It turned out that the man in white was the Jing River Dragon King in human form.

He composed himself, pretending not to know, and asked, "Who are you? Why do you ask me to save you?"

The Dragon King of the Jing River hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty is a true dragon, while I am a karmic dragon. I have violated the heavenly laws and should be executed by Your Majesty's virtuous minister, Wei Zheng, the official in charge of human affairs. Therefore, I have come to beg Your Majesty to save me!"

Zuan remained expressionless, instinctively wanting to refuse and not wanting to get involved in anything.

In fact, this whole thing had nothing to do with him. The bet was made by the Jinghe Dragon King, who insisted on betting with Yuan Shoucheng. It was Wei Zheng who was beheaded. The Tang Emperor kindly tried to save him, but because the rescue failed, instead of seeking revenge on Yuan Shoucheng or Wei Zheng, he kept pestering the Tang Emperor. Is it really true that good people deserve to be bullied?

As he was about to refuse, Zu An suddenly noticed the ruthlessness in the eyes of the Jinghe Dragon King. Looking around, he realized that he was already outside the palace and had no guards. He was as vulnerable as an ordinary person. If he angered the other party, the Dragon King might resort to desperate measures and destroy everything in his path. Then he would have nowhere to turn to cry.

He immediately smiled and said, "Since Wei Zheng is to be executed, I can save you. Go ahead with peace of mind."

The Dragon King of the Jing River was originally at his wit's end, thinking that if the other party refused, he could just take him down with him. Who knew that the other party would actually agree? He immediately felt like he had been given a chance to escape a desperate situation, and hurriedly kowtowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Watching the other party leave happily, Zu'an dared not wander around outside the palace anymore. Otherwise, without the protection of the palace's fortune, he might encounter some evil spirits, which would be troublesome.

Not long after returning home and waking up, it was almost time for court. With the help of Princess Yuanji, Zu'an quickly dressed and arrived at the Golden Palace.

Having been in a high position for many years, he was already accustomed to the ways of the palace, so there were no abnormalities in etiquette during the court sessions.

But he was never careless from beginning to end, and strived to make every detail impeccable.

The test of this kind of time-space slice is something no one knows what it will test; all we can do is make everything perfect.

He even suspected that there might be some supernatural beings in the palace who, if he showed any sign of impropriety, would discover that the emperor was possessed by an evil spirit and kill him.

After all, this world may seem like a mortal dynasty, but in reality, there are ministers who can slay dragons, and there are also people in the common people who can see through the secrets of heaven. Who knows what kind of big shots are hidden in this court?

Soon the officials finished their court audience and went about their respective duties. Zu An looked closely and recognized the identities of these ministers from his memories. Among the civil officials were Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xu Shiji, Xu Jingzong, Wang Gui, and others.

Among the military officers were Ma Sanbao, Duan Zhixian, Yin Kaishan, Cheng Yaojin, Liu Hongji, Hu Jingde, Qin Shubao, and others, each with an imposing and dignified air.

However, Prime Minister Wei Zheng was nowhere to be seen.

Zu An pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Last night I had a strange dream. In the dream, a man came to me and bowed, claiming to be the Dragon King of the Jing River. He had violated the heavenly rules and was to be executed by the official Wei Zheng. The man begged me to save him, and I promised to do so. But today, Wei Zheng is nowhere to be seen in front of the court. Why is that?"

Since he was the emperor, he naturally had to make good use of the advantages of his position.

With so many talented and capable people in the court, perhaps they know a way to break the deadlock.

At this moment, Xu Shiji stepped forward and said, "This dream has come true. Wei Zheng will come to court soon. Your Majesty should not let him leave the house. After this day, the dragon in the dream can be saved."

The other ministers all praised the idea, but Zu An frowned slightly. He knew that this would not save the Dragon King, but he didn't have a better solution at the moment, so he decided to ask Wei Zheng for advice first.

Soon the imperial envoy received the imperial decree and went to summon Wei Zheng to the capital.

Not long after, Wei Zheng rushed over and immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness upon meeting him.

"I pardon you!" Seeing the other party's terrified appearance, Zu An was also somewhat dazed. Speaking of which, Wei Zheng was a fierce man who could receive the decree of the Heavenly Court and slay the Jinghe Dragon King with his primordial spirit, yet he had to be so respectful to a mortal emperor. Could this be the majesty of a human emperor protected by destiny?

The court immediately adjourned, leaving only Wei Zheng behind. He was summoned to the Golden Palace and brought to the side hall. Zu An did not directly question him about the execution of the Dragon King, because doing so would leave no room for maneuver once things got tense.

So he tried to subtly inquire about Wei Zheng's background.

After all, being appointed by the Heavenly Court to oversee the execution of the Dragon King doesn't seem like the behavior of an ordinary person.

Unfortunately, Zu'an has lost all his cultivation and is now just a mortal, so he can't tell whether Wei Zheng has any cultivation or not.

When he saw him inquiring about cultivation, Wei Zheng solemnly said, "Your Majesty is the ruler of a country. You should be thinking about strategies for stabilizing the country and making plans for governing the nation, rather than learning from those hermits in the mountains and seeking immortality. Throughout history, emperors who sought immortality have often been incompetent rulers."

There was an air of authority about him as he spoke, and Zuan could even sense a sense of fear emanating from the body itself.

Zu'an also found it somewhat amusing that an emperor like Li Shimin, who conquered the world on horseback, would be afraid of such a civil official. No wonder there are many stories in history about this wise ruler and his loyal minister.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Zu'an did not inquire further, but instead discussed the way of governing a country with him. Now that he was the regent of both the human and demon races, he was already very knowledgeable and did not reveal any flaws in this regard.

Before they knew it, it was almost the end of the day and the beginning of the next day. Zu An ordered a palace servant to bring over a large chess set: "I will play a game of chess with you, my worthy minister."

Princess Yuanji took the chessboard and laid it out on the imperial desk.

Wei Zheng thanked Zu An for his kindness and then began to play chess with him. They took turns making moves and set up their formations.

Zuan at least studied chess with Black and White a few times at the National Academy. How could the chess skills of a cultivator be at the level of an ordinary person?

He and Wei Zheng exchanged words back and forth, and for a time they were evenly matched.

As Zu'an played chess, he pondered. According to the plot, Wei Zheng would soon fall asleep, and then in his dream, his spirit would leave his body and go to the Dragon-Slaying Platform to kill the Jing River Dragon King.

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