Chapter 1132: Ambush
Jiang Luofu couldn't help but scoff, remarking, “Do you slather your mouth in honey everyday or something? No wonder you have so many girls around you all the time.”
Zu An pretended to be shocked as he replied, “Don’t tell me big sis principal had a taste without me knowing? You even know that my lips are sweet.”
Jiang Luofu finally couldn't take it anymore. She said, “Hmph, you’re clearly doing all of this to save Yu Yanluo, and yet you’re making it sound as if you’re doing it for me.”
Zu An said seriously, “If it weren’t you, even if I wanted to save someone, I wouldn’t have handed over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra for it.”
Jiang Luofu’s heartbeat sped up when she saw his scorching gaze. She had only treated this guy as a naughty and underripe junior when he first entered the academy, and yet now, he was already so mature…
She lowered her gaze slightly, then said with an ambiguous smile, “You’ve been holding onto me all this time without letting go. Do you know that such an action would already be enough to be considered sexual harrassment if it were done toward a married woman?”
Zu An said with an upright expression, “Big sis principal, that’s where you’re mistaken. You haven’t even gotten married yet, so how can this be considered harassing a married woman?”
Jiang Luofu said seriously, “According to the Zhou Dynasty’s laws, all women who have completed maidenhood are referred to as married women in the legal texts.”
Zu An was speechless. Only then did he recall that Jiang Luofu was ranked number eight in the academy, and her specialty was law. No wonder her entire presence changed as soon as she talked about such things! What was he even doing trying to mess around in her field of specialization?
Jiang Luofu retracted her hand and put the secret manual away. She said, “I’ll store this manual away and hand it to Madam Qi. No one else will see it. Of course, even I won’t look at it myself.”
Zu An chuckled and said, “I don’t mind big sis principal looking, but this technique is harmful for women. That’s why it’s best if you don’t look at it.”
The manual was the fake Phoenix Nirvana Sutra the emperor had modified. Cultivating it was definitely extremely dangerous, byt he couldn't tell her directly. As such, he could only warn her that way.
Jiang Luofu chuckled. She didn’t say too much and stored the manual in a case right in front of him. Then, she placed a seal on it.
The seal was created by the academy, and was often used to transport military and court documents. If it were ever undone, others would immediately know.
She had done so to show that she wouldn’t secretly read it. After doing all that, she then put the case in her storage pouch.
Zu An retracted his gaze. He asked curiously, “I’ve already given you everything, but how are we going to save Yu Yanluo?”
Jiang Luofu replied in a direct and efficient manner. “Jailbreak.”
Zu An was stunned. Do I need you to tell me such a simple and crude method?
Jiang Luofu explained, “Right now, Yu Yanluo is being heavily guarded by Xu Yu and the Imperial Envoy’s people. Xu Yu is someone meticulous in thought, and Sang Hong is an old fox as well. Trying to pull a fast one over them is like trying to scale the heavens. We might as well break her out through brute force.”
Zu An frowned. And said,“Xu Yu has the Imperial Edict, and he has tons of troops at his side. Xiao Yao, the Sword Immortal, is even standing guard. How would we even go about breaking her out? And most importantly, how would we deal with the aftermath of breaking her out?”
He wasn’t ready to be a wanted criminal yet. If he were chased by the court and bore the accusation of colluding with the fiend races, everything he had gathered up until then through all of his hard work would completely collapse. The worst part was that there would be no future for him; there wouldn’t be any place left for him in this world!
“That’s where I come in,” Jiang Luofu said. She leaned backward into her chair, fully displaying her elegant curves. Her mood was quite good since everything had gone smoothly. She continued, “But I need to make some preparations first. I’ll contact you in a few days.”
“Alright.” Zu An needed some time to send Yu Yanluo’s clansmen away first, anyway
If it were someone else who had made such a bold promise, Zu An definitely wouldn’t trust them. However, Jiang Luofu was different; he trusted that she wouldn’t lie to him.
…
When he watched as Jiang Luofu left, Zu An sank into his own thoughts.
