Chapter 1882: Troubled Young Lady
The Silver Token Envoys looked at each other in dismay. In the end, one of them stepped forward and said, “Replying to the chief commander, those are the Embroidery House’s most confidential secrets that only Sir Zhuxie has access to normally. He reports directly to the emperor. However, Sir Zhuxie has gone missing, so we do not know where he hid that intelligence. That is why we need to find him first.”
Zu An frowned, thinking, Zhuxie Chixin really didn’t trust anyone. He ended up taking so many secrets with him to the grave.
“Sir Zhuxie is already dead. There is no need to look for him," he said.
The other Envoys exclaimed in shock, “Sir Zhuxie is dead?”
Even though countless rumors had circulated, no one had any conclusive proof. Zhuxie Chixin had already managed the Embroidery House for several decades, leaving his mark all across the place. It was quite difficult for the Envoys to immediately accept that information.
“It is the truth. He fought to the death on Golden Peak. You will receive official information soon,” Zu An continued.
Because there had been a formation standing in the way, only a select few of the higher-ups knew about what had really happened on Golden Peak at present, and everything they knew was also limited to what Zu An had told them.
“Use this time to search for where Sir Zhuxie hid that information. I’m sure that some clues were left behind. Furthermore, the Embroidered Envoys who helped him investigate all of that information should still be alive, so investigate all of them. Have them gather the intelligence again and summarize it for me," Zu An instructed.
“Understood!” The silver token envoys all saluted.
They had still been a bit reluctant at first, but when they heard that Zhuxie Chixin had already died, they knew that the Embroidery House had already completely changed. They didn’t dare to try any clever tricks in front of their new boss and wanted to leave behind as good of an impression as possible. That way, their time here would be a bit easier.
Zu An then told them to bring him a list of names of the higher-ups and summon the representatives of each department for individual meetings. After he encouraged and appeased them a bit, the Embroidery House was temporarily stabilized.
Then, he visited Xiao Jianren’s room to see how he was doing. Xiao Jianren was so moved that he wanted to get up when he heard about Zu An's arrival, but he couldn't help but start to cough intensely after his movements caused his injuries to flare up.
Zu An quickly supported him back into bed, saying, “You're seriously injured right now, so there's no need for excessive formalities.”
“Thank you, Sir Eleven. No, I should call you chief commander now,” Xiao Jianren said with a grin. Even though his body was aching all over, today had been truly refreshing. He really had been bullied by Bu Liangcai to the point of utter resentment. Now, Sir Eleven had become the chief commander, so his own backer was becoming more and more reliable.
Zu An took out the medicinal ointment he had just retrieved from the medicine building and personally applied it, saying, “You’ve suffered quite a lot. That Bu guy definitely wanted to take a bite out of me through you, and so he tormented you like this.”
Xiao Jianren harrumphed. “Even though my personality is pretty moderate normally, how could I be someone who betrays my superiors? I was scared that I wouldn't be able to hold on, and only hoped for Sir Eleven to help me get revenge and maybe take care of my family, in which case I’d already be satisfied enough. I never expected such a great thing to happen!”
Zu An chuckled and said, “Good things happen to good people. Rest up well. Once you’ve recovered, I’ll look for a chance to promote you to Golden Token Envoy.” As this man had never turned his back on him, he couldn't let him down either. He lacked trusted aides in the Embroidery House to begin with, so Xiao Jianren was the perfect candidate for promotion.
Xiao Jianren exclaimed in shock, “You absolutely can't! My strength is too low for me to be a Golden Token Envoy!”
Zu An knew that what he said was the truth. Even though Xiao Jianren's cultivation was still passable, that was all. It wasn’t that outstanding among the Silver Token Envoys, let alone a Golden Token Envoy. After thinking about it, he put a finger against Xiao Jianren's body. Then, the cultivation he had just sucked out of Bu Liangcai poured into Xiao Jianren. After all, Bu Liangcai’s cultivation was pretty much useless to Zu An, but for Xiao Jianren, it was like a charcoal delivery in snowy weather.
Sure enough, Xiao Jianren was shocked and overjoyed when he sensed the abundant power that entered his body. He said, “Chief commander, this is…”
“Don’t say too much. I’ll seal this power within you for now, so use this time to properly digest it. Your cultivation should be able to make major breakthroughs. Then, even though there will still be some distance from the Golden Token Envoy standard, it should more or less be enough," Zu An replied seriously.
Such rough infusions of cultivation were convenient and fast, but they also carried a lot of potential risks. For example, the cultivator’s foundation could become unsteady, and their upper limit could also be restricted. Furthermore, others didn’t have the ability to absorb and pass on cultivation to someone else. As such, these situations were actually quite rare.
