The leader of the Yan Prince's Mansion was Prime Minister Sun Xun. When Zu An and Sang Hong went to Yunzhong County, they passed through Yi County and had a conflict with Sun Xun's son, Sun Ji, at Xiaoyao Tower. Because the identities of people at Xiaoyao Tower were kept secret, Sun Ji did not know that he was an imperial envoy. Relying on his local power, he planned to rob and kill him for money.
As it turned out, things didn't go as planned. They encountered a wicked master who double-crossed them and slaughtered Sun Ji and his group.
Sun Xun was both shocked and furious afterward. Based on the conflict at Xiaoyao Tower, he suspected Zu An. Fortunately, Zu An cleverly found out the culprit, thus preventing a conflict between the two sides.
Although Sun Xun outwardly accepted the result, who knows what he was really thinking?
After all, his son had a conflict with him first and wanted to deal with him, which is why he was taken advantage of by that evil master.
If someone is narrow-minded, it's easy to take one's anger out on them. The fact that they could raise such a bizarre and dissolute person as Sun Ji speaks volumes about their family's character.
At this moment, Sun Xun and his entourage arrived. Sun Xun dismounted and bowed to Zu An and the others, saying, "On behalf of the Prince of Yan, I have come to welcome Lord Zu and all the generals!"
"Your Highness Yan is too kind!" Zu An also cupped his hands in a polite response, while inwardly marveling at how this guy hadn't shown any anger at all, which showed how deep his cunning was.
At this moment, Prefect Zhang Jie, who was standing nearby, suddenly said with a forced smile, "Lord Zu and the others have come here for the Emperor's Fengshan ceremony. The Prince of Yan only sent you here, but did not show up himself. Isn't that a bit disrespectful?"
Although the Prince of Yan held a high position, Zu'an was in charge of such an important event as the Fengshan ceremony, and he was accompanied by the Emperor's personal guard, the Yulin Army. To some extent, he represented the Emperor, and according to etiquette, he should have come to welcome him.
These words immediately created an awkward atmosphere. Zu An had not expected that the conflict between the local officials of Yi County and the Prince of Yan had reached such an open level.
I didn't realize this because I didn't have in-depth contact with the officials of Yi County when I passed through Yunzhong County on my last mission.
Sun Xun replied calmly, "His Highness was naturally prepared to come and receive Lord Zu, but he had a distinguished guest at his residence and could not leave, so he specially sent me to greet him. In addition, His Highness has prepared a welcome banquet at his residence and invites all of you to attend."
Upon hearing this, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang both frowned. What did they mean by "distinguished guest"?
Doesn't this clearly indicate that the guest is more important than the group from Zu'an?
What could be more humiliating than this? The expressions of Prefect Zhang Jie and his entourage varied, with many looking on with amusement, hoping the two sides would turn against each other on the spot.
I heard that this Zu'an is a hothead who doesn't even give face to the King of Qi. He once broke the leg of the King of Qi's heir. There's going to be a good show today.
To everyone's surprise, Zu An smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble Lord Sun to lead the way."
He was just worried about not having a chance to investigate Mr. Huo, a guest advisor in the Prince of Yan's mansion, so how could he let such a good opportunity slip by?
The officials in Yi County were unaware of this, and their eyes widened in surprise. Many of them felt a sense of disdain.
Who said this guy is brave? I think he's just a coward.
Most of those rumors are false; they're probably just things the Crown Prince's faction deliberately spread to smear Prince Qi...
They each had their own thoughts, but Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang had different ideas: Lord Zu must have his reasons for doing this.
Having witnessed Zaun's exaggerated moves, they were now completely in awe of him.
Sun Xun was also taken aback, not expecting him to be so easy to talk to. A hint of contempt rose in his heart. He was just a rising star, how dare he put on airs in front of the Prince of Yan?
At the same time, he was a little annoyed. He had actually said those things on purpose to provoke Zu'an and make him do something irrational so that he could take advantage of the situation.
Yi County is the territory of the Prince of Yan and himself. Unless the emperor comes in person, who else can not control it?
Clearly, he hadn't fully recovered from the grief of losing his son. He had originally planned to take advantage of these opportunities to get revenge on Zu'an, but the other party didn't take the bait at all.
"This way, everyone!" Now that everyone in Yi County was watching, he had no choice but to lead the group toward the Prince of Yan's residence in the city.
Anyway, I've already humiliated the ancestor in public today, so I've gained quite a bit. There's still plenty of time, and I'll find another opportunity.
Prefect Zhang Jie hesitated for a moment, but still decided to go. He originally wanted to fight against the people from the court and the Prince of Yan, but now that the envoys from the court had backed down, what was the point of him persisting alone?
Let's get through this mission first. We still need to maintain appearances. If the discord with the Prince of Yan gets too serious and the court finds out, who knows what kind of trouble that will cause.
Seeing that he had agreed, the other officials in Yi County naturally followed suit.
However, it was impossible for all of the Imperial Guards to enter the city, so Captain Yang Sheng was responsible for leading them to a nearby camp.
Wang Bolin volunteered to stay behind, since military regulations stipulated that three senior officers could not be absent from the army; otherwise, if something happened, there would be no leader and it would be troublesome.
"Then I'll have to trouble you," Zu'an said encouragingly, patting him on the shoulder.
Wang Bolin proudly puffed out his chest, while subtly glancing at Zhang Zijiang. "You're good at flattery, but I can't outdo you in flattery. I can certainly outdo you in getting things done. Lord Zu is so wise and capable; he can surely tell who is reliable."
Sensing his provocative gaze, Zhang Zijiang sneered inwardly: "Idiot!"
Yi County is indeed a large city no less than Mingyue City. It is extremely prosperous and bustling. In addition to the local people, you can see merchants from all over the country, and all kinds of cultivators are everywhere.
However, seeing the large entourage of Zaun's group, many people still gathered around to watch along the way.
"Who has such great influence that the Prince of Yan's residence and the Prefect's residence would both come to greet them?"
"That person is so young yet he has such a high position. Could he be a prince?"
"Oh my, he's so handsome. If I pretend to accidentally fall in front of his horse, will it be like in those stories where a domineering prince falls in love with me?"
...
At this moment, two beautiful figures from the inn in the distance were also startled, and they put down their teacups in unison: "Why is he here too?"
The two women, one youthful and lively, the other mature and dignified, both possessed captivating beauty.
"Master, this is truly a destiny ordained by heaven! I must go find him!" the young girl exclaimed excitedly.
The mature woman's expression became somewhat unnatural: "Have you forgotten that our identities are shady? He has so many officials around him, how are you going to find him?"
"We can always go tonight," the girl said dismissively.
At this moment, the mature woman snorted: "Going to see him and the woman next to him showing affection?"
The young woman was startled, and then noticed Xie Daoyun next to Zu An. The two were chatting and laughing, and their expressions seemed extremely intimate.
"Ugh, I'm so angry!" The girl suddenly went berserk.
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