Chapter 742: Suspicion

Zu An was startled. Why was this woman asking about him? Still, he replied, "By now, there are probably very few people in the palace who don't know who he is."

The Qi Princess Consort scoffed, "Indeed, it's hard to remain unknown after committing such a scandal with the Crown Princess."

Zu An said earnestly, "This matter has long been thoroughly investigated and proven to be baseless slander by someone trying to frame us. I ask the Princess Consort not to speak recklessly." As an Embroidered Uniform Guard, representing the Emperor's will, he naturally needed to uphold royal dignity at such a moment.

"If you don't want others to know, don't do it," the Qi Princess Consort sneered. "Zu An is audacious and reckless. He even dared to hit my son. What wouldn't he dare to do?"

[Rage points from Bi Fanghua +358+358+358...]

Jiang Luofu, standing nearby, pursed her lips and smiled, evidently recalling some past events in Mingyue City. That guy certainly didn't play by the rules.

Zu An coughed, thinking, *No wonder this woman holds such a grudge.* He wondered what her reaction would be if she knew the person who hit her son was standing right in front of her.

The Qi Princess Consort asked a few more questions, which Zu An answered perfunctorily. Finally, seeing no significant outcome, she impatiently picked up her teacup, signaling him to leave.

Zu An, having gathered the information he wanted during their brief interaction, stood up to take his leave.

"Don't bother investigating all those trivial things. Believe me, there's no mastermind behind it; Zu An and the Crown Princess simply engaged in an illicit affair," the Qi Princess Consort added, not missing an opportunity to throw in another jab.

"That woman's intuition is truly terrifying," Mi Li said with a grin as they left the manor.

Zu An argued, "The Crown Princess and I are truly innocent."

"Heh heh!" Mi Li naturally knew the truth of what happened between him and the Crown Princess. Although they had only stripped naked and embraced, with nothing else occurring, she knew Zu An well enough to expect something more to happen before long.

Zu An ignored her and walked straight out.

Seeing he wasn't taking the bait, Mi Li lost interest in gossiping and couldn't help but ask, "By the way, the clues from the Qi Manor have now run dry. What's next? The deadline the Emperor gave you is almost here."

In her opinion, this trip to the Qi Manor had been completely pointless, as there was no way he could investigate the Prince of Qi.

"Even if the clues run dry, there's still a way to investigate the broken threads," Zu An said with a slight smile.

Mi Li raised an eyebrow. "Speak plainly!"

Zu An had no choice but to explain, "Actually, I've always had a suspicion, and this visit to the Qi Manor was merely to confirm it. My interaction with the Qi Princess Consort just now indeed verified some of my theories."

Mi Li frowned. She realized she still didn't understand, but to maintain her aura of an expert and avoid appearing unintelligent, she was too embarrassed to ask for clarification.

Fortunately, Zu An considerately said, "The key to this case lies with Xinrui. From the very beginning, I've been wondering why the mastermind would go to such great lengths to get Xinrui out of the palace. They bribed Ouwu, the Sima of Xuanwu Gate, and even relocated her family."

Mi Li, also an intelligent person, immediately reacted, "That's right. After the fact, they could have simply killed her and dumped her body in a pond. Many maids and eunuchs in the imperial palace die without a trace, and no one would investigate. To sacrifice a key figure like the Sima of Xuanwu Gate for a mere maid is simply not worth it."

Zu An nodded. "Exactly. So I've been thinking, the mastermind must have had an unavoidable reason for doing this. All investigations so far have failed to locate Xinrui. Although outwardly her fate is unknown, I'm certain she's still alive. If she were truly dead, there would have been no need to go to the trouble of getting her out of the palace just to silence her."

"Even if you know all this, what good is it? You can't find her anyway," Mi Li couldn't help but say.

Zu An smiled slightly. "Of course it's useful. Since Xinrui isn't dead, her family likely isn't either. If we can't find her, we might still be able to find her family."

Mi Li frowned. "Where did you learn to speak in such a convoluted way? Do you want me to slap you?" Although she didn't want to appear unintelligent, her curiosity ultimately got the better of her, and she decided to be more direct.

Zu An was speechless. *This woman is so fierce; no wonder even the First Emperor had to seal her away.*

He had no choice but to explain, "Do you remember when I told you about her family's situation?"

Mi Li frowned slightly. "Her mother is just an ordinary woman, and her younger brother..." As she spoke, her eyes lit up. "He's extremely addicted to gambling!"

"Precisely. People addicted to gambling can't resist for long; you'd sooner believe the sun will rise in the west than that they'd reform," Zu An said. "We previously sent people to investigate their hometown, but they hadn't returned. People subconsciously stay in places they're familiar with. Since they didn't go back home, I suspect they're most likely still in the capital or one of the surrounding counties. If we investigate the gambling dens in those areas, we should get some leads quickly."

Mi Li couldn't help but say, "This is just your conjecture. What if they went somewhere else and aren't in the capital?"

Zu An sighed. "One always aims for the highest probability when doing things; there's no such thing as a sure bet. If they really went somewhere else, then it's just my bad luck. But speaking of myself, there are two things that are exceptionally tough about me. One is my resilience; I've survived countless desperate situations, so how could I fall short on such a small matter?"

