Chapter 1133: Luring the Tiger Away from Its Domain
Zu An’s expression changed. He asked, “Sir Xu, why are you still here?”
Xu Yu felt inwardly refreshed when he saw that expression. But as a shrewd person, he restrained his smile from showing. He replied, “I am here after receiving a tip-off that there have been some Fiend race individuals who are using this chance to stir up havoc; that is why I brought some men here to look around. Duke, you need to be careful! You absolutely cannot let yourself be connected to these Fiend races.”
Even though he was warning Zu An while sounding concerned, both sides knew why he was there. He might as well just outright accuse Zu An of colluding with the Fiend races, and say that he should follow them back to be interrogated.
But Zu An remained calm, saying, “This duke has already overseen Cloudcenter Commandery for many years. I have fought countless battles against the Fiend races and they hate me bitterly. Why would any of them be at my side?”
Xu Yu thought to himself, Your acting skills are pretty good. He said, “The duke really is formidable. Right, we need to carry out a routine inspection, so I hope that the duke does not mind.” Hmph, let’s see how you’ll deal with this situation now!
He gestured with his eyes. His subordinates were already prepared for the situation. They ran towards the carriage, intending to examine what was inside every single carriage.
Zu An quickly roared, “What are you all trying to do?!”
The Duke Manor’s guards brandished their weapons along with the soldiers. A battle was on the verge of breaking out.
Xu Yu chuckled and said, “Please do not misunderstand, duke. In order to prevent the fiend races from harming the common people, we have to strictly inspect every single carriage that enters and leaves the city, no matter whether they are ordinary people or high officials. Even people like us need to set an example, no?”
There were some commoners watching in the surroundings. When they heard that, they all began to clamor among themselves. It seemed as if, if Zu An didn’t let them inspect his carriages, he would be abusing his authority.
Xu Yu smiled when he saw the crowd’s reaction. That was precisely the reason why he hadn’t chased away the commoners. He took the chance to move closer to Zu An and quietly said, “There is no need for you to worry, duke. We are only going through the motions a bit to convince them.”
Zu An thought to himself, Like hell I’ll believe that. But he had to admit that he was starting to admire these court officials more and more. They were lying through their teeth, and yet there wasn’t even a single opening to exploit.
He replied coldly, “Then what if you do your inspection, but Sir Xu does not find what you are looking for?”
Xu Yu said with a serious expression, “What is the duke saying? I am just carrying out a routine inspection. Why would there be something I am trying to find?”
Zu An harrumphed. “Is that so? But in my opinion, Sir Xu seems to have your heart set on this.”
Xu Yu said apologetically, “I know that this is a bit disrespectful toward you. How about this? If there is nothing wrong, I will offer a formal apology to your manor if there is nothing wrong at all.”
But he was just saying that to say it. If the investigation were carried out and they found those Snake race people, Jian Yanyou’s guilt would be set in stone. Even though he wouldn’t be killed because of his status, his title of duke would definitely be gone. At that point, why would he need to still give an apology?
“I hope that Sir Xu does not regret your choice then,” Zu An said with a sneer.
Xu Yu chuckled and didn’t reply. Instead, he gestured toward his subordinates with his eyes to begin. He also secretly went on guard against a sudden assault from the other party.
He had been investigating with his men for some time, and was certain that this man was transporting the Snake race. Now that he had caught Jian Yanyou red-handed, he worried that the duke might act out of desperation. That was why he secretly held the Imperial Edict, ready to use it to subdue the other party at a moment’s notice.
His subordinates investigated the carriage in an extremely crude manner. They even stabbed their weapons into the piles of goods.
Zu An frowned and remarked, “Is there a need to be so rough? What if you end up damaging the goods?”
Xu Yu thought to himself, You’re just worried that those Snake race individuals will die, right? But instead, he said, “The duke is right; I will talk to them.”
He moved over to the carriages and berated his subordinates for acting roughly. Meanwhile, he reached out his hand and placed it on the carriage, sending ki inside.
However, the smile on his face quickly froze. There were no living things in the carriage. His subordinates also quickly returned, indicating with their eyes that they didn’t find anything.
How can this be? Xu Yu was shocked. He ran over and tore away the covers of the carriages. Sure enough, there were all sorts of goods, but there wasn’t a single Snake race person.
