Chapter 715: Disappeared
Translator: Pika
“A visitor?” Zu An was confused. What kind of person would visit him at this sort of time?
Could it be the crown princess? No, she’s currently caught up in this huge scheme. There’s no way she would have the leisure to do such a thing.
Maybe it’s Zhuxie Chixin? Did the emperor send him to make sure I knew what to say? But I think we already said everything that needs to be said, right? Also, Zhuxie Chixin doesn’t need to visit me like this, he can just come straight in.
While he was baffled at who the person could be, an ice blue figure in a long dress appeared nearby, surprising him. “Chuyan!”
“Ah Zu!” Chu Chuyan broke out into a small sprint. Only when she saw that her man hadn’t been beaten did she sigh in relief.
“Why are you here?!” Zu An was surprised and happy to see her. He grabbed her small, ice-cold hands.
Chu Chuyan harrumphed and pulled her hand back. Her joy immediately disappeared, returning to her usual coldness. “Who were you expecting? That crown princess of yours?”
You have successfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +77 +77 +77…
Zu An forced a chuckle. “It’s one thing if others are framing me, but how can you think that way?”
Chu Chuyan looked rather hurt. “If that were how I really thought, then I wouldn’t have visited you first thing in the morning.”
Zu An felt warm inside and grabbed her small hand again. “My own wife treasures me the most after all.”
Chu Chuyan then said, “Even though you’re perverted, from my understanding of you, even if you did long for the crown princess, you would only go after her secretly when you were a hundred percent sure that it would be fine. You would never cause such a huge scene.”
Zu An was speechless. Sis, we’re in the imperial prison right now! Aren’t you being a bit too rude here?
As if she had guessed his thoughts, Chu Chuyan harrumphed and said, “What are you so scared of? This is exactly what we need them to know, that you absolutely wouldn’t have done anything to the crown princess.” She gave the two jailers who were monitoring the situation a look.
The jailers had strange looks on their faces. They immediately turned their heads, as if they hadn’t heard anything, but they then exchanged looks and began to whisper among themselves.
“Chu First Miss is a legendary beauty as the rumors say! But why is her personality not as cold as people say?”
“Sir Zu really is lucky to have such a stunning wife. Like hell he would do something crazy with other girls with this type of woman at home!”
“That’s hard to say. Guys get tired of even the prettiest women after a while. Furthermore, the crown princess is also pretty.”
“Fuck! I almost feel as if you’re talking about that hag of mine back home.”
“You dare gossip about the crown princess? Do you all not want your lives anymore?”
…
Meanwhile, Zu An asked, “Chuyan, why did you come here today?”
“I waited for you all night yesterday.” Chu Chuyan looked rather wronged as she continued, “But then Youzhao told me that something bad happened to you. That was how I learned about this matter between you and the crown princess. But unfortunately, night had already fallen by then, so I couldn’t enter the palace. That was why I could only wait until daytime before I could ask grandfather to let me in.
“I was even stopped by a eunuch surnamed Wen along the way. Considering how many people were crowding around him, he’s probably that general manager who serves by his majesty’s side.” Chu Chuyan sounded as if she still had some lingering fears. “I thought that I was done for and that I’d even be punished by grandfather, but he let me go just after asking me my identity. It really was strange.”
Zu An smiled. He thought to himself that he hadn’t given Eunuch Wen all those gifts for nothing.
“Then, after I arrived at the imperial prison, I thought that I could use grandfather and second grandfather’s connections to see if I could get past the Right Guard General. But when he heard I had come to see you, he just let me straight in.” Chu Chuyan looked at Zu An strangely. “I almost felt as if the two of them weren’t showing favor to my grandfather, but rather to you. Are you really doing that well in the palace, all by yourself?”
Zu An chuckled. “Of course. You know your man’s charms well. Men and women alike all fall victim…”
“Fell victim, like the way you’re in this imperial prison right now?” Chu Chuyan coldly interrupted.
Zu An fell silent. Ah… Being brutally roasted right in the middle of my boast really feels like sh*t…
Chu Chuyan quickly asked, “Just what happened last night?”
“I was obviously framed…” Zu An repeated what he had told the Imperial Director and the others. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but rather that this was the imperial prison, so there might be unwanted ears. It was still best to play it safe.
“The Shi clan is just too despicable!” Chu Chuyan’s expression turned cold. She had personally experienced Shi Kun’s shamelessness back then, having almost died in the Ursae Dungeon because of the Shi clan. She immediately believed him when he said that it was the Shi clan that was scheming all of this.
