Chapter 277: Are You Responsible?

"Huh?" Even as she gasped, the woman's voice from inside the sedan chair was still pleasant, yet there was a hint of familiarity about it.

As a modern man who had transmigrated from a civilized world, he hadn't actually collided with her, but it was clear she had fallen because of him.

He quickly dismounted and helped lift the sedan chair. "Are you alright, miss?" he asked.

Though the sedan chair and its occupant were heavy, with his current cultivation level, lifting it was no difficult task.

However, his well-intentioned act seemed to have done more harm than good. A heavy thud came from inside as something struck the carriage wall, likely the person losing balance and being tossed around due to the sedan chair tipping over.

"Ah!" The person inside was clearly disoriented from the impact. Instinctively, she tried to get out of the sedan chair, but stumbled and tumbled out from the front.

"Careful!" Zu'an quickly reached out to catch her.

His hands met with a soft, warm embrace, and Zu'an's heart skipped a beat.

Before him was a beautiful face, equally captivating in sweetness or anger. Her elegant eyebrows and delicate nose gave her the refined beauty of a lady from a water town.

"Miss Zheng, is that you?"

By now, he had clearly seen her face; it was none other than Zheng Dan.

It was better that she was an acquaintance; it saved him from a potential dispute later. He wasn't sure if "crashed for cash" scams existed in this world.

"A'Zu, is that you?"

Zheng Dan also recognized him and looked at him with a surprised smile.

"Ahem!" At that moment, Sang Qian's displeased cough broke the silence. "How long do you two plan to embrace?"

Only then did they realize they were still clinging to each other. They quickly sprang apart as if shocked by electricity, both stepping back simultaneously.

Zheng Dan's face was flushed crimson, her heart pounding like a drum.

Zu'an, however, realized how it looked—as if they had been caught in an illicit affair.

"Hey, I just saved your fiancée! Shouldn't you be thanking me?" he thought.

Sang Qian, meanwhile, felt a surge of irrational anger. He knew that on normal days, Zheng Dan wouldn't even let him hold her hand, yet now she was embracing another man so intimately.

Even though he knew there was a reason for what happened today, why did it feel so strange?

"A'Zu, where are you hurrying off to?"

Zheng Dan recovered her composure, smoothed the disheveled strands of hair behind her ear that had been messed up from the jolt, and asked.

Zu'an thought, "You have your fiancée right here, why are you asking me instead?"

Nevertheless, he replied, "We have important business to attend to. I'll explain to Miss Zheng when we return."

After speaking, he quickly remounted his horse.

Zheng Dan's gaze swept over the customs enforcement soldiers behind him. She quickly said, "Are you perhaps going to raid a private salt operation?"

Zu'an's expression changed. "How did you know?"

"Could the secret have been leaked?!"

Zheng Dan smiled faintly. "Don't be so nervous. What else would the customs enforcement unit be doing if not catching private salt dealers? Besides, a large part of our Zheng family's business is in salt, so we naturally understand these matters."

Hearing her explanation, Zu'an felt a little relieved.

"Take me with you," Zheng Dan said. "After all, our Zheng family has always abhorred private salt dealings. I've never seen a private salt bust before, and I'd like to witness it."

"Don't be ridiculous. This is serious business. How can we bring a woman along?" Sang Qian snorted, flatly refusing.

Zheng Dan smiled slightly. "If I'm not mistaken, I haven't officially married into the Sang family yet. Strictly speaking, I'm not a Sang family member. I'm just a salt merchant's daughter. Requesting to observe the scene is a perfectly reasonable request, isn't it?"

Zu'an watched from the side, wide-eyed. Usually, Zheng Dan gave off a gentle, placid impression, so why was she openly disrespecting Sang Qian like this today?

"How could she have an easy life if she marries into the Sang family later?" he wondered.

"Could it be that because I'm here today, she's intentionally showing her feelings for me this way?"

"Ah, it's just one of the downsides of being too charming – it can easily affect other people's families."

Sang Qian snorted. "Even so, we're on a forced march. Your sedan chair won't be able to keep up."

"I can ride a horse too!" Zheng Dan declared, her white neck held high, as proud as a beautiful swan.

Sang Qian frowned. "I don't have a horse for you here. These are military horses, and they cannot be used privately. Misusing them is a serious offense that could lead to impeachment."

Zheng Dan pursed her lips, knowing he was speaking the truth. She found herself in a dilemma.

Just then, a voice spoke weakly from beside them, "My horses aren't military horses. I can take you."

Sang Qian was almost furious enough to breathe fire. "Flirting with my fiancée right in front of me?"

"What does 'I can take you' mean?"

"Are you suggesting you two ride on one horse?"

"If I let this happen in front of all these subordinates, how will I lead them in the future?!"

Anger value from Sang Qian: 666!

Zu'an secretly smiled. This guy was actually so angry. Could it be that Zheng Dan's actions earlier weren't at his behest?

"Then things just got interesting."

Zheng Dan looked at Zu'an, then at Sang Qian, and finally shook her head. "Thank you for your kindness, young master, but it's not necessary."

If they were alone, she might have impulsively agreed, especially since she was tasked with a 'honey trap' mission.

But to openly ride so intimately with another man in front of so many people would certainly cause the engagement between the Zheng and Sang families to fall through.

The Sang family would never allow themselves to become a laughingstock.

Even her own Zheng family members would likely beat her with brooms.

Zu'an had only been testing the two of them and wouldn't have genuinely been so audacious.

Soon, he had his subordinate guards arrange a horse for her, and then they continued their urgent journey to the dock.

