Chapter 951: Trap
“What do you mean?” Sang Qien was confused. Don’t tell me sister-in-law or Zu An were actually related to our Sang clan somehow?
Sang Hong slowly said, “I secretly added some stuff into the wine today.”
“What? You poisoned Zu An?!” Sang Qien’s eyes lit up in shock. Did her father still have some grudge against Zu An? But even though that guy was really annoying sometimes, he didn’t deserve to die! He had even helped the Sang clan a lot…
She was just about to advise her father to change his mind when Sang Hong continued, “Don’t worry, I didn’t poison him, but rather put in a pregnancy-helping pill I acquired by spending a lot of money. The pill is harmless to the body, but it can help a girl get pregnant more easily.”
“Ah!” Sang Qien cried out in alarm. Her cheeks immediately turned completely red. “Dad, you didn’t tell me! I drank it too!” She didn’t know if it was just the placebo effect, but she felt her entire body starting to burn up.
Sang Hong gave her a look; the expression in his eye was somewhat complicated. He said, “They might have noticed something if I told you ahead of time, and Zu An would become suspicious. Don’t worry, it won’t harm you at all, and will instead grant you some benefits.”
Regardless, Sang Qien was still an unmarried young lady. She found such topics a bit embarrassing and quickly exclaimed, “Dad, you still didn’t answer my question! Even if sister-in-law becomes pregnant, the child still won’t have anything to do with our Sang clan!”
Sang Hong gave her a look and slowly said, “The child your sister-in-law gives birth to might not have anything to do with the Sang clan, but the one you give birth to will be different.”
Sang Qien was stupefied. She was just about to ask something else when her entire body went weak, and she slowly fell. Someone supported her from behind. When she raised her head and saw who it was, she asked in shock, “Auntie Mu, what are you doing?”
The middle-aged woman, Auntie Mu, served her father. Ever since Sang Qien’s mother had passed away, Auntie Mu had almost always been the one who assisted with her father’s daily life. Even though they had never officially wed each other, everyone in the Sang clan had pretty much treated her as Sang Hong’s concubine. They all respected her. Sang Qien had never expected this woman to do such a thing to her!
Auntie Mu retracted her gaze apologetically and looked at Sang Hong, asking, “Master, do we really have to do this?”
There was a look of hesitation on Sang Hong’s face, but in the end, he still said, “Qien’er, please don’t blame your father. I’m doing this for the sake of the Sang clan’s future.” Afterward, he gestured for Auntie Mu to continue with the plan. If he could still father offspring himself, why would he trouble these juniors? But he really couldn't anymore.
Sang Qien had a confused look on her face. She really couldn't understand why her father would say such a thing. Then, Auntie Mu picked her up. Her steps were quick and light as she quickly traveled across the clan estate toward a courtyard. Sang Qien was alarmed and exclaimed, “Auntie Mu, where are you bringing me?!”
Auntie Mu didn’t answer this question and instead said, “Qien’er, don’t blame your father. For the sake of the entire clan, he had no choice.”
“What are you actually doing?” Sang Qien asked. The more vague and mysterious Auntie Mu’s words were, the more scared she became. But what was strange was that there wasn’t a single maid in the courtyard. They had clearly all been sent away ahead of time.
Auntie Mu didn’t reply, and instead pushed open the door and placed Sang Qien on a bed. At the same time, she began to unfasten Sang Qien’s clothes.
Sang Qien finally understood her father’s plan. She was furious and ashamed, exclaiming, “What is father thinking?! I want to see father right now; I’ll speak to him myself!”
Auntie Mu sighed. “Your father is quite troubled too, but he can’t just let the Sang clan’s lineage end here. He can only wrong you. But Auntie Mu has been observing all of you too. Regardless of whether it’s appearance or ability, that person is a giant among men. If you can adjust your attitude a bit, you won’t feel too wronged.”
Sang Qien was about to cry. “How can you be the one to say whether I feel wronged or not?!”
Auntie Mu’s hands moved proficiently, quickly removing all of Sang Qien’s clothes and exposing her youthful body. She sighed in praise and said, “Qien’er, you really are beautiful.”
Sang Qien didn’t want to say anything else to her. She turned her head to the side and silently wept.
Auntie Mu sighed. She lowered the bed curtains, then blew out the lamp in the room. Only then did she close the door and leave.
