Chapter 1296: Severe Interrogation

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room and all the officials in the court had a dramatic change in expression. Who would have thought that Xu Yu possessed such crucial evidence?

Many even felt a touch of jealousy because, according to Xu Yu, Yu Yanluo and the man were a couple and their terms of address were extremely intimate. It was unexpected that the capital's most beautiful woman, pursued by countless men but dismissive of them all, had finally fallen into a man's embrace.

What virtues or abilities does this kid, Zu An, possess? He has no prominent background, his cultivation isn't outstanding, and his looks are only mediocre. How did he manage to win Yu Yanluo's favor?

Bi Linglong also felt quite a sting of jealousy. After all, Yu Yanluo's reputation was immense, and Zu An had caused such a mess trying to save this woman. She couldn't help but feel the absurdity of her own man having an affair, while she was left to clean up his mess.

Pei Mianman also glared at Zu An, annoyed. This guy had disappeared without a trace for so long; sure enough, he had been enjoying himself with other women. And here she had been worrying about him day and night.

Seeing the string of rage points he was receiving in the background, Zu An felt a headache coming on. He quickly said, "I don't understand what you mean, Minister Xu. The Snake Tribe is more than ten thousand li away from here, with the Great Snow Mountain, a forbidden zone, separating us. If there were any news from there, how could it reach you so quickly?"

He himself had returned by riding on a Wind-Fire Wheel and with other miraculous encounters afterwards. How could a scout's message delivery be faster than his own return?

"Minister Zu is not an official on the frontier, so he probably doesn't know these details," Xu Yu chuckled. He was pleased to be able to use the opponent's own words against them so quickly, especially after just being mocked. "When we send scouts to the Demon Race, we are naturally aware of the vast distance between the two places. Should there be any urgent military intelligence, a round trip would be too time-consuming and could delay crucial information. That's why the professors at the Imperial Academy invented a simplified version of the Audio-Visual Mirror."

"It can directly transmit text, and we can receive it immediately here."

"This avoids the massive consumption of primal stones required to activate the full Audio-Visual Mirror, and also prevents the large spatial fluctuations that would occur with its activation, which could lead to discovery. Moreover, it better protects the safety of our secret agents."

"These secret agents are documented in the Embroidery Building's most confidential archives. Their loyalty is absolutely reliable. His Majesty and Grand Marshal Zhu Xie can personally verify this."

Hearing this, the court erupted in an uproar. Those of lower rank inquired what was happening, while some prominent figures explained the relevant regulations to them.

Zu An's expression also changed. He knew the Embroidery Building had a top-secret archive where only Zhu Xie Chixin was allowed access. Even Golden-Medallion Embroidered Guards had no authority to enter. He had no idea it contained information on these secret agents.

Listening to Xu Yu's description, this so-called simplified Audio-Visual Mirror was similar to a telegraph from his previous life. He hadn't expected this cultivation world to achieve the same purpose through different means.

It was all because he wasn't from this world; he didn't know much of what others considered common knowledge. That's why he sometimes suffered such heavy losses.

"If you have such evidence, why didn't you present it earlier?" Bi Linglong's voice rang out. She noticed Zu An's silence and assumed he was flustered, so she spoke up to help him out, while also buying him time to think of a counter-strategy.

Xu Yu replied, "To answer Your Highness, the reason it wasn't presented earlier was to protect our secret agents. These agents risk their lives in foreign lands, doing work for which they could be executed. If their identities were exposed, their fates would be utterly miserable."

He had initially thought that other evidence would be enough to convict Zu An. He never expected a Golden-Medallion Eleven to appear first, and then for Zu An himself to show up. Left with no choice, he had to reveal his trump card.

At the same time, he worried that although he was loyal to the Emperor, he had offended the Crown Princess. His fate might not be good after the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future.

He secretly glanced at Prince Qi, wondering if he needed to split his bets...

At this moment, everyone else began to discuss animatedly, especially expressing high respect for the secret agents who risked their lives to infiltrate the Demon Race.

Zu An frowned and calmly said, "Minister Xu, your words might not be entirely true. As far as I know, the Demon Race deeply resents humans due to their defeat in the past. Perhaps human agents could infiltrate some other races, but for the Snake Tribe, with their distinct demonic characteristics, how could human agents hide among them without being discovered?"

He had just been recalling his experiences in the Snake Tribe, and was quite certain there were no humans there. After all, to be able to hear Yu Yanluo's terms of address for him, the agent couldn't have been too far away.

With him leading the way, officials from the Eastern Palace faction also chimed in with agreement, as the skepticism was quite reasonable.

Xu Yu glanced at Zu An with a half-smile. "Minister Zu seems quite knowledgeable about the Snake Tribe. Have you been there before?"

