“Oh?” Zu An asked. He hadn’t expected much from this side of the investigation. After all, Golden Token Envoys were always secretive when carrying out their missions, let alone when it came to their interactions with women. It was completely expected for Xiao Jianren to not find anything, and the fact that he had found something was actually strange.
Xiao Jianren stuck out his chest proudly, saying, “Recently, I’ve been skipping sleep and meals to look through the different files, and I even asked Sir Seven’s colleagues. Finally, I found some clues. At some point in the past, Sir Seven seemed to be especially attentive regarding information surrounding the Hub of Freedom.”
“Hub of Freedom?” Zu An repeated in surprise. That name was familiar to him. In the past, he had visited the place while passing through Yi Commandery. It was a mysterious money-squandering establishment, so it made sense for Golden Token Seven to have been investigating the place.
Xiao Jianren continued, “On a certain day before the incident, a colleague bumped into Sir Seven while he was talking to a woman about something. That woman was extremely beautiful, but what left the deepest impression was her smile. That colleague had never seen a sweeter smile. Just a single look at her smile made that colleague feel as if he had just eaten honey.”
He was a bit troubled as he continued, “It’s just a pity that was all we managed to find. We don’t know that woman’s identity at all. We wanted to get a portrait of that woman done, but that guy actually couldn’t recall her appearance at all. He only remembered that her smile was really, really sweet.”
The Embroidered Envoy, as a specialized intelligence organization, frequently captured suspicious people; thus, they had artists who specialized in drawing portraits of criminals. As long as there was a witness, they could draw a portrait with a seventy to eighty percent similarity to the person’s real appearance. However, that colleague had only remembered the sweet smile and no other traits. Even the most brilliant artist would be helpless in such a situation.
“I have an idea of who it is,” Zu An said. If they were talking about the Hub of Freedom, and a woman with a sweet smile… A familiar name appeared in his mind.
“Your respected self even knows about this?” Xiao Jianren replied in shock. Even Zhang Zitong looked at him with wide eyes. It was precisely because the trail seemed to have ended there that she had felt pressured to investigate the King Manor.
Zu An nodded and said, “I have something I need to take care of, and will take my leave now. Please don’t act on your own again in the meantime.” Afterward, he disappeared into the night sky.
Xiao Jianren couldn’t help but sigh in admiration as he looked at Zu An, remarking, “Sir Eleven really is mysterious and profound, someone to admire and look up to…”
In the past, Zhang Zitong would have just cursed him for being a bootlicker. But now, she actually felt similar.
…
Meanwhile, after Zu An left the meeting point, he went to the city outskirts. He still remembered where to go in order to visit the Hub of Freedom. Of course, along the way, he changed out of his Golden Token Envoy uniform. After all, the Hub of Freedom wasn’t some honorable place. If he went in his official uniform, people would just run away from him.
When he arrived at the meeting place, the person waiting was about to ask him for a secret code, but Zu An didn’t want to go through all that trouble and took out his jade badge. The other person initially looked prideful, but when he saw the number 333 on the jade tile, his expression quickly changed. He didn’t ask anything else and called someone over with an exquisite carriage, then invited Zu An to enter.
Zu An knew about the process already, so he entered. The carriage quickly began to move. He stroked the jade token in his hands. The Hub of Freedom had given him the token previously; it was roughly equivalent to the highest-rank VIP card. For the sake of safety, the transportation process was extremely complicated. Fortunately, he had the token to save him a lot of time.
…
After Zu An rested for a while in the carriage, it eventually came to a halt and the driver called out, “Esteemed guest, we’ve arrived.”
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Zu An got off the carriage. He was surprised to discover that it had stopped at a paved pathway; nearby was the sparkling and luxurious Hub of Freedom. Normal guests had to have their heads covered, and were taken through a long, hidden path before entering. He hadn’t expected the jade badge to bring him directly to the entrance.
Soon afterward, a beautiful servant came to welcome him, saying, “Esteemed guest, this way please~” After guiding him to a luxurious room and closing the door, the servant asked with a smile, “There is an auction with many precious items today. Does the esteemed guest want to have some fun?”
“I don’t have any interest in that. I’m looking for someone,” Zu An said, shaking his head. He had joined the auction last time, but that had only led to a heap of trouble.
