Chapter 745: Suspicion
Translator: Pika
Zu An was stunned. Is this woman making inquiries about me? But he still replied, “I fear there aren’t too many in the palace who don’t know who he is.”
Madam Qi harrumphed. “After such a scandal happened between him and the crown princess, it would indeed be hard to not know about him.”
Zu An said with a neutral expression, “This matter has already been investigated. It is absolute nonsense, and he was framed by someone. Madam, I must ask you to watch what you say.” He was an Embroidered Envoy acting directly under the emperor. He needed to protect the royal family’s dignity in this type of situation.
“Nothing remains a secret forever,” Madam Qi said with a sneer. “That fellow Zu An really is presumptuous, daring to even beat up my son! What kinds of things wouldn’t he dare to do?”
You have successfully trolled Bi Fanghua for…
Jiang Luofu smiled. She recalled some of the things that had happened in Brightmoon City before. That fellow indeed didn’t act in a predictable way.
Zu An coughed. No wonder this woman has such strong resentment. But I wonder how she’d react if she found out the one who beat up her son was right in front of her.
Madam Qi asked a few more questions, and Zu An casually answered them. In the end, when she saw that there wasn’t any valuable information to gain, she picked up her teacup and gestured for the servants to escort Zu An out.
During their brief interaction, Zu An had obtained the information he wanted as well. He got up and bid her farewell.
“Stop investigating those trivialities. Trust me, there’s no mastermind behind the scenes. It really was Zu An and the crown princess who engaged in that scandal,” Madam Qi added.
…
“That woman’s intuition is quite terrifying,” Mi Li giggled and said when they left the manor.
Zu An proclaimed, “The crown princess and I are innocent.”
“Hah!” Mi Li naturally knew what was going on between him and the crown princess. Even though the two of them had only embraced each other naked, and nothing else had happened, with her understanding of Zu An, something might just happen between them soon.
Zu An didn’t feel like bothering with her anymore and walked straight out. Mi Li wasn’t in the mood to gossip either when she saw him ignore her. She couldn’t help but ask, “By the way, now that the trail on King Qi Manor’s side has ended as well, what are you going to do? The time limit the emperor gave you is approaching.”
In her opinion, this trip to King Qi Manor was completely meaningless. After all, Z An couldn’t investigate anything about King Qi no matter what he did.
“There are clues to investigate even if the trail has been cut off,” Zu An said, smiling.
Mi Li’s beautiful brows rose. “Explain!”
Zu An could only say, “Actually, there is something I’ve always been wondering about, and this trip here was merely to verify that. Through my interaction with Madam Qi, some of my guesses were indeed verified.”
Mi Li frowned. She discovered that she still couldn’t understand. However, for the sake of maintaining her competent appearance, she didn’t want to lower herself. As such, she couldn’t bring herself to ask further.
Fortunately, Zu An considerately continued, “The crux of this case lies with Xin Rui. From the very start, there was one thing I didn’t understand. Why would that mastermind invest so much in sending Xin Rui out of the palace? Why would they buy out Xuanwu Gate’s Ou Wu, and then also help his family?”
Mi Li was an intelligent person as well, so she quickly reacted. “Indeed. Actually, just killing her and throwing her into a random pond would have done the trick. After all, there are many maids and eunuchs who die mysteriously, and it’s almost impossible to investigate anything. However, for the sake of a trifling maid, they had to sacrifice Xuanwu Gate’s supervisor, that crucial chess piece. That’s not worth it at all.”
Zu An nodded. “Indeed. That’s why I’ve been thinking that the mastermind did that for a different reason. Currently, the investigations haven’t uncovered Xin Rui’s whereabouts. Even though it seems as if her survival is uncertain, I know she’s definitely alive. If she were dead, then there would have been no point in bringing her out of the palace before silencing her.”
“Even if you know all of this, how does that help you? You still can’t find her,” Mi Li couldn’t help but say.
Zu A smiled. “Of course it’s useful. Since Xin Rui isn’t dead, that means her family members are most likely alive as well. We might not be able to find her, but finding her family might not be so difficult.”
Mi Li frowned and remarked “Where the heck did you learn to beat around the bush like that? Do you really think I won’t smack the crap out of you?” Even though she didn’t want to lower herself, she really couldn’t resist her curiosity, so she decided to be a bit more direct.
Zu An was speechless. This woman was so fierce, no wonder even Qin Shihuang had had to lock her up. He could only say, “Do you remember what I said before about her family situation?”
Mi Li frowned. “Her mother is just an ordinary person, but her little brother…” Her eyes lit up. “…loves to gamble!”
“Indeed. Those who are obsessed with gambling can’t go a long time without gambling. Rather than trust that he’s mended his ways. I would rather believe that the sun rose from the west.” Zu An said, “I’ve already had some people investigate their old home. They didn’t go back. People will subconsciously choose to stay in places they find familiar. Since they didn’t go back to their old home, then they’re probably still in the capital, or the counties near the capital. As long as we investigate the nearby gambling hubs, we should find something soon.”
