After saying that, she waved to him and strode away with her long legs.

"Teacher Jiang, I'll see you off." Bi Linglong followed, not even glancing at Zu An.

Zuan was a little annoyed. Although he knew he shouldn't act too intimately in front of others, this was a bit too much.

Meanwhile, as he sat idly in his room, the emperor was playing chess on his couch in the imperial study. Zhu Xie Chixin stood silently below him, not uttering a sound, for fear of disturbing him.

He secretly admired him. A few days ago, the emperor was obviously absent-minded, but recently he had completely calmed down and regained his former composure.

After a while, the emperor finally spoke: "Who has Zu'an been in contact with these past two days?"

Zhu Xie Chixin replied, "He went to the East Palace before, and after returning to the guards' quarters, Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun looked for him, and then the Empress went to see him."

"Empress?" The emperor frowned slightly, and the chess piece he was about to put down suddenly froze in mid-air.

Zhu Xie Chixin explained, "The Empress not only looked at him, but also at the other guards, gave them some medicine, and encouraged them."

The emperor nodded. These people had saved the crown prince, and as the crown prince's family, it was only reasonable for her to express her gratitude.

Ultimately, he hadn't considered any other possibilities, given that the Empress and Zu'an seemed to have absolutely no connection on the surface.

Zhu Xie Chixin continued, "This morning, Jiang Luofu from the National Academy visited the Crown Princess in the palace, and then the Crown Princess took her to see Zu An."

"Jiang Luofu? The Jiang family is considered semi-neutral, and they also have the background of the Imperial Academy Chancellor. It's not surprising that she entered the palace," the emperor said, a slight smile playing on his lips as if he had thought of something amusing. "I remember that Linglong and she used to be somewhat at odds because Jiang Luofu was the first choice for the Crown Princess, but she ran away and they chose her instead. She has always held a grudge about that, but now the two of them have actually gotten together."

Zhu Xie said with a heart full of sincerity, "After all, these are old matters. The Crown Princess is sensible and would not keep such things in mind forever."

As the emperor's confidant, he knew that the emperor was very satisfied with this daughter-in-law, so he naturally had to say nice things to him.

The emperor smiled and nodded: "Indeed, Linglong is increasingly showing the demeanor of a queen. Her performance in this secret realm was also quite good."

Zhu Xiechi's heart skipped a beat. The other party's evaluation was quite high. He quickly followed suit and offered some compliments.

After a while, the emperor suddenly asked, "By the way, after Jiang Luofu met Zu An, did she inquire about what happened in the secret realm?"

Zhu Xie Chixin replied, "No, it was just some greetings from friends. I also brought some gifts for Chu Youzhao, Murong Qinghe, and Xie Daoyun."

With so many people accompanying him at the time, there were naturally his informants among them.

The emperor was taken aback: "Zu'an is so popular, he has connections with all sorts of forces. What exactly is he planning to do?"

Towards the end, his voice became icy cold.

Seeing this, Zhu Xie Chixin made a downward slicing motion with his knife: "Should I take this opportunity... since he is seriously injured, we can claim to the outside world that his injury has relapsed, and no one should suspect anything."

Although the two had some drinking buddies, as a confidant of the emperor, he had sensed the emperor's murderous intent towards Zu'an several times during this period, so he naturally had to distance himself from the other party to avoid getting burned.

“Not for now,” the emperor raised his hand to stop him. “This fellow has other uses.”

"Yes!" Zhu Xie Chixin lowered his head. He knew the emperor too well. The emperor's words meant that once Zu'an was no longer of any use, it would be destroyed immediately.

"Alright, you may leave." The emperor waved his hand, staring at the densely packed chess pieces on the table, lost in thought.

After Zhu Xie Chixin left, a long time later the sound of a chess piece being placed echoed in the room: "I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me!"

A few more days passed, and Zu'an, who wasn't sick, was almost getting sick from being so bored.

The Empress never came again during this period. It is unknown whether she was completely satisfied that time or worried that her whereabouts would be exposed.

Zuan tried to go to the East Palace to talk to Bi Linglong, but each time the secret passage was locked tightly, obviously locked from the inside.

Left with no other choice, he could only play Pai Gow with Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun for amusement.

Until the day came the news that he was free to leave the palace.

"However, you must remember one thing: nothing that happens in the secret realm can be revealed to outsiders, especially the affairs of those experts in the Qi Prince's Mansion," Zhu Xie Chixin personally instructed the group.

"Why?" Park Duan-diao couldn't help but ask. He knew that of all the guards, only the two of them survived; the rest had all died at the hands of the Qi Prince's assassins. Naturally, they wanted to avenge their former friends.

"You don't need to know why, just obey orders. You will receive the rewards you deserve, but!" Zhu Xie Chixin said coldly, "If I hear any gossip outside, not only will you die, but your families will also be buried with you. The reason I spared your lives is because of your merits in protecting the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. Don't be ungrateful."

Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun exchanged a glance, clearly feeling a little guilty.

Zuan couldn't help but ask, "But what if it wasn't us who leaked it, but someone else found out through other channels?"

Zhu Xie Chixin said calmly, "You will all die anyway." Then he left.

The people of Zaun: "..."

Soon, the group understood why Zhu Xie Chixin had given such instructions, as news of various rewards and punishments had already spread inside and outside the palace.

For his outstanding service in protecting the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, Zu'an was promoted from Baron to Viscount, his fief was increased by 300 households, he continued to serve as the Crown Prince's Junior Attendant and concurrently as the General of the Imperial Guard, and was awarded a thousand taels of gold and twenty chests of silk and satin.

Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were each promoted three ranks, directly becoming the head of the Eastern Palace Guards, and were rewarded with a thousand taels of silver and a quantity of silk and satin.

Gao Ying, Pei You, and others were all given corresponding rewards, and even those who died in battle, such as Zhao Xi, Liu Xian, and Meng Pan, were posthumously honored.

The names of the other family members and palace guards who died in battle were all recorded and commemorated with a monument.

Shi Tong of the Shi family infiltrated the secret realm team to plot against the Crown Prince. Shi Miao, the head of the Shi family, knew about this but did not report it because he harbored resentment and was plotting rebellion. The death-exemption token he had previously issued was revoked, and his family was directly confiscated and his clan exterminated, with collateral relatives being exiled.

The Gu brothers, Gu Heng and Gu Xing, betrayed their master for personal gain and plotted to murder the crown prince. As a result, the entire Gu family was executed, including nine generations of their relatives.

...

To everyone's surprise, the official account never mentioned King Qi or those assassins, as if all those experts in the secret realm had never appeared.

---

The two chapters have been combined.

I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned, and it was so sour...

When you look in the mirror, please don't look at the inside of your teeth, or you'll be tempted to get them cleaned too.