"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

As he was carried out of the imperial study by two eunuchs, Zu An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The reason he had been sweating was because he was worried that the other party would replay the contents of the jade pendant in front of him.

In that case, no matter what was captured inside the jade pendant, he would be silenced.

Now that the other party has let him out, it proves that they still believe what he said before. As long as there is nothing harmful in the jade pendant, he can be considered to have passed the test.

Well, as long as there's nothing harmful inside...

To be honest, he had done all he could at this point, and now it was up to fate.

At this moment, in the imperial study, a golden light emanated from the emperor's fingertip and touched the jade pendant. Immediately afterward, the jade pendant flew into the air and projected an image like a projector.

A giant octopus monster was seen coiling around Zhao Ruizhi, its tentacles stretching everywhere. Even through the screen, one could feel the terrifying pressure emanating from it.

Zhao Ruizhi, his body radiating golden light, was resisting the attacks of those tentacles.

However, as the golden light burst forth, the projection inside the jade pendant also broke.

The emperor remained silent, presumably because the force of the two sides was so strong that it damaged the jade pendant's ability to continue recording.

However, what we just saw is enough to illustrate the point. The emperor could naturally see that his divided soul had been forced to use all its power.

"Alas, man proposes, God disposes. How could we have known that such a small secret realm would hide such a peerless monster?" The emperor's expression shifted between light and dark. Suddenly, he looked up in the direction of the academy. "That secret realm is usually managed by the people of the academy. Did that old fellow, the Grand Master, really not know, or did he deliberately set a trap?"

Zhao Hao was naturally suspicious, and in that instant, many possibilities had already surfaced in his mind.

He then immediately issued an order to summon his trusted ministers to the palace to discuss important matters.

At this moment, Zuan, who was on the stretcher, smiled slightly, because he knew he had passed the test.

If the emperor had truly seen something he shouldn't have in that jade pendant, he would have already chased after him and reduced him to ashes.

At this moment, two eunuchs said, "Lord Zu, His Majesty has specially prepared a guardhouse for you to live in the palace. This is an immense favor from the Emperor."

"Yes, yes, many officials outside the capital are not qualified to stay overnight in the palace. It must be because His Majesty is considerate of Lord Zu's serious injuries while saving the Crown Prince and Crown Princess that he made a special exception for him."

...

The two eunuchs started talking at once, clearly thinking that Zu'an had made such a great contribution this time and would definitely be a favorite of the emperor in the future, so they naturally wanted to curry favor with him.

Zu An sneered inwardly. The Emperor's move was clearly to place him under house arrest in the palace to prevent the news from leaking out.

However, this is also good, there are advantages to staying in the palace.

He pointed eastward: "Don't go back to the guards' quarters yet, I'm going to the East Palace."