Chapter 950: Old and Crafty

"What the hell?" Chi Tu, having been involved in the demonic arts, immediately realized that the person before him was not Zhao Zhi.

He was both surprised and enraged. "You dare impersonate the Crown Prince of Qi!" he exclaimed. "If the Prince of Qi finds out, he'll never let you go!"

Chi Tu's rage value surged to 666,666,666...

Zu An smiled. "Anyway, I've offended the Prince of Qi in countless ways," he said, "so one more won't make a difference."

Seeing that Zu An wasn't even afraid of the Prince of Qi, Chi Tu was momentarily stunned before quickly adding, "You swore a Heavenly Dao oath! The Heavenly Dao cannot be deceived. If you break your word, you will surely face retribution."

Chi Tu's rage value surged to 888,888,888...

Zu An sighed. "How can someone like you, involved in the demonic arts, be so naive?" he wondered. "Don't you know that such oaths can be manipulated?"

Seeing that he had extracted enough rage, Zu An casually knocked him unconscious.

"Damn it, who between us is truly evil?!" These were Chi Tu's final thoughts before he lost consciousness.

Carrying Chi Tu, they walked back. Along the way, Sang Qian seemed to want to speak but hesitated. Noticing this, Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. "Xiao Qian, what's on your mind?"

Only then did Sang Qian speak. "Actually, what Chi Tu just said makes sense," she began. "The Heavenly Dao cannot be deceived, and making a Heavenly Dao oath is an extremely serious matter. If you deliberately look for loopholes when swearing an oath, you might be rejected by the Heavenly Dao. If you accidentally bring down retribution, you'll be in deep trouble."

Zu An smiled. "Xiao Qian," he said, "I didn't expect you to be worrying about my well-being."

"Pfft, I don't care what happens to you," Sang Qian retorted, spitting lightly with a flushed face.

Only then did Zu An speak. "Perhaps you perceive the Heavenly Dao as a selfless and omniscient entity, discerning every detail, but I don't see it that way," he explained. "As the old saying goes, Heaven and Earth are impartial, treating all beings equally. In their eyes, human good and evil are irrelevant. They merely operate according to established laws, showing no special favor to upright individuals, nor punishing cunning villains."

"Heaven and Earth are impartial, treating all beings as mere straw dogs..." Sang Qian and Zheng Dan wore expressions of shock, both pondering the meaning of that statement. They felt as if they had grasped something profound, but the feeling vanished the next moment.

"Your recent statement seems profound and enigmatic, but there's one point I can't agree with," Sang Qian said, quickly recovering her thoughts, for she was naturally intelligent. "In this world, those who do good deeds and accumulate virtue often receive good fortune. Conversely, those whose wicked deeds are blatant usually come to a bad end."

Zu An explained with a smile, "Those are merely conventions established by humans over a long time, not the will of Heaven and Earth themselves."

Sang Qian was taken aback. Just as she was about to retort, she suddenly realized there was some truth to his words.

Zu An continued, "Although Heavenly Dao oaths are sacred, they only punish those who explicitly break their vows. You've fallen into a common fallacy, overly revering and worshipping the Heavenly Dao, and haven't considered that there are many loopholes to exploit. I've encountered many wicked people and witnessed such situations too often. Over time, I've learned some clever tricks myself."

When he first realized this, he even felt that Heavenly Dao oaths were quite useless. However, upon second thought, he mused that if a legal professional were to transmigrate here, they could probably exploit Heavenly Dao oaths to their fullest extent.

His previous life was also a contract-based society, but when contracts were signed, many people would immediately think about how to breach them, while legal professionals would focus on how to plug all sorts of loopholes.

Zu An inwardly admitted that if he were to encounter such a professional, he would absolutely not dare to tamper with a Heavenly Dao oath.

At this moment, Zheng Dan spoke. "Ah Zu," she said, "although what you say makes some sense, no one truly knows what the Heavenly Dao is all about. As the saying goes, 'He who walks by the river often will eventually get his shoes wet.' What if one day your carelessness leads to punishment from the Heavenly Dao? By then, it will be too late to regret. Remember, there are many people in this world who care about your safety."

Zu An was startled, realizing that his mindset had indeed become somewhat overconfident. After all, nothing in this world is 100% certain.

Cold sweat broke out on his back as he thought of this, and he quickly thanked Zheng Dan. "Thank you for reminding me," he said, "otherwise, I might suffer greatly in the future."

She had originally worried he would stubbornly stick to his own views, but seeing him agree, a brilliant smile immediately blossomed on Zheng Dan's face.

Sang Qian, standing nearby, rolled her eyes. "These two really are something!" she thought. "Just now when I said similar things, Zu didn't take it seriously, but now that Sister-in-law said it, he immediately agreed. Is he deliberately trying to provoke me?"

After returning to the Sang Residence, Sang Hong, having heard the news, rushed over. Seeing the unconscious black-robed man in their hands, he asked in surprise, "What happened?"

Sang Qian briefly recounted what had just happened. Sang Hong's face turned ashen as he listened. "The Hu Clan's Trading House is going too far," he fumed, "bullying my Sang family as if we have no one!"

Zu An knew that half of Sang Hong's display was genuine anger, and half was for Zheng Dan and the Zheng family behind her. Naturally, he wouldn't expose him. "Uncle," he said, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you with the Hu family matter next."

