Zu An hurried back to the Chu clan to inform them about the most recent developments.

“What? We didn’t end up finding any illicit salt?!” Qin Wanru was just about to erupt when she heard his report, but suddenly remembered that there might be something loose in this fellow’s head. The last time, he’d exploded after some light criticism, and she was worried that this situation might get out of hand again. She reined in her urge to scold him, and merely snorted angrily.

This is weird, though. Why would I be scared of this brat? There’s nothing he can do!

The more she thought about it, the gloomier she got, and she almost spoke out in anger anyway. However, now that she had interrupted her instinctive reaction, she found it much harder to say something.

In the end, she could only stare resentfully at him, plotting her next chance to settle things properly with this brat.

You have successfully trolled Qin Wanru for 9… 9… 9…

Zu An felt a bit strange when he saw these points. This woman really did hold a grudge!

If you’re going to get mad, you can’t be this stingy. Honestly, if you’re only going to give nine points at a time, why would I even care? It’s just way too little.

Chu Zhongtian gave his wife a surprised look. Why was she so even-tempered today? This didn’t seem like her!

He decided to just treat this as the results of his wife’s mental training. It was quite a relief for him.

Chu Chuyan smiled slightly from where she stood beside the two of them. She alone understood what her mother was thinking—she was likely worried that things would blow up like last time.

“We cannot blame Ah Zu for this matter. At the very least, we now know that the Zheng clan is secretly involved in the illicit salt trade, and so is the River Patrol Army as well. What a filthy way of living,” Chu Zhongtian said, his voice heavy.

Chu Chuyan was full of worry too. “No wonder Brightmoon City’s illicit salt trade has gone out of control. This is why it keeps growing no matter how many prohibitions are put in place. It turns out they were colluding with other merchants! If they are playing both sides like this, there’s no way we would ever have discovered anything!”

Zu An voiced his concern as well. “Even though we know who is working behind the scenes, we don’t have any proof. That’s the biggest issue right now. I fear that even the Vice Magistrate won’t be of much help either.”

Chu Zhongtian stood up. “I will pay the City Lord Manor a visit and discuss this matter with Lord Xie.”

He knew that, for people like them, actual proof didn’t really matter, nor what could be found through interrogation. It was more important to discuss mutually beneficial arrangements behind the scenes.

As long as both parties reached an agreement, they could even arrange for the innocent to be found guilty—although, this time, the Zheng clan was truly guilty.

However, it wasn’t that easy to make that old fox Xie Yi stand by them completely.

A hint of worry appeared on Chu Zhongtian’s suave face. He hoped that the City Lord wouldn’t ask him for too much this time.

Suddenly, a flustered servant rushed in. “Reporting to Master and Madam! Something happened to young master Yucheng!”

Everyone present was stunned by this report.

Even Zu An was confused. What could have possibly happened to that damned fatty?

That guy’s defensive abilities were almost unrivaled! Those who were weaker than him would surely have been steamrolled! Moreover, he was with Wang Yuanlong this time. The Wang clan had many elite guards.

Wait!

His expression suddenly changed. A terrifying possibility emerged in his mind.

Soon afterwards, a bloodied Chu Yucheng was brought in on a stretcher.

Two people would have been enough to carry a normal stretcher. However, this guy was just too fat. Even four was barely enough to move him.

“My son!”[1]

Chu Tiesheng’s wife, Hu Lijing, had rushed over when she had heard the news. Chu Tiesheng himself maintained some semblance of calm. Hu Lijing threw herself over her son, tears pouring down her face.

The first time Zu An learned the name of Chu Tiesheng’s wife, he’d suffered a terrible fright. He’d looked over her repeatedly back then.[2]

Her facial features were still presentable, and she could be considered a classy middle-aged woman.

However, even though she was the same age as Qin Wanru, age had clearly left much more of a mark on her.

In both her appearance and physique, she was far below Qin Wanru’s standard. She really couldn’t be called some sexy vixen.

Wait, why did I subconsciously use Qin Wanru as a comparison?

Pui, pui, pui! Disgusting!

A guard had followed the servants in. “Young master Yucheng had staggered back to the estate, covered in blood,” he reported. “He said that there was something important to report, but he collapsed as soon as he finished speaking! We immediately brought him in.”

Chu Zhongtian hurried to the side of the stretcher. He placed a palm on Chu Yucheng’s chest, sending a wave of ki into his body.

Chu Yucheng groaned, gradually regaining consciousness.

