Chapter 1672: Exposed

Zu An did not hide his intentions and directly posed the question to Tang Tian'er.

Tang Tian'er shook her head slightly. "I do know who killed Golden Token No. 7, but I'm afraid I cannot tell you. I can only say it was not someone from our Carefree Pavilion."

Zu An remained silent, rapidly piecing together all the information he had gathered recently. A faint understanding began to form.

Seeing his silence, Tang Tian'er couldn't help but feel a little worried. "Are you blaming me now?"

Hearing this, Zu An shook his head. "I'm already very grateful for how much you've told me. How could I possibly blame you?"

"Really?" Tang Tian'er was still suspicious. "You don't blame me?"

"Of course it's true. You wouldn't have told anyone else this much. I don't even have enough time to thank you, let alone blame you," Zu An chuckled. "Given your position in the Carefree Pavilion, you must have your own concerns. If you can frankly admit that, it would be ungracious of me to press further."

"It's good that I could help," a smile reappeared on Tang Tian'er's face. "Since you've finally come, I'll take you around the Carefree Pavilion to relax and experience true carefree living."

"I still have matters to attend to. Perhaps another time," Zu An politely declined.

Tang Tian'er didn't insist. "Once you've finished with your current affairs, I'll be sure to treat you well."

Zu An nodded slightly. After bidding her farewell, he returned to Yi City and summoned Xiao Jianren, Zhang Zitong, and the other Silver Robed Guards to the council hall.

"Lord Eleven, have you found anything useful?" Zhang Zitong asked with concern. Her tall figure truly stood out among the other Silver Robed Guards, adding a touch of vibrancy to the otherwise solemn council hall.

"Indeed, I've made significant progress," Zu An replied.

Xiao Jianren, who had been secretly admiring Zhang Zitong's long legs, was instantly re-energized by Zu An's words. "Please enlighten us, Lord Eleven!"

Although the Emperor had given Lord Eleven a three-day ultimatum, Xiao Jianren was a direct subordinate of Lord Eleven, meaning he couldn't escape responsibility if anything went wrong.

The other Embroidered Uniform Guards also looked intently at Zu An.

Zu An surveyed the room and slowly said, "We've been making a mistake all along. The King of Yan smuggling military supplies and raising a private army is one case, and the murder of Golden Token No. 7 is another. We subconsciously conflated these two cases, which led to our errors."

Zhang Zitong couldn't help but voice her objection. "Lord Eleven, Lord Seven had been investigating the King of Yan's rebellion, and the King of Yan absolutely detested him and wanted him dead. You're not going to believe them just because you heard Zhao Huang and his group cry foul and cause trouble today, are you?"

Xiao Jianren's expression became serious, and he immediately interjected, "Miss Zhang, you are mistaken. Our Lord Eleven is never one to shy away from trouble. There must be a reason for him to say this."

Zu An nodded secretly. It seemed this old fox hadn't been completely swayed by beauty after all.

Zhang Zitong, however, remained unconvinced. "In any case, the King of Yan had the strongest motive and the capability, and there's both human testimony and physical evidence. I don't see any problem."

"Let's set aside the physical evidence for a moment. The human testimony you mentioned must be Mr. Huo, right? But did Mr. Huo ever admit to killing Golden Token No. 7 from beginning to end?" Zu An asked.

"He naturally wouldn't admit to such a thing. We often encounter criminals who, despite committing crimes, still believe they've been wronged," Zhang Zitong said dismissively.

"No matter. I've already sent someone to bring him here. We'll just question him again later," Zu An said with a smile.

The expressions of the Silver Robed Guards in the room became grim. Having handled cases for years, they sensed something unusual, but couldn't pinpoint what the problem was.

Just then, an Embroidered Uniform Guard ran in, panicked, to report, "Lord Eleven, Mr. Huo is dead!"

"Dead?" The many Silver Robed Guards in the room all changed color.

"How did he die?" Zu An, however, remained calm, as if he had already expected it.

"It appears to be suicide," the Embroidered Uniform Guard replied. As professional investigators, they generally possessed some forensic skills and could thus make a rough judgment on the cause of death.

Xiao Jianren couldn't help but frown. "Something's not right. Mr. Huo doesn't seem like the type to take his own life."

"He was likely silenced," Zu An said slowly.

At these words, everyone in the room was startled.

"Silenced?" Zhang Zitong questioned, puzzled. "He was imprisoned in the Embroidered Uniform Guard's dungeon. Who could possibly silence him there?"

The other Silver Robed Guards echoed her:

"Yes, perhaps he knew he couldn't escape death and simply chose to end it all for a quick release."