He suddenly turned around to look at Zu An, but instead saw him staring back with a smile. Zu An asked, “Sir Xu, have you finished your investigation?”
Xu Yu knew that he had been done in by Zu An’s plot. However, he was still unconvinced. He walked toward the largest carriage. He ignored the people who tried to stop him and flung away the curtains.
Two cries of alarm followed. Two pretty young married women looked back at him in alarm. They were dressed in extravagant jewelry. Upon seeing their pretty faces, even the ordinary people watching from a distance cried out in alarm.
Xu Yu obviously recognized that the two were Cloudcenter Duke’s favorite concubines. He quickly lowered the carriage curtains, saying, “I’ve treated all of you irreverently. I ask the madams for your forgiveness.”
Zu An quickly walked over and roared furiously, “Sir Xu, what are you looking for exactly? To actually forget even your court manners…” He used this chance to berate the man viciously.
Xu Yu felt incredibly wronged while being berated that way, but he had been completely defeated and couldn't say anything. He could only continuously apologize.
Zu An said coldly, “We will do things the way Sir Xu said before; go and make a formal apology. I will call upon the others later to confirm it.”
Xu Yu’s expression changed. Anger raged within him too. I’m clearly the one investigating you, but now I’m the one being troubled by you?
You have successfully trolled Xu Yu for +316 +316 +316…
But he had said he would do so himself, and the other party’s status was higher than his. He couldn't even retort against it.
…
Zu An continued to mock him for a bit, then boarded the carriage and left.
The surrounding soldiers looked at each other in dismay, but they didn’t find it too strange. The other party had captured the duke’s wife, and now had even run all the way over to investigate him. It would be stranger if the duke treated him nicely.
When Zu An entered the carriage, Chu Ji and Liu Ji leaned over with worried expressions, asking, “Will that Xu Yu not be very angry this time since you treated him so ruthlessly? What if he decides to keep eyeing us?”
Zu An chuckled and replied, “I’m more worried that he won’t be distracted by us.” He saw through the jade badge that sure enough, Xu Yu was still following them from afar, clearly wishing to find out what exactly he wanted to do.
Chu Ji couldn't help but pat her chest, saying, “I was so scared. I thought we were exposed just now! Where are you hiding them, really?”
Zu An smiled and didn’t say anything. I’m sending them out through Tang Tian’er’s people, of course.
A sly individual had more than one plan to fall back on. The Zhenyuan Merchant Group was so big, there could be no way they hadn’t made rainy day preparations. They no doubt had secret channels that took them out of the city. The matter of transporting the Fiend race people out was a big deal, so they wouldn’t dare to take any risks. As such, they were using those secret channels to bring Maid Xing and the others out.
But Xu Yu had been on high alert the entire time, which was why Zu An sent out so many carriages. It had looked as if he were attempting to use the number of carriages to confuse everyone, then use one of them to bring the Snake race people out.
Xu Yu thought that he had seen through the plan, and yet he hadn’t realized that it was all just to draw his attention.
“Where are we going now?” Liu Ji asked curiously.
“You should all keep going and pretend that I’m still in the carriage. When you reach the neighboring commandery, stay there for a while,” Zu An replied as he changed his appearance. He had obviously caused such a disturbance not just to cover for Tang Tian’er as she brought the Snake race people out, but also to use chance to lure the enemy away from their territory. He had created a chance to save Yu Yanluo.
Liu Ji and Chu Ji blushed. Even though they had already had a physical relationship, they knew this person wasn’t the real duke. They had their guesses as to his real identity, but neither of them chose to see his true appearance. Only then could they convince themselves that it was okay…
…
Soon afterward, Zu An took the chance when the carriage stopped to resupply to leave secretly. The fleet was so large that with his current cultivation, no one noticed anything amiss.
He sprinted back to Cloudcenter City and arrived at the place Jiang Luofu had been staying at. There was no one in the room, only a specially sealed letter.
He took out the keepsake Jiang Luofu had given him before and pressed it against the seal. Both sides matched up, and the letter flickered with radiance. They converged into a string of characters in the air:
“I’ve already drawn the drunkard away; you have two hours of time…”