Chapter 1949: Life-Saving Straw
Zu An wasn’t in a rush to leave. Instead, he found a stool to sit down on by the wall. He carefully caressed the sparkling Bai Ze horn. To be honest, he hadn’t held out much hope for the item. He'd just thought that Meng Chan was planning some revenge or something else. He had never expected her to really have a legendary Bai Ze horn. He had never seen such a thing before either, so he couldn't help but fiddle with it a bit.
As expected of a legendary beast, this horn really is beautiful. No wonder Meng Chan was so fascinated by it ever since she was little and took it for herself.
Zu An thought that now that he had already gathered the other ingredients, he could refine a Marrow Cleansing Pill with the item. This one horn was already enough to refine many Marrow Cleansing Pills. After all, one pill definitely wouldn't need an entire horn.
Just then, Meng Chan sat down by his side. Zu An didn’t mind; he wasn’t used to someone trembling in fear in front of him.
“Regent, what you promised me…” Meng Chan said nervously.
“Don’t worry. Since you didn’t lie to me, I naturally wouldn’t…” Zu An trailed off as he turned around. His eyes landed on the trace of whiteness by Meng Chan's collar. It was clear that because of her alarm while getting dressed, she hadn’t put on her clothes properly. Now that he looked at her in his position, he could see straight inside.
“Ahem, I'll send someone to investigate the matter. The members of the Meng clan who flouted the law are done for, but the ones who are truly innocent and blameless will survive. As for King Dai,” Zu An paused for a moment before continuing, “I can spare his life as a favor to you. Still, there's no need for him to cultivate for the rest of his life.”
He wasn’t stupid either. He wouldn’t release a tiger who would come back to bite him in the future. King Dai was already crippled. Whether it was his arms, legs, meridians, or dantian and ki ocean, there was no way for him to cultivate any more.
Meng Chan pursed her lips and said, “Letting him live is already enough. Thank you, regent.”
Zu An nodded in response.
That scene from the academy’s mountaintop room couldn't help but appear in his mind. He hadn't felt much back then, but now that he thought back, Meng Chan was an incredibly beautiful woman, and her figure was incredible as well. No wonder she was someone who had competed with Bi Linglong for the position of crown princess in the past.
What is going on? Why do I suddenly feel a bit hot?
He tugged at his collar and got up, saying, “Alright, I’m leaving first.”
As soon as he said that, he instantly appeared outside. He was about to take to the skies and return when he suddenly heard a noise. Meng Chan had collapsed on the table, as if she had fallen completely unconscious.
“Hm?” Zu An was a bit confused. Meng Chan had given him the Bai Ze horn as promised, so he didn’t really want anything to happen to her. With a flicker, he instantly returned inside. He reached out to nudge her shoulder, asking, “What’s wrong?”
This woman’s body really is like cotton. How can it be that soft?
Meng Chan groaned. Her misty eyes seemed as if tears could emerge at any time. Under the flickering candle flame, her red lips were even more moist and tempting. She said, “I… I don’t know. I suddenly feel that my body is a bit hot, and I feel a bit dizzy and powerless.”
Zu An frowned. He also felt a bit hot. Normally, that wouldn't be possible. With his cultivation, the cold wouldn’t affect him at all.
Is there a third party hidden here in ambush?
That suspicion appeared in his mind. Even though he had already searched the surroundings with his divine sense, he still didn’t feel at ease. He scanned everything again.
However, there were no issues. The nearby residents were all well-behaved folk who showed no sign of cultivation. Most of them had already fallen asleep. After all, this world didn’t have as rich of a night life as his previous world. Most commoners couldn't afford to waste money on oil for a light source and went to sleep early. The next morning, they would need to get up to work before the sun was even up, so they needed to rest and recover too.
As expected, in any world, it's the common people who have it the hardest.
However, there was one family among them that was an exception. The husband and wife were… engaging in baby-making exercises. He could clearly hear the woman’s moans through his divine sense. The sounds filled him with alarm.
There's no ambush, nor are there any enemies, so what's going on? Could it be that she was poisoned by a political enemy in prison, and the poison is now acting up?
He checked Meng Chan’s pulse, sensing that the energies within her body were incredibly restless. Her pulse was steady, but there was a thriving life force within. There was no sign of poison.
Huh? Why does this situation seem a bit familiar?
Just when things were starting to make sense, Meng Chan groaned. She tugged at his hand and leaned her entire body against his, saying, “I… I feel awful... It’s so hot…”
She tugged at her collar as she spoke. Her clothes had been hastily put on before to begin with, and now that she tugged at them a few times, it was enough to expose a large area. Her exquisite collarbone was in full view, as well as a pair of beautiful snowy peaks.
Zu An voiced his surprise. “Your condition seems… It seems…”
It seemed she had been drugged by one of those indecent drugs! However, just who had drugged her? He naturally couldn't just push her away. She was clearly in a half-conscious state. If he left and someone else came, it went without saying what would happen. She was still an honorable princess, and it wouldn't be right to leave her to that fate.
Meng Chan suddenly sensed something. She said with a charming smile, “It turns out the regent… still has some reaction to me. I really was so embarrassed back at the academy.”
She had been completely discouraged back then. Ever since she was little, she had been constantly showered in attention, with countless admirers and pursuers. Later, even after becoming Madam Dai, countless men had visited King Dai Manor on ‘official matters’ just to be able to speak a bit more with her. And yet before this man, all of that pride had been completely shattered. Only now was she able to feel that she wasn't lacking in charm.
