Chapter 1034: I Want It All

"What method?" Sang Hong asked urgently.

"I'm not sure yet," Zu'an said gravely. "I need to go out for a bit."

"Alright, I'll stay here and hold the fort, to prevent anyone from the Yunzhong official circles from finding out something happened to Zuo Su." Sang Hong snorted. "I want to see who will be the first to show up after Zuo Su's death."

Although an order had just been given that no one with knowledge of the situation could leave the guest house, it clearly didn't apply to Zu'an.

"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle." Zu'an cupped his hands and quietly left through the back door.

As usual, he shook off his pursuers and arrived at the Prefect's office, which was particularly chaotic now that it was leaderless. Fortunately, Deputy Prefect Xu Yu was there to manage affairs, barely maintaining the normal operations of Yunzhong Commandery.

Seeing Zu'an arrive for a visit, he hurried out to greet him, then subtly probed for updates on the investigation into Zuo Su. Zu'an naturally couldn't tell him the truth, so he casually gave a few evasive answers before stating his purpose.

"Audio-visual materials of the Duke of Commandery? Yes, we do have them. The Duke recorded them with an audio-visual stone when he presided over the Heaven Worship Ceremony years ago. They are archived in the yamen, but what do you need them for?" Xu Yu found it a bit strange.

Hearing the answer, Zu'an secretly breathed a sigh of relief and replied with a smile, "Minister Sang needs it. I'm not clear on the specifics."

"Could it be related to Minister Zuo's case?" Xu Yu still didn't give up, continuing to probe indirectly.

Zu'an smiled, "Minister Xu, you're overthinking it. It's just for investigating the Duke's disappearance."

"Oh." Xu Yu nodded, but inwardly he was quite turbulent. The other party didn't seem to care much about Minister Zuo's case. Did they still have the energy to investigate the Duke's disappearance at this time? Or perhaps, Minister Zuo's case already had a conclusion? Officials were best at reading expressions and always thought a lot. Seeing Zu'an's mysterious demeanor, Xu Yu had already imagined many possibilities, each of which made him tremble with fear.

Fortunately, the yamen runner who went to retrieve the audio-visual stone returned. Only then did Xu Yu compose himself and hand the stone to Zu'an. "Although this item isn't a rare treasure, it's the only one left since the Duke disappeared. Please inform Minister Sang to keep it safe and return it for archiving after use."

Zu'an took it and examined it. It indeed contained the image of the Duke of Yunzhong Commandery, which delighted him. "Minister Xu, rest assured, I will return it perfectly intact after use."

"'Return it perfectly intact'?" Xu Yu was a bit puzzled; he had never heard this phrase before, but he roughly guessed its meaning. "Then I'll leave it to you."

After leaving Xu Yu, Zu'an specifically made a detour to Gao Ying, worried that he wouldn't be able to control the arrogant and fierce soldiers. It turned out his life was quite comfortable.

Gao Ying laughed cheerfully, "Thanks to Minister Xu's help, he's come to support me several times these past few days, which allowed me to settle into this County Lieutenant position. Of course, thanks also to your Imperial Guardsmen; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get anyone's attention coming alone."

"You're too kind. These are just external factors; ultimately, it's your personal ability that allows you to hold this position." Zu'an thought, *No wonder Xu Yu could befriend Xiao Yao. He must be one of the rare steadfast imperial loyalists in Yunzhong Commandery.*

The two chatted for a while longer. Gao Ying asked about the situation at the guest house, but Zu'an, worried about information leaks, didn't tell him. "You focus on taking good control of the commandery troops here. Leave the guest house to us. We might even need your soldiers later!"

"Don't worry, I will win them over completely as soon as possible," Gao Ying said seriously.

Zu'an nodded, said goodbye, and walked down the street, pondering his next steps. With the Duke of Yunzhong Commandery's image, he could privately practice imitating it until it was ingrained in his mind. This way, if absolutely necessary, he could impersonate the Duke to break a deadlock.

Just then, he suddenly smelled a fragrance. Looking up, he saw a bustling restaurant not far away, with the characters "Guiyue Tower" written in a flamboyant calligraphic style on its signboard. A thought stirred in Zu'an's mind. He suddenly recalled the information Xiao Jianren had given him: the Crown Prince of Qi often visited places like Guiyue Tower to buy gifts for Pei Mianman before going to the Pei residence. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but what if he was using gift-buying as an excuse to meet someone here?

So he walked straight in. A waiter quickly came forward, his eyes lighting up when he saw Zu'an's imposing demeanor and fine clothes. "What would the esteemed guest like to eat? Our Guiyue Tower is the most famous restaurant in Yunzhong Commandery. We can make anything you can imagine, from all corners of the land."

"That's impressive. I'll have to try it properly then." He hadn't eaten all morning, so he might as well settle his meal here.

The waiter soon led him upstairs. Zu'an chose a private room from which he could overlook the entire hall through the window. After ordering a few signature dishes, he quietly observed the people coming and going while sipping the restaurant's unique honey black tea. Unfortunately, after a long while, he didn't see anyone suspicious. When the waiter came to serve the dishes, he casually asked, "Waiter, I think this place is quite good. How much silver would it cost to buy your Guiyue Tower?"

