Chapter 1023: Getting Paid More

Gong Pan shook his head and sighed deeply, "Alas, I only regret my dull intellect; I really couldn't find anything, nor can I avenge our unjustly slain brothers."

Seeing him grit his teeth, clench his fists tightly, and tremble slightly as he spoke, Zu An thought that if he were faking it, his acting was truly unparalleled.

He lightly coughed to prompt him, "What about the belongings of those guards?"

Gong Pan then suddenly realized and took out six bags from some drawers. "Everything is here. They were all unfortunate people and didn't have much to leave behind."

Zu An went over and opened the six bags one by one. These were the belongings of the six fallen guards, and his attention naturally gravitated towards Shen Zhou's items.

While casually chatting with Gong Pan, he subtly examined the contents of Shen Zhou's bag: a scorched saber, a waist token, a nail file, a slightly dented water flask, a severely burned notebook, and a few intact booklets.

"What's this?" Zu An noticed that everyone else's belongings also contained such notebooks, so he casually picked one up and flipped through it.

"Every guard has one of these," Gong Pan explained. "They're used to record daily tasks and patrol details. After all, our line of work is risky; we might be gone any day. You could say this is our last will and testament book."

Zu An was relieved. The Embroidered Uniform Guard also had something similar, called a "Soul-Reaping Register," which recorded the owner's identity, recent missions, people they had met, and so on. This way, even if an Embroidered Uniform Guard was silenced, others could find various clues based on the register.

His gaze fell upon Shen Zhou's belongings. He assumed the largely damaged booklet had been burned in the warehouse, while the intact ones were retrieved by Gong Pan from Shen Zhou's home.

In front of Gong Pan, he couldn't directly examine Shen Zhou's items. "General Gong, I'd like to take these back for a thorough investigation."

"This..." Gong Pan's expression showed some hesitation.

Zu An smiled, "Does General Gong not trust me? I represent the imperial court and have no ties to any local factions in Cloudmidst Commandery."

Gong Pan quickly bowed. "Lord Zu, you flatter me. Cooperating with your investigation is our duty, but I'll need you to sign a handover form."

"No problem." Zu An knew this was standard bureaucratic procedure and naturally didn't refuse.

After signing, he took the six bags with him. Back at the guesthouse, Sang Hong also joined him to examine the items.

Zu An inspected the other items, which were all quite ordinary. Soon, everyone's attention turned to the booklets.

The charred booklet was so fragile it would crumble at a touch. Even a gentle flip revealed only faint, meaningless words.

Moreover, everyone knew that the burned body wasn't truly Shen Zhou's, so the booklet was likely fake as well.

So, they began examining the other booklets retrieved from Shen Zhou's home. Unfortunately, they only contained records of patrols, shifts, and guard duties over the years, with no useful information.

"The clue ends here?" Sang Hong frowned slightly, clearly unwilling to give up.

"This was to be expected," Zu An consoled him. "If there were anything truly valuable, Gong Pan or the mastermind behind this would have surely erased it."

"A'Zu, you went to the Yu family again today. Do you think Yu Yanluo or Gong Pan could be the mastermind?" Sang Hong asked.

"Hard to say." Zu An recalled his interactions with Yu Yanluo and Gong Pan earlier that day, feeling somewhat dazed.

He had initially gone to probe, but inexplicably ended up making a deal. If she truly was the mastermind, wouldn't he be dragged into their scheme?

Sang Hong hesitated, then couldn't resist reminding him, "That woman is not simple. Back then, many influential figures in the capital fell for her charm, even His Majesty... Heh heh, don't mistake her for the kind of innocent girl you've encountered before. Don't let her beauty sway your judgment."

Zu An's face darkened. "Uncle, you're overthinking it. I wouldn't let beauty cloud my judgment."

At the same time, he was curious. He knew Emperor Taishi's character all too well; if His Majesty truly desired a woman, how could she refuse?

Moreover, Yu Yanluo seemed so delicate and weak, not at all like a cultivator, as if she had no power to resist.

Sang Hong was about to say more when Gao Ying returned. He immediately changed the subject: "You were looking into Shen Zhou's social connections. How did that go?"

Gao Ying replied, "Shen Zhou was a solitary person and didn't have any close friends."

"However, his colleagues mentioned that in the past few months, he seemed to smile more often and appeared younger and happier than before."

"Happier?" Zu An and Sang Hong exchanged bewildered glances. From their perspective, that should have been precisely when Shen Zhou discovered the truth about the Duke of Cloudmidst's murder, a time when he should have been living in constant dread.

"Indeed, I found it strange too and specifically asked his colleagues," Gao Ying said, a puzzled expression on his face. "According to them, Shen Zhou's only worry at the time seemed to be a tight budget, as he even approached them for loans."

"It shouldn't be a problem for colleagues to occasionally borrow money, right?" Sang Hong asked, puzzled.

Gao Ying replied, "The main thing is that personal guards of a ducal estate receive substantial monthly salaries and bonuses. While others might run short of money due to lavish spending, Shen Zhou was always frugal. Theoretically, this shouldn't have happened to him."

The few people in the room fell into deep thought. Zu An recalled the keywords "smiling," "younger," and "tight budget," feeling as if he was on the verge of uncovering a truth, yet he couldn't quite grasp it.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Pei You walked in, grumbling.

