Chapter 1213: Flower Name Card

Seemingly oblivious to his shock, Sang Hong continued, "Your foundation is truly too shallow. Our Sang clan cannot compare to those ancient, prominent families. If we have Yan Xuehen, not only is she a world-renowned Grandmaster herself, but her backing, White Jade Palace, is also a powerful force no weaker than any aristocratic family."

"Oh, right," Sang Hong seemed to recall something, then advised, "Don't provoke Yun Jianyue. She's the Demon Sect Master; that identity is too troublesome and would do you more harm than good."

Zu An was speechless. "Uncle, how many dishes did you have tonight to get this drunk? You're overestimating me a bit, aren't you?"

What he said sounded, well, like when I was a child agonizing over whether to marry Liu Yifei or Gao Yuanyuan, only to realize in the end that I was overthinking things.

Sang Hong said with a complex expression, "You managed to handle a woman like Yu Yanluo; I believe you're perfectly capable."

What kind of woman was Yu Yanluo? For so many years, she was the most captivating beauty in the world. How many princes and nobles in the capital did she charm back then?

Back then, he had glimpsed her from afar, and for the next half a year, he dreamt of her almost every day. It took him a long time to get over it.

Even the Emperor and Prince Qi had been infatuated with her, yet no one had managed to win her over.

As for the Duke of Cloud-Mid, everyone in the know understood that he was merely a shield Yu Yanluo intentionally put forward to avoid trouble.

If Zu An could handle a woman who was the dream of every man in the world, what woman couldn't he handle?

Sang Hong even had a strange feeling that for his daughter to be considered a sister to women like Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen, it almost felt like she was marrying up...

However, he immediately suppressed this thought. Hmph, his own daughter was the best woman in the world.

Zu An was speechless. He was already overwhelmed by these women today and really didn't want to discuss them further. "What's the situation in Cloud-Mid City right now? How did you handle my disappearance, Uncle?"

Seeing that the conversation had turned to serious matters, Sang Hong regained his solemn demeanor. "Xu Yu searched for Yu Yanluo for a long time without success, and gradually, he's begun to wind down his efforts. The main issue is the collapse of the Yu clan's ore vein, which is far more serious than Yu Yanluo's escape. He's been organizing disaster relief efforts and trying to restore the ore vein, but unfortunately, with little success."

Zu An sighed. "With such violent spatial tremors, it's probably impossible to recover anytime soon."

"Indeed," Sang Hong nodded. "However, the Duke of Cloud-Mid has been remarkably quiet. I heard he went into seclusion again. During this turbulent period, his silence makes me feel like he's planning something big."

Zu An broke out in a cold sweat. "Uncle, you don't need to worry about the Duke of Cloud-Mid. He's genuinely recuperating from injuries."

He was fortunate that before rescuing Yu Yanluo, he had publicly declared he was going into seclusion to recover from injuries, precisely because he worried about implicating the Duke's identity. Now, no one would suspect his absence.

"Oh," hearing his certainty, Sang Hong also felt relieved. After all, there were no longer any conflicts between him and the Duke of Cloud-Mid; any problems would be Xu Yu's headache.

He thought for a moment and said, "Right, tell me about that Scale Mimic Deathworm. We need to strategize on this; it can be your secret mission, so you'll have a good answer if the Emperor asks. Additionally, we can use this opportunity to impeach Xu Yu. As the highest local official in Cloud-Mid Commandery, such a major incident occurred under his governance, yet he was unaware and relied on others to resolve it. This is gross dereliction of duty..."

Listening to him outline the plan, Zu An was dumbfounded. He thought to himself that these officials in the political arena truly used ruthless tactics. They could exploit angles no one would have even considered. This time, Xu Yu would be flayed alive, even if he didn't die.

Zu An secretly rejoiced, grateful that Sang Hong was now on his side. Not only did this mean he wouldn't have to face such a formidable enemy, but he could also use Sang Hong to deal with other adversaries.

