Chapter 1667: Secret Secrets

"What?" Zu An was truly shocked. He had never imagined the other party could be involved with the Prince of Yan.

He couldn't help but be astonished. The Prince of Yan had been renowned for years for suppressing the Demonic Cult and its rebel factions, earning countless imperial commendations. Everyone knew them as sworn enemies; no one would ever associate them.

"Are you surprised?" Yun Jianyue smiled. "That's precisely why I just needed to confirm if you were trustworthy."

Zu An frowned. "I remember Qiu Honglei was captured by the Prince of Yan's manor back then, and I went to rescue her. When exactly did you two establish contact?"

"Before that, there were rumors circulating in the court, suspecting the Prince of Yan of fostering rebels for personal gain. So, we collaborated on a play. We just didn't expect that the imperial official sent at that time would happen to be you," Yun Jianyue said, sounding a little apologetic.

Zu An instantly understood many things. The alliance between the Prince of Yan and the Demonic Cult was, in fact, quite logical. The Prince of Yan was extremely ambitious and certainly wouldn't be content serving as the court's enforcer. Furthermore, as a vassal king, there was no higher title he could aspire to.

Even if he truly wiped out the Demonic Cult, what would he gain?

Was it possible he could further become the crown prince?

On the contrary, he would suffer losses in troops and generals. And while he was a member of the imperial family, he wasn't from Zhao Hao's direct line; their blood relation was somewhat distant. He understood the principle of discarding the hound once the hare is caught, and putting away the good bow once the birds are gone.

Therefore, he outwardly put his utmost effort into suppressing the Demonic Cult, but in reality, he fostered rebels to enhance his own standing. This way, he could continuously receive various military supplies, rewards, and policy advantages from the imperial court.

There was a vast amount of room for manipulation in this arrangement, allowing him to smuggle goods, and naturally raise private armies.

The Demonic Cult, naturally, didn't want a Prince of Yan constantly besieging them. So, the two parties immediately hit it off. Each year, the Demonic Cult would provide some sacrificial targets for the Prince of Yan to claim military achievements, while they, in turn, expanded their power under his protection.

No wonder the things he said when I rescued Qiu Honglei were so strange. He said something inexplicable about whether I would forgive him if I did anything to displease him. So, this was why.

At that time, Qiu Honglei wasn't in any danger at all. She knew the truth but couldn't tell him directly, only hint vaguely.

And the words of Golden Plaque Number Seven then also made sense. As a Golden Plaque Embroidered Uniform agent sent by the emperor to oversee the region, he likely had long suspected the relationship between the Prince of Yan and the Demonic Cult.

Having participated in Qiu Honglei's rescue, and considering all the details he encountered, he probably had already confirmed their conspiracy at that time.

And the profound, almost testamentary words he spoke to Zu An back then must have been out of concern that investigating the Prince of Yan further would endanger Zu An's life, so he left a warning with him.

Afterward, just as he had feared, he died mysteriously not long after.

Yun Jianyue watched his expression shift from cloudy to clear before finally settling into calmness. Only then did she speak, "I know you're a clever person. By now, you must have figured out the whole situation."

Zu An nodded, finally letting out a long sigh. "You've really deceived everyone. If the Prince of Yan hadn't been captured this time, would you still have kept the truth from me?"

"Indeed, as you said, I wouldn't have been so candid if the Prince of Yan hadn't been captured. However…" Yun Jianyue fixed her phoenix eyes, which held a hint of allure within their authority, on Zu An. "If it weren't for our connection, I wouldn't have told you the truth directly; I would have used other rhetoric."

Zu An smiled and reached out to hug her. "It seems Sister Yun truly considers me one of her own, otherwise she wouldn't have told me such a profound secret about the Demonic Cult."

"Don't be so presumptuous," Yun Jianyue shifted away, evading his touch. "I've already told you, from now on, you must treat me with the respect due to a master. Otherwise, Honglei will notice something amiss sooner or later."

Zu An's expression was peculiar. Remembering how he had barged in on her back then, it was truly difficult for him to see her as a master or an elder.

"Ahem," he quickly composed himself. "But according to what you said, the Prince of Yan is still the prime suspect in Golden Plaque Number Seven's death."

Yun Jianyue shook her head. "The Prince of Yan hinted several times that he wanted to kill Golden Plaque Number Seven, but his status made it inconvenient to act. So, he contacted the Sacred Cult repeatedly. However, I remembered you were also a Golden Plaque Embroidered Uniform, and feared Golden Plaque Number Seven might have some connection with you, so I didn't agree."

Zu An's heart stirred, and he looked at her with a touch of emotion. "We weren't intimately involved back then, were we? Yet you thought of me so much. Sister Yun truly has me in her heart."

Yun Jianyue spat. "Bah, I merely owed you a favor from the imperial palace back then and wanted to repay it. I wasn't thinking that much."

Zu An didn't argue, just watched her with a smile.

"What are you looking at? Let's talk business." Yun Jianyue was somewhat annoyed. She had finally figured out a way to interact with him, but she hadn't expected the young man to be so thick-skinned that she found it hard to cope.

Zu An then dropped his smile. "Could it be that the Prince of Yan found someone else to do it?"

Yun Jianyue shook her head. "Impossible. Not long after Golden Plaque Number Seven's incident, he contacted the Sacred Cult and asked us to help him investigate the truth. There's no reason for him to lie to me."

Zu An nodded, agreeing with her. The Prince of Yan had a cooperative relationship with her and no reason to deceive her on this matter.

