Chapter 1571 – Heartbeat

Zu An had just left the crown princess’ place and was still feeling rather accomplished. Furthermore, he had always been rather on guard against the empress, and his vigilance told him to maintain some distance from this woman. However, Little An was just too disappointing!

Little An was really being wronged here, though. It wasn’t that it was disappointing, but rather that this woman had too many tricks up her sleeves.

..

Two sighs filled the air at the same time, but each of them represented something different.

It was as if an elaborate lock, after being sealed away for many years, had finally met the key it was destined for. Once the lock was unraveled, the empress gradually sensed the ki that had previously disappeared starting to return.

At the same time, her five senses became even more sensitive than usual. She had a lovable smile on her face and was about to say something when she suddenly frowned, as if she sniffed something in the air. She exclaimed, “Huh? Why does there seem to be another woman’s smell on you?”

Zu An immediately broke out into a sweat. Does this woman have the nose of a freaking dog? She can even smell something like that?

He had already used water element magic to wash his entire body after leaving the Eastern Palace, but that wasn’t a true shower. He had only washed his outer clothes.

“No way!” Zu An replied. He began to use his own ki to help circulate her ki, not giving her a chance to think about anything else.

The empress figured that made sense as well. The palace’s women all belonged to the royal family. Apart from herself, who would be so brazen? Afterward, though, she was bombarded by his surging ki to the point that she didn’t have the room to think about such things at all.

Zu An took the chance to ask, “What did your highness mean when you told me that Violet Mountain wasn’t so simple?”

The empress was feeling incredible, so her tone was no longer as proud as before. On the contrary, it was soft and considerate as she explained, “I don’t know the exact details, but according to my sources, there seems to be a large net cast over Violet Mountain. There’s a storm approaching. Furthermore, I’m proficient in celestial divination methods, and have seen that there’s a huge danger approaching Violet Mountain; there are ten parts to it, at that. Whenever such signs appear, rivers of blood and mountains of corpses follow, with few survivors. That’s why I gave you that warning.”

Zu An was surprised. He knew that the master of celestial divination was the academy’s Qi Yaoguang. He hadn’t expected the empress to be good at it too.

When he heard how serious she sounded, he couldn't help but feel a bit pessimistic about e situation. He prepared to ask the empress where she got her information from. Normally, there was no way she would tell him, but in her current state, everything was under his control. He felt as if her very life were at his mercy, so he just asked about it.

However, as soon as he spoke, Little Zhuo’s high-pitched voice suddenly called out from outside, “I pay my respects to your majesty. Long live, long live, long live!”

The two inside the chambers were horrified. Zu An immediately wanted to pull out, but just then, the empress also instinctively lowered her leg to stand up. When those two forces met, both of them were suddenly prevented from separating.

If not for Zu An’s body being as well-tempered as steel, the chicken would have flown the coop, allowing the eggs to be broken.

However, the more they panicked, the harder it was for them to get out of this situation. Furthermore, when they thought about how they would be dead for sure if the emperor noticed them, both of their minds went blank. Their bodies became countless times more sensitive.

Zu An grunted. Fortunately, he was able to stop the sounds in his throat. Meanwhile, the empress felt as if endless volcanoes were erupting inside of her. In that instant, she almost fainted on the spot.

Fortunately, both of them retained their final vestiges of composure and finally separated. The empress’ face was incomparably pale as she muttered, “I’m done for, I’m finished.”

Zhao Han was no fool. If he saw the two of them together, and furthermore like that, there was no way he wouldn’t be able to figure out what had happened. What awaited them went beyond saying. It wasn’t just the two of them who would wish they were dead, too; they would even end up dragging down their clans.

A hint of viciousness flickered through the empress’ eyes. In that case, she would have nothing to lose, and could just unleash all of her resentment over the years and let Zhao Han have a taste of her wrath. In that instant, countless nasty and vile words to attack Zhao Han formed in her mind.

