Chapter 1097: Request
Worried that Zu An might be unhappy, Yu Yanluo quickly explained, “There are so many people waiting outside. What if they suddenly burst in and you are not here? What will I do then?”
“Don’t worry. This is the Duke Manor, after all. Gong Pan, Maid Xing, and the others have already come to watch the surroundings. Those Cloudcenter officials can’t come in,” Zu An replied. “The main reason is because, judging from Sir Sang’s words, I can assume that he’s already noticed that I am not in my room. If I don’t show myself, he might blow the situation up more than necessary out of concern for me. It’ll be bad if he associates my disappearance with Cloudcenter Duke.”
Yu Yanluo had a strange look on her face. “Is this Sang Hong not a bit too concerned about you? It almost seems as if you are his son-in-law or something… But I have heard of some rumors about you and the Sang clan’s daughter-in-law. Would it not make more sense for him to hate you?”
Zu An was alarmed. Women’s sixth sense truly was terrifying. He really was a bit speechless. He just decided to change the topic, saying, “Well, there are even rumors that the two of us have a thing.”
Yu Yanluo harrumphed. She blushed and said, “Hmph, no good words can be expected from a scoundrel.”
Zu An coughed lightly and said, “Apart from my worries that Sir Sang is looking for me, I need to fool a man too.” He pointed at his throat, indicating that he wasn’t using Jian Yanyou’s voice at the moment.
Yu Yanluo immediately burst out laughing. “Your technique is far too strange. A grown man has to pretend to be a girl? If news of this got out, you might just be too embarrassed to see anyone in public ever again.”
“If you don’t tell anyone and I don’t tell anyone, who will know?” Zu An replied, looking at her with a smile.
Yu Yanluo couldn't help but feel alarmed. She shifted her gaze and asked, “Can you not make us sound like some illicit couple? Hurry and go then.”
Zu An was confused. What’s going on? Why are you suddenly getting embarrassed? But time was pressing, so he didn’t delay. He secretly left through a hidden passage.
Jian Yanyou’s room led to Jasper Lane in the city. There were many people there, and it was quite lively, so it was easy for him to move undercover.
Zu An quickly returned to the official residence. He saw that Sang Hong had already returned as well, and was currently asking Pei You and Xiao Jianren nervously, “Has there been any news regarding Sir Zu’s whereabouts?!”
Zu An felt warm inside. This man really did see him as his own.
“There isn’t. We’ve already searched everywhere, but we didn’t find him,” Pei You said worriedly.
Xiao Jianren was a bit calmer. He said, “Sir Sang, please do not worry. Sir Zu’s cultivation is high, and he is intelligent too. He must be taking care of some urgent matter if we cannot find him right now.”
“Oh?” Sang Hong was a bit worked up because of his concern. With that, he remembered some things and began to think to himself. “Ah Zu disappeared, and Golden Token Eleven appeared. The missing Cloudcenter Duke has also returned…”
Zu An was alarmed, worried that he might really make the connection. He quickly showed himself, exclaiming, “I’ve made Sir Sang worry!”
Sang Hong was shocked and happy to see him. He asked, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Zu An nodded.
“Where have you been all this time?” Pei You grumbled. He had been having a great time in Jasper Lane, but he had had to leave that wonderful place to look all over for Zu An.
“Being inside all the time was too stuffy, so I went out to get some medicine to clear up my mood. Just now, I seem to have sensed that someone used an imperial edict, so I quickly went back to take a look. Just what is going on?” Zu An replied, pretending to not know a thing.
Sang Hong was half convinced, half skeptical as he said, “Jian Taiding has died; Sir Eleven interfered…” He gave a rough recount of all the information he had just received. He then asked, “Ah Zu, what do you think about all this?”
When he saw Sang Hong’s changes in expression, Zu An mumbled to himself for a bit before saying, “This Yu Yanluo seems to be hiding something.”
“Indeed, that is what I am thinking too. I just feel that she is hiding something.” Sang Hong nodded.
Pei You felt endless regret. If he had known he would be able to see Yu Yanluo this time, like hell he would still go to some Jasper Lane! No matter how pretty the girls at Jasper Lane were, how could they compare to Yu Yanluo?
But he quickly changed his mind. No matter how pretty Yu Yanluo is, he couldn't touch her. That made him feel that the Jasper Lane girls were much more friendly and understanding.
