Chapter 963: Eleven Golden Token Envoys
Kong Nanwu stared at Nan Xun for a while. When Nan Xun began to shudder all over, she then retracted her gaze. She sat down leisurely on her soft chair again and said, “Let’s go back.”
“Understood!” Nan Xun replied respectfully. Then, she pushed open the door a bit to give orders to the driver outside. The carriage slowly headed back toward Scarlet Investigation.
…
“Brother-in-law, you said that you went to Scarlet Invitation to investigate a case, so why did their courtesan queen come looking for you?” Chu Youzhao looked at the slowly departing carriage and asked with an unkind expression.
Zu An felt that dealing with this situation was a pain in the ass. Chuyan wasn’t at his side, and yet he still had to explain such things to a silly little girl. It really was too hard! He replied, “What can I say? Your brother-in-law is just too likable and has friends everywhere. Everyone likes me regardless of whether they’re men or women. You can look at the two over there if you don’t believe me; they’re men, but aren’t they always greeting me with smiles?”
Sure enough, when Chu Youzhao turned to look in the direction Zu An indicated, Pei You and Gao Ying had brilliant smiles on their faces when they saw Zu An looking over. They thought, Brother Zu must be trying to introduce his little brother-in-law to us! Alright, we have to make sure we give off a nicer impression.
“Weirdos!” Chu Youzhao felt something entirely different when she saw their smiles. She pulled at Zu An nervously, saying, “Brother-in-law, you shouldn’t get that close to other guys…”
There were quite a few high officials who had habits of raising male pets. Chu Youzhao had naturally heard about them before. After thinking about it, she would rather have her brother-in-law be a womanizer than someone who messed around with other men! Gross… I’m shaking just from thinking about it.
“Big brother Zu, that courtesan truly shares deep sentiment with you. A woman like that really is a target of admiration,” Zheng Dan said as she walked over with a smile. The taciturn Sang Qien followed behind her.
“Haha, we’re just normal friends…” Zu An chuckled. He thought to himself, These beauties are awesome to have around, but when they meet each other, it really is a hellish battlefield!
Fortunately, something seemed to be happening with the procession. He quickly said, “The ship is leaving soon, so I need to get on. It’s cold outside, so you all should hurry back.”
Now that they were about to separate, the girls couldn't be bothered with jealousy anymore. Chu Youzhao, Zheng Dan, and the others all waved to bid him farewell. “Take care of yourself!”
Their voices were full of concern. Zheng Dan knew that his trip was most likely going to be full of dangers. Chu Youzhao didn’t know that, but when she thought about how she wasn’t going to see her brother-in-law for a long time, she also felt truly worried.
Zu An nodded, then looked at Sang Qien. “Little sister Qien, I’m leaving soon. Aren’t you going to say anything to me?”
Sang Qien’s small face heated up a bit under the others’ gazes. What do I have to say to someone like you? You really are shameless. But that was merely what she thought inwardly. In the end, she still said, “Big brother Zu, I wish all of you smooth sailing!” Regardless of her other thoughts, she didn’t want anything to happen to Zu An either.
Zu An chuckled and remarked, “With all of you worrying about me, I have no choice but to come back safely.”
While watching him leave with a big smile on his face, Murong Qinghe thought to herself, Even though this brother-in-law is a bit shameless, he is indeed quite open-minded.
After Zu An’s group got onto the boat, it quickly began to move. The diplomatic representatives were all standing on deck, waving goodbyes to those who were seeing them off.
Gao Ying and Pei You walked over to Zu An’s side. They looked at the young ladies in the distance who were as delicate as flowers. They were incredibly jealous and remarked, “Brother Zu truly is blessed.”
“Sigh, actually, having more girls means more problems too. They almost started fighting with each other. It’s hard for me being stuck in the middle too, you know?” Even though Zu An said it was annoying, he was clearly proud.
Gao Ying and Pei You were speechless.
Zu An laughed and wrapped his arm around the two of them, asking, “Why didn’t I see your clansmen here to send you guys off?”
Pei You said, “I told them not to come, or else it would be all annoying if they started crying.”
Gao Ying said, “I don’t have too many people I’m close to back in the clan. Rather than having them come and act insincerely, it would be better to save everyone the effort.”
“Haha, the two of you are rather open-minded. But having you guys on this trip with me makes it less lonely,” Zu An said with a smile. He knew that Pei You was still too young, so he didn’t feel too much about separation. Meanwhile, Gao Ying had a certain status to go with his identity, because even though he was part of the Liu clan in name, he was just a distant relative and not really a direct descendant. That made it so he couldn't help but feel as if he didn’t really belong.
The two laughed heartily and replied, “We were just about to inquire about how one could gain the favor of women from brother Zu.”
“That’s simple; you just need to be handsome, perform in bed like a donkey, have a ton of money, cherish your girls carefully and gently, be considerate of them, and spend a ton of time with them…” Zu An began boasting. The two men were completely stunned and were about to prostrate themselves before Zu An.
After a while, a guard came to deliver a report. “Young masters, Sir Sang has invited you for a meeting.”
Their smiles quickly faded. They knew that if Sang Hong called them over, it was definitely for something important.
Sang Hong was the imperial envoy, so his status was the highest among those present. His room was naturally also the largest and most luxurious. It was even divided into a living room, bedroom, study, and the like.
Golden Token Eleven and Sir Zu’s rooms weren’t bad either, and they weren’t far from Sang Hong’s room. Of course, Golden Token Eleven never made an appearance, and that room was still empty. However, they couldn't not prepare a room for him either.
