The crowd was getting riled up, and Yuan Wenji’s loss was indeed embarrassing too. Seeing that the tides weren’t on his side, he could only retreat with the Yuan clan with a livid look on his face.
Wu Wei knew that there was no way to salvage the situation anymore, so he swiftly left the scene too. He was frustrated by how Sang Hong refused to help them that he didn’t even bother bidding his farewell.
Wu Qing, before leaving with her father, shot Zu An a sharp glare. This fellow foiled our Wu clan’s plans. Hmph! I’ll get Pan Long and Fu Feng to think up something so as to vent this grudge!
Jiang Luofu also stood up as well. She was planning to pose some questions to Zu An, but recalling the crowd they were standing before, it didn’t seem like a good idea. So, she decided to pose her doubts once they were back at the academy instead.
Watching as Jiang Luofu stood up, Ji Dengtu hurriedly lowered his head guiltily before walking out of the area. At the same time, he thought about how that lad from the Yuan clan had broken his ki meridian and would surely require treatment. Another sum of money coming into my pocket then. Heh, little Zu An, I’m liking you more and more!
After Jiang Luofu left, most of the men who had been ogling at her at this time suddenly felt that there wasn’t much point to this Clans Tournament anyway, so they scattered too.
Xie Yi clasped his fist toward Sang Hong, bidding his farewell before returning back to the City Lord Estate. Along the way, he asked Xie Xiu, “I heard that you’re on good terms with him?”
Xie Xiu nodded. “We had some pleasant encounters with one another.”
“Try to get close to him in the academy. There’s more to this child than what we see. Even if you aren’t able to befriend him, you must make sure not to make an enemy out of him. Perhaps, it might fall on him to bring the Chu clan over to our side.”
Xie Xiu was put in a spot. “Father, it’s not like you don’t know how I am like. I can win over women with ease, but if you want me to get close to a man… That’s really out of my field of specialty.”
Xie Yi’s eyes immediately widened angrily. “You still dare to say it aloud! You squander your time on women and cause a huge load of trouble everywhere. Just a few days ago, Lord Zhang came over to complain on the behalf of his daughter. Do you know how embarrassed I was?”
Xie Xiu responded with a sheepish smile. I mean, if we aren’t meant to be, what’s the point of holding on? Why do those women always act as if it’s the end of the world whenever we break up?
At the same time, Xie Daoyun shot a glare at her younger brother before speaking gently, “Father, please leave Zu An’s matter to me. It just so happens that I’m curious about him too.”
Xie Xiu was nearly shocked out of his wits. “Big sis, that fellow is a renowned moocher! You mustn’t get fooled by him!”
Xie Daoyun grabbed her younger brother’s ears and twisted it angrily. “Do you think that everyone in the world is like you? Besides, I’m just going to consult him on music-related matters. Why would anything happen out of that?”
“I guess so,” replied Xie Xiu in agreement.
My big sister has high standards. She once said that her husband must be wise enough to govern a city and strong enough to bring stability to the country. A hoodlum like Zu An doesn’t fit the criteria at all. It looks like I was just worrying in vain.
After those from the City Lord Estate departed, Sang Qian rushed to his father’s side and exclaimed anxiously. “Father, how can you declare it as Zu An’s victory? What about…”
Before he could finish his words, Sang Hong had already interjected snappishly, “What else do you expect me to do then? The Yuan clan is useless! With so many eyes on me, do you think that it’s possible for me to rule it as Zu An’s loss? You should know that while the man above me wishes to deal with the Chu clan, he values the reputation and image of the royal court even more!
“Besides, I haven’t settled the score with you for getting involved with the creation of a casino on your own accord. You better clean it up well!”
After berating his son, Sang Hong departed together with his subordinates with a livid face. Naturally, he wasn’t pleased by the results of today’s tournament.
Sang Qian’s face darkened too.
Even though my father is a formidable figure in the royal court, he doesn’t seem to care much about our clan. If he just earns off the stipends of the royal court without looking for additional income out there, what’ll happen to the rest of us?
Besides, isn’t this the usual practice of most officials? They all have their own business out there. My father is simply too old-fashioned and inflexible!
It was then that a gentle voice sounded in his ears. “Is Governor Sang unwilling to help?”
The light fragrance drifting across the air was more than enough to make Zheng Dan’s beautiful visage surface in his head. His irritation soothed a little just by her presence. “Yeah, you know what my father is like too. He isn’t willing to get involved in such matters.”
Zheng Dan frowned. “What do we do then? Are we really going to pay the 1,000,000 silver taels?”
While the Sang clan was involved in the casino as well, most of the money was still forked out from the Zheng clan’s side. If they suffered a loss, the one who would be done in more badly was still the Zheng clan.
“Of course not!” exclaimed Sang Qian!
He was still waiting to earn money off the casino, but who could have thought that a debt of 1,000,000 silver taels would come in first? There was no way he could swallow that down!
He turned his gaze toward the Chu clan, and a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. “Say, since Zu An had to step onto the dueling ring today, don’t you think that he’ll entrust the bet paper to his study companion in case it gets torn?”
“You’re saying that we can make use of this opportunity right now to snatch the bet paper over?” Zheng Dan’s eyes lit up.
“Indeed. We need to do it fast too, otherwise we’ll have no chance to do so once they realize it,” said Sang Qian.
“Alright!” Zheng Dan immediately wrote down another bet paper before the two of them began making their way toward the Chu clan.
Not too far away, Shi Kun noticed their irregular movements and frowned. “What are those two up to?”
Snow shook her head, not knowing what was happening either.
Shi Kun harrumphed coldly. “Now that I think of it, they were the ones who provided us with inaccurate intelligence yesterday. They can’t be colluding with the Chu clan in secret, are they?”
The old man behind Shi Kun, Shi Lezhi, said, “I don’t think so. It’s more likely that they have been duped. That brat is extremely cunning.”
“What should we do from now on then?” remarked Shi Kun with an awful look on his face.
Now that Zu An had made such a huge contribution to the Chu clan and reversed his ‘good-for-nothing’ image, the Chu clan would surely view him in a different light. Perhaps, Chu Chuyan might even fall for him!
Just thinking of Zu An becoming the Chu clan’s real son-in-law and holding his beloved woman in embrace was enough to fill his mind with envy.
To make things worse, the previous few assassination attempts had been foiled, which meant that the Chu clan was already on their guard. It wouldn’t be easy to kill him at all.
“Young master, it’s because your mind is in a fluster that you keep thinking of killing him directly. You’ve neglected the fact that we have an advantage over him,” said Shi Lezhi with a smile.
“Hm?” Shi Kun hurriedly turned his gaze over.
Shi Lezhi carried on, “Right now, we wield great power in terms of politics and authority. We can simply use our strength there to get rid of him. Regardless of how powerful the Chu clan might be, they don’t have the strength to openly oppose the royal court. We can simply do this…”
Upon hearing the plan, Shi Kun’s face swiftly cleared up in delight. “Hahaha! It looks like wisdom does come with age! It’s no wonder why my father appointed you by my side.”
Snow was also amazed by what she had heard. It’s no wonder why the number of unaffiliated cultivators is on the decline. Those in power sure know how to play their cards well. Those who offend them would eventually be cornered by their ploys before being plucked off.
…
Meanwhile, Pei Mianman walked toward Zu An with a smile and said, “Congratula…”
Before she could finish his words, Zu An suddenly rushed off while saying, “Give me a moment.”