The waiter was startled. "Young master, you must be joking. Guiyue Tower has such good business; how could it be for sale?"

"Not necessarily. Often, things aren't for sale because the price isn't right," Zu'an chuckled, tossing a silver ingot to him. "Who is the owner here? If I want to buy it, who should I talk to?"

The waiter didn't expect such a large tip. He delightedly put it in his pocket, his face full of eager smiles. "Young master is truly generous! Let me tell you secretly, it's no use even if you go to our owner. He's not the one who can make the decision."

"Oh, why?" Zu'an's heart stirred. It seemed the money spent today was worth it.

"Please don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, young master," the waiter looked around, and seeing no one else, leaned in and whispered to Zu'an, "The manager downstairs is just the nominal owner of Guiyue Tower. The real decision-makers are at the Flying Horse Merchant Guild."

"Flying Horse Merchant Guild?" Zu'an was startled. The Zhenyuan Merchant Guild was involved in Shen Zhou's previous case, and he had learned about the Flying Horse Merchant Guild while investigating related information. The Flying Horse Merchant Guild was a renowned guild, on par with the Zhenyuan Merchant Guild, and they were constantly in competition. However, the Zhenyuan Merchant Guild had a longer history and was somewhat larger in scale. The Flying Horse Merchant Guild, on the other hand, was an emerging force, but it had been gaining strong momentum recently, seemingly poised to replace the Zhenyuan Merchant Guild.

Zu'an suddenly let out a sound of surprise. "How do you know such confidential information?"

The waiter puffed out his chest. "Because the manager is my grandfather's second aunt's niece's maternal uncle's nephew's youngest son."

Zu'an: "..."

He thought for a long time but couldn't figure out their exact relationship; in any case, they were just one of those distant relatives.

"It seems you have a bright future in this establishment, young man."

"You flatter me, young master."

***

After getting the information at Guiyue Tower, Zu'an headed to his next destination. Not long after, a sweet, cloying fragrance wafted through the air again. Unlike the food aroma of Guiyue Tower, this was the scent of cosmetics.

"Rouge Kohl!"

A few elegant characters were carved on the signboard. It was one of the shops the Crown Prince of Qi often visited before going to the Pei family residence. Ladies of all sorts came and went, discussing the newly arrived rouges and various shades of lipstick. When Zu'an entered, it felt as if he had stepped into a kingdom of women. Compared to Biyu Workshop, the women here were clearly dressed much more conservatively.

Seeing a man enter, the ladies all frowned, wondering where this scoundrel came from. However, after looking up and getting a clear view of Zu'an's appearance, they were all stunned, and a slight blush appeared on their faces. Their intended rebukes turned into shy smiles, and they whispered among themselves, "Whose young master is that? He's so handsome."

"From his looks, he's probably buying rouge for his wife."

"Alas, what a waste of beauty! To make her husband come buy rouge for her, such a woman is simply too lazy."

"Should we go talk to him? I haven't seen someone this handsome in ages."

"Are you crazy? If your husband found out, wouldn't he beat you black and blue?"

"If he could use *that* to hit me, I'd be ecstatic!"

***

Although their voices were soft, Zu'an had keen hearing and sight; nothing around him could escape his ears. Hearing their discussions, he couldn't help but sweat profusely. He knew the customs of Yunzhong Commandery were open, but this was a bit *too* open. No wonder in his previous life, the married women in the office were the best at telling dirty jokes. It seemed all worlds were quite similar.

He lightly coughed and quickly found the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was a bit surprised to see a man buying such items, but it wasn't unheard of.

"What would the young master like to buy?"

"All those things women use for makeup."

"There are so many things: cleansers, moisturizers, skincare serums, primers, foundations for refining complexion, concealers, contouring powders, setting powders, and..."

Zu'an: "???"

He was utterly confused, not knowing what any of it was. He simply said, "I'll take them all!"

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "Do you know which specific types and shades you'd like? We have..."

Zu'an interrupted him directly; he naturally didn't have time to choose carefully. "Give me one of the most expensive of each... uh, make that ten sets." He needed to conduct business and gather information, so it was natural to display some wealth. Otherwise, if he just walked in and said he wanted to buy the store, they wouldn't take him seriously. As for these items, they would be useful anyway. He had so many female confidantes; he'd at least have gifts to give them in the future.

The ladies around immediately gasped, casting strange glances at him from time to time:

"What a playboy, buying so many!"

"What do you know? This is called having great charm. For a young, wealthy master like him, is it strange to have ten concubines at home?"

"Exactly. Look at the rich and powerful in the city; which one doesn't keep a hundred or so concubines? This young master only has ten; he's practically devoted!"

"And everyone gets a gift, he's good to all women. How enviable!"

"Alas, I'm already married. Otherwise, I'd want to offer myself to him."

"You could still try! What if he likes married women?"

***

Zu'an's face darkened. Just then, the shopkeeper placed the various rouges and cosmetics into exquisite boxes and handed them over. "Young master, these are your items. May I ask where you reside? We can arrange for delivery."

Zu'an was about to answer when a familiar voice sounded not far away. "Tsk tsk, you really are quite the philanderer."