Chapter 1570 – Ulterior Motive

“This cause does seem a bit ridiculous, but it’s unlikely to be false,” Xiao Jianren said, pointing at the scroll and continuing, “This is an independent investigation report issued by the Embroidered Envoy in Yan State. It matches what the local officials say as well.”

“How could a Golden Token Envoy just drown?” Zu An wondered. He still didn’t believe that result, let alone that it could happen to Golden Token Seven, whom he had met before.

“If it’s false, that means either the Embroidered Envoy system has been compromised, or the local authorities have colluded…” Halfway through his sentence, Xiao Jianren’s expression grew grave. He continued, “If that really is the truth, that is just too terrifying.”

As someone from the Embroidered Envoy system, he understood the Embroidered Envoy very well. Those who worked in their field didn’t need to have the greatest ability, but loyalty was number one. They were known to be the ones least likely to betray the empire. If all of the Embroidered Envoys in Yan State were colluding with the local authorities, it went without saying what that implied.

“It might not be that bad,” Zu An said. When he saw how Xiao Jianren looked as if he were facing a great enemy, he laughed and continued, “I interacted with Golden Token Seven last time in Yi Commandery. If there had been something wrong with the local Embroidered Envoys, he would definitely have asked me for help.”

Xiao Jianren sighed in relief and said, “That’s good then.”

If there really were something wrong with all of the Embroidered Envoys in Yan State, that would be world-shaking.

Zu An then said, “If most of the Embroidered Envoys in Yan State are still dependable, Golden Token Seven’s death becomes quite interesting.”

Xiao Jianren nodded. He was someone who had climbed up from the lowest level, and he had much more experience in dealing with cases than Zu An. He quickly analyzed the details and said, “There are several possibilities. The first is that Golden Token Seven didn’t actually die from drowning, but he was just made to look as if he did. However, there were so many Embroidered Envoys there, so there’s no way they couldn’t detect his cause of death. So, that possibility isn’t very likely.”

Zu An rolled his eyes and replied, “Aren’t you just stating the obvious there?”

Xiao Jianren then said, “Of course not. There’s quite a bit of room for foul play here. For example, a Golden Token Envoy could be knocked unconscious first, or have his movement restricted, before being thrown into the water. If that were investigated, his cause of death would be drowning. As for the drug that might have rendered him unconscious, it could have disappeared as time went on, or the individuals involved could have covered it up quite easily. THat would be much easier than changing something like the cause of death.”

Zu An felt admiration as he listened. As expected, only a veteran like Xiao Jianren would know the reasoning behind the case. He asked, “So you’re implying that there are still some Embroidered Envoys who have betrayed us in Yan State?”

Xiao Jianren nodded and said, “If my suspicions are right, there should be. There shouldn’t be too many of them, but their statuses definitely can’t be low. Otherwise, it would have been hard to cover all of these things up.”

Just then, he suddenly cried out in surprise, exclaiming, “Wait! Why does this Blackwater Pool look a bit familiar?”

Xiao Jianren suddenly ran over to the archive room in a hurry. Then, he returned with a stack of files. After flipping through them, he said, “It is the one I remembered after all! Ningzhi County’s Three Rivers Village, located south of Yi Commandery, has a Blackwater Pool. Those who pass by occasionally go missing and drown, with quite a few cultivators among them. The local officials have never been able to find out the reason why, causing all kinds of strange legends to come from this place.”

“Even we couldn’t find out the reason?” Zu An asked, stunned. “Is there some kind of monster hiding there?”

Xiao Jianren shook his head and said, “Some Embroidered Envoys, as well as people from the academy, were invited to investigate the area. Their searches all resulted in the conclusion that it was just a normal pool, and that it was just a bit deeper than usual at most. They didn’t notice anything strange. Later, they found some local rogues who had committed bad deeds because of money, and those people seemed to have made up all sorts of strange rumors to escape from their crimes. From then on, that situation was just ignored.”

Zu An said seriously, “Either way, a normal cultivator could be done in by ordinary people, but that’s impossible for a Golden Token Envoy.”

“Unfortunately, there’s just not enough information. We have to investigate the scene of the crime to know more,” Xiao Jianren said. He flipped through the file, but couldn’t find any new information.

