Sensing the coldness in his eyes, Meng Chan panicked for a moment and dared not pretend anymore: "I heard you're looking for the Horn of Bai Ze?"
Zu An was startled and hurriedly asked, "Who told you that?"
Meng Chan replied, "Your Majesty, it doesn't matter who I heard it from. What's important is that I can get my hands on the Horn of the White Ze."
Zuan snorted coldly: "What I think is more important now is why you knew I was looking for the Horn of Bai Ze."
He initially only spoke to a few people in the academy, but later arranged for the Embroidered Robe Envoy, the demon clan's Nanxun, and some officials from the Eastern Palace to help with the search. Regardless of where she obtained the information, it seemed to be no small matter.
“The Regent is currently enjoying unparalleled power, and countless eyes are watching everything he does. You sent those people to help investigate before, but there are no secrets in this world that stay hidden forever,” Meng Chan said with a self-deprecating smile. “Although the Prince’s Mansion and the Meng family are in ruins, they are still families with a thousand-year history. There are still some old friends who remember our kindness. They may not be able to help us with other things, but they can still do this kind of small favor.”
Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that she would deduce his relationship with the Eleventh Gold Medal or the Grand Commander from the Embroidered-Robed Envoy, but now it seemed that he had worried too much.
Given his current status as regent, it's perfectly reasonable for him to entrust the Embroidered-Robed Envoy with the task of finding the Horn of the White Ze.
"You really can get your hands on the horn of the Bai Ze? You know, there are very few people in the world who have even heard of such a legendary beast." Zu An couldn't help but be skeptical. Even figures like Shen Xuzi and Ji Dengtu didn't know about it, so how could a noble lady like her possibly have it?
Meng Chan glanced at him with a languid expression: "Could you let me get dressed first? I'm really embarrassed like this."
Zuan: "..."
Does this woman realize how embarrassing she is now?
Why did you take off your clothes as soon as you came in?
However, since things had come to this point, he couldn't press the matter further, so he turned around and casually waved his hand.
Meng Chan blushed and pulled her clothes up again, fastening her belt and buttons as she said with admiration, "There are rumors outside that the Regent is a womanizer, but seeing you today, I find you to be much more of a gentleman than I imagined."
"Don't flatter me. All I need right now is the White Ze Horn. If you're lying to me, the Meng family and the Prince of Dai will be in even worse shape than they are now," Zu An said coldly.
“The Regent really doesn’t understand romance,” Meng Chan said with a resentful look, before adding, “Alright, I’m dressed.”
With Zu An's divine sense, he naturally knew she was dressed: "Can you explain in more detail now?"
Meng Chan nodded: "The Meng family is a family with a long history. I'm not bragging, but stating a fact."
Zuan nodded, signaling her to continue.
Meng Chan continued, "Many years ago, there was a prodigy in the Meng family. He loved to explore various secret realms. Once, he returned with the carcass of a strange animal. At the time, no one in the Meng family knew what it was. The prodigy said that the animal was called Bai Ze and told the family to keep it safe, as it might be of great use in the future."
"Unfortunately, that genius died not long after while exploring another secret realm, and no one knows what use the Bai Ze was. However, the Meng family still preserved its body as a specimen."
"However, as time went by, its body slowly decayed, and eventually only one horn remained."
Zuan interrupted her: "No, the Bai Ze beast should be extremely powerful. Even if it dies, its body shouldn't decay within a short period of a thousand years."
Unlike the previous world, this world is different. Even after death, some powerful beings can still kill people with their residual pressure. Immortality of the physical body is practically a given.
Perhaps it will turn into bones in a few thousand or tens of thousands of years, but according to her, it has been no more than a thousand years since then, so how could only a corner remain?
Meng Chan sighed, "Your Majesty, I am, after all, the eldest daughter of the Meng family and the Princess Consort. How could I not know that the remains of these mythical beasts can be preserved for a long time, and not fabricate such a flawed story? Because this is indeed a fact. The speed at which the head of the Bai Ze decayed was beyond imagination. It even began to decay at a strange speed not long after that genius ancestor brought it back. I wonder if it was due to the influence of that secret realm."
Zuan frowned. What she said did make some sense; such obviously false statements actually gave them a touch of truth.
As for the strange rate of corruption, it is likely that Bai Ze left the secret realm, and the environments on the two sides are different. The laws of heaven and earth here are somewhat incompatible with it.
He thought for a moment and said, "But as far as I know, the Meng family's treasury has been seized by the imperial court. You're offering something that no longer belongs to you as a bargaining chip?"
Meng Chan shook her head: "A family like the Meng family, which has a history of thousands of years, surely understands the principle of having multiple burrows, and many of their collections are hidden in other places."
Zu An snorted coldly: "According to you, the Meng family's wealth accumulated over a thousand years should be an astronomical figure. With so many treasures, how could you possibly know about this Bai Ze Horn?"
I always felt that everything was too coincidental, and since this woman was known for her cunning and resourcefulness, I was always worried that she was plotting something.
“There aren’t as many treasures as everyone thinks,” Meng Chan sighed. “Our aristocratic families have accumulated a lot, but they also spend a lot. Especially as time goes on, the common problems of large families keep emerging, with more and more spoiled brats. It’s already too late to change things. Our Meng family has been doing well these past few years. We can barely manage to balance our income and expenditure by relying on our power in the court. Many other ancient families have already started to squander their wealth.”
"As for the horn of the Bai Ze, I also think it's quite a coincidence. Maybe it's fate's arrangement," Meng Chan said with a self-deprecating smile. "When I was a child, I loved to play in the treasure vault. I fell in love with that crystal clear horn at first sight, so I asked my grandfather to give it to me. So even though the court sealed up all the treasure vaults of the Meng family, it was impossible for us to get that horn of the Bai Ze."
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