Chapter 1096: Proof
Inside the cave, Zu An and Yu Yanluo’s expressions changed. Yu Yanluo quickly said, “They seem to be people from Cloudcenter Commandery.”
Zu An nodded and added, “There are also people from the imperial envoy.” He recognized some familiar voices.
“What do we do now? Should we use your real identity or the duke’s?” Yu Yanluo tidied up the cave a little as she spoke.
Zu An thought for a moment and replied, “Let’s use the duke’s identity. Otherwise, it’ll be hard to explain why I’m here with you, and also where the duke has been all this time.”
Yu Yanluo was still a bit worried, asking, “But how will we explain the imperial edict then? Everyone knows that is something only you possess.”
“Don’t worry, I have a solution for that,” Zu An said while changing his appearance into Jian Yanyou’s. Even though it wasn’t the first time, Yu Yanluo was still incredibly shocked by the process.
At almost the instant Zu An completed his transformation, the footsteps reached the cave entrance.
A group of people appeared in the cave soon afterward. Those in front included Sang Hong, Xu Yu, and Pei Shao, who were all big shots in Cloudcenter Commandery’s court. The previous battle had clearly caused quite the commotion, so they had all rushed over to see what was going on.
“Duke! Madam!” Sang Hong sighed in relief when he saw the two of them. He was happy to see them.
But the expressions of the other Cloudcenter officials were strange. It was hard to say whether they were expressing happiness or grief.
Yu Yanluo was alarmed. She knew that Zu An had to first pretend to be a girl and fool a man in order to get the voice right. How was he going to get through the current situation? She reacted quickly and said before Zu An said anything. “Greetings, everyone.”
“May I ask why the two of you are here?” Sang Hong asked.
Yu Yanluo gave Zu An a look and was the first to reply, “The duke was injured, and a surge of ki and blood harmed his throat. He cannot speak right now. I will speak in his place to prevent his condition from worsening.”
Zu An nodded inwardly. Yu Yanluo was sharp, saving him a lot of time and effort.
The onlookers were shocked, and someone exclaimed. “Duke, your wounds were actually that serious?”
Meanwhile, Sang Hong was looking all over the place for Zu An. But of course, he didn’t find him. When he had sensed the eruption of the imperial edict’s power, he had immediately rushed to Zu An’s room in alarm.
Even though Zu An had said not to disturb him, that matter was too important for Sang Hong to ignore. However, there had been no response even after he called out for a long time. He couldn't find Zu An even when he barged in. As such, he had been worried that something had happened to Zu An.
Yu Yanluo sighed and said, “It seems misfortune has struck our clan.”
As she was incredibly beautiful, the worry in her sigh naturally drew pity from those present. They immediately felt a desire to protect her, exclaiming, “Madam, please speak your mind. We will definitely help you!”
Of course, there was no lack of intelligent people present. As Yu Yanluo had mentioned the clan, was she referring to Jian Taiding?
Yu Yanluo thus said, “Because the duke returned suddenly, some people did certain shameful things. Out of guilt, they returned to where everything had happened. Yanyou and I secretly followed them…”
Then, she slowly recounted the story she had prepared beforehand. Uncle Ming had deceived Jian Taiding, and they had schemed against Jian Yanyou together. However, Jian Yanyou had actually cultivated the Golden Silkworm Art, allowing him to revive himself. Uncle Ming and Jian Taiding had investigated the cave in alarm, but they had ended up being exposed, so both sides had begun a great battle.
Jian Taiding had realized that he had been tricked, so at the last moment, he had turned to help his older brother defeat Uncle Ming. However, they hadn’t expected Uncle Ming to be a Bright Blackeye Parasite. Uncle Ming’s cultivation was extremely high, and because Jian Taiding had been seriously injured to begin with, he had been ruthlessly killed by the enraged Uncle Ming…
She pointed toward a certain direction. Only then did the others see the headless corpse of JIan Taiding. They were all alarmed.
Many of them had been in the court with Jian Taiding for many years. They hadn’t expected him to meet such a tragic ending and couldn't help but feel some pity. Some thought that with Jian Taiding’s death, all of Cloudcenter Commandery was going to change. Finally, there were also some who stared at the two suspiciously, wondering if this was a plot they had set up. Perhaps they had fooled Uncle Ming and Jian Taiding into coming over, then brutally slaughtered them.
Those present all had their own speculations. That was why, apart from the few officials who had been close to Yu Yanluo and Jian Yanyou to begin with, the others all remained quiet.
In the end, Pei Shao said, “Madam Yu, since you said that Bright Blackeye Parasite was so formidable, how did you two survive?”
Sang Hong also said in agreement, “Indeed. I sensed his majesty’s aura just now. If my suspicions are not wrong, I believe someone used the imperial edict. Where is he?”
What he was most worried about at the moment was Zu An. He had immediately rushed over when he sensed the aura of the imperial edict. With Zu An’s cultivation, he wouldn’t use the imperial edict unless he faced an enemy he absolutely couldn’t defeat.
