Chapter 290: Why Can't I Do It?

Realizing this, Chu Zhongtian could no longer remain calm and rushed to inspect the important items in the residence.

Seeing his hurried demeanor, Chu Hanzhao thought something serious had happened and quickly followed him.

Chu Zhongtian quickly checked and found that nothing in the mansion was missing. The crucial Spirit Spring, which was once very important, had already been contaminated some time ago.

"Was I overthinking?" Chu Zhongtian quickly summoned the servant named Jin Zhu and asked where Qiu Honglei had been placed.

Jin Zhu looked bewildered and replied, "Didn't Master say to arrange Miss Qiu in the son-in-law's room?"

Chu Zhongtian was startled. "When did I say that?"

"Miss Qiu said so," Jin Zhu answered earnestly.

Chu Zhongtian was speechless.

He wondered why his residence was filled with such eccentric people. Cheng Shouping was troublesome enough, and now there was Jin Zhu?

At that moment, Chu Hanzhao reacted first. "She went to my brother-in-law's room?"

"How shameless!" Chu Hanzhao's anger flared without warning, and she stormed towards Zu An's courtyard.

Chu Zhongtian's eyelids twitched. He noticed his daughter was actually carrying a whip this time.

Worried about a commotion, he hurried after her.

Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei and Pei Mianman had exchanged hundreds of blows in the darkness. From initial cautious probing, their fight escalated into a genuine battle, with neither woman holding back.

Before long, both sustained considerable internal injuries.

"Bitch, who are you?" Pei Mianman gasped, panting heavily, and demanded furiously during a momentary lull in their fight.

She had been eagerly awaiting Zu An's return, only for some strange woman to appear out of nowhere. This immense psychological letdown infuriated her.

Qiu Honglei refused to be outdone. "And who are you, you hussy?"

Her mind raced. Who was this woman? Was she Zu An's friend or enemy?

There had been no information about this woman in their prior intelligence reports. It seemed they had overlooked many things.

Both women harbored their own intentions, and neither wanted to be the first to inquire about the other's relationship with Zu An, fearing exposure.

And so, they began a new round of combat, both landing blows to the other's chest.

"Oh, why is this woman so well-endowed?"

"This woman is actually no less... developed than I am. Does A'Zu have someone like this around him?"

Just as the fight reached its peak, Pei Mianman suddenly froze. She had heard chaotic footsteps approaching from a distance. She let out a cold snort. "You're lucky this time!"

She didn't want the Chu family to know of her presence, so she naturally didn't want to linger and fight.

Hmph, a mere fifth-grade cultivator. The next time I see you, you're dead!

With that, she vanished in a flash, leaping away. Her movements were incredibly swift, and she quickly disappeared into the night.

Qiu Honglei also rubbed her chest, a flicker of pain crossing her face. That hussy truly struck hard. If it weren't inconvenient for her to reveal her identity within the Chu family today, she would have killed her a hundred times over.

Hmph, a mere fifth-grade cultivator!

"Qiu Honglei, come out!"

Just then, an angry shout from a young woman echoed from a distance.

"Ah, the clumsy second young lady." Having decided to come to the Chu family, she had naturally conducted a thorough intelligence investigation, knowing every significant individual within the household.

She was about to tidy her clothes, disheveled from the recent fight, when she suddenly hesitated, then simply opened the door.

"What happened to you?" Chu Hanzhao had come to confront her, but seeing the other woman's disheveled appearance, she instinctively held back her barrage of questions.

Chu Zhongtian, standing nearby, also gazed in astonishment. Qiu Honglei's clothes were somewhat disheveled, her hair undone, her face flushed with a captivating rosy hue, and a fine sheen of sweat covered her forehead. She appeared even more alluring and simultaneously more vulnerable.

"Miss Qiu, what happened?" Chu Zhongtian couldn't help but ask.

"Master Mingyue," Qiu Honglei began, her eyes welling up with tears, "just now a woman suddenly attacked me. If you hadn't arrived so quickly, I'm afraid... I'm afraid..." Having spent years at the Immortal Dwelling, she expertly controlled her tears, eliciting sympathy without appearing disingenuous.

"A woman?" Chu Zhongtian was taken aback and instinctively looked at his daughter.

Chu Hanzhao quickly protested, "Why are you looking at me? I've been right by your side!"

Chu Zhongtian pondered for a moment, then pushed the door open to check. It was dark inside, but guards had already arrived to light the lamps.

Seeing the overturned tables and chairs inside, Chu Zhongtian's expression grew even stranger. "Miss Qiu, are you also a cultivator?"

How peculiar. He couldn't sense any vital energy fluctuations from her.

"Not a true cultivator, but I know a few moves," Qiu Honglei replied, having already prepared her explanation. "After all, in a place like the Immortal Dwelling, you need some skills to protect yourself."

Chu Zhongtian nodded, finding her explanation reasonable. He conducted a quick scan. "It seems the room was unlit, and the mysterious intruder couldn't see clearly, which must have hindered their abilities."

Qiu Honglei quickly added, "Mostly, it's thanks to Master Mingyue's timely arrival. The assailant fled in fright."

Praised by such a beauty, even Chu Zhongtian, who generally disliked women, felt a flicker of satisfaction. "Ultimately, it was the Chu family's oversight that caused Miss Qiu such fright in our residence. You said the assailant was a woman?"

