Chapter 1065: A Way to Authenticate
Zu An nearly jumped in fright when he received such an exaggerated amount of Rage Points. After all, even though he had already arrived some time prior, even though Jian Taiding had gotten upset a few times, the Rage points had still been within a limited range.
Now, Jian Taiding clearly wasn’t holding back anymore.
Zu An thought about why. It seemed to be because he had hugged Yu Yanluo. Tsk tsk tsk, so this fella actually had an unseeming infatuation for his sister-in-law!
He gave Yu Yanluo another hug when he thought of that, then gave Jian Taiding a provocative look.
Yu Yanluo couldn't really go against him under the onlookers’ watchful eyes. She could only borrow the cover of their bodies to secretly pinch Zu An’s waist.
But even though the pinch was hidden well, Jian Taiding’s gaze was incredibly focused, and he naturally noticed something.
They seemed to be flirting!
He immediately felt his blood stir within him again. Another mouthful of blood sprayed out of his mouth. His injuries that had finally been stanched with difficulty burst apart again, and his bandages became visibly soaked in blood once more.
You have successfully trolled Jian Taiding for +888 +888 +888…
Jian Taiding completely fainted. He would rather do that than publicly acknowledge Zu An’s identity.
“Second master has fainted; second master has fainted!”
“Hurry! Bring him back to his room to rest right now.”
“Call for the doctors!”
A group of people shouted in confusion.
Zu An took the chance to give out orders as the manor lord, ordering for them to bring Jian Taiding back to his room. Uncle Ming wanted to say something, but he hesitated. In the end, he didn’t say anything else.
A group of servants brought Jian Taiding away. As the ‘older brother’, Zu An naturally needed to follow behind them to take a look.
…
They quickly arrived in front of a courtyard. The expressions of those present became a bit strange as they stopped in front of the entrance.
Zu An was confused, but Yu Yanluo sent him a message. “This used to be Jian Yanyou’s room.”
Zu An immediately realized what was going on. He couldn't help but sneer. This fella Jian Taiding really likes to reap what he hasn’t sown. Not only did he kill you, he’s also sleeping in your room and even trying to take your girl.
Jian Yanyou, come on, man!
Sigh, since I’m pretending to be you, I might as well help you vent out some of your frustrations.
As such, Zu An’s expression became overcast. He coughed and exclaimed, “Why did you all bring him here? Why are you not bringing him to his own room?”
The others kept quiet out of fear. Only Uncle Ming braced himself and said, “Second master has resided here in your absence.”
“Nonsense. Did he think I was dead?” Zu An sneered. “Furthermore, these rooms were carefully chosen by a feng shui master in the field. We brothers had our own courtyards designed for us. Going against that would incur great karmic retribution. No wonder he was injured so badly! Hurry and bring him back; this is for his own good.”
Jian Taiding, who was pretending to be unconscious, almost spat out another mouthful of blood. What the hell do you mean it’s for my own good? I’m already injured like this, and yet you’re still dragging me left and right? You still have the shame to say these things?
Also, does that feng shui shit even work? Weren’t you still done in back then while staying in this room?
He was suddenly shocked when he thought of that. Wait, maybe there really is something wrong with this room’s feng shui?
You have successfully trolled Jian Taiding for +681 +681 +681…
Yu Yanluo resisted her urge to laugh. She stepped forward and said, “I think the second master should be brought back to his own room. Resting in the place you are used to staying in will help the recovery process.”
The reason why they couldn't back down on that matter was because of a crucial issue. It wouldn't be a big deal for Jian Taiding to live there if Jian Yanyou were absent. However, now that he had returned, if he backed down, it would look as if he were scared of Jian Taiding, or that he had thoughts of giving up his position.
Regardless of which one it was, those who still supported the duke would lose morale. Those who were still hesitating on who to side with would choose Jian Taiding. That was why, while it might look like a small matter, it was actually not small at all.
When he heard Yu Yanluo speak out in support of Jian Yanyou, Jian Taiding began to regret choosing to faint. He couldn't even argue against them now.
Why is this woman siding with an outsider like this?!