At first, he had planned to ally himself with King Qi to defeat the emperor. However, according to the series of events that had taken place in Cloudcenter Commandery, there was no way their two sides would fight on the same front. Even if they looked friendly on the outside, it was impossible.
King Qi’s forces that had been carefully planted here had been completely swept away by him. One he returned to the capital, no, even before he returned to the capital, King Qi’s revenge would already begin.
If he pretended to not know anything at the final reckoning, there would be a chance of avoiding all that. However, he couldn't bring himself to ignore the ruthless killing of the innocent villagers, including the murder of Chen Zhou’s wife and son.
Cultivation… Even though it brought many superhuman powers, if that power made one even forget about basic human decency, what meaning would be in cultivation?
He couldn't just watch as King Qi Manor and the Pei clan became tied in marriage either. Thus, he would just borrow the fake Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to solve everything.
No matter how powerful the emperor was, he couldn't defeat time. He wasn’t far from his absolute limit. At worst, Zu An could just hide for a few years. But King Qi was in the prime of his life. If he really won against Zhao Hao and seized the imperial throne, Zu An’s own circumstances would be dire.
He smiled when he thought through all those things. He left behind some money for the tea before leaving.
…
Zu An changed into Jian Yanyou with ‘Face of a Thousand Identities’ again. When he returned to the Duke Manor, he quickly issued all kinds of orders. He gathered a large number of carriages, as if he were going to carry out a huge business transaction.
Now, even Zhang Ji was alarmed. She ran over and asked with a worried expression, “Duke, what is your respected self going to do?”
“Too many things have happened recently, so many goods that should have been dealt with have accumulated. Since the situation has stabilized a bit, we should send them out to where they should go.” Zu An explained.
Zhang Ji sighed in relief and said, “My duke, even though I do not understand these things, I know that your mood is not great since the madam has just been arrested. How can you be in the mood to take care of backed up businesses? If even I do not believe that, others will definitely not believe it either.”
Seeing that he had remained silent, a distressed smile appeared on her face. She said, “My duke, I know I was brought in by the second master before. That thing happened between the second master and your respected self… That is why you do not trust me as much as you trust Liu Ji and Chu Ji.
“But regardless of whether the duke believes me or not, this concubine is wholeheartedly devoted to you. Only if everything goes well for you can I follow in your glory.
“You have often visited Chu Ji’s courtyard as if you were discussing something with her. But regardless of what it is, the disturbance that has been created will not escape the eyes of those who are watching us. If something does happen, not only will the duke fail to help the madam, you will also be in danger yourself!”
Zu An sighed inwardly. These women weren’t easy to deal with after all. Even though they hadn’t said it directly, they had clearly guessed something was up. He could only say, “Do not worry; I know what I am doing.”
Seeing as he still hadn’t told her the truth in the end, Zhang Ji opened her mouth several times. However, in the end, she didn’t say anything and left dejectedly.
Zu An felt a bit of a headache when he saw her leave in distress. He had originally planned to meet with them as little as possible, yet now, because something had happened to Yu Yanluo, he had no choice but to frequently make appearances in the Duke Manor. It really was a pain to deal with.
Over the following two days, he successively arranged for some ordinary goods to leave the city. His subordinates reported that each batch was strictly inspected, but he didn’t care too much.
On the third day, he suddenly increased the amount of goods that left the city. He arranged for a large number of carriages, and they left the city from different directions.
It was clear that the city guards hadn’t expected such a situation. All of the city gates became a flurry of activity.
Zu An changed his outfit and personally escorted one of the carriages out.
The Jian clan had operated in Cloudcenter Commandery for many years, so they naturally had their own trusted aides. The general who guarded one of the exits in the west was one of their people.
Zu An had never made use of that asset before, and only used it at such a crucial conjecture. The general secretly let Zu An’s group out of the city by borrowing the chaos.
Those from the Jian clan sighed in relief. But before they could feel happy, several troops swarmed in from all directions, surrounding them.
“Should the duke not be resting at home? Why are you in such a rush to leave the city? Are you trying to transport some important goods?” Xu Yu asked. He rode his horse out of his fleet, and on his face was an ‘I’ve been waiting for a long time already’ expression.