Chapter 1665: Direct Confrontation

"Enough?" Xiao Jianren's face was ashen. My goodness, the Prince of Yan is a Grandmaster, and this is his territory! He has countless experts under his command and even his own direct army. A few of us wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap in his teeth.

He had always thought Lord Eleven was unfathomable, but that depended on who he was being compared to. This decision was truly rash.

"My Lord, shouldn't we consider this more carefully?" Xiao Jianren swallowed hard, thinking he should dissuade Lord Eleven from his impulsive idea. "The contents of this ledger haven't been verified yet. A single ledger can't bring down a regional prince."

Zu An shook his head, "Speed is crucial in war. He'll discover the ledger is stolen soon and will surely start destroying evidence. We'll control him first, then investigate according to the ledger's contents. With the Prince of Yan's manor leaderless, the investigation will be much easier."

"But what if this ledger is fake? Slandering a regional prince is a serious crime," Xiao Jianren made one last attempt.

"I investigated some things in Yunzhong Commandery before, and those parts largely match up, so this ledger should be authentic," Zu An replied.

Seeing his resolve, Xiao Jianren felt completely hopeless. He looked towards Zhang Zidong, hoping she would also speak up and try to persuade him.

To his surprise, he saw her looking at Lord Eleven with an expression of adoration, seemingly impressed by his heroic spirit.

He loosened his collar, puffed out his chest, and coughed lightly, "We Embroidered Uniform Guards naturally live on the edge of life and death. For justice, for the laws of the imperial court, we will press forward even if a thousand, nay, ten thousand men stand against us!"

Feeling Zhang Zidong's admiring gaze, he suddenly felt his embroidered uniform seemed even more vibrant.

Zu An gave him a strange look, wondering what was wrong with this guy.

Just then, Yan Xuehen motioned for him to come aside, indicating she had something to say. Zu An followed her to a corner.

"Are you really going to arrest the Prince of Yan?" Yan Xuehen asked with a frown.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Zu An said, then added, "I know your identity is special, Sister Yan, and I won't put you in a difficult position. The upcoming arrest operation doesn't require your involvement. Please return to Purple Mountain for now."

Yan Xuehen was a bit displeased; that wasn't what she meant at all. Her gaze fell on Zu An. "Aren't you severely drained of spiritual energy and weak all over?"

Given the strength he displayed earlier at the Demon Imperial Court, even if he couldn't successfully arrest the Prince of Yan, self-preservation shouldn't be a major problem.

However, he had just used his Soul Speech ability and was now in a weakened state.

"Oh, thanks to you, Sister Yan, for transferring vital energy to me and taking care of me, I'm feeling better. But it's still not quite enough, perhaps a little more?" Zu An said, sidling closer with a shy expression.

"Scram!" Yan Xuehen immediately realized she had been tricked and her expression turned cold.

Yet, she felt a slight urge to laugh. This boy was so lazy; she wondered how someone with Chu Yan's personality had ever taken a liking to him.

Zu An's expression was odd. This woman might talk tough, but she wasn't actually angry.

He quickly became serious. "Sister Yan, I know you're concerned about me, but you are the Mistress of White Jade Capital. It's not appropriate for you to be involved in the arrest of the Prince of Yan. Please return to Purple Mountain first; I'll come find you when I'm done."

"Who's concerned about you?" Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes at him. "And once you're done, go as far away as possible. Don't come looking for me."

With that, she turned and left.

Seeing her leave, Zhang Zidong quickly rushed over. "Why did she leave?"

The other mysterious woman had also disappeared at some point, and now this exceptionally powerful woman had left too. Their group's strength had weakened again.

"It's fine, the few of us are enough," Zu An waved his hand. "Let's go."

Xiao Jianren and the others looked pale, but since things had come to this, they steeled themselves and followed.

Each of them thought they were certainly doomed this time, only hoping that afterward, the imperial court would recognize their loyalty and bravery and properly compensate their families.

After they left, Yan Xuehen returned. She couldn't help but tap her foot. "This boy is truly overconfident. The Prince of Yan is not someone to be trifled with!"

Biting her lip, she ultimately couldn't rest assured and quietly followed them.

Meanwhile, at the Prefectural Manor, beautiful music played, and dazzling dancing girls entertained.

However, the atmosphere among the people at the main table was not very enthusiastic.

The Prince of Yan narrowed his eyes, looking at Zhang Jie opposite him. "It's rare for the Prefect to invite me to a banquet after all these years. I wonder what this is about."

Zhang Jie smiled, "You are a regional prince guarding your domain, and I am a prefect overseeing a commandery on behalf of the Emperor. We should naturally cooperate closely. Previously, there were some misunderstandings due to various matters, so I specifically invited the Prince of Yan to foster a warmer relationship."

The Prince of Yan smiled faintly, "Why do I feel, Lord Zhang, that this banquet of yours has some ulterior motive?"

