Chapter 953: To Suit Her Fancy
Sang Hong shook his head. “He’s a smart person. What happened last night was bizarre. He hasn’t taken the time to think about it in depth right now due to the shock, but he’ll wake up sooner or later. If we force him too hard right now, it might instead be worse; we might even end up leaving him with some ill feelings toward us.
“But if we don’t do anything or tell him anything, even if he finds out the truth, he won’t be able to act out. After all, we’ve never asked him for anything this entire time, and he was instead the one who received tremendous benefits.”
Auntie Mu asked with a worried expression, “But what if he refuses to admit to anything after everything is said and done?” She had remained in the clan for so long that even though Sang Qien wasn’t her own daughter, she had watched her grow up. Now that she was so old as well, she basically viewed Sang Qien as her own daughter. She was really worried about that.
“That won’t happen.” Sang Hong had a kind smile on his face. “He’s someone who strongly favors comradeship. I almost destroyed the Chu clan back in Brightmoon City, and yet he single-handedly saved them. Later on, when something happened to him, he decisively cut off his relationship with them to avoid bringing them down too. How could someone like that be ungrateful and fickle?”
“Then judging from what the master is saying, he still has some affection for Chu First Miss?” Auntie Mu asked.
“But of course,” Sang Hong replied. “Chu Chuyan is a proud and arrogant girl, so how could a girl like that wholeheartedly admire someone who’s fickle? Furthermore, it’s precisely because of their emotions still being there that it might just have the opposite effect if we try to insert Qien’er between them. After all, she hasn’t spent much time with Zu An, and they don’t share too much sentiment.
“It might be better to leave Zu An with the impression that he took advantage of her first, to have him feel some internal conflict and pity instead.”
Auntie Mu gradually understood what he was saying. She asked, “But if that happens, then wouldn’t Qien’er really be wronged?”
Sang Hong was speechless. Only after a while did he say, “As a father, I’ve indeed truly let her down.”
Auntie Mu asked after some hesitation, “Master, should your respected self perhaps pay her a visit?”
Sang Hong shook his head. “She’s still upset right now; my presence will only be adding fuel to the fire. It might be better to just let time heal her wounds.”
“But I’m scared that Qien’er might do something stupid…” Auntie Mu looked extremely worried.
“That won’t happen. Qien’er is a smart and rational child. Even though she’s upset, the event has already happened. She’ll be able to weigh the pros and cons, and won’t do anything stupid.” Sang Hong analyzed the situation. After a pause, he continued, “But you can visit her.”
“I was the one who brought her back. If I see her now, I fear…” Auntie Mu also had an embarrassed expression on her face. She didn’t dare to meet with Sang Qien now either.
“She knows that you were only acting on orders, so she’ll only hate me. She won’t blame you.” Sang Hong waved his hand. “Please, just go and check on her.”
Auntie Mu said with a sigh, “Master, even though you sound as if you don’t care, you still care more about Qien’er than anyone else.”
Sang Hong remained silent. In the end, after thinking for a long time, he could only release a sigh.
…
After he left the Sang clan, Zu An headed straight to the imperial palace for the morning roll call. He was in a daze.
Even Bi Linglong could tell that something was off. She couldn't help but remark, “Sir Chamberlain seems to have encountered some type of trouble?”
Zu An snapped out of his daze and replied, “Thank you, crown princess, for your worries. This subject doesn’t have any major issues.”
He had intended to take the chance to improve their relationship again, but when she heard that he was fine, Bi Linglong didn’t pay him any more attention. She continued to pay attention to the Eastern Palace’s other subjects as usual.
In the end, Zu An forced a smile. He wasn’t actually in the mood to coax Bi Linglong at the moment either. After spending the day in the Eastern Palace, going around in a daze, Zu An got off work when he felt it was about time.
Bi Linglong bit her lip when she looked at his departing figure. In the end, she still couldn't help but call over Rong Mo, saying, “Help me ask around if anything happened to Zu An recently.”
Rong Mo was shocked and replied, “Crown princess, aren’t you a bit too concerned about him?”
Bi Linglong was completely calm. She retorted, “What do you understand? He’s an important member of the Eastern Palace now, so I need to make sure that he hasn’t been bribed or threatened by King Qi’s side.”
