Chapter 345: Account Book

Zuan chuckled heartily and said, "Well said. I'll go with you."

To his surprise, Chu Chuyan shook her head. "No, you stay."

Zuan was dumbfounded.

He felt as if he had shot himself in the foot. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have given her any advice.

Chu Chuyan explained, "A'Zu, my father is currently detained by Sang Hong, and I'll be leaving. At home, only my mother and Xiao Zhao will be left. You know that our second and third uncles have always coveted our direct line, and with the Sang, Wu, and Zheng-Yuan families eyeing us covetously, I really can't feel at ease with all these internal and external threats."

"Xiao Zhao is still young and doesn't understand much, and my mother has a rather straightforward temper. If I leave, they are bound to cause trouble."

Zuan looked troubled. "Wife, you know your mother's attitude towards me. There's no way she'll listen to me, so what's the point of me staying?"

"My mother isn't intentionally targeting you; it's mainly because she worries too much about me," Chu Chuyan said, taking his hand. "A'Zu, you have indeed been wronged lately."

Zuan seized the opportunity to wrap his arms around her lithe waist. "Haha, having such a beautiful wife with me every night, I don't feel wronged at all."

Chu Chuyan's cheeks flushed, and she couldn't help but retort, "You're incorrigible."

Zuan held her close. "Wife, but I really don't feel comfortable with you going to the capital alone."

Chu Chuyan smiled faintly. "I often traveled far before I met you. Besides, my cultivation is higher than yours, hmph."

Zuan's face darkened. "Talking about that hurts our feelings."

It was truly frustrating. Although he had various cheats, all the close female companions around him had higher cultivation levels than him.

Even Chu Hanzhao, a mere beginner, had initially overwhelmed him in cultivation and even bullied him once.

Chu Chuyan leaned against his shoulder. "A'Zu, I know you're not like what the world perceives you to be. You're actually very capable, so I trust that you'll be able to protect my mother and sister while I'm away."

"Don't flatter me too much." Though he said this, being praised by the proud Chu Chuyan made him feel a little lightheaded.

After returning to the Chu family residence, Chu Chuyan gathered Qin Wanru and Chu Hanzhao and told them about her plan.

Qin Wanru looked excited. "Excellent, it's about time we fought back! Your father is good at everything, but he's a bit indecisive. Now that people are bullying us right under our noses, how can he still worry about so many things?"

Zuan clicked his tongue inwardly, thinking that this woman indeed had a fiery personality and was very straightforward.

Chu Hanzhao looked reluctant. "Sister, how long will you be gone?"

Chu Chuyan hugged her sister and said gently, "Three months at the fastest, half a year at the slowest. During this time, you must listen to Mother and your brother-in-law at home, and don't be naughty anymore."

Chu Hanzhao nodded. "Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble."

After the Chu family's recent troubles, she seemed to have become much more mature than before.

Qin Wanru, standing by, was somewhat surprised. It was one thing for Xiao Zhao to listen to her, but why would she listen to her brother-in-law?

What was crucial was that with Xiao Zhao's temper, she showed no intention of refuting him at all.

At this moment, Chu Chuyan took out a small booklet from her embrace. "Mother, please keep this ledger. It's not convenient for me to carry it with me on my trip to the capital."

Since she was going to threaten others, she naturally couldn't carry her trump card with her. Otherwise, if they turned hostile and captured her, wouldn't the ledger fall into the enemy's hands as well?

Qin Wanru naturally understood this principle and carefully placed the ledger inside her inner clothing. "Don't worry, I will guard it well, even if it costs me my life!"

Zuan couldn't help but say, "It hasn't come to that yet. Don't say such inauspicious things."

Qin Wanru instinctively glared at him, but for once, she didn't retort.

Chu Hanzhao, standing nearby, asked worriedly, "Sister, will you be in danger?"

Chu Chuyan patted her head. "Don't worry, Xiao Zhao. With my cultivation, self-preservation will definitely not be a problem."

