Chapter 429: Placed in a Deadly Situation and Then Born Again

Zu'an broke into a cold sweat. Although he guessed Chu Zhongtian said this intentionally to gain trust, why did it sound so strange?

Apparently, his close relationship with Xiao Zhao on a daily basis had not escaped his father-in-law's notice; he just hadn't said anything.

The rest of the crowd erupted in discussion. Zu'an's "romantic escapades" had already spread through every street and alley during this time, and people had gone from initial shock to later numbness. However, hearing terms like "both sisters" made them excited again. After all, this was a fantasy for many men, and they never expected someone would actually achieve it.

"Have you seen Second Miss Chu? I have," someone said. "She was a beauty from a young age; she might even be more beautiful than her sister when she grows up."

"Getting both Chu sisters! Zu'an is truly blessed with good fortune in love."

"That's not all! There were also rumors that he had an affair with Madam Chu. Perhaps Old Master Chu discovered this, which is why he's so furiously trying to expel him from the family."

People were naturally obsessed with gossip about these scandalous affairs, and the scene immediately became noisy as everyone discussed them.

Chu Zhongtian's eyelids twitched. With his cultivation level, how could he not hear what those people were saying? He never expected that he had overacted and caused such a misunderstanding.

But he couldn't explain such a thing. Was he supposed to come out and tell everyone that Zu'an had no relationship with his wife? Who would believe that? On the contrary, they would think he was confessing without being prompted, only making things worse by trying to clarify.

This thought made him feel incredibly frustrated.

Qin Wanru, standing by, also had a flushed face. She hadn't expected such an accident to occur and couldn't help but glare at Zu'an irritably.

Zu'an, however, was beaming with joy at this moment. He had received a large string of "rage points" in the system backend, which had exceeded ten thousand in the blink of an eye, clearly contributed by a large number of people due to envy, jealousy, and hatred. "More of this, please!" he thought.

King Liang and Liu Yao hastily asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard to bring out the imperial decree for inspection. They found that it indeed stated, as Chu Zhongtian had said, that the Chu family was to hand over their son-in-law, Zu'an. They immediately glared resentfully at the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The leader's old face flushed. After all, this imperial decree had been drafted based on the words he had spoken; who would have known such a flaw would appear?

It was King Liang, an old fox long accustomed to court politics, who reacted quickly. He immediately sternly accused Chu Zhongtian: "How dare you play word games with an imperial decree? This is deceiving the emperor and shows a malicious intent that deserves death!"

"King Liang, I dare not accept such a grave accusation," Chu Zhongtian said huffily. "We strictly followed the Emperor's decree. How can that be called deceiving the emperor?"

Jiang Luofu, who had been silent on the side, also spoke up: "Indeed, Duke Mingyue makes a very good point. Now that so many people have heard it, since Zu'an is no longer the Chu family's son-in-law, it would be somewhat unreasonable to demand him from the Chu family."

Seeing the principal take the lead, Xie Yi also didn't miss this good opportunity to curry favor with the Chu family: "I also feel it would be unreasonable to pressure the Chu family further. Perhaps I could dispatch my most capable constables to assist Your Highness in searching for Zu'an everywhere?"

"There's no need for Lord Xie to trouble himself," King Liang said, fully aware of Xie Yi's intentions.

Constables to catch Zu'an? At this point, nobody knew where Zu'an had run off to, so how could they catch him? Besides, even the Embroidered Uniform Guards hadn't caught him before; what good would a few constables under him do?

He directly ignored Xie Yi, then found Liu Yao and Huang Huihong, the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, to discuss what to do next.

Liu Yao chuckled, "Since the Emperor has sent Your Highness to fully handle this matter, this general will naturally follow Your Highness's lead in all matters."

King Liang cursed inwardly. "This old fox talks a good game," he thought. "Isn't he clearly pushing all the responsibility onto me? That son of a bitch completely disregards the friendship we forged two nights ago when we... ahem, stayed at the Immortal Abode."

King Liang could only look at Huang Huihong: "What do you think, Commander Huang?"

Huang Huihong said in a deep voice, "I don't care about anything else, but Zu'an must be brought back. This is a direct order from the Emperor. Otherwise, after returning to the capital, not only us, but even Your Highness might not escape blame."

King Liang's face flickered through various emotions; clearly, he was undergoing an intense inner struggle.

After a while, he finally made up his mind. He stepped forward and declared loudly to the Chu family members: "Given that Zu'an is no longer the Chu family's son-in-law, the clause of clan extermination in the imperial decree does not apply. However, the Chu family's actions suggest deceiving the Emperor and harboring Zu'an. As for the specifics, the Emperor will make the final decision then."

"Guards! Arrest all members of the Chu family and escort them back to the capital starting today!"

