Chapter 1022: Unexpected

Zu An's heart tightened. "What's wrong?"

If this item couldn't be obtained again, then Daji wouldn't be able to achieve a breakthrough.

Yu Yanluo explained, "Wuyang Jade typically grows within elemental stone veins, and it requires the nurturing warmth of Fire-Tree Silver-Flowers over a long period to form. Elemental stone veins are not an issue; our Yu family has plenty. But Fire-Tree Silver-Flowers are incredibly rare and hard to come by."

"Fire-Tree Silver-Flowers?" Zu An was taken aback, having never heard the name before.

"They are plants that resemble fierce beasts, looking like both flowers and trees. Due to absorbing elemental energy from the earth and sky within mineral veins over long periods, they undergo various mutations. Even the weakest among them are no less powerful than a Rank Seven fierce beast," Yu Yanluo explained. "The crucial point is that they are extremely rare. Over all these years of mining, our Yu family has only encountered them a few times, otherwise I wouldn't possess only these few pieces of Wuyang Jade."

"How about this: I'll instruct my subordinates to keep a close watch. If we find Fire-Tree Silver-Flowers, I'll notify you."

"Thank you, Madam." Zu An mused that a Rank Seven fierce beast posed no threat to him now. It seemed the difficulty lay in their rarity.

"Zu, there's no need to be so polite," Yu Yanluo said with a slight smile, then sat back down.

"There's another question I'd like to ask, Madam," Zu An continued, seizing the opportunity. "Have you ever heard of Violet Frost Divine Milk?"

Mi Li's spirit was damaged and needed it to recover. He had previously learned that the Duke of Cloud-Dwelling had once presented a portion to the Emperor. As the Duke's wife, she might know something.

To his disappointment, Yu Yanluo shook her head. "Violet Frost Divine Milk was presented to the Emperor by the previous Duke of Cloud-Dwelling. I don't know the specifics. If Yanyou were still here, perhaps he would know the inside story, but unfortunately..."

She left the rest unsaid, a hint of sadness crossing her face.

Zu An felt a hint of doubt. Was her current demeanor genuine, or was she feigning it?

If it was an act, that would be truly terrifying.

"Please don't worry, Madam. We will help search for the Duke's whereabouts," Zu An comforted her.

Yu Yanluo sighed. "He's been missing for so long without a word. How could I not know what happened? There's no need for such deliberate comfort."

"It seems you and the Duke had a good relationship?" Zu An asked tentatively, looking at her.

Yu Yanluo shook her head slightly. "Our relationship was hardly good; we were merely a little closer than strangers. But having been husband and wife for so many years, naturally, I wouldn't want to see him come to harm."

Zu An was somewhat puzzled. He hadn't expected her to admit this so frankly. Normally, wouldn't one pretend to have a harmonious marital relationship to avoid suspicion?

Dismissing these thoughts, he continued, "By the way, is Gong Pan loyal to you, Madam?"

"They are all former retainers from the Duke's mansion. When things went wrong, they had nowhere to go, and I felt obligated to take them in. I wouldn't force them to stay if they wished to leave, so loyalty isn't really the issue. I'm not someone who strictly controls my subordinates; what they think in their hearts is their own business," Yu Yanluo replied ambiguously, a hint of suspicion quickly appearing in her brows. "Why do you suddenly ask this? Is there something wrong with him?"

Zu An didn't want to tip his hand, so he smiled and said, "Not exactly. It's just that although Cloud-Dwelling Prefecture appears peaceful now, I can't shake the feeling of underlying turmoil. I'm concerned something might happen to you, Madam, which is why I asked."

"You seem quite concerned about me," Yu Yanluo said with a charming smile, as if the entire winter had suddenly become bright and sunny.

The two chatted for a while longer. Mindful of his mission, Zu An then stood up to take his leave.

Yu Yanluo was somewhat taken aback. When other men finally got to see her, they all wanted to stay longer and talk more. Yet, this man, whenever their conversation grew interesting, would actually take his leave.

"Is this a 'play hard to get' tactic?" Yu Yanluo frowned slightly. But seeing his pure and innocent eyes, she couldn't help but laugh at herself, realizing she had become overly sensitive from years of being bothered by men.

Given her personality, she certainly wouldn't cling to a man to chat further, so she instructed Xingnu to see him out.

Not far from the room, Zu An cupped his hands to Xingnu. "Sister Xingnu, I'd like to meet General Gong Pan. Would that be convenient?"

Xingnu giggled, swaying like a flower in the wind. "You certainly have a sweet tongue! No wonder Madam likes you so much. Please wait here for a moment; I'll send someone to fetch General Gong."

