Zhu Xiechi hurriedly lowered his head and apologized: "Your Majesty, I dare not, but Your Majesty has been quite troubled by this matter lately..."

"There's no need to use the Emperor to pressure me. I know what I'm doing." She left those words calmly, then turned and left.

Watching her departing figure, Zhu Xiechi gave a bitter smile. The Empress's temper had become increasingly strange over the years, and ultimately it was all because of the Emperor.

He went back and exchanged a few pleasantries with Zu'an before leaving. Before the emperor made a decision, he still needed to keep his distance from these people.

Then some guards ran to congratulate Zu'an, clearly indicating that the Crown Princess and Empress's rewards made everyone realize that he was definitely going to be a prominent figure in the future.

After dealing with them, Zuan lay in bed pondering what was to come, and then unknowingly fell into a deep sleep.

His days in this secret realm were filled with constant fear, and he barely had a chance to close his eyes.

He didn't know how long he had slept when suddenly a sense of alarm rose in his heart. He jumped up from the bed, grabbed the neck of the man in black next to him, and pinned him down.

"What's wrong?" A familiar voice came from outside; it was Eunuch Lü's voice.

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. Looking into the noble yet alluring eyes of the person he had subdued, he realized it was none other than the Empress.

"It's nothing, go outside and keep watch." As Zu'an released his grip, the Empress spoke up.

"Hmm," Eunuch Lü mumbled in response, clearly somewhat disgruntled.

Zuan ripped off the mask from the man in black, revealing a beautiful and mature face, and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Why are you dressed like this?"

"Some people kept saying they were coming to Kunning Palace to see me, but they never came, so I had no choice but to come and see for myself." The Empress lay on the bed, her hands naturally raised and placed on her head, which further accentuated her stunning figure.

Zuan noticed her night clothes, then looked out the window, not expecting to have slept until late at night.

He paused for a moment before realizing what was happening: "Isn't it a wonder that the Empress is wandering around like this in the middle of the night, isn't she going to end up in the wrong bed?"

The Empress's eyes were alluring: "With you in my bed, there's no mistake."

Zu An secretly marveled at her skill, thinking that if Mi Li hadn't reminded him earlier that she wanted to absorb his essence to restore her cultivation, he probably would have been fooled and thought that this woman was deeply in love with him.

"Thank you so much for your kindness, Your Majesty." Zu An let go of her hand, got out of bed, and went to the side to pour himself a cup of tea.

Seeing that he didn't rush over in a hurry, a hint of surprise flashed in the Empress's eyes. She then lay on her side, propping her head up, and looked at his figure: "Everyone in the palace says that you are seriously injured and on the verge of death, but you don't look injured at all. Aren't you afraid that I will report you to the Emperor?"

Zuan downed the herbal tea in one gulp: "If you go and report me, I'll just tell him, 'Your wife is amazing.'"

Empress: "..."

Even though she prided herself on her strong mentality, she was almost broken down by his words.

Zu An thought to himself, "You little rascal, if you knew that I actually said that to the emperor not long ago, you would probably faint from fright."

"Your Majesty, what has happened in the capital while I was away?" Zu An asked. After leaving the secret realm, he was taken to the palace by Zhu Xie Chixin and placed under house arrest. He had no access to news from outside the palace.

If there is insufficient information, it is easy to make wrong judgments.

Currently, who is more suitable than the Empress to understand what is happening inside and outside the palace?

"Am I not beautiful enough to have the mood to care about these things?" The Empress snorted, but still replied, "After you entered the secret realm, you stirred up the hearts of various forces. The Prince Qi's mansion seems to be confident, and the Emperor also seems to be sitting on the sidelines. Although I don't know their respective trump cards, I am more willing to believe in the Emperor. Zhao Jing can't outmaneuver him."

Zuan nodded in deep agreement. Zhao Hao was a real schemer; he had played everyone for fools from beginning to end. If it weren't for the chance encounter with the West Dog Hill Secret Realm, he would be dead by now.

The Empress then sneered, "Later, when the secret realm encountered problems, the Grand Master personally determined that the elements of heaven and earth inside had collapsed. On the surface, the people in the Qi Prince's mansion were heartbroken, but in reality, they almost burst out laughing."

Clearly, as the Crown Prince's maternal family, they did not have any goodwill towards the Qi Prince's lineage.

"His Majesty acted very strangely during that period. I have never seen him so panicked before. Although he tried his best to cover it up, he could fool others, but how could he fool me?" the Empress said with certainty. After all, the two had been husband and wife for so many years and knew each other too well.

"His Majesty has been in a bad mood lately. Many of the eunuchs who serve him have disappeared without a trace. I heard they were executed for making some minor mistakes." The Empress frowned. "His mood only improved after you all came out of the secret realm safely, but only slightly. I can still feel his suppressed anger."

Zu An thought to himself, how could he not be furious? His divided soul was inexplicably destroyed in the secret realm, and his lifelong plan for immortality had come to naught.

"Besides that, has anything else happened in the capital?" Zu'an continued to ask.

“Your affairs are the most important thing,” the Empress said, somewhat puzzled as to why he was dwelling on this issue, but she thought for a moment and replied, “Besides that, our people have clashed with the Qi Prince’s mansion several times on the back mountain of the academy, and Zhu Xie Chixin is not here, resulting in many deaths and injuries; that young master of the Chu family is always asking for his brother-in-law, acting like a sissy, no wonder the Chu family has declined, it’s all women dominating; the former Grand Minister of Agriculture, Sang Hong, and his family have returned to the capital, the Emperor trusted him a lot back then, and recently he has often consulted with him about something…”

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