“How did they die?” Zhuxie Chixin asked, shocked. His first thought wasn’t Zu An, whom he knew was only around the seventh rank at most. Even though this fellow always seemed to manage to display strength greater than his cultivation, there was still a limit to that.
These three were all cultivators at the peak of the seventh rank, and their skills had been tempered on the battlefield, so their true strength was top-notch. They were definitely not warriors anyone could randomly skip ranks to defeat.
Zu An said without batting an eye, “I killed them.” There was no way he could talk about Yun Yuqing, so he could only step up.
“You killed them?” Zhuxie Chixin exclaimed, even more shocked. He scrutinized Zu An and asked, “How did you do it?”
Zu An replied, “They continued to pursue me, so I used the surroundings to break them up. Then, I defeated them one by one.”
He remembered the story of how ancestor Blood Blade had faced off against four enemies who were on par with him and came out on top, so he revised the story a bit and fed it back to Zhuxie Chixin.
Zhuxie Chixin stared at him, stupefied. There weren’t many people who possessed real strength like this. This kid was quite outstanding. When he saw the bloody holes in those corpses, he thought that they had been attacked by tremendous power. It looked like Zu An still had many trump cards in his sleeves! He didn’t ask Zu An about his exact abilities, as that was a taboo subject between cultivators. No one was willing to expose their ultimate moves for no reason.
Zhuxie Chixin laughed out loud. “This is a great achievement! Let’s go; follow me to his majesty!”
Zu An nodded. The case this time involved the Shi clan, so it wasn’t something Zhuxie Chixin could decide on alone.
…
The two quickly arrived at the study. Zhuxie Chixin respectfully reported the information to the emperor, while Zu An used this chance to examine the emperor.
After all, Jia Sili’s illusion was the first time he had faced off against the emperor, and he had even defeated him then. Even though that was only the emperor in his subconscious, it had still given him incomparable confidence. Now, he was much calmer when he faced the emperor.
“Hmph, the Shi clan really is daring!” The emperor slammed his table in anger after listening to Zhuxie Chixin’s entire report. He was just about to say something, but he sensed something and raised his head.
The emperor seemed to have sensed that Zu An was observing him, which made him a bit unhappy. However, when he thought about how this fellow had just brought back a great achievement, he couldn’t berate him too much. He held himself back and said, “Very good. Eleven, you’ve done well. Speak, what kind of reward do you want?”
Zu An cursed inwardly, thinking, What, are you going to give me the crown princess if I ask for her? But he smiled and said naturally, “Your majesty carries our worries on your shoulders. What more reward would I need?”
He had once been a bit dissatisfied with this sort of feigned servitude, but now, he didn’t feel anything. On the contrary, he felt that this would only serve to gain more favor from the emperor.
Sure enough, the emperor roared with laughter. “Indeed! Eleven is growing more and more thoughtful.” After talking about a few other things, he said to Zhuxie Chixin, “Arrest officer Shi Tong and Huang Gate’s Shi Jun. We won’t touch the Minister of War Shi Miao yet. Furthermore, place some more men on the investigation of Xuanwu Gate’s Ou Wu. We don’t need to find the power behind him, because if I remember correctly, he’s someone King Qi brought up. You can use this chance to investigate that area.”
Zhuxie Chixin trembled and quickly bowed. “Understood!”
Zu An spoke up just then. “Your majesty, this case isn’t as simple as it seems. There are many points of suspicion, and there might be another true culprit…”
The emperor waved his hand before Zu An had even finished speaking. “Enough; you’ve already completed your mission perfectly. Just leave this case to Zhuxie Chixin; you don’t have to bother with it anymore.”
Zu An frowned slightly. He was just about to say something, but Zhuxie Chixin gave him an eye signal. He kept quiet when he saw it.
The emperor closed his eyes, then sat down to meditate. He said, “This emperor is tired. You two can withdraw now.”
Zu An cursed inwardly. This fella is always cultivating so he can have even a minute longer to live. What meaning is there left in living if you have to spend your life like that?
…
When the two of them left the study, Zu An asked, “Chief commander, why did you stop me from saying anything else?”
Zhuxie Chixin looked around. When he saw that there was no one around, he said is a suppressed voice, “What do you think is the most important thing when investigating a case?”
