Zu An was stupefied. “What the heck? Why are you giving this to me?”

Chu Chuyan’s face reddened further. “I am going out for official business, so it’s not appropriate for me to be seen reading this book. I need you to keep it safe.”

Zu An was utterly stunned.

“Surely no one would touch it even if you left it in your room!”

Chu Chuyan said, “No way. I’d die of humiliation if anyone in my family saw it.”

Zu An laughed. “So, it seems our First Miss Chu is also afraid of embarrassment!”

Then again, I guess this book really is embarrassing. My social life would probably be finished as well if I were caught with this book.

“Whatever! You’re the only one who knows about this now, so this is a secret between spouses. You cannot let anyone else know.” Chu Chuyan buried her head in his chest. Clearly, she was already extremely embarrassed.

“Okay, okay, I’ll hold onto it for you.” He rarely saw her act in such a juvenile manner. Zu An breathed in the scent of her hair, feeling incredibly refreshed.

“You have to promise me that you won’t let anyone else see it, and you can’t lose it. I still want to keep reading it when I come back!” Chu Chuyan’s eyes were hopeful.

Zu An was surprised. “It’s just one book. You still haven’t finished it?”

Chu Chuyan pouted. “I don’t have much time to read. Besides, can’t I read it slowly if I want to?”

“Of course you can, of course you can.” Zu An smiled. “I’ll do this for you, but you’ll have to do something for me as well.”

“What is it?” Chu Chuyan asked curiously.

Zu An smiled maliciously. He moved close to her ear and whispered something quietly.

Chu Chuyan’s face immediately flushed red. “No way!”

“Then I’m not doing it either,” Zu An huffed.

“You…” Chu Chuyan wanted to bite him.

Zu An had already carried her to bed. He instantly undid her clothes, and pulled the covers over them.

Now that it sunk in that the two of them would be apart for a while, Chu Chuyan also grew more proactive. She embraced her man and welcomed him in her most gentle manner.

…

After a long while, Zu An whispered his request in her ear again.

Chu Chuyan’s entire face was red, but she didn’t reject him this time. She only looked at him with a mixture of charm and bitterness. Then, she turned around.

This gorgeous view was enough to make any man go crazy. How could Zu An hold back any longer? He pounced on her with the roar of a tiger.

…

Before daybreak the next day, Chu Chuyan was ready to head to the capital.

She left through a small side entrance, with no grand sending off. They didn’t want anyone else to know about this.

Qin Wanru and Chu Huanzhao looked on reluctantly.

“Big sis, why does your skin look so good today?” Chu Huanzhao said suddenly, her voice full of curiosity.

Chu Chuyan’s face flushed completely red when she heard this. “Maybe… maybe I was able to sleep well last night.”

Chu Huanzhao wanted to probe further, but Qin Wanru stopped her.

She quietly gave Zu An a look. His expression seemed a little off as well.

Zu An’s face turned gloomy. Huanzhao’s words had made Chu Chuyan too embarrassed to even bid him farewell.

As he watched Chu Chuyan’s beautiful silhouette disappear into the distance, Zu An couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.

In the morning light, Qin Wanru appeared thin and pallid. The events that had taken place recently had clearly left her physically and emotionally exhausted. She had spent the whole night worrying over her daughter’s safety, and she had to see her off this morning as well. She had finally reached her limit. “Ah Zu, please bring Huanzhao to the academy,” she instructed.

With the Chu clan constantly buffeted by the storm facing it, the academy had become a comparatively safer place.

After all, the academy held a special status in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Neither faction would choose to cause trouble in the academy.

The academy’s teachers possessed high levels of cultivation as well. Most other powers didn’t dare provoke them.

Qin Wanru paused for a moment before continuing. “I’ve heard that you have a residence in the academy.”

“Yup.” Zu An nodded. He didn’t know why she asked him this question.

Qin Wanru said, “Huanzhao should stay there for now. The two of you should stay there for as long as you are able to.”

“What?” Chu Huanzhao cried out in alarm. Her heart began to pound. She snuck a look at Zu An, then quickly flicked her gaze away.

