Chapter 1053: Flipping the Table
Zu An walked over to the window and looked outside, remarking, “Don’t tell me Jian Taiding really is planning to rebel?”
“That is unlikely. He is not that stupid.” Sang Hong also approached the window. He looked at the layers of troops surrounding them and said, “The Military Affairs Manor sent their troops to completely surround our residence. The excuse they are using is that Cloudcenter Commandery has experienced too many instances of violence recently, so they are worried that there might be danger to the Imperial Envoy. That is why they sent their troops over to protect us.
“But everyone knows that this so-called protection is actually just house arrest, to strictly monitor everyone who enters and exits this place.
“Being locked down like this robs our Imperial Envoy of any prestige we have left. Furthermore, we cannot do a single thing now.” Sang Hong’s voice was full of anger. “I voiced my doubts, but those troops’ leaders all replied with complete ignorance, saying that they were only obeying their superiors’ orders. I asked to meet with their superiors, but then they told me that Jian Taiding has entered secluded cultivation.”
“What secluded cultivation? He’s clearly nursing his injuries.” Zu An harrumphed.
“We know that, but what else can we do if they play these kinds of tricks?” Sang Hong replied with a bitter smile.
“Then are we just going to let them keep this up?” Zu An asked with a frown.
“This is not necessarily a bad thing, because this kind of damned decision goes completely against the rules. I have already contacted the court, and his majesty will pass down the order to King Yan, to have him lead his troops here to prepare against anything unexpected.” Sang Hong looked toward Yi Commandery. “Since Jian Taiding is unwilling to have a complete falling out, we will just wait patiently until King Yan’s army arrives. The situation is now against them.”
He had personally reported the entire sequence of events to the emperor today. What kind of a person was the emperor? He wasn’t someone so pedantic as to demand proof. King Yan from the nearest commandery would bring over his men, and they would swiftly take down Jian Taiding and everyone else. Once the situation stabilized, they could slowly collect all the proof they needed.
Zu An frowned and said, “But I just feel like this matter is full of oddities, that we’ve gotten ourselves caught up in a huge, invisible net, and that we’re being toyed with. There might be someone else behind all of this.”
“Even if that is true, so what?” Sang Hong gave Zu An a profound look. “Do not forget our objective. Is it really to investigate the duke’s disappearance? Is it really to uphold righteousness?”
Zu An was startled. Only then did he remember the words the emperor had left him with before he left. The purpose of the mission was to deal with the Yu clan, to seize all of Cloudcenter Commandery’s ore mines and take down all of their influential clans, and for the court to regain all of its authority.
Yu Xuantao had been one of the members in that secret meeting, and he was an elder with tremendous status in the Yu clan. Even if no one else in the Yu clan knew about the matter, the emperor already had enough of an excuse to act against the Yu clan. Furthermore, he could even deal with Jian Taiding as well, having a justifiable reason to reclaim Cloudcenter Duke’s fiefdom. What else could he even wish for?
As for the so-called plots and conspiracies, the emperor didn’t care at all. He only cared about the result.
Seeing that Zu An understood, Sang Hong didn’t say anything else. He patted Zu An’s shoulder and said, “You do not need to think about anything else for now, just focus on your recovery.”
Pei You came over just then. After unloading all of his complaints about the soldiers outside, he then told everyone the results of his investigations, saying, “I went to the Yu clan to ask for Yu Xuantao’s cooperation in the investigation, but the Yu clan told me that his secluded cultivation went wrong last night, causing his meridians to explode, so he died.”
“The Yu clan were surprisingly decisive in eliminating him. But unfortunately, all of that is meaningless.” Sang Hong sneered.
Yu Yanluo’s beautiful figure appeared in Zu An’s mind. He really could not associate that graceful and gentle beauty with the idea of a venomous madam.
Come on, the prettier the girl, the better they are at lying! Why do you keep forgetting this? Zu An warned himself. His expression became steadier too. He needed to get to the bottom of this matter and find out the truth.
When everyone else left, he took out the recording stone he had gotten from the Civil Affairs Manor and viewed Jian Yanyou’s appearance again and again.
Zu An slowly closed his eyes after observing it for many hours. Jian Yanyou’s image appeared in his mind from various angles. The duke’s every movement and the way he spoke replayed in Zu An’s mind.
When he knew all of those things thoroughly, Zu An took out the paper and pen he had already prepared a long time beforehand. Long strokes quickly danced across the surface. Jian Yanyou’s appearance quickly materialized.
Those who had known Jian Yanyou would immediately feel their eyes pop out, because the portraits of this world cared more about stylized imagery than realism. However, Zu An’s picture looked just like the real Jian Yanyou.
Then, Zu An sat down in front of the mirror and used the skill ‘Face of a Thousand Identities’. His face began to change. Eventually, a face similar to Jian Yanyou appeared in the reflection. He compared it with the drawing he had just made. He then modified some of the details, and only when it was identical did he nod in satisfaction.