“The truth, of course,” Zu An subconsciously replied. Detective Conan’s BGM began to play in the back of his mind.
Zhuxie Chixin chuckled. “I can’t help but remember my former hot-blooded self, from when I had just joined the Embroidered Envoy in the past. Only later did I understand that the truth isn’t important at all. What’s important is what kind of truth his majesty wants.”
Zu An was startled. He felt as if he were picking up on something.
Zhuxie Chixin continued, “His majesty doesn’t care about the truth. He has too many things to worry about. What he cares about more are the objectives he can reach through this case. Do you understand now?”
“Thank you, chief commander, for your guidance.” Zu An wasn’t stupid. He had spent so much time wondering about the identity of the third party, he had forgotten that fact. But after he heard Zhuxie Chixin’s explanation, he finally woke up.
The current situation was the most favorable for the emperor. Not only could he deal with the Shi clan, who were opposed to the crown prince and princess, he could use this chance to purge King Qi’s strength. What other truth did he need to investigate?
As for the true perpetrator, either he already knew, or he just didn’t care. Either way, he was the world’s strongest, so the one who was hiding in the shadows couldn’t harm him.
Zhuxie Chixin chuckled and patted his shoulder, saying, “You’re too polite. We’ll get together and have a proper chat when there’s time. I have people to arrest.”
Zu An cupped his hands. After separating from Zhuxie Chixin, he returned to the Embroidery House. He summoned all of the brothers who had been with him during this case and said, “All of you have worked hard during this period. This case has already been settled.”
Everyone cheered, and even the usually steady Xiao Jianren smiled. All of them were physically and emotionally exhausted from the high difficulty of the case.
Zu An said with a smile, “The reason why this case could be solved was all because of everyone’s efforts. Sir Xiao, Dai Seventh, and Chen Eighth, head over to the storeroom and take out two thousand silvers. Reward everyone based on their contributions.”
As a golden token envoy, he had a set amount of authority to begin with. Furthermore, the emperor had said that he was going to reward him, so Zhuxie Chixin naturally wouldn’t trouble him over this.
“Thank you, Sir Eleven!” Those gathered cheered even louder. They almost picked up Zu An and raised him into the air.
Zu An smiled when he saw how happy they were. He had done his time as a corporate slave, so he obviously understood what the most important part of working was. Even though they all had their loyalty as Embroidered Envoys, they still had families to feed back at home.
Xiao Jianren was surprised. The Embroidered Envoy’s members were usually cold and stern; the other golden token envoys weren’t as considerate of their subordinates as Sir Eleven. Even if there were some rewards occasionally, it was only for the sake of coaxing their subordinates. But he could tell that Sir Eleven genuinely wished well for them. It really was quite rare to see.
They went to withdraw the money in high spirits. Zu An used this chance to look over all of the information gathered regarding the case. He couldn’t help but frown when he saw that there was no information on Ou Wu.
When Zu An left the Embroidery House, he changed into his normal attire and headed toward the Eastern Palace.
He sighed along the way. Having so many identities really was a pain. It would be great if he could clone himself. Wait, if I clone myself, would it be considered cucking myself? He continued to ponder over this philosophical question along the way, and unknowingly arrived at the Eastern Palace.
“Heh, so our Sir Zu still remembered to report for roll call. Do you know what time it is? Could it be that you don’t treat me and the crown prince with any respect?” the crown princess remarked coldly. She’d had something to discuss with Zu An today. After all, following that experience, he had become the only one she could talk about regarding many things.
However, he still hadn’t arrived, even after she waited for a long time! She really was pissed off. Besides, this fellow didn’t seem to report on time at all these days.
You have successfully trolled Bi Linglong for +56 +56 +56…
Zu An saluted and said, “Reporting to the crown princess! I left early for the imperial palace today, but I was attacked by assassins along the way.”
“What? You were attacked?!” Bi Linglong subconsciously stood up to check his wounds, but she quickly noticed the strange expressions of the maids around her. She coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment and sat back down. “Are you injured? Who was the one who tried to assassinate you?”
“They were just some small injuries.” Zu An smiled. Then, he gave her a summary of what had happened.