Chapter 1092: Evidence

Both people in the ice cave changed their expressions. Yu Yanluo quickly said, "It seems to be people from Cloudtop Commandery."

Zu An nodded, "And people from the Imperial Envoy's delegation."

He had already heard some familiar voices.

"What should we do next? Should we meet them as you, or as the Duke?" Yu Yanluo asked him, tidying up some of the scene in the cave as she spoke.

Zu An thought for a moment before replying, "Let's use the Duke's identity. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why I'm with you, and where the Duke has gone."

Yu Yanluo was also concerned, "But then we can't explain the imperial decree from just now. Everyone knows that's something only you possess."

"No worries, I have a way to handle this," Zu An said, simultaneously transforming into Jian Yanyou's likeness.

Although it wasn't her first time witnessing it, Yu Yanluo was still utterly astonished by the entire process.

Almost immediately after his transformation was complete, footsteps echoed from the passage.

Soon, a group of people appeared at the entrance of the ice cave. Leading them were Sang Hong, Xu Yu, and Pei Shao, all prominent figures in the Cloudtop Commandery's official circles.

Clearly, the recent battle had caused such a commotion that it drew these people to investigate.

"Duke, Lady Yu!" Upon seeing the two, Sang Hong breathed a sigh of relief, his face showing pleasant surprise.

However, the other officials from Cloudtop Commandery had strange expressions, unable to discern whether they were happy or sad.

Yu Yanluo's heart skipped a beat. She knew that for Zu An's voice to sound like the Duke's, he first had to mimic a woman's voice to trick people. But now, with everyone watching, how could he possibly disguise it?

Her reaction was quick; before Zu An could speak, she quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, sirs."

"You two? Why are you here?" Sang Hong asked curiously.

Yu Yanluo glanced at Zu An and quickly replied, "The Duke was injured, blood rushed to his throat, damaging it, so he currently cannot speak. To preserve his vital energy, I will answer on his behalf."

Zu An nodded subtly; this woman was indeed very intelligent, saving him a lot of trouble.

Everyone was shocked upon hearing this: "How did the Duke get such serious injuries?"

Sang Hong, meanwhile, looked around, trying to find Zu An, but after a quick scan, he found no trace of him.

After sensing the burst of imperial decree's aura in the city earlier, he was alarmed and rushed to Zu An's room to find him.

Although Zu An had previously said not to disturb him, the matter was too important for him to care about that now.

Unfortunately, he called out for a long time but received no response. He broke the door open but still found no sign of him, so he worried that something had happened to him.

At this moment, Yu Yanluo sighed faintly, "A misfortune has befallen our household."

She was already incredibly beautiful, and her sorrowful sigh at that moment was truly heartbreaking to witness. Many immediately felt a surge of protective instinct: "Lady, please speak freely. We will surely see justice done for you!"

Of course, there were also wise individuals who secretly wondered, "A misfortune has befallen our household, could she be referring to Jian Taiding?"

Yu Yanluo then explained, "Because the Duke returned unexpectedly, some people who had committed misdeeds felt guilty and came to the scene of the original incident to check. Yanyou and I secretly followed them..."

She then slowly recounted the prepared story: Uncle Ming had coerced and deceived Jian Taiding, together plotting to murder Jian Yanyou here. Who knew that Jian Yanyou, having practiced the Golden Silkworm Divine Art, was incredibly lucky and survived. In their panic and fear, the two came here to check, but were ultimately discovered, leading to a fierce battle between the parties.

Jian Taiding, realizing he had been deceived, turned against Uncle Ming in the middle of the confrontation to help his elder brother. But unexpectedly, Uncle Ming was a creature transformed from a Dark-Striped Black-Eyed Bee, with extremely high cultivation. Furthermore, Jian Taiding himself was severely wounded, so he was cruelly killed by the enraged Uncle Ming...

Following the direction of her finger, everyone then noticed Jian Taiding's dismembered body in a corner, their expressions changing drastically.

Some, who had served as officials with Jian Taiding for so many years, were saddened that he met such a tragic end, naturally feeling sympathy.

Others thought that with Jian Taiding's death, the entire Cloudtop Commandery was about to undergo a significant change.

Still others stared at the couple suspiciously, wondering if they had set a trap to lure Uncle Ming and Jian Taiding here, and then killed them.

Each had their own considerations, so aside from the few officials already close to Yu Yanluo and Jian Yanyou, everyone else remained silent.

Finally, Pei Shao spoke up: "Lady Yu, if this Dark-Striped Black-Eyed Bee you mentioned was so powerful, how did you two survive?"

Sang Hong echoed, "Precisely. Just now, I sensed the Emperor's aura. If I'm not mistaken, someone was invoking an imperial decree. Where is that person?"

What he was most worried about now was Zu An. The moment he detected the imperial decree's aura, he rushed over without delay. Given Zu An's cultivation, he would absolutely not have used an imperial decree unless he encountered an insurmountable foe.

Now that he had arrived and saw no trace of Zu An, he had reason to suspect that the couple, Yu Yanluo and Jian Yanyou, had together plotted against him.

