Chapter 1713: Olive Branch
Now, people’s gazes all fell on King Qi. Many of them knew just how badly Zu An had screwed King Qi over the past few years. If his majesty wanted him to speak, that meant Zu An was done for.
At the same time, the King Qi faction’s people frowned slightly. His majesty really is crafty. He clearly wants to execute Zu An, and yet he didn’t say it and instead had King Qi speak. Doesn’t this mean he wants King Qi to take responsibility?
Even though Zu An was an orphan, he had befriended quite a few clans. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been so many people speaking up for him. Furthermore, his identity as the Regent was troublesome. If the Fiend races learned that King Qi had caused his death, they could very well try to settle the debt with their king.
King Qi smiled and said, “Sir Zu has indeed made a mistake, but it is as Sir Jiang said; he has brought back contributions for our human race. As such, dealing with him so quickly would only make the hearts of our people grow cold. Furthermore, having a human as the Regent is better than the Fiend races putting one of their own in that position, no?”
Those present were all shocked, especially those from King Qi’s faction. They hadn’t expected him to actually speak up for Zu An. They understood clearly just how much King Qi hated that Zu bastard. Could it be that King Qi was taking a step back to advance even more quickly? Was it that he knew that the emperor wouldn’t agree with him, so he deliberately spoke this way? Was he actually hoping for the emperor to deal with Zu An himself?
Our king really is brilliant!
The emperor was a bit surprised, clearly not expecting King Qi’s answer. He replied, “Then according to what King Qi is saying, we should not punish him for colluding with the Fiend races?”
King Qi nodded and said, “Not only should we not punish him, we should reward him greatly. After all, he has brought back an incredible achievement. Furthermore, his identity as the Regent is very favorable for us. It will become much easier to accomplish our interests in the Fiend races’ territory through him in the future.”
A commotion erupted when the others heard those words. Even though Pei Zheng had been arguing for Zu An’s execution, he couldn't say anything anymore out of respect for King Qi.
However, the emperor’s faction didn’t have such misgivings. They all began to ridicule the other side, with one person even saying with a sneer, “He has already become the Fiend races’ Regent. King Qi, who do you really think he will help more, the Fiend races or the human race?”
King Qi didn’t seem to agree and replied, “That is but a simple matter. Just make Sir Zu a king as well. If he is a king on both sides, I trust that as a human himself, he will definitely care more about our side.”
King Qi’s faction stared at him, their jaws hanging open. They had thought that King Qi was just backing off so the emperor would end up doing what he wanted, but now, it seemed that King Qi was serious!
Bi Ziang was full of jealousy as he looked at Zu An. Previously, the noble rank of count had already made him incredibly envious, and now, Zu An could even become a king? Just how old was he? Furthermore, granting someone outside of the royal family the title of king was exceedingly rare even throughout previous dynasties!
He was getting angrier and angrier. In that instant, he had discovered that he now had to look up to the person he had previously seen as a slave. He found it hard to calm his emotions for a long time.
Zu An was also surprised to hear that King Qi would speak up for him. However, Mi Li’s voice said in his mind, “What is there to be surprised about here? That’s just how the world works. Good people or bad people? Only the immature would care about those things. For most people, they only care about whether the other person is useful or not.
“A useful person, no matter how bad one’s relationship with them is, is naturally shown much higher tolerance. On the contrary, no one pays a useless person any attention no matter how kind they are.
“This is precisely the value of networking. Now, with your new identity, King Qi has a higher evaluation of you. The way he treats you is naturally different.”
Zu An frowned. He felt that her wording was a bit too extreme somehow, and yet he didn’t exactly know how to argue against it.
Zhao Han coughed and said, “What King Qi says has some justification. However, bestowing the title of king is still too shocking. This needs to be discussed carefully later.”
It was clear that he didn’t want to pursue Zu An’s responsibility in this matter any further. The other subjects weren’t stupid. Even though some people were a bit unhappy, they wouldn’t go against the emperor and King Qi’s intentions publicly. Thus, they quickly began to discuss how Zu An would be dealt with. He wasn’t to be punished or rewarded for now, but he wouldn’t be allowed to leave for the time being, either.
Zu An felt a huge headache. He had been about to reunite with his beautiful sisters in Violet Mountain, and yet now, he had been tied down here.
Still, he knew that this matter was an important one. The fact that they hadn’t decided to pursue it in an extreme manner was already quite good for him. He had already been mentally prepared to fight for his life.
…
After the court assembly ended and Zu An left, he was suddenly startled and looked to his left. He only saw an Embroidered Envoy standing there. The patterns on his clothes were completely different from those of any other Embroidered Envoy. It was none other than the Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin, who had been missing for a long time already.
Zu An took the initiative to greet him, saying, “Chief Commander, long time no see.”
