Meanwhile, Zuan slept until noon and felt refreshed when he woke up.
The servants at the inn prepared fruits and snacks. Looking at the various kinds of meat, Zu An thought to himself, "As expected of the Northwest, even the snacks here are much more lavish."
He dealt with it casually, since he wasn't particular about the food anyway.
After a while, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. It turned out that Sang Hong and his group had returned.
"Not going well?" Zuan noticed that the others didn't look too good and asked curiously.
Sang Hong hummed in agreement, and Pei You, who was standing to the side, spoke up first: "We went to the Yu residence and waited there for ages, only to be told that Madam Yu was unwell and wouldn't see any guests. It really made us furious!"
They were so eager to catch a glimpse of this most beautiful woman that they even planned how to present themselves in front of her to leave a lasting impression. But they were turned away and were left feeling quite depressed.
"Could he be under house arrest by that Jian Taiding?" Zu'an asked curiously, which was also everyone's previous guess.
Sang Hong shook his head and said, "I thought Yu Yanluo lived in the Duke's mansion before, but after inquiring, I found out that she has always lived in the Yu family mansion. She is the person in charge of the Yu family in Yunzhong County. The Yu family mansion is basically full of her own people. Who can imprison her?"
Gao Ying also smiled wryly and said, "In the end, it's because she doesn't want to see us. The key is that she has a special status and is a woman, so there's really nothing we can do."
"Without seeing Yu Yanluo, there's no way to investigate the Duke's disappearance. Only she, as the Duchess, knows the most about many things," Pei You complained.
Sang Hong also frowned: "I can't understand why she's refusing to see us. Does she not want us to find the murderer?"
Zu An's heart skipped a beat, recalling Qiu Honglei's warning in Yi County. She had said that Yu Yanluo was not the harmless little white flower that people imagined.
He pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "I'll go and visit her and see what happens."
“It’s no use. Even Lord Sang was turned away just now,” Pei You said, putting his arm around his shoulder.
"Indeed, a few years ago, Yu Yanluo was so famous for her beauty that many nobles and princes in the capital wanted to see her, but none of them could. Some young men who considered themselves talented went there with great confidence, but they were also turned away." Gao Ying recounted the stories he had heard in the capital back then.
Although Zuan knew that Yu Yanluo was popular, he did not expect her to be this popular. The key was that, according to other people, she had an extremely aloof image, but he had not felt that way before: "I think she will see me. I am quite familiar with her."
As soon as he said this, the surroundings immediately fell silent. Gao Ying, Pei You, and the others looked at him with extremely strange eyes, and Sang Hong hesitated several times before speaking.
In the end, Gao Yingwen said earnestly, "Brother Zu, we know you've always been popular with women, but Yu Yanluo is no ordinary woman. There's no need to waste your energy making another trip."
Pei You echoed in agreement, and even Sang Hong said in a deep voice, "If we can't find Yu Yanluo, we can only start our investigation from the other members of the Jian family."
Although the group phrased it tactfully, their meaning was clear: they all thought Zu'an was bragging.
Who is Yu Yanluo? When she was the most beautiful woman in the capital, you were probably still breastfeeding. How could she be familiar with you?
However, out of consideration for his feelings, no one pointed it out.
Zuan grunted, "I'll give it a try, I won't lose anything anyway."
The group assumed he was just too proud to admit it and didn't say anything. They figured he'd regret it once he faced setbacks, and that they shouldn't laugh at him because of their past friendship.
And so the group parted ways. Sang Hong and the others went to the Jian family to inquire about information, while Zu An went to find Yu Yanluo alone.
The Yu family is not hard to find. The most luxurious and magnificent house in the entire Yunzhong County is not the Prefect's Mansion, not the City Lord's Mansion, and not even the Duke of Yunzhong County's Mansion, but the Yu Mansion, which has accumulated hundreds of years of history here.
Rumor has it that half of the land in the entire Cloud City belongs to the Yu family.
Although it's somewhat exaggerated, it does illustrate the influence of the Yu family in Yunzhong County.
Arriving in front of a magnificent mansion, Zuan was somewhat dazed, feeling as if he had come to a small palace.
No wonder the emperor was so wary of the Yu family; it was really an exaggeration.
Back then, the Chu family ran a salt and iron business in Bright Moon City and was known for their immense wealth, but compared to the Yu family, they were clearly a level below.
Upon arriving at the entrance, he said to the guards, "Please inform your mistress that an old friend from Jackal Valley on the outskirts of Brightmoon City has come to visit her."
The guard glanced at him a few times, then casually waved his hand: "Go away, go away. Our lady is unwell and has been declining to see guests recently."
Having worked as a gatekeeper for so long, he had seen countless people come up with all sorts of strange and unusual reasons to get close to the lady.
This young man is so young, he barely has any hair on his lip. Would the lady be friends with him?
All the guards of the Yu family have a natural sense of duty, feeling that they must protect the lady and prevent bad people from getting close.
This feeling became even stronger after the incident involving the Duke of Yunzhong.
Zuan was somewhat dazed. The scene before him seemed familiar. Back in the Yu family branch in Mingyue City, when he went to find Yu Yanluo, he was also harassed by the gatekeeper.
However, his mindset was completely different now, and he showed no anger whatsoever: "I'm not lying. I still have the token your wife gave me here. Take it in and announce my arrival..."
He suddenly froze halfway through his speech, because he remembered that back in the capital, Yu Yanluo had already taken back the jade pendant she had given him.
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