Everyone in the Jiang manor looked in the direction the sound was coming from. They saw that three groups of soldiers were surrounding the Jiang manor from different directions.

Compared to the light-armored troops that King Wu had brought with him, these soldiers were all dressed in heavy armor, with the ones at the very front holding large and heavy shields that were even taller than them. Their heavy and uniform footsteps seemed to crash down on people's very hearts, creating a harsh mood that made everyone in the vicinity feel rattled. Behind the armies were massive war chariots, bearing dozens of city siege crossbows and all sorts of rune cannons. They towered menacingly over the onlookers.

Jiang Boyang’s expression changed drastically. As someone who largely remained in the capital, he immediately realized that this force was the capital’s field army. More importantly, they had brought all manner of heavy weaponry with them, as well as a large number of formation masters. At this moment, the entire army was surrounded by several rune formations, something that the simplified version King Wu’s troops had brought forth couldn't compare to at all.

King Wu had only come to eliminate the Jiang clan, so the force he'd brought with him was already far more than enough for that. However, he hadn’t expected Zu An’s sudden return. In contrast, this army had clearly already received news of Zu An’s return and made full preparations. Whether it was the city siege crossbows or rune cannons, just a few rounds from them would be enough to raze the entire Jiang clan to the ground, let alone slaughtering the people.

Zu An also recognized the ones who had arrived. The one in the center was Zhao Han’s uncle, East Defense General King Yi, Zhao Huang. After the offensive against the Liu clan, his official position had likely risen again. The other two generals clad in golden armor were East Central General, Zhao Quan and North Central General Zhao Zhang. Their father was one of the eight dukes, Imperial Tutor Zhao Chen. These two were also Zhao Han’s uncles. After Zhao Han’s death, almost all the affairs of the royal family had been decided by them.

When he saw the deep hostility behind Zhao Quan and Zhao Zhang’s eyes as they looked at him, Zu An remembered that their father Zhao Chen had died at his hand. In the end, this was all because he had been too soft-hearted back then, not wanting to eliminate everyone involved. But now, these two had waited until he left the capital to start all of this trouble.

“Regent, release King Wu at once!” King Yi shouted. He was at the very center of the army and maintained some distance from the Jiang manor. He didn’t come close.

King Wu cried tears of joy. “Uncle, hurry and save me!”

“Release him?” Zu An smiled. “Sure.”

Then, King Wu fell to the ground. With a loud noise, a human-shaped hole immediately appeared in the bluestone floor. King Wu lay in the center, twitching from time to time. Blood trickled out of his mouth and nose, and his entire body looked like a pile of mud. There was only air coming out and none going in.

Zu An said gravely, “Out of respect for Yuqing, I will spare your life today.”

Of course, King Wu's life could be spared, but punishment and suffering couldn't be skipped. All of his bones and meridians were broken. Even with his cultivation, he could only barely stay alive.

King Yi was furious. “Zu An, what are you doing?!”

You have successfully trolled Zhao Huang for +500 +500 +500…

Zu An gave him a strange look and replied, “Didn’t you tell me to release him? That’s what I did.”

“You…!” King Yi choked. He was angered so badly that he almost inflicted internal injuries on himself.

From the other side, Zhao Quan said with a snort, “The regent is good with words, as expected. However, King Wu is from the bloodline of the present emperor, and also a respected king. The fact that you have treated him this way must mean that you plan to commit treason, no?”

Just then, Jiang Luofu said, “King Wu falsified an imperial edict and led troops to attack our Jiang clan. This is a crime punishable by death, so the regent has already shown lenience!” Ah Zu had come to help her, so she naturally couldn't let him face the enemy’s criticisms alone.

Zu An gave her a look of surprise. A gentle smile appeared on his face.

Zhao Huang’s group reflexively glanced at Jiang Luofu’s well-shaped thighs and the slightly ripped stockings around them.

No wonder people have always talked about Jiang Boyang’s daughter having the capital’s most beautiful legs. Now that we’ve seen them for ourselves, they fully deserve their reputation.

None of them were young anymore, and with their great authority, there was no lack of beautiful women around them. That was why their craving for women was usually fairly weak. But in that instant, even they felt the passion of their youth.

Zhao Huang was the oldest of them all and was the first to snap out of these thoughts. “Hmph, we have heard a bit about this matter. His majesty indeed issued the order, so King Wu didn’t carry a fake decree.”

Jiang Luofu harrumphed and raised the imperial edict next to King Wu. “This is clearly a blank imperial edict. What else could it be but a fake decree?!”

Zhao Zhang cursed, “Who knows what kind of blasted methods you used to replace the original with a fake? Everyone knows that the regent is fickle in love, and today, he must have come here because of his lust for your beauty. He is only shielding the Jiang clan for personal reasons!”

