Chapter 591: Midnight Visitor
Translator: Pika
Zu An didn’t make them bow down in the end. The Sang clan’s father and daughter became more and more moved, their expressions filled with admiration. They used to be enemies, so they understood just how far this young man went, and how formidable he became now.
“By the way, Ah Zu, how did you manage to keep your life in front of the emperor?” Sang Hong was curious. Sang Qien and Zheng Dan’s beautiful eyes were also staring at him. This was what all of them were confused about. After all, all of them believed that he was dead for certain when they set out for the capital before.
“Perhaps it might just be his majesty’s benevolence.” Zu An said. “I offered up the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to him. After reading it, he gave me some words of praise, and then bestowed upon me the title of baron.”
His transaction with the emperor was the greatest secret. He naturally couldn’t let others know about the truth.
“Benevolence?” A hint of mockery flashed past Sang Hong’s eyes. If his emperor was benevolent, then he wouldn’t be in the state he was in right now. After all, he had always devoted himself to working for the emperor, offending countless officials in the process. Yet in the end, he was discarded as soon as something happened.
He knew that this was an inevitable conclusion. Normally speaking, he wouldn’t be too bothered by it, but it was because of this that his only son died, cutting short his lineage. How could he possibly view this situation rationally?
Sang Qien frowned and said, “Could it be that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra cannot truly grant immortality?”
This was the only explanation. Otherwise, there was no way his majesty would have any reason to let him live.
Zu An smiled. “Immortality has always been a vague and imaginary concept. The truth has already been long distorted.”
This was what he and the emperor agreed upon to say. Together with how the emperor dealt with him, most people would believe this. This way, Zu An would no longer be hunted down by everyone.
But King Qi was different. As the emperor’s opponent, there was no way he would trust the emperor’s unilateral words. He would definitely confirm it himself before he would feel relieved. Otherwise, if the emperor really ended up secretly obtaining immortality, then all of the scheming and arrangements he did throughout his entire life would become a joke.
Sang Hong instead had a ruminating expression on his face. With his understanding of the emperor, he knew that there was definitely something deeper to this matter. However, he didn’t continue to ask about it and instead said in a meaningful manner, “Ah Zu, you’ve shown our Sang clan great grace. You can ask us for anything you need in the future. Even though you have always been blessed with good fortune, it’s still easy to be easily ripped apart inside of this capital city’s great storm. That is why being careful is the most important.”
“Thank you Sir Sang.” Zu An was happy to hear that. After all, he knew far too little about the capital city’s powers. But with Sang Hong, this old fox who had already been involved with the political circles for decades, everything would go much smoother.
Sang Hong continued, “But my age is already great, so I fear that I will not be as useful as before. I have suffered a great mental blow after experiencing the death of my son. You can seek out little Qien in the future if you need anything. She is not inferior to myself in terms of wit. I believe she can be of help to you.”
Zu An was stunned. Only now did he realize that when he was in Brightmoon City, even though Sang Hong was already aged, his eyes were still filled with fighting spirit. Now, they were filled with a feeling of decline. He looked like he aged another decade during this time.
He sighed. He cupped his hands towards Sang Qien and said, “I will have to trouble Lady Sang in the future.”
“Big Brother Zu is too polite.” Sang Qien smiled. She gave her father a puzzled look. She obviously picked up on the fact that his father was playing matchmaker between Zu An and herself. But father, do you know that he and sister-in-law already… sigh.
“Oh, right.” Sang Hong suddenly said, “My request to his majesty has already been approved, so we will set out for our home in a few days and bury Sang Qian’s coffin together with the Sang clan’s ancestors. This might take some time.”
“Huh?” Zu An subconsciously looked at Zheng Dan. They were going to separate after just meeting each other again?
He knew about Zheng Dan’s tricky situation. She shouldered the responsibility of this clan. Even though she didn’t complete the ritual kneeling during the wedding ceremony, she was the Sang clan’s officially wed daughter-in-law. As long as the Sang clan and Zheng clan do not annul the wedding agreement, then she cannot leave.
Of course, she can leave if she wants, but she would easily take on infamy and pressure from society. The Zheng clan would then be involved as well.
Zheng Dan also felt remorseful. She didn’t want to leave either. She already persisted with waiting here for a few more days precisely out of worry for Zu An. Now that her lover was fine, she already felt at ease.
As for herself, she planned to stay with the Sang clan through these hardest times first. After all, the Sang clan lost their only son and were now arranging funeral matters. It wouldn’t be too insincere if she brought up a divorce now.
