Zu An shrugged. “Strength is everything in this world. Since strength is a virtue, I’ve clearly used my virtue to convince you.”
Liu Yao was about to explode from anger. How could there be such a shameless person in this world?
This was indeed a world where the strong reigned. If he’d lost to someone stronger, then so be it.
But how many men did Zu An have on his side? Had he relied on his own strength at all? He was relying on this Red Cloak Army, which numbered three thousand!
Fucking dogshit!
You have successfully trolled Liu Yao for 999 Rage points!
Zu An had a taunting look on his face. Come at me, bitch. He now realized how moderately Chu Zhongtian had acted all this time. He had such a huge force behind him, yet he tried his best not to offend anyone. That was why everyone tried to step all over him, and treated the Chu clan like a bloody doormat.
Since that was the case, he would instead take a completely opposite approach! He needed to make an example out of someone, and this Liu Yao was the best candidate.
Sometimes, you just had to kick someone’s ass to scare the others off!
Xie Yi was worried that these two sides might really get into a fight. It seemed wrong to mediate, yet not stepping in also seemed wrong. He quickly walked over to appease Liu Yao, “General Liu, please do not get angry. This humble official has some things to consult with you about. This way please…”
He led Liu Yao over to one side as he spoke. Xie Daoyun also hurried over. She was beautiful and graceful, and shared a slim connection to the crown prince, which made her a perfect choice to help ease the tension.
Liu Yao gave Zu An a resentful glare, but decided against any further action in the end. He followed Xie Yi to the side for a chat.
Xie Xiu arrived at Zu An’s side. He sighed and said, “Brother Zu’s performance today has completely changed my opinion of you! You actually dared to go against a cultivator at the pinnacle of ninth rank!”
Zu An scoffed loudly. “What’s so special about the pinnacle of ninth rank? I’ve already played around with master and grandmaster rank cultivators before.”
He really wasn’t lying. Forgetting Old Mi and Wei Dan for a moment, none of those individuals in the secret dungeon had been weaker than Liu Yao.
Xie Xiu stared at him without speaking.
Since he didn’t know about these things, he treated Zu An’s words as simple boasting. He didn’t really care about it anyway, since there was something else he was concerned about. “By the way, what is going on between you and my sister? I’ve never seen my sister take the initiative to help someone else like this before!”
“Oh, just a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” Zu An said with a smile.
“What do you mean?” Xie Xiu began to panic.
“Just go ask your sister.” Zu An smiled mysteriously. Then, he called for some people to follow him into Chu Estate.
The imperial guardsmen moved to stop them, but when they recalled how even Liu Yao had been defeated, they were at a loss as to what to do.
Fortunately, Zu An didn’t bring everyone in, but only selected a few dozen to accompany him. The rest of the men were left outside the gates.
Xie Yi, who had been keeping an eye on him, finally exhaled in relief. He was glad that Zu An had the good sense to know when to stop, and hadn’t become openly hostile towards the Imperial Guard.
Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were shocked and overjoyed when they saw him enter with his Red Cloak Army escorts. Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai hurried off to visit their own family members after they paid their respects.
Qin Wanru was the more excited of the two. “Ah Zu, you didn’t disappoint me after all!”
“Master, Madam, it’s all right now. With the Red Cloak Army outside, none of these people would dare to start any trouble in Chu Estate!” Zu An smiled.
Chu Zhongtian was still worried. “But the debts that the salt commissioners have left behind are still there. Even if they don’t torture us to extract our confessions, the Chu clan is still done for if they continue with the investigation!”
Qin Wanru snorted. “What’s there to be scared about? We’ll just live as refugees in the wilderness if it comes to it. The Blackwind Stockade and the Whale Gang were doing just fine before. Is our Chu clan inferior to them?”
This woman really is irritable! Thank goodness Chuyan isn’t anything like her.
Zu An wiped the sweat off his brow and said, “Relax, it’s not that bad. It’s not as serious as Madam thinks. The account book that was stolen isn’t the real one.”
Qin Wanru and Chu Zhongtian looked at him, bewildered.
Zu An thus explained what Chu Chuyan had done with the account book to them.
Chu Zhongtian roared with laughter. “My Chuyan really is smart! Hahaha!”
Qin Wanru also smiled. The huge weight bearing down on her had finally lifted. However, another thought struck her immediately afterwards. “That brat! How dare she deceive me? I’m going to discipline her properly once she gets back!”
…
Zu An ordered the Red Cloak Army to set up camp nearby as he left the interior of the Chu Estate. It was clear that they wouldn’t leave until the investigation of the Chu clan was over.
Xie Yi was worried that hostilities would accidentally spark between the Red Cloak Army and Imperial Guard, so he had Xie Xiu and Pang Chun order the City Defense Army over, in case anything happened.
Liu Yao felt extremely irritated, but the Red Cloak Army was just too strong. Xie Yi had also clearly expressed his intentions to shield them. His hands were well and truly tied.
However, he was in no rush himself. Time was on his side. All he needed was to examine the account book. Once he had concrete proof, it would be easy enough to convict the lot of them.
Once they were convicted, no one would be able to help the Chu clan, unless Xie Yi openly rebelled.
Even if Xie Yi did step in to help the Chu clan, it wouldn’t matter either. He would just ask the emperor to issue an imperial edict, and then they would proceed to suppress all those who dared to step in.
Hmph, Zu An, just you wait! You can keep up your smugness for a few more days. Soon, I will make you understand just how cruel this world is!
Zu An felt his lips curl when he saw the Rage points flowing in. Coward. Come at me now if you have the guts!
He chose to ignore Liu Yao, and went to find Xie Daoyun instead.
She’d been a great help earlier, after all, and he had to thank her properly.
Zu An was surprised to see that her carriage was about to leave. “Where is Miss Xie going?”
The carriage curtains were drawn, revealing Xie Daoyun’s graceful figure. “Miss Zheng is getting married today. Since we share a good relationship, I am going to offer her my congratulations.”
“What?!” Zu An was shocked. He had been so preoccupied with everything that was going on, it had completely slipped his mind that it was already the following day.
“Teacher Zu, do you want me to bring a congratulatory gift in your stead?” Xie Daoyun winked mischievously.
She didn’t know about the secret that Zu An and Zheng Dan shared, but the two of them shared a teacher-student relationship in the academy. It was still expected of Zu An to congratulate her on her marriage.