Not long after Zu An came out of the room, a figure standing in the distance turned around and walked towards him: "I have seen Mr. Zu, I am Gong Pan, Madam said that you have something to ask me."
"Master Gong is serious, I just want to ask some questions." Zuan carefully looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, with a strong body and sharp eyes. Moreover, he has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looks like the kind of mature and prudent person. There is a horned dragon-like scar from the chin to the neck, which adds a bit of sturdy meaning to the 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 were half an inch wider, I'm afraid my corpse would already be cold."
"Sorry." Zaan was a little apologetic, after all, his eyes just now were indeed a little rude.
"It's okay," Gong Pan smiled openly, "everyone who sees me for the first time will look here, this is not a shame for me, but a glorious mark, proving that I was fighting the demon clan head-on. , just left such an injury."
"General Gong can save his life under such an injury, and he will be blessed if he survives the disaster." Zuan also sighed that this sword was too dangerous.
"I don't care if I'm lucky or not, I just want the Duke to be okay," Gong Pan's tone dropped suddenly, "Thanks to the Duke pulling me an inch to the side, I avoided this fatal blow. It's a pity that although I am still alive now, the Duke does not know whether he is alive or dead."
Zu An was moved, and took the opportunity to ask, "What happened to your prince?"
The local officials have investigated the relevant cases before and submitted reports to the imperial court. Unfortunately, many details are unclear, and there are contradictions in the logic before and after. Obviously, it is not as useful to ask these people 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 Master Zu is a trustworthy person, please come with me."
As he said that, he led Zaan to an empty yard, and no one else could be seen listening to him before he opened his mouth and said: "The whole matter of Duke's disappearance is very bizarre. He didn't make a move in those days, and everyone didn't take it seriously at first, after all, cultivators may not be so punctual when they retreat."
"However, after ten days, there was still no movement in the place of retreat, so everyone tried to ask when the Duke would come out, but there was no response at all."
"It was only then that everyone realized that the door was not locked, and the building was already empty."
"In the beginning, everyone thought that the Duke had left the customs early and went to other places. It was not uncommon before. Who knew that after a few months, the Duke never came back, and the people in the house realized that something might have happened."
"We sent a lot of people to look for places where the Duke may go, but unfortunately we never found it. In the entire Yunzhong County, and even the surrounding counties, although some people occasionally claimed to have seen the Duke appear, after our investigation, it was all for the sake of He said nonsense to get bounties."
"After half a year, Duke Jun still didn't show up. Only then did everyone understand that something might have happened to him."
Speaking of which, his knuckles creaked, and he was obviously very emotional.
Zu An asked in a deep voice, "Who was the last time you saw Duke Jun, and when?"
Gong Pan thought for a while and replied: "At the end, there were many people who saw the Duke. At that time, the Duke invited the second master to drink at the mansion. At that time, many servants and family servants served. I was there and saw them all."
"You've been there all the time? And then saw him retreat after drinking?" Zaun thought it was a little weird, how could he retreat after drinking.
"That's not true," Gong Pan replied. "We were all next to each other at first, but later, when the prince wanted to discuss some confidential matters with the second master, he asked us to retreat to a distance outside. Although we did not see it with our own eyes later. , but through the shadow of the window, I can see the two of them intertwined, and there are conversations and laughter from time to time."
Zaan frowned. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, there would have been a lot of room for manipulation.
There are so many detective novels in previous lives that often have similar murders.
"Could it be that something happened to the Duke at that time, and the voices you saw and heard were actually imitated by others?" Zaan asked.
"It's impossible!" Gong Pan denied directly, "We are the most trusted people of the Duke. No one knows his size and voice better than us. If someone pretends to be, we can definitely tell the difference."
Zaan frowned, always feeling that the other party's judgment was too arbitrary.
The body shape of the person across the window may have been distorted, and the sound is such a thing, there are so many strange people in the world, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no one who is good at ventriloquism.
