Not long after Zu An came out of the room, a figure standing in the distance turned and walked towards him: "I have met Mr. Zu. I am Gong Pan. Madam said you have something to ask me."
"Master Gong is serious, I just want to ask some questions." Zu An carefully looked at the middle-aged man in front of him. He had a strong body and sharp eyes. He could tell that his cultivation level was not low. He also had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he looked like that.
He is a mature and prudent person. There is a scar like a horned dragon from his chin to his neck, which adds a bit of toughness to his whole person.
Because he took a second look, Gong Pan subconsciously touched the scar: "This was stabbed by a demon master back then. If it had been even half an inch off, I'm afraid my bones would have been cold."
"Sorry." Zu An was a little apologetic, after all, his look just now was indeed a bit impolite.
"It's okay," Gong Pan smiled openly, "Everyone who sees me for the first time will look here. This is not a shame to me, but a glorious mark, proving that I fought a bloody battle with the monsters head-on.
, I just left such injuries.”
"General Gong can save his life despite such injuries. If you survive a disaster, you will be lucky." Zu An also lamented that this sword was too dangerous.
"I don't care if I'm lucky or not, I just want nothing to happen to the Duke." Gong Pan's tone suddenly dropped, "Thanks to the Duke pulling me an inch to the side, I was able to avoid this fatal blow.
It’s a pity that although I’m still alive now, the Duke’s fate is unknown.”
Zu An was disturbed and took the opportunity to ask: "What happened to your county prince?"
Local officials have investigated related cases before and submitted reports to the court. Unfortunately, many details are unclear and the logic is inconsistent. It is obviously not as useful as asking those who have experienced it personally.
Gong Pan hesitated for a while, then said after a while: "Since Madam asked me to come, it proves that Mr. Zu is a trustworthy person, please come with me."
As he spoke, he led Zu An to an empty courtyard. There was no one around to eavesdrop, and then he said: "The whole incident of the disappearance of the county prince is very strange. At that time, the county prince had been in seclusion, but when he came out of seclusion,
He has been silent for a few days, and at first everyone didn't take it seriously. After all, practitioners may not come out of seclusion on time."
"But after ten days, there was still no movement in the retreat place. So everyone tried to ask the county official when he would come out, but no one knew there was no response at all."
"Only then did everyone realize that the door was not locked and that the building was empty."
"At first, everyone thought that the county prince had left confinement early and went to another place. This kind of thing had happened before. Who knew that after several months, the county prince never came back, and the people in the house realized that something might have happened."
"We sent many people around to look for where the Duke might have gone, but unfortunately we never found it. In the entire Yunzhong County, and even in the surrounding counties, although some people occasionally claimed to have seen the Duke appear, after our investigation, it was all for
Just talking nonsense to get bounty money."
"Another six months passed like this, and the county prince still didn't show up. Only then did everyone realize that something might have happened to him."
When he said this, the bones of his fingers crackled, and he was obviously very excited.
Zu An asked in a deep voice: "Who was the Duke I last saw and when was it?"
Gong Pan thought for a while and replied: "There were many people who saw the Duke at the end. At that time, the Duke invited the Second Master to drink at his house. There were many maids and servants waiting on him. I was also present and saw them all."
"You've been here all this time? And then you saw with your own eyes that he went into seclusion after drinking wine?" Zu An felt a little weird. How could anyone go into seclusion after drinking wine?
"That's not true," Gong Pan replied, "We were all nearby at first, but later the county prince wanted to talk to the second master about some confidential matters, so he asked us to retreat far away. Although we didn't see it with our own eyes later.
, but through the shadow of the window, one can see the two of them drinking and mingling, and there are also conversations and laughter from time to time.”
Zu An frowned. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, there would be a lot of room for manipulation.
So many detective novels in previous lives often contained similar murder cases.
"Is it possible that something happened to the Duke at that time, and the figures you saw and the sounds you heard were actually imitated by others?" Zu An asked.
"This is impossible!" Gong Pan directly denied, "We are the most trusted people of the Duke. No one knows his body shape and voice better than us. If someone is impersonating, we will definitely be able to tell it."
Zu An frowned, feeling that the other party's judgment was too arbitrary.
A person's body shape may be distorted through a window, and when it comes to sound, there are so many strange people in the world, it's hard to guarantee that there won't be anyone who is good at ventriloquism.
