Chapter 1709: Ominous Premonition
Zu An sighed in relief. He thought, The imperial clan really is a dark place… They don’t even hesitate in silencing others.
To be honest, if not for the fact that he had some status and skill, he likely would have just been killed off immediately too. Still, according to Zhao Han’s arrangements, he would no doubt be silenced sooner or later.
When she was certain that Eunuch Wen had left, Concubine Bai sighed in relief. She almost collapsed on the spot. Even though the whole interaction hadn’t taken that long, her heart was all the way up in her throat. She had thought that she was dead for sure, so how could she not feel excited now that she had another lease on life?
Still, Zu An’s way of saving her was just too outrageous. She had been worried that she wouldn’t be able to fool Eunuch Wen. Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly. That feeling of escaping from the brink of death was a completely new one to her.
The look she gave Zu An was full of adoration and respect as she asked, “What do we do now?”
“This skill of mine can’t be maintained for too long,” Zu An said. As time went on, unless Pin Ru’s Wardrobe was also next to them, the target would definitely return to their original appearance. Leaving a wardrobe in the tent wouldn’t be that conspicuous, but he couldn't just keep it with him wherever he went, right?
He continued, “But we’ve already set up camp today, and there are patrolling soldiers everywhere. We’ll easily startle people if we leave. Once the army continues its march tomorrow, I’ll find a way to send you out of here.”
“Alright,” Concubine Bai said. She understood the current situation. She had just been condemned to execution, so Eunuch Wen and even the emperor could have left some people to watch them. If something strange happened now, they could both end up being killed very quickly. She looked at Nanny Ping’s body lying on the bed and asked, “How do we deal with her corpse?”
Zu An stored the corpse straight into the Brilliant Glass Bead. Even though it couldn't store living things, storing corpses wasn’t an issue. He said, “I’ll leave tomorrow with the excuse of disposing of the corpse. I don’t think Eunuch Wen and the others will suspect anything.”
Concubine Bai voiced her understandin, remarking, “You’ve thought about this more deeply than I have.”
…
Then, Zu An took Concubine Bai out of the tent while Pin Ru’s Wardrobe was still active. There hadn’t been any people stationed around the tent to begin with, and those who passed by saw that it was just Nanny Ping, so no one paid them too much attention.
However, it became a bit awkward in the evening, as Eunuch Wen had had someone arrange a tent for Zu An. Concubine Bai had nowhere to go, so she could only hide inside. However, things in the army were always simplified as much as possible; so, there was only a simple bed in the tent, and it was extremely narrow. When she saw that, Concubine Bai was a bit troubled.
However, Zu An said, “ You should sleep on the bed. I’ll just meditate off to the side.” This was an extremely important matter, so he didn’t dare to have Concubine Bai leave his sight. Otherwise, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to respond in time if something happened.
Concubine Bai shook her head and replied, “You’ve already saved my life, so how can I let you suffer such an injustice? You should sleep on the bed and I’ll meditate.”
Zu An smiled and said, “Your body is already so weak, so don’t be overly polite. I’m pretty tough and have already gotten used to this.”
Concubine Bai’s face turned red as she asked, “You always let the woman sleep in the bed while you stay off to the side?”
Zu An was speechless. His expression darkened as he said, “I meant I’m used to meditation. Either way, a single night isn’t that long. It isn’t too strange for cultivators.”
Concubine Bai understood her current situation, so she didn’t force it any further. After freshening up in a simple way, she withdrew under the covers. Still, how could she sleep so easily? She carefully peeked at the man near her, blinking her large eyes from time to time. She saw that Zu An seemed to have closed his eyes earlier when she was preparing for bed and looked like he was sleeping. He really was acting like a gentleman.
Ah… why did I have to say that I’d repay him in the next life if he passed on a message for me? Now, he’s even saved my life, which is way more than passing on a message. Just how am I going to repay him?
“Is there something on my face?” Zu An, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes and asked. He had clearly noticed that she had been staring at him the entire time.
Concubine Bai said in embarrassment, “For some reason, it’s a bit hard for me to fall asleep.”
“That’s nothing strange after what you just experienced,” Zu An said with a nod. He then asked, “Right, there was no time earlier, but why does the emperor want you dead?”
After some hesitation, Concubine Bai said, “Actually, I come from the Devil Sect…”
Zu An nodded and said, “I know.” As she was willing to tell him the truth so frankly, it seemed that he hadn’t saved her in vain.
Concubine Bai exclaimed in surprise, “You knew?”
Zu An voiced his confirmation and said, “The reason I came here is that Yun Jianyue entrusted me with the task of rescuing you.”
Concubine Bai’s face immediately lit up. She said, “You didn’t have to tell me about these things, and I would have felt even more grateful to you.”
Zu An chuckled and replied, “What, you aren’t grateful anymore?”
“Of course I am. I don’t even know how to repay you anymore…” Concubine Bai said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Zu An instinctively blurted out, “There’s a joke from my hometown that goes like this. When a woman is saved by a man, if the man is ugly, she’ll say that she’ll work hard to repay the favor in her next life. If the man is handsome and her type, she’ll say that she can’t repay this tremendous favor with anything else, other than to devote everything to him…”
After saying that, he immediately realized that it was a bit inappropriate and quickly added, “Uh… I just thought of some things from the past. I’m not implying anything.”
Concubine Bai’s face turned bright red. It was unclear whether she believed him or not. After a moment of silence, she said, “I didn’t expect you and senior sister to be so familiar with each other. She even asked you for help with this kind of thing.”
If not for the fact that she had been undercover in the Imperial Palace, there wouldn’t have been any way for Yun Jianyue and the others to carry out their assassination so easily. The reason Yun Jianyue had been able to leave so easily after was actually because of her help behind the scenes. She had always been aware of Yun Jianyue and Zu An’s connection, so she had done her best to provide Zu An with help in various ways. She had thought that she was the one who knew everything behind the scenes, but she now discovered that his relationship with Yun Jianyue was even deeper than she had thought. In that instant, she felt like a little clown.
Zu An didn’t want to talk too much about Yun Jianyue, as he was worried that a junior sister like her would notice something. He said, “Even if your identity was exposed, there should be no reason for the emperor to kill you. After all, you are his… Ahem, you are the mother of the imperial grandson, right?”
Concubine Bai’s expression grew serious as she said, “Actually, I always had a feeling that the emperor already knew about my identity a long time ago, but he just left me to my own devices. That’s why I was caught off guard by all of this too.” She paused, but a while later, she slowly said, “With my understanding of the emperor, he seems to have had some kind of bad premonition. All of this seems to be… preparation for what happens next.”
“What happens next?” Zu An repeated in surprise. Who was Zhao Han? He was the number one most powerful being in the entire world! Even if there was some kind of conspiracy on Violet Mountain, how could he be so weak as to need to prepare for the event of his death?
“I don’t understand it either,” Concubine Bai said. “Maybe it’s because he had some sort of premonition, or maybe his heaven and man deterioration is drawing closer than expected, but he’s been getting rid of some unstable variables. If something were to happen to him, as the mother of the imperial grandson, I could cause quite a bit of trouble. My Devil Sect background is a potential risk to the crown princess’ side, and I could even seize control over the court. He probably wasn’t willing to take that risk.”
Zu An thought to himself, No wonder Bi Linglong never liked Concubine Bai that much. So it was because of her political acumen allowing her to understand the threat Concubine Bai had to her position. After all, she and the crown prince were only husband and wife in name, never mind producing a child.
However, the speculation Concubine Bai proposed was really interesting. Could it be that Zhao Han really did sense the threat of death approaching?
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