“It's because the Ou clan's carriage was moving rather quickly at the time, and then they ended up hitting a commoner,” one of the soldiers recalled.

“What do you mean, a commoner?” another soldier corrected. “It was just a good-for-nothing who deliberately gets hit and extorts compensation. He loves throwing himself at those ordinary carriages.”

“That fella always does this sort of thing. Since the Ou clan is based here, and they didn’t really cause too much trouble, we just turned a blind eye to it,” another soldier quickly added. At the same time, he secretly watched Zu An’s expression.

Mi Li harrumphed as she watched from nearby. “That good-for-nothing probably treats them with a lot of respect, and that’s why they turned a blind eye to it.”

Mi Li was the empress of a country, yet she actually understands these matters so well? Zu An thought. However, he hadn’t come here to investigate this matter today, so he didn’t care much about the guards’ corruption. He asked, “Then?”

Seeing that Zu An didn’t continue to ask about those matters, the guards sighed in relief. One quickly replied, “However, they really hit the jackpot that day. Even though the carriage was ordinary, the one inside definitely wasn’t. The carriage’s servant beat that good-for-nothing up really badly, cursing at him while hitting him, calling him blind, saying that he even dared to frame the Ou clan’s carriage. That’s why we had such a deep impression of the incident.”

Zu An frowned. “Since they wanted to leave the capital, then the more low-profile they could remain, the better. Why did they still show off so much, as if they were scared that others didn’t know they were there?”

Mi Li said, “Those bigwigs are already used to abusing people. They don’t even view those of the lower levels as people. Even if they tried to remain low-profile, they’d only do so in the upper levels. What would be the point of doing that with commoners?”

The guards expressed similar opinions. Zu An couldn’t help but turn around to give Mi Li a look, remarking, “I didn’t expect you to understand people that well.”

Mi Li harrumphed. Her chin tilted upward proudly.

Chu Youzhao quietly tugged on Chu Chuyan’s sleeves. She quietly asked, “Big sis, is there something wrong with that guy? Why is he talking to himself?”

“Be quiet!” Chu Chuyan clutched her throat and said through ki transmission, “It might be because these Embroidered Envoys are all a bit eccentric while investigating cases. Don’t provoke him, or he might use that as an excuse to start a fuss.”

Chu Youzhao gave Murong Luo a look. He was screaming for his life, his butt having been smacked until it was a bloody mess. She couldn’t help but nod in understanding.

Even though Chu Youzhao’s voice was quiet, it didn’t escape Zu An’s detection. Even though Chuyan wasn’t saying anything, judging from her mouth’s movements, she was clearly sending a voice transmission. Most likely, it wasn’t anything good. He thought, Thank goodness I have a mask on. As long as I don’t act awkward, then it won't be awkward.

“Ahem!” He cleared his throat and continued, “Ou Wu’s position is crucial, yet his clan deliberately left in a different carriage. None of you suspected anything, and you didn’t stop them at all?”

The guards looked at each other in dismay. In the end, one of them said, “Sir, in the capital, those with authority are everything. Even though rules are rules, we still let their wives and children leave from time to time. This is a secret everyone knows about. No one would bicker over something like this.”

Zu An frowned. The Great Zhou Dynasty appeared to be upright and flourishing, but the law had already fallen into such disuse in private. That wasn’t a good sign. Tsk, I’m not the emperor, so why do I care?

Another guard spoke up just then. “Furthermore, we already carried out an investigation, but they brought out their King Manor token. We didn’t dare to stop them then!”

Zu An asked, “Which clan’s token was it?”

The guards all shook their heads.

“We didn’t dare stare at it out of fear of offending them!”

“Aren’t the King Manor tiles all pretty much the same?”

“Who dares to go against a King Manor tile? That’s a huge crime!”

Zu An knew that he wouldn’t find out anything else when he heard them say such things. He left behind some people to continue investigating Ou Wu and the other clan members’ whereabouts, while he himself would search the King Qi Manor with some men.

“Should we bring this person back to the Embroidery House to investigate him further?” A silver token Embroidered Envoy pointed at Murong Luo. He obviously knew that this fellow didn’t get along with his boss, so he asked out of consideration.

Murong Luo’s expression changed greatly when he heard the words ‘Embroidery House’. That was a place even more terrifying than the imperial prison! Those who ended up there soon wished they were dead.

The only one who had lived to tell the tale was the Shi clan’s young master, but even that was only because the minister of war Shi Miao had personally rescued him. Furthermore, he’d had to bring out their clan’s death pardon token! Shi Miao’s status in the court was extraordinary. Furthermore, the Murong clan didn’t have a death pardoning token.

Murong Qinghe’s expression changed as well. She gave Chu Chuyan and Chu Youzhao a pleading look. Chu Chuyan could only ask, “Sir, would it be possible to show mercy?”