The book "A Thousand Faces of a Thousand Faces" that he obtained before described how to perfectly imitate the target's speaking voice.
But then he thought about it, such a secret book should be rare in the world. After all, he had never heard of anyone who had ever been an embroiderer and could achieve such a level.
At this time, Gong Pan continued: "Taking a step back, even if that person is a fake, how could he do it? You must know that the Duke's cultivation level is already at the peak of a master, and he is the top master in the world. Who can do that?
How can you subdue him and impersonate him silently in a short period of time without being discovered by us outside?"
"What if Mr. Jian is here to help?" Zu An stared directly into the other person's eyes.
Gong Pan's expression changed, but he still replied: "Impossible. Although Second Master Jian's cultivation level is high, it is still far behind the Duke. The Duke can give him one hand without any problem, let alone us.
outside."
Zu An suddenly fell silent. He could suspect that someone could pretend to be a person using ventriloquism, but the cultivation base was real.
It is possible that Jian Yanyou was completely unprepared for his brother's sneak attack and was plotted against him, but with his level of cultivation, it was impossible for him to be subdued silently. The guards outside would have entered as soon as he opened his mouth.
Did he guess wrong from the beginning?
Zu An fell into silence and suddenly asked: "How is the relationship between your wife and the county minister?"
"Madam?" Gong Pan's expression suddenly changed, "You don't doubt Madam, do you?"
Zu An waved his hand: "I am your wife's friend, how can I doubt her? I'm just asking out of curiosity, because I heard her mention it before and she didn't live with the county official?"
Gong Pan hesitated for a moment and then replied: "Yes, Madam and the Duke are indeed separated, but that's because the Madam has to deal with various affairs of the Yu family, and the Duke has to be responsible for the safety of Yunzhong County and the defense against the demon clan.
During the invasion, both sides gathered less and separated more, and then they separated."
"But they have a good relationship and have always treated each other with respect."
"Respect each other as guests." Zu An raised his eyebrows. There are two ways to understand this word. One is that the relationship between husband and wife is indeed harmonious, and the second is that there is no real love, they are just fulfilling their duties, neither salty nor light...
"I have a presumptuous question," Zu An looked at him curiously, "Then why did you come to the Yu family? Logically speaking, you should be from the Duke's Palace."
Gong Pan suddenly looked a little depressed: "After the Duke disappeared, everyone was very united at first, but as we couldn't find his whereabouts, many things began to change."
"But this is normal. Many people have to support their families. Some people also want to make a career, so they will naturally look for new sources of support."
Zu An said tentatively: "The backer you are talking about refers to Mr. Jian?"
Gong Pan nodded: "Yes, he is the younger brother of the Duke. He was also the second-in-command of the Governor's Mansion. He also has a group of confidants. After the Duke's accident, it is only natural that he should act as the agent for everything. Many people may not have it at first.
I want to take refuge with him, but if I follow him in doing things, over time, I will become his without even realizing it.”
"But I don't have that many pursuits. I have been waiting for the Duke to come back. It's a bit annoying to stay there now, so I came to Madam. After all, she is the Duke's wife. There are some people who have the same idea as me.
We came to Madam’s side together.”
Zu An secretly nodded, and this was understandable. Others could seek refuge with Jian Taiding, but Gong Pan, the former Duke's chief of guard and confidant, was destined to not be reused if he sought refuge with the other party. It was also wise for him to choose Yu Yanluo's side.
At least you can gain a reputation for loyalty.
"I can't seem to sense your hatred for Mr. Jian from your tone?" Zu An asked curiously.
Gong Pan looked to the north and said calmly: "Unless the Duke's disappearance is related to the second master, why should I hate him? It is human nature for him to win over the Duke's old subordinates. Even if I were in his position, I would probably
It’s the same approach.”
"What's more, the Governor's Mansion is related to the safety of Yunzhong County, and it also has to defend against the monster clan that repeatedly invades the border. After the disappearance of the county prince, a strong leader is needed to stabilize the situation. A capable and ambitious person is better than
A mediocre person is much better."
"General Gong is indeed very righteous, and his magnanimity is unparalleled." Zu An was impressed, and then asked him some things about the Duke's Palace, and the other party answered them one by one.
When he finally left, Zu An suddenly turned around, as if he remembered something: "By the way, can you give me a list of the county's personal bodyguards?"