Chapter 1059: Return

"What exactly did you add? Why is it so delicious?" Yu Yanluo asked, looking at Zu An in shock.

Zu An smiled. "I'm glad you like it, Madam."

The expression of shock still lingered on Yu Yanluo's beautiful face. "You still haven't answered my question!"

Seeing her playful tantrum, