While there are many guards protecting these important figures, the most trusted and confidants are relatively fixed, usually a small group working in three shifts.
These people were carefully selected; their cultivation level was secondary, the main thing was that they had a clean background and were loyal and reliable.
Of course, those who are ultimately selected cannot have too low a cultivation level.
Previously, Zu'an learned from that evil cultivator that one of the guards of the Duke of Yunzhong had run to the capital to seek help, but was chased down and killed to silence him. Unfortunately, at that time, the evil cultivator had only refined the remnant soul of the guard and did not know the guard's specific identity.
But if nothing unexpected happens, the other party should be one of the personal guards of the Duke of Yunzhong. The outer guards do not have the ability to know the secret, nor do they have enough loyalty to risk their lives to ask for help from thousands of miles away.
"Members of the guard squad?" Gong Pan was taken aback, clearly curious about his purpose, but still nodded and said, "Okay, I'll write one for you."
He found paper and pen, and as he wrote, he explained, "After the Duke's incident, this group of people gradually dispersed. After all, no one else would trust them, and they would all build their own factions..."
Zuan nodded in understanding. Just like in some companies in his previous life, when the next leader takes office, they usually dismiss the previous team of supporters and replace them with a completely new one...
"Where are all these people now?" Zuan asked curiously as he took the list and examined it.
“A few people came with me to Madam’s place, another group became disheartened and went home to live in seclusion, and yet another group stayed at the Governor’s Mansion, but were eventually marginalized and reassigned to other places,” Gong Pan explained.
Zaun patted him on the shoulder to comfort him; it was truly a sad state of affairs for the once-glorious Duke's mansion to have fallen to such a state.
At this moment, Gong Pan suddenly knelt down and bowed to him: "Lord Zu, please find out the truth about our Duke's disappearance and give everyone justice."
"Please get up quickly." Zu'an hurriedly helped him up. "This is my duty, and I will do my best."
Whether it was for the mission, for his friendship with Yu Yanluo, or to resolve his doubts, he was determined to find out the truth.
...
While pondering the entire case, he unknowingly returned to the inn, only to find that Sang Hong and the others had already returned.
Seeing his silence, Sang Hong comforted him, "Azu, you don't need to worry too much. We went to the Duke's mansion to check before. According to the people there, Madam Yu hasn't seen any guests for a long time. It's not that she's targeting us, so it's normal that you haven't seen her."
Pei You rarely saw him falter, and finally regained some confidence. Suppressing a laugh, he put his arm around his shoulder and comforted him, "Brother Zu, we all know you're incredibly charming, it's just that Yu Yanluo is a woman who won't listen to reason..."
Zuan nodded: "She really doesn't let anyone else in, but I went in."
“It’s normal that we didn’t go in, we didn’t go in either,” Pei You reassured her instinctively, but then something seemed off, and his voice suddenly rose, “You went in? Who did you go to?”
Zu An was taken aback: "Of course we go into Yu Yanluo, where else would we go?"
"Impossible, right? Madam Yu hasn't seen anyone for months, not even the acting governor Jian Taiding. How could she possibly see you?" Now even Gao Ying was starting to have doubts. Could it be that his elder brother was embarrassed in front of so many people and was deliberately saying this? After all, none of us could verify whether he had gone in or not; anyway, no one else could get in.
Zuan spread his hands: "Didn't I say that she and I are friends and have a very deep friendship?"
Sang Hong was also somewhat skeptical at first, after all, he had heard that even the emperor had been turned away when he wanted to see Yu Yanluo, so how could he possibly see her so easily?
However, remembering that Zu'an wasn't the type to speak carelessly, he hurriedly asked, "Zu'an, did you really see Madam Yu? Did you gain anything?"
"She seems to be in poor health and needs to rest for a long time, which is why she doesn't see any guests." Zu An didn't specifically mention that she was afraid of the cold. Yu Yanluo trusted him to show her her vulnerable side, so he naturally couldn't be ungrateful and reveal these secrets, lest they be used by bad people to harm her.
"In addition, she does not seem to live with the Duke of Yunzhong; they have always lived separately."
He even suspected there were problems in their relationship, but he didn't voice these suspicions.
"You even found out about such a secret thing?" The others were shocked. They had been investigating at the Duke's mansion for half a day. Although Yu Yanluo did not live there, they all thought that she had returned to the Yu family after the Duke of Yunzhong disappeared. They did not expect that the two had separated before the disappearance.
"In addition, a small number of people around the Duke of Yunzhong have followed Madam Yu, while the rest have been won over by Jian Taiding..." Zu An recounted the information he had learned from Gong Pan.
Now no one doubted that he had seen Yu Yanluo. Gao Ying hesitated, but Pei You was much more direct, hugging Zu An and saying, "Brother Zu, no, Master, please take me as your disciple!"
Sang Hong thought to himself, "The intelligence I gathered before indicated that this kid from the Pei family was a gloomy and introverted young man. How come he's acting like such a... goofball in front of my grandfather?"
However, Ah Zu's popularity with women is truly astonishing. It's one thing that he had relationships with women in the past, but he even had a relationship with a woman like Yu Yanluo.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but worry about his daughter. Although Qian'er was both talented and beautiful, she was not at an advantage compared to the eldest daughter of the Chu family or someone like Yu Yanluo. It seemed that he could only ask Dan'er to help her more. This was their unique advantage.
Seeing that many people were asking Zu An for advice on how to win a woman's favor, Sang Hong finally came to his senses and coughed lightly, saying, "Let's get down to business first. We just visited Jian Yanyou's steward at the Duke's mansion. Some of the information he revealed can corroborate what you mentioned, but it's not as detailed as what you have here."
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