I’ve always liked her so much and treated her so well. This thankless wretch!
Meanwhile, Uncle Ming wanted to say something, but it had been Jian Yanyou’s room to begin with. Jian Taiding had moved in with rather illegitimate motives, while he himself was Jian Yanyou’s trusted aide. If he spoke out for Jian Taiding at this point, he might draw unwanted suspicion.
…
Even though the two of them were hesitating, everything was still decided. Jian Taiding was brought back to his original room, and the room was given to Zu An to live in. Because many of Jian Taiding’s possessions had been left there, the maids and servants quickly cleaned things up. At the same time, they brought back Jian Yanyou’s original belongings.
Zu An had Gong Pan stay there and check to see if he could find any secret files in the room. But based on Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming’s reactions, the chances of them succeeding in that aspect seemed slim.
He and Yu Yanluo escorted Jian Taiding back to his room. After all, in everyone’s eyes, they were close brothers, so he had to at least play the part.
The deathly pale Jian Taiding was placed in bed. Because the physician still hadn’t arrived, Zu An took the chance to sit down next to him. He checked Jian Taiding’s pulse to examine the state of his injuries.
Once one reached a certain degree of cultivation, using ki to check another’s injuries was basic knowledge. Jian Yanyou’s cultivation had been profound before, so his actions were unsurprising to the bystanders.
But Jian Taiding’s entire body went rigid, while Uncle Ming’s expression also changed. Both of their bodies tensed up, as if they would immediately retaliate as soon as they sensed something odd.
Zu An checked Jian Taiding’s body with his ki. Sure enough, his last attack had seriously wounded the other party. Not only was there a huge flesh wound, the sword ki’s damage had reached the base of his heart.
Even though such an injury wasn’t lethal for a master rank cultivator like Jian Taiding, his strength wouldn’t return to its peak for quite some time.
Zu An hesitated. He was currently holding Jian Taiding’s pulse. As long as he used the Heaven Devouring Sutra, there was a good chance that he could suck the other party completely dry. The dangers of Cloudcenter Commandery would thus be dealt with through brute force.
But he gave up on that tempting chance in the end. The first reason was that there were too many people watching. If such a sinister technique were exposed, he would be viewed as a public enemy by the entire world. After all, no one wanted the cultivation they had earned through bitter training to be stolen so easily by another.
The second reason was that Jian Taiding still had a lot of subordinates. There were countless trusted aides of his in the Military Affairs Manor as well. Zu An didn’t want to repeat the disastrous tragedy of his previous world’s vicious Emperor of Northern Wei, who was ultimately captured and killed by his own subordinate.
The physician rushed over soon after, so Zu An let go of Jian Taiding’s hand then and said,“Second master, please rest well. I will take care of the manor’s business; there is no need for you to worry.”
Those present voiced their agreement. Zu An and Yu Yanluo thus returned to the other room.
…
Meanwhile, in the other room, everything was still a mess from having been replaced. When Zu An asked Gong Pan if he had found anything, Gong Pan unsurprisingly replied no. Even though there were some secret documents, they were about the Military Affairs Manor’s official business and not matters related to Jian Yanyou or the fiend races.
After sending Gong Pan to stand guard outside, Yu Yanluo sighed in clear relief and said, “We have passed the first trial. Your performance was much better than I expected.”
“It was still thanks to the madam’s instructions,” Zu An said with a smile.
Yu Yanluo rolled her eyes and retorted, “I definitely did not teach you to hug me.”
Zu An said with an upright expression, “They were all suspecting my identity. It was a good chance to convince them.”
Yu Yanluo harrumphed. “Hmph, you are just saying complete nonsense with a straight face.”
Yu Yanluo sounded a bit annoyed, so Zu An checked the Keyboard System’s backend. He actually hadn’t received any Rage points from her! He chuckled inwardly.
The two chatted for a while, but then someone outside came to report that Sang Hong and the others had come to meet him. Zu An was surprised. He hadn’t expected them to meet him in such a situation.
Yu Yanluo explained, “You are now the duke. Since the duke has returned, their visit should come as no surprise. Do not worry. Not even the people here have noticed anything strange, so there is even less of a chance of them noticing anything. You should just do things as we practiced.”
