Zu An was absolutely devastated. He knew that Chu Zhongtian was saying this to give weight to his argument, but this sounded so wrong!

He was really close to Huanzhao, and he was sure that his father-in-law had noticed too. He just didn’t talk about it.

The crowd erupted in a massive commotion. Zu An’s ‘romantic adventures’ were already widely known throughout the city, but after the initial shock, everyone had slowly grown numb to the news. However, this new drama involving both sisters suddenly had them all worked up again. He’d actually achieved this fantasy that countless men could only dream of!

“Have you seen Chu Second Miss before? I have! She’s already quite lovely. Who knows, she might grow up to be even prettier than her older sister!”

“That brat Zu An got his hands on both of the Chu sisters at once! His luck with women is crazy!”

“That’s not even all of it. I heard that he even has something going on with Madam Chu… This might be the real reason why Brightmoon Duke is kicking him out…”

The buzz of gossip instantly set the crowd afire, and the place became extremely lively.

Chu Zhongtian’s eyelids twitched. Given his cultivation, how could he not hear what they were saying? He never expected his acting to result in this sort of misunderstanding!

However, there was no way he could explain the truth to them either. Was he supposed to insist that Zu An had done nothing of that sort with his wife? Who the hell would believe that? They would instead take it as an indirect confession, which would make things even worse!

He felt incredibly wronged.

Qin Wanru’s face was completely red as well. She hadn’t expected such a reaction from the crowd either. She shot Zu An an unhappy look.

Meanwhile, Zu An was beaming with joy from all the Rage points he was getting, all of them kindly donated by the jealous and envious crowd.

Please keep the good stuff coming!

King Liang and Liu Yao quickly had the Embroidered Envoy bring out the imperial edict. They found that it was exactly as the Chu clan claimed, containing the wording ‘son-in-law, Zu An’. They both looked at the leader of the Embroidered Envoy in annoyance.

The leader felt utterly ashamed. After all, he had been the one who had dictated the imperial edict. How could he have expected this sort of loophole?

In the end, it was King Liang, the old fox of the court, who reacted quickly. He immediately criticized Chu Zhongtian viciously. “You dare play your word games with the imperial edict? You are making a fool out of your sovereign! Your vile heart must be punished!”

“King Liang, I do not dare to receive such a great title,” Chu Zhongtian replied sarcastically. “We have responded most loyally to His Majesty’s imperial edict. How can this be considered making a fool out of him?”

Jiang Luofu, who had remained silent all this while, also spoke up. “I agree with what Brightmoon Duke says. Many people have heard what he said as well. Since Zu An is no longer the son-in-law of the Chu clan, I find it rather unacceptable for you to trouble the Chu clan any further.”

Seeing Principal Jiang take the lead, Xie Yi didn’t want to let slip this chance to express his goodwill to the Chu clan either. “This humble official also thinks that interrogating the Chu clan further would be a bit much. How about I have my bailiffs cooperate with the search for Zu An instead?”

“Lord Xie needs not do that.” How could King Liang be blind to his true thoughts? Send bailiffs to arrest Zu An? Who knew where Zu An had run off to by now! How the heck were they supposed to catch him? Besides, not even the Embroidered Envoy could apprehend him before. What the heck were his bailiffs going to do? Catch him my ass!

He roundly ignored Xie Yi, and began to discuss their next plan of action with Liu Yao and the leader of the Embroidered Envoy, Huang Huihong.

Liu Yao chuckled. “Since the emperor sent the distinguished King Liang to deal with this matter, it’s only natural that I pledge to fully obey whatever it is you order of me.”

King Liang cursed him in his heart. This old fox’s words sounded nice, but all he was doing was to push all responsibility of this matter onto him. This dogshit bastard doesn’t even have a shred of a conscience after all the whoring… ahem ahem, after the camaraderie we shared in the Immortal Abode.

King Liang had no choice but to look to Huang Huihong. “What does Commander Huang think?”

Huang Huihong said in a serious tone, “The only thing I care about is capturing Zu An and bringing him back. This was the absolute goal that the emperor entrusted to me. Respectfully, if we do not do so, not only our Embroidered Envoy, but even you will not be able to escape punishment.”

King Liang’s face was as dark as a storm cloud. His inner landscape was in utter turmoil.

A while later, he finally made a decision. He walked up to the Chu Estate again and declared in a loud voice, “Since Zu An is no longer the son-in-law of the Chu clan, I cannot execute the entire clan according to the imperial edict. However, based on the Chu clan’s actions, I suspect them of trying to deceive the emperor and shelter Zu An. The emperor will be the one to make the final decision on how to deal with them.

“Men, arrest everyone in the Chu clan! We will escort all of them back to the capital!”

