Seeing that the Empress had calmed down, the once aggressive Eunuch Lü retreated and quickly disappeared into the shadows, as if he had never existed at all.
Because of his previous speculation about his relationship with the Empress, Zu'an couldn't help but take another look. He happened to see him secretly glancing at the Empress behind the beaded curtain. His eyes were no longer as fierce as before, but filled with tenderness.
Unfortunately, the empress didn't even glance at him.
Zu'an wished he could escape and eat a melon; these two really have a problem. But it seems to be just one-sided on the part of Eunuch Lü.
That guy is really stupid. Even if he likes someone, he doesn't know how to sacrifice his own Gil?
Even if a woman loves you deeply, what's the point of love if you've lost Gilles? No wonder the Queen doesn't even give him a second glance.
When Eunuch Lü withdrew his gaze, he found Zu An staring at him. He was puzzled. Why was this guy's eyes full of sympathy?
After the Empress finished laughing, she asked, "I heard that something happened at the Eastern Palace today?"
"Yes, another of the Crown Prince's attendants, Shi Kun, accidentally injured a vital organ while playing a game. As a result, the Imperial Hospital couldn't save him, and he unfortunately died young." Zu An said with a regretful expression. He was increasingly admiring himself, now just like those old foxes in politics, lying came out of his mouth without hesitation.
"Shifting the blame to the Imperial Hospital, that's a clever tactic," the Empress chuckled. "The Crown Princess must have taught you to say that, right?"
“That is indeed the truth, and no one needs to teach us.” Zuan was a little unsure of her attitude and didn’t dare to tell the truth for a moment.
The Empress looked at him with some surprise: "I thought you were a slippery fellow, but I didn't expect you to have some integrity."
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty." Zu An looked annoyed. Why did this sound like an insult? Oh well, you're powerful... no, I mean, you're a high-ranking official, so you're right.
"You and the Crown Prince have met more than once. What are your thoughts on the Crown Prince?" the Empress asked softly.
Zuan wasn't surprised that she knew he had met the Crown Prince several times. As the Empress, it would be a failure if she didn't know about such things happening in the palace: "The Crown Prince is simple and honest, with the spirit of ancient times."
The Empress snorted: "Are you going to use the same answer you gave the Emperor to fob me off again? Tell me the truth."
Zuan: "..."
To be honest, the crown prince is a complete idiot, a mentally challenged and imbecile person, but can you accept that?
Even if you don't blame me for saying this, how am I supposed to get along in the palace after this?
However, he couldn't ignore the question at hand. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he hurriedly said, "Although the Crown Prince's talent is average, with the Crown Princess as his wise and capable assistant, there shouldn't be any major problems."
It's said that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are natural enemies. You just mentioned the Crown Princess, so their relationship probably isn't much better.
As expected, upon hearing the name of the Crown Princess, the Empress subconsciously frowned: "Linglong is indeed very capable, but unfortunately she is too domineering. In the future, the Crown Prince will probably become her puppet."
Zuan blinked. "Your Majesty, we've only just met. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to be so forward with someone you barely know? Or has your resentment towards your daughter-in-law become so strong that you can't help it?"
"Why am I telling you all this?" the Empress chuckled self-deprecatingly. "You won't go back and tell the Crown Princess, will you?"
Zuan immediately said, "Did the Empress say anything? I didn't hear a thing."
Empress: "..."
Even Eunuch Lü, standing to the side, couldn't help but glance at him, amazed that there could be such a shameless person in the world.
“You are a clever man,” the Queen sighed. “It doesn’t matter whether you say it or not, she already knows anyway.”
Zu'an fell into deep thought. On the surface, the Prince of Qi and the Crown Prince are vying for the throne, and the Empress and the Crown Princess should be on the same side. However, since the Empress is not the Crown Prince's biological mother, even if the Crown Prince ascends the throne as he wishes in the future, her situation will be somewhat awkward.
The Crown Princess represents the interests of the Bi family, while the Empress represents the interests of the Liu family. In the future, the two groups will most likely clash.
If the Crown Princess is also a gentle person, that would be fine, but the Crown Princess has a strong personality, and the Empress Dowager will probably feel very uncomfortable.
Is she telling me all this now to win me over? After all, I'm now one of the Crown Prince's men.
"Don't overthink it," the Empress gave him a deep look. "Just do your job well, protect the Crown Prince, and supervise his studies. Don't act recklessly like you did today."
Zu An bowed and said, "Yes."
"By the way, does the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra really grant immortality?" the Empress suddenly asked.
Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He realized that her previous rambling was just a smokescreen, and this was her real purpose in bringing him here: "His Majesty has already announced to the world that there is no such thing as immortality."
The Empress smiled enigmatically: "You and I both know that the Emperor said that on purpose to appease the people, which is why I asked you personally."
Zu'an replied, "I have already presented the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to the Emperor. If the Empress is curious, why not ask the Emperor for it to see?"
Hearing his words, the Empress seemed somewhat dazed. In fact, she had asked the Emperor before, but he told her that the scriptures were stored in the form of divine thoughts and could only be read three times. Back then, Eunuch Mi read them once, Zu An read them once, and the Emperor read them once. Those scriptures had long since completely disappeared and could no longer be shown to her.
She assumed the other party was just making excuses and stopped asking. Little did she know that Zu'an's "forgiveness hat" was a disposable item. After it was used up, it would become an ordinary hat, and the divine thoughts engraved on it would dissipate. To explain this, Zu'an came up with three restrictions, which managed to get rid of the emperor. Unexpectedly, this time he even fooled the empress.
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