Ever since he had arrived at Cloudcenter Commandery, he had always felt as if there were a pair of invisible hands that had already arranged everything in place. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough information and couldn't find out who the one behind the scenes was.
The enemy acted in secret, while he acted overtly. If that continued, wouldn’t he be led around right by the nose?
In that case, I'll just flip the whole damn table! I’ll make them play by my rules.
But there was still another problem. He could imitate Jian Yanyou’s face, but not his voice.
Helpless to do anything else, he could only take out a small butterfly-shaped item and wear it by his collar. It was naturally the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer he had won from the lottery before.
He had to successfully fool a man with a kawaii voice before each use… Zu An’s eyes twitched when he thought about that. It would be complete social suicide if he was found out! But with how things were, he had no other choice but to use it.
Who should I trick? Several candidates passed through Zu An’s mind. In the end, Pei You appeared in his mind and he thought, Sorry, but I choose you!
Meanwhile, Pei You was pacing back and forth restlessly inside of his room. He had been detained in the temporary official residence after being involved in Zuo Su’s death. But after he was finally cleared of suspicion, the Military Affairs Manor had surrounded the entire place with soldiers! He felt as if his little bro down there were about to shrivel up forever.
“Sigh, I wanted to help out the local girls with their businesses,and yet I can’t even leave this place! Heavens, is it too hard to ask for just one girl?!”
Just then, a soft and lovable voice called out, “Hey, cutie~”
Pei You immediately felt all of his fine hairs stand on end. It was definitely the voice of a cute girl!
“Who are you?” He exclaimed. He didn’t completely drop his guard. The entire temporary residence was under lockdown right now. The sudden appearance of a girl was just way too fishy.
“I am a servant from this residence. Sir Sang knows that the young master has felt wronged recently, so he told me to come and serve this young master,” the ‘girl’ outside said bashfully.
Pei You was overjoyed. He exclaimed, “Sir Sang really is considerate! Miss, please hurry and come in.” His previous gloominess immediately vanished without a trace. He quickly opened the door.
“Huh? Brother Zu? Why is it you? Where is that maid?” He was stunned when he saw the one at the entrance. He quickly looked behind Zu An.
But when he saw Daji, he began breathing rapidly. How can there be someone so beautiful in this world? Don’t tell me she’s that maid who talked to me just now?
My luck today is crazy good!
However, just then, Daji’s eyes shone. Pei You’s expression turned into one of confusion.
Zu An’s expression darkened. Thankfully, he had brought Daji over. Otherwise, his social life would have been finished.
By the time he had convinced Pei You he was the temporary residence’s maid, the offering to the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer had already succeeded. He had been about to leave, but the other party had opened the door so impatiently, so they had ended up bumping into each other.
In order to prevent Pei You from suspecting him, he’d had Daji use her ‘Fox Charm’ to confuse him. Then, he watched as Pei You turned around and walked toward his bed. He took off his clothes while walking, then jumped into bed naked. His legs clamped down on a bundle of his blankets, and the bed began to rock back and forth noisily.
Zu An was stupefied. He looked at Daji, asking, “Just what kind of order did you give him?”
Daji just blinked innocently. Zu An could only close the door, thinking, If I recorded that, Pei You might just decide life wasn’t worth living anymore…
Compared to what Pei You had just gone through, using the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer didn’t seem to be so hard to accept anymore.
…
Zu An chose an area where the soldiers outside were relatively sparse and headed over. Even though his stealth ability was formidable, there were soldiers everywhere outside. There was no way he could sneak past all of them.
However, there was no need for him to hide himself either. He just walked straight ahead and used Daji’s skill to charm everyone. Once he left, the soldiers would wake up again and forget all about what had just happened.
When he arrived at Yu Manor, he took out a mirror to examine his new appearance. After he confirmed that there were no flaws, he then kicked off and entered secretly.
…
Zu An had already entered Yu Manor several times, so he was familiar with the layout and the security. He used the jade badge and Mirror Mirage to avoid the sentries, successfully arriving at Yu Yanluo’s residence.
He secretly pushed open the window and entered. Hot air rushed at him from within. He immediately felt relieved, thinking, Looks like Yu Yanluo is here after all, or else this room wouldn’t be so hot.
Since Yu Yanluo preferred peace and quiet, there was no one else in the room. He could vaguely see a wonderful figure lying down behind the distant red curtains. Even though he couldn't see her too clearly, just that silhouette was already a stunning scene. When paired with her unique fragrance, it was enough to make any man’s imagination run wild.
Zu An took a few steps forward, then stopped in front of her bed.
“Name yourself!” Yu Yanluo finally sensed something and suddenly stood up. She grabbed a cloth and covered her chest while looking his way vigilantly.
Zu An said in Jian Yanyou’s voice, “Madam, it is I!”