Ma An’s breathing quickened when he began thinking that. He continued to pace back and forth, as if the matter weighed heavily on his mind. “No, this is merely my own speculation. If I report this, it will instead affect my master’s image of me. I have to investigate this further first…” he mumbled to himself.

He then recalled Zu An’s recent accomplishments. Furthermore, if he really was Golden Token Eleven, then his cultivation would only be even higher than what he had shown so far. Even though he was the imperial hospital’s commissioner assistant, he wasn’t confident he could take Zu An down alone.

But he wasn’t worried at all. He headed into the deepest part of the room and opened up a cabinet. Then, he took out a pitch-black porcelain bottle from within.

Doctors and poison masters were one and the same. As a famous doctor, when did he ever have to personally do the deed if he wanted someone dead?

Ma An smirked as he held the black bottle.

…

On the other hand, once Bi Linglong handed the ingredients to Zu An, she left after saying a few things. Even though she had a lot of things she wanted to talk to him about, they couldn't seem too close with their statuses, and they had to be even more careful in the palace.

Zu An thought about returning to his Embroidered Envoy residence to refine some pills, but he was worried that it might cause a disturbance and draw the emperor’s attention. As such, he decided to return home.

However, not long after he left, he ended up bumping into a group of maids and eunuchs. All of them held umbrellas while slowly escorting a lavishly dressed upper-class woman.

The noblewoman was dressed in splendid clothes that still couldn't hide her impressive figure. Her low-cut dress further outlined her snow-white skin. As she walked, her elegant and well-rounded bottom was enough to make any man go wild.

However, her status was something that prevented anyone from having any such thoughts. The lesser eunuchs at her side didn’t even dare to give her a second look, even though they had already had their things clipped.

However, the old eunuch at her side was an exception. As he followed behind the noble lady, his eyes darted to her round and full bottom from time to time, his expression fluctuating between one of longing and one of deep vexation. He was a eunuch, so there was nothing he could do about it.

“I greet your highness the empress!” Zu An recognized Eunuch Lu. As such, who else could the beautiful madam at his side be but the empress Liu Ning?

Eunuch Lu’s first reaction when he saw Zu An was endless rage. He remembered what had happened that day.

You have successfully trolled Lu Qi for +588 +588 +588…

However, he seemed to have remembered something else soon afterward, and his rage gradually eased. It was replaced with rushed breathing and reddened eyes, as if he felt satisfied somehow.

Zu An had always been on guard around him, so his reactions didn’t escape his notice. He sighed. This Eunuch Lu really was quite something. He seemed to speak the same language as King Wu!

Just then, the empress saw Zu An. Her fierce and beautiful gaze softened a bit as she said, “So it was Sir Zu. I heard that the crown princess gave you a vacation, so why are you still in the palace?”

Zu An was shocked. This woman seemed to be keeping an eye on his whereabouts closely! He quickly replied, “I came to the imperial hospital to get some medicine.”

He didn’t dare to say that the crown princess had brought him here. As a sea king, preventing one girl from knowing the existence of another girl was part of the absolute basics.

The empress said, “That’s perfect then. I have quite a bit of medicinal herbs, and I’m not doing much with them in the palace. Sir Zu has brought back great contributions in this time, so they should be perfect for treating your injuries.”

Zu An said happily, “Thank you, your highness.” What he needed right now for pill refinement were precisely all sorts of ingredients.

“Then please follow this empress back to the Palace of Peace.” The empress licked her lips without anyone noticing. Her usually dignified eyes seemed to have become a bit misty.

Eunuch Lu’s expression became conflicted. In the end, he could only sigh deeply. What was there to even say?

Zu An was completely speechless. I feel as if giving me medicines out of concern for my health is a total excuse, and that you’re actually just lusting for my body…

Even though he didn’t mind going at it a few times with this stunning empress, since that night had been absolutely amazing, he knew that individual ability was the most important. He didn’t want to lose himself over lust. Furthermore, he already knew that the other party wanted to suck out his blood essence for her own injuries, so he couldn't help but feel a bit of apprehension.

“Thank you, your highness, for your grace. However, this subject still has matters I need to take care of outside of the palace. I’ll visit the Palace of Peace next time.” Zu An hurriedly left as he finished speaking.

“Next time?” The empress had an ambiguous smile as she watched him leave in a hurry. What she feared the most was that he had used up all of his courage that night.

