The one leading King Yan’s side was Xiang Minister Sun Xun. Previously, when Zu An and Sang Hong had passed by Yi Commandery, they had come into conflict with Sun Xun’s son Sun Ji in the Hub of Freedom. Because people’s identities were kept secret in the Hub of Freedom, Sun Ji hadn’t known that Zu An was an Imperial Envoy, and had wanted to abuse his status as the local bully to kill him.
However, as the saying went the plans of the gods superseded those of man. Sun Ji had encountered a nefarious villain who ended up slaughtering his entire group.
Sun Xun had been shocked and furious. Judging from the conflict in the Hub of Freedom, he had suspected Zu An, but fortunately, Zu An had been able to discover the true killer, thus preventing a conflict.
However, even though Sun Xun had accepted that result on the surface, his true thoughts were unknown. After all, that had only happened because of his son’s clash with Zu An; that conflict was the only reason his son’s life had been taken by such a villain.
In such a situation, a petty-minded person would easily take out their anger on Zu An. Anyone who could end up with a prodigal son such as Sun Ji definitely couldn’t be not much better himself.
Sun Xun’s group quickly arrived before the others. They got off their horses and greeted Zu An’s group. “This one greets Sir Zu and the army in place of King Yan!”
“King Yan has shown us courtesy!” Zu An cupped his hands and replied courteously. At the same time, he was surprised that this man hadn’t provided even a single Rage point. Judging from that, he could see just how sophisticated Sun Xun was.
Meanwhile, Governor Zhang Jie suddenly put on a fake smile and said, “Sir Zu’s trip came about for his majesty’s Fengshan ceremony, and yet King Yan only sent you here without showing his own face. Isn’t he being rather negligent?”
Even though King Yan’s status was high, Zu An was in charge of something as important as the Fengshan ceremony. Furthermore, the ones he had brought with him were the emperor’s own Armed Escort Division. To a certain degree, they represented the emperor himself. Normally, King Yan should have come to greet them in person.
When those words were spoken, the atmosphere quickly turned strange. Zu An hadn’t expected the conflict between Yi Commandery’s local officials and King Yan to have reached such a level. He hadn’t interacted with Yi Commandery’s officialdom that much when he was just passing by en route to Cloudcenter Commandery, so he hadn’t noticed that.
Sun Xun replied calmly, “The king naturally wanted to come and greet Sir Zu, but an esteemed guest arrived at the manor, so he was unable to leave. As such, he sent me to receive all of you. Furthermore, my king has specially prepared a banquet for everyone, so I invite sirs to enjoy it together.”
Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang couldn't help but frown when they heard that. Who was this esteemed guest? Didn’t that imply the guest was more important than Zu An’s group? There couldn’t be a greater blow to their face than that!
Those in Governor Zhang Jie’s group had different expressions. Some had eager looks on their faces, hoping both sides would have a falling-out on the spot.
They had heard that Zu An was a stubborn and reckless young man who didn’t even give King Qi any face. In the past, he had even broken the legs of King Qi’s heir. They all felt that there would be something interesting to watch today.
To their surprise, however, Zu An simply said with a smile, “Then I’ll have to trouble Sir Sun to lead the way.” He had been worried that he wouldn’t have a chance to get to know King Yan Manor’s guest, Sir Huo. How could he let such a good opportunity go?
However, Yi Commandery’s officials didn’t know about that. Their eyes were wide open, and many of them felt a hint of disdain. Their thoughts went in different directions..
Didn’t they say this guy was really brave? He looks like a coward to me.
Those assorted rumors are probably fake. The crown prince’s faction probably spread them just to slander King Qi…
Meanwhile, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang had a different opinion, thinking Sir Zu definitely had his reasons for doing such a thing. After all, they had seen just how powerful Zu An was. They already practically prostrated themselves in admiration for Zu An.
Sun Xun was also stunned. He hadn’t expected Zu An to be so agreeable, which made him develop a hint of contempt as well.
Hmph, this is nothing more than an up-and-coming youngster. How can he put on airs in front of King Yan?
At the same time, he was a bit annoyed. He had actually said that on purpose to provoke Zu An and make him do something irrational. That way, he would have something to use as a pretext to start a fuss. After all, Yi Commandery was his and King Yan’s domain. Unless the emperor came himself, who else could challenge them?
It was clear that he still hadn’t gotten over the grief of his son’s death. He had planned to take the chance to get revenge, but he hadn’t expected Zu An to not play along at all.
“This way, please!” Sun Xun said. Yi Commandery’s officials were all watching, so there was nothing he could do. He could only lead all of them toward King Yan Manor in the city.
Either way, at least, he had managed to cut down this bastard Zu’s dignity in public. He had wanted to pick a fight with these people from the court at first, but now that they were all so frightened and cowardly, what meaning was there left if he persisted?
I’ll just take care of this task first. I still have to show them basic courtesy in public. Who knows what other annoyances might spring up if the conflict gets too intense and those from the court find out?
As Zu An had agreed, Yi Commandery’s officials naturally followed as well.
Still, there was no way the entire Armed Escort Army would be able to enter the city. Thus, Officer Yang Sheng took them nearby to set up camp. Wang Bolin volunteered to stay behind. After all, the army had a rule stating that at least one of the three senior officers had to be in the army. If something happened and they had no leader, things would become troublesome.
Zu An patted his shoulder and said encouragingly, “Then I’ll have to bother you for that.”
Wang Bolin stuck out his chest proudly. At the same time, he snuck Zhang Zijiang a look. You might be good at flattery, but even if I can’t beat you in flattery, I can work harder than you, right? Sir Zu is so heroic and outstanding, he’ll definitely be able to see who’s more reliable.
When he saw Wang Bolin’s provocative look, Zhang Zijiang sneered. What a fool!
…
Yi Commandery was a large and lively city that wasn’t inferior to Brightmoon City at all. Apart from the common people, one could meet merchants and cultivators from all around the world.
However, because Zu An’s group had such an impressive lineup, many people still came over to take a look.
“Just who could be so important that both King Yan Manor and the Governor Manor have to welcome him?”
“That man is so young, and yet he already has such status. Is he a prince?”
“Ah, he’s so handsome! If I accidentally stumbled and fell in front of him, do you think he would fall in love with me like in those romance stories?”
In a distant tavern, two beautiful figures sat in surprise. They both lowered the teacups in their hands, wondering, “Why is he here too?”
One of the two ladies was young and lively, while the other was mature and dignified. However, they were similar in that both of them were astonishing beautiful.
“Master, this is definitely a predestined affinity dictated by the heavens! I’m going to seek him out!” the younger woman said excitedly.
The mature woman’s expression became a bit unnatural. She replied, “Did you forget that we can’t show ourselves in public? He has so many officials around him; how are you going to meet with him?”
“Come on, I’ll just go at night if I have to…” the young woman protested.
The mature woman harrumphed. “What, just so you can watch as he flirts with that girl next to him?”
The young lady was stunned. Only then did she notice Xie Daoyun next to Zu An. The two of them were smiling as they chatted with each other, looking very close.
“Ahhh! I’m so upset!” the young woman screamed.
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