Chapter 1707: Repay Kindness
Zu An replied in shock, “This… might not be too appropriate, right?”
Zhao Han sounded as if he wanted Zu An to act against a certain concubine, making him begin to wonder just who the woman in question was. Don’t tell me it’s Concubine Bai?
“What is so inappropriate about that? Whatever this emperor says is suitable, that is what is suitable,” Zhao Han said indifferently. “Zhuxie Chixin is not here right now, and the highest-ranked Embroidered Envoy present is you. Who else would go, if not you?”
Zu An was startled. It seemed this wasn’t the most glorious affair, so Zhao Han wanted to make use of the Embroidered Envoy. And yet, he was worried that an ordinary Embroidered Envoy wouldn’t be able to keep the secret, so he chose Zu An.
“I will naturally share in your majesty’s burden. I wonder which woman it is?” Zu An asked, although he already had his guesses. If that task fell into his hands, the odds of rescuing Concubine Bai would be much higher than if others were a.s.signed to it.
“There is a white tent in this camp. It is the woman inside. Eunuch Wen will take you there. Deal with it cleanly and do not let anyone else know.,” Zhao Han said, then closed his eyes again. He clearly wasn’t in the mood to entertain Zu An any further.
“Understood!” Zu An replied. He looked calm on the surface, but he was actually quite frightened. He rapidly thought of a solution while also trying to figure out why Zhao Han would speak in riddles like this.
When he left the imperial tent, Eunuch Wen was already waiting outside. He received Zu An with a big smile and said, “This way, please, Sir Zu.” He had clearly already received orders from the emperor.
Zu An couldn"t help but quietly ask, “Eunuch Wen, there is no one the emperor trusts more than you. Why didn’t his majesty send you for this task?”
Eunuch Wen smiled when he heard that and replied, “This only proves how much more trust his majesty has in Sir Zu.”
In truth, it had been something he was supposed to take care of. However, since this youngster had just come back, he would be perfect for the task. In the end, such an affair was nothing good, so he couldn"t be happier to have someone else take care of it.
Zu An could sense Eunuch Wen’s happiness from his smile. He wondered whether Zhao Han was handing him this task in preparation for silencing him in the future.
In that case, rather than leaving it to a trusted aide like Eunuch Wen, the emperor could just leave it to Zu An, who would be abandoned sooner or later. That was likely why he hadn’t minded letting Zu An find out a bit.
Zu An found it hard to feel happy when he realized that. However, after thinking about it, he had to face Zhao Han directly sooner or later, so it didn’t really matter.
There were patrolling soldiers everywhere along the way. The security in the area was clearly made extremely strict to guard against a.s.sa.s.sins, while at the same time preventing people from coming and going as they wished.
Just like that, they went along a winding path until they finally arrived at a white tent. The tent was isolated, a fair distance away from any others. It had clearly been set up that way intentionally. The patrolling soldiers noticed people approaching, but when they saw Eunuch Wen, all of them bowed and withdrew.
Eunuch Wen told Zu An, “That person is inside. There is also a nanny who watches over her, but the other one is your target.”
Zu An asked again to test the waters, “Eunuch Wen, just who is the person inside?”
Eunuch Wen replied with a vague smile, “When working in the imperial family, there are questions that you shouldn’t ask. Even if you know them, you need to pretend that you don’t. That is the key to personal longevity.”
Zu An cursed him for being an old fox inwardly, but said, “Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Wen.”
He walked toward the tent afterward. Before he even reached it, however, he smelled a familiar flower fragrance. He sighed… It was Concubine Bai after all. Such a unique smell was something that no cosmetics could ever imitate.
He secretly extended his divine sense and discovered that even though Eunuch Wen hadn’t gotten closer, he kept secretly watching the situation from a distance. The emperor clearly didn’t trust Zu An that much and wanted Eunuch Wen to monitor the situation.
Isn’t Zhao Han just testing me right now? Zu An thought with a scowl as he arrived at the tent entrance. A rough voice said from inside. “What are you acting all high and mighty like some n.o.ble for?”
Concubine Bai replied in a gentle, but pained voice, “I only wanted some water. I won’t move anymore.”