Since Zu An was Madam Yu's esteemed guest and Gong Pan was not a sensitive figure like a female family member, there was no need to stop him.

With that, she led Zu An to a side hall to rest, then summoned a maid to find Gong Pan.

Then she sat opposite him and began to chat. "How did Young Master and Madam meet? I've never seen you before."

"We met once in Brightmoon City," Zu An replied, a little surprised. This maid was clearly quite bold, her fiery gaze scanning him up and down as if he were a duck being inspected.

"Brightmoon City, oh! At that time, Madam seemed to be in danger and was rescued by a young master. So it was you!" Xingnu patted her full chest. "No wonder Madam appreciates you so much. You know, Madam rarely sees outside guests these days."

Zu An smiled. "Sister Xingnu, how many years have you been with Madam?"

"Oh, this servant can't possibly accept being called 'sister'," Xingnu said, though she still giggled, shaking all over. "This servant has been with Madam since childhood. It's been so long, I can't even remember."

Zu An thought to himself that she must truly be Yu Yanluo's most trusted and loyal confidante.

At this point, Xingnu began asking him various questions:

"Is the young master married?"

"Do you have a sweetheart?"

...

Zu An's expression was odd. "What, are you planning to introduce someone to me?"

Xingnu smiled and shook her head. "Oh, no, let's not. Someone of your caliber, Young Master, isn't someone an ordinary woman could match. If Madam hadn't married, I might have introduced you to her, but unfortunately, that's impossible now."

Zu An was a little astonished. This maid was incredibly bold, daring to speak about her mistress like this in private.

However, this also showed that Yu Yanluo must treat her subordinates with great kindness normally, allowing them such familiarity.

As they chatted, Gong Pan arrived. Xingnu curtsied. "I won't disturb you two."

With that, she excused herself and departed.

"Ah, Young Master Zu. What can I do for you this time?" Gong Pan cupped his hands in greeting.

Zu An returned the gesture. "Last time, I asked you about the whereabouts of the Duke of Cloud-Dwelling's personal guards. I've investigated and found that several of them died in the line of duty. So, I wanted to inquire about the cases they were investigating at the time, and also to see their personal belongings."

Fearing he might alert someone, he didn't directly ask about Shen Zhou alone but concealed his interest by including him among six individuals.

The mastermind behind this had gone to such lengths to create a fake corpse; they clearly wouldn't expect him to have located the target so quickly.

"Oh, is there something wrong with the deaths of those men?" Gong Pan asked curiously.

"It's just a routine investigation," Zu An replied, his expression unchanged. "As you know, our purpose in coming to Cloud-Dwelling Prefecture is to appoint a new duke, and before that, we must, by custom, investigate matters related to the previous duke."

"I see," Gong Pan said, relieved. "Ah, those brothers also met a tragic end..."

He then briefly recounted the cases the six men had been investigating before their deaths.

Zu An's primary interest was Shen Zhou's case. It was said he was investigating a smuggling case involving the Zhenyuan Trading Company, but later it was discovered to be a misunderstanding; another group of smugglers had supposedly bribed a warehouse manager belonging to the Zhenyuan Trading Company...

The Zhenyuan Trading Company was one of the largest in Cloud-Dwelling Prefecture, transporting goods from all over the land to sell there, while also collecting various specialties from the northwest to ship across the country.

Zu An thought to himself that Shen Zhou must have already gone to the capital to report the news back then. Investigating this Zhenyuan Trading Company was probably just a cover. His real concern was the man's personal belongings.

"What about the personal effects of those soldiers? I heard that Lord Gong brought them back?" Zu An seized an opportunity, looking at him with a smile.

Gong Pan's expression subtly changed, but he quickly replied, "By custom, the personal belongings of brothers who died in the line of duty are collected and archived, especially since their cases haven't been solved."

Zu An frowned. "Are those items still in the Commander's mansion?"

"Not there, no. They are currently still at the Yu Manor; I haven't had a chance to submit them yet," Gong Pan replied. "If Lord Zu wishes to see them, please follow me."

Noticing Zu An's suspicious expression, he explained, "To be frank, Lord Zu, I was hoping to find clues among them to avenge these fallen brothers. As you know, they were all personal guards to the Duke before. After the Duke's incident, they were reassigned to other departments to handle these duties."

"Everyone knows they were the previous Duke's people and wouldn't be well-regarded by the new commander. So, no one would truly put effort into investigating their cases, which is why I thought of looking into it myself."

"Oh?" Zu An was somewhat surprised. "And have you found anything, General Gong?"