Upon hearing that not only would Zu An not be punished, but he would also be given an important position, the Crown Prince hesitated for a moment: "I see..."
The Crown Princess glared at him: "What, you don't even believe me anymore?"
The crown prince immediately wilted, and hurriedly said with a grin, "Trust, trust, trust! Linglong's words are the greatest truth. Guards, bestow upon Zu'an one hundred taels of gold, five hundred taels of silver, and additionally... additionally..."
He was stunned, and looked at the Crown Princess for help: "Linglong, what official title should we bestow upon her?"
The Crown Prince had no concept of the various official positions in the Eastern Palace.
The Crown Princess said in a deep voice, "Let him be appointed as the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor."
The position of Crown Prince's Junior Tutor is equivalent to that of the Emperor's Attendant-in-Ordinary, a high-ranking and powerful position. Nominally, it is an official position like a secretary-general or chairman's assistant, but in reality, its power is comparable to that of a prime minister.
Of course, the position of Zhongshuzi did not have the same power as that of Shizhong, and its authority was limited to the Eastern Palace.
"Then let's appoint him as a junior official." The Crown Prince didn't take it seriously; naturally, whatever the Crown Princess said went.
The Crown Princess nodded slightly, then looked at Zu An: "Why don't you quickly thank the Crown Prince?"
"Your Majesty and Crown Princess thank you!" Zu An was startled. Having been in the Eastern Palace for so long, he naturally knew what the position of Zhong Shuzi was. He never expected that he would be given such a crucial position this time.
It seems the Crown Princess is indeed keeping her promise, and is now promoting him extensively to repay his previous kindness in saving her.
The Crown Princess spoke with the Crown Prince for a while, which brightened his mood, and then he happily took Xiao Hezi and Xiao Xuzi out to play.
After leading them away, the Crown Princess, who had been all smiles, suddenly turned grim and stared at a little eunuch trembling in a corner, saying, "Guards, drag him away and beat him to death."
The little eunuch could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground with a thud: "Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me!"
The Crown Princess's face was cold, and she ignored him. Soon, her confidants dragged the terrified eunuch away.
Then she coldly surveyed the entire room: "Gossiping in the Crown Prince's ear, this is the consequence. I hope no one will do such a stupid thing again."
"Yes!" The group of people bowed respectfully, silenced by her imposing aura.
Zu An then realized why the Crown Prince had targeted him as soon as he arrived today; someone had been stirring things up.
The Crown Princess is truly remarkable; she is fully aware of every move happening in the Eastern Palace. She found this person so quickly and dealt with him swiftly. Surely, no one will dare to betray her own side again.
"Lord Zu, please come in with me. I have something to ask you." After saying this, the Crown Princess got up and walked into the inner hall.
Zuan was stunned. The Crown Princess was too bold. We just had a rumor about us, and she doesn't even try to avoid suspicion.
However, he also had many questions he wanted to ask her, so he followed her inside.
Pu Duandiao nudged Jiao Sigun, who was standing next to him, with his elbow: "Do you think Brother Zu would really have something going on with the Crown Princess?"
Jiao Si Gun quickly moved away from him: "If you want to die, don't drag me down with you."
Park Dan-diao immediately realized that he was being reminded and quickly shut his mouth.
After Zu An and the Crown Princess entered the inner hall, the Crown Princess said, "Bring a stool for Lord Zu."
Soon a maid ran to bring him a stool, and after Zu An sat down, he respectfully said, "I wonder what business the Crown Princess has with me?"
When in front of others, it's still important to observe proper etiquette.
The Crown Princess waved her hand, and the maids retreated to the door. The door certainly couldn't be closed, otherwise there would be endless gossip.
The maids stood guard outside the door, a distance that allowed them to see the situation inside and avoid any gossip, but also prevented them from overhearing what the two were saying.
"How have you been in the prison?" the Crown Princess asked after all the maids had left.
Zu An immediately said, "It was utterly dark. As soon as I arrived at the prison, the Emperor's men subjected me to severe torture, trying to find out if I had violated his daughter-in-law. Later, Prince Qi's men also subjected me to severe torture, trying to force me to admit to having an affair with you, so they could take care of you and the Crown Prince. But I was as tough as nails, and I gritted my teeth and persevered from beginning to end, without yielding in the slightest."
"Severe torture?" The Crown Princess's expression was a half-smile. "But I don't see any injuries on your body."
Zu An's expression remained unchanged: "That's because I have a strong recovery ability, and I still have the spiritual medicine that Doctor Ji gave me back then, which is why I barely recovered. Crown Princess, you don't need to be too grateful to me. A real man never complains of pain. Also, don't fall in love with me because of this. I am a married man."
Crown Princess: "..."
"How can you be so lazy?" The Crown Princess rolled her eyes. "I heard that you have a good relationship with General Guo Zhi of the Right Guard. You're living like a god in the prison every day. You're just short of hiring a few courtesans from the brothel to serve you."
Zu An sighed: "I didn't expect that the Crown Princess, who has been living in seclusion in the Eastern Palace these days, would still be so well-informed about what's happening outside. It's true that I do have some connections with General Guo, and he didn't make things difficult for me in the prison. However, I've been interrogated quite a bit these days, and many people wished they could tear me apart. By the way, I was also assassinated in the prison. Could it have been you who sent it?"
The Crown Princess's expression changed slightly: "How could I possibly do such a thing? Although your death means there's no way to verify the truth, my innocence remains a mystery. How can that silence the gossip? I would never do something so unwise!"
Zuan smiled slightly: "I guess it's unlikely to be you."
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