Chapter 2179: Beauty Scheme?

Zheng Dan smiled faintly, "We're about to become a family, so your business is naturally my business. Don't hesitate to speak your mind."

Sang Qian grumbled internally, *He talks a good game, but won't even let me hold his hand!* Aloud, he said, "Doesn't that fellow Zu An have an IOU for 7.5 million taels? But he's protected by the Chu family, and he's at the academy the rest of the time. You know I can't easily interfere with academy matters. So, can you get close to him and 'retrieve' the IOU from him?"

"How would I get close to him?" Zheng Dan frowned, an uneasy premonition stirring within her.

"All heroes find it hard to resist a beauty, let alone a good-for-nothing like him. With your stunning looks, if you actively approach him, you'll surely have him utterly captivated and wrapped around your finger." Sang Qian made a 'wrapped around your finger' gesture, a sneer playing on his lips.

Zheng Dan's face turned cold. She stood up abruptly and said icily, "What do you take me for?"

"I know this is a bit much to ask of you, but you're the most trustworthy person I have right now, which is why I came to you," Sang Qian hastily explained.

Zheng Dan, incensed, laughed mockingly, "So you'd send your own fiancée to seduce another man?"

Sang Qian frowned. "Don't put it so harshly. It's just an opportunity to get close to him, not to sleep with him. What does that guy know? With your beauty, a few soft words will be enough to make him do whatever you want."

Zheng Dan said coldly, "His wife is Chu Chuyan, the most beautiful woman in Brightmoon City. Spending all day with her, how could he be considered someone who hasn't seen the world?"

Sang Qian's eyes darted, and a plan formed in his mind. "In my heart, I've never thought you were inferior to Chu Chuyan. In terms of looks, you both excel, making it hard to say who's better. The only reason she was chosen as the top beauty, probably above you, is because she's a duke's daughter. Don't you want to steal her man and get revenge for all these years?"

He knew that although his fiancée was usually gentle and demure, she secretly compared herself to Chu Chuyan. Whenever Chu Chuyan was involved, Zheng Dan would inevitably lose her usual calm.

As expected, Zheng Dan's eyes clearly lit up upon hearing his words, showing she was swayed. "Since you don't mind, I can try getting close to that Zu An. But if he takes advantage of me, you'll be the one losing out."

Sang Qian burst into laughter. "Others might not know, but don't I? Although you're usually gentle, deep down you're incredibly discerning. How could a good-for-nothing like Zu An possibly catch your eye? There's no way he'll take advantage of you."

Zheng Dan said blandly, "That's hard to say. Since you want me to use a honey trap, if he gets no benefit at all, he might not truly fall for it. So we need to prepare for the worst. What's the maximum you can tolerate?"

"At most, a hug. No, wait, at most, a brush of hands," Sang Qian quickly corrected himself. Imagining Zu An taking advantage of his fiancée, his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably. "Afterward, I'll definitely chop off his hand."

Zheng Dan chuckled, thinking, *What's the big deal about touching hands? Just wash them afterwards.* Ultimately, it was just these men's possessiveness at play.

"By the way, what do you need that IOU for? You don't actually think the Plum Blossom Gang can repay 7.5 million taels, do you?" Zheng Dan asked curiously.

"They can't repay it, but their master behind them can," Sang Qian sneered a few times. Currently, though they had a cooperative relationship, they weren't truly aligned. There was no guarantee they wouldn't turn on each other someday, and having this would be useful then.

Zheng Dan nodded slightly. She couldn't be bothered to ask about the sinister tricks behind it; the higher one's status, the more despicable and dirty the schemes often were. "Tell me about Zu An. I've only heard rumors before, but you saw him in person today, so your information should be more accurate."

Recalling what he witnessed at the gambling house, Sang Qian said bitterly, "He's just an arrogant scoundrel who got lucky, relying on the Chu family's backing. And he's shameless, absolutely shameless..."

Zu An sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he wondered who was badmouthing him behind his back.

Chu Chuyan, who was beside him, glanced at him. "Are you very pleased with yourself right now?"

Zu An chuckled, "Anyone who wins 7.5 million taels would be pleased, wouldn't they?"

Chu Chuyan snorted, "Today's incident was so huge, my parents must know about it by now. We'll see how you deal with it."

Zu An was taken aback. "Is winning money also a problem?"

Chu Chuyan said indifferently, "Money isn't the point. My parents value the Chu family's reputation above all else. It's widely known that our family strictly forbids gambling. This time, you caused such a huge commotion and nearly instigated a conflict between our family's private guards and the local army. They will definitely punish you."

Zu An looked displeased. "7.5 million taels, wow! Does your family even make that much profit in a year? And I'll still be punished for it."

"The key is, have you actually received those 7.5 million taels?" Chu Chuyan's single question left him speechless. "Everyone knows they can't possibly repay that amount. Yet our Chu family has to take such a huge risk for this IOU. My parents will naturally be displeased."

"Can't we just collect interest every year if they can't pay?" Zu An retorted weakly.

"That's just talk; there will definitely be complications later," Chu Chuyan sighed. However, there was nothing else she could do. She couldn't genuinely order the Crimson Robe Army to slaughter the Plum Blossom Gang; that would give political rivals an excuse, and the imperial court would then have legitimate grounds to deal with the Chu family.

