“Thank you for your reminder, brother Guo!” Zu An secretly replied. His past friendship was now paying some dividends. At the very least, the other party would help him out a bit to the best of their ability. Guo Zhi gave him a deep look, and then silently left.

Zu An was escorted into a special cell. His body was sealed up by experts, and Soul Reaping Chains bound him. Not only did this prevent him from escaping, it prevented him from killing himself as well.

All of this was as expected. Zu An’s expression didn’t change. Either way, he could use many of his skills even without ki, so these measures didn’t affect him too much.

What he was worried about was the incoming joint hearing instead. He felt a bit of a headache when he thought of that. He was just a trifling crown prince’s secretary right now. Was there a need for these three big shots to hold a joint hearing?

This world was a bit different from ancient China. The joint hearings were normally carried out by the Commandant of Justice, Imperial Censor, and Security Officer. However, because this matter involved the crown princess, the Imperial Director and Supervisor of Attendants had replaced the Imperial Censor and Security Officer to prevent a public commotion.

The Imperial Director was one of the nine ministers. He was in charge of controlling the royal family, as well as their relatives and the affairs of the nobility. Since this involved the crown princess, he was the most suitable candidate for presiding over the matter.

Zu An remembered Chu Chuyan telling him that the Imperial Director Zhen Xueyi’s wife was actually the emperor’s older sister, Princess Chang Chuan. The people the emperor had used for this interrogation were probably men he trusted himself.

The Commandant of Justice and Supervisor of Attendants were also part of the nine ministers. The Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang was in charge of the prison to begin with, and an expert at judging cases. A case on this level would naturally need him present.

This wasn’t the first time Zu An had interacted with him. During the Cheng Xiong case, he had strongly advocated for Cheng Xiong’s innocence, but in the end, he had been forced to state the latter’s crimes.

Tsk tsk tsk, this is going to be a fierce clash. I’m probably done for if I fall into his hands. The lyrics of ‘Bracing the Chill’ played in Zu An’s mind. However, he quickly realized something. He had done all of that with his identity as Golden Token Eleven. What did that have to do with the crown prince secretary's identity? Jiang Boyang probably won’t hate me. Yup. I hope that’s the case.

However, the Supervisor of Attendants was troublesome. The Supervisor of Attendants Murong Tong had once been the Security Officer, a man with great authority, yet it was because of Zu An that he had been transferred to this useless position. That man probably really hated Zu An.

Honestly, is there something wrong with the emperor’s head? Why the hell would two out of the three members sent for this interrogation be from King Qi’s faction? And they both have enmity against me? Do you want me to freaking die?! If I die, then your daughter-in-law’s reputation will be finished too!

But mockery was mockery in the end. Judging from his time in the capital, he already knew that King Qi’s influence was deeply rooted. How could they let go of such a great opportunity this time?

The key was that regardless of whether it was Jiang Boyang or Murong Tong, one was an expert at investigating cases, while one had once been a Security Officer, so he was also a specialist in these matters. It was probably hard for even the emperor himself to refuse their addition.

…

Time passed by just like that. Soon afterward, a jailer came to escort Zu An out. “Sir Zu, please follow us. Sir Imperial Director and the others have things to ask you.”

These individuals still owed him a favor after the assassins’ breakout last time; that was why all of them spoke politely. They didn’t humiliate him like an ordinary criminal.

Zu An was brought into a private room. The jailers there said, “Sir Zu, we need to restrain you according to convention. Please forgive us.”

“It’s fine.”  Zu An’s expression remained calm.

The jailers clamped his arms and legs to the wooden benches while saying in praise, “Sir Zu really is extraordinary. We’ve met many members of the court here, but they were all either weeping bitter tears or already beside themselves. It’s rare to see someone with Sir Zu’s composure.”

Zu An smiled. “Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble. I’m innocent in this matter, so there’s naturally no need to fear an interrogation like the others.”

The jailers all voiced their praise. Just then, the door opened and several robed officials slowly walked in.

The one in the lead was an elder with a face that seemed to harbor great bitterness and hatred. His white hair was casually bound with a wooden hairpin, leaving quite a few messy strands falling out. He gave off a dispirited feeling.

When Zu An saw him, he thought of an old version of Ji Dengtu. But their appearances weren’t similar at all, so he quickly dismissed the thought that this was Ji Dengtu’s father. According to his uniform and how he walked at the very front, this was most likely the Imperial Director, Zhen Xueyi.

If he had married the emperor’s older sister, then he should be someone of the same generation as the emperor, right? Why was it that the emperor appeared to be in the prime of his life, while this guy appeared to already be old and dying?