Zu An sighed. “It would be great if it were only the Shi clan. What I’m worried about is that the one behind all of this might actually be King Qi.”
Chu Chuyan’s expression changed. “It can’t be, right? King Qi’s reputation has always been good. This time, this matter has involved even the royal family, so this would be too risky for him. If it were exposed, everything would be over.” Thanks to the Qin clan’s influence, her impression of King Qi wasn’t bad.
“I hope it isn’t him.” Zu An’s expression was grim. “But even if it isn’t him, he’ll still use this chance to involve me and the crown princess in a scandal, thus weakening the crown prince’s side.”
“It would’ve been great if you had just agreed to follow me back to Brightmoon City.” Chu Chuyan had naturally deduced that this was an inevitable choice for King Qi. However, after just a moment of dejection, she quickly asked, “Is there anything I can help you with? I can’t just let you continue to be framed by other people like this, right?”
Zu An sighed in praise inside. His wife really wasn’t a pretty decoration after all. It was no wonder she had been able to manage the Chu clan’s affairs all these years.
“There is something. Can you help me investigate some people? Help me find out which eunuchs and guards are declaring that they saw me and the crown princess together, and investigate their background. See if they have any connection to King Qi or the Shi clan,” Zu An requested. “Also, help me investigate the Hundred Flower Palace’s maid Xin Rui and see what’s going on with her.”
“Xin Rui?” Chu Chuyan was stunned. “What kind of relationship does she have with this case?” She was puzzled. Zu An didn’t know the names of the others he wanted her to investigate, but he named this person.
“You don’t need to worry about that. Help me check to see if she’s still in the Hundred Flower Palace, if she’s still alive. It would be even better if you could help me look into her background.” Zu An didn’t explain in detail. He couldn’t tell her about what had happened between him and the crown princess in the Hundred Flower Palace, but he could investigate them in secret. Furthermore, the key to all of this was Xin Rui.
“Alright.” Chu Chuyan didn’t make things difficult for him. “But even if I can investigate all of this, all of this is inside the imperial palace, so the investigation will be quite slow. I’m worried that this might affect things on your side.”
Zu An said, “It’s not a problem. Seek out the empress and ask her for help. Of course, you need to investigate Xin Rui on your own. You can’t entrust this to anyone else.”
“The empress?” Chu Chuyan was shocked. “We have no friendship with the empress. She might not be willing to help!”
Zu An thought to himself, You may have no relationship with her, but I definitely do. “When you seek her out, help me tell her ‘It’s better to shatter as precious jade than to remain safe as lowly pottery’; she’ll understand and help you.”
Chu Chuyan was mystified. However, she knew that Zu An wouldn’t joke around at this type of critical moment. As such, she chose to trust him and said, “Okay, I’ll seek her out.” The Chu and Qin clan were top level clans in the court. She obviously had a way to meet with the empress.
After saying so, she was in a hurry to leave, but Zu An stopped her. “Come here, give me a kiss. Please comfort your frightened husband.”
“Do you want me to die from shame?!” Chu Chuyan immediately blushed when she looked at the jailers.
Zu An sighed. “I really might die here… We might not be able to kiss again.”
“You’re not allowed to say that!” Chu Chuyan began to panic and immediately covered Zu An’s mouth.
“Then just give me a kiss.” Zu An moved over to the edge of the bars. He had a huge smile on his face.
Chu Chuyan bit her lip. In the end, worry still overcame her bashfulness. She moved over to kiss him. Then, under the whistling and heckling of the guards, she ran away with a red face and exclaimed “I’m going to talk to the empress!”
The jailers all rushed over excitedly when she left.
“Sir Zu is really formidable! You managed to tame an ice queen so well!”
“You have to teach us!”
…
Zu An laughed when he saw their pleading expressions. “That’s easy enough; you just need the five essential truths.”
“The five essential truths?” all of the jailers looked at each other in dismay and asked.
“The first is ‘Pan An’; uh, that refers to a legendary handsome man. The second is ‘donkey’; you need to be just like me down there…”
Then, he explained the other three truths. He chatted with them while asking about what was happening in the palace at the moment.
…
After a few hours passed, Chu Chuyan rushed back with new information. “Ah Zu, I’ve already contacted the empress. She didn’t say whether she agreed or not, she only said `I understand’.”
Zu An nodded. “That’s good enough. You don’t need to worry about the rest.”
Chu Chuyan immediately added, “By the way, you told me to look into that Hundred Flower Palace’s Xin Rui. I looked into it, and she seems to have disappeared yesterday.”