Of course, Xiao Jianren’s aptitude had always been quite ordinary to begin with. Even if he cultivated properly, perhaps he would never even reach Bu Liangcai’s cultivation naturally. As such, there was no real upper limit to speak of.
“Thank you, chief commander!” Xiao Jianren exclaimed; he was so excited that hot tears filled his eyes. The fact that he had been able to become a Silver Token Envoy was mainly due to seniority and relying on his head. He had always been quite poor in terms of combat strength among the Silver Token Envoys. He had never expected his cultivation to make such shocking progress!
“Don’t think too much about it and cultivate properly. I’ll still need your help in the future,” Zu An said with a chuckle. At the same time, he mentioned his intent to investigate the eight dukes and the hidden elders and ancestors of the various great clans.
Xiao Jianren replied, “Even though I was frequently assigned to the Embroidery House’s archive library, I still rarely came into contact with this type of information. But the archives themselves and the people who passed through are clues that can be traced. I have an idea. Once I finish thinking it through, I'll make a report to chief commander.”
Zu An was overjoyed. The other Silver Token Envoys had all had troubled expressions when he first gave the order. After all, that information had been in the hands of Zhuxie Chixin alone. The others had practically never touched those files. But sure enough, librarians and administrators had always been formidable individuals since ancient times. Xiao Jianren had almost always been managing the archives, so he was the most suitable one to take care of this affair.
“Alright. There's no need to rush. Take care of your wounds first," he said.
…
After leaving Xiao Jianren’s room, Zu An sought out the Bronze Token Envoys Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth. They were also his direct subordinates, and had been locked up for some time. But because their statuses weren’t high enough, they hadn’t suffered as much as Xiao Jianren did. After bringing them some medicine and giving them some encouragement, he also promised to promote them to Silver Token Envoys. The two brothers were moved to tears.
…
By the time Zu An left the Imperial Palace, it was already late. He removed his Embroidered Envoy outfit, feeling a bit anxious. He had wanted to leave after getting the intelligence he needed from the Embroidery House, but he hadn’t expected to be held up for so long. He wondered what the situation was like at the Qin manor. That lass Youzhao in particular was a crossdresser, for one thing. If she got locked up, there would be a high chance of her identity being exposed. She was a woman all by herself, so she would definitely be in danger.
Thus, Zu An rushed straight to the Qin manor. The usually lively entrance now only had sparrows gathering at the gates. A cold wind brushed past, picking up the scattered leaves by the entrance. The whole place carried an indescribable sense of bleakness. Zu An frowned slightly. After all, this kind of great clan cared about their social status more than anything. Usually, the front entrance had to be brushed completely clean. Now, there were many fallen leaves, and yet no one cared much for them, and there wasn’t a single gatekeeper. Fortunately, the state duke manor’s signboard hadn't been removed, and the entrance wasn’t sealed off either. It seemed as if, at the very least, the worst case scenario of the manor being searched and people's possessions being confiscated hadn’t happened.
Zu An was about to knock on the door when he saw that it wasn’t completely closed. He couldn't help but be suspicious. The state dukes and the two princes had been captured, and there had been no verdict on the crimes they were charged with yet. This Qin manor had at least a hundred people inside, so how could they be so careless as to not even close the gates?
He entered and walked around for a while, but he didn’t see servants walking about as usual. He didn’t even see a single person. He figured that they had likely fled after hearing that the Qin clan was experiencing a great disaster. There was trash everywhere, as well as crooked and collapsed ornaments. He had never felt much whenever he saw a wealthy family come to ruin before, but at that moment, he seemed to feel something. He had personally witnessed the Qin manor’s splendor in the past, and yet now, it was so bleak and lifeless. A top-tier clan being doomed to fall was quite moving.
Suddenly, Zu An thought of something. His divine sense picked up on some activity in Chu Youzhao’s courtyard. He set aside his other thoughts and flew straight there.
Perhaps because all of the people in charge of the Qin clan had been captured, the formations that defended the Qin clan weren’t operating as usual. They were probably only enough to stop some small bandits in their current state. Any cultivators with decent cultivation could easily make their way through.
…
When Zu An arrived at Youzhao’s courtyard, he saw a group of soldiers surrounding the area. Sounds of intense arguments came from inside. Zu An’s expression darkened. Why were there soldiers here? Could it be that they really were confiscating everything?
“What are you all trying to do? The Qin clan’s crimes haven’t been confirmed yet, and I'm not from the Qin clan. What do you all want to examine my room for?!” a voice exclaimed angrily. Even then, it was still melodious and pleasant. Who else could it be but Chu Youzhao?
“Young master Chu, we did not come to look for you, but rather the fugitive Murong Qinghe. I hope that the young master will not trouble us too much,” the leader of the soldiers said.
Zu An raised his brows. Murong Qinghe? Didn’t she follow the main procession to Violet Mountain? How did she become a fugitive?
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