Zuan: "???"
He had initially thought that the emperor had secretly kept him on as a sign of favor, and he was happily waiting for the emperor to bestow some reward upon him, since he had saved quite a few people today. Who knew that he would receive such a remark?
Brother, why are you not playing by the rules?
His hair stood on end, and his instinct was to run away, but he immediately forced himself to calm down. Although the emperor was only speaking through the mirror, with his cultivation level, it would be quite easy for him to kill him from a distance. You should know that Mingyue City was more than 10,000 miles away from the capital, and his divine sense was still able to suppress the entire scene.
And then there's Qiu Honglei's master, whom the emperor easily defeated even though he wasn't actually in the palace.
Even a grandmaster like myself couldn't defeat him; I should probably give up with my current level of cultivation.
Zu An took a deep breath and said with a forced smile, "The Emperor's rewards and punishments are unfair, I refuse to accept it!"
The emperor said with an arrogant expression, "Why should I need your approval in my life's work?"
Zuan: "..."
You think you're Chen Beixuan?
However, he reacted quickly and immediately said, "Your Majesty, if you want to achieve immortality in another sense by becoming an emperor for all ages, you probably don't want future generations to think of you as a tyrannical ruler who was unfair in rewarding and punishing people and acted on his whims."
Hmph, you certainly don't need to care about my opinion, or even the opinions of the world, but you certainly won't ignore the opinions of future generations.
The emperor narrowed his eyes: "It's been many years since anyone has dared to speak to me like this."
Zu An's attitude immediately became very respectful: "I did not mean to offend Your Majesty. Today, there was a great disturbance in the palace caused by assassins. I first saved the Empress in Kunning Palace, and then I went to the East Palace to save the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. From beginning to end, my merits were at least in the top three, if not the first. It's one thing that Your Majesty did not reward me, but you even wanted to cut off my hands and feet. So, in a moment of panic, I spoke recklessly. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
The emperor snorted: "You're quite cunning, aren't you? Fine, I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself through meritorious service, so you won't be dissatisfied even after you die."
"Make amends through meritorious service?" Zu'an looked puzzled, but inwardly he thought to himself, "He just said that he doesn't need my approval for his actions, but now he's concerned about this."
The emperor continued, "Well, you need to investigate two things for me. If you do them well, I will not only pardon you for your disrespectful behavior towards the Crown Princess, but I will also reward you handsomely. If you do not do them well, you know the consequences yourself."
"What is it?" Zu'an asked hurriedly, but in his heart he was thinking, "Is it considered indecent to hug the Crown Princess? What about what I did to the Empress? No, I absolutely cannot let him know, or I will be executed by slow slicing."
The emperor, unaware of his thoughts, said to himself, "The first thing to do is to investigate how those assassins were able to sneak into the palace through the heavy guard."
Zu An asked curiously, "Didn't His Majesty already send the Left and Right Guards Generals to investigate?"
The emperor glanced at him sideways: "They can investigate theirs, you can investigate yours, is there a problem?"
Zu An's heart skipped a beat: "No problem." Judging from his words, the emperor probably didn't really trust the Left and Right Guards Generals.
The emperor continued, "The second matter is to investigate who leaked the information that I was not in the palace. The assassins timed their attacks so precisely; I don't believe it's just a coincidence."
Zu An smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, I have only been in the capital for a few days and I don't know many people. Moreover, my position is low. How can I investigate such a matter? Why not let Commander Zhu Xie or someone else investigate? Their methods are definitely much more experienced."
"Just investigate when I tell you to, why all the nonsense?" The emperor was also annoyed. Normally, his ministers wouldn't dare to breathe loudly in his presence, but this guy not only dared to talk back to him, he even tried to bargain.
Zu An chuckled awkwardly, "I was just trying to think of the quickest and most effective way to investigate the case for the Emperor."
The emperor hesitated for a moment, then thought that since he was to be asked to investigate the case, there were some things he should know. So he said, "The reason I chose you is because you have only been in the capital for a few days, have no relatives or friends, and therefore have fewer entanglements."
Zu An's heart skipped a beat: "Does His Majesty suspect Lord Zhu Xie and his group?"
The emperor gave him a cold look and did not answer directly, but continued, "Only a very small number of people knew that I had left the palace this time, but the information was leaked out, which is why I need you to investigate."
Zu'an was in turmoil. The emperor was indeed not in the palace: "I wonder where the emperor went?"
The emperor glanced at him silently: "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."
Zuan: "..."
Having been rebuffed, he had no choice but to change the subject to save face: "Then Your Majesty must tell me who knows you left the palace, the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, or others?"
The emperor said calmly, "The empress and the others don't know. Only the few people you just saw and the eunuchs who serve me know. You can investigate yourself later."
Zuan: "..."
No wonder they invited me to a gathering of big shots; it turns out they wanted me to know who the suspect was beforehand.
Everyone says Zhu Xie Chixin is his confidant, but it seems he even has some doubts about Zhu Xie Chixin. The emperor's suspicion is indeed terrifying.
What's even stranger is that even his wife doesn't know his whereabouts, but he tells a few men. Tsk tsk tsk, it must be so pitiful to be one of his concubines. I heard that in recent years the emperor has been suffering from the five signs of decay and has been focusing on cultivating longevity. He hasn't been to the harem for many years.
Tsk tsk tsk, what a vast expanse of dried-up rice paddies! I bet even the concubines in the harem have no interest in fighting over him anymore.
At this moment, the emperor said, "You have the gold token of the Embroidered-Robe Envoy, which is enough to allow you to act with ease, so you don't need to worry about your official position. However, I must remind you that you must not reveal your true identity when investigating cases, otherwise it will affect the mission of the Prince of Qi, and you know the consequences."
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