Chapter 1662: Another Hidden Truth

The commotion this time was immense, with the Emperor himself attending. Key officials from Yi City rushed over upon hearing the news, including Yi Prefecture Commandant Yang Sheng, Yi City Lord Liao Ling, and other mid-to-high ranking officials.

Naturally, some bewildered officials from the Yan Kingdom also arrived. Their expressions drastically changed when they saw the King of Yan had been subdued.

However, Zhang Xie did not give them a chance to leave; he seized the opportunity to bring them all under control.

The only regret was that the Crown Prince of Yan and the Yan Prime Minister Sun Xun had not come; it was said they were out of town.

When Zu An returned to the courtyard, everyone looked at him differently.

While his previous identity as a Gold-Ranked Embroidered Envoy was intimidating, many present were powerful figures who controlled their own territories, so they weren't particularly afraid.

But now that he could summon the Emperor at will, who wouldn't be somewhat afraid of him?

It was previously rumored that Embroidered Envoys could summon a Saint, but the ritual was quite complicated. How could anyone do it like him, summoning them just by saying so?

Moreover, the Saint he summoned was clearly different from those summoned by other Embroidered Envoys. According to intelligence gathered elsewhere, the Saints summoned by Embroidered Envoys were usually emotionless phantoms that disappeared after delivering destructive attacks.

But this time, it seemed to be the Emperor himself!

"Lord Eleven truly possesses both wisdom and courage; he captured the King of Yan so quickly," Zhang Xie said, raising a thumb. He wondered why he was involuntarily flattering him.

Others also offered their compliments, and even the usually aloof Liao Ling looked at him with a hint of something different.

Having just seen Zhao Hao, Zu An was not in a good mood, and the flattery of these people didn't feel the same as usual.

He instructed Zhang Xie to take the relevant individuals into custody, while he would find an opportunity to meet the King of Yan alone.

This was not entirely in line with regulations, but his prestige was now so high that no one dared to question him.

The King of Yan, usually so high and mighty, was now bound by the Soul-Binding Rope. He looked like an old man on his last legs, sitting quietly in the corner, as if he could decay at any moment.

Seeing Zu An enter, the King of Yan looked up, a hint of malice flashing in his eyes. "Good, good, good. I never thought I, who spend my days hunting geese, would instead have my eyes pecked out by a goose."

Rage value from Zhao Li +555 +555 +555...

"From the moment you colluded with the demon race and intended to rebel, you should have foreseen this day," Zu An said coldly.

After saying this, he felt a bit strange. He, the mighty Regent of the demon race, the Emperor's godfather, and the little Demon Empress's lover, was accusing others of colluding with the demon race?

Sigh, although he had instructed the little Demon Empress to do her best to block news related to the Regent, the demon race was vast, and the imperial court would find out sooner or later.

The King of Yan snorted. There were no others present, so he couldn't be bothered to make a futile defense.

Zu An composed himself. "I came here to ask you one thing: How did you kill Gold-Ranked Seventh?"

The King of Yan gave him a cold look. "What, is the charge of rebellion not enough? Do you want to frame me with another crime?"

"We are all clear-headed people," Zu An said indifferently. "Is there any point in your sophistry here?"

"Heh," the King of Yan sneered. "I thought you were so wise and mighty. So you've always believed Gold-Ranked Seventh was killed by me?"

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. "It wasn't?"

"Of course not," a glint of light flashed in the King of Yan's eyes. He seemed to have gained some interesting information from Zu An's words, and his mood gradually calmed down. "Things have come to this; there's no need for me to deny such a trivial matter."

Zu An frowned slightly. Indeed, compared to crimes like colluding with the demon race and intending rebellion, murdering Gold-Ranked Seventh was child's play.

But it was hard to say for sure. After all, the first two charges might not be fully substantiated in the end, and it was also possible he simply didn't want to admit to killing Gold-Ranked Seventh.

As if sensing his disbelief, the King of Yan continued, "Indeed, Gold-Ranked Seventh has been a constant nuisance to me over the years. I truly hated him to the core and did consider getting rid of him. But his identity was too sensitive. He was directly appointed by the Emperor to be the Emperor's eyes in Yi Prefecture, and harming him would be tantamount to open rebellion. I understood the gravity of the situation."

"However, all current evidence seems to point to you," Zu An said, looking into his eyes.

"You caught Mr. Huo, didn't you?" the King of Yan suddenly realized and said bitterly. "That fellow is more trouble than he's worth."

The key was that he was usually strange and reclusive, sometimes going out to do unknown mysterious things and being gone for days.

When he left previously, the King of Yan thought it was like any other time and didn't give it much thought, only now realizing something had happened to Mr. Huo.

"Nothing to say now?" Zu An sneered. "Gold-Ranked Seventh died silently because he suffered a mental attack."

"So you suspected me because of Mr. Huo," the King of Yan said, suddenly understanding.

"You had the strongest motive, and you had a mental ability expert like Mr. Huo working for you. If not you, then who?" Zu An said, his expression calm, though various conjectures began to surface in his mind.

