Chapter 962, Part 1: Luck Talisman
It was a perfect opportunity for Zu An. He said, “I’ll go and take a look.” Then, without waiting for the girls to say anything, he quickly ran off into the distance. The best way to deal with this kind of asura battlefield was to run.
Chu Youzhao huffed and puffed in anger. Brother-in-law is so unreliable! She had actually received a warning from her second sister before, but she hadn’t treated it as a huge deal. After all, did she really need a warning about something so simple? But now that she saw all of the girls surrounding Zu An herself, she suddenly realized she had been given an incredibly tough mission.
Zheng Dan looked at her with a smile and said, “Youzhao, we’re all from Brightmoon City, and I was even schoolmates with your big sister. To a certain degree, I’m your big sister too. Why do I feel as if you don’t like me at all?”
Chu Youzhao’s eyes darted around, but then she thought of something. “Big sister Zheng… Ah, no, I should call you Madam Sang now, right? Your husband died an untimely death, and you’re the one who has to bear the reputation. Sigh…”
Zheng Dan’s eyes twitched. Why did this young master Chu seem as sharp mouthed as a girl, his every word attacking her sore spot?
Sang Qien took a step forward to defend her, saying, “Young master Chu, please speak carefully. These are sharp and unkind words that tarnish the Chu and Qin clan’s demeanor.” Since the other party had mentioned the Sang clan, she naturally couldn't just watch without doing anything.
Zheng Dan gave her a grateful look. For the first time, the two of them seemed to be of the same mind. But they both seemed to have thought of something a second later, which made both of them look away unnaturally.
Chu Youzhao wanted to say something else, but Murong Qinghe tugged on her sleeves and said quietly, “There are people watching, so it won’t be good if we get into a big argument.”
Murong Qinghe obviously wasn’t all that worried about offending other people. What she was more worried about was that her big brother Chu’s reputation might be damaged in front of so many people. She grumbled inwardly, Chu First Miss really is a bossy shopkeeper. She never does anything herself and makes her big brother Chu take on all of these annoying responsibilities.
After some hesitation, Chu Youzhao thought continuing might also embarrass her brother-in-law, so she harrumphed angrily and looked away. She didn’t say anything else.
Meanwhile, Zu An arrived at Sang Hong’s side. He asked, “Sir Sang, what’s wrong?” It wasn’t too appropriate for him to call Sang Hong ‘Uncle Hong’ in public. It was better to call him ‘Sir Sang’.
Sang Hong said with a worried expression, “Sir Eleven hasn’t arrived yet.”
His concern wasn’t unfounded. After all, the statuses of Embroidered Envoys were special. To a certain degree, they represented the emperor’s power. Furthermore, there was going to be danger lurking on all sides during the trip to Cloudcenter Commandery. Having a golden token envoy traveling with them would give them a bit more confidence. Every single golden token envoy was a powerful asset, regardless of whether it was their intellect or cultivation.
Zu An said, “I think he’s coming soon.”
Three people arrived as soon as he spoke. The one in front blinked hard from time to time. The other two were bald. There was one whose forehead was balding, while the other was balding in the middle. They were quite eye-catching within the Embroidered Envoy group.
“I greet Sir Sang and Sir Zu. Silver Token Envoy Xiao Jianren reports,” the person in front said. They were naturally Golden Token Eleven’s subordinates. The other two were Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, but they didn’t need to introduce themselves as their ranks were too low.
“Greetings, Sir Xiao.” Sang Hong also cupped his hands, his tone polite. Even though their official ranks were about the same, Embroidered Envoys were all incredible existences. A silver token envoy was already a high level figure among the Embroidered Envoys, so there was no need to offend this person. He couldn't help but look around, asking, “Where is Sir Eleven?”
Xiao Jianren replied, “Sir Eleven had us leave first. He will follow us in secret.”
Zu An smiled without saying anything. This was what he had arranged with them beforehand. He really wouldn’t be able to juggle everything properly if he had to accompany the fleet with both identities. Fortunately, the Embroidered Envoy had been mysterious to begin with, so these arrangements were acceptable.
Sang Hong frowned. However, when he recalled the various legends of the golden token envoys, he didn’t voice any objections. “This is good as well, having both overt and covert defenses. Our plans will become more flexible too.”
Then, Sang Hong had to arrange for Zu An’s group to get on the boat. He said to Zu An, “I have some things to take care of. Since Little Qien and Zheng Dan came to see us off, please help me take care of them for a bit.”
“Sure.” Zu An’s expression was a bit strange. Ever since he had found out about their plan, he began paying more attention to Sang Hong’s words and actions. Wasn’t Sang Hong already clearly setting him up with them?
At first, he had looked down on Sang Hong somewhat over the matter, but that gradually changed to admiration. Sang Hong was only acting for the sake of the clan. As expected, he was someone who thought of the greater situation. How could an ordinary person be able to do something like this?
He walked over to where Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were and immediately sensed an unusual mood. But he wasn’t stupid enough to ask what was happening. Instead, he changed the topic, saying, “Little sister Qien, Miss Zheng, I’ll take good care of Sir Sang on this trip.”
Chu Youzhao’s brows furrowed when she heard him call another person ‘little sister’. However, it didn’t seem as if there were any problems in what they were talking about, so she held herself back from acting out.