“You only know how to do trifling things,” the rough voice grumbled. Then, there was a loud noise, as if someone had been given a slap to the face. “Endure it! You don’t have much time left to live, anyway.”
Then, there was a baby’s cry. The rough voice added mockingly, “Who are you acting all flirtatious for? Men might fall for it, but it’s nothing more than a pretense. It’s disgusting.”
Zu An moved aside the curtains with a frown and walked in. He saw that there was a simple bed inside. Concubine Bai was huddling inside, a handprint on her fair face, clearly from the slap just then. Her temperament was quite gentle, but in the current situation she couldn"t help but sob, making her look more and more pitiful.
Meanwhile, there was a rough, crude older woman sitting on the chair next to her. At that moment, she was gorging herself on some exquisite food on the table. The food had all been prepared for the imperial family, concubines, and other n.o.bles. From the looks of it, she was taking all of Concubine Bai’s share.
Zu An thought to himself, For better or for worse, Concubine Bai came from the Devil Sect. Why would she let herself be abused to this degree?
However, when his aura locked onto her figure on the bed, he immediately received his answer. A special seal restrained her. She couldn"t use her cultivation at all, so she was even weaker than an ordinary woman.
When Concubine Bai saw him walk in, a look of hope and joy filled her despairing face. After all, regardless of how one looked at it, their relationship was quite good.
“Who are you?” the chubby nanny asked, looking at him with a frown. Food sprayed out of her mouth from time to time as she spoke.
Zu An turned away to avoid getting it on his clothes. He said indifferently, “His majesty sent me to execute the criminal.”
When she heard that, Concubine Bai’s look of joy immediately turned into shock. However, she quickly laughed in distress and didn’t say anything.
The nanny asked with a frown. “Why isn’t it Eunuch Wen?”
“Do you think there’s anyone in this entire camp who would dare to lie about any imperial edict?” Zu An snapped impatiently. When he recalled what this woman had been doing to Concubine Bai, he found it really hard to develop any goodwill for her. He continued, “Eunuch Wen is watching outside. If you’re worried, you can go out there and ask him.”
“That’s true,” the nanny said, wiping her hands on her clothes to get rid of the food grease. “You should’ve come earlier so I wouldn’t have to waste so much time here.”
She walked to the exit afterward, clearly not intending to spend even a second more than she had to. However, when she reached the entrance, Zu An struck her unconscious with his hand.
Concubine Bai had been lying numb on the table. When she saw that, her eyes widened. Zu An moved closer and quietly asked her, “What exactly happened for you to end up like this?”
Concubine Bai smiled bitterly and replied, “It’s a long story.”
Zu An knew that time was pressing, so there was no chance for him to slowly listen to her talk. He said, “Tell me later once I rescue you.”
Then, he supported Concubine Bai, helping her sit upright. Her body really gave off an enchanting flower fragrance mixed with a hint of a milky scent. Zu An had initially planned to undo her restrictions, but he soon discovered that it was beyond his level.
“Don’t waste your time anymore. This is a seal applied by his majesty. Unless he himself were to arrive, there would be no way to undo it,” Concubine Bai said, shaking her head and looking at Zu An with her beautiful eyes. “I’m already extremely grateful that you even thought of saving me. But this matter is extremely important. It will be really bad if it ends up involving you. You should just kill me to complete your task.”
Zu An shook his head and replied, “How could I kill you?” He had already received Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei’s requests. Furthermore, Concubine Bai had helped him quite a bit in the Imperial Palace. How could he possibly kill her?
Concubine Bai didn’t know about Zu An’s relationship with the Devil Sect and was stunned when she heard that. Her neck reddened, and her voice became even more gentle. Her tone also became more sincere as she said, “You really can’t save me. Eunuch Wen is watching outside, and his majesty is also here. If something happens, he only needs to reach out a hand and everything will be over. If you really want to help me, then help me pa.s.s a message to someone.”
She paused for a moment, partly because she was embarra.s.sed, but also because she felt really sad. She then said, “I understand the young master’s goodwill. If there is a next life, this humble one will surely repay you.”
Zu An was speechless.