The other important ministers gave him a look full of disgust. It was clear that they all avoided Zhuxie Chixin, as they viewed him as nothing but trouble to interact with. However, that was precisely what the two wanted anyway, as they didn’t want others to listen in on their conversation.
Zhuxie Chixin voiced his acknowledgment. “It seems you’ve experienced quite the meteoric success as of late. It really makes one unable to help but develop a whole new level of respect.”
Zu An was surprised when he sensed the envy in Zhuxie Chixin’s tone. He suddenly understood why Zhao Han knew about his Regent identity. It was likely this person who had brought the information back from the front lines.
“Chief Commander speaks too seriously; it was nothing more than a fluke. Aren’t I still Chief Commander’s subordinate?” Zu An replied without batting an eye.
Zhuxie Chixin’s expression finally eased up a bit. He said, “Do not be impatient. If you do well working for his majesty, you will be properly rewarded.”
Zu An sneered inwardly. This guy and Zhao Han are really good at bullshitting. They’re only good at giving empty promises.
However, he didn’t show it as he asked, “Where has Chief Commander been? Many things have happened in the Embroidered Envoy system as of late.”
“I carried out a secret mission. You should know our rules; don’t ask about what you’re not supposed to,” Zhuxie Chixin responded coldly.
Zu An sneered inwardly when he sensed the strong bloody aura on Zhuxie Chixin’s body. I know what kind of atrocities you committed without you having to say it, anyway.
“Chief Commander seems to have already broken through the door of the grandmaster rank,” he remarked. Even though Zhuxie Chixin didn’t deliberately show it off, he could keenly sense the changes to the other man’s aura.
Zhuxie Chixin was stunned. He hadn’t expected to be seen through like that. But now that he had finally made progress in his long-cherished wish, he couldn't help but become a bit proud. He said, “I suddenly obtained an opportunity and was able to have a successful breakthrough.”
“Congratulations, congratulations!” Zu An replied, although he felt extremely cold inside. The so-called opportunity was probably from that massacre, right?
…
The two separated soon after, and Zhuxie Chixin returned to his troops. Zu An secretly asked Mi Li, “Master empress, when did you wake up, by the way?”
“I can’t remember.” Mi Li said with a grin. “A certain someone seemed to be pursuing both the master and disciple. I may have already been awake then.”
Zu An was speechless. He asked, “Are you a pervert? Do you have a hobby of peeping on others or something?”
Mi Li’s expression grew cold as she snapped, “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” Zu An muttered. “I just feel as if you never even fell asleep in the first place.”
Because Mi Li’s inner ki had suffered great damage, he hadn’t suspected anything the first time she fell asleep. However, he had always found it a bit weird when she slept on subsequent occasions.
“If you hadn’t done anything shameful, there wouldn’t have been anything to worry about regardless of whether I slept or not,” Mi Li said with a snort.
Zu An thought to himself, Who would want everything they did to be completely exposed to someone else?
Suddenly, he was startled. He turned around and saw a middle-aged man dressed in official robes and a jade belt walking over. It was none other than King Qi. Zu An hadn’t expected him to approach directly, and asked, “Does the respected king have any wisdom to share with me?”
“Sir Zu is too polite. Ah, no, I should call you Regent now,” King Qi said with a smile.
Zu An looked at him with suspicion. He couldn't figure out what King Qi’s intention was.
“Weren’t you quite surprised just now?” King Qi continued, getting straight to the point.
“I was indeed,” Zu An said with a chuckle.
“Brother emperor seems to have wished for you to be punished. There are quite a few of his ministers who share his intentions,” King Qi said with a sigh.
“Aren’t there many followers of the king who are the same?” Zu An added calmly.
“That’s different,” King Qi said, shaking his head. “Sir Zu has been faithful and true to brother emperor these years, and yet in the end, you were nothing more than a lone official. Sir Zu is quite intelligent, so you should understand that an official all on his own won’t have a good end.”
Zu An paused for a moment before saying, “Respected king, after what’s happened between the two of us, what you’ve just said seems a bit meaningless.”
King Qi nodded and said, “Indeed. This king did hate you for ruining my plans, but that’s already a thing of the past. Today is a different day, and we need to look forward.”
“Because of my identity as the regent?” Zu An laughed mockingly.
“I won’t deny that’s a factor,” King Qi said. “But in the end, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. I’ve been watching coldly as a bystander as of late. Brother emperor doesn’t seem to have truly taken you in, but rather, is preparing to throw you away. You should have also sensed this.”
“What does respected king really wish to say?” Zu An asked seriously.
“Do you still remember the agreement of cooperation we made in the past? Why don’t we have another alliance?” King Qi offered, not hiding his intentions at all.
Zu An chuckled and said, “Respected king, even if I agree, you might not trust me, and there is no way I’ll trust you. Is there any meaning in such cooperation?”
“That problem did exist in the past,” King Qi said with a nod. His expression suddenly became mysterious before he continued, “But what if we become one family?”
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