Jian Yanyou was now so severely injured he couldn't even speak. Could it be that he was wounded by Zu An's final counterattack?

Thinking that A'Zu's fate was unknown, his gaze immediately turned somewhat hostile.

Yu Yanluo's heart jolted. This was exactly what she had been worried about, though Zu An had said he had a solution.

But now he couldn't speak, so even if he had a solution, she wouldn't know it.

Just then, her ear twitched as she heard a familiar voice.

She remained very calm, resisting the urge to turn and look at him, knowing it was a spiritual energy transmission.

"Lady?" Seeing her not respond, Sang Hong grew a little anxious.

Yu Yanluo then replied, "Because I don't quite know how to explain it. Just now, at a critical moment of life and death for us, a mysterious person suddenly appeared and killed Uncle Ming."

"What kind of mysterious person could be so powerful?" Pei Shao naturally didn't believe it.

Yu Yanluo gestured with her hands: "He wore a mask and embroidered robes. He should be an Embroidered Uniform Guard from the imperial court, and the cloud patterns on his clothes were embroidered with gold thread."

"Golden Plate Embroidered Guard?" Pei Shao and the others were startled.

"Golden Plate Eleven!" Sang Hong naturally thought of who it was. Golden Plate Eleven, who had come with them, was elusive and rarely seen, so he didn't expect him to suddenly appear here.

As the Emperor's trusted confidant, it was normal for him to carry an imperial decree.

He quickly pressed further, "Lady, did you happen to see Lord Zu An?"

"No, I didn't. Was he nearby?" Yu Yanluo showed no hint of a flaw. At the same time, she found it somewhat strange; everyone said Sang Hong was ruthless and cold-hearted, always portraying himself as an isolated official in court who got along with no one. Yet, his concern for Zu An didn't seem fake. Was that fellow so charismatic that he could even win over someone with such a stubborn personality?

Hearing that Zu An hadn't come here, Sang Hong quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The others, hearing that Golden Plate Eleven had acted and seeing the pile of ashes on the ground, all marveled at the Emperor's supreme divine power.

But not everyone was without suspicion. Pei Shao raised his doubts: "Lady Yu, all of this is your side of the story. Do you have any evidence to prove it?"

At this moment, other officials who had always been on good terms with the Yu family stepped forward to refute: "The Duke and Lady Yu are both here, and there's a Golden Plate Embroidered Guard as a witness. Could there still be any falsehoods?"

Sang Hong frowned. Previously, Jian Taiding had been the biggest headache, but now that he was dead, the situation in Cloudtop Commandery would visibly stabilize.

Conversely, the task the Emperor had assigned him on this trip—to weaken the Yu family—had not yet been completed. Perhaps he should seize this opportunity?

For some reason, Xu Yu also remained silent.

Seeing these two prominent figures tacitly agree, Pei Shao became even more confident: "Lady Yu, why aren't you speaking?"

At this moment, Zu An coughed violently several times, then put on a shaky, collapsing act.

Yu Yanluo quickly supported him, and at the same time, with perfect understanding, played along: "You want evidence? Of course I have it. However, the Duke is gravely wounded after the recent battle and urgently needs healing. Let's get him back first before discussing it further."

The footage she had recorded with her audio-visual mirror was, of course, ironclad evidence, but many scenes within it were not suitable for public viewing. So she needed time to go back and process it. Fortunately, Zu An was quick-witted; otherwise, she truly wouldn't have known what to do.

Sang Hong and the others initially offered to take his pulse and treat his injuries, but Yu Yanluo decisively refused.

The others didn't harbor any suspicion. The imperial court and Cloudtop Commandery were never on the best terms to begin with, and if it were them, they wouldn't feel comfortable entrusting the Duke's pulse point to others either.

After all, as the Duke, Jian Yanyou's severe injuries meant saving him was the top priority. With this justification, the others naturally couldn't say much, so a large group of them grandly escorted Zu An back to the Ducal Residence.

The entire Ducal Residence immediately became bustling; some went to find doctors, others boiled medicine.

Zhang Ji and others tearfully wanted to visit. Seeing all those delicate ladies, Zu An's scalp tingled.

After all, he had just seen Jian Yanyou, so he inevitably felt a bit guilty.

Fortunately, Yu Yanluo blocked them all, insisting on personally guarding him.

Given her status as the legal wife, no one dared to say anything, and could only wait outside.

After closing the door, Yu Yanluo quickly took out her previous audio-visual mirror, then pulled out several other audio-visual stones, drew some magical formations with a brush, and began to work busily.

Seeing the images flutter, Zu An was dumbfounded. Could this world also do video editing?

However, his thoughts quickly returned to the Purple Frost Divine Milk. Just as he was about to summon Mi Li, he worried it might be inappropriate with Yu Yanluo nearby.

So he stood up and said, "Lady, there's nothing for me to do here for now. I'll step out for a bit."

Yu Yanluo's delicate brows furrowed: "No, you can't go out now!"