No wonder the Prince of Yan previously said in prison that he had someone investigating but wouldn't reveal who it was. If his collusion with the Demonic Cult were exposed, it could also lead to his ruin, so he dared not tell Golden Plaque Eleven.

He simply never imagined that the Demonic Cult Master would be so familiar with me.

"So, Sister Yun, have you found anything?"

Yun Jianyue replied, "Originally, I thought that with the Prince of Yan's influence and our Sacred Cult's capabilities, finding the true culprit would be effortless. However, time and again, the clues would simply vanish. After a period of investigation, we hadn't found any valuable leads. That's when I realized there was a powerful force behind this, perhaps even comparable to the Prince of Yan's influence, hidden in the shadows."

Zu An was startled. "The entire Yi Commandery is the Prince of Yan's territory, and with your Sacred Cult's assistance, how could there be such a force unknown to you?"

"That's also what puzzles us," Yun Jianyue said, her phoenix brows tightly furrowed. "But the Prince of Yan is also a cunning figure. Since he couldn't find the mastermind, he decided to steer things in the direction most favorable to himself. Since you happened to come to Yi Commandery, he had the Embroidered Uniform agent he had bribed, Jiang Zhong, mislead you to investigate the Carefree Pavilion."

Zu An suddenly understood. "So that's it. Why did he want me to go after the Carefree Pavilion?"

The Prince of Yan's Flying Horse Merchants had previously competed with the Zhenyuan Merchants in Yunzhong Commandery.

Could it be that the Carefree Pavilion had some connection to the Zhenyuan Merchants?

Yun Jianyue's answer, however, surprised him. "The Carefree Pavilion is quite close with Governor Zhang of Yi Commandery. For years, Zhang Jie has constantly opposed the Prince of Yan in various matters. The Prince of Yan, constrained by Zhang Jie's official status, couldn't deal with him directly and has always considered him a thorn in his side. That's why he wanted you to investigate the Carefree Pavilion, then investigate Zhang Jie, to help him eliminate this adversary."

Zu An's heart skipped a beat.

Zhang Jie?

He seemed to have overlooked his existence before.

Having been able to contend with the Prince of Yan in Yi Commandery for so many years, how could he be as spineless and incompetent as he appeared?

"But you clearly fell for the trap, so why didn't you investigate the Carefree Pavilion afterward? Instead, you started investigating the Prince of Yan again?" Yun Jianyue voiced the Prince of Yan's biggest question of late for him.

The Prince of Yan had originally thought his strategy of diverting trouble was extremely clever, yet it hadn't worked, leaving him restless even in his sleep.

Having nothing to hide from Yun Jianyue, Zu An replied, "Mainly, I have a friend in the Carefree Pavilion. We had a talk, and I believe she wouldn't lie to me."

"You intentionally omitted her title; she must be a girl, and a dazzling beauty at that," Yun Jianyue sneered repeatedly. "You really are something, young man. From all walks of life, be it prestigious sects or covert organizations, you have little sweethearts everywhere."

Zu An chuckled awkwardly. "Not at all, just friends, just friends."

"Friends like us?" Yun Jianyue blurted out, then immediately regretted it. Hadn't she just implicated herself?

"Certainly not as intimate as with Sister Yun," Zu An immediately said, his expression serious. This was the truth, spoken without a hint of guilt.

"Who's intimate with you?" Yun Jianyue's expression was a little unnatural, perhaps thinking of some past scene. "If the Prince of Yan knew he lost because of your philandering, he'd probably die of anger."

Zu An could only offer a forced smile, worried she might use this as an excuse to further lecture him. He quickly asked, "I'm actually quite curious how the Prince of Yan bribed Jiang Zhong. You know, Embroidered Uniform agents undergo strict vetting; they're all people with clean backgrounds and firm willpower. Jiang Zhong's position isn't low, so how could he be bribed?" The Embroidered Uniforms hadn't been established for very long, not long enough for the organization to become corrupt.

Yun Jianyue's expression grew serious. "The Prince of Yan didn't bribe him; he saved his life."

Zu An was surprised. What kind of situation was this?

Without waiting for him to ask, Yun Jianyue continued, "Jiang Zhong was originally targeted for assassination by a group of mysterious individuals. By coincidence, the Prince of Yan saved him, and that's how he was brought into his service."

"Assassination?" Zu An was startled. An Embroidered Uniform agent being targeted for assassination? Who in the world would dare to do such a thing?

Could it be infighting among factions within the Embroidered Uniforms?

Yun Jianyue said, "This is the only discovery we've made during our investigation recently: the assassins trying to silence him were from the Shadow Tower."

"Shadow Tower?" Zu An hadn't expected to hear the name of this mysterious organization again. From Bright Moon City to the capital, and now here, he had encountered them several times. This organization was even more enigmatic than the Carefree Pavilion.

At least you could find the pleasure houses of the Carefree Pavilion, but no one had ever seen where the Shadow Tower was located.

"It seems Jiang Zhong was somehow swayed by the Shadow Tower, though we don't know what methods they used. Unfortunately, he knew very little about the Shadow Tower, so we didn't extract any valuable intelligence," Yun Jianyue said, sounding somewhat frustrated about this.

"Why was he targeted for assassination?" Zu An pondered for a moment before speaking.

"This involves a case of missing gunpowder," Yun Jianyue paused. "And my reason for coming to Purple Mountain this time is also to investigate that matter."