Chapter 1011: Doubts Everywhere
Afterward, Zu An slept all the way until noon. He felt incredible when he got up again.
The servants of the temporary official residence had prepared fruits and snacks. When he saw the amount of meat, Zu An thought, As expected of the northwest! Even the refreshments are very different in style. Since he wasn’t all that picky about food, he ate some of it.
A while later, a sudden disturbance occurred outside. It turned out Sang Hong’s group had returned.
Zu An saw that their expressions weren’t good at all. He asked out of curiosity, “Did things not go well?”
Sang Hong nodded in agreement. Pei You was the first to say, “We went to Yu Manor and waited there for a long time, just to be told that Madam Yu was feeling unwell and wasn’t meeting any guests. I’m so freaking pissed right now!”
They had been looking forward to seeing the number one beauty’s appearance, and they had even wondered about how they were going to leave someone like that with the best impression possible. And yet, after all of that, they had ended up getting the cold shoulder. They were pent up with resentment.
“Do you think she’s been kept under house arrest by Jian Taiding?” Zu An asked. That was also what everyone had suspected before.
Sang Hong shook his head, saying, “We thought that Yu Yanluo might have moved to the Dukedom Manor, but later on, I learned she had remained in Yu Manor the entire time. She is the one with the most say in Cloudcenter Commandery’s Yu clan, so who could even keep her under house arrest?”
Gao Ying also said with a bitter smile, “In the end, it’s because she doesn’t want to meet with us. Her status is special and she’s also female. We really can’t do anything aboutit.”
“We can’t investigate the case of the duke’s disappearance if we can’t even meet with Yu Yanluo. There are many things only a duchess like her knows best,” Pei You said resentfully.
Sang Hong’s brows were also tightly locked. He said, “I just cannot understand why she would refuse to meet with us. Unless… She does not want us to find out who the mastermind is?”
Zu An was alarmed. He remembered Qiu Honglei’s warning back in Yi Commandery. She had said that Yu Yanluo was definitely not the harmless white flower people all imagined her to be. He thought for a bit, then said with a serious expression, “I’ll give it a try and pay her a visit.”
Pei You put his arm around Zu An and said, “It’s useless. Even Sir Sang was given the cold shoulder.”
“Indeed. There were untold numbers of princes and dukes who wished to meet her in the past due to her fame, and yet they weren’t able to meet with her at all. There were even many young masters who believed themselves to be talented enough and solemnly vowed to see her, and yet in the end, they were also given the cold shoulder.” Gao Ying retold the stories he had heard before in the capital.
Even though Zu An had known Yu Yanluo was popular, he had never expected it to be to that extent. The biggest reason was that people’s impressions of her were that she was arrogant and cold, yet he had never felt that way before. He said, “I feel like she’ll meet with me. I’m pretty close to her.”
Those present fell silent. Gao Ying, Pei You and the others looked at him with strange expressions. Sang Hong wanted to say something several times, but stopped.
In the end, it was Gao Ying who said with a long sigh, “Brother Zu, we know you have a high affinity with women, but Yu Yanluo isn’t like the other girls. There’s no need to waste your time going again.” Pei You also parroted his message.
Even Sang Hong said seriously, “Since we cannot meet with Yu Yanluo, we can only start our investigation from the Jian clan and other such people.”
Even though they all spoke tactfully, what they meant was clear. They all felt that Zu An was bullshitting. Who is Yu Yanluo? When she was popular, you were still sucking on your mom’s breast! Why would she be close to you? However, out of respect for Zu An’s dignity, no one exposed him.
Zu An replied, “Uh… I’ll give it a try anyway. It’s not like we’d lose out on that much anyway.”
The group assumed he was putting on an act to save face, so they couldn't convince him otherwise. They thought to themselves, He’ll regret it once he goes through what we went through. At that point, our only job is to make sure we absolutely don’t laugh at him because of our friendship.
…
Just like that, they parted ways. Sang Hong’s group went to the Jian clan to gather intel, while Zu An headed to meet with Yu Yanluo alone.
The Yu clan wasn’t hard to find. The most luxurious and majestic buildings in Cloudcenter Commandery weren’t in the Civil Affairs Manor, the City Lord Manor, or even the Cloudcenter Duke Manor, but rather in the Yu clan’s territory, as they had gathered several centuries of wealth. It was rumored that out of the entire Cloudcenter Commandery, half was the Yu clan’s property; even though the claim was a bit exaggerated, it still told of the Yu clan’s power in Cloudcenter Commandery.
As Zu An arrived in front of a grand residence, he became a bit absentminded. He felt as if he had arrived in front of a small-scale Imperial Palace. No wonder the emperor had so many reservations against the Yu clan! This really was a bit too ridiculous.
Back then, the Chu clan had engaged in the salt and iron industries in Brightmoon City, making them extremely wealthy as well. But compared to the Yu clan, they weren’t even on the same order of magnitude.