Mi Li secretly nodded, agreeing that his judgment was highly likely to be correct. "What's the other thing that's exceptionally tough?"

Zu An's expression became playful. "What do you think?"

Mi Li was momentarily stunned, then a blush spread across her pretty face. "You brat, how dare you flirt with even me? Believe it or not, I'll castrate that dirty thing with a knife!"

[Rage points from Mi Li +111+111+111...]

Zu An burst out laughing and quickly ran forward.

As he exited the manor gates, the other Embroidered Uniform Guards saw him running so fast and their expressions changed. They quickly drew their swords and surrounded him. "Boss, are you alright?" "Are people from the manor chasing you?"

Zu An felt a warmth in his heart. Although outsiders found the Embroidered Uniform Guards eerie and terrifying, after interacting with them for a while, he realized that many of them actually had warm hearts.

"Don't worry, this is still the Emperor's domain, after all. What can the Qi Manor do to me?" Zu An glanced at Mi Li. She felt his gaze, glared fiercely back at him, then transformed into a wisp of smoke and returned to the Taia Sword. Clearly, she was too embarrassed to talk to him again for a while.

Zu An smiled, and on the way back, he quickly gathered his subordinates to assign them tasks. Upon learning that the case had taken a turn, they were all invigorated. "Don't worry, Boss! With the intelligence network of our Embroidered Uniform Guards around the capital region, as long as he appears in a casino, he'll definitely be caught!"

Zu An finally breathed a sigh of relief. After parting ways with them, he changed back to his original appearance and went straight into the palace.

He hadn't even had time to report for duty yet today, and he couldn't let anyone suspicious harbor doubts.

Once he arrived at the Eastern Palace, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun quietly said to him as they passed by, "Brother Zu, be careful. The Crown Princess seems to be in a very bad temper because you were late today."

Zu An cupped his hands and gave them a grateful smile, then quickly entered the building to request an audience with the Crown Princess.

As he passed through the main hall, he happened to see the Crown Prince. He wasn't playing Go today; apparently, even though the game was simple, it was still somewhat beyond his capabilities, and he had lost interest after playing a few times. He and Eunuch Xu and Eunuch He seemed to be playing a market game, with the Crown Prince pretending to be a vegetable vendor. His prices for various vegetables were either ridiculously cheap or ridiculously expensive, and Eunuch Xu and Eunuch He dared not correct him, only managing to play along with forced smiles.

Zu An secretly sighed, feeling truly sorry for the two young eunuchs.

He continued to the study, where the Crown Princess was engrossed in a vast pile of official documents, a task that rightfully belonged to the Crown Prince.

"Greetings, Crown Princess?" Zu An bowed.

The Crown Princess remained expressionless, still writing on her documents, seemingly oblivious to his presence.

Zu An knew she was angry and intended to make him wait, so he wasn't annoyed. He just stood there, quietly watching her. With her elegant eyebrows, starry eyes, delicate nose, and cherry lips, it had to be said that the Crown Princess was indeed a peerless beauty. Even while working, she presented a beautiful picture.

Although she wasn't looking at Zu An, a faint blush gradually appeared on the Crown Princess's pretty face, clearly sensing his gaze upon her.

She lightly coughed, then waved her hand, signaling the nearby maidservants to retreat to the doorway. Only then did she glare at Zu An with annoyance, transmitting her voice with vital energy, "What are you staring at?"

[Rage points from Bi Linglong +55+55+55...]

Zu An smiled slightly. "Of course, it's because the Crown Princess is so captivating. Simply gazing at you quietly is the ultimate relaxation and nourishment for one's eyes."

The Crown Princess had been raised in seclusion since childhood, subjected to the strictest etiquette. Later, she was chosen early to be the Crown Princess, and no one dared to speak casually to her. She had never heard such flirtatious remarks from a "veteran" of later generations. In an instant, she lost her composure. "We agreed before that we wouldn't mention that matter again. Don't think you can use it to blackmail me or harbor any unrealistic notions."

Zu An shook his head. "The Crown Princess misunderstands. I have no other intentions; it was simply a pure compliment to a beautiful person."

The Crown Princess's heart skipped a beat, but she feigned composure and said, "Don't think that just because you say pretty words, I won't hold you accountable. Why were you late today? Do you know I urgently needed you for something just now..." She then recounted her encounter with Gold Medal Eleven and her worries about what he might have discovered. "It's infuriating that you weren't here at such a crucial moment!"

This matter couldn't be entrusted to anyone else to investigate, and the thought made her grit her teeth.

Zu An calmly replied, "The reason I was late was precisely because I was investigating this matter. The Crown Princess can rest assured, Gold Medal Eleven didn't find anything on us. He went to Ouwu's residence and found it empty; Ouwu's family had already left the capital. Then he had a conflict with Murong Luo, the Gate Commander at Chongwen Gate... and after that, he went to the Qi Manor..."

After hearing all this, the Crown Princess's face lit up with excitement. "So that's how it is! This matter truly involves the Prince of Qi. Hmph, hmph, we mustn't let such a good opportunity to target them slip away."

Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly frowned, her gaze turning incredibly deep as she stared at Zu An. "Why are you so clear about Gold Medal Eleven's affairs? Do you have some connection with him? Or... are you two the same person?"