Zu An’s frantic escape made him seem scared of the emperor finding out about what they had done that night, so she wasn’t too worried. On the contrary, she began to think about how she was going to make him brazenly return to the Palace of Peace for some fun. She secretly asked Eunuch Lu for his opinion.

Eunuch Lu’s face went entirely red. Helping another man toy with the girl of his dreams… Such a feeling really was humiliating. But he immediately felt a strange feeling of excitement and expectation. As such, he began to discuss strategies with the empress. “You can try this…”

…

Zu An sighed in relief when he left the imperial palace. Mi Li’s playful voice said, “What’s wrong? Why would you refuse the invitation of such a beauty? This isn’t like you.”

Zu An asked impatiently, “Am I really the type of person who would ignore everything for the sake of lust in your eyes?”

“One hundred percent.” Mi Li nodded confidently, leaving Zu An speechless.

“Hmph, isn’t that empress a bit much? She’s actually inviting you for that stuff in broad daylight.” Mi Li’s voice was full of dissatisfaction. “The fact that even someone like this can become an empress is simply a disgrace to all empresses!”

Zu An knew that this was something that had always annoyed her. He couldn't help but remark with a chuckle, “Didn’t you say that she only did it to heal herself?”

“Isn’t the fact that she needs treatment alone enough for me to look down on her?” Mi Li harrumphed. She was about to continue when she frowned. “Hm? There's someone hiding inside your house.”

Zu An felt warm inside. Even though she had said that she wouldn’t help him anymore and that he needed to rely on himself, she still pointed things out when they encountered them.

“Is it a man or woman?” Zu An asked.

“A man, of course.” Mi Li rolled his eyes. “What the heck is going on inside your head? You’re going to die in the embrace of a woman one day.”

Zu An’s smile quickly faded when he heard that it was a man. He became vigilant, his entire body tensing. He went inside, and saw that there wasn’t a single servant in sight. He frowned, thinking that they had been attacked. However, he soon heard the sounds of even breathing. The servants were probably just unconscious.

He sneered. Looks like this burglar isn’t too smart. Won’t I immediately be able to tell that something is wrong if you make them all faint?

He carefully opened the door, but there was no ambush the way he had anticipated. Instead, the one sitting inside was leisurely sipping on some tea, as if he were in his own home.

Zu An was surprised when he saw who it was, exclaiming, “Sir Ma?” He really hadn’t expected to find the commissioner assistant in his own house, let alone to meet him this way.

Ma An lowered his teacup and said with a smile, “Sir Zu has finally returned. I’ve waited for you for a long time.”

Zu An asked seriously, “What is the meaning of this, Sir Ma?” He thought, Looks like the defensive formation really is too weak; it can’t stop a true expert at all. I hope Xie Daoyun can become a formidable rune master! She can help me replace the formation here.

“Please don’t worry, Sir Zu; I only wish to have a chat with you,” Ma An said.

Zu An gave the slowly burning candle on the table a look, and then he said indifferently, “Turning up uninvited, and then making all of my servants faint… I really don’t wish to chat with someone like that.”

“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine after their nap,” Ma An said. “I just believe that Sir Zu doesn’t wish for the contents of our chat to be heard by others.”

“What does Sir Ma want to talk about?” Zu An asked, his expression grave.

Ma An crossed his legs and gave Zu An a look. “Sir Zu seems to be healthy and vigorous. You don’t look injured at all.”

“That isn’t something you need to concern yourself with.” Zu An used the jade badge to control the little creatures nearby. When he saw that there wasn’t anyone else waiting in ambush, he sighed in relief.

“I can guess the truth even if you don’t say anything. The medicines you took from the imperial hospital don’t have many healing effects.” Ma An paused for a moment, and then he continued, “On the contrary, they’re mainly materials used for a cultivation breakthrough. I didn’t expect Sir Zu to even be proficient at pill refinement.”

Zu An didn’t feel like wasting time with him. “What are you really trying to say?”

Ma An didn’t beat around the bush any further. “Since Sir Zu wishes to refine a breakthrough pill, I believe your cultivation should be at a bottleneck. Everyone in the capital believed that Sir Zu was only able to defeat King Qi’s heir and fight on even footing with King Qi Manor’s Han Fengqiu because you had the help of another, but only today did I realize that this mysterious expert doesn’t exist at all. Or perhaps, I should say that the mysterious expert is in fact you. Isn’t that right, Golden Token Eleven?”