Chapter 1880: Embroidery House Developments
Liu Ning’s face turned red after she heard those words. Multiple times, she wanted to ask him to stop, but she was also a bit reluctant. In the end, her entire body became incredibly numb. She looked at his departing figure with misty eyes.
This guy is just too amazing. My life was already dim and gloomy, and yet he came in like a dazzling rainbow.
Hmph, I definitely have to steal him from that lowly bitch.
…
Meanwhile, after Zu An left the room, he just happened to bump into a smiling Eunuch Lu, who said, “Sir Zu has worked hard.”
“Not at all,” Zu An replied reflexively, but he felt strange somehow.
“Is Sir Zu leaving so soon? Are you not going to stay for a while longer?” Eunuch Lu asked, sounding a bit regretful.
“I still have some things I need to take care of outside the palace,” Zu An said. He thought to himself, What the heck is wrong with this guy’s expression? It almost looks as if he’s not satisfied or something.
“Oh, then I won’t keep Sir Zu. You can visit the Palace of Peace frequently in the future. Her highness likes you a lot,” Eunuch Lu said as he bowed and made an inviting gesture.
Zu An nodded, but he felt a bit strange inside. Why does it feel as if you want me here more than the empress does?
Soon after, Eunuch Lu took him to the Palace of Peace’s front palace. The eunuchs, maids, and neglected concubines couldn't help but whisper among themselves when they saw that.
“Sir Zu really is doted on by her highness. He was actually able to stay in the palace for so long.”
“Are you blind? Look at Sir Zu’s status now. The Fiend races’ Regent needs to be treated with respect!”
“Right, I recall that he seems to be the most reliable minister of the Eastern Palace’s crown princess. Now that he’s here on the empress’ side, does he represent the crown princess or himself?”
“Shush! Are these things you should be asking about?”
…
Even though these people had already lowered their voices a lot, how could it escape Zu An’s eyes and ears? He couldn't help but frown. This matter would most likely reach the ears of Bi Linglong. What would she think of him?
More importantly, he didn’t know what choice to make either. Previously, he had actually leaned more toward Bi Linglong’s side. However, after what just happened, he had discovered that Liu Ning was just too good to him. He really couldn't find it within himself to help Bi Linglong deal with her.
This really is a dilemma…
There were also those hidden forces that Liu Ning talked about in the capital. It seemed that these capital ‘waters’ were deeper than he had ever imagined. In the end, he had just spent too little time in the imperial court. That time was so short that he didn’t fully understand the power of the major clans. It was no wonder that even though the daoists, Buddhists, and shamans had so many grandmasters, they had still been suppressed by the court so badly.
Even though Liu Ning still underestimated his own strength greatly, and he didn’t actually have to fear the eight dukes' hidden experts... If he offended them too badly and became the common enemy of those old monsters, having all of them team up against him would still be extremely annoying.
After thinking for a bit, he decided to investigate the hidden powers in the capital first. That way, he wouldn’t get targeted for no reason. Even though he had gotten much stronger, it was still better to be safe to succeed in the long run. The path of cultivation was fraught with dangers. Just the slightest bit of carelessness could result in losing one's life.
Even someone as strong as Zhao Han hadn't been truly invincible. There had still been many beings stronger than him. On top of that, in the end, he had been done in by people far weaker than him. If Zu An ever got too arrogant, perhaps he would really just end up following that disastrous pattern.
If Zu An wanted to investigate the hidden powers of the capital, what better channel was there than through the Embroidered Envoy?
He looked up at the sky. He saw that half the day was already over. How could a grandmaster be that easily satisfied, after all? Liu Ning's endurance was far greater than that of an ordinary woman. Fortunately, he was pretty tough himself, and he had copied Zhao Zilong’s sloped plank technique to seize victory.[1]
After some hesitation, he still decided to go in the Embroidery House’s direction in the end. He planned to assign Xiao Jianren the responsibility of investigating any related information, and then he would head for the Qin clan. He changed into his Golden Token Eleven outfit, then entered the Embroidery House’s vicinity.
…
As soon as he went in, some Embroidered Envoys immediately surrounded him. When they saw his outfit, however, they were stunned. They exclaimed, “Sir Eleven?”
Zu An asked in surprise, “Why is the security so much stricter than usual?”
“Such a huge affair took place over by Violet Mountain, and Chief Commander went missing as well. The entire Embroidery House is on category A alert,” one of them replied.
Zu An figured that wasn’t all that surprising. They were a group of dragons without their leader, so the Embroidery House was probably a mess. He asked, “Who's in charge right now?”
“Silver Token Envoy Bu Liangcai,” the Envoy replied.
Zu An nodded. The Embroidery House’s other Golden Token Envoys were all in charge of major regions, and the capital’s affairs were governed directly by Zhuxie Chixin. There had been no Golden Token Envoy assigned here until Zu An suddenly appeared. Even so, normally, he rarely managed the Embroidered Envoy’s affairs. It was almost always Zhuxie Chixin who took care of things.