The "One Side of a Thousand People" that he had obtained before, told how to imitate the target's voice perfectly.
However, he thought about it, such a secret book should be rare in the world. After all, when he was an embroidered messenger, he had never heard of anyone who could do this.
At this time Gong Pan continued: "Take ten thousand steps back, even if that person is a fake, how could he do it? You must know that Duke Jun's cultivation is already the pinnacle of the master, and he is the top master in the world. Who can be so In a short period of time, he pretended to be him in a silent uniform, and was not discovered by us outside?"
"What if Second Master Jian was there to assist?" Zu An stared straight into the other's eyes.
Gong Pan's expression changed, but he still replied: "Impossible, Er Ye Jian's cultivation base is high, but he is still a lot worse than Duke Jun. The Duke let him have no problem with one hand, not to mention us. outside."
Zuan fell into silence for a while. He could suspect that someone could use ventriloquist to impersonate, but Xiuwei was the real thing.
If Jian Yanyou was completely unprepared for his younger brother's sneak attack, it would be possible for him to be plotted against him, but with his cultivation level, he would not be able to be subdued silently.
Did you guess wrong from the start
Zuan fell into silence, and suddenly said, "How is the relationship between your wife and the county public?"
"Madam?" Gong Pan's expression suddenly changed, "You don't doubt Madam, do you?"
Zuan waved his hand: "I'm a friend of your wife, how can I doubt her? I'm just curious, because I heard her mention it before and didn't live with the Duke?"
Gong Pan hesitated for a moment, but still replied: "Yes, the madam and the prince are indeed separated, but that is because the madam has to deal with various affairs of the Yu family, and the prince is responsible for the safety of Yunzhong County and defending against the demon clan. Invasion, the two sides gather less and leave more, and then separate."
"But they have a good relationship and have always respected each other like a guest."
"Respect each other like guests." Zaan raised his eyebrows. There are two ways to understand this word. One is that the relationship between husband and wife is really harmonious.
"I have a presumptuous question," Zaan looked at him curiously. "Then why did you come to the Yu family? It stands to reason that you should be from the duke's residence."
Gong Pan's expression suddenly became a little depressed: "After the disappearance of Duke Jun, 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, and some people want to go to the future, so they will naturally find new backers."
Zaan said tentatively, "You mean the backer of the second master Jian?"
Gong Pan nodded: "Yes, he is the younger brother of the Duke, and he was originally the second-in-command of the Governor's Mansion, and he also has a group of confidants. After the Duke's accident, it is justifiable that everything is represented by him, and many people may not be at first. I wanted to take refuge with him, but when I did things with him, after a long time, I unknowingly became his person."
"But I didn't pursue that much, and I've been waiting for the Duke to come back. It's a bit annoying to stay there now, so I came to the lady's side. After all, she is the wife of the Duke. There are some people who have the same idea as me, Come to the lady's side together."
Zuan nodded secretly, which is understandable. Others can take refuge in Jian Taiding, but Gong Pan, the former duke's chief bodyguard and confidant, is destined to not be reused by relying on the other party. It is wise for him to choose Yu Yanluo. At least he can gain a reputation for loyalty.
"I don't seem to feel your hatred for Second Master Jian from your tone?" Zaan asked curiously.
Gong Pan looked towards the north and said calmly: "Unless the disappearance of the Duke is related to the Second Master, why should I hate him? It is only natural for him to win over the Duke's former department, even if I were in his position, most likely Do the same thing.”
"What's more, the governor's office is related to the safety of Yunzhong County, and it also needs to defend against the demon clan that has repeatedly committed crimes. After the disappearance of the governor, a strong leader is needed to stabilize the situation. A person with ability and ambition is better than A mediocrity is much better."
"General Gong is really righteous, and his bearing is very high." Zu An was impressed, and then asked him some things about the duke's mansion, and the other party answered them one by one.
When he was finally leaving, Zuan suddenly turned around, as if he remembered something: "By the way, can you give me a list of the Duke's personal guard class?"