Chapter 917: Prompt Assistance
Damn that old bastard… He already thought of a way to take Yu Nan down, yet he didn’t tell me! He just had to tell me in this roundabout way! Zu An thought. But he also understood that the emperor had his dignity to uphold. If news got out that he had to explain everything himself, that would tarnish his reputation.
Screw you, what about my dignity? Zu An cursed inwardly.
Scarlet Invitation was the capital’s most famous brothel, on par with the government brothel. The difference was that one was state-run, while the other was privately owned. However, in a place like the capital where there were important statesmen around every corner, to be on par with the government brothel went to show just how powerful the boss behind this business was.
Many people had tried to investigate the boss of Scarlet Invitation for a long time, but unfortunately, none of them had been able to find out anything. Not even the Embroidered Envoy had that piece of information.
Zu An patted Xiao Jianren’s shoulder. “Not bad, Old Xiao. I didn’t expect you to be interested in this field too, that you even know the things that are going on around there that well.”
Xiao Jianren’s face heated up. He replied, “Sir, I have no interest in this field. It’s just that I enjoy sifting through all types of information in the Embroidery House, so I just happened to see this.”
Zu An was momentarily stunned. He recalled how this man had been buried in a huge pile of reading when he just walked in. He thought, This person is a true bookworm! He reminded Xiao Jianren, “You should go out once in a while. You’ll become nearsighted if you stay inside and read books all day.”
“Nearsighted?” Xiao Jianren was confused.
“It means that you can’t see things far away clearly, and only if you come up close can you see things clearly.” Zu An wondered if he could get someone to make some glasses to sell. The valkyries he was raising were all money-sucking vacuums. Every single upgrade needed money.
Xiao Jianren nodded. “I might really suffer a bit from that. I have had to move up closer many times to read.”
Zu An smiled. No wonder Xiao Jianren’s eyes were always a bit expressionless. So it was because he was nearsighted. “By the way, what is the name of that courtesan queen?” he asked. He’d deal with the glasses problem later. The most important thing right now was to deal with this annoying task first.
“Wait…” Xiao Jianren closed his eyes and thought to himself for a while. “I think her name is Nan… Xun. Yes, Nan Xun.”
Zu An was stunned. “You’re not going to even check the records? You can even remember the name of a courtesan?”
Xiao Jianren pointed at his head and said with an embarrassed chuckle, “I store all of the things I’ve read in my head, as if there were a library inside. When needed, I can take out what I need. It isn’t much different from a real archive library.”
Zu An was really impressed. This person had actually learned the mental library method! He would definitely be considered an incredible genius in Zu An’s old world!
“Not bad!” Zu An patted his shoulder in encouragement. I should prioritize the production of those glasses. I definitely need to rope in a genius like this.
…
When he came out of the Embroidery House, Zu An went to pay the Eastern Palace a visit. After all, Bi Linglong was still waiting nervously for him. He went back into his Embroidered Envoy courtyard and changed back into his own clothes. When he was sure that no one was watching, he made a little detour and returned to the Eastern Palace.
Sigh, changing identities all the time really is a bit tiring… Zu An sighed as he went to Bi Linglong to report about everything that had happened.
“You have to take down Yu Nan?” At first, Bi Linglong was excited to see him return safely. After what had happened in the dungeon, she worried that Zu An might never return again whenever he met the emperor. But when she heard about his newest assignment, she frowned. “Yu Nan is the successor of the Yu clan, and he even married the princess. There’s no way he’ll be easy to take down!”
“We have to take him down even if it seems impossible… His majesty has given me a time limit.” After some hesitation, he decided to tell her about the courtesan matter. He was scared that she might become upset again after he had just appeased her with great difficulty beforehand.
“I’ll try to help you think of something too. I’ll just plead with his majesty myself if I have to. How can we possibly take down someone like Yu Nan in just a month’s time?” Bi Linglong was quite agitated.
Zu An immediately said, “You can’t! You’re the only one who absolutely can’t speak out for me! The emperor is already suspecting our relationship after what happened in the dungeon. Doing that will just be pouring oil on the flames.”