Of course, Zhuxie Chixin had always been busy and couldn't possibly take care of all the different things that needed to be done. He had almost always relied on his four trusted Silver Token Envoys to handle things. This Bu Liangcai was none other than one of them. He was publicly known to be Zhuxie Chixin’s right-hand man.
“Where is Sir Xiao Jianren?” Zu An then asked. He wanted to start by meeting someone he was familiar with.
The Envoys exchanged a few looks. Then, they stuttered, “Responding to Sir Eleven, Sir Xiao was locked up.”
“What is going on?” Zu An asked with a frown.
Those people opened their mouths, but they didn’t say anything.
Zu An harrumphed. He didn’t want to waste any time and headed straight for the Embroidery House.
The guards at the entrance we realso shocked when he saw him. One quickly stopped him and said, “Sir Eleven, your respected self cannot enter here.”
“I am a respected Golden Token Envoy; can I not even enter the Embroidery House’s prison?” Zu An replied with a scowl. An indescribable aura spread from his body.
All the guards nearby felt as if they were suffocating. They didn’t dare to stop him anymore. Zu An pushed their arms aside and walked straight into the prison.
The guards had bitter expressions. Those who were more quick-witted ran away, seemingly going to inform someone. Zu An noticed that, but didn’t stop them. Instead, he continued inside with an ashen expression. Xiao Jianren was his subordinate, and yet he had been locked up. That was no different from someone striking Zu An in the face.
“Where is Sir Xiao?” Zu An pulled over the prison guard and asked.
“Over… Over here,” the guard exclaimed in horror. People had always said that Sir Eleven got his position through connections and didn’t have much cultivation, and yet the guard couldn't even avoid a random grab from him.
They quickly walked through a long hallway and reached the prison at the very end.
Zu An saw a shocking sight behind the bars. Inside was a gray-clad prisoner who was tied to a wooden cross-like frame. There were bloody scars all over his body, and his tattered clothes revealed several badly mangled wounds. Quite a few of the injuries were rotten, and there were even maggots squirming inside some places. Even though his head was lowered and his body disheveled, Zu An still immediately recognized that he was Xiao Jianren. Furious and alarmed, he took a step forward. The prison door fence immediately caved in.
Xiao Jianren slowly raised his head, but he was short-sighted and his cultivation was sealed. His vision was a blur.
Zu An immediately rushed forward. No one saw what he did, but the shackles were instantly shattered. He supported Xiao Jianren to his feet and said, “I’ve returned too late.”
“Sir Eleven, Sir Eleven?” the somewhat perplexed Xiao Jianren murmured, having finally heard his voice. His turbid eyes immediately began to brim with tears of excitement.
Zu An took out a treatment pill and fed it to him. At the same time, he continued to pour ki into Xiao Jianren and said, “Don’t speak; just focus on adjusting your energies.”
Xiao Jianren felt rich and abundant ki flow into him. Wherever it went, all kinds of restrictions felt like leftover snow before a blistering sun, melting away instantly. Xiao Jianren’s heart that had still been in suspense finally relaxed. However, his injuries were too severe and he was incomparably weak. He couldn't even transfer his inner ki himself and needed to rely on Zu An’s help.
When Zu An sensed Xiao Jianren's condition, he turned to the prison guard with an ice-cold expression and asked, “Since when has the Embroidered Envoy used our torture methods on our own people?”
The guard immediately kneeled down and said, “Please forgive me, Sir Eleven! We were only acting on orders and cannot take responsibility!”
“Whose orders were you acting under?” Zu An asked in a frigid tone.
Those people all began to speak, but trailed off again, seemingly unable to speak the person's name.
“They were acting under my orders!” a haughty voice called out just then.
A burst of orderly footsteps resounded throughout the prison. Two troops of fully armed Embroidered Envoys rushed down the stairs and surrounded the area.
“Enforcement Troop!” the prison guards exclaimed; their expressions changed.
This was the most elite force in the Embroidered Envoy. They were normally under the Chief Commander’s control. Every single one had close to a silver token envoy’s strength. Oftentimes, after accumulating enough seniority and contributions, they were where silver token envoys came from. It was easy to see how strong the Enforcement Troop was from that.
Then, a middle-aged man dressed in special silver embroidery slowly walked toward Zu An.
“Bu Liangcai, exactly what crimes did Xiao Jianren commit?” Zu An asked, recognizing the man. This person had the greatest seniority in the Embroidery House; between that and the fact that he was Zhuxie Chixin's right-hand man, that was why he didn’t give Zu An any face.
“What kind of crimes?” Bu Liangcai repeated; he only noticed the ruined prison walls then and couldn't help but frown. However, when he thought about his own cultivation and the Enforcement Troop at his side, he quickly calmed down and said, “Such major events took place on Violet Mountain. Who else would take responsibility if not for him, as he was in charge of removing the dangers over there?
"If we were to put it lightly, that would be considered negligence. If we were to put it more severely, who can say if he colluded with those traitors against his majesty?” Bu Liangcai continued. He paused for a moment, then looked coldly at Zu An and said, “Forget about him, Sir Eleven also needs to be investigated. Men, arrest this suspect!”
1. Name is likely a reference to another Chinese story ☜
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