Chapter 1058: Chess Piece
Zu An reacted quickly. He only lost his composure for an instant before snapping out of his daze. “Who is Zu An? Could he be the madam’s close friend?”
Yu Yanluo gave him a sidelong glance and replied, “Are you really asking me that to my face? Do you have no sense of shame?”
Zu An began sweating buckets. What the hell is going on? This woman has even more secrets? She actually even knows my real identity?
Is she trying to trick me?
But why did she say my name? That’s just too much of a coincidence, right? Or does she have some kind of system that lets her see my true name too?
As if seeing through his confusion, Yu Yanluo said, “I already had my suspicions from earlier. For some reason, I felt you were somewhat familiar. But because your disguise was too good, I did not immediately realize that it was you.
“Later on, when you exited the painting, I was not wearing much clothing while sleeping. When you restrained me, you saw that my shoulder was exposed to the air, so you even helped me cover up again. At first, I thought you were a gentleman, which was why I still treated you quite well.”
“But later on, you… You tied me up like that, and even took out those assorted medicines, so I immediately knew you were definitely no gentleman at your very core. And yet, if you were not such an upright gentleman, there would be no way you could have remained completely indifferent to the previous temptation. Even though I am no seductress, I believe I still have some charm. There are not many men who could hold themselves back in a situation where I was not wearing my clothes, but you were clearly not the gentleman I imagined. That left only one possibility: You knew me, and our relationship was not bad.”
Zu An harrumphed. “But this does not prove that I am that person you are talking about.”
Yu Yanluo had a smile on her face when she heard his attitude. She replied, “With that as the premise, the rest was easy to deduce. Even though I know many people, there are not many who would dare to do something like this. Besides, the way you did things just now was also quite different from the people I am familiar with.
“Furthermore, you seemed especially concerned with Yanyou’s disappearance, as well as Jian Taiding and the fiend races’ smuggling affair. The ones who are the most interested in these things in all of Cloudcenter Commandery are none other than the Imperial Envoy.
“Furthermore, only three people would have the ability to infiltrate my room. Sang Hong is already old; this is not his style of doing things. Apart from you, the mysterious Golden Token Eleven was a possibility, but the only one who could tie me up with these Jade Moon Serpent tendons was you alone, Zu An. Back then, you helped the crown prince take down an eighth ranked Jade Moon Serpent during his exam. That is not a secret to those who have looked into the matter.
“Furthermore, to be so familiar with the Royal Academy’s Rear Mountain, it could be no one else but you.”
When he heard the entire analysis, Zu An was shocked and left in complete admiration. He exclaimed, “Madam really is the reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes!”
“Who is Sherlock Holmes?” Yu Yanluo mouthed the name to herself. She began to think about whether any famous people she knew had that surname.
“Uh, he’s a detective with legendary reasoning abilities.” Zu An gave a vague explanation and quickly changed the topic. Since his identity had already been exposed, there was no point in continuing to deny it. His face changed, gradually returning to his original appearance.
Yu Yanluo was dumbfounded by the entire process. “What kind of ability is this? You actually transformed yourself!”
She had originally thought that he’d used some kind of miraculous artifact, such as a mysterious face mask. How could she have known that he had actually changed himself? His ability was way too shocking!
Zu An had a helpless smile on his face as he replied, “It’s my first time using it, but didn’t you still expose me?”
Yu Yanluo said with a serious expression, “The reason why I was able to see through it was because I am skilled in the field of art and saw through that sliver of a flaw in your disguise. A normal person would be unable to see through it at all.” Halfway through her sentence, however, she suddenly felt that something was strange. She couldn't help but add with a sneer, “How much longer do you plan to keep me tied up like this?”
“I’ll help you out right now,” Zu An replied. Seeing that he had already been exposed and couldn't continue the interrogation, there was no meaning in keeping her tied up anymore. He walked behind her and began to undo the knots.
He hadn’t noticed it when he was interrogating her, but now that he was up close, when he saw her in such a strange posture and smelled the fragrance coming from her, which man’s thoughts wouldn’t run wild?
He said, “Ahem, I apologize for the offense and ask for the madam’s forgiveness.”
As soon as she got a bit of breathing room, Yu Yanluo’s body moved slightly. Then, like a beautiful snake, she slipped out of the gap.
Zu An’s eyes widened. This degree of flexibility is a bit too ridiculous, isn’t it?
“Hmph, weren’t you acting all tough when you were interrogating me before? Why do you look completely different now?” Yu Yanluo rubbed her wrists and gave Zu An an unhappy glare.
Zu An was a bit embarrassed. He explained, “It was different just then. That was mainly for investigating the case…”
“Hah, so is that why you took out aphrodisiacs?” Yu Yanluo gave him a strange look. “You barged into a woman’s chambers disguised as her husband, and you even brought all sorts of strange drugs with you. Don’t tell me you actually have that kind of secret hobby?”
“Absolutely not!” Zu An wouldn’t dare to shoulder such accusations. “This was a skill I just obtained not too long ago, and I just learned it too. You were the first one I used it on.”
Yu Yanluo released a light snort, her cheeks turning a bit red. She said, “You really are daring, coming over here to mess with me for your first time.”