Approximately a quarter of an hour later, the group finally arrived at the dock. The dock was bustling, with countless porters busily loading and unloading goods.

"Everyone stop what you're doing immediately! Anyone caught smuggling will be executed on the spot!"

Sang Qian was already filled with pent-up anger, and now he found an outlet. He stepped forward and shouted loudly.

His voice was incredibly penetrating, and combined with the soldiers spreading out around them, the noisy dock instantly fell silent.

Zu'an was secretly astonished. "This guy's cultivation isn't low."

"Zu'an, which family did your intelligence say was smuggling private salt?" Sang Qian, no longer bothering with pleasantries, asked directly.

Zu'an frowned slightly. He didn't know the exact family; Qiu Honglei's intelligence hadn't been that precise.

However, he reacted quickly and immediately thought of a solution: "First, check the one with the most cargo!"

Private salt was highly profitable yet dangerous. Smuggling small amounts wasn't very lucrative, and too many smuggling attempts increased the risk. Therefore, it was generally done by finding an opportunity to ship large quantities.

Sang Qian nodded and waved his hand, and his subordinates immediately scattered to investigate.

Results came quickly. A group of soldiers brought a middle-aged man forward. "Reporting to the commander," one said, "the largest shipment on the dock today belongs to his family."

Zu'an observed the middle-aged man. He had an ordinary appearance, the kind you'd see anywhere on the street, with no distinguishing features.

The only thing noteworthy was his smooth skin and lack of calluses on his hands, indicating a rather comfortable life.

"Uncle Hou, is that you?"

Just then, Zheng Dan's surprised cry came from beside him.

Zu'an was startled. He turned to look at her. "You know this person?"

Zheng Dan nodded. "He's Hou Yun, the steward of our Zheng family. Father entrusts many matters to him."

"Oh?"

Zu'an's expression immediately became intrigued.

He suddenly realized that Zheng Dan's sedan chair suddenly appearing halfway through their forced march was probably no coincidence.

Being delayed by her for almost half an hour must have been a tactic to buy time for the people here.

"Does Sang Qian know about this?" he wondered.

At this point, Sang Qian also spoke up, "Hou Yun, what are you doing here?"

"The Zheng family has a shipment leaving today, so I came to supervise it," Hou Yun said with a conciliatory smile.

"Since it's Zheng family cargo, there should be no problem. Go check the others." Sang Qian waved his hand, signaling to let it pass.

"Hold on!" Zu'an certainly wouldn't allow that. There was no way he would let them off so easily. He looked directly at Hou Yun and asked, "What kind of goods are you shipping today?"

Hou Yun respectfully replied, "Just some ordinary everyday goods."

"Don't play dumb. What exactly is it?" Zu'an sternly demanded.

Zheng Dan stepped forward from the side. "A'Zu, are you suspecting our Zheng family of smuggling private salt?"

Zu'an thought, "Is there any need to suspect? It's clearly obvious!" He hadn't expected the Zheng family, one of Mingyue City's four major salt merchants, to also be secretly involved in private salt smuggling.

But then again, it made sense. The Chu family controlled more than half of Mingyue City's salt market, leaving less than a third for the other three major families and smaller ones. It would indeed be hard to satisfy their appetites.

Of course, he didn't say that aloud. "Of course not," he replied. "I'm just concerned that sometimes subordinates might act too audaciously, using the Zheng family's name to do something shady. If it ever came out, it would ruin the Zheng family's reputation. So, it's better to clarify things now."

"A'Zu, you're truly thoughtful," Zheng Dan said with a slight smile. Then she turned to Hou Yun and added, "Uncle Hou, did you hear that? Just answer truthfully."

Her tone showed no emotional fluctuations.

Zu'an secretly admired her. He wondered if this woman was truly innocent or just pretending. If she was pretending, her acting was simply too good.

"It's just cotton seeds and such. A large part of the Zheng family's business is in the cotton fabric industry, so transporting these shouldn't be against the law, should it?" Being suspected, Hou Yun was in a bad mood and retorted directly.

"What about the customs clearance documents or permits? Let me see them," Zu'an said, holding out his hand.

Sang Qian, standing nearby, couldn't help but glance at him. "Didn't they say this guy was an uneducated scoundrel before? How does he know so many commercial details?"

He didn't understand that the Yellow Class at Mingyue Academy indeed taught very little about cultivation, but a great deal about practical life skills.

Many students found it boring, but Zu'an listened attentively to everything he could to understand all aspects of this world.

For large shipments like this to enter or leave a port, there certainly had to be relevant permits for them to be cleared.

Hou Yun glanced at Sang Qian inquiringly. Sang Qian snorted, "Why are you looking at me? Today, Zu'an represents Duke Mingyue; just do as he says."

"Yes, yes, yes," Hou Yun hurriedly pulled a dispatch order from his breast and handed it over.

Zu'an inspected it; it indeed stated that the departing cargo was cotton seeds and similar items.

However, he wasn't entirely convinced and walked directly towards their cargo ship. "Open the hatch. I need to inspect it."

Hou Yun's expression changed. "But the cargo has already been loaded. If we open the hatch now and reload it, it will delay us by at least another day. If we can't deliver on time, our Zheng family will have to pay compensation."

Zu'an said coldly, "Open the hatch!"

With a wave of his hand, many of the Chu family guards had already secured key points around the ship's hold, ready to act on command.

Hou Yun's face also changed color at this point. He sharply said, "If you don't find anything, will you be responsible for the Zheng family's losses?"