"Miss! Miss!" Just then, Xue'er came running over, panting and clearly exhausted.

"Where have you been? What took you so long to come back?" Chu Chuyan frowned.

Xue'er quickly explained, "I don't know why, but my stomach felt a bit uncomfortable today..."

Hearing this, Zu An, standing nearby, waved his hand dismissively in front of his nose. "So you went to take a dump, eh? You were in there so long, you must have filled up the latrine!"

Xue'er: "..."

Rage value from Qiao Xueying: 444!

She had just come from Mei Chaofeng's place, and her excuse was merely to appease Chu Chuyan. Normally, no one would pry into such matters. Who knew Zu An would dig deeper, and his disgusted expression made it seem like she really smelled bad.

"Miss, look at him!" Xue'er stomped her foot and pulled on Chu Chuyan's sleeve, whining.

*I'll go kill this hateful guy tonight. I can't start a conflict now, or it might arouse suspicion later.*

Chu Chuyan glared fiercely at Zu An. "Can you not be so disgusting!" Although she was scolding Zu An, she subconsciously and subtly pulled her hand away from Xue'er's, evidently feeling that Xue'er's hands were somewhat unclean due to the earlier remark.

This small gesture inflicted tons of damage on Xue'er, and that scoundrel was the culprit behind it all!

Rage value from Qiao Xueying: 300!

Zu An shrugged. "You don't find this 'feces-making machine' disgusting, but you find me disgusting?"

"Feces-making machine?" Xue'er felt a surge of blood rush to her head, nearly making her faint from anger. She even had the urge to recklessly destroy that scoundrel on the spot. She had never hated anyone so much; every inch of this person, from head to toe, made her want to tear him into a thousand pieces.

Rage value from Xue'er: 888!

Yue Shan, who had been silently walking ahead, also shivered. *Although this son-in-law is useless in other aspects, his ability to annoy people is unmatched in all of Brightmoon City,* he thought. *I must never provoke him in the future.*

"Alright, alright, you two, stop bickering. Aren't you afraid of making a spectacle of yourselves in public?" Chu Chuyan seemed to faintly see smoke rising from Xue'er's head and quickly separated her from Zu An.

Xue'er huffed resentfully, *If I don't make this scoundrel wish he were dead tonight, I'll take his surname from now on!*

All the way back to the Chu residence, an elder stood guarding the main entrance. His clothes were meticulously tidy, without a single wrinkle, and though his hair was somewhat gray, each strand was neatly combed, clearly indicating a fastidious person.

Zu An recognized this man; it was none other than Steward Hong Zhong of the Chu Manor.

Upon seeing Chu Chuyan, Hong Zhong bowed to her. Chu Chuyan didn't dare to be negligent and quickly returned the bow. Hong Zhong had served the Chu family faithfully and diligently for decades, earning the respect of everyone in the household.

Only then did Hong Zhong continue, "The Master has ordered that the Young Master-in-law be brought to the study immediately upon his return." He then turned and began leading the way. Chu Chuyan gave Zu An an "I told you so" look, and then followed him.

Zu An was surprised. Hong Zhong's demeanor and tone hadn't changed at all, which was somewhat unexpected. After all, the conflict with his son at the academy earlier in the day should have reached his ears by now, so why was there no reaction?

As if guessing his thoughts, Hong Zhong suddenly spoke, "Miss, Young Master-in-law, I've already heard about what happened with Hong Xingying today. That child is young and arrogant, and he behaved impudently towards the Young Master-in-law. I apologize on his behalf, and I hope both the Miss and Young Master-in-law won't take it to heart. I will discipline him thoroughly."

"Uncle Zhong, you're too kind. Zu An also had some fault in this matter," Chu Chuyan quickly replied.

Zu An, standing nearby, looked indignant, thinking, *What does this have to do with me? That arrogant jerk started it!* Just as he was about to speak, Chu Chuyan glared at him, and he could only swallow his words back. It seemed Hong Zhong held an unusual status in the mansion.

*Fine, you're beautiful, so you're right. I'll listen to my wife.*

Hong Zhong shook his head. "I know that rebellious son of mine. The child has had some undue ambitions, so his mindset has inevitably become unbalanced. He initiated this incident. Although Master and Madam haven't said anything, I've felt very guilty..."

Hearing his extremely sincere tone, which didn't seem feigned, Zu An secretly sighed. *How could a father so upright and honest raise such a narrow-minded son?* he wondered. *Never mind. Given his sincerity, as long as that guy doesn't provoke me again, I won't seek revenge.*

Chu Chuyan quickly took over the conversation, dispelling Hong Zhong's awkwardness with a few brief remarks. She naturally shifted the topic to discuss some business matters of the Chu family, and the atmosphere of their conversation became extremely harmonious.

Zu An had previously wondered how such an icy woman could manage the Chu family so perfectly. Now, he finally had some understanding.

Not long after, the group arrived at the study, where Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were already waiting.

"Zu An, how dare you! You openly went to a gambling house and gambled, and you even brought Chuyan with you?" Qin Wanru slammed the table heavily and glared at him furiously.

Rage value from Qin Wanru: 77!