"Although you're very powerful among your peers, there are many old monsters in the capital. What if someone from the older generation attacks you, disregarding their status?" Although Chu Hanzhao was usually carefree, it didn't mean she was foolish.

Seeing her sister starting to think, Chu Chuyan smiled genuinely. "Don't worry, as long as the ledger is still with us, those people won't dare to attack me."

After speaking, she looked seriously at the other two. "Mother, A'Zu, I will send word home periodically to let you know I'm safe. If you lose contact with me for several consecutive days, it means something has happened to me. In that case, you must expose the contents of the ledger directly. Everything our Chu family has was earned on the battlefield, and we have the courage to face total destruction if necessary."

Qin Wanru tightly held her daughter's hand, her voice choked. "Chuyan..."

Although she was usually strong, she was a woman after all. With her husband in trouble, her daughter embarking on an uncertain journey, and the Chu family's future shrouded in mist, her inner vulnerability immediately showed through.

With her breaking down, her two daughters could no longer hold back their worries and sadness from recent times, and tears welled up in their eyes.

Zuan instinctively wanted to comfort them, but he knew anything he said at that moment would be too hollow. It was better to let them vent properly, lest they bottle up their emotions and suffer for it.

The mother and two daughters hugged and cried for a while, their emotions gradually stabilizing.

Only then did Qin Wanru notice Zuan standing nearby. Her face flushed, and she quickly wiped away her tears and sat up straight. "Oh, Chuyan, while you're in the capital this time, please visit your third... third brother. He's been alone in the capital all these years; it's really been hard on him."

Zuan thought to himself, he had heard long ago that the Chu family's young master was studying in the capital, but he had never met him.

He wondered if this brother-in-law would be easy to get along with.

But whether he was easy to get along with didn't matter. Even if he wasn't, Zuan could just pin him down and give him a spanking; that would surely make him easier to deal with.

"Yes, I will," Chu Chuyan nodded.

"Also, if you need help, go find your maternal grandfather," Qin Wanru reminded her.

Zuan, standing by, suddenly realized. The Chu family was a ducal house. For her to be Chu Zhongtian's official wife and to have kept him from taking concubines for so many years, her family must also be a prominent one. He just wondered why he had never heard anyone mention it in the manor before.

Chu Chuyan hesitated slightly. "Mother, isn't Grandpa's family a bit... at odds with our Chu family?"

"Blood is thicker than water after all; he shouldn't be so heartless as to stand by and do nothing," Qin Wanru hesitated. "If he truly is heartless, you can go to your aunt. She will definitely help you."

At the mention of her aunt, a faint smile appeared on Chu Chuyan's face. "Okay."

After returning to the Pure Sound Pavilion, Zuan curiously asked Chu Chuyan, "Your mother has a younger sister?"

"Yes," Chu Chuyan replied, beginning to pack her belongings.

"Her biological sister?"

"Of course she is. When I was little, my aunt was very good to me. It's a pity I haven't seen her in many years." As she recalled the past, a faint smile appeared on Chu Chuyan's face.

Zuan let out an "Oh" and then, remembering something, quickly reminded her, "By the way, remember that you're going there to *threaten* those people into helping, not to *beg* them. Don't do anything foolish for the sake of the family."

Chu Chuyan paused, "What foolish things?"

Zuan hesitated, then explained, "For example, if some families threaten your chastity, demanding... well, you know, before they're willing to help the Chu family, don't be foolish enough to agree."

There were too many trashy plots like that in melodramatic TV shows from his previous world, and he didn't want it to happen to him, so he was giving her a preemptive warning.

Chu Chuyan pursed her lips and smiled. "Oh, are you jealous?"

Zuan snorted. "I'm just reminding you."

"Don't worry, I'm not foolish, and besides..." Chu Chuyan's face flushed slightly. "In my heart... no man compares to you."

Zuan's heart swelled with emotion. He immediately picked her up in his arms and walked towards the bed.

"Wait a moment..." Chu Chuyan said, a little flustered, and pulled out a book. "Put this away first."

Zuan looked closely and saw large characters on the book's cover: "Overbearing Sword Immortal's 99 Days of Demanding Love."