"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle. By the way, is there any news from home in the capital? We've been away for so long, and Xiao Qian... without anyone to look after them, it's always a bit worrying." Zu An had originally wanted to ask about Zheng Dan, but it wouldn't be appropriate to directly inquire about someone's daughter-in-law. He could only use Sang Qian as a pretext.

Thinking of the enchantment of that night, Zu An's heart was a mix of emotions. Their relationship was truly too strange.

Hearing him ask about Sang Qian, a hint of tenderness appeared on Sang Hong's face. "Cloud-Mid Commandery and the capital are too far apart, and it's impossible to use a sound-image mirror for family matters... But you don't need to worry. The capital isn't like other places, and Xiao Qian has always been resourceful and clever. With Zheng Dan supporting her, there shouldn't be any problems."

"That's good," Zu An sighed in relief. "Uncle, you can have the post station send a letter back, telling them not to worry about our safety."

Sang Hong naturally knew he wanted to report his safety and said with a smile, "Be extra careful out there. No matter how exciting things are outside, don't forget the warmth of home."

Zu An chuckled sheepishly. This was clearly a hint for him not to get lost in the outside world's temptations.

However, the other party had almost explicitly told him to consider the Sang family his own home.

Whether it was Sang Qian or Zheng Dan...

"That's good. I'll try my best to delay the timeline, but you must return to the capital within three months at most. Otherwise, I won't be able to report to the Emperor," Sang Hong instructed.

"Understood!" Zu An calculated the time; three months should be sufficient.

Maintaining the sound-image mirror consumed an alarming amount of elemental stones. Even an imperial envoy found it somewhat unbearable, and Sang Hong quickly ended the call.

Zu An put away the sound-image mirror. He had initially thought of going for a walk, but then reconsidered. Yu Yanluo was still angry and likely wouldn't be able to face him. As for the others, seeking them out now would only add fuel to the fire.

In the end, he returned to his room, summoned his system, and decided to draw a prize.

The various events that had occurred recently filled him with a sense of crisis. Having an extra trump card at a crucial moment meant an extra life.

He brought a basin of water, washed his face, changed into new clothes, then burned incense and offered prayers.

Only after completing this series of actions did he begin the draw.

Not much time had passed since the last draw, and he now had a total of 211,020 Rage points.

Most of these points were contributed by those women.

Zu An's expression was odd. He wondered, *Am I truly destined to live off women?*

It seemed that sometimes making them angry wasn't such a bad thing.

Zu An pressed "Start Draw." The cursor spun rapidly across the keyboard. Zu An was already preparing to see "Thank you for participating" pop up, but it unexpectedly stopped on the letter "R" key.

His eyes widened instantly. A single pull success?

He was so lucky it was hard to believe.

It seemed his previous ritualistic actions were indeed effective.

He eagerly looked, and a line of text appeared on the screen:

"Congratulations! You've drawn a 'Nickname Card'!"

Zu An was startled. Previously, he had always drawn things like "Rich Lady's Pleasure Ball" or "Poisoned Dagger." A name this proper felt unfamiliar now.

He continued reading.

Nickname Card Description: In a certain technological era, a renowned company required all new employees to choose a nickname from famous novels to use instead of their real names. During daily work and life, everyone addressed each other by their nicknames. The original intention was to bridge the gap between superiors and subordinates, making it feel more cordial than directly addressing a leader by their nickname.

However, as the company grew larger and employees multiplied, they found that names from novels were no longer sufficient. Many were forced to choose nicknames of notorious lechers or despicable villains. The creator of this item was one such individual. To escape his embarrassing nickname as a lecher, he dedicated years to research and finally invented the Nickname Card. Yet, after succeeding, he changed his original intention. Instead of changing his own nickname, he altered the nickname of his beloved female colleague to that of a woman dishonored by a lecher, causing a massive scandal that ultimately led to his legal prosecution...

Zu An stared in disbelief. Why did this sound so familiar? He continued reading.

Usage Effect: A one-time item. Write anyone's name and a desired nickname on this Nickname Card, and the target's name can be temporarily changed to that nickname.

Zu An: "???"