On this day, Zu An went to the East Palace to find Bi Linglong as usual, but unfortunately she still wouldn't see him. With so many people watching from the East Palace, he couldn't show any abnormality. He couldn't use any of his tricks to coax her, and he was very frustrated.

At this moment, a eunuch ran up to announce that Zu'an was going to the Imperial Study to meet the Emperor. At first, the people in the Eastern Palace were a little envious and jealous of this, but now they were used to it. This guy was indeed very favored by the Emperor.

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He wondered if the Emperor had noticed something amiss because he had been pestering Bi Linglong every day.

Because he regarded the emperor as a hypothetical enemy, he would feel as if facing a formidable foe every time he was summoned to the imperial study.

After Zu An left, Rong Mo, who was in the room, looked at the absent-minded Bi Linglong and asked, "Crown Princess, what's wrong?"

Bi Linglong snapped out of her daze: "It's nothing."

Hmph, who cares if that guy lives or dies.

...

After Zu An arrived at the Imperial Study, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the smiling Eunuch Wen. Although judging the Emperor's mood from Eunuch Wen's expression was not very reliable, it could still tell a thing or two.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." After entering the room, Zu An quickly glanced at the emperor. As expected, he still had that stern face.

The emperor put down the memorial: "Has Yu Nan caused you any trouble these days?"

Zu An replied, "Your Majesty, the Yu family and the Bi family have had some minor conflicts these days, but they haven't come looking for me."

The emperor smiled and said, "That's natural. A few days ago, rumors were all over the capital. Even the Yu family couldn't quell them with the help of the government. You don't have that much power yet, so they naturally can't take care of you for the time being."

"It's all thanks to Your Majesty's wisdom and might, otherwise I would have been in trouble..." Zu An showered him with compliments.

The emperor's expression softened: "Are you wondering why I rejected Yu Xuanchong's resignation before?"

"Forgive my ignorance, but I truly cannot understand," Zu'an said frankly, while wondering why the other party would discuss this with him. Surely an emperor doesn't need to explain this to his subjects?

The emperor rose and went to the bookshelf next to him. Looking at the huge map hanging on the wall, he said indifferently, "The Yu family controls most of the Yuan Stone business in the world. Their disciples and former officials are all over the court. Although the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is very high, it makes little difference to Yu Xuanchong whether he has it or not."

Zu An nodded secretly. The Yu family was incredibly wealthy. After Yu Xuanchong resigned, he would be able to make a comeback soon. In the end, this was just a matter for Yu Nan. Moreover, if it hadn't caused such a stir, even Yu Nan wouldn't have been in any trouble. Naturally, it would have been difficult to use her to deal with Yu Xuanchong.

The emperor continued, "The Yu family has always been close to Prince Qi. I am wary of them not just because they are a mere Left Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, but because they are the Yu family."

Zu An felt a chill run down his spine. The emperor had begun to gradually eliminate Qi Wang's allies. Once Qi Wang was all alone, that would be the time for the emperor to make his move.

The implication of the other party's words seemed to be that they were not satisfied with just dismissing the Yu family members from their posts, but rather wanted to bring about the downfall of the entire Yu family.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder; the emperor before him was truly ruthless.

As expected, the emperor's gaze fell on a piece of land in the north of the map: "The Yunzhongyu family, as the name suggests, has its main base in Yunzhong County, which is also where the largest Yuan Stone mine of the imperial court is located. They have occupied it for so many years, they should have enjoyed their good fortune enough."

Zu'an silently mourned for the Yu family; having caught the emperor's eye, their fate was sealed.

Suddenly, an image of a stunningly beautiful woman in a carriage flashed into his mind, and he couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, Lady Yu seems to be a friend of yours."

Although he knew that such persuasion would not be of much use, he could not simply ignore the fact that Yu Yanluo had helped him in the past.

The emperor turned around and looked at him with a half-smile: "You and she seem to have a good relationship. She even came to me to plead for you back then."

Zu An's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said, "It's just because I accidentally saved her life in Bright Moon City back then, so she's probably just repaying that favor."

Who knows what the emperor was thinking? He certainly couldn't admit how good his relationship with the other party was.

The emperor nodded in relief. He knew that Yu Yanluo was once incredibly beautiful and talented, and she had never paid any attention to many outstanding people. How could she possibly have any good feelings towards this ordinary and unremarkable boy? "Don't worry, Madam Yu is a good friend of mine. I will take good care of her when the time comes."

Zuan thought to himself, "Is this placement your idea of ​​sending someone to your harem?"

Although the emperor has refrained from indulging in women in recent years in order to prolong his life, he would usually make an exception for the most beautiful woman like Yu Yanluo.

He originally thought he was already a scumbag, with many female confidantes around him, but these big shots in the capital, if they only had twenty or thirty concubines, they could still get a reputation for not being lecherous. Compared to them, he was as pure as a white flower.

Suddenly, he felt a pang of anxiety. Why was the emperor telling him all this? Was it because he was about to be given another arduous task?

As expected, the emperor said, "Be prepared to go to Yunzhong County in a few days."

Zuan: "..."

The emperor, disregarding his feelings, continued, "A few days ago, local officials of Yunzhong County jointly submitted a memorial, stating that the Duke of Yunzhong County has been missing for a long time and requesting the court to reconsider the matter of the title of Duke."

"Heh," the emperor sneered, "it seems some people are already impatient to take the throne."

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't the Duke of Yunzhong Yu Yanluo's husband?

This man was probably the happiest man in the world, but now he's become the most unlucky man.

He tentatively asked, "What exactly happened to the Duke of Yunzhong's disappearance?"

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