The maid had an understanding expression as she asked, “Does our respected guest have any girls you are familiar with?”
If this guest hadn’t come to join the auction, and judging from his temperament, he didn’t seem like the type to gamble either… That meant there was only one possibility. She was even a bit eager to give it a try herself. If this person didn’t have anyone he preferred, she could just recommend herself. This person was a respected jade token guest, and he was handsome too. He wasn’t like the other jade token guests, who were old and ugly. If she could get on his good side, it would be worth it if he took her in as his concubine…
“I’m looking fora lady named Tang Tian’er,” Zu An said directly. At the same time, he was a bit worried. Tang Tian’er was apparently the first miss of the Zhenhai Merchant Group. She had only come here out of personal interest, so he wouldn’t necessarily be able to find her.
When she heard that, the maid was clearly a bit disappointed. She replied, “Tang Tian’er? There doesn’t seem to be someone with that name here.”
Zu An frowned. He thought that maybe she hadn’t used her real name, so he described Tang Tian’er’s characteristics to the maid.
The maid suddenly realized who he was talking about and said, “So our guest was talking about big sis Tang. But I fear that our guest will be disappointed. Big sis Tang has to preside over the auction and won’t be able to come. Additionally, she usually doesn’t receive customers…”
Zu An gave her a silver ingot and said with a smile, “You just need to tell her my jade token number. She’ll come here.”
The maid was a bit surprised, but when she sensed that his temperament seemed to be unusual, she didn’t dare to say anything else and replied, “Okay~”
Even though she hadn’t volunteered herself successfully, she was still happy about getting a silver ingot. But unfortunately, he’ll definitely be disappointed. Big sis Tang has never received guests. In the past, there were jade token guests who favored her, but it never worked out for them.
Zu An sat down and closed his eyes to get some rest. A while later, he opened his eyes upon hearing a flurry of hurried footsteps, followed by the door opening. A woman with a big smile appeared in his room. Even though this wasn’t the first time, he was still a bit taken aback by her sweet smile. That alone really was enough to improve one’s mood. No wonder the Embroidered Envoy had only remembered her smile.
“One of the girls told me, but I didn’t believe it at first. It really was you!” Tang Tian’er exclaimed happily.
Zu An replied with a smile, “Miss Tang, it’s been a while, but you’re still so pretty.”
Tang Tian’er harrumphed. “You really have no conscience. You’ve already seen everything I have, and yet you still call me ‘Miss Tang’ in such an unfamiliar way. Do you know that I gave up on presiding over the auction because of you? Who knows how much trouble that will cause?”
Zu An felt a bit embarrassed. Previously, when he was on the run in Cloudcenter Commandery, he had entered her room and used her bathtub to cover himself.
“Forget it. Out of consideration for the fact that you mailed me a set of Rouge Spice products and still have a bit of a conscience, this girl can barely forgive you,” Tang Tian’er said as she sat down right next to Zu An. She rested her chin on her hand and looked at him with her bright and sparkly eyes. It was as if she were looking at a cherished toy.
Zu An was so moved he almost shed tears. He had bought ten sets of Rouge Spice makeup, but trying to give them away had always gotten him in all sorts of trouble. Now, there was finally someone who recognized their value.
“Right!” Tang Tian’er suddenly smacked herself, seemingly having remembered something. She reached into her waist bag and groped around, then took out an air-dried flower before saying, “Those Blue Earthflowers you mentioned before? I was able to finally get some from the Fiend races’ Fox Merchant Group with extraordinary difficulty! I heard from the Fox Merchant Group that a group of thieves almost took it, so your luck is pretty good…”
Zu An had a strange expression as he heard her chatter away. The Fox Merchant Group? Previously, he had gone to the Fox Merchant Group in Bluefield Country to buy the flowers, but he was told that the last batch had been purchased by an esteemed guest. He hadn’t expected it to have been bought for him by Tang Tian’er… He felt warm inside and said, “Thank you, little sister Tian’er.”
Tang Tian’er’s pretty nose wrinkled. She replied, “Is a ‘thank you’ all I’m going to get? Why don’t I feel any sincerity?”
“Then what does little sister Tian’er want from me in return?” Zu An asked, smiling bitterly.
Tang Tian’er moved closer. The dimples around her smile were especially enchanting as she replied, “How about you devote your whole body to me?”
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