Chapter 694: Auntie, I Don't Want to Work Hard Anymore

The toothless coachman had been keeping an eye on the commotion. Hearing his mistress's cry of alarm, his expression changed, and he instantly appeared beside the carriage: "Madam, what's wrong?"

He didn't dare enter. His mistress disliked being seen, and usually, without her permission, no one was allowed to intrude upon her private space.

Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe also rushed over, but they weren't as fast as the toothless coachman and arrived a moment later.

Murong Qinghe tugged at Chu Youzhao's sleeve and said with a strange expression, "Brother Chu, your brother-in-law is really something else..."

Her face slightly flushed, she was too embarrassed to say the last word.

Chu Youzhao stomped her foot in annoyance as well: "Who's my brother-in-law? I don't have a lecherous brother-in-law like that!"

Murong Qinghe thought to herself, 'Who was just now praising him as 'brother-in-law' to the skies?'

At that moment, the mistress's voice came from inside the carriage: "No... nothing, Old Fu, please stay outside. Don't let anyone come near."

The toothless coachman hesitated: "Madam, are you truly alright?"

He worried that his mistress was being coerced inside.

The mistress's voice came again: "Don't worry, I'm fine. I have something to discuss with him. Just guard the perimeter."

Immediately afterward, a blue light flashed outside the carriage. The toothless coachman knew that a barrier had been activated, cutting off sound from within.

Only the mistress knew how to operate this mechanism; no outsider could possibly activate it without her willing consent.

Thinking this, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Then this old servant will guard outside."

As he spoke, he shooed Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe, who had approached, further away.

At the same time, he was secretly surprised that his mistress had activated this formation. It seemed she truly trusted that young man; otherwise, if anything dangerous happened inside, she could scream her lungs out and he still wouldn't be able rescue her.

Chu Youzhao was pushed back a considerable distance by an invisible force. She immediately complained, "What does your mistress intend to do by locking up my brother-in-law? Is she plotting something against him!"

"'My mistress plotting against your brother-in-law?'" The toothless coachman almost laughed in exasperation. In the capital, the men who wished to plot against his mistress could probably form a line stretching from the Cloud Dragon Gate of the Imperial Palace, around the outer city three times. Who should be afraid of whom?

While they were bickering, inside the carriage, a dazzlingly beautiful mistress lay flat on a soft couch, her deep, captivating eyes, like stars in the night sky, gazing with a hint of a smile at the man on top of her: "How long do you plan to stay on top?"

At this moment, a thousand exasperated thoughts ran through Zu An's mind. 'Am I the kind of shameless scoundrel who takes advantage of women the moment he meets them? I've completely risen above such base desires now; I rely on my own charm to win over beauties and make them willingly throw themselves into my arms.

'Not like this, where I just push someone down on first sight. I'd be seen as a pervert! Brother Zu also needs to save face out here!'

But he never expected the backlash from his 'Key Command' ability to be so strong.

Unlike last time, when he used 'Key Command' in front of Zhuxie Chixin to conjure a golden embroidered-uniform envoy's outfit out of thin air, a strong backlash was entirely expected then.

But this time, it merely made someone's pants drop, so why was the reaction so severe?

In truth, he just hadn't realized it: how could the pants of a dignified peak ninth-rank master simply fall without reason? If it had been a master of the same rank, they could have easily exploited that momentary vulnerability to take Han Fengqiu's life. So, while it appeared to only make pants drop, it actually involved the life of a peak ninth-rank master. How could the backlash be small?

Fortunately, this was only an indirect effect; otherwise, Zu An's life would probably be in danger right now.

Zu An said with a wry smile, "If I told you I suddenly lost all strength after a big battle and wasn't deliberately taking advantage of you, would you believe me?"

He had expected his lifelong reputation to be ruined, but the other party's reply was beyond his expectation: "I believe you. For someone your age to be able to continuously fight masters of the eighth and peak ninth ranks, it's already quite remarkable that you held on for this long before collapsing."

Zu An was dumbfounded.

'I wouldn't even believe that excuse myself, alright? Is this woman stupid?'

'Huh, wait, why does she look a bit familiar?'

At that moment, a hint of playful reproach finally entered the beautiful woman's voice: "Aren't you going to get up?"

"My apologies, my apologies," Zu An chuckled awkwardly, quickly getting up to sit upright.

He was no longer an inexperienced youth, but the astonishing elasticity he had just felt still made his heart pound.

The beautiful woman also sat up, tidying her dress and smoothing her hair.

Only then did Zu An have a chance to examine her closely: her tender skin, smooth and delicate like milk; her flawless face, like jade-colored glazed porcelain; her noble and elegant coiled hair, which further accentuated her graceful, long neck.

A large luminous pearl was embedded in the carriage ceiling, casting a soft glow on her face. Her soft facial contours seemed drawn with a single stroke. It was hard to tell if the pearl illuminated her or if she illuminated the pearl.

"It's you!" Zu An finally recognized her, feeling both surprised and delighted. The woman before him was none other than Yu Yanluo, the capital's foremost beauty, whom he and Ji Xiaoxi had saved in the valley.

"We meet again," Yu Yanluo smiled faintly, and the entire carriage seemed to bloom with flowers.

There was no hint of indignation on her face from being just offended, nor the typical shyness of other women. She carried herself with utmost grace, as if she were born to be the protagonist of this world.

"Since our last parting, I never expected your charm to remain, or even increase," Zu An sighed. "I was wondering why Prince Qi's heir looked like such a pathetic sycophant; now that I see it's you, Madam, I finally understand."

Yu Yanluo paid no mind to his compliments; she had heard countless more effusive praises over the years. "Your growth speed is also quite surprising to me. Last time I saw you, you struggled somewhat against a few Black Wind Stronghold bandits. I never imagined that in just a few months, you could exchange blows with a peak ninth-rank master."

Zu An chuckled: "I remember last time you said that to be your man, I'd have to wait a few more years. With my current growth rate, can we shorten that time a bit?"

Yu Yanluo's detached and elegant demeanor finally broke. A faint blush appeared on her jade-like face, and she gave him a playful glare: "You rogue..."

Zu An had to admit that such a great beauty was captivating even when angry. However, he had, after all, developed a higher threshold for beauties thanks to various encounters, so he quickly recovered and said resentfully, "Who told you to be so ungrateful before!"

"'I'm ungrateful?'" Yu Yanluo spread her hand, her five fingers long, slender, and delicate, truly like carved white jade. "Give it back to me."

"What thing?" Zu An was taken aback.

"My jade pendant," Yu Yanluo said sternly, "so you don't go around bluffing and cheating, claiming I'm in love with you and that it's a token of our affection."

Even with Zu An's thicker-than-city-wall skin, having his boast immediately called out by her left him mortified.

However, he was quick to react, immediately switching from defense to offense: "You really are ungrateful! Last time I saved you, you gave me this jade pendant and said you'd repay me. But when I went to the Yu family in the city to find you, there was no sign of you. Now that I've finally found you, you want to take back the pendant?"

Yu Yanluo explained, "Many things happened in Brightmoon City back then, and I had to leave, so I didn't get a chance to thank you. But I've already compensated you since then."

"Compensated me for what?" Zu An was puzzled.

A faint smile flickered in Yu Yanluo's starry eyes: "Otherwise, how do you think you managed to survive under the Emperor's hand?"

Meanwhile, in Prince Qi's residence, Prince Qi stared grimly at his son, who was charred like charcoal: "Who did this!"