Zu An frowned. Something was clearly amiss. “Why would you suggest this, Madam?”

“It’s nothing serious. For some strange reason, my eyelid has been twitching constantly recently. I just have a bad feeling about this.” Qin Wanru rubbed her temples. “The Chu clan is facing some troubled times. I’m afraid I won’t be in time to protect you both if something happens, so I want Huanzhao to take shelter in the academy. There, at least, your safety should be guaranteed.”

“But…” Qin Wanru changed the topic. Her piercing stare bored into Zu An’s skull. “Ah Zu, you cannot… bully Huanzhao.”

“Do I look like that type of person?” Zu An bristled immediately when he sensed that his moral character was being questioned. “But that’s beside the point. I promised Chu Chuyan that I’d protect all of you. How can I hide in the academy?”

“You’ll protect me?” Qin Wanru scoffed. Even though she didn’t say anything more, her implications were obvious.

Zu An didn’t bother defending himself. He didn’t really feel like bragging about himself, so he decided to let her think what she wanted.

Chu Huanzhao also snapped out of her daze. “Mom, I don’t want to live in the academy. I want to stay with you at home!”

Even though living with her brother-in-law in the staff residence was tempting, her mother was also important to her.

“Fine, the two of you can choose where you think it best to stay, depending on the situation. I will send some of the clan’s guards to accompany the two of you to the academy.” Qin Wanru gave some instructions, then went inside on her own.

Zu An and Chu Huanzhao headed to the academy together.

“Brother-in-law, do you think big sis will be successful this time?”

“Don’t worry, she’ll definitely succeed.”

“Brother-in-law, do you think the Chu clan will survive?”

“It will.”

“Brother-in-law, will you always stay with us?”

“I will.”

…

Their conversation drifted over to the guards walking behind them, and they all sighed. The second miss was getting more and more attached to the young master…

Cheng Shouping cockily brought up their bet again. He urged everyone to pay up. “Madam has already given the second miss permission to live with the young master at the academy in the future! She even instructed us to not kick up a fuss for nothing. Is this still not enough?”

“That doesn’t say anything! Now that Master is in trouble, what’s wrong with having her live in the academy for her own safety?” One of the guards, Zhou Lujun, countered.

“What do you know? The second miss doesn’t have a residence in school, so where else would she live but with the young master?” Cheng Shouping giggled. “I’ve heard that the academy’s dormitories are extremely private. Once they lock the door, no one else can enter from the outside. The two of them would be all alone… doesn’t that mean that the Madam has already…”

Feng Daniu was troubled. “You might actually be right.”

Jiao Shanhe smacked him on the back. “Right my ass! Another day it takes for them to get married is another day we won’t admit defeat.”

“How long would I have to wait for that?” Cheng Shouping was clearly unhappy.

Jiao Shanhe said, “An engagement is fine as well.”

Cheng Shouping asked, “What if the rice is already cooked?”[1]

The others all looked at him with strange expressions. This guy was a natural at courting disaster. No wonder he had been driven off to work in the kitchen.

After seeing Chu Huanzhao to class, Zu An went looking for Zheng Dan.

He wasn’t interested in wasting time trying to discuss the Chu clan’s current situation with the senior members of the academy.

He came this time because he had thought up another way to help the Chu clan out of their predicament.

He didn’t want Chu Chuyan to shoulder the burden alone. He wanted to bear some of the weight as well.

Quite a few students were already present when he finally reached the Sky class. However, Zu An didn’t let this bother him. He walked towards Zheng Dan and gestured for her to come out for a chat.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Dan showed no signs of moving. She smiled and said, “Teacher Zu, I am a woman who is already engaged, yet you are always looking for me. I have to turn you down sometimes to avoid suspicion, right?”

Zu An was not amused.

This girl was still putting on her act?

Wu Qing, who was sitting close by, jeered at him as well. “Oh my, isn’t it first miss Chu’s husband? Why are you running to someone else’s fiancée all day? Could it be that first miss Chu doesn’t have a good leash on you, or does the Chu clan no longer seem so great to you?”

1. This is a Chinese idiom, which means something has already been done and cannot be changed.