Chapter 1300: Conclusive Proof
Chapter 1300: Conclusive Proof
Pei Mianman panicked. She had still underestimated the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin’s ruthlessness in the end. She had thought that there was no way they would dare to expose that Zu An was Golden Token Eleven in front of so many officials. How could she have expected that they would take such drastic measures, to accuse her using a different method? That way, even if there was an issue, she wouldn’t have any more chances to speak.
Pei Shao also panicked. Once she was taken next door, Pei Mianman’s identity would be exposed. At that point, the Pei clan would be finished.
But now that Zhuxie Chixin had said such a thing and the emperor tacitly agreed, with the entire court watching, he couldn't even find any excuse to stop in anymore.
Just then, Bi Linglong said, “I feel that this plan is unsuitable. The Embroidered Envoy has always represented the dignity of the court, and the Golden Token Envoys more than any other. How can someone like that be randomly investigated because of some mere words?”
The officials could all tell that there really was something wrong with this Golden Token Envoy. However, what the crown princess said wasn’t entirely without reason. Another fierce round of debate started in the court.
In the end, it was Zhuxie Chixin who said, “Our Embroidered Envoy has always equated to loyalty and righteousness. We cannot allow others to bear suspicion against us and shake the prestige we have built up over many years. Comparatively speaking, what does an individual’s honor and disgrace count for? I trust that Golden Token Eleven can understand this as well.”
Pei Mianman wanted to shoot back ‘like hell I understand’, but Pei Shao quickly stepped forward to say, “In that case, this humble official will follow as a witness.”
At the same time, he said to Pei Mianman through ki, “You’ve already done everything you could, so don’t cause any more trouble, or else you’ll be exposed. It won’t just be me; all of your other brothers and sisters will be involved too. Is that something you have the heart to do?”
He wanted to find a chance to have a proper talk with her. He had clearly planned to marry her off to King Qi’s heir before; when had her relationship with Zu An become so good? She had even taken such a huge risk to help him. Even though he and Pei Mianman didn’t share true affection between a father and daughter for various reasons, they still had that relationship in name. When he thought about how the pretty daughter he had raised was actually so close to another man, he felt as if his clan had been robbed.
The officials on the court’s side all expressed their approval. Pei Shao was from the Pei clan, which was close to King Qi. Furthermore, neither Xu Yu or Sang Hong were that close to them. As such, there wasn’t a more suitable judge for the matter.
Pei Mianman was about to say something, but then hesitated. She really didn’t care about this father of hers, but after living in the Pei clan for so many years, there were many servants who had watched her grow up. Some brothers and sisters had even taken care of her sometimes. If all of them were punished because of her, how could she forgive herself for that? And yet, if she left just like that, wouldn’t Ah Zu’s fate be set in stone?
Suddenly, a voice rang out through the place, loud and clear. “I heard that this meeting was talking about me, so how can the main character be missing from it?”
Pei Mianman’s entire body trembled when she heard the familiar voice. She quickly turned around and saw an equally familiar face.
Who else could it be but Zu An?
Pei Mianman was pleasantly surprised. She had always wondered why Zu An would suddenly vanish, and she had even wondered if he really had done some irrational things after developing a fondness for the capital’s number one beauty. Now that she witnessed his return, all of her worries and nervousness completely disappeared.
Sang Hong’s body relaxed completely. He had only pretended to be calm the entire time before that. The others might have thought that Zu An was just temporarily missing and had a chance of returning, but he had known better than anyone else that Zu An really was over in the fiend race territories. That was why he had felt greater despair than anyone else.
Just then, he felt a chill run down his back. It turned out his clothes had already been drenched in cold sweat. Still, what he was the most curious about was how Zu An had managed to return in just a single night.
However, with their happiness came the disappointment of others. King Qi’s faction immediately hung their heads dispiritedly, with only King Qi remaining calm. Ever since he had realized that the emperor was also determined to condemn Zu An, he had begun to think about possible reasons for that. He wasn’t in such a hurry to eliminate Zu An anymore.
Xu Yu exclaimed in shock, “You… Why are you here?”
He was sure that it was Zu An who had rescued Yu Yanluo. Even though the message he had received from the fiend race territories was vague, it had confirmed that Zu An and Yu Yanluo returned to the Snake race together. So how had he manage to come back?