Pei You and Gao Ying had their own rooms too. Even though they had some official rank, they were empty posts without many real responsibilities. The reason they were treated well was mostly out of respect for the clans behind them.
As for the rest, all of the others were pretty much crammed into the living quarters.
“Please have a seat, everyone.” Sang Hong had a smile on his face when he saw Zu An.
“We greet Sir Sang,” Pei You and Gao Ying mumbled quietly. There had always been rumors that Sang Hong was a fierce and ruthless person who didn’t smile often. And yet today, it seemed those rumors weren’t all that accurate.
“Everyone, there’s no need for excessive formalities. We still need to work together on this trip to Cloudcenter Commandery,” Sang Hong replied.
“We’ll spare no effort in working with Sir Sang,” came the reply. These were things the two had to say.
Sang Hong didn’t think too much about those words either. He said, “I asked everyone to come today because I wanted to discuss some of the issues we might encounter in Cloudcenter Commandery…”
Then, he told them about the various points of suspicion and danger regarding the mission, discussing Cloudcenter Duke’s disappearance with the group. Of course, he didn’t mention the piece of information about Cloudcenter Duke’s younger brother he and Zu An had found out previously.
Even so, it was enough to make both Gao Ying and Pei You’s expressions change. They had thought that this would have been an easy trip to gain merit, but there were actually so many dangers involved!
However, the two weren’t useless fools and didn’t shrink back. Instead, they felt it was a great chance to gain some achievements. “With Sir Sang managing this situation, brother Zu’s assistance, and even Golden Token Eleven, I believe we’ll definitely succeed in this mission.”
They had witnessed Zu An’s ability in the dungeon themselves. Together with that mysterious Embroidered Envoy, there was no need for them to do too much. There was no need for them to feel scared.
Sang Hong frowned and said, “But Sir Eleven didn’t get on our ship. We won’t be able to coordinate with each other if something really does happen.”
That was what he was most unhappy about. The other party hadn’t even shown himself, so he couldn't even discuss anything with him. For someone like him who liked to scheme meticulously and think through the situation, that had become the biggest variable.
Zu An could only force a smile. He couldn't just keep hiding Golden Token Eleven forever. He’d have to see if he could resolve the matter soon.
“What are Golden Token Eleven’s strengths? Do any of you know anything?” Pei You asked out of curiosity.
Gao Ying shook his head and said, “Embroidered Envoys are mysterious to begin with, and he’s even a golden token envoy. I previously heard that many of the cases in the capital were solved by him, and some major figures were taken down because of him.” Then, he looked toward Sang Hong and asked, “Does Sang Hong know anything else?”
Sang Hong said with an overcast voice, “Embroidered Envoys take orders from his majesty directly. As for golden token envoys, there are only eleven of them in total under the Chief Commander, and every one of them has tremendous responsibilities. There are rumors that the golden token envoys are scattered throughout the country, each of them responsible for an area spanning thousands of li. They’re in charge of collecting intelligence and monitoring the local officials. Since Zhuxie Chixin oversees the capital, there has never been a golden token envoy assigned here. This Golden Token Eleven came out of thin air, so I believe no powers have been able to investigate his background.”
Zu An thought to himself that no wonder, even though he had been in the capital for so long, he still hadn’t met a single other golden token envoy. It turned out all of them were overseeing different areas of the empire!
That meant the golden token the emperor had given him was just an empty title! There were so many big shots in the capital, and there was even the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin, who were both above him. Compared to his colleagues overseeing different areas, their authority and resources were both on an entirely different level!
“Then what about their cultivation ranks?” Pei You asked. That was what he was more concerned with.
Sang Hong shook his head and said, “This is a secret in itself. The Embroidered Envoys were mysterious to begin with, and golden token envoys are even more mysterious. No one can say how high their cultivation ranks are exactly. However, we have a rough gauge on the strength of Golden Token Eleven.”
Zu An was shocked. Did I end up revealing something I shouldn’t have? Otherwise, how does he know about this?
“Sir Sang, please tell us.” Pei You and Gao Ying became more interested.
Sang Hong said, “Several months ago, the Devil Sect invaded the palace and attempted an assassination. Back then, most of the palace security’s attention was drawn toward the Palace of Peace, but their main target was actually the Eastern Palace. The crown prince’s lesser tutor was seriously injured, and the Eastern Palace’s guards suffered severe casualties. It was rumored that at a crucial time, it was Golden Token Eleven who showed up to save the crown prince and princess. There were quite a few people present at the time, and according to their descriptions, Golden Token Eleven’s cultivation should be at the sixth or seventh rank.”
“What? It’s only at the sixth or seventh rank?” Pei You and Gao Ying were both disappointed. They were at the peak of the sixth rank themselves. Not even a legend like a golden token envoy was much better than them?
“That’s what’s frightening.” Sang Hong’s expression became fearful. “He only displayed cultivation at the sixth or seventh rank, and yet he was able to block the full powered strike of the grandmaster rank Devil Sect Master. How many people in this world could accomplish such a feat?”
“Scary!” Pei You and Gao Ying both gasped. They were from great clans themselves, so they naturally knew how terrifying grandmasters were.
“There’s no way that’s possible, right?” Pei You said with a frown.
“It was indeed quite unimaginable. After all, this old one believes my own cultivation to be acceptable, but I can’t imagine myself blocking the full powered strike of a grandmaster.” Sang Hong changed the topic. “But this is reality. It proves that Golden Token Eleven’s true cultivation can only be higher than mine, or perhaps his strength is special and can’t be evaluated through normal cultivation means. But regardless of which one it is, it makes him a powerful expert.”