Chapter 581: No Middle Path
Zu An immediately waved his hands and said, “I’m not sharp at all, nor do I know how to read people! I am so clumsy that I definitely can’t tend to your majesty properly!”
“You can learn if you do not know how. There are many experienced old eunuchs in the palace who can slowly teach you.” The emperor’s lips curled upwards when he saw Zu An’s nervous expression.
Zu An gritted his teeth and said, “Your majesty definitely has something you want me to take care of. If you dare to turn me into a eunuch, then let’s just end this discussion here. I’ll rather die than do that!”
The emperor’s eyes narrowed. The temperature in the room seemed to have dropped a few degrees. “Are you threatening me?”
Zu An braced himself and said, “I am merely speaking the truth.”
The emperor harrumphed. “You really are quite brazen. Forget it, I’ll let you keep your two taels of flesh there for now. I’ll send you to the castration room if you handle things poorly.”
Zu An: “……”
My things definitely weigh more than two taels. You might be mentally scarred if I show you.
The emperor removed the green hat from his head. After caressing it a bit, he picked up a book from his desk and tossed it to Zu An. “Memorize the contents, and then find a way to hand it to King Qi.”
Zu An subconsciously caught it. The cover of this book seemed like gold, yet wasn’t. It was definitely something extraordinary. Furthermore, there was a simple and ancient feeling from this book, as if it had existed for over ten thousand years.
But this wasn’t what he was most shocked about. What he was most shocked about was the flamboyant and bold cursive calligraphy — Phoenix Nirvana Sutra!
Did the emperor already obtain the real Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?
Zu An immediately broke out in cold sweat. However, he quickly realized that if the emperor knew about the ‘Phoenix Nirvana Sutra’, then he would already be dead right now.
The emperor frowned. “You are nervous? Why are you nervous?”
With his cultivation, not even a slight acceleration of the heart rate or opening of the pores would escape his notice.
Zu An knew that the emperor was already suspicious. He didn’t dare show any carelessness. He thought for a bit before saying, “I am still a nobody. Now that I am involved in the struggle between your majesty and King Qi, either one of you could kill me with just a thought. I was a bit alarmed from that thought.”
This was actually something that he was indeed worried about. He encountered all types of assassinations along the way. Even though he wasn’t certain if King Qi was related to all of them, he was definitely involved somehow.
How could King Qi not be strong if he dared to face the emperor? He could sense that the clash between the two factions already reached a climax while he was still back in Brightmoon City. Not even nine lives would be enough to save him if he got involved on his own.
The emperor felt relieved when he heard his explanation. “You are already involved. It is too late to try to stay out of it.”
Zu An became silent. He had no choice but to join this struggle from the moment he leaked out news regarding the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.
But he didn’t regret publicly announcing this technique. Otherwise, without the emperor keeping the various powers in check, he might not even have been able to survive and become one of his chess pieces. At that point, being kidnapped and then tortured for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra’s secrets would be his most likely outcome.
Now, he barely managed to forge a path of life for himself. Even though it was still dangerous, it was already more than he could ask for.
Zu An opened up this book. He could tell that the technique that was recorded was also a profound and mysterious technique. But since the emperor was giving it to King Qi, it was definitely nothing good.
If he recalled correctly, King Qi seemed to be the emperor’s brother.
He thought that he was already quite crafty himself, but compared to the emperor, he truly paled in comparison.
The emperor said. “By the way, even though you are quite sharp, out of worry that you might make a foolish choice at the most crucial moment, I am still going to warn you that the Chu clan and Qin clan are in-laws. Meanwhile, the Qin clan is one of the core forces of King Qi’s faction. If you subconsciously side with King Qi and sell out this emperor, heh… The castration room always welcomes more eunuchs, and the entertainment department also always lacks people. The Chu clan seems to have quite a few candidates like the madam and the young misses… Do not blame me for not warning you.”
