Zu An’s words left Chu Zhongtian stumped too.
Just how brazen must you be to dare ask for beautiful maids in the presence of your parents-in-law and your wife? Do you think we would send you those to compete with our daughter? There’s no such parents in the world who would do that!
Back then, I wanted a few beautiful maids too, but in the end, aren’t I still single here?
Chu Zhongtian couldn’t help but direct a grudging look toward his wife.
Zu An was shocked by those words too. A furrow gradually formed on his forehead as he asked, “You can’t be so stingy as to shirk compensation after the huge contribution I’ve made for the Chu clan, right?”
“…” Qin Wanru.
Chu Chuyan finally spoke up at this moment, “Do you still not understand the situation yet? We want to know who’s behind you! What’s your purpose of going this far to infiltrate our Chu clan—cough cough!”
Halfway through her words, she suddenly began coughing violently. Chu Zhongtian quickly asked out of concern, “Your injuries seem to be worse than I expected.”
“It isn’t an issue. It won’t get in my way.” Chu Chuyan shook her head before turning her gaze back to Zu An.
“I infiltrated the Chu clan?” replied Zu An subconsciously. “Weren’t you the one who chose me as your drafted son-in-law and brought me in?”
A tinge of redness formed on Chu Chuyan’s face as she explained, “I was just thinking of… choosing an ordinary, unambitious man. I thought that you would fit the criteria. While the world says that you’re inept… I don’t care about all those. But now, I realized that you’ve been keeping me in the dark all along.”
Qin Wanru followed up as well, “Indeed! You went through so much effort to hide your true strength so as to appear harmless before us. Without a doubt, you must be planning something great. On top of that, you were even able to circumvent the background check we conducted. This means that there has to be a greater power assisting you. Speak! Were you sent by the empress’ faction or King Qi’s faction?”
Zu An finally understood why they were so angry at him, and he answered, “Mother-in-law, who do you think I was sent by then?”
“Shut your mouth! Don’t call me mother-in-law!” bellowed Qin Wanru furiously. “It goes without saying that you’re…”
But halfway through her words, she suddenly froze up. She realized that Zu An’s actions didn’t benefit any of the factions she had just listed.
“If I really bear malicious intentions in mind, why would I risk exposing myself in order to help the Chu clan win the Clans Tournament? You should also be aware of the implications behind this tournament too,” added Zu An.
“Hmph! It might be because you weren’t valued by the Chu clan thus far, so you wanted to make a name for yourself to win our favor. At the same time, you would also be able to get together with Chuyan… Cough cough.”
There was no way that she wouldn’t have noticed that her daughter and son-in-law hadn’t been sleeping in the same room.
“Fine, allow me to put it in another way then. If I was from the empress’ faction, why would I get into a conflict with Shi clan, and why would Snow, whom they had slotted by Chuyan’s side, be out for my life then?” said Zu An. “And if I’m from King Qi’s faction… Oh? It does seem like there’s a chance here.”
Qin Wanru sneered coldly, “Nothing more to say, huh?”
However, how could Zu An possibly lose in an argument? He swiftly recovered and thought of an idea, “There’s actually an easy way to prove that I’m not related to King Qi.”
“How do you intend to prove it?” asked Chu Chuyan.
Subconsciously, she hoped that Zu An had nothing to do with all of these powers. She didn’t think that she was really fond of Zu An, just that she had already gotten used to being with him. While he was different from how she thought him out to be, it wouldn’t be easy for her to find someone else at this point.
Zu An pointed to heaven and swore, “How about this? King Qi’s sons will have no buttholes and all of his daughters will become my concubine. Now, you can’t possibly still think that I’m from King Qi’s faction, right?”
Qin Wanru’s body recoiled in horror whereas Chu Chuyan hurriedly averted her embarrassed gaze/
Chu Zhongtian burst out angrily, “How can you say such words out loud! If King Qi hears of that, he’ll have you executed right away!”
Zu An chuckled cheekily in response, “Well, doesn’t that prove that I have no relations with King Qi? You should trust me now, right?”
“Even if you aren’t related to King Qi, there’s no saying that you might still be from the empress’ faction,” said Qin Wanru. “Who knows? You might just be putting on a skit with Shi Kun and the others so as to win our trust.”
“Isn’t that simple to disprove too?” Zu An put his hands up and began swearing once more. “From now on, the empress shall…”
Chu Zhongtian hurriedly reached out to cover Zu An’s mouth. “Enough, enough! You shouldn’t talk about the empress in such a manner even if she can’t hear you. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time that your rotten mouth lands you into deep trouble!”
Zu An scoffed a little upon hearing those words. Sorry to let you down, but I’m counting on this rotten mouth of mine to rise through the ranks.
“Then how do you possess your current level of cultivation?” Chu Chuyan stared at Zu An intently. “Based on what I saw on the dueling ring, you should be at the third rank at the very minimum.”
“Are you surprised to see that your husband isn’t a good-for-nothing contrary to what others say?” Zu An leaned toward Chu Chuyan as he asked with a smile.
Chu Chuyan subconsciously took a step back to widen the distance between them before saying, “I’m more shocked than surprised. You haven’t answered my question yet.”
“Oh.” Zu An pondered for a moment before replying, “Actually, I’ve been talented ever since a young age. It’s just that I don’t like bragging so I’ve been keeping a low profile all this while. That’s why the world misunderstands me… Ah! The common populace simply doesn’t understand prodigies and discriminate against them!”
“Do you take us as fools?” Qin Wanru couldn’t take it anymore. “We did a thorough check on you before accepting you in as our drafted son-in-law. In the past decade, you’re a good-for-nothing from head to toe. Your deceased uncle doesn’t know any cultivation either, so there’s no one around you who you could have possibly learned how to cultivate from.”
“Well, it’s like this. Many years ago, I met an old beggar who was on the verge of starving to death. Out of pity, I gave him a bun, and that made him extremely thankful to me. So, he imparted to me a cultivation technique. I’ve been practicing it diligently since then, and before I knew it, I’ve already reached my current level.” Zu An laughed heartily.
He had seen plenty of martial arts movies in his previous life to know about the plot devices that give rise to the protagonist’s power skips.
“Hah! A cultivator would actually be starving to the point where he needs you to save him?” Qin Wanru totally didn’t believe the story at all. “Are you taking me for a fool?!”
“I mean, cultivators can get into bad positions at times too! God knows what he has been through!” Zu An swiftly supplemented his story.
Qin Wanru and Chu Zhongtian shot a glance at one another before nodding inconspicuously. If Zu An had tried to explain all of the details, they might have doubted him even more. However, Zu An’s vehement and forceful attitude in insisting on his imperfect story somehow made him look much more credible.
“Very well, we’ll believe you for the time being. However…” Qin Wanru’s tone suddenly turned sharp. “… if we were to ever find out that you have been deceiving us, you shouldn’t blame us for getting nasty on you!”
“But what if Chuyan and I already bear grandchildren for you by then? Won’t you be a bit nicer on me on the account of your grandchildren?”
“…” Chu Zhongtian.
“…” Qin Wanru.
Chu Chuyan was both embarrassed yet enraged. “Shut up! Who’s going to bear children with you?!”
Zu An shrugged calmly. “Aren’t we a couple? It’s perfectly normal for us to have children.”
“Pui!” No matter how cold-natured Chu Chuyan was, she was still a young maiden. Zu An’s teasing left her turning her head away in a huff.
This fellow really is too much! Despite being… he still wants to make fun of me!
Chu Zhongtian coughed lightly to alleviate the awkwardness in the room. “So, Zu An…”