The second official was a graceful middle-aged man with a fine complexion. His hair was only graying around the temples, but that only gave him an even more distinguished and elegant feel. It was easy to imagine how many girls he had attracted when he was younger.

Compared to the Imperial Director, he seemed much more upright, and his hair was meticulously combed. His clothes were well-ironed without any creases. Judging from the white tiger diagram on his uniform, he was probably the Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang.

Zu An gave him a few more glances. He had fought against this man before during the Cheng Xiong case, but this was their first real meeting. He saw that Jiang Boyang wasn’t looking at him, though.

Instead, Jiang Boyang was staring at the Imperial Director’s messy hair with a somewhat warped expression, as if he were a bit constipated. In the end, he finally couldn’t endure it anymore and said, “Sir Zhen, as one of the nine ministers, we officials are model examples for others. We need to pay attention to our appearances.”

Zhen Xueyi chuckled. “Nine ministers? We’ve already lost our former glory; how are we still model officials? It’d be more fitting if you told these things to the Chancellery, Imperial  Secretariat, and Central Secretariat.”

Jiang Boyang’s eyes twitched. He took a deep breath and said, “But don’t you feel uncomfortable with your hair like that? Why don’t I help you sort it out?”

Zhen Xueyi quickly evaded to the side. “Men’s heads and women's waists are parts those who aren’t lovers shouldn’t touch! Furthermore, I feel like this is more natural, that it can further exhibit my unruly and free nature.”

Murong Tong sneered from the back. “You already have one foot in the grave, and yet you’re still talking about lovers, about being unruly and free? Are you not scared that Princess Chang Chuan will make you kneel on a washboard?”

Murong Tong was a familiar person. Zu An had already met him several times.

Zhen Xueyi became upset. “Hey, charcoal face, don’t cross the line! Don’t think that I won’t expose you for peeping on Madam Yu’s inner room back then!”

Murong Tong erupted in rage. “You old thing, weren’t you there too back then?! Also, how many times have I already told you? My skin tone is a healthy and beautiful bronze, and not black!”

Zu An was surprised. These individuals were supposed to be a part of different camps and act like water and fire. Why did they instead look like old friends?

But he quickly realized that all of these officials in the capital knew each other somewhat. They had all grown up and strived for ambition together. Only later on had they ended up choosing the different factions they wanted to serve.

Even so, their former friendship still existed. Their clans were probably even connected through marriage in various ways, and their relationships were complicated. As such, it hadn’t reached the point where neither side could coexist with the other in this world.

Jiang Boyang felt a huge headache when he heard them fight. He disregarded them and looked at Zu An. He suddenly frowned and asked, “Who restrained you?” His fingers gently fanned out as he walked over, then a chain snapped on its own. It was easy to see how profound his cultivation was.

Zu An was stunned. This guy seems to be pretty nice...?

But Jiang Boyang didn’t continue to remove his shackles, and instead began to sort out his collar that had become a bit crooked. Then, he took a step back to look at Zu An. After that, he sat back down in satisfaction.

Zu An was stunned. Bro, what the fuck? Why are you stopping at just a single chain?! 

He lowered his head and noticed that the chains on his body were now symmetrical. When he remembered the irritation of the other party when he looked at the Imperial Director, Zu An didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So I just ran into someone with freaking OCD! I almost thought he had some goodwill.

“Enough, enough, we need to take care of the main matter at hand first.” Jiang Boyang stopped the two arguing individuals.

The messy-haired Zhen Xueyi sat down casually in the highest position. “You can start then. You’re the expert at judging cases.”

Jiang Boyang’s breathing became rushed again when he saw Zhen Xueyi sit carelessly in his seat. He quickly shifted his eyes so he didn’t have to look at the other man anymore. He slammed the table, making a loud noise. “Zu An, I examined the records of the palace gate and discovered that you didn’t leave at dusk. What kind of shady business were you doing in the palace?”

This wasn’t an easy question for Zu An to answer. Zhuxie Chixin had told him to not reveal his identity as an Embroidered Envoy, which made it much harder for him to explain why he had remained in the palace.

It was a huge offense for a subject to not leave the palace at dusk. They would definitely be accused of disturbing the harem chambers. But Zu An was prepared for this. He calmly replied, “His majesty assigned me a secret mission. That was why I didn’t leave the palace.”

The three individuals exchanged a look. They couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of secret mission?”

Zu An chuckled. “I already said it was a secret mission, so how can I possibly randomly tell others?”

Murong Tong became furious. “Brat, you better get rid of that smile right now. We’re the ones interrogating you right now, so you should understand your position!”

The fact that this brat had made him drop from the powerful Security Officer position down to his current useless position made him absolutely furious.

You have successfully trolled Murong Tong for +491 +491 +491…