"Yes, it was a woman, and she seemed quite young," Qiu Honglei confirmed, silently adding, *but her chest was remarkably large.*

"A woman..." Chu Zhongtian fell into deep thought, recalling several recent intrusion incidents in the mansion. Could this be a mere coincidence?

It seemed the mansion's defenses needed a thorough overhaul.

He then said, "Miss Qiu, this area is a bit secluded, and the defenses might be weak. Someone, please escort Miss Qiu to the guest wing to rest."

Of course, he couldn't allow her to sleep in his son-in-law's room.

Qiu Honglei had no objections. "Thank you, Master Mingyue."

Yet, she was secretly annoyed. It was all that mysterious woman's fault; otherwise, she could have waited for Zu An's return later to deepen their relationship.

After ensuring Qiu Honglei was settled, Chu Zhongtian quickly summoned Steward Hong Zhong and instructed him to reconfigure the mansion's defenses, as there had been too many incidents recently.

Chu Hanzhao, meanwhile, was sent to check on her sister's injuries. Halfway there, she realized that she had originally set out to confront that "vixen" and wondered why she had just walked away.

However, thinking of the other woman's disheveled state, she felt a slight sense of relief. She wondered who that mysterious woman was, for she had truly helped her vent her frustration.

A moment later, her mood suddenly dipped again. Despite her usual carefree nature, she was still capable of discerning beauty from ugliness.

She had initially believed Qiu Honglei's widespread reputation for beauty was mere exaggeration, thinking, *how beautiful could one possibly be?*

But having just witnessed it firsthand, she had to admit that the woman was indeed unbelievably beautiful, every gesture exuding feminine charm.

She couldn't help but glance at her own modest chest and muttered softly, "The main thing is, it's so large..."

"What are you mumbling about?" Qin Wanru, who was standing guard outside her daughter's door, suddenly noticed her younger daughter returning, muttering to herself with an unhappy expression.

"Nothing," Chu Hanzhao replied, her gaze suddenly sharpening as she noticed her mother's ample bosom, making her even more dejected.

Why hadn't she inherited *that* from her mother? Otherwise, she wouldn't have to fear that Qiu Honglei.

"What on earth is wrong with you?" Noticing her unusual expression, Qin Wanru couldn't help but reach out and feel her forehead. Her eldest daughter had already suffered an incident; she certainly didn't want any harm to come to her younger daughter as well.

Chu Hanzhao blushed and quickly changed the subject. "Nothing. How is Big Sister doing now?"

Now it was Qin Wanru's turn to blush. "Your brother-in-law is... he's treating her, yes."

Hearing about her brother-in-law, Chu Hanzhao's face instantly lit up. "Brother-in-law is so amazing! If I ever get sick in the future, I'll have him treat me too!"

Qin Wanru, standing nearby, was greatly alarmed and quickly exclaimed, "No, absolutely not!"

"Why?" Chu Hanzhao asked, looking bewildered and unable to understand her mother's reaction.

"There's no 'why,' it's just not possible," Qin Wanru said, her face flushing crimson as she thought of Zu An's treatment method.

"Why can Big Sister, but I can't? Mother, you're far too biased!" Chu Hanzhao was already upset about the Qiu Honglei incident, and this, coupled with the lifelong realization that her parents always praised her elder sister—though unspoken, a child could keenly sense parental favoritism—caused her emotions to surge.

Years of unspoken grievances suddenly erupted, and tears instantly welled up. After blurting out a retort, she turned and ran, not looking back despite Qin Wanru's repeated calls from behind.

"That child!" Qin Wanru stomped her foot. Chu Chuyan and Zu An were at a critical juncture, and she dared not leave the doorway to chase her younger daughter, so she could only helplessly stomp her foot.

*My foolish daughter,* she thought, *if only you knew how your brother-in-law treated your sister, you wouldn't want him to treat you at all!*

It's all Zu An's fault!

Qin Wanru's Rage value +531!

Inside the room, Zu An shivered, thinking, *Is this woman astrologically incompatible with me? Why is she suddenly angry at me now?*

Chu Chuyan noticed his strange reaction and asked with a somewhat hazy expression, "What's wrong?"

The moment the words left her lips, she herself was startled, barely recognizing her own voice.

She had never spoken in such a seductive and languid tone before, yet now it felt entirely natural.

Zu An smiled faintly. "Nothing."

*Hmph, your mother constantly irritates me. Getting my revenge on you is just as good.*

After an indeterminate amount of time, with Qin Wanru nearly collapsing from standing guard at the door, the room door finally opened. Zu An emerged, fully dressed.

Qin Wanru was secretly annoyed, thinking, *Are you an animal? How much time has passed? You took forever to come out!*

Unable to voice her frustrations, she simply asked, "How is Chuyan?"

Zu An replied, "She's out of danger. After a few more stabilization treatments, she should make a full recovery, and her underlying illness will be completely eradicated."

Qin Wanru was dumbfounded. "Still... a few more stabilization treatments?"

"Yes," Zu An said, a blush creeping onto his face. This was, in fact, his selfish motive; Chu Chuyan's injuries would be largely healed after today.

But since he was in charge now, he would be a fool to let such a good opportunity slip away.

Qin Wanru's face alternated between green and red, but she ultimately said nothing and hurried inside to check on her daughter's well-being.

Zu An felt that leaving now might seem heartless, but it would be awkward to remain while the mother and daughter had a private conversation.

Just as he was about to leave, Yue Shan rushed over, looking distraught. "Master! Madam! Something terrible has happened!"