Zu An secretly snickered at how Zhuxie Chixin seemed too embarrassed to ask his question. His own initial panic had already subsided.

Zhuxie Chixin had clearly been lying when he said he was just passing by. He had a specific objective in mind. His hesitancy, and the strange look that he had given Zu An before leaving the imperial study, led him to believe that these two were related.

Therefore, he spoke first. “His Majesty was extremely angry at the way the assassins managed to storm the imperial palace. He also found it exceedingly strange that they had found the perfect time to attack, just when he happened to be away.”

Zhuxie Chixin came to a sudden realization. “This matter is strange indeed,” he continued, following Zu An’s lead. “Only a small handful of people would have known that the emperor was not in the palace.”

Zu An sighed. “That’s why His Majesty instructed me to find out who leaked out this information.”

Even though Zhuxie Chixin had surmised as much, his expression still flickered slightly. The...