As someone within the emperor’s faction, he clearly understood that the emperor wanted to use this chance to seize the Chu clan’s assets. Arresting the entire Chu clan would pave the way for this nicely.

This way, even if he wasn’t able to capture Zu An, he could still lessen his punishment through other merits.

“What?!” Everyone in the Chu clan panicked when they heard this. Many of them even secretly gripped their weapons.

Xie Yi coughed and said, “Respected king, isn’t this a little inappropriate? Forcibly detaining a duke’s clan in the capital city will cause huge upheaval both inside and outside Brightmoon City!”

King Liang said coldly, “I will take all responsibility for the consequences!”

He then looked at the members of the Chu clan. “What? Are you planning to resist? Do you want the Embroidered Envoy to bring out another imperial edict? I fear that, in your current condition, we might not even need an imperial edict. General Liu and I can handle all of you on our own!”

He intentionally looked at Xie Yi and Jiang Luofu as he said this. These words were clearly meant for the two of them as well.

Sure enough, Xie Yi and Jiang Luofu both frowned, but kept their silence.

It was one thing if it was just King Liang and Liu Yao, but the Embroidered Envoy could act in place of the Son of Heaven. If they summoned another imperial edict, no one would be able to offer the slightest resistance.

With the order given, the Imperial Guard moved in to arrest the members of the Chu clan. Wails and howls sounded within the Chu Estate. Wives cried for their husbands, children cried for their parents, and parents cried for their children…

“Clan Master?” The others looked towards Chu Zhongtian. Clearly, they needed him to make an immediate decision for the clan.

Chu Zhongtian’s expression flickered several times. He looked at his wife and saw the encouragement and trust in her eyes. He took a deep breath, then slowly said, “The ancestors of the Chu clan established this clan through martial glory. The Chu clan’s disciples have always died in battle! Never have there ever been any successors who surrendered and allowed themselves to be slaughtered. Instead of being treated as prisoners in the capital city, suffering humiliation and slander, we would rather fight an honorable battle to the death! Men of the Chu clan, raise your blades if you are willing to stand and fight with me!”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Everyone in the Chu clan drew their weapons. It was obvious that none of them wanted to be brought back to the capital as criminals.

King Liang was furious. “Are you all trying to resist?!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, all the spears and blades of the Imperial Guard were pointed towards the Chu clan.

“Ah!!!” The surrounding common people all panicked when they saw that a battle was about to break out. They had come with their melon seeds to watch a good show, not to lose their lives.

Xie Yi’s entire head was drenched in sweat. He wiped his forehead while advising both sides, “Everyone, please calm down! Brightmoon Duke, King Liang, please do not be so hasty! Principal Jiang, say something, please!”

Jiang Luofu opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything in the end. She knew what fate awaited the Chu clan once they were escorted to the capital. She really couldn’t bring herself to dissuade them from doing what they wanted to do.

However, those on the side of the Chu clan were already severely wounded. If battle ensued, they would have practically no chance of victory.

Just as the tension was about to erupt into open conflict, a voice suddenly cried out. “Wait!”

Leaving aside King Liang and his men for the moment, Jiang Luofu and the whole Chu clan all trembled as they turned towards the source of the sound.

Zu An had already removed his mask a long time ago. He slowly walked out of the crowd. “I’m the one you all want to capture. Why are you bothering these others?!”

“Ah Zu!” Qin Wanru was equal parts furious and anxious when she saw him step out. What was the point in him stepping out right now?

He should have just gone to find Chu Chuyan and rescue Huanzhao, and taken them into hiding with him.

Zu An flashed the Master and Madam of the Chu clan an apologetic smile. “Since you guys have already kicked me out of the Chu clan, you can’t blame me for not treating you with respect.”

He didn’t want to burden the Chu clan either. That was why it was best to cut all ties now.

He then looked towards King Liang and the others. “I’m the one you all want, right? Come at me, then.”

King Liang chuckled. “I didn’t expect you to have a backbone, brat! Not bad, not bad!”

The reason he had treated the Chu clan like this was mainly to force Zu An into showing himself. Since he’d already achieved his objective, there was no need to trouble the Chu clan any further.

After all, clashing with the Chu clan head on would surely lead to severe bloodshed. It was hard to predict the consequences of something like that.

“Ah Zu, rather than throwing away your life, why don’t you just fight with us?” Chu Zhongtian knew that Zu An could've easily escaped before. The only reason he had shown up was because of the Chu clan. How could someone like him be willing to let Zu An sacrifice his life for them?

Zu An smiled. “I have nothing to do with the Chu clan anymore, so there is no need for Brightmoon Duke to go through the trouble. Besides, I’m not planning on going to my death. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is still with me. There is no way the emperor will kill me before he gets his hands on it.”