Of course, he didn't believe the other party's words. Their positions were inherently opposed; there was no way they could simply reconcile. They weren't three-year-old children.

But he couldn't figure out the other party's purpose, so he could only keep probing while secretly signaling his subordinates to be vigilant.

With this extreme back-and-forth, the Prince of Yan learned nothing and grew somewhat impatient. There was no point in staying here.

So he stood up to take his leave, not changing his mind no matter how much the other party tried to persuade him to stay.

Zhang Jie cursed inwardly. He had already reached his limit in keeping the Prince of Yan here. He wondered if Lord Eleven's task was completed.

Soon after the Prince of Yan left his seat, a cold voice suddenly rang out, "It seems quite lively here."

Zhang Jie's eyes lit up, but he was also somewhat confused. Why was Lord Eleven here?

"Embroidered Uniform Guards?" The Prince of Yan frowned slightly, his gaze falling on Zu An, who was leading them—a Gold Token Guard!

"Didn't Gold Token Seven die? And you are?" The Prince of Yan had few reservations and asked directly.

"Gold Token Eleven." Zu An displayed the gold token in his hand.

The Prince of Yan snorted, "Are the Embroidered Uniform Guards so undisciplined these days? Do they not even salute when they see me?"

His tone was filled with immense arrogance.

Zu An replied calmly, "Under normal circumstances, one should indeed salute the Prince of Yan. However, today is a bit special. Prince of Yan, you've committed a crime."

The moment his words fell, the Prince of Yan's subordinates' expressions changed. They instantly drew their weapons, and the situation became explosive.

Zhang Jie swallowed, wondering what was happening. Hadn't Lord Eleven said he was going to investigate a case? Why did this look like an attempt to arrest the Prince of Yan?

Crucially, he had only brought a few people. Who was arresting whom?!

The Prince of Yan was first stunned, then burst into laughter, his booming voice making the tiles of the entire Prefectural Manor clatter.

He suddenly turned to Zhang Jie, "Aha, so that's why Lord Zhang suddenly had the 'kindness' to invite me over. You had this scheme in mind!"

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, there must be some misunderstanding here." Zhang Jie ceaselessly wiped sweat. How could he have known that Gold Token Eleven would be so reckless, carrying out an arrest right in the Prefectural Manor without even informing him beforehand so he could prepare?

Even if he survived this conflict, forcing the regional prince into rebellion would lead to his own demise as a prefect in the imperial court afterward.

His mind raced, already considering how to shift all the blame onto Gold Token Eleven when the time came.

Seeing Zhang Jie's ashen face, Xiao Jianren felt somewhat calmer. It seemed he wasn't the only one who felt this way; even the dignified Prefect felt it, which meant Lord Eleven was simply too audacious.

Zu An took the ledger in his hand. "The Prince of Yan is suspected of colluding with foreign tribes, smuggling military supplies, and maintaining a private army. Please come with us to cooperate with the investigation. If anyone else resists, they will be treated as traitors!"

Hearing his words, the Prince of Yan's subordinates all changed color. After all these years, the Emperor and the central court's power were deeply ingrained in people's minds; no one dared to bear such a grave accusation.

Seeing the ledger in his hand, the Prince of Yan's pupils contracted. He immediately understood that Zhang Jie had invited him here to lure him away from his base.

He shot a venomous glare at Zhang Jie, then snorted, "I don't understand what Lord Eleven is saying. Do you think you can frame me with some random book? What a joke."

As he spoke, the Grandmaster fully unleashed his aura. A terrifying pressure enveloped the entire Prefectural Manor. Those with lower cultivation directly collapsed to the ground, struggling to breathe. Even elites like Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zidong could barely remain standing, and as for any remaining combat strength, they themselves had no confidence.

Zhang Jie was also drenched in cold sweat, his expression changing erratically. He weighed whether to join Gold Token Eleven in apprehending the Prince of Yan or to side with the Prince of Yan and rebuke Gold Token Eleven.

Having contended with the Prince of Yan for so many years, the Prefectural Manor also had some trump cards.

"Some random book?" Only Zu An remained unperturbed. He opened the ledger and began to read, "...On the fourth day of the eighth month, eight thousand catties of refined iron were secretly transported from Yi Commandery to Yunzhong Commandery, then transferred to the demon race via the Flying Horse Merchant Guild... On the eighteenth day of the ninth month, one hundred thousand catties of rice traveled north by water to the demon race..."

He selected a few entries and read them aloud. Prefect Zhang Jie's expression immediately turned grim.

Even many of the Prince of Yan's attendants looked surprised and uncertain. After all, the Prince of Yan's smuggling operations were top secret, not known by everyone.

"Shut up, don't spread malicious rumors!" The Prince of Yan roared in fury. With a casual grab, an enormous palm instantly appeared over the ledger.