Sang Qien snorted. These two are exchanging flirty looks in front of my eyes! Do you think I’m blind?
Also, my father has always been incredibly shrewd. Why hasn’t he noticed anything regarding my sister-in-law?
Sang Hong coughed. He suddenly said, “By the way, Ah Zu, there is something I should remind you about. I heard that you became the crown prince’s secretary. You must be careful in the eastern palace. The crown prince, even though he is a bit… Cough cough, a bit simple and honest, you cannot treat him like an ordinary fool. His deeper nature is actually extremely cruel, furthermore not bound by enough rationality. He has always done whatever he pleased. There are already far too many eunuchs and palace maids who have inadvertently provoked him and died because of it. That is why you must absolutely not offend him.”
“Thank you Sir Sang for your reminder.” Zu An recalled those unfortunate eunuchs earlier and nodded. It wouldn’t be a big deal if an ordinary family gave birth to a stupid son, but it was different when this was the crown prince. He possesses tremendous authority naturally as a crown prince. Once he turned to evil, then the damage would be huge.
Sang Hong continued, “Right, there is one other matter. There was that Shi clan’s young master who didn’t get along with you in Brightmoon City. He is also one of the crown prince’s important men.”
“Huh?” Zu An almost forgot about that guy. Back then, that young master was in a hurry to leave Brightmoon City and flee back to the capital. Who would’ve thought that they would meet again so soon? It really was a small world.
Sang Qien said with a smile, “Big Brother Zu can even kill Mosquito Daoist, so a trifling Shi Kun is definitely not a problem. Furthermore, he has obtained his majesty’s appreciation, so I do not think the Shi clan dares to pressure him with their status anymore.”
“Thank you for your praise, Lady Sang.” Zu An gave Sang Qien a strange look. Even though what she said was indeed true, why did it sound like she enjoyed watching him suffer?
They chatted for a while longer before Zu An bid his farewell. Even though he really wanted to spend more time with Zheng Dan, he couldn’t do much with the Sang clan’s father and daughter here.
He returned to Ding Manor. Uh, wait, no, this was now his own home.
Zu An discovered with shock that everything inside already looked completely new. The inside of the rooms had clearly been meticulously sorted out, and even the bedding and other things had been changed.
His first reaction was that Zhuxie Chixin sent someone to sort everything out, but he quickly rejected this thought. Those Embroidered Envoy knew how to kill, but there was no way they were adept at these tasks.
He noticed that the surrounding environment became a bit similar to the Chu clan in Brightmoon City. It was quite similar to the small courtyard he used to live in.
He was moved when he smelled the leftover scent of plants in the air. He knew that this was the work of Qiao Xueying.
Only she was this capable, moreover this familiar with the Chu clan.
“Snow, where are you Snow?” Zu An quickly looked around for that petite figure. He didn’t know how she cleaned this entire courtyard. This was definitely a huge workload!
Even though she could use countless vines in place of her hands, she managed to turn such a large courtyard into such a comfortable place in such a short time. He wondered just how much sweat and effort she put into it.
But he didn’t find her even after searching the entire courtyard. In the end, he found a letter by his bed, written in graceful calligraphy, “Something happened back in the clan that needs urgent attention. The master didn’t return yet, so we will meet again in the future.”
Zu An felt a bit apologetic. He could imagine how Qiao Xueying cleaned up the entire courtyard alone and waited for him with great expectation, and then the disappointment she felt when he didn’t come.
He wondered what happened to her clansmen. He hoped that everything went smoothly.
He suddenly realized that all of the girls at his side seemed to shoulder great responsibility. Their lives were full of compromises and helplessness. He was the only one who was entirely alone, who seemed a bit more free.
He already toiled for several days on end. He decided to take a nice hot bath to relax. Even though the cultivators of this world wouldn’t become dirty once they reached a certain point, he already spent a long time as a mortal before traveling to this world. There were some habits that he couldn’t change
Even though no one helped him heat up some water, it wasn’t anything difficult. He drew some water into the bathtub with his Blue Mallard ability, and then he summoned Daji to heat up the water with her fox fire.
Zu An bathed comfortably in the bathtub. Even though the technology of this world wasn’t as developed as his previous world, with the abilities of cultivators, he could still raise his quality of life to a suitable standard.
The people of this world only used cultivation to kill. It really was a waste of resources.
Daji, who was kneeling beside him, was expressionless. If she retained her intellect and knew that she was using her own fire to help him take a bath, she might be so angry she’d beat him to death.
While he was leisurely bathing, there was a light knocking sound by the entrance.