Mi Li couldn’t help but say, “But this is nothing more than speculation. What if they went somewhere far away instead and aren’t in the capital?”
Zu An sighed. “We only try things that are likely to succeed when we do anything anyway; what’s the point of worrying about small odds of what ifs? If they really did go somewhere else, then count me unlucky. But even if you call me incompetent, there are two things I’m the toughest in. The first is my life. I’ve made it past countless situations where I should have died. Why would I fail over such a small matter?”
Mi Li nodded. She agreed that there was a chance his deduction was right. “What’s the other thing that’s the toughest?”
Zu An had an amused expression as he replied, “What do you think?”
Mi Li was stunned. Then she blushed. “Damn brat, you even dare to tease me? You’d better believe me when I say I’ll cut that filthy thing off!”
You have successfully trolled Mi Li for…
Zu An chuckled and ran ahead. As he left through the front gate, the other Embroidered Envoys’ expressions changed when they saw him running. They all drew their blades and rushed forward.
“Leader, are you alright?”
“Are you being chased by King Qi Manor’s men?”
…
Zu An felt warm inside. Even though outsiders might feel that the Embroidered Envoy was sinister and terrifying, from his time with them, he could tell that many of them had warm hearts inside.
“Don’t worry, we’re still under the son of heaven’s command. What could King Qi Manor do to me?” Zu An gave Mi Li a look. When she saw him, she shot back an annoyed look. Then, she turned into a wisp of smoke and returned to the Tai’e Sword. She was too embarrassed to talk to Zu An for some time.
Zu An chuckled, and then headed back. He quickly summoned his subordinates and sent them on various missions. They became excited when they heard that the case had taken a turn for the better. One said, “Don’t worry, boss! We Embroidered Envoys have an intelligence network within the capital’s vicinity. As long as he’s appeared in a gambling den, we’ll definitely catch him!”
Zu An finally sighed in relief. After separating from the Envoys, he changed into his original outfit and headed toward the palace. He hadn’t even had time to report for the morning roll call today. That would definitely draw suspicion.
When he arrived at the Eastern Palace, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun took the chance to walk past him. They whispered, “Big bro Zu, you need to be careful. The crown princess seems to be really unhappy that you’re late today.”
Zu An cupped his hands and gave them a grateful smile. Then, he quickly headed in to meet the crown princess.
As he passed by the main hall, he just happened to run into the crown prince. The prince wasn’t playing five-in-a-row today. It was clear that even though the game was easy, it was still a bit beyond his abilities. He had lost interest after playing a few times.
The prince seemed to be playing at shopping in a food market. He was pretending to be a vegetable seller, but if his prices weren’t ridiculously cheap, they were ridiculously expensive instead. Little Xu and Little He didn’t dare to argue with him about these things and just happily played along.
Zu An sighed in wonder. Those two lesser eunuchs were really being troubled here. He headed straight into the study. The crown princess was currently dealing with a stack of paperwork, the work that the crown prince should be doing.
“I greet the crown princess…?” Zu An began.
The crown princess remained expressionless. She continued to write on some documents as if he didn’t exist. Zu An knew that she was angry. and that she was giving him the cold shoulder on purpose. That was why he wasn’t upset. and just continued to quietly watch her.
Her brows were slender and her eyes starry. Her nose was fine and her lips were a cherry red. Zu An had to admit that the crown princess was a top rate beauty. She still looked as if she had come straight out of a beautiful painting, even when she was just working.
Even though the crown princess didn’t look at Zu An, her pretty face still carried a blush. It was clear that she could feel his scorching gaze. She coughed lightly and indicated for the maids to withdraw to the entrance. Then, she gave Zu An an impatient look. She asked through ki transmission, “What are you staring at me for?”
You have successfully trolled Bi Linglong for…
Zu An smiled. “I’m obviously staring because the crown princess is gorgeous. Even just looking at you is a type of relaxation for the mind.”
The crown princess was startled. She pretended to be calm and said, “Don’t think you can shirk responsibility just because you can say some nice things. Why were you late today? Did you know I needed your help earlier…”
Then, she told him about how she had met Golden Token Eleven. She told him she was worried that the Envoy might find out something. “But you actually weren’t here at such a crucial time!” she exclaimed. She couldn’t tell anyone else about this matter. She ground her teeth in anger as she thought that.
Zu An said in a calm and unhurried manner, “I was late because I was investigating this matter. Crown princess, please don’t worry. Golden Token Eleven isn’t investigating the situation between us. When he visited Ou Wu’s manor, he didn’t find that person. Ou Wu’s clan already left the capital ahead of time. Then, there was some conflict with Murong Luo by the Chongwen Gate… After that, he headed to King Qi Manor…”
The crown princess grew excited when she heard what had happened. “So that was what happened! This matter is related to King Qi after all! Heh, how can we let them go when there’s such a great chance?”
She was just about to say something when she suddenly frowned. She gave Zu An a strange look. “Why do you know so much about what Golden Token Eleven did? Do you have some kind of relationship with him? Or could it be that you two… are the same person?”