The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Chapter 1011 - 567: Staying Out of It? Mu Prince Manor Soldiers Arrive!

The young Xu An clearly remembered the lesson his grandfather taught him:

In a gambling house, the only way to never lose is not to join the game.

Later, as a teenager, he pored over history books, examining political events from various dynasties, repeatedly only seeing two words between the lines:

Gambling game!

"No one can always win, whether you bet on a prince or the Empress, there’s the risk of losing everything, so to be safe, don’t enter the game."

This was Xu An’s firm belief.

Moreover, as Prince Huaian, he always had the means to stay out of the game.

Thus, when the Empress gradually took control of the court, he was the first prince to send his daughter to the Capital to assess the situation.

Also, in Hu Ting, he was the only prince trying to show goodwill to the court.

Therefore, even when Prince Jing and Mu Prince came to extort him, carving up his territories along the Huai River, he silently retreated.

He would rather cut his losses than join the game.

Until today, he had no room to retreat, and Zhao Douan cornered him at his doorstep!

...

"Self-preservation?" Zhao Douan seemed to have heard a colossal joke; he burst into laughter, laughing uncontrollably, tears about to stream down his face!

In the tense and drawn Royal Mansion’s inner courtyard, only his laughter echoed.

Finally...

Zhao Douan restrained his laughter, stood up, and, looking down on Xu An in the Taishi Chair with a contemptuous smile, said: "They all say Prince Huai feigns stupidity and is good at making money; I also believed you were smart. How can you say such naive words as ’staying out of it’ at this hour?"

His face turned completely cold: "For the sake of the Commandery Princess, I’m willing to speak to you nicely and urge you to surrender. But if you don’t know what’s good for you, I’m sorry, for the purpose of keeping tonight’s actions secret, I’ll have to ask you all to die."

As he spoke, he tightened his right hand. Xu Junling, who was being strangled, felt difficulty breathing, her face flushed. She raised her head incredulously as if trying to discern Zhao Douan’s real intention.

At this moment, she remembered again the fear of being dominated by the Empress’s man on Yansuo Lake back then!

Will he really kill me, or is he just bluffing?!

"Father —" the Princely Heir, Xu Qian, seeing his sister in danger, suddenly panicked, lowered his voice, and desperately pleaded with his father beside him: "Father, pretend to agree with him for now, save my sister and then renege later..."

Zhao Douan frowned and glanced at the clueless Princely Heir: "Doesn’t the Princely Heir know that for a Worldly Realm Martial Artist, even whispers can be heard clearly by me?"

"..." Xu Qian’s face froze, his expression blank.

Prince Huaian, irritated by his foolish son, clenched his liver, his face changing unpredictably. Meanwhile, outside the hall, Feng Xiaolian and the group of Royal Mansion guards held their breaths, awaiting the Prince’s command for a full-blown clash!

Then, at that moment.

Suddenly.

Daoist Yu Xiu’s ear twitched, and her expression behind the veil subtly changed. Her lips moved slightly, communicating something to Zhao Douan through the "Secret Transmission" Magic Door.

Zhao Douan stopped for a moment, suddenly glaring coldly at Xu An, snorting: "Did you dare leak the information?!"

Prince Huaian paused, showing confusion alongside everyone else present.

"Commander Zhao, please calm your anger, could this be a misunderstanding?" Feng Xiaolian, aware of Zhao Douan’s group’s formidable strength, did not wish for a fight, so she spoke up.

Zhao Douan sneered: "A group of Yunfu rebel army experts is heading here right now, didn’t you know?"

What?

Yunfu rebel army? Xu Jingtang’s men are coming?

For a moment, Prince Huaian’s plump face showed astonishment, then seemed to realize something, his expression turning increasingly ugly.

Xu Qian, the Princely Heir, stared at him blankly: "Father, did you summon them?"

Fool!

Xu An felt his vision going dark.

Zhao Douan’s expression suddenly turned peculiar: "It seems the Prince doesn’t know either, interesting. Besides me, why are Mu Prince Manor experts appearing here at night as well? Speaking of which, I was just wondering. I had only recently infiltrated the mansion, although I made a little commotion, it shouldn’t have alarmed the experts within the mansion so quickly. As soon as I arrived, they surrounded us as if ambushing... it almost seems like... you were prepared early, always wary of someone’s arrival... haha, Manager Feng, could you have been lying in ambush here to guard against Mu Prince Manor?"

