"I, a dignified gold-medal embroiderer, can't even get into the Embroidery Tower prison?" Zu An's face darkened, and an inexplicable aura emanated from him.

The guards gasped for breath; they dared not stop him.

Zuan pushed aside the hands of the people who were trying to stop him and barged into the cell.

Many guards looked distressed, and some quick-witted ones ran outside, seemingly to inform someone.

Zuan noticed but did not stop him; instead, he walked inside with a livid expression.

Xiao Jianren was his subordinate, but now he's been imprisoned. It's clear they're slapping him in the face.

"Where is Lord Xiao?" he asked the jailer he had brought here.

"He's... over there." The jailer was terrified. Everyone said that the Eleventh Lord was placed in the prison through connections and that his cultivation level was nothing special. Why was it that he couldn't escape even when the jailer grabbed him so easily?

They quickly passed through a long corridor and arrived at a cell at the end.

Looking through the bars, one could see a gray-clad prisoner bound to a wooden frame like a cross, his body covered in tattered bloodstains. Through the torn clothes, one could see the bloody wounds, many of which were rotting flesh, and in some places, maggots could even be seen wriggling inside.

Despite his bowed head and disheveled hair, Zu'an immediately recognized him as Xiao Jianren.

Enraged, he took a step forward, causing the entire prison door and its bars to collapse inward.

Xiao Jianren slowly raised his head, but due to his severe nearsightedness and the fact that his cultivation was now sealed, his vision was blurry.

Zu An flashed to his side, and without any apparent movement, the chains on the rack snapped. He helped Xiao Jianren down, saying, "I'm late."

"Eleventh Master, Eleventh Master?" Xiao Jianren, who was still somewhat confused, finally recognized his voice, and his cloudy eyes immediately filled with tears.

Zuan took out a healing pill and fed it to him, while continuously channeling his vital energy into his body: "Don't speak, just focus on regulating your breathing."

Feeling a surge of vital energy flowing into his body, and as it passed through, all the restrictions within him melted away like snow meeting the blazing sun. Xiao Jianren's previously anxious heart was finally put at ease.

However, he was too badly injured and is now extremely weak. He is even unable to circulate his internal energy on his own for a short period of time and can only rely on Zu'an to help him recover.

Sensing his current physical condition, Zu An looked coldly at the jailer and asked, "Since when has the Embroidered-Robed Envoy used torture on his own people?"

The jailer hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Excellency, please forgive us. We were just following orders and had no authority to make decisions."

"Whose orders do you take?" Zuan asked coldly.

Those people began to stammer, as if they dared not utter the other's name.

"Listen to my command!" came an arrogant voice.

A series of orderly footsteps echoed in the cell as two teams of fully armed embroidered-robed messengers jogged down the stairs and surrounded the cell.

"Enforcement Team!" The jailer and the others' expressions changed. This was the most elite force among the Embroidered-Robed Envoys, usually controlled by the Grand Commander.

Each of them possessed strength approaching that of a regular silver-medal embroidered uniform. After accumulating experience and merit, silver-medal embroidered uniforms were often selected from among them, demonstrating the strength of the enforcement team.

Immediately afterwards, a middle-aged man with distinctive silver embroidery on his clothes slowly walked down.

"Bu Liangcai, what crime did Xiao Jianren commit?" Zu An recognized the man. Back in the embroidery tower, this man considered himself senior and, being a follower of Zhu Xie Chixin, did not give him any face.

"What crime did he commit?" Bu Liangcai frowned slightly as he looked at the collapsed prison wall, but he quickly calmed down when he thought of his cultivation level and the law enforcement team around him. "Such a big thing happened in Zishan. Shouldn't those responsible for checking for danger in advance be held accountable?"

"To put it mildly, it's dereliction of duty; to put it more seriously, who knows if he colluded with those traitors to assassinate the Emperor?" Bu Liangcai paused, then looked coldly at Zu An. "Not to mention him, even you, Eleventh Lord, must be investigated. Guards, seize the suspect!"