Zu An nodded and had the Imperial Envoy wait in the guest lounge. Yu Yanluo preferred peace and quiet, so she waited nearby in a guest room and didn’t meet them with him.
…
When he arrived at the guest hall, Zu An noticed that not only was Sang Hong there; so were also the Vice Magistrate Xu Yu, the City Lord Pei Shao, and even the Yu clan’s people, the brothers Yu Xuanyu and Yu Xuansu. The two brothers were respectively part of the Civil Affairs Manor and Military Affairs Manor, and were each accompanied by many of their colleagues.
They were incredibly shocked when they saw Zu An. They all offered their congratulations, celebrating his safe return. Then, they began to ask where he had gone during his disappearance.
Zu An shook his head and replied, “After I was seriously injured, I cultivated in seclusion in a hidden cave deep in the mountains. I was fortunately able to keep my life, but some of my previous memories are missing. I cannot remember why I went missing either.”
The officials had their own thoughts when they heard his reply. Those who were relatively slow were simply as to which expert could leave the duke in such a state. Those who were relatively sharp had already begun to ponder whether it really was amnesia, or if he was deliberately concealing what had happened in the past. Regardless of which one it was, there was too much room for one’s imagination to go crazy.
A good number of them suspected his identity. However, he was exactly the same as the Jian Yanyou they remembered. Even though there were face changing techniques, they were definitely not at this level.
Sang Hong was even more amazed. Now that Cloudcenter Duke had come back, a lot of the dangers in Cloudcenter Commandery would now be alleviated. They didn’t need King Yan’s army to make a huge fuss anymore. However, it had instead become a bit more difficult to fulfill the emperor’s mission, to strip the Jian and Yu clan of their authority.
Zu An took the chance to understand more about the current military situation. He used the title of Commander-In-Chief to remove the lockdown on the temporary official residence. Doing that would make things much easier for the Imperial Envoy.
Sang Hong was overjoyed. He quickly expressed his thanks.
…
Zu An rejoined Yu Yanluo after sending them off. Yu Yanluo was still worried about Zu An, so she decided to reside in the manor too. As the duchess, she had her own special courtyard in the manor to begin with. As such, her decision didn’t seem too abrupt.
Then, she had Zu An summon some of Jian Yanyou’s past trusted aides. After all, he was completely alone at the moment. Dealing with Jian Taiding was still a bit out of his reach and power. However, as long as he controlled the Martial Affairs Manor, Jian Taiding would be within his grasp.
…
Meanwhile, in Jian Taiding’s room, he was sitting in bed. His complexion was pale and gloomy.
“The imposter is currently summoning his former trusted aides,” Uncle Ming said, sitting on a stool next to him. As the manor’s general manager, the things that went on wouldn’t escape his notice. “Furthermore, Madam Yu has decided to stay in the manor too. In the past, she has never stayed here overnight. It seems this imposter is someone she found.”
“She is probably worried that we might decide to silence that fellow” If it were any other time, Jian Taiding might have just fainted from happiness to hear that his stunning sister-in-law was staying in the manor. But at the moment, he had no trace of such feelings. He asked, “How is the investigation going?”
Uncle Ming shook his head. “I have sent over the maids and servants who served him before. The imposter looks exactly the same as the master, and practically everyone in the manor is already convinced.”
“Don’t tell me my older brother came back to life?” Jian Taiding shivered. After all, at least within his knowledge, there were no such miraculous transformation skills. His sister-in-law couldn’t have the ability to find such a person even if they existed.
Uncle Ming gave him a look and asked, “Does the second master feel that is possible? After all, we personally saw…”
Jian Taiding nodded and said, “You are right. That guy is definitely an imposter. But we are the only ones who know, so it is useless. After all, there is no way we can reveal the truth. We have to look for other proof.”
Uncle Ming replied with a crafty smile, “Has the second master forgotten that you still have some younger sister-in-laws? He might be able to imitate some parts, but there is no way he would be able to perform exactly the same in bed, right?”