"Oh, so there's a result from the Jadeite Pavilion," Zu An quipped.

"Don't even mention it," Pei You said, looking dejected. He cupped his hands to his mouth, breathed into them for warmth, then rushed to the charcoal stove. "The Jadeite Pavilion isn't even open yet."

He had been thrilled when he heard he could visit a brothel on official business. As soon as the task was assigned, he eagerly rushed to the Jadeite Pavilion.

Unfortunately, establishments like brothels typically operate at night. After a night of work, the women need to rest during the day.

As someone who frequently visited such places, Pei You naturally understood this. He figured he could go in by the afternoon.

But he waited and waited, and the Jadeite Pavilion remained closed even when it was supposed to open. Finally, he couldn't bear the cold outside any longer and went to inquire, only to learn that it was still too early for them to open.

He was initially furious, thinking they were deliberately toying with him. However, after their explanation, he understood the problem.

This place was thousands of miles northwest of the capital. He had been waiting based on the opening hours of brothels in the capital, but here, dawn arrived several hours later, and dusk also fell several hours later.

Consequently, people's daily routines were several hours behind the capital, and the Jadeite Pavilion's opening hours were naturally delayed.

As a result, while Gao Ying was indoors drinking tea and chatting, and Zu An was being entertained with fine wine and delicious food by Yu Yanluo, Pei You was left alone, enduring the northwestern winds for several hours in the snow.

Knowing all this, Pei You was devastated and returned utterly dispirited.

Hearing the whole story, Zu An and Gao Ying burst into laughter, and even Sang Hong couldn't help but chuckle.

Pei You was extremely annoyed. Just as he was about to speak, his gaze fell upon the belongings on the table. He suddenly exclaimed, "Aha, Brother Zu, you actually went to the Jadeite Pavilion behind our backs!"

Zu An was baffled. "Are you frozen silly? When have I ever been to the Jadeite Pavilion?"

"Still trying to deny it? What's this?" Pei You pointed to the inconspicuous nail file on the table. "This is a small gift given to guests by the Jadeite Pavilion, made from polished jade scraps. While not a treasure, it's certainly not cheap, and usually only distinguished guests receive one."

Zu An and Sang Hong exchanged glances. Remembering that Shen Zhou had recently blossomed and simultaneously started running short of money, they immediately blurted out, "The Jadeite Pavilion!"

Pei You paused, "I was talking about the Jadeite Pavilion."

Zu An and Sang Hong completely ignored the bewildered Pei You and began discussing among themselves:

"It seems Shen Zhou's money went to the Jadeite Pavilion."

"No wonder he was short on cash. Even with a ducal guard's generous salary, it wouldn't last long in a place that burns through money like that."

"Sigh, when I saw his wife and children earlier, I thought he was a family man. Who knew that thick-browed, big-eyed fellow would turn out to be such a scoundrel!"

Pei You, standing by, was dumbfounded until Gao Ying explained what was happening.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Pei You exclaimed, his face lighting up with excitement.

Sang Hong cleared his throat. "I'll leave this matter for you two to investigate. My position makes it inconvenient for me."

As a distinguished imperial envoy, if he were discovered visiting a brothel in Cloudmidst Commandery, the censors at court would undoubtedly lambast him to death.

"Xiao You, of course, this task falls to you. You go undercover at the Jadeite Pavilion first. Brother Gao, you can go inquire among Shen Zhou's colleagues. We'll use a two-pronged approach to find out which girl Shen Zhou was involved with," Zu An said, patting their shoulders.

"What about you?" Pei You asked, puzzled.

"Naturally, I'll be here strategizing and awaiting your news," Zu An replied with a straight face.

Pei You gave him a disdainful look. However, considering that the Jadeite Pavilion's opening time was likely approaching, he didn't say anything further. After all, visiting a brothel on official expenses was still a plum assignment.

Gao Ying, being steady by nature, naturally had no objections.

After the two left, Sang Hong looked at Zu An with concern. "You haven't slept a wink these past two days investigating the case. Go get some rest and recharge. I'll take care of things here."

Zu An smiled, "Only Uncle truly cares about me. I'll go get some sleep then."

Watching him leave, Sang Hong thought, *If you wear yourself out here, what will happen to my daughter in the future?*

A few hours later, news came back: they had found Shen Zhou's sweetheart.

Zu An and Gao Ying arrived at the Jadeite Pavilion, where Pei You was already waiting impatiently. "Hurry up, hurry up! What took you so long?"

Seeing the lipstick stain still on his face, Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. "It seems you're having a grand time here."

"Hmph, I call this dedicating myself to public service," Pei You retorted, puffing out his chest with a straight face.

"Tch."

"Shen Zhou's sweetheart is coming out," Pei You reminded them.

"Young Master Pei, why aren't you coming in?" A flamboyantly dressed woman emerged. Her expression changed when she saw Zu An and the others. "So many people? I can't take this business."

Pei You quickly tried to persuade her, "We've come a long way, drawn by Miss Taohong's reputation. How can you send us away disappointed?"

The woman hesitated, then suddenly noticed Zu An's striking features and distinguished aura. A hint of shyness immediately appeared on her face. "It wouldn't be impossible for this young master to join, but it will cost more!"

It seems I've caught a cold, so this will be the only chapter today. Time to rest.