"He's been subjected to much torture recently. As someone who relies on mental cultivation and has a weaker physique, it's normal for him to not withstand it."

Listening to their comments, Zu An calmly said, "Your premise is that he was indeed the killer of Golden Token No. 7. But what if he wasn't? Having cultivated to such a level, would he willingly throw away his life?"

Hearing him say this, everyone's expressions changed. If he had truly been silenced, it strongly suggested an internal problem within the Embroidered Uniform Guard. People exchanged glances, quietly raising their guard.

At this point, Zu An said, "The reason we prematurely assumed the King of Yan and Mr. Huo were the killers of Golden Token No. 7 is because someone was subtly, or not so subtly, leading us to think that way."

Xiao Jianren was taken aback. "That's not right. No one led us. We investigated all this ourselves..."

Mid-sentence, he suddenly froze, his expression shifting several times as he looked at Zhang Zitong.

The other Silver Robed Guards also turned their gazes to her. To become a Silver Robed Guard meant being an elite investigator within the Embroidered Uniform Guard system. Aside from cultivation level, their abilities weren't that far below those of the Golden Token Guards.

They were all intelligent individuals. While they hadn't noticed before, now that they were prompted, they immediately realized that it was Zhang Zitong who had first mentioned Mr. Huo.

Zhang Zitong's face instantly became a spectacle of emotions. She glared angrily at Zu An. "Are you suspecting me?"

Rage value from Zhang Zitong +111 +111 +111...

At this point, Xiao Jianren couldn't help but say, "Lord Eleven, could there be some misunderstanding? Lord Seven's kindness to Miss Zhang was as vast as a mountain. How could she possibly do such a thing?"

The surrounding Silver Robed Guards also nodded in agreement.

Zu An didn't explain. Instead, he looked directly at Zhang Zitong. "From the beginning, you intentionally or unintentionally mentioned the King of Yan's mansion and Mr. Huo. Later, you deliberately trespassed into the King of Yan's mansion, completely setting us against them."

"Afterward, every time our investigation reached a deadlock or shifted to another area, you would intentionally guide us back to the King of Yan."

The other Silver Robed Guards felt a chill in their hearts. Recalling the events of that period, Zhang Zitong indeed exhibited similar behaviors. However, at the time, everyone simply thought she was extremely angry and eager for revenge due to the death of Golden Token No. 7, so no one suspected her.

At this point, Zhang Zitong took a deep breath. "Lord Eleven, I used to admire you greatly, but today you've truly disappointed me. As Embroidered Uniform Guards, we conduct investigations based on evidence. To convict me based solely on these claims is far too far-fetched."

"Of course there's evidence," Zu An sighed. "You actually hid your tracks quite well, but unfortunately, you were too eager to incriminate the King of Yan later. You managed to investigate every detail of the secret chamber in the King of Yan's study, even knowing the exact weight of the ledger to the precise fraction. You even made a substitute to avoid triggering the mechanism. Thinking about it, you must have handled that ledger before to know it so accurately."

Zhang Zitong's expression changed. "I've already said that anything involving people leaves traces. I learned this by investigating some of the artisans who participated in building the secret chamber back then."

"Oh, the artisans you investigated? I had people look into them afterward. They did indeed participate in the construction of the King of Yan's mansion, but they only worked on the outer areas of the study. They knew nothing about the secret chamber inside. So, how could you have obtained that information from them?" Zu An looked at her coldly.

"I..." A flicker of panic finally appeared on Zhang Zitong's face. "There are a few other artisans. To protect their safety, I intentionally concealed their names. That's what I promised them."

"Then you can tell us their information now. We'll verify it ourselves," Zu An said, gesturing to the several individuals present. "The lowest rank here is Silver Robed Guard. I don't think they'd leak any secrets, would they?"

"Yes, Miss Zhang, please tell us their information quickly. We can absolutely guarantee their safety," Xiao Jianren said, looking eagerly at Zhang Zitong, his eyes seemingly carrying a hint of pleading.

"Alright, they live in..." Zhang Zitong's voice trailed off. Xiao Jianren couldn't help but lean in closer to hear.

At that very moment, Zhang Zitong suddenly erupted, twisting his arm back and placing a dagger from her sleeve across his throat.

For days, Xiao Jianren had been hoping for a chance to get closer to her, but she had always kept her distance. He never imagined their most intimate contact would happen under such circumstances, and his face instantly turned ashen.

The other Silver Robed Guards in the room tensed up, ready to act at any moment. Given her current behavior, how could they not understand what was happening?

Zu An calmly looked at her. "Do you think you can escape?"

Zhang Zitong's face was pale, a flicker of stubbornness and unwillingness in her eyes. "When did you start suspecting me?"