“Yucheng, what happened?” Chu Zhongtian asked hurriedly.

“I was escorting Wang Yuanlong back to his estate. We made it about halfway when Chen Xuan attacked us. We fought a bitter battle… Wang Clan guards all killed… Wang Yuanlong captured. I barely escaped!” Even though his words were somewhat disjointed, his meaning was clear.

“Chen Xuan!” Chu Tiesheng erupted with fury. “Spawn of a dog, the two of us cannot live under the same sky!”

Chu Yucheng was ashamed and guilty. “Yucheng couldn’t protect brother Wang… The silver was also lost. I felt too ashamed to return, but I realized that I needed to report to the clan as soon as possible, so…”

Chu Zhongtian reached out a hand to forestall him. “Enough, there’s no need to say any more. This isn’t your fault.” He turned to the servants. “Bring Yucheng away for proper treatment.”

Chu Tiesheng and Hu Lijing followed in a hurry. This was their only son, after all.

“What should we do now?” Qin Wanru leaned over, her voice extremely grave.

Chu Zhongtian let out a long sigh. “When it rains it pours… I had originally planned to use this chance to ease the tensions with the Wang clan. However, it seems that we have overreached ourselves.”

Chu Chuyan immediately ordered several people to head out to the city to investigate. She wanted to see if they could pick up any information.

Her beautiful brows remained knitted together. She knew that the chances of them bringing back anything were slim.

“Why is this Chen Xuan able to move around so easily in the city? With his reputation, he should be keeping a lower profile! Yet he doesn’t seem to be scared at all!” Chu Chuyan said in consternation.

Chu Zhongtian also wore a worry frown. “This guy is as slippery as an eel. We’ve sent out a large force against him several times, yet he’s managed to get away every single time, even when we were extremely confident of our success. I really don’t know how he is doing this.”

“Could the Shi clan be involved? He is brothers with Mei Chaofeng, and both Mei Chaofeng and the Shi clan fed him intelligence in the past. Could he be hiding out in the Plum Blossom Sect’s property?” Zu An roughly explained the relationship between Chen Xuan, Mei Chaofeng, and Shi Kun.

Everyone present was stunned. Qin Wanru felt her anger and impatience rise. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

“None of you asked.” Zu An shrugged. In truth, he had been too busy recently, and forgot to bring it up.

His offhand comment was met with flat stares from Qin Wanru, Chu Zhongtian and Chu Chuyan.

You have successfully trolled Qin Wanru for 233 Rage points!

Qin Wanru was just about to give it to him when a guard suddenly appeared. “Reporting! The Wang clan’s master has come with his men.”

“What?!” Chu Zhongtian was shocked. He immediately rushed to the gates.

Chu Chuyan followed in a hurry. However, she still hadn’t made a full recovery, and standing for too long left her slightly weak. As she began to follow her father, she felt lightheaded, and her body swayed unsteadily back and forth.

Zu An rushed to her side to support her. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Chu Chuyan shook her head to dismiss his concern. “Help me outside to see the situation.”

“Got it!”

Qin Wanru blinked rapidly at this scene. When did the two of them become so close?

Her eldest daughter had always been as cold as ice, pushing others far away, and disdained any physical contact with a man.

Her mind drifted to the treatment that her daughter had mentioned, and how she even had to take off her clothes for it…

Could her daughter have been taken advantage of by that fellow? That fellow that she just couldn’t bring herself to like? Just thinking about it made Qin Wanru feel a little weary.

Zu An supported Chu Chuyan as they made their way to the gates. He saw a group of people there. They didn’t have any weapons, but they bore wooden sticks, poles, pots, and other sorts of implements.

They probably understood that weapons wouldn’t serve them in a conflict with the Chu clan’s guards, and this sort of appearance might attract a bit more pity.

He had seen the man in the front before. It was the Wang clan’s master, Wang Fu.

He was deep in conversation with Chu Zhongtian. However, when he noticed Zu An, anger immediately overcame him, and he charged straight at Zu An.

“The one surnamed Zu, return my son’s life!”

You have successfully trolled Wang Fu for 999 Rage points!

1. Note: The author has clarified that he made a mistake in this chapter, as Chu Yucheng's father should be Chu Yuepo.

2. Hu - surname, Lijing - beautiful crystal. When spelled with different characters and in a slightly different way, Huli Jing (狐貍精) is a fox-spirit (or nine-tailed fox) which is known to be able to shapeshift, adopting a beautiful woman's appearance in order to enchant men.