"Of course," Sang Hong said chillingly. "During this period, I have been keeping a low profile, allowing many people to forget my methods."

Zu An had witnessed Sang Hong effortlessly manipulate the Chu family, a regional warlord force, so he naturally wasn't worried about a mere Hu family. "However, there's still a troublesome matter," he continued. "That's the intelligence this man mentioned about the Yunzhong Prefectural Duke's brother conspiring to murder his elder brother. How should we report it to the Emperor to make it most advantageous?"

Sang Hong pondered for a long time. "In my opinion," he said, "it might be better not to report it."

"Why?" Zu An asked. He actually had the same idea but hadn't made up his mind yet.

Sang Hong said in a low voice, "The Emperor sent people to investigate the disappearance of the Yunzhong Prefectural Duke this time. Do you think he truly wants to find out the truth?"

Zu An shook his head. "He merely wants to use this as an excuse to completely cripple the Yu family of Yunzhong."

Sang Qian's expression subtly changed. She wasn't surprised by their analysis, but rather by the fact that her father and Zu An had repeatedly mentioned the Emperor during their conversation without a hint of respect. If these conversations were to leak, they would be impeached for treason. It seemed her father had truly bound the Sang family and Zu An deeply together.

At this moment, Sang Hong spoke again. "Exactly," he said. "If that's the case, and we report this man now, the Emperor won't be pleased; he'll find us meddlesome. Regardless of his reaction, we'll be put in a passive position."

"Then what do you propose, Uncle?" Zu An asked.

"Disable all his cultivation, break his limbs, and lock him in the manor's cellar," Sang Hong said in a calm tone. "Qian'er and Dan'er will guard him. After we arrive in Yunzhong Commandery, we'll decide whether or not to use him, depending on how things develop."

Zu An inwardly clicked his tongue in amazement. Sang Hong was indeed ruthless; if it were him, he would most likely have given Chi Tu a quick end.

"Little Sister Qian has to stay in the capital," Zu An said, sounding a little disappointed. "I had hoped she would come with us to Yunzhong Commandery to help us with strategies."

Sang Hong gave a half-smile, wondering if this fellow truly intended for Xiao Qian to accompany them.

He didn't expose him. "My dear nephew," he said, "you probably don't know the court's rules. To prevent ministers sent on assignments from developing disloyal intentions, their family members must remain in the capital."

"So that's how it is," Zu An said with a look of disappointment.

Zheng Dan, standing nearby, felt her cheeks warm slightly. Even she could sense his ulterior motives.

Sang Qian, meanwhile, rolled her eyes so hard they almost cramped.

After Chi Tu was properly imprisoned, Zu An saw that it was getting late and prepared to take his leave, but Sang Hong stopped him, saying he wanted to have a couple of drinks with him.

It was unclear how long they drank, but everyone became slightly tipsy. Unconsciously, the conversation turned to Sang Qian, and Sang Hong couldn't help but shed tears. Finally, he sighed deeply for a long time. "Who knows how many days it will be before I return to the capital after this trip to Yunzhong Commandery..." he mused. "If Zheng Dan were to conceive Qian'er's posthumous child, our Sang family would have hope."

Zu An inwardly complained, thinking, "Are you senile? They hadn't even completed their wedding ceremony; how could she have a posthumous child?"

Suddenly, a thought struck him: "There's a hidden meaning in this fellow's words."

When he tried to ask further, he saw that Sang Hong had already succumbed to the alcohol, lying on the table and muttering nonsense.

"Brother Zu, please forgive us, my father is drunk," Sang Qian said, her expression displeased. She still got up to help her father. "I'll take him back to his room to rest first. Sister-in-law, please keep company here for a while."

After saying that, she helped her father leave. Due to the alcohol, Zheng Dan's cheeks were flushed. She lightly spat. "What kind of logic is that, asking a sister-in-law to entertain an outsider?" she mumbled. "That girl is really being absurd."

The maids and servants had been sent away by Sang Hong earlier, leaving only the two of them in the room. Zu An, having fewer reservations, directly moved to put his arm around her soft waist. "How am I an outsider now?" he teased.

Zheng Dan spat and quickly pushed him away. "This is still the Sang Residence," she whispered, "don't be ridiculous."

Meanwhile, in another room, Sang Qian unceremoniously dropped her father onto a chair. "Are you really that impatient?" she muttered.

Sang Hong opened his eyes, showing no signs of intoxication. "There's truly no other way," he stated. "This trip to Yunzhong Commandery and back will take at least half a year. If she were to get pregnant after that, not even a fool would believe it's Qian'er's posthumous child."

"But I still feel like I'm letting my brother down," Sang Qian said, biting her red lip, her expression deeply conflicted.

Sang Hong snorted coldly. "Among the three forms of unfilial conduct, having no heir is the greatest," he declared. "The continuation of the Sang family's lineage is paramount."

Sang Qian became agitated, finally voicing her long-held doubt. "But even if Sister-in-law gets pregnant, the child will have no blood relation to the Sang family," she argued. "If that's the case, why don't we adopt a child instead? It would spare us such a humiliating act."

Sang Hong gazed at her silently. After a long pause, he said softly, "There is a way to make the child have a blood relation to the Sang family..."