When he arrived at the gate, he told the guard at the entrance, “Please help me contact your madam. Tell her that her old friend from Wolf Valley outside Brightmoon City’s outskirts has come to pay her a visit.”
The guard gave him a few looks, then waved his hands casually. He said, “Go, get out of here. Our madam isn’t feeling well and has politely refused to meet with all guests.”
After being a guard for so long, he had already lost count of how many absurd reasons people had given him to get closer to the madam. This kid is so young. How can the madam possibly be his friend?
All of the Yu clan’s guards bore a natural sense of responsibility in protecting their madam. They didn’t want to let any bad people get close to her. That was especially the case after something had ended up happening to Cloudcenter Duke. That feeling became even stronger.
Zu An stared blankly for a moment. This feels like deja vu… He had been given a hard time by the gatekeeper at Brightmoon City’s Jade clan back then. But his attitude was entirely different from before. He didn’t feel a trace of anger as he said, “I’m not speaking lies. I still have a present your madam gave me. You can bring this inside to contact her…”
He suddenly froze midway through his sentence. He remembered that back then, in the capital, Yu Yanluo had already taken back the pendant she gave him.
When he saw Zu An’s expression, the guard said coldly, “Stop wasting your time already. Our madam won’t meet with anyone. She didn’t even meet with the Imperial Envoy when they came earlier. Don’t tell me you’re more important than the Imperial Envoy?” Zu An frowned.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed in shock, “Cheng… Brother Cheng?” A bodyguard clad entirely in white had been returning to the manor. He had glanced over when he saw the disturbance, but then he cried out in alarm.
Zu An turned around. When he saw that person, he felt that the other party was a bit familiar, but he couldn't recall who it was.
“Did Brother Cheng forget me? I’m Yu Bin! You saved me back then in Brightmoon City’s outskirts!” the bodyguard exclaimed with a smile.
“So that was you!” Zu An finally remembered who it was. He had been completely focused on earning Rage points back then, and that name had only shown up before in the backend. No wonder he hadn’t remembered. As for why the other party had called him Brother Cheng, that was because Zu An had been trying to hide his identity. That was why he’d said his name was Cheng Shouping.
“Yu Bin, you know this person?” The guard was stunned.
Yu Bin said with a smile, “Of course. He even saved the madam before.”
The guard immediately apologized to Zu An. “I’m truly sorry! I’ve misunderstood the young master… I actually refused someone who saved the madam’s life before. I really deserve death.”
He suddenly raised his blade up to his neck, but fortunately, Zu An moved quickly and disarmed him, exclaiming, “What are you doing?! It wasn’t anything major at all!”
“I’ve let down the madam; I’ve let down the young master…” The gatekeeper was really shaken up.
Yu Bin quickly advised him, “Even Brother Cheng isn’t blaming you, so of course the madam won’t blame you. Why do you need to be like this…”
The two of them finally managed to stop the guard from taking his life. Meanwhile, Yu Bin learned the reason for Zu An’s visit and said, “Brother Cheng, I’ll take you inside. However, the madam’s condition and mood have been quite poor recently, and she really hasn’t met with any guests. I can’t say for certain whether she’ll be willing to meet with you or not.”
“Thank you, Brother Yu.” Zu An followed him into Yu Manor. He sized up the decorations and security along the way while asking, “Why would that person choose to almost take his own life?”
He was alarmed when he recalled the previous scene. That person had definitely not been acting. If Zu An had been even a moment slower, he really would have died.
“The people in the manor truly admire the madam. You were someone who even saved the madam’s life, and yet he made you feel humiliation. That was why he couldn't get over that fact.” Yu Bin sounded as if he were just speaking about a common occurrence.
Zu An frowned. Aren’t the Yu clan’s people a bit too crazy about Yu Yanluo? He could tell that these people didn’t have lust or desire for an exceptional beauty in their eyes, but rather only utmost respect. He once again recalled what Qiu Honglei had told him before. His opinion of Yu Yanluo was actually starting to waver. There was definitely a lot more to her than he knew.
Yu Bin had Zu An rest in the lobby for a while. Then, he quickly left to report. Soon afterward, he ran back and said with an excited expression, “Brother Cheng, the madam has invited you inside. This really is surprising! It’s already been a long time since the madam has met any outsiders.”
“Brother Yu, actually, my name isn’t Cheng Shouping…” Zu An took the chance to tell him his real identity. “Back then, I was worried that someone would try to get revenge on me, so I used a fake name. I hope Brother Yu can forgive me.”
Yu Bin was a bit startled, but he didn’t really mind it either, saying, “Brother Zu is quite meticulous; it really is admirable. The fact that you’re speaking up about this now speaks even more about your noble character. This way, please!” He brought Zu An to a room, then silently withdrew.
Zu An entered through the main entrance; suddenly, his entire body was enveloped in comforting warmth. It was bitterly cold outside, and yet this place felt like the middle of summer! He subconsciously loosened his collar. “Isn’t the heater turned a bit too high here?” he muttered.
However, the scene before him quickly left him stunned.