Sang Qien was already used to being called ‘little sister’, but when she heard it this time, she felt a bit awkward for some reason. She thought to herself, Are there any big brothers who do that kind of thing to their little sisters? But she didn’t show anything in front of everyone else. “Then I’ll have to trouble Zu… big brother Zu. Furthermore, this trip north will definitely be full of danger. You need to take good care of yourself.”
Zu An was a bit surprised to hear that she was actually concerned about him. As such, he smiled and said, “Thank you, little sister Qien, for your care.”
Sang Qien’s face heated up. She avoided his gaze. Who’s worried about you? This is just because I’m worried that in the future… She subconsciously rubbed her stomach. Her expression was extremely conflicted.
Zheng Dan’s gaze moved between the two of them. Her woman’s intuition told her that something was strange between them, and it seemed to have started from the night Zu An had drunk too much at their manor. Alright, I’m going to try and get some information out of little Qien once we get back.
She retracted her gaze and took out a parcel, saying, “These are some clothes and rations little Qien and I prepared for my father-in-law. We also prepared a portion for you. I’ll have to trouble big brother Zu to give it to my father-in-law.”
Such parcels were small-scale storage artifacts. Even though they were expensive, they weren’t too rare. With the Sang clan’s status, it wasn’t surprising for them to have such things.
Chu Youzhao grinded her teeth. What are the Sang clan’s women trying to do? You guys can just prepare for your dad; why are you giving stuff to my brother-in-law too?! I have to warn my big sis once I go back. Three are many vixens after my brother-in-law’s body!
Zu An knew that she had actually prepared the package just for him, and that she was only using Sang Hong as a pretext. He received it with a smile, saying, “Thank you, Miss Zheng and little sister Qien’er.”
Gao Ying and Pei You, who had been watching all of the drama from a distance, felt incredibly jealous. They thought to themselves that Zu An really had crazy luck with women! There were so many girls who had given him gifts, and all of them were even stunning beauties!
Pei You nudged Gao Ying and asked, “Look over there; is someone else coming in this direction?”
Gao Ying looked in the direction Pei You was indicating. He saw an extravagant carriage slowly stop nearby. A penetrating fragrance reached all the way to where they were. Then, a cute little maid got off the carriage and walked toward Zu An.
“Isn’t that Scarlet Invitation’s carriage?” Gao Ying asked, his tone uncertain.
“It is.” Pei You went there more often, so he was more familiar with such things. “That seems to be Lady Nan Xun’s personal maid.”
Gao Ying’s eyes widened when he looked at the carriage. He exclaimed, “Then doesn’t that mean that the one sitting inside is Lady Nan Xun?”
“Who else could it be?” Pei You was also filled with endless envy. “It was supposed to just be a happy event without romance, and yet the capital’s most popular courtesan queen actually personally came to see brother Zu off. He really is a model for all men!”
Gao Ying took a deep breath and said, “From now on, brother Zu is my big brother. If we can pick up even just one or two things from him, we’ll benefit tremendously.”
“You’re right!” Pei You nodded in agreement. In reality, with their clan backgrounds and status, they didn’t lack cultivation resources or techniques at all. That was why no matter how high Zu An’s cultivation was, they would normally only feel respect and not envy. However, his ways with women were skills all men wanted.
Meanwhile, the maid had arrived. She bowed and said, “Young master Zu, my lady invites you for a chat.”
Chu Youzhao quickly grabbed Zu An’s sleeves, exclaiming, “Who is her lady? Why isn’t she coming here herself?!”
Even Zheng Dan and Sang Qien looked toward the carriage vigilantly. They felt a mysterious sense of danger.
The maid was a bit troubled. She said, “My lady’s status makes it difficult for her to show herself in public. She fears that there might be a commotion if she comes out.”
Zu An knew what she was saying. With Nan Xun’s reputation, she was just like one of his previous world’s most famous stars. Once she appeared, it would be stranger if there weren’t a disturbance.
He patted Chu Youzhao’s hand to calm her down, saying, “I’ll be back soon.” Then, he followed the maid into the carriage.
Zheng Dan got on her tiptoes and looked in the direction of the carriage. Unfortunately, she couldn't see inside at all. She thought of something, then said to Chu Youzhao, “Your brother-in-law seems to be liked by many girls.”
Chu Youzhao rolled her eyes impatiently and shot back, “That’s none of your business.” Aren’t you one of them yourself?
But Zheng Dan didn’t take offense to her tone. She replied, “Chuyan is all the way in Brightmoon City right now, so as her little brother, you should be keeping an eye on him, right? Otherwise, those vixens might just steal your brother-in-law away.”
Chu Youzhao was shocked. Did I misunderstand this girl? Does she have nothing going on with brother-in-law, and is she only friends with him because of her friendship with my big sis? Her expression eased a bit and she said, “Of course I know that. Brother-in-law and big sis are really close anyway, so he won’t do anything that lets down my big sis.”
Sang Qien and Zheng Dan’s expressions both turned strange when they heard those words. Chu Chuyan is quite intelligent, so why is her little brother so… naive?
Sang Qien secretly snuck Zheng Dan a look. My sister-in-law is a two-faced person after all. She actually knows how to use someone else to do the dirty work, to make Chu Chuyan’s younger brother help her get rid of her rival in love!
I have to make sure to get on her good side in the future, or else she’ll screw me over without me even realizing it!
Wait, why am I even fighting against my own sister-in-law anyway? What the heck is going on…