Zu An was speechless. No wonder Mi Li had spoken like that just then. From this distance, it really did look as if they were chatting in an extremely close manner. He harrumphed and stormed up the stairs with a gloomy expression.
However, he didnât suspect Chu Chuyan. Now only did he trust her, he also had confidence in himself. But that other fellow⦠Heh!
âChuyan, do you see the scenery over there? This is the best viewing spot in the entire capital city. Ordinary people donât have the privilege of admiring this scenery from this angle.
âIâll bring you over to hunt when thereâs a chance next time. Thatâs the royal family garden, a place ordinary people canât go to. However, our Murong clan has received the emperorâs benevolence, so we have permission to hunt inside.â
â¦
Even though the young man was dressed in armor, there was no masculinity to him. It instead made him look even more like a weak intellectual. He was chatting up Chu Chuyan with a smile.
Chu Chuyanâs pretty brows furrowed slightly. She subconsciously moved to the side to keep a bit of distance from the young man. âYoung master Murong, please donât call me Chuyan. You can call me Miss Chu, or Madam Zu.â
The young manâs eyes narrowed when he heard the words âMadam Zuâ. Anger surged within him.
You have successfully trolled Murong Luo for +110 +110 +110â¦
Zu An was stunned. This kidâs name was Murong Luo!
As he walked up the stairs, he just happened to hear Murong Luo say to Chuyan, âMiss Chu, everyone knows that your esteemed father and mother have already driven that drafted son-in-law out of the clan. How can we still call the two of you husband and wife?â
Chu Chuyan said indifferently, âHeâs still my husband in my heart.â
This man was Murong Qingheâs clan brother. Because of Chu Chuyanâs good relationship with Murong Qinghe, she had decided to do her a favor. As such, she couldnât say anything too excessive. She could only say such a thing to clearly make some distance and make him back off.
Murong Luo was angry inside, but he looked confident and carefree on the surface. He said, âLife is full of changes. Chu First Miss is someone who values feelings greatly. Iâm in awe.â
âHey, are you done yet? My brother-in-law and sister-in-law have a great relationship. Just give up already.â Chu Youzhao had long since grown tired of the conversation. She jumped out and stood in between the two.
Zu An nodded internally. He hadnât doted on this kid for nothing; at least she knew to help her brother-in-law.
Murong Luo frowned. He gestured toward Murong Qinghe for help. However, Murong Qinghe was completely infatuated with Chu Youzhao and didnât notice his gaze at all.
In the end, a womanâs heart belongs to her man; theyâre not reliable at all. Murong Luo harrumphed. He was just about to say something when a cold voice said, âDo you know what the punishment for negligence while on duty is?â
âWhich idiot said that?â Murong Luo said furiously. He was the head of this gate, and he had the Murong clan behind him. He could do whatever he wanted here. He had been wondering how else to show off in front of his goddess, but now, a fool had jumped out at the perfect time. He was going to use this fellow to display his power.
However, when he turned around and saw the uniformed men, he almost pissed his pants.
Embroidered Envoys! He had grown up in the capital, so he obviously knew who the Embroidered Envoys were! Let alone the fact that the one in the lead was a golden token envoy!
Zu An sneered, âThe Embroidered Envoys act in the place of the son of heaven, yet they are merely idiots in your eyes? Looking down on his majesty is a huge crime of disrespect! Men, arrest him!â He obviously needed to teach a fly who had gotten too close to Chu Chuyan a good lesson.
Murong Luoâ expression changed. He quickly replied, âWhat are you saying? Thatâs not what I meant!â
Murong Qinghe couldnât be bothered to continue admiring her man anymore. She quickly jumped out to protect her clan brother, pleading, âSir, please forgive him. He didnât know that you were the ones who came here and didnât intend to offend you. Please accept my apology in his place.â
Many matters werenât convenient for men to do. It was much easier for women to ease tension. She obviously couldnât let Murong Luo bear such an offense. After all, it wasnât related to Murong Luo alone, but rather to the safety of the entire clan.
Zu An harrumphed and said, âEveryone heard what he said just now, so Iâm not wronging him. Didnât you all hear it?â
The other Embroidered Envoys werenât stupid. They knew that their superior didnât get along with this man, so why would they contradict him? They all nodded in agreement.