Everyone present couldn't help but give Yun Yuqing a look.

Why is Madam Wu standing at Zu An’s side? She looks like she's really intimate with him too.

No beautiful woman can escape Zu An’s evil clutches after all!

Jiang Luofu was an academy lawyer and had even studied the law because of her family. In terms of debating the scriptures, there was no way she would lose to anyone. However, the enemy didn’t debate in a normal way, and immediately left her stunned with that sentence. Her face heated up a bit and she didn’t know how to retort.

Jiang Boyang had seen his fair share of various experiences and was the first to recover. “Speaking in the interest of the public good, the regent and my humble self have acted as officials for many years and he understands this official’s character, knowing that I definitely wouldn’t participate in something like treason. Speaking out of personal interest, the regent and my daughter are good friends, and they work together in the academy with a relationship of master and disciple. It is not unexpected at all for him to help us.”

Jiang Luofu gave her father an annoyed look.

Even though Ah Zu is the libationer, I'm the late libationer’s student. What master and disciple relationship?

Of course, she knew her father’s intentions. He didn’t want her reputation to be damaged, and he didn’t want to bring Ah Zu any problems either.

King Yi said with a sneer, “Whether or not there is treason involved, is that something you can say yourself? We can find out whether or not King Wu falsified an imperial edict if you follow me to the Imperial Palace and meet his majesty.” He was confident that as long as Zu An agreed, he could immediately act to imprison the latter, under the pretext of him being a possible suspect as well. Dealing with him after would be much easier.

Jiang Boyang and Jiang Luofu exchanged a look. They both saw the worry in each other's eyes. They naturally knew that this imperial edict was the genuine article. Even though they didn’t know why such an imperial edict would be passed in the palace, it was most likely because these people already controlled the emperor.

If they went to meet the emperor, the Jiang clan’s crimes would most likely be set in stone. But if they didn’t go, wouldn’t that suggest the Jiang clan’s guilt?

Just then, Zu An said in a disinterested tone, “In my opinion, I don’t think there's much of a need for that.”

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“What do you mean?” King Yi frowned.

“Nothing much. If I say that Sir Jiang didn’t commit treason, he didn’t commit treason,” Zu An calmly said.

King Yi couldn't help but become surprised and happy to hear that. “His majesty clearly stated that he rebelled. Could it be that your words carry more weight than his majesty’s?”

At first, acting against the Jiang clan seemed to have been King Wu and the Bi clan’s intention, but they hadn’t expected Zu An to actually speak such disgraceful words just to protect the Jiang clan! They could just seize this chance to brand Zu An a criminal. This was an unexpectedly good turn of events!

Both Yun Yuqing and Jiang Luofu immediately understood the danger of the situation. They were worried that Zu An would say something rash and spoke up to advise against it.

However, Zu An raised his hand and gave them a look, as if telling them not to worry. Then, he looked at King Yi and the others. “I still haven’t settled things with all of you over the rebellion you all started, but you decided to deliver yourselves right to me. This is fine too, as it saves me quite a bit of time seeking you all out.”

Jiang Luofu and Yun Yuqing were speechless.

That’s what you meant by 'don’t worry'?

They were now really worried. Even though Zu An was strong, he was just a single person. The other side had a well-trained and powerful army that had come fully prepared!

King Yi roared with laughter. “Bastard Zu, you were hiding the ambition of a wild wolf after all and wanted to rebel!”

Zhao Zhang and Zhao Quan were both extremely happy. They had never anticipated such a great result on this trip. At first, they hadn’t known how to get revenge for their father because of Zu An’s strength. But now, it seemed that since he was courting death, they could just subdue him through the power of the entire empire.

They were already prepared. With a single gesture, the entire army readied itself for battle. At the same time, all kinds of combat formations flickered to life to prepare against a sudden attack from Zu An. Their men had been arranged in all areas of the capital, so any clans allied with Zu An couldn't come to provide assistance at all. This was the perfect chance to kill him.

King Wu Manor’s people also spread out to circle Zu An. When they saw that, King Wu’s four attendants were stunned. These people had just seen Zu An’s power, and yet they still dared to make him their enemy?

Wait, why do these people look a bit unfamiliar? They seem to be Madam Wu’s people.

Yun Yuqing was also shocked and furious. “Elder Rong, what are you all doing?”

The elder said indifferently, “My lady, that is something I should be asking you. What are you doing?!”

Zu An gave the dozen or so people around him a look. The lowest-level cultivator was a master rank, while half were grandmasters. They had likely used some special method to hide their auras and cultivation.

Rong was a rather rare surname in this world. He recalled Yun Yuqing’s Demon race lineage and what Princess Suolun Shi jad told him about the Demon race; there were four Demon race clans, surnamed Yun, Suolun, Rong, and Wu. These were all Demon race people.