Zu An cursed silently, calling him an old fox, always digging pits for him. "Minister Xu, haven't you heard the saying, 'Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen a pig run?' After all, I am also the Crown Prince's Chief Imperial Clerk. To live up to His Majesty's high expectations and not hinder the Crown Prince's studies, I naturally need to acquire various knowledge. And since the Demon Race is a major enemy of the human race, and the Crown Prince will inevitably face these matters in the future, they are naturally a key subject of my research."

Hearing the implication that the Crown Prince would ascend the throne in the future, Prince Qi's face twitched slightly. This fellow sometimes wanted to ally with him, and other times genuinely wished him dead.

In contrast, officials from the Eastern Palace faction nodded in approval. Bi Qi, the Right Vice Minister of the Board, who had been observing coolly, thought to himself, "No wonder my daughter desperately protects him; this guy truly is a talent."

Xu Yu's breath hitched. Facing the skepticism from the Eastern Palace faction, he could only explain, "To be frank, this agent within the Snake Tribe is not human. It is a member of the Snake Tribe whom we painstakingly bribed. Grand Marshal can confirm this by checking the archives."

Zu An's expression changed. He hadn't expected there to be traitors among humans and 'snake traitors' among the Snake Tribe. Who could it be?

It couldn't possibly be Elders Bai and Qing, could it?

Zhu Xie Chixin nodded. "Indeed, that's correct. Minister Xu's previous vagueness was to protect the agent's identity. This matter is highly confidential, and I ask everyone to keep it secret. Should even a hint of this leak out in the future and cause any harm to that agent, our Embroidered Envoy will invite everyone present for 'tea' at the Embroidery Building."

Hearing this, all the officials felt a chill down their spines. Being invited for 'tea' by the Embroidered Envoys was never a good thing. Over the years, many of their colleagues had been 'invited' and never returned.

At this point, Zhao Shu, Duke of Xinyewei, spoke up. "The evidence is now conclusive. Zu An, you were seduced by beauty, colluded with the Demon Race, and betrayed the court. What more do you have to say?"

Sang Hong was filled with regret at this moment. He should have known better than to let him come back. He had thought Zu An's return would clear his name, but who knew Xu Yu had such evidence? Now, his return had only made him walk straight into a trap.

At this moment, Pei Mianman spoke. "Minister Xu, your agent's report mentioned that Minister Zu and Yu Yanluo were seen together intimately in the Snake Tribe, correct?"

Xu Yu frowned slightly, unsure of her intentions, but still replied, "That's correct."

"May I ask when you received this information, Minister Xu?" Pei Mianman continued to ask.

"Probably a few days ago." As soon as Xu Yu answered, his expression changed, because he knew what the other person was about to say.

As expected, Pei Mianman scoffed. "Then Minister Xu, this evidence of yours is quite contradictory. If Minister Zu was with Yu Yanluo in the Snake Tribe, it is well-known that the Snake Tribe is extremely far from Yunzhong Commandery, with the Great Snow Mountain, a forbidden zone, separating them. To travel from the Snake Tribe to Yunzhong Commandery would take at least half a year, wouldn't it? So how could Zu An possibly be here now?"

Bi Linglong, visible in the Audio-Visual Mirror, secretly nodded and cast an approving glance at her. She thought, "Even if Zu An is lecherous, the women he picks aren't fools after all. I was so flustered with worry just now that I didn't even think of this flaw immediately."

Upon hearing this, the court also erupted into a commotion. Even many officials from Prince Qi's faction looked doubtful, because returning from the Snake Tribe to Yunzhong Commandery in just a few days seemed impossible from any perspective.

Xu Yu was actually completely baffled by this himself, but he still bit the bullet and said, "Although for most people, a round trip in just a few days is impossible, there might be some unknown secret passage within the Great Snow Mountain."

Halfway through his statement, he felt a bit guilty himself. After all, the notorious reputation of the Great Snow Mountain was well-known to everyone. If there were any secret passages, the world would likely already be in chaos.

He reacted quickly and immediately thought of a reasonable explanation: "Yu Yanluo was able to reach the Snake Tribe so quickly before, most likely because she had operated in Yunzhong Commandery for years and secretly built some kind of teleportation array. Therefore, Zu An must have returned using the same method."

"For the safety of the nation, I propose that Zu An be arrested and interrogated rigorously to discover the location of that teleportation array. Firstly, this would guard against future raids by the Demon Race. Secondly, we could also use this teleportation array to launch surprise attacks on the Demon Race."

Bi Linglong immediately said, "I implore Your Majesty to reconsider. The Demon Race is not a monolithic entity. Marshal Qin is currently engaged in battle with the Demon Race, and the Snake Tribe has historically held no great animosity towards humans. If we provoke them lightly and force the Demon Race to unite completely, it would not be beneficial for our dynasty."

The Emperor nodded slightly, then looked at Prince Qi. "What are Prince Qi's thoughts on this matter?"