Murong Luoâs face turned incredibly pale. He was normally always the one who oppressed others. Who would have thought that the tides would suddenly turn, and that he would instead be the one  oppressed? Even though he knew that the other party was using this as a pretext to make a fuss, the envoyâs identity was too special. He really couldnât do anything about it.
Murong Qinghe tugged on Chu Youzhao and Chu Chuyanâs sleeves, begging for help.
Since it was her dear little sister who was asking, Chu Youzhao obviously couldnât just watch without doing anything. She said, âSir, it was Miss Murong who invited the Qin clan out to play this time. We were merely stopping here for a short time, so we ended up troubling young master Murong. I hope sir can treat this matter leniently.â
Zu An thought to himself that the little brat was quite smart. She hadnât argued about the matter of disrespect, because that was merely a pretext; rather, she had focused on the negligence of duty. At the same time, she had hinted at their backgrounds. In the capital, there werenât many who didnât know who the Qin clan and Murong clan were, so they still had to show them at least some respect.
Unfortunately, Zu An had no intention of doing any of that. He said, âI have always upheld the law impartially; I do not need to give anyone face. It changes nothing even if you bring out the Murong clanâs name here.â
Chu Youzhao got a bit upset when she heard those words. It wasnât because of Murong Luo, but rather because the other party didnât seem to treat the Qin clan as a big deal.
Seeing the Rage points the Murong clanâs siblings and Chu Youzhao provided, Zu Anâs expression didnât change in the slightest. He didnât have the slightest good intentions toward the two clans.
Just then, Chu Chuyan spoke up. âSir, I believe you came because there are official matters to take care of. May I ask what they are exactly? Perhaps we can all help you with that matter together.â
Mi Li, who was sitting nearby atop the city wall, sneered. âYour wife is indeed the smartest one here. She immediately identified the real problem.â
Zu An thought, Of course my woman is smart. Then, he coughed and looked toward Chu Chuyan and asked, âIs this one Chu First Miss?â
It was Chu Chuyanâs turn to be shocked. She replied, âIndeed. Why do you recognize me?â
âYouâre the wife of the crown princeâs chamberlain, so why wouldnât I recognize you?â Zu An then began to praise himself without the slightest sense of shame. âSir Zu is righteous and honorable, he acts with consideration for the people, he is handsome and suaveâ¦â
Mi Li had originally just been watching the whole scenario unfold like a play. She was completely stupefied when she heard Zu An speak. It looked like she had still ended up underestimating this fellowâs shamelessness in the end!
Even Chu Chuyan blushed when she heard those words. She hadnât expected her husband to be treated so well in the palace.
Zu An coughed and finally stopped. âThis matter is related to Sir Zuâs innocence, so I will leave the matter at that as a favor for Madam Zu. However, even though a death crime can be pardoned, it cannot remain unpunished. For negligence and disrespect, he is to be flogged twenty times!â
âUnderstood!â An Embroidered Envoy stepped forward and pushed Murong Luo to the ground.
Even though Murong Luoâs cultivation wasnât bad, how could he be a match for the Embroidered Envoys? He immediately lost his center of gravity and was knocked to the ground. âYou guys canât hit me! My dad⦠Ah!â He screamed in misery before he even finished his sentence. The Embroidered Envoyâs rod had already smashed down on his bottom.
Even though Murong Qinghe and the others werenât too happy to see this, it was already quite a good conclusion for the matter to end this way. After all, it was something that could have been much worse. Furthermore, for better or for worse, Murong Luo was still a sixth rank cultivator, so he should be able to handle this beating.
However, they had no idea how the Embroidered Envoys did things. The Envoys knew how officials thought, and they were extremely skilled in this field. Even though it looked like just twenty strikes, this fellow would need at least half a month to recover.
As he heard Murong Luo scream miserably, Zu An sat down casually. Then, he called over Murong Luoâs assistant to ask him about Ou Wu.
The assistant replied, âI believe an Ou clan carriage indeed left a few days ago.â
Zu An frowned. âWhy are his wife and children allowed to leave whenever they please?â
âWe didnât know that Ou Wuâs family was inside, and they had their clanâs command tile, so we couldnât investigate inside,â the soldiers replied.
âSince you didnât investigate, how did you know it was the Ou clanâs carriage?â Zu Anâs sharp eyes scanned the soldiers.