"Since you caught Mr. Huo, did he admit to killing Gold-Ranked Seventh?" the King of Yan sneered.

Zu An frowned slightly. When they caught Mr. Huo back then, he didn't seem to admit to this? The conversation then shifted to the grievances between Gold-Ranked Seventh and the King of Yan, and then everyone started looking for the ledger containing evidence of the King of Yan's rebellion. Everything seemed to fall into place naturally...

Seeing his silence, the King of Yan snorted, "Naturally, I knew I would be the first to be suspected after Gold-Ranked Seventh's death, so I specifically sent people to investigate this case."

"Oh, you sent someone to investigate?" Zu An was genuinely surprised now. "Who did you send?"

"I can't tell you that," the King of Yan said profoundly.

Zu An frowned slightly, unsure if he was being enigmatic or if there was truly something to it.

However, this did connect with many previous details.

"There's one thing I don't understand. You should have investigated the Carefree Pavilion back then. Why did you turn around and investigate me instead?" At this point, the King of Yan spoke again, his expression full of doubt.

Zu An's heart stirred. "So you bought off that Embroidered Envoy."

Tang Tian'er was initially led by the traitor's description to investigate the Carefree Pavilion, but the traitor never imagined that he and Tang Tian'er knew each other.

"Was that Embroidered Envoy silenced by you later?" Zu An asked. Later, Xiao Jianren and others searched everywhere, even checking his hometown, but still found no trace.

"Someone did want to silence him, but it wasn't me," the King of Yan said with a smile, seemingly having figured out some things.

"Where is that person now?" Zu An asked. That traitor seemed more complicated than he appeared.

"You won't tell me why you didn't investigate the Carefree Pavilion but came back to investigate me instead, so why should I tell you?" the King of Yan retorted, directly refusing.

Zu An frowned. This matter was too significant; he and Tang Tian'er were friends, and he didn't want to involve her.

"Although I don't know why you were willing not to investigate the Carefree Pavilion," the King of Yan said, "I'll still give you a piece of advice: regarding the death of Gold-Ranked Seventh, the Carefree Pavilion most likely has issues."

The King of Yan said with a smile. After the initial fright of being imprisoned, he seemed to have understood some things now, and his demeanor was clearly more relaxed.

Zu An then asked him more questions, but unfortunately, the other party remained silent, which made Zu An itch to confront him. He truly wanted to use a trial card on him.

However, after much hesitation, he decided against it and turned to leave the cell.

He called Zhang Zitong and Xiao Jianren, instructing them to verify the details in the ledger with Zhang Xie and other officials, and to secure the relevant witnesses and physical evidence.

Both were a little excited. This was a major case; if successfully handled, it would earn them several years' worth of merit.

Zu An then spoke with local Yi Prefecture officials like Zhang Xie, Yang Sheng, and Liao Ling for a while, instructing them to search for the King of Yan's remaining loyalists and to quickly apprehend individuals like the Crown Prince of Yan and the Yan Prime Minister Sun Xun.

After giving his instructions, he left in a hurry. At this point, he had too many doubts to verify.

Just after leaving the Prefect's mansion, his heart stirred, and he suddenly looked back in a certain direction.

A figure slowly emerged from behind a large tree. Though dressed in black, that familiar figure and the ethereal, otherworldly aura could only belong to Yan Xuehen.

"Sister Yan!" Zu An exclaimed, his previously agitated heart suddenly calming.

"I'm not worried about your safety," Yan Xuehen said, her expression a little unnatural. "I just felt the Emperor's pressure and couldn't help but come over out of curiosity to see."

Zu An sighed faintly. "You finally came. I was almost killed by the Emperor just now."

As he spoke, he put on a weak appearance, closing his eyes and fainting to the side.

A gasp sounded beside him, and then he felt himself lying in a soft body.

"What's wrong with you?" Yan Xuehen asked anxiously, checking his pulse.

Her expression quickly changed, and she pushed him away. "You tricked me again!"

Rage value from Yan Xuehen +33 +33 +33...

Zu An was not pushed away; instead, he clung to her like sticky candy, embracing her.

"Let go of me!" Yan Xuehen struggled more fiercely, but in the end, she didn't unleash her Grandmaster power, fearing she might accidentally hurt him.

Zu An sighed. "Sister Yan, from what happened before and just now, you clearly care about me, so why deceive yourself?"

"Who cares about you? I already said I sensed the Emperor... Mmph..." Before she could finish, she was silenced by hot lips.

Her beautiful eyes instantly widened, and her mind went blank.

After a moment, she finally came to her senses. She pushed him away, both embarrassed and annoyed. "What are you doing!"

As she spoke, she subconsciously glanced around.

"Don't worry, there's no one else here," Zu An said, smiling as he looked at her. An ice mountain tinged with crimson was truly a beautiful sight.

"Is this about whether there's anyone else?" Yan Xuehen retorted, trembling all over, unsure if it was from anger or alarm. "How dare you be so rude to me!"

"This is called rude?" Zu An said, staring intently at her. "Then what about what we did before?"