"What method?" Sang Hong asked hurriedly.
“It’s not certain yet,” Zuan said in a deep voice. “I need to go out.”
“Alright, I’ll stay here and keep watch, lest the officials in Yunzhong come and find out that Zuo Su is in trouble again.” Sang Hong snorted. “I’d like to see who will come running here the moment Zuo Su dies.”
Although an order had just been issued that no one in the know was allowed to leave the compound, this obviously did not include Zuan.
"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle." Zu An cupped his hands in greeting and quietly left through the back door.
As usual, they shook off their pursuers and arrived at the prefectural governor's mansion, which was now leaderless and in a state of great chaos.
Fortunately, Prefect Xu Yu was there to oversee the situation, which barely kept Yunzhong County running normally.
Upon seeing Zu'an's visit, he hurriedly came out to greet him, and then subtly inquired about the progress of Zuo Su's investigation.
Zuan naturally couldn't tell him the truth, so he casually replied with a few words before revealing his purpose.
“The Duke’s audio and video records? Yes, we do have them. The Duke recorded them with an audio and video stone when he presided over the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven in his early years. The government office has archives of them, but what do we need them for?” Xu Yu found it a bit strange.
Upon hearing the answer, Zu An breathed a sigh of relief and replied with a smile, "It's what Lord Sang needs, but I don't know the specifics."
"Could it be related to Lord Zuo's case?" Xu Yu didn't give up and continued to probe indirectly.
Zu An laughed and said, "Lord Xu is overthinking it. It's just to investigate the case of the missing Duke."
"Oh." Xu Yu nodded, but his heart was in turmoil. The other party didn't seem to care much about Lord Zuo's case. He still had the energy to investigate the missing Duke's case?
Or perhaps, Lord Zuo's case has already been resolved?
People in officialdom are adept at reading between the lines and they also tend to overthink things. Seeing Zu An's mysterious and unpredictable demeanor, Xu Yu had already imagined many possibilities, each of which terrified him.
Fortunately, the yamen runner who went to retrieve the audio-visual stone returned, and he composed himself and handed the audio-visual stone to Zu An: "Although this thing is not a rare treasure, it is the only one left after the Duke disappeared. Please tell Lord Zu to keep it safe and bring it back for filing after you have finished using it."
Zu An took it and examined it. Sure enough, it recorded the influence of the Duke of Yunzhong. He was overjoyed: "Don't worry, Lord Xu, I will return it to you intact after I've used it."
"Return the jade intact to its rightful owner?" Xu Yu was a little puzzled. He had never heard of this phrase before, but he roughly guessed what it meant. "Then I'll trouble you."
After leaving Xu Yu's place, Zu An made a special trip to Gao Ying's place, worried that he wouldn't be able to suppress that group of arrogant and fierce soldiers.
It turned out that he was living a pretty comfortable life.
Gao Ying chuckled and said, "It's all thanks to Lord Xu's help. He's come over several times these past few days to lend his support, which has helped me secure my position as county magistrate."
"Of course, it's also thanks to your Imperial Guards, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get anyone to come by myself."
"You're too kind. These are just external forces. In the end, it's your personal ability that allows you to hold this position." Zu An thought to himself, no wonder Xu Yu was able to befriend Xiao Yao. He must be one of the few steadfast members of the imperial court in Yunzhong County.
The two chatted for a while longer. Gao Ying asked about the situation at the military camp, but Zu An, worried about the news leaking, didn't tell him. He said, "You should take good care of the county troops here. Leave the military camp to us. We might need your troops in the future!"
"Don't worry, I will definitely win them over as soon as possible," Gao Ying said solemnly.
Zuan nodded, said goodbye, and walked down the street, pondering what to do next.
After having seen the image of the Duke of Yunzhong, I will practice copying it in private until I know it by heart. That way, if I am forced to do so in the future, I can impersonate him to break the deadlock.
Just then, he suddenly smelled a fragrance. Looking up, he saw a bustling restaurant not far away, with the three large characters "Guiyuelou" written in a flamboyant style on the signboard above the entrance.
Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly remembered the information Xiao Jianren had given him: before going to the Pei residence every day, the Prince of Qi would often go to places like Guiyue Tower to buy gifts for Pei Mianman. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but what if he was using buying gifts as an excuse to actually meet someone here?
So he went straight in, and soon a waiter came up to him. Seeing his imposing figure and the fine fabric of his clothes, the waiter's eyes lit up: "What would you like to eat, sir? Our Guiyue Restaurant is the most famous restaurant in Yunzhong County. If you can think of anything, we can make it."
"That's amazing! I'll have to try it." I haven't eaten anything all morning, so I might as well eat here.
Soon the waiter led him upstairs. Zu An chose a private room with a view overlooking the entire place from the window. After ordering a few signature dishes, he sipped the restaurant's special honey black tea while secretly observing the people coming and going.
Unfortunately, after looking around for a while, he didn't see anyone suspicious. When the waiter came to serve the dishes, he took the opportunity to ask, "Waiter, I think this place is quite nice. I'd like to buy your Guiyue Restaurant. How much silver would that cost?"
The waiter was taken aback: "Young master, you are joking. How could Guiyue Tower, such a thriving business, possibly be sold?"
“That’s not necessarily true. Many times, they won’t sell because the price isn’t right,” Zu’an smiled and tossed him a silver ingot. “Who’s the owner here? If I want to buy, who should I talk to?”
The waiter was surprised and delighted to receive such a large ingot of silver as a reward. He put it into his pocket with a fawning smile on his face: "Young master is really generous. Let me tell you a secret, even if you go to our boss, it won't do you any good. He can't make the decision on this matter."
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