He had rushed all the way over, and yet couldn’t even see any sign of him. He had reason to suspect that Zu An had been framed by these two. Considering the fact that Jian Yanyou was seriously injured and couldn’t speak, could that have been Zu An’s final retaliation? His expression immediately became unkind when he thought about how Ah Zu might have already died.
Yu Yanluo was shocked. That question was what she had been the most worried about. Zu An had said he had a solution. But he couldn't speak at the moment, so Yu Yanluo had absolutely no idea what he was going to do!
Suddenly, her ears moved slightly and she heard a familiar voice. She remained calm, enduring the urge to turn around to look at Zu An. She knew he was communicating through ki.
“Madam?” Sang Hong began to panic when he saw that Yu Yanluo didn’t reply.
Yu Yanluo said in response, “I do not know how to explain this. I was in a life and death crisis, but then a mysterious person suddenly appeared. He was the one who killed Uncle Ming.”
“What mysterious person would be that formidable?” Pei Shao asked, obviously not believing her explanation.
Yu Yanluo gestured with her hands and explained, “He wears a mask and is dressed in embroidered clothes. He was probably an Embroidered Envoy. Furthermore, the cloud designs on his clothes were embroidered with golden silk.”
“A Golden Token Envoy?” Pei Shao and the others exclaimed, shocked.
“Golden Token Eleven!” Sang Hong obviously knew who it was.
The mysterious Golden Token Eleven who had come with them never showed himself. They hadn’t expected him to suddenly appear here. He was his majesty’s trusted aide, so it was completely expected for him to carry an imperial edict.
Sang Hong quickly asked, “Then has the madam seen Sir Zu at all?”
“I have not. Is he here too?” Yu Yanluo didn’t reveal any gaps in her explanation. At the same time, she found the situation strange. She had heard rumors that Sang Hong was ruthless, and that he always acted alone in the court as well, not getting along with anyone. And yet, his concern for Zu An didn’t seem faked at all. Is that guy really so charismatic that even someone as rock-hard in nature as Sang Hong was convinced?
Sang Hong sighed in relief when he heard that Zu An hadn’t shown up. Meanwhile, when the others heard that Golden Token Eleven was the one who had acted, and paired that with the pile of ashes on the ground, they all sighed in admiration toward his majesty’s power.
But some remained suspicious. Pei Shao voiced one of his own suspicions. “Madam Yu, all of this is merely your one-sided story. Do you have any proof?”
The officials who were close to the Yu clan immediately objected. “The duke and Madam Yu are both here, and there is even a Golden Token Envoy to serve as witness. How can this still be fake?”
Sang Hong frowned. The biggest headache had previously been Jian Taiding. Now that he was dead, Cloudcenter Commander would quickly stabilize. On the contrary, he still hadn’t completed the mission to cripple the Yu clan. Should I make use of this opportunity?
For some reason, Xu Yu remained quiet the entire time.
When he saw the tacit agreement of the two elders, however, Pei Shao felt more and more certain that he was correct. “Madam Yu, why are you not saying anything?”
Suddenly, Zu An coughed intensely and looked as if he were about to collapse. Yu Yanluo quickly supported him. She was sharp, quickly playing along and saying, “If you want proof, I obviously have it. But the duke is seriously injured right now and urgently needs treatment. Let us bring him back first.”
Her recording mirror was ironclad proof, but there were some parts that were unsuitable for public distribution. That was why she needed time to return and process it. Fortunately, Zu An was quick on his feet, or else she really wouldn’t have known what to do.
Sang Hong and the others wanted to check his pulse, but Yu Yanluo firmly refused. No one was too suspicious, however, because the court and Cloudcenter Commandery didn’t get along too well to begin with. Not even the locals would want the Imperial Envoy checking the pulse of their duke.
Jian Yanyou was still the duke, after all. Now that he was seriously injured, the top priority was his treatment. With such a proper reason, they couldn't say anything else. As such, their group escorted Zu An back to the Duke Manor.
…
The entire Duke Manor entered an uproar. They sought out doctors and began to prepare medicine.
Zhang Ji and the others weeped endlessly, begging to visit the duke. Zu An felt his scalp turn numb when he saw so many women acting like that.
Fortunately, Yu Yanluo stopped them for him and personally watched over the duke’s quarters. With her status as the main wife, no one could say anything. They could only wait outside.
After the door was closed, Yu Yanluo quickly took out the recording mirror from before. Then, she took out a few other recording stones. She drew some formations, then began to work quickly.
Zu An was stunned when he saw the scenes fly around. This world even had video editing?
However, his thoughts quickly returned to the Milk of Purple Frost. He wanted to call Mi Li out, but he was also worried that it might be unsuitable with Yu Yanluo present. As such, he got up and said, “Madam, since I don’t need to be here right now, I’m going out for a bit.”
Yu Yanluo frowned and exclaimed, “No, you cannot leave right now!”