Zu An instead frowned inwardly. Sang Hong really is an old fox after all… He immediately noticed the gap in our story.
Worried that Sang Hong might still be suspicious, he deliberately tested the waters and said, “I feel as if there’s something suspicious about that Cloudcenter Duke too.”
“Indeed. He did not say anything the entire time; it was always Yu Yanluo who spoke. Even though she said that the duke was injured and could not speak, I could not help but feel that something was not right.” Sang Hong continued, “I just discussed things with Xu Yu and the others, and they agree that this Cloudcenter Duke might be fake, and that he is a puppet Yu Yanluo found.”
Zu An was alarmed, but he didn’t show it on the surface. He said, “Indeed. If he doesn’t speak, it might be because they’re hiding something. We’ll know the truth once we make him speak.”
“Indeed. Yu Yanluo might be able to use his injuries as an excuse today, but there is no way the duke will still be unable to speak tomorrow, right? We shall see how she deals with this when the time comes.” Sang Hong harrumphed.
Zu An sighed in relief. Thank goodness I came out here today, or else everything would’ve been over by tomorrow.
The two chatted for a while, and Zu An returned to his room again. When he closed the door, he looked around and frowned. A beautiful figure entered through the window. Surprisingly, it was Daji.
Zu An sighed in relief and said, “Thank goodness you’re still here. I thought you went missing.”
Daji blinked, looking somewhat wronged. Even though she didn’t say anything, Zu An still smiled and said, “Alright, I know it’s not your fault. They barged in, so you obviously couldn’t continue to pretend you were me. Leaving was the right choice, or else it would have become more troublesome if they saw you.”
Daji smiled when she heard him say that, as if she were becoming a bit excited. But when Zu An looked at her more closely, her expression had returned to normal, as if it had never changed before.
Zu An didn’t pay too much attention to that and instead thought of something more important. He called out Mi Li and exclaimed, “Big sis empress, big sis empress?”
A while later, the red-clothed Mi Li appeared on the bed. She gave him an annoyed look and shot back, “You’re becoming more and more undisciplined. Call me master!”
Her appearance wasn’t inferior to Yu Yanluo’s at all. There was also a valiant and formidable air between her brows. She gave off the prestige of a queen.
“Sure, big s… Ahem, master.” Zu An quickly changed his tone when Mi Li glared at him. However, he quickly asked out of concern, “What happened to your projection? You’ve become so much smaller.”
Mi Li’s brows shot up. She exclaimed, “What did you say to me?”
“I said your figure seems to have become a bit smaller, and your outline seems to be much blurrier.” Zu An frowned. Mi Li looked as if she might scatter if even a slight breeze blew against her.
Mi Li fell silent. Only after some time passed did she say with a sigh, “My soul has been severely damaged. In the future, our meetings will become finite.”
She had often boasted about not fearing death, but for some reason, she suddenly felt a little reluctance. She wasn’t even sure what exactly it was she was reluctant about.
Her lonely expression made Zu An feel pained inside. He had originally planned to tease her a bit, but he wasn’t in the mood anymore. He quickly took out the jade bottle he had prepared beforehand, saying, “Master, I’ve already found the Milk of Purple Frost for you.”
“What?!” Mi Li had just been lazily reclining in his bed, her eyes half-closed. She immediately sat up straight when she heard that.
Zu An didn’t waste any time and just handed her the bottle. At the same time, he released his ki to form a protective screen around them; otherwise, the spiritual essence would leak out and be sensed by the others in the temporary residence.
Mi Li was shocked and overjoyed when she smelled the rich spiritual essence. She exclaimed, “It really is the Milk of Purple Frost! How did you manage to find something so incredible?”
The Milk of Purple Frost had been something exceedingly rare even in her time, let alone in this age where natural ki had already declined so much.
Zu An smiled and said, “It’s a long story. Master, hurry and treat your injuries and don’t waste any more time. I’ll tell you all about it later.”
“Alright.” MI Li received the Milk of Purple Frost. At the same time, her expression was somewhat troubled. A while later, she said, “This empress has always separated gratitudes and grudges clearly; I hate to owe others favors. Since you’ve found something so precious for me, it’s equivalent to saving my life… How about this? I’ll agree to one of your requests as reciprocation.”
“Is any kind of request okay?” Zu An’s face lit up.