such beautiful concubines. It was truly a case of the rich being thirsty while the poor are drowning in water.

The Empress casually waved her hand, signaling Xiao Guizi to leave. Eunuch Lü, who seemed to have already received instructions, also went to stand guard outside the door.

Zuan couldn't help but laugh, "The Empress deliberately sent everyone else away, and now only a man and a woman are left in the room. Could it be that the Empress is lusting after my body?"

The Empress's expression turned cold, and she said in a deep voice, "You dog servant, you're getting bolder and bolder. Believe me or not, I'll send someone to drag you out and beat you to death right now."

Zu'an also stopped smiling: "Your Majesty, I have shown you enough respect in public, but in this private meeting, you still want to threaten me like this? Have you misunderstood something?"

Seeing his extremely aggressive gaze, the Empress's heart suddenly skipped a beat. For some reason, her long-parched heart seemed to return to the gentle spring rain of her youth.

She sat up a little straighter, her voice softening slightly: "I...I called you here mainly to ask what happened to the assassin from yesterday."

Seeing her attitude change so quickly, and she even stopped referring to herself as "I," Zu'an was taken aback. "Do I have to be fierce to you before you act like this? Are you a masochist?"

He said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, that assassin is already under my control and won't say anything out of line."

The Empress's expression changed: "You didn't kill him?"

Zuan smiled slightly: "What if I kill him, and then the Empress secretly has someone kill me?"

The Empress's expression shifted between light and dark. She had indeed harbored this intention and had originally planned to send Eunuch Lü to silence him. Although killing a mere attendant of the Crown Prince was somewhat troublesome, it was worth the risk compared to her reputation. She did not want to leave any evidence in someone else's hands.

Zuan glanced at her and said, "Don't worry, as long as I'm safe and sound, that person will remain under control; of course, if something happens to me, there's no guarantee there won't be rumors circulating outside."

Liu Ning's anger level increased by 444!

The Empress was furious, knowing full well that the other party was threatening her, but the key was that she really had no way to stop them.

She said in a deep voice, "Do you know that if something goes wrong and that assassin escapes, we will both be doomed?"

“I have everything arranged perfectly, there won’t be any problems,” Zuan said confidently.

"I hope you won't disappoint me. Get out." The Queen rubbed her temples, feeling extremely annoyed.

Zu An's expression turned cold. He took a step forward and pinched her cheek, saying, "Woman, don't talk to me like that."

He knew that in this strange relationship, the weaker he was, the more likely the other party would get into trouble. The only right way was to take control of the situation.

The Empress was stunned; she never expected that this guy would dare to be so disrespectful to her!

---

I've been updating three chapters a day for 13 consecutive days since the beginning of the month, and now I'm really at my limit. I feel completely drained. I could probably grit my teeth and keep going for another two days of three chapters, but for someone like me with no writing skills, that means I won't have time to work out the later plot, and it might fall apart later on. For sustainable development, I'll go back to updating two chapters a day, probably at 9 am and 5 pm. I hope I can stabilize the update schedule and maybe I can build up some drafts and then do some big bursts of updates every now and then.