“I’m being wronged here! I really was investigating the case! I’ve never thought about using it to do anything despicable.” Zu An even felt a bit guilty as he tried to defend himself. After all, he really had barged into a woman’s chambers disguised as her husband in the middle of the night. No matter how one looked at it, his motives definitely seemed impure.
“That ‘Eighteen Spring Winds’... Hmph, just saying it dirties my mouth. How do you explain those drugs?” Yu Yanluo asked. She obviously wasn’t going to let him off so easily.
“Back then, there were some people who wanted to harm me and used them on me. Later on, I took them as my spoils,” Zu An replied.
Yu Yanluo was stunned. Her expression became a bit strange when she looked at Zu An. These drugs were used on a man? Was it a man or a woman who used it on him? Just the thought of that scene alone was absurd.
When he saw Yu Yanluo’s expression, Zu An knew that her thoughts were all over the place. He exclaimed, “I really didn’t think any weird thoughts! From start to finish, I never actually did anything to you, right? That’s something you should know clearly.”
“Being tied up like that isn’t considered doing something?” There was a bit of anger in Yu Yanluo’s expression.
In all of these years, she had encountered countless pursuers, and all of them had treated her with utmost respect. They had been scared to leave her with any bad impressions. And yet now, this guy had actually treated her like a maid, humiliating her like that. Just the thought alone…
You have successfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +69 +69 +69…
“I did that because I panicked. After all, you almost took me down from your surprise attack.” Zu An shivered inwardly when he remembered what had happened. The libationer’s disciples were all outstanding after all, with many trump cards and secrets.
“If not for the fact that you still treated me with respect earlier, do you think I would have had the patience to say all this to you?” Yu Yanluo sorted out her clothes, and subconsciously wanted to sit down on her bed. But immediately afterward, she felt that doing so in front of a man in the middle of the night might be suggesting something, especially after the awkward things that had just happened. As such, she changed her mind and sat down by a table off to the side. When she saw the hole in the painting on the desk, she said regretfully, “An excellent painting has been destroyed.”
Zu An said with a sigh of amazement, “I didn’t expect the madam to have hidden it so well. Everyone in the world thinks you’re weak and powerless, but none of them have any idea that you could even hide a dragon in here. Now, my act of saving you when I was only at the third rank in Brightmoon City really seems like a joke.”
A hint of gentleness appeared on Yu Yanluo’s face. She replied, “That is not what I believe at all. A man’s chivalry is more significant if it is displayed when he is weak. Anyone can step forward bravely when they are strong, and only those who still dare to take the risk to save others when they are weak are truly deserving of admiration. Honestly, you were quite cute in the past; you even said you would become my…”
Her smile suddenly froze when she said that. The other party’s ‘bold, visionary words’ had just seemed like the ignorance of a youngster in the past, so she hadn’t thought about it too much. But today, Zu An really had barged in pretending to be her husband! Furthermore, he had even tied up her up like that… Her expression turned strange when she thought of that.
Zu An’s face heated up when he saw her expression. He immediately said, “You even asked the emperor for mercy for my sake. At first, I thought it was just because you were repaying your gratitude in the past, but now, it seems you wouldn’t have been in any danger at all and it didn’t matter. Why did you make a trip all the way to the capital to help me back then?”
“It was my teacher who entrusted me with the task of helping you. When I heard this request, I was a bit surprised, because I did not understand why you would have any connection with my teacher. However, I did plan to save you myself too, because I have always admired you quite a bit. That was why I agreed,” Yu Yanluo explained.
“The libationer?” Zu An’s expression changed a bit. He had been nothing more than a drafted son-in-law back then, the definition of a good-for-nothing in the eyes of most people. How could he possibly have drawn the attention of someone like the libationer?
Wait, Principal Jiang also took good care of me when I was back in Brightmoon Academy. Jiang Luofu was also the libationer’s disciple…
He felt as if he had always been one of the libationer’s chess pieces. Why did he have such a horrifying feeling?
Yu Yanluo gave him a look. She smiled and said, “I was also quite confused as to why that elder would pay so much attention to you. At first, I almost thought you were his illegitimate child.”
“And then?” Zu An thought to himself that having such an awesome patron behind him wasn’t something he would reject at all…
“But then I felt I was just overthinking things, because you and teacher look nothing alike,” Yu Yanluo said with an amused expression. Zu An was speechless.
The two of them chatted for a while, but then the conversation returned to the main point. Zu An said, “Madam, since you know that Jian Taiding harmed the duke and even colluded with the fiend races, I must ask you to cooperate with us by punishing him.”
Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, “I fear that I cannot.”
Zu An was surprised, asking, “Why?”
“Because I have no proof, of course.” Yu Yanluo blinked. “Furthermore, the Yu clan and Jian clan’s relationship is tangled and complicated; it is not convenient for me to personally step in.”
Zu An thought to himself, Looks like the Yu clan really was involved.
Yu Yanluo rested her chin on her hand and looked at him with a smile, saying, “But do not misunderstand; this is also for the sake of your people. Jian Taiding currently controls the Martial Affairs Manor’s troops. If there is no conclusive proof, those troops can easily cause a huge disaster.”
“You won’t even cooperate with us, so where would I go to find proof?” Zu An asked dejectedly.
“Actually, there is something you can do.” Yu Yanluo laughed. The entire room seemed to brighten a bit thanks to her smile.