Zu An voiced his agreement. “Madam Zu is pretty and speaks well. It’s fine. As a favor to madam, I won’t pursue this matter further. Shape up and don’t make the same mistake again.”

Mi Li harrumphed, “Shameless!” However, Zu An ignored her.

Murong Qinghe sighed in relief. She couldn’t help but give Chu Chuyan a look. She thought to herself that Chu First Miss was pretty after all, if even an Embroidered Envoy who didn’t care much about face would give her this favor. It really was enviable.

Chu Youzhao thought to herself that her brother-in-law really was awesome. This person had said previously that he owed her brother-in-law a favor.

Chu Chuyan’s cheeks blushed when she heard the words ‘Madam Zu’, making her look even more tender and beautiful. Even the Embroidered Envoys who had tremendous self-restraint couldn’t help but give her a few more looks.

“Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! This lowly official will definitely be careful in the future.” Murong Luo hurriedly nodded. Not only had he not looked good in front of his goddess, he had needed her help. He was full of hatred when he thought of that. It was all this damn Embroidered Envoy’s fault!

You have successfully trolled Murong Luo for +444 +444 +444…

Zu An frowned. Is this fella courting death? However, he was in a hurry to head to King Qi Manor right now. He couldn’t be bothered to argue right now.

...

Zu An led his subordinates toward King Qi Manor. One of them asked, “Leader, are we going to rush toward King Qi Manor just like that? Should we return to the Embroidery House and get more men?”

Zu An sighed when he saw how nervous they were. The prestige King Qi had accumulated was terrifying as expected. Even the Embroidered Envoys, who were normally fearless, were scared. He reassured them, “We aren’t going there to start a fight, so what are you all scared of? Don’t worry, I know when to stop.” All of the Envoys sighed in relief when they heard Zu An’s words.

Mi Li floated over to Zu An’s side. She couldn’t help but say, “What can you possibly find in King Qi Manor? You couldn’t even interrogate Shi Jun, so what can you do to the glorious King Qi?”

Zu An replied, “I already have an idea of what’s happening. I just need to confirm something in King Qi Manor.”

The group quickly arrived at King Qi Manor. When they saw that the Embroidered Envoys had come, the guards vigilantly prepared to intercept them.

Zu An said, “I am here on orders from his majesty to investigate a case. There is something I need to meet with King Qi about.”

The guard leader of King Qi Manor directly refused him. “Please leave; our King is not in the manor.”

“Is he not here, or does he not wish to meet us?” Zu An frowned.

The guard harrumphed. “If I say he’s not here, then he’s not here.”

Zu An continued to ask, “Then do you know where King Qi went?”

That guard replied coldly, “The whereabouts of our king are secret. How can we tell just anyone?”

Zu An’s expression darkened. He took out his golden token. “You’re using all sorts of excuses. Can it be that you wish to go against the imperial decree?”

That guard sneered and said, “That thing might be useful in other places, but it’s useless here. You dog-legs don’t have the right to enter the manor unless his majesty comes personally.”

The Embroidered Envoys were shocked and furious when they heard those words. They acted directly under the emperor himself, so when had they ever suffered this type of humiliation? But this was King Qi Manor, so they didn’t dare act randomly. They could only look at Zu An with injustice in their eyes, to see what their direct superior planned to do.

Huh? Where did he go? They discovered that he was nowhere to be seen. A clear smacking noise resounded, and then a miserable scream followed. By the time they saw what happened, the guard leader was already kneeling on the ground. His mouth was covered in blood, and he was in a sorry state.

Zu An was standing next to him. He tossed the scabbard he had randomly picked up away and said, “I hope this teaches you not to shoot your mouth off next time.”

The guard leader could feel that many of his teeth had fallen off. He had been hit before he even understood what happened. He wanted to resist, but Zu An’s foot was pressing down on the crook of his leg. He couldn’t budge at all.

You have successfully trolled Hou Wu for +888 +888 +888…

The other guards were alarmed and furious. They all drew their blades and surrounded the group of Embroidered Envoys.

“How dare you cause trouble in the King Manor!” A figure appeared from the manor. His voice had already begun ringing in everyone’s ears before he even arrived.

This was a powerful expert! Everyone knew many experts were said to be in King Qi Manor. Now, it seemed that was indeed the case.

The Embroidered Envoys cursed inside. Why the hell did we believe this Sir Eleven? He said he wouldn’t go too far, yet he’s still so reckless. Even though they had felt great when they saw that guard beaten, they were now worried about their own situation. If there really was a dispute, their lives would probably be forfeit.

The dozen Embroidered Envoys were surrounded by King Qi Manor’s guards. It looked as if they were done for.