…
Meanwhile, in the other room, everything was still a mess from having been replaced. When Zu An asked Gong Pan if he had found anything, Gong Pan unsurprisingly replied no. Even though there were some secret documents, they were about the Military Affairs Manor’s official business and not matters related to Jian Yanyou or the fiend races.
After sending Gong Pan to stand guard outside, Yu Yanluo sighed in clear relief and said, “We have passed the first trial. Your performance was much better than I expected.”
“It was still thanks to the madam’s instructions,” Zu An said with a smile.
Yu Yanluo rolled her eyes and retorted, “I definitely did not teach you to hug me.”
Zu An said with an upright expression, “They were all suspecting my identity. It was a good chance to convince them.”
Yu Yanluo harrumphed. “Hmph, you are just saying complete nonsense with a straight face.”
Yu Yanluo sounded a bit annoyed, so Zu An checked the Keyboard System’s backend. He actually hadn’t received any Rage points from her! He chuckled inwardly.
The two chatted for a while, but then someone outside came to report that Sang Hong and the others had come to meet him. Zu An was surprised. He hadn’t expected them to meet him in such a situation.
Yu Yanluo explained, “You are now the duke. Since the duke has returned, their visit should come as no surprise. Do not worry. Not even the people here have noticed anything strange, so there is even less of a chance of them noticing anything. You should just do things as we practiced.”
Zu An nodded and had the Imperial Envoy wait in the guest lounge. Yu Yanluo preferred peace and quiet, so she waited nearby in a guest room and didn’t meet them with him.
…
When he arrived at the guest hall, Zu An noticed that not only was Sang Hong there; so were also the Vice Magistrate Xu Yu, the City Lord Pei Shao, and even the Yu clan’s people, the brothers Yu Xuanyu and Yu Xuansu. The two brothers were respectively part of the Civil Affairs Manor and Military Affairs Manor, and were each accompanied by many of their colleagues.
They were incredibly shocked when they saw Zu An. They all offered their congratulations, celebrating his safe return. Then, they began to ask where he had gone during his disappearance.
Zu An shook his head and replied, “After I was seriously injured, I cultivated in seclusion in a hidden cave deep in the mountains. I was fortunately able to keep my life, but some of my previous memories are missing. I cannot remember why I went missing either.”
The officials had their own thoughts when they heard his reply. Those who were relatively slow were simply as to which expert could leave the duke in such a state. Those who were relatively sharp had already begun to ponder whether it really was amnesia, or if he was deliberately concealing what had happened in the past. Regardless of which one it was, there was too much room for one’s imagination to go crazy.
A good number of them suspected his identity. However, he was exactly the same as the Jian Yanyou they remembered. Even though there were face changing techniques, they were definitely not at this level.
Sang Hong was even more amazed. Now that Cloudcenter Duke had come back, a lot of the dangers in Cloudcenter Commandery would now be alleviated. They didn’t need King Yan’s army to make a huge fuss anymore. However, it had instead become a bit more difficult to fulfill the emperor’s mission, to strip the Jian and Yu clan of their authority.
Zu An took the chance to understand more about the current military situation. He used the title of Commander-In-Chief to remove the lockdown on the temporary official residence. Doing that would make things much easier for the Imperial Envoy.
Sang Hong was overjoyed. He quickly expressed his thanks.
…
Zu An rejoined Yu Yanluo after sending them off. Yu Yanluo was still worried about Zu An, so she decided to reside in the manor too. As the duchess, she had her own special courtyard in the manor to begin with. As such, her decision didn’t seem too abrupt.
Then, she had Zu An summon some of Jian Yanyou’s past trusted aides. After all, he was completely alone at the moment. Dealing with Jian Taiding was still a bit out of his reach and power. However, as long as he controlled the Martial Affairs Manor, Jian Taiding would be within his grasp.
…
Meanwhile, in Jian Taiding’s room, he was sitting in bed. His complexion was pale and gloomy.
“The imposter is currently summoning his former trusted aides,” Uncle Ming said, sitting on a stool next to him. As the manor’s general manager, the things that went on wouldn’t escape his notice. “Furthermore, Madam Yu has decided to stay in the manor too. In the past, she has never stayed here overnight. It seems this imposter is someone she found.”
“She is probably worried that we might decide to silence that fellow” If it were any other time, Jian Taiding might have just fainted from happiness to hear that his stunning sister-in-law was staying in the manor. But at the moment, he had no trace of such feelings. He asked, “How is the investigation going?”
Uncle Ming shook his head. “I have sent over the maids and servants who served him before. The imposter looks exactly the same as the master, and practically everyone in the manor is already convinced.”
“Don’t tell me my older brother came back to life?” Jian Taiding shivered. After all, at least within his knowledge, there were no such miraculous transformation skills. His sister-in-law couldn’t have the ability to find such a person even if they existed.
Uncle Ming gave him a look and asked, “Does the second master feel that is possible? After all, we personally saw…”
Jian Taiding nodded and said, “You are right. That guy is definitely an imposter. But we are the only ones who know, so it is useless. After all, there is no way we can reveal the truth. We have to look for other proof.”
Uncle Ming replied with a crafty smile, “Has the second master forgotten that you still have some younger sister-in-laws? He might be able to imitate some parts, but there is no way he would be able to perform exactly the same in bed, right?”