Fortunately, Zu An grabbed her and shook his head. Then, he opened a cupboard in the corner and entered.

The empress felt panicked and angry. What kind of cultivation did Zhao Han have? How could anyone escape his detection by hiding there?! Still, there wasn’t anything else they could do. She quickly sorted out her clothes, then nervously faced the situation.

“Damn servant, what are you making such a racket for?” Zhao Han snapped angrily. He was clearly a bit unhappy with Little Zhuo’s loud voice.

Little Zhuo kneeled down and kowtowed while shaking, saying, “This servant deserves death, this servant deserves death.”

Zhao Han frowned, but he couldn't just punish the servant for something like that. Furthermore, this was someone from the empress’ palace. He ignored Little Zhuo and headed straight in.

The empress just happened to emerge to greet him, saying, “Your humble wife greets your majesty.”

Empress Liu Ning was scared witless. Her mind was an absolute mess. Her body couldn't help but shake a bit, perhaps because of fear or because of what had happened just then.

historical

Zhao Han was about to say something when his eyes suddenly lit up. The empress’ complexion was especially rosy today. Furthermore, her timid appearance was entirely different from her usual proud and unruly self, making even him feel indescribable pity for her. He reflexively walked forward to support her, saying, “Empress, please rise.”

When his hands touched her, the empress felt a kind of rejection. She subconsciously moved aside.

Who was Zhao Han? He immediately sensed that, and glowered. This woman was still the same as ever.

However, the empress gradually calmed down, because she discovered that Zhao Han hadn’t noticed Zu An. Otherwise, he would have immediately acted up and wouldn’t have helped her up in such an amiable manner. She was incredibly shocked, and didn’t know how Zu An had done such a thing at all.

Zhao Han was publicly acknowledged as number one. If his divine sense reached out, not a single action in the capital could escape his notice. It was just that normally, he wouldn’t waste his energy like that. However, at such a short distance, he should have discovered Zu An’s presence in the cabinet without even using his divine sense.

Inside the cupboard, Zu An was really thankful. It was thanks to the Keyboard System being reliable as always. Hidden in the Dark would completely hide his aura when he was in complete darkness, and not even the emperor could sense him then.

Zhao Han asked,“Why is your body shaking so much? Could it be that you are scared of this emperor?” There was a hint of mockery in his voice as he spoke.

Zu An had a strange expression. The relationship between these two seemed a bit strange. Both of them were probably hiding something.

“Your highness inspires awe throughout the world. How could your humble wife not fear you?” the empress replied with her head lowered.

Zhao Han couldn't help but frown when he heard her indirect response. He said, “Raise your head. Why is your face so red?” He couldn't help but feel a bit strange. Wasn’t this woman’s beauty a bit too abnormal today?

Now, the empress had already fully calmed herself down. After living in the palace for so many years, her mind was already incredibly strong. She said, “It is because I was training my skills earlier.”

“Training?” Zhao Han replied with a sigh. “It seems you really aren’t willing to be a normal person.”

The empress asked in response, “Your majesty, who would be willing if they were in my situation?”

Zhao Han was a bit unhappy, but he still said, “This emperor will have men bring over more medicine. Earlier, the local regions brought over a precious treasure. It might be of use for your injuries.”

“Thank you,” the empress said, although she sneered inwardly. Zhao Han always spoke such wonderful promises, but if he really had tried to help her recover, would there really not have been the slightest turn for the better?

No, I’m sure he feels that a crippled empress is much more suitable to his interests.

But now, I’ve already found a solution. I don’t need to be bothered by his insincere courtesy anymore.

“You are always like this,” Zhao Han said, seeming to have sensed the implications behind her tone. He couldn't help but feel a bit angry. He wanted to lash out, but he still endured it in the end. “It’s fine. You still carry a grudge about what happened back then, so this emperor won’t blame you.”

Zu An suddenly wanted to know more about this drama. Just what had happened back then to make someone as unstoppable as Zhao Han give in to a woman like this?