…
Meanwhile, Zu An saw Sang Hong return with an unsteady gait. He asked, “Respected uncle, didn’t you pass out from drinking too much?”
Zheng Dan blushed. She thought to herself, Thank goodness we stopped quickly! Otherwise, her father-in-law would see the two of them together. She’d die from embarrassment then.
Sang Hong waved his hand and said, “I’m not drunk, so let’s keep drinking.”
Zu An looked around and asked, “Huh? Where is little sister Qien?”
“She doesn’t want to drink with us crude men, so she’s already returned to her room,” Sang Hong said in an unconcerned way. He filled Zu An’s cup all the way again.
Zu An quickly said, “I really can’t drink anymore, or else I won’t even be able to walk anymore later.”
With his cultivation, he could quickly get rid of his intoxication by using ki. He wouldn’t get drunk at all. But what meaning would there be left in drinking if he did that? That was why most cultivators wouldn’t do such a thing while drinking, and would instead let the alcohol stimulate them to give them that nice, tipsy feeling.
Sang Hong laughed and said, “It’s already late, and it’s not too appropriate for you to return. Why don’t you just stay the night in the manor, as long as you don’t find the place too shabby?”
Zu An though to himself, That’s exactly what I had in mind too. “Then I’ll gladly accept.” He glanced over at Zheng Dan from time to time while talking.
Zheng Dan knew what he was implying. Her cheeks immediately flushed red. Sang Qien wasn’t present anymore, so it was a bit awkward for her to remain present. As such, she took the chance to leave.
Zu An didn’t really mind either, and told her to wait for him through ki.
Zheng Dan’s departing figure staggered. Then, her pace became faster and faster. When she returned to the courtyard, she could only think about Zu An’s provocative expression. That dummy is getting braver and braver! He actually said that in front of my father-in-law…
Hm? Why are there no servants in the courtyard? She was about to push open the door when the center of her back suddenly went numb. Then, she fainted.
Auntie Mu caught her. She sighed and carried Zheng Dan to Sang Qien’s room, placing her on the bed and covering her up.
…
Meanwhile, Sang Hong continued to pressure Zu An to drink. They talked about everything from the layout of the court to the families of many different officials.
These were all things one wouldn’t hear outside, as they’d easily offend people, and even the emperor himself might be unhappy. Judging from the sincerity in the other party’s voice, Zu An knew that Sang Hong was really treating him as one of his own, so he drank even more cheerfully.
After they drank for a long time, Sang Hong completely collapsed. Zu An’s eyes were growing blurry too. He thought to himself, This old fella really can drink; he actually drank me to this state!
A middle-aged woman slowly walked forward then. When she saw Sang Hong’s condition, she said to Zu An, “Young master Zu, I’ll bring you to your place of rest.”
“I don’t dare to trouble the madam.” Zu An had already been to the Sang clan several times, so he naturally recognized this Auntie Mu, who was practically the second master of the clan.
“The young master is too polite. This is something I should do.” A hint of happiness appeared between Auntie Mu’s brows when she heard the word ‘madam’. She thought to herself, This young man is handsome, and he knows how to speak well too. She immediately developed a good impression of him. She personally led him to a side room after saying, “Young master, please rest well. I won’t disturb you anymore.” Afterward, she left.
Zu An was confused. Couldn't a random maid take care of all of this? Why did she need to personally see me here? But the effects of alcohol were starting to overpower him. He didn’t think too much about it and just treated it as extra consideration. He decided to just enter the room so Auntie Mu would think he had gone in for the night. After she left, he left through a window and snuck over to Zheng Dan’s room.
His head was throbbing a bit along the way, and the roads in front of him even seemed to have multiplied. He smacked his own head a few times. Why is the Sang clan’s alcohol so strong? But all of his blood was rushing downward at the moment, so he didn’t have the time to think about such minor abnormalities.
He swiftly arrived at Zheng Dan’s room and gently pressed against the window. Sure enough, it wasn’t completely shut. He was extremely happy to see that Dandan had left an entrance open for him after all.
He quietly went inside. There were no lights inside the room, and he saw that Zheng Dan was sleeping in bed. Her figure looked even more graceful and gentle through the curtains.
Zu An didn’t know whether it was because of the feeling of alcohol or something else, but his body felt as if it were burning up. How could he still control himself? He quickly stripped down and made his way into the covers. “Dandan, you must’ve been waiting for a long time already…”