Zu An said, “Then you should spend a few days collecting the corresponding material. When the time comes, you’ll come with me on a trip to Yi Commandery.”

“Understood!” Xiao Jianren replied, his eyes lighting up. He finally had a mission! He was so bored that he had almost started growing mold.

When he left the Embroidery House, Zu An changed his clothes. He was just about to leave the Imperial Palace when Little Zhuo sought him out, saying, “Sir Zu, her highness is calling you over.”

Zu An was a bit shocked. This empress really was daring! The emperor was already investigating them, and yet she still kept inviting him. He wanted to refuse at first, but after thinking about it for a bit, he figured that seeing as he was about to leave the capital, this woman could start some trouble if he didn’t make things clear.

He realized that he couldn’t really read the empress. She seemed to carry a strange madness deep within her, to the point that he wouldn’t be surprised no matter what he ended up hearing about her.

…

Soon after, Little Zhuo arrived in front of the empress’ chambers. He invited Zu An inside, but remained outside to guard the entrance.

Zu An nodded toward him with a smile. Along the way, he had discovered that this lesser eunuch seemed to be especially attentive toward him. Zu An came from a modern world, so he wouldn’t look down on others the way the people of this world did. His attitude was naturally nicer than that of most others too.

When he entered the palace, he saw the empress dressed in white casual clothing, practicing her cultivation. Time hadn’t left any traces on her body. Her abdomen was as smooth as a young lady’s, and her body was soft and graceful. Rather than describing it as training, it looked more as if she were carrying out an elegant dance.

With Zu An’s insight, he could tell that the empress was practicing a very profound martial skill. It was only because the empress’ ki flow wasn’t strong enough to support the complete display of this skill that she had to resort to a slower sequence of movements.

When she saw Zu An enter, the empress smiled. She gestured toward him and said, “Come over here and help me raise my leg.”

Zu An had a strange expression. He walked next to her, and then under her guidance, he raised one of her calves until she was standing on a single leg. The other leg pointed straight toward the roof, her two legs forming a vertical line. Then, her arms slowly extended to either side, forming a cross. From the side, it suddenly became a bit hard to tell which limb was an arm and which one was a leg.

Zu An was quite shocked by her flexibility, but the empress suddenly sighed and said, “Sigh, I’ve still gotten old. I could do this without anyone’s help in the past.”

“Your highness is injured. Your meridians were damaged for so many years, so it’s natural for you to experience some setbacks. However, it’s clear that you’re recovering quickly,” Zu An said. He had only used a bit of strength to help her. It was still mainly because of her that she was able to achieve such a stance.

The empress turned to him and showed him a charming smile, saying, “This was largely thanks to your efforts.”

Zu An felt himself tremble. This woman really is an alluring lady. Looking at the astonishing scene in front of him made it take quite a bit for him to calm down again. He asked, “Um… can your highness come down for now?”

The empress shook her head slightly and said, “My skill is a bit special and requires me to maintain this stance. I finally have some hope of recovering, so I can’t be lazy.”

There was nothing Zu An could do. He could only say, “Right, I came to tell your highness something. I’ll need to leave the capital soon.”

“Are you going to Violet Mountain?” the empress asked. However, she didn’t seem surprised at all.

Zu An asked in surprise, “Your highness already knew?”

After all, the emperor had just told him about that, and yet she already knew about it so quickly. He had still underestimated the power of the empress in this palace.

“It wasn’t too hard to guess. Zhao Han doesn’t have many people he can make use of at his side. There’s no one more suitable than you,” the empress said with a chuckle, but she turned serious again soon afterward. She said, “You need to be careful this time. This matter definitely isn’t as simple as you imagine it to be.”

Zu An was surprised, saying, “I hope your highness can give me some pointers.”

However, the empress simply smiled and didn’t reply to his request. She said, “You’ll leave soon, and we’ll be apart for a long time again. Why not use this chance to come and give me a bit more guidance? Lend my recovery a helping hand?”

Zu An had a strange expression. Why did he feel as if he had to sell his body to obtain intelligence. After a while, he asked, “How do I give you guidance?”

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“Just like this. I’ve already prepared myself. This time, I want to see if I can use my old technique with your help,” the empress said. Her eyes had a soul-hooking allure to them.

When he saw the woman standing in a cross position, Zu An was briefly stunned.