“Your highness is wise after all!” Rong Mo’s suspicion was quickly replaced with admiration.
…
After Zu An left, he walked around the vicinity of the Sang clan’s manor. In the end, he still couldn’t figure out how to deal with the matter and gave up on going inside.
He turned around and went toward Scarlet Invitation. It wasn’t because he was in a rush to vent his lust, but rather because Kong Nanwu had helped him rescue Zheng Dan before, so he had to at least express his thanks.
After the previous visit, Nan Xun had already given the servants special instructions. When Zu An arrived, he was quickly brought to a small courtyard inside to see Nan Xun and Kong Nanwu.
The two women were both cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Both of them were also stunning. When they stood next to each other, the entire room seemed to become a bit brighter.
“Thank you, Miss Kong, for your help last time. I was able to find the mastermind.” Zu An noticed that Kong Nanwu was carrying a fluffy snowball-like thing. He thought that it was a pillow or something, but upon closer inspection, it was a pretty little fox.
There was actually such a pretty fox in this world? No wonder so many people from my previous world liked to raise cute pets. Zu An couldn't help but sigh. But he quickly remembered something. This could only be the second prettiest fox, because his Daji was definitely number one.
Kong Nanwu stroked the little fox's soft hair while asking a bit nervously, “May I ask who the mastermind was?”
Zu An knew what she was worried about, so he explained, “Lady Kong need not worry. He wasn’t part of the fiend races, but rather just a human who practiced evil arts.”
Sure enough, Kong Nanwu sighed in relief when she heard that. She had always been worried about whether she had ended up offending one of her fiend race compatriots.
Then, she asked about a few more details, and Zu An answered everything. Both sides were friendly and amiable.
Zu An gave the fluffy fox in her embrace several looks. He finally couldn't help but ask, “Can I pet it?” Looks like we humans really have no resistance towards cute furballs.
But who could have thought that before Kong Nanwu could even reply, the little fox would stand up and bare its fangs at him?
Kong Nanwu smiled, saying, “Looks like Huhu isn’t okay with it.”
“Huhu?” Zu An was shocked. He really couldn't associate the cute little fox with that feisty little maid.
“What, is something wrong?” the little fox shot back in human speech. She hadn’t really liked Zu An to begin with, so she took the chance to criticize him. “Everyone has always said that you humans are the most hypocritical, and now I can see that that’s indeed the case! You keep saying that you want to thank our young miss, and yet you didn’t even bring any gifts! You’re clearly just saying that. Fake!”
“Huhu!” Kong Nanwu gave the little fox a pinch and immediately scolded her. “Young master Zu isn’t a normal person. Our relationship isn’t one where we care about worldly things.”
Zu An smiled and said, “What Lady Kong says is true. I heard from Nan Xun that you don’t care much about things like wealth, so I specially prepared a small gift for you. I hope it’s to your liking.”
Kong Nanwu was a bit surprised, replying, “Then I’ll have to thank the young master.”
“What kind of gift?” The little fox couldn't help but jump impatiently onto the table. It reached out its claws and scratched at Zu An.
Nan Xun also craned her neck, curious as to what kind of present Zu An had brought.
When he saw the little fox’s cute appearance, Zu An began to tease it, saying, “I’ll tell you if you let me pet you.”
“Hmph! Rascal…” The little fox looked scared. It rushed back straight into its master’s arms.
Kong Nanwu’s expression also became a little strange as she remarked,“Young master Zu, Huhu is a girl after all.”
Zu An was speechless. In my eyes, she’s just a furball. He coughed a few times to cover up his embarrassment.
He took out a book from his inner pocket and said, “I heard Nan Xun say that the lady enjoys reading human books, so I prepared one. I believe this should be one you’ve never read before.”
Kong Nanwu was stunned at first, but then she said with a smile, “The young master is quite considerate. Your human race’s books are indeed quite interesting.”
But she actually felt disappointment inwardly. She had begun to collect human books even when she was still with the fiend races. Once she had entered human territory, she’d had her subordinates look for all kinds of books. She didn’t believe that this book he had given her would be any different. She was just thanking him as a formality.
Nan Xun and the little fox couldn't help but move over out of curiosity. The little fox was even more blunt and remarked, “Huh, ‘Strange Tales’? What kind of dumb name is this?”