Zu An: “……”
This dogshit emperor really was going too far! He’s blackmailing me in such an undisguised manner!
The emperor snorted when he saw his expression. “You shouldn’t think that I am a vicious person. Think carefully to yourself, who was trying to kill you along the way, and how much losses did they suffer because of you? There is already an inconsolable hatred between the two of you. Your only choice is to follow me. Only then do you have any prospects.”
“I believe the taste of being a Chu clan drafted son-in-law doesn’t feel great either, and the Qin clan doesn’t like the Chu clan either. There are too many clans who are more formidable than the Chu clan. If you seek out King Qi, even if you feel like they are willing to look past all of their losses and take you in, your status will only be a drafted son-in-law attached to the Chu clan, you won’t have any status to speak of. As long as you do your job well, I can even grant you the Chu clan’s madam and misses. You can even choose from the ladies in the capital as you wish. I believe you know which choice you should make.”
As an emperor, he rarely spoke this much. But this matter was too important. For the sake of preventing a third party from hearing this, he could only explain everything personally.
Zu An instead cursed inwardly. Do I need you to get the Chu clan’s girls? I can get them just fine on my own.
“Huh? What was that about the madam?” He subconsciously blurted out.
Mister emperor, do you have some weird fetish? She was almost one of your concubines before!
Furthermore, this was absolutely taboo knowing his relationship with Chu Chuyan.
The emperor was stunned. He was just casually mentioning that as well. But when he sensed the meaning behind his words, a strange smile appeared on his face. “So you had those thoughts towards Qin Wanru.”
As the emperor, he wasn’t scared of his subordinates having desires. What he feared was that they didn’t have any desires. They became easier to control when they did have desires.
Zu An had a dejected look on his face. You were the one who said it, what does that have to do with me?
The emperor said indifferently, “Though it isn’t anything too hard to deal with. Once King Qi falls, the Chu clan, who is tied to King Qi’s faction, will have their price to pay. The women will be taken into the entertainment department. When that time comes, you can ransom them to your manor and do whatever you wish with them, no one will know what happens there. Even they themselves will only shed tears of gratitude for you.”
The entertainment department was where the wives and daughters of sinning officials were sent. Even though they were government prostitutes in name, they were treated even worse than private prostitutes. The girls in normal brothels still had a chance to ransom themselves, but once you entered the entertainment department, it was practically impossible to get out. The only way to get out was if the emperor himself agreed to it.
But the emperor sent those women to the entertainment department to punish officials who broke the law as a warning for others. Why would he let them out?
Of course, if Zu An was someone who did a lot for the country and he asked for it, it was entirely possible for the emperor to grant him a few of them. However, this type of thing was quite uncommon, so the emperor wasn’t lying when he said that the Chu clan’s women would be extremely thankful to him.
Zu An: “……”
This is just too evil! He thought that he was already a battle hardened veteran in this field from the training he received from all those online teachers, but only now did he discover that he was still as pure as a little white flower compared to the nobility of this world.
The emperor spoke calmly, as if he was talking about a completely ordinary affair. It seemed like this type of stuff was but a common occurrence among the princes and dukes.
Zu An had to admit that if it was anyone else, they really might be convinced. But unfortunately, he was a young man who had experienced a modern education. How could he do something like harm the Chu clan for his own selfish interests?
Of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to correct the emperor right here, or else there was no way he would survive in this battle between him and King Qi. On the contrary, it was better for the emperor to have this type of misunderstanding.
Zu An didn’t continue pursuing this matter and urgently asked. “I wonder how the emperor prepares to make King Qi trust me? Are you going to pretend to imprison me and have King Qi’s people save me?”
Was he supposed to be a double agent? But the spies of history never had good endings…
The emperor nodded in satisfaction when he saw how quickly he accepted his new role. “That won’t work, it’s too deliberate. King Qi has always been a careful person. He wouldn’t fall for something like that.”