At this point, the strangled Commandery Princess Xu Junling also stood up bit by bit, taking advantage of Zhao Douan’s loosened grip. Taking heavy breaths, she said: "Zhao Douan, perhaps you should wait and see their intentions. Even if you are strong, it’s difficult to kill everyone quickly without alarming the newcomers... I can serve as a hostage..."

"You?" Zhao Douan glanced at her, amused.

Given the current situation, even a fool could sense something was wrong, and he couldn’t possibly retreat temporarily.

As for instructing Zhong Pan to intercept and kill...

If a move was made outside, some might escape, raising the alarm and affecting tonight’s operations.

Rather than that, it would be better to let them in first and wait for an opportunity.

As these thoughts flickered by, he suddenly turned his head to look at Yu Xiu and Jin Jian: "Is there a way to hide us?"

Yu Xiu furrowed her eyebrows, and Jin Jian suddenly stood tall, saying proudly: "Watch me."

Then, in the night like a dark night elf, the mysteriously charismatic Young Priestess raised her Magic Wand, pointing at each person in turn.

Each time she pointed, the golden eye at the tip of the wand blinked once, and Zhao Douan was astonished to find the starry light around his group suddenly warping, rippling outward like waves.

Soon, Lang Shiba and Ji Yue were the first to be erased by an invisible rubber, vanishing into the cold night!

However, upon closer inspection, some outlines were still visible.

Then came Yu Xiu!

"Jin Jian cultivates under the Moon God, and tonight, we are all bathed in starlight. By distorting the starlight on us, she can make others unable to notice our presence, a sort of invisibility technique... but if someone’s cultivation surpasses hers by too much, they might detect us... move quickly into the shadows where the firelight can’t reach, to achieve complete invisibility, for Jin Jian can’t distort firelight..."

Yu Xiu’s voice echoed in the minds of the group as her body disappeared into the darkness of the courtyard, leaving no trace.

Holy crap... Jin Jian, you’re a treasure with such abilities and didn’t mention this earlier... Ah, no wonder you managed to sneak into my room unnoticed when we first met, even watching me bathe...

Zhao Douan was both surprised and pleased, looking at Jin Jian filled with admiration!

Meanwhile, the starry light around him and Xu Junling also twisted. He immediately pulled the bewildered Commandery Princess aside, away from the firelight spilling from the inner hall.

Finally, when Jin Jian also erased her own figure, the group vanished under everyone’s watchful eyes!

"Father—my sister..." Xu Qian was shocked, involuntarily looking back at his father.

Prince Huaian’s face twitched, his head aching from the shouting, but with his knowledge, he could guess that Zhao Douan’s group used Magic to hide and likely hadn’t left.

Taking a deep breath,

Prince Huaian suppressed his chaotic thoughts and waved at Feng Xiaolian and others.

A large group of Royal Mansion experts got the hint and silently withdrew like a receding tide, hiding in the dark, even the archers in the distance laid low.

In an instant, only the father and son were left in the empty hall.

But in reality, hundreds of people were secretly packed around...

"Do not make a sound. If you cry out, I will kill you despite our past relationship." In their invisible state, Zhao Douan leaned close to the Commandery Princess’s ear, whispering very quietly.

The two, being linked, could still see each other.

Xu Junling’s delicate earlobes reddened visibly from his warm breath, she tightly pursed her lips and nodded firmly, indicating she wouldn’t scream.

Only then did Zhao Douan lift his head, looking ahead.

At this time, noises came from the direction of the Royal Mansion gate, as if many people had arrived.

Then, the gate was forcibly broken open, accompanied by the exclamations and screams of the mansion’s house servants and maids from the outer courtyard.

Not long after, a group of about a hundred rushed into the inner courtyard, armed with torches and spears, clad in Yunfu rebel army armor, emanating a fierce Killing Aura.

Leading them was a tall, thin man cloaked in a cape.

He was none other than the leader of the Embroidered Robe Envoys from Mu Prince Manor.

At this moment,

He looked at Prince Huaian sitting in the inner hall and paused.