He thought about how someone had even had to impersonate Golden Token Eleven, and began to wonder if this Zu An was a fake. After all, modifying one’s appearance wasn’t entirely impossible.
Zu An laughed loudly and replied, “I’m a member of the Imperial Envoy who was sent to deal with Cloudcenter Commandery’s affairs. Isn’t it perfectly reasonable for me to be here? What, it almost sounds as if Sir Xu really doesn’t want me to be here.” At the same time, he gave Pei Mianman a look, gesturing for her to not worry anymore. The two were too familiar with each other, so he almost instantly recognized her as Big Manman.
Xu Yu's face darkened, but he didn’t reply.
The Censor-in-Chief Yi Chong had always remained silent after speaking up in the beginning. Just then, however, he spoke again. “Sir Zu has come at just the right time. The meeting today is precisely to discuss your breakout of Yu Yanluo and your betrayal of humanity to side with the fiend races. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“Of course I do!” Zu An replied loudly. The officials all perked up their ears to hear what kind of explanation he had to give. but who would have thought that he would shout, “What a bunch of nonsense!”
Yi Chong frowned. Thornsun Duke Zhao Shu scolded Zu An, “Sir Zu, this is the court session, so please watch your words. All things need proof. Do not speak crudely like those who live on the streets.”
Zu An harrumphed. “You want to discuss proof? You accused me of colluding with the fiend races and betraying the country, but did you talk about proof then? You’re instead hypocritically going to ask for proof now?”
Zhao Shu was left at a loss for words. He was someone from the royal family, and furthermore a glorious duke. Being criticized by a mere viscount was way too humiliating.
Fortunately, Xu Yu helped him out of the situation by retorting, “Do you want proof? That is easy enough.” He clapped his hands, and a few servants came over. He said, “These are servants from the Imperial Envoy. They usually prepare the meals for each room and do all of the cleaning. According to what they have said, when Yu Yanluo was being broken out of prison, you just happened to be missing from the room. You went missing when she went missing too. How could there be such a huge coincidence in this world?”
Sang Hong’s expression changed. No matter how careful he had been, it seemed that Xu Yu had still managed to plant some spies.
Zu An sneered. “Sir Xu, are you really a deputy leader? Why does it sound as if you’re not familiar with professional work at all? Can even something like this be considered proof?”
“This kind of proof is a bit flimsy, I admit,” Xu Yu said. He continued, “But I have heard from the guards who were watching Yu Yanluo as well. They saw everything with their own eyes, but even though they did not see the appearance of the one who broke Yu Yanluo out, his physique was identical to Sir Zu’s.”
Zu An roared with laughter. “The same physique? Chief Commander, even if it were the Embroidered Envoy investigating a case, could this kind of thing be used as proof?”
Zhuxie Chixin’s face darkened, but he still said, “That alone indeed cannot serve as evidence.”
However, Xu Yu seemed to have received some hidden hints. He continued, “Sir Zu has publicly spoken out for Yu Yanluo several times. You tried to save her even though her fiend race identity was exposed. That is something these officials from Cloudcenter Commandery have all seen. All of them are witnesses.”
The officials under him all voiced their support.
Bi Linglong said coldly, “Sir Xu’s claims have all been baseless accusations. If this alone is enough to condemn a court official for a crime, is that not attaching far too little importance to the court?”
She had more officials under her. When they all voiced their agreement, it was obviously enough to drown out Xu Yu’s side.
Zu An thought to himself that having a close female friend with so much authority really was great. It meant he had a lot of little brothers to help him out. As such, he gave Bi Linglong a smile in response. The others just treated it as the gratitude of a subordinate, while only Bi Linglong’s face turned a bit red; the real meaning of that look was something only the two of them knew about.
Eunuch Wen called out in a loud and clear voice, “Silence!”
The emperor then spoke. “What are all of you causing such a fuss for? If there is no new evidence, then Zu An is clearly innocent. This assembly will be concluded here.”
Sang Hong felt as if he had found a new lease on life. He really hadn’t expected this matter to have been fixed just like that.
He was about to congratulate Zu An when Xu Yu gritted his teeth and took out a confidential letter, saying, “I have more proof. My spy has braved death to send this information back from the Snake race territory. It records in detail that when Yu Yanluo returned, she had a human man at her side. His appearance was identical to Zu An’s, and most importantly, Yu Yanluo even intimately called him ‘Ah Zu’.”