Chapter 1301: Harsh Interrogation

When Xu Yu voiced those words, not only the expressions of the people in the room, but also the expressions of the officials in the court changed. None of them had expected him to have such powerful proof.

Many people even felt a bit jealous. After all, according to what Xu Yu was saying, Yu Yanluo and Zu An had been extremely close, and the way they referred to each other was consequently extremely intimate. They couldn’t have expected the number one beauty, whom countless individuals pursued and yet had only been shown disdain, would ultimately end up in the arms of another man.

Just what kind of ridiculous skill does this Zu An brat have? He doesn’t have any family background, nor is his cultivation that outstanding. His looks can only be considered passable. How did he obtain Yu Yanluo’s favor?

Bi Linglong was also jealous. After all, Yu Yanluo was way too famous, and all of this was happening because Zu An had saved her. At that moment, in some absurd way, she felt as if she had caught her own man having an affair, and yet she was helping him clean up…

Pei Mianman also shot Zu An an unhappy look, thinking, This guy disappeared suddenly without saying a thing, and sure enough, he was having fun with another girl. Hmph, I shouldn’t have waited for you all worried day after day.

When he saw the continuous Rage points coming in, Zu An felt a headache. He quickly said, “I don’t understand what Sir Xu is saying. The Snake race territory is so far away, and even the forbidden Great Snowy Mountain stands between them. If there really was some information from that side, how would you be able to receive the message so quickly?”

He had the Wind Fire Wheels, and even then, he’d had to rely on a fortuitous encounter to return. How could a spy be faster than him?

“Perhaps Sir Zu might not know, since you are an official who came from the borderlands,” Xu Yu said with a chuckle. He hadn’t expected to be able to return the favor so quickly after being mocked. He continued, “Our spies in the fiend races obviously know that the distance is great. If some urgent matter arises, the trip there and back takes far too long, which can delay military affairs. That is why the researchers at the Royal Academy came up with a simplified version of the recording mirror. It can directly send written characters, and we can immediately receive it on our side.

“That way, activating the recording mirror does not require such a tremendous amount of ki stones, and it does not create the spatial ripples that will catch others’ attention when activated, which ensures the safety of those spies.

“The identities of those spies are all recorded in the Embroidery House’s top secret archives, so their loyalty is unquestionable. His majesty and Commander Zhuxie Chixin can personally confirm that.”

A commotion broke out when the courtiers heard the answer. Those who weren’t high enough in rank quickly asked what was going on, and the big shots began to explain the relevant systems.

Zu An’s expression changed as well. He knew there was a top secret archive in the Embroidery House, a place only Zhuxie Chixin alone could enter. Not even Golden Token Envoys had the authority to go there. He hadn’t expected that place to actually be hiding information on their spies.

After he heard what Xu Yu said about the simplified recording mirror, he thought to himself that it seemed similar to a telegram from his world. This world had actually used a different method to achieve the same result! He sighed, thinking that it was all because he didn’t truly belong to this world. He didn’t know many of the common things the people of this world knew, so sometimes, he had to suffer like this.

“If this kind of proof exists, why did you not bring it out sooner?” Bi Linglong asked. She had noticed that Zu An fell silent and thought he had been disturbed, so she spoke up to help him out of the situation while also buying him some time to think of countermeasures.

Xu Yu replied, “Reporting to the crown princess. The reason why it was not brought out was out of consideration for the spy’s safety. These spies have taken great risk to live in a foreign land, doing things that could easily result in execution. If they are exposed, they often meet incredibly cruel ends.”

He had initially thought that the other evidence was already enough to condemn Zu An, but he haidn’t expected that Golden Token Eleven to suddenly appear. Then, Zu An himself had actually appeared. Helpless to do anything else, he could only bring out his trump card.

At the same time, however, he had his own worries. Even though he was loyal to the emperor, if he offended the crown princess, once the crown prince rose to the throne, his prospects might not be that great. He secretly snuck King Qi a look. Should I maybe put some of my eggs in different baskets…

The others immediately began to discuss excitedly among each other. They felt great respect for the spies who had infiltrated the fiend races.

Zu An frowned. He said unenthusiastically, “Aren’t Sir Xu’s claims rather unrealistic? From what I know, the fiend races were defeated back then, and thus strongly reject humans now. There might be some races where human spies might be able to hide, but a fiend race like the Snake race has quite distinctive traits. How could there be a human spy who could hide there without being discovered?”

He had been thinking about the Snake race territory the entire time. He was sure that there were no humans there. After all, those who could hear what Yu Yanluo called him would have had to be quite close.

With Zu An taking the lead, the Eastern Palace’s officials all spoke up for him. After all, the question was completely reasonable and fair.

Xu Yu looked at Zu An with an ambiguous expression, and said, “Sir Zu seems to understand the Snake race quite well. Could it be that you visited them not too long ago?”