“Then what do I do?” Bi Linglong thought for a bit and said, “I’ll try and see if I can take him down through the Bi clan.”
Zu An felt warm inside when he saw how much concern she felt for him. He said, “Don’t worry, I’ve already found a way.”
“What kind of way?” Bi Linglong was curious.
“It’s still just a hypothesis. I still need to test some things out,” Zu An replied without speaking in detail.
Bi Linglong replied with an ‘oh’. She didn’t keep asking either. Instead, the two of them chatted about some other things. Unfortunately, they were in the palace and didn’t have much time for leisurely chatting. Every single second was precious.
Even though it wasn’t easy for them to talk in private, however, Bi Linglong still found an excuse to keep Zu An present. After all, he was now the Eastern Palace’s chamberlain, so he should have been working there. Of course, the real reason why she kept him for a bit longer was because they had already had ‘that’ type of relationship in the dungeon. She wanted to be with him a bit longer.
…
It was already almost dusk when Zu An left the palace. He went home to change into a new set of clothes. After all, going to a brothel in his official clothes was just asking for trouble. However, he didn’t expect to see Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe waiting for him inside.
“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, my grandfather is going out to war soon!” Chu Youzhao exclaimed excitedly.
Zu An couldn’t help but reply, “It would be one thing if you weren’t worried about him going to war, but why do you look happy about it?”
“Tsk, my grandpa is so amazing anyway. He’ll definitely win quickly, so why do I have to worry about him?” Chu Youzhao remarked with a chuckle. “But I guess I’m happy that I don’t have to always be restricted by his rules. I can’t even go out whenever I want to! I can come and play with brother-in-law all the time now that he’s gone.”
Zu An felt a huge headache. How was he supposed to do anything if he had these kids following him everywhere?
Murong Qinghe was also confused. Weren’t her big brother Chu and her brother-in-law getting along a bit too well? Was it because Chu Youzhao didn’t have many male playmates growing up?
“Don’t think about playing around all day. If you neglect your cultivation, your big sis will be unhappy with me,” Zu An said with a serious expression. Being the senior really was great… It was clearly just that he didn’t want to have these two as hangers-on, and yet he could use that high-sounding reason to fulfill the same objective.
“You’re so annoying… You sound like an old man.” Chu Youzhao pouted unhappily.
Suddenly, a quiet voice came from the entrance. “Is Sir Zu here?”
Zu An turned around and saw two people standing at the entrance. The older one had a serious looking face, while the other was a gloomy looking youth.
“So it was brother Gao and brother Pei! Please come in, come in.” Zu An recognized the two to be the Liu clan’s Gao Ying and the Pei clan’s Pei You. These two’s lives really were quite tenacious. The entire dungeon had broken apart, and yet they were still able to survive somehow.
“We don’t deserve such treatment! Sir Zu saved our lives. Just calling us by our names is enough!” the two of them quickly replied. Their previous arrogance was already nowhere to be seen.
“Hey, aren’t you two always cocky and smug normally? Why are you two like this all of a sudden?” They were both well-known heirs from their clans. Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe instantly recognized them. The two parties belonged to different camps, so they obviously didn’t get along.
Gao Ying calmly replied, “Sir Zu saved our lives, so we naturally have to treat him respectfully. We came today to invite Sir Zu for a drink and to express our gratitude.”
Chu Youzhao’s eyes lit up. “We’re going drinking? I want to go!”
Pei You frowned. Obviously, he normally didn’t like people from King Qi’s faction. But when he considered that Chu Youzhao’s big sister was Zu An’s wife, he didn’t refuse. He said, “You can come, but I fear that it won’t be appropriate for Miss Murong to come.”
“Why?” Murong Qinghe raised her eyebrows. She was a famous little hot pepper in the army. She was only nice and tame around her big brother Chu.
Pei You harrumphed and didn’t bother explaining. It was instead Gao Ying who was more accommodating, saying, “It’s because we’re going to Scarlet Invitation. It’s not too appropriate for a girl to go there.”