As someone on the Emperor's side, he naturally knew that the Emperor had long wanted to seize the opportunity to reclaim the salt and iron industries, the Chu family's two "money trees." So, by seizing this opportunity to arrest the entire Chu family and bring them to the capital, this problem would be naturally resolved.

That way, even if Zu'an wasn't caught in the end, he could still use this achievement to atone for his potential failure.

"What?!" The Chu family immediately panicked upon hearing this news, and many even secretly gripped their weapons.

At this moment, Xie Yi lightly coughed: "Your Highness, this might be inappropriate. Forcibly arresting a ducal family and bringing them to the capital would surely cause an uproar both within the court and among the populace."

King Liang said coldly, "I will bear full responsibility for any consequences!"

Then he looked at the Chu family members: "What, do you still want to resist? Do you want the Embroidered Uniform Guards to summon another imperial decree? However, in your current state, it probably won't be necessary to summon an imperial decree. With this King and General Liu, we can probably suppress you easily."

As he said this, he deliberately glanced at Xie Yi and Jiang Luofu, clearly directing half of his words at them as well.

As expected, Xie Yi and Jiang Luofu both frowned and said nothing more.

King Liang and Liu Yao alone might have been manageable, but the crucial point was that the Embroidered Uniform Guards could act on behalf of the Emperor. If they were to summon another imperial decree, no one here could withstand it.

Soon, a group of Imperial Guards went to arrest the Chu family members. All sorts of heartbreaking cries echoed through the Chu manor: wives were reluctant to part with husbands, sons with fathers, old mothers with their sons…

"Patriarch?" Everyone looked at Chu Zhongtian; clearly, this situation required him to make a decision.

Chu Zhongtian's expression changed several times. He looked at his wife and saw encouragement and trust in her eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly said, "The ancestors of the Chu clan established the family through military prowess. Chu family members have always died in battle, never surrendered to be butchered. Rather than becoming prisoners in the capital and suffering humiliation at the hands of common officials, it would be better to fight a grand battle. Sons of the Chu family, those willing to fight with me, raise your swords!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" All the Chu family members drew their weapons. Clearly, none of them were willing to be arrested and taken to the capital like this.

King Liang was furious: "Are you trying to rebel?!"

The moment he finished speaking, all the Imperial Guards pointed their long spears and sabers at the Chu family members.

"Ah!" Seeing that a major battle was imminent between the two sides, the surrounding common people panicked. They had come to watch the show, but they certainly didn't want to lose their lives here.

Xie Yi was sweating profusely with anxiety. While constantly wiping his brow, he tried to mediate between both sides: "It's not necessary, it shouldn't come to this! Duke Mingyue, calm down! King Liang, calm down! Principal Jiang, please try to persuade them!"

Jiang Luofu opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. She knew what fate awaited the Chu family if they were truly arrested and taken to the capital, and words of persuasion simply wouldn't come out.

But now, with the Chu family a group of remnants, if a conflict truly broke out, they would have virtually no chance of winning.

Just as the situation in the field became tense and on the verge of erupting, a voice suddenly rang out: "Wait!"

King Liang and the others were relatively unfazed, but the Chu family members and Jiang Luofu all trembled and turned their heads to look in the other direction.

Zu'an had already taken off his mask, revealing his true face, and slowly walked out from the crowd: "You want to catch me, so why trouble others?"

"Ah Zu!" Seeing him emerge, Qin Wanru was both angry and anxious. At this point, what good would his appearance do?

It would be better for him to take Chu Chuyan and flee far away, and then go rescue Xiao Zhao and Youzhao.

Zu'an gave the Chu couple an apologetic smile: "Since you have already expelled me from the Chu family, please excuse me from performing the proper courtesies."

He didn't want to implicate the Chu family, so the cleaner the break between them, the better.

Then he turned to look at King Liang and the others: "You want to catch me, so come get me."

King Liang chuckled, "I didn't expect you, young man, to have such backbone. Very good, very good!"

Ultimately, his main purpose in dealing with the Chu family was to force Zu'an to show himself. Now that his objective had been achieved, there was naturally no need to trouble the Chu family further.

After all, a direct conflict with the Chu family, leading to large-scale bloodshed, would make it difficult for him to predict the subsequent series of repercussions.

"Ah Zu, instead of dying, why not fight alongside us?" Chu Zhongtian knew that Zu'an had already escaped but had suddenly reappeared, ultimately for the sake of the Chu family. Given Chu Zhongtian's character, how could he stand by and watch someone sacrifice themselves for him?

Zu'an smiled slightly: "I have no connection with the Chu family now, so there's no need for Duke Mingyue to worry. Besides, I won't be dying. After all, I have the 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture,' and before the Emperor gets it, how could he easily kill me?"