Zu An cursed him inwardly for being an old fox. This guy was ready to accuse him at every turn. He retorted, “Has Sir Xu never heard of the phrase, ‘I’ve eaten pork, but have never seen a pig run’? I am the crown prince’s chamberlain, after all. In order to not let down his majesty’s expectations or the crown prince’s studies, I’ve needed to learn all kinds of knowledge. After all, the fiend races are humanity’s worst enemy. The crown prince will definitely have to deal with these matters in the future, so I’ve studied them extensively.”

Based on Zu An’s tone, it was almost as if the crown prince had already been decided on as the one to take the throne. King Qi’s face twitched a bit when he heard that. He thought, Sometimes I want to work with this kid, but sometimes I really do want to just kill him already.

On the contrary, the Eastern Palace’s officials all nodded in agreement. The Imperial Secretariat’s Right Confidential Assistant Bi Qi, who had always been watching from the sidelines, thought to himself, No wonder my daughter was so determined to protect him. This fellow is indeed a talent.

Xu Yu choked. Faced with the criticism of the Eastern Palace’s officials, he could only explain, “Truth be told, this spy in the Snake race is not actually a human, but rather a Snake race individual that we have spent a large amount of resources to bring over to our side. This is something that the Chief Commander can find out if you investigate the archives.”

Zu An’s expression changed. He hadn’t expected that, just as there were traitors from the human race, there were also traitors from the Snake race. Who could it be then? It couldn’t be Elders White and Blue, could it?

Zhuxie Chixin nodded and said, “Indeed, that is the case. The reason why Sir Xu spoke ambiguously earlier was to protect the identity of that spy. This matter is top secret, so I hope everyone can keep it so. If news of it gets out, and something happens to that spy, our Embroidery House will have to invite all of you to the Embroidery House for a cup of tea.”

Those present shivered when they heard that. Being invited to the Embroidery House to drink some tea was definitely not a good thing. Many of their colleagues had never come back out after being invited over.

Thornsun Duke Zhao Shu said, “The proof is now conclusive. It is proven that Zu An has been bewitched by lust and betrayed the imperial court. Is there anything else that needs to be said?”

Sang Hong felt incredible regret. If he had known about that before, he wouldn’t have told Zu An to come back. He had thought that Zu An’s return would be able to clear him of suspicion, but who would have thought that Xu Yu had that kind of proof?! That meant Zu An’s return had just brought him right into a trap.

Just then, Pei Mianman spoke up. “Sir Xu’s report mentioned that Sir Zu was being intimate with Yu Yanluo in the Snake Race, right?”

Xu Yu frowned slightly, not understanding why she was asking such a thing. However, he still replied, “That is correct.”

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

“May I ask when Sir Xu received this piece of information?” Pei Mianman asked.

“Roughly a few days ago,” Xu Yu said. His expression changed, because he knew what she was trying to say.

Sure enough, Pei Mianman said with a sneer, “Then Sir Xu’s evidence is a bit contradictory. You claim Sir Zu was with Yu Yanluo in the Snake race territory, but as everyone knows, their territory is extremely far from Cloudcenter Commandery. There’s even the forbidden area, the Great Snowy Mountain, in between. Wouldn’t a trip from the Snake race territory to Cloudcenter Commandery take at least half a year to complete? How could Zu An possibly appear here then?”

Bi Linglong nodded inwardly, giving her a look of praise. She thought to herself, Zu An being perverted is one thing, but the girl he picked is another. She had been so flustered because of her concern that she actually hadn’t noticed that gap in logic.

Another round of chaos took hold of the court when those words were spoken. Even King Qi’s officials were confused. After all, traveling from the Snake race territory back to Cloudcenter Commandery within a few days really wasn’t possible.

Xu Yu was also at a loss for an explanation. However, he still braced himself and said, “Even though coming and going is impossible in just a few days, there might be some unknown hidden passage in Great Snowy Mountain.”

To be honest, even he didn’t even have any confidence in himself when he said that. After all, the Great Snowy Mountain was a place that was extremely famous. If there were any hidden passages, it would already have created a huge commotion.

He reacted quickly and thought of a suitable explanation. “The reason why Yu Yanluo was able to return to the Snake race so quickly was probably because she built some kind of transport formation in secret while staying in Cloudcenter Commandery. Zu An must have returned through a similar method.

“As this matter poses a risk to the safety of our entire country, this subject proposes for Zu An to be locked up and interrogated harshly in order to find out where exactly that transport formation might be. Firstly, this is to guard against a sudden attack from the fiend races, and secondly, we might be able to use that very formation to attack the fiend races.”

Bi Linglong immediately said, “Your majesty, please reconsider. The fiend races are not all unified. Marshal Qin is currently at war against the fiend races, while the Snake race has historically not carried many grudges against the human race. If we act rashly and pressure the fiend races into unifying, that will not be a good thing for our dynasty.”

The emperor nodded slightly. Then, he looked toward King Qi and asked, “What does King Qi think about this matter?”