Zu An frowned. The sensation he was experiencing felt a bit familiar. It was as if he had experienced it not too long ago. His eyes landed on the candles that were burning in the room. After Meng Chan entered the room, apart from looking for the Bai Ze horn, the only thing she had done was light them.
“You put Worries Be Gone Rosemary into the candles?” he asked with a scowl. He finally understood that it wasn’t someone else who had used the drug, but rather that she had used it on herself. And of course, he was affected as well. If not for the fact that he had already encountered the strange drug before in King Jin Manor, he likely wouldn't have had any idea what was even happening.
Meng Chan was stunned, saying, “The regent really is unfathomable. You even know about such a rare drug.”
“It’s all thanks to King Dai trying to drug Madam Jin with this substance before,” Zu An said before he stopped talking. If he said any more, perhaps she would realize something.
Meng Chan was shocked and furious, exclaiming, “That scoundrel! He actually did such a thing!” Her fair skin was already turning red, and her entire body gave off an astonishing feminine smell.
Zu An gave her a look.
Are you any better? Weren’t you trying to do the exact same thing here?
“Why?” Zu An asked seriously. “I already agreed to let you go, so why would you still do this? Could it be that you want the Meng clan and King Dai to recover their former authority?”
“That’s not it,” Meng Chan said, quickly shaking her head. She said in a pitiful tone, “It's only because I was raised in one of this empire’s most influential clans. Ever since I was little, I was used to seeing people try to outwit each other, so I never trusted in things like promises. It's common to see the old foxes in the capital agree one moment, but immediately sell each other out as soon as they turn around. I only wanted to add a bit more security for myself.”
Indeed, this was her real trump card. No matter what she did, she always had a backup plan. She always considered what to do if she failed. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to serve as Bi Linglong’s opponent for so many years.
At first, she had tried to use a honey trap on him in the Royal Academy. If she'd succeeded, everything would have worked out. However, she'd ended up failing. Still, even though she'd seemed alarmed, everything was still within her expectations. She had then brought out the Bai Ze horn, something that Zu An urgently needed. Between that and what had happened previously, Zu An gradually lowered his guard against the honey trap, not realizing that she actually still had another card to play. Then, after she took him into this room and lit the candle carrying the Worries Be Gone Rosemary, everything would have gone smoothly then. The only regretful thing was that Zu An actually knew about that mysterious medicine.
In truth, when Zu An left, she could have just ended it there and not played her third card. He had already agreed, and as someone who had interacted with others for so many years, she naturaly knew he was telling the truth. Even so, for some reason, she had still chosen to do it. She didn’t know what she was thinking, but ever since that day, whenever she closed her eyes, she had seen his powerful figure from back then.
She was like a moth a flame. Even though she knew that it was wrong and that he was the enemy, she still couldn't control herself. She could only continuously console herself by telling herself it was all to make his promise even more secure, and that he would be less likely to go back on his word.
Zu An was speechless. He eventually asked, “Have you heard of the idiom ‘drawing legs on a snake’?”
Meng Chan gently bit her red lip and said, “I know that this might have offended you, but please don't have too many misgivings, regent. Those who are affected by this drug will forget about everything that happened. Your cultivation is higher than mine, so you'll definitely wake up first. At that time, you'll be able to remember everything once you see what happened. You can just leave after everything is done. I won’t remember a thing once I wake up. I don't need you to take responsibility, and you don’t need to feel burdened by anything either. After tonight, we'll still be strangers. All I ask for is a bit of stability and peace of mind.”
Zu An took a deep breath and asked, “But what if I leave and go back on my word? There’d be nothing you could do. Also, you wouldn’t even know just how much you gave up.”
Meng Chan smiled and replied, “I’m already in this situation, so what more do I have to lose?” She walked over to Zu An’s side and put her arms gently on his shoulders, saying, “Regent, I hope you can use me to quell your anger. This is my personal way of apologizing…”
…
“Ah!”
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Prison, a bitter scream filled the air. King Dai was lying in bed. As he looked at the subordinate in front of him, he said with teary eyes, “Be gentler! It hurts so much…”
That subordinate immediately broke out into a sweat. He said, “My king, please endure it. I am applying medicine for you. If you rest well, there might still be a chance for you to recover. Even though you will be a bit inferior to an ordinary person, you should still be able to walk again.”
King Dai was a prince, after all, and had a respected status. He was seriously injured too, so even though he was locked up in the Imperial Prison, the court had still sent some of his old servants to care for him. After all, if he died in the prison before he was fully convicted, that would look bad for everyone involved.
“Sigh, do I still have a future?” King Dai muttered with a scowl. After experiencing that night, he had already lost everything. Even if he wasn’t convicted in court, the best he could hope for was to live out the rest of his days in prison.
Of course, the more likely result was that an Embroidered Envoy would come and secretly kill him one day. His entire body couldn't help but tremble when he thought of that. He didn’t want to die. Even if he couldn't become the emperor, even if he became a cripple who lost all of his cultivation, as long as he could live, there were still too many things to enjoy in this world.
After some hesitation, the subordinate said, “My king, there is actually another way.”
“What way?” King Dai asked, grabbing his hands excitedly like a drowning person clutching to a life-saving straw.
“This subordinate doesn’t dare to say it.”
“What is there left to not dare say? Hurry up and speak.”
“...Madam is really beautiful…”
“I know Chan’er is really beautiful. Wait, what are you trying to say?”
“I heard that Zu An was quite the pervert.”
King Dai was speechless.
“You scoundrel, what are you thinking right now?!” he cried, his face turning completely red. And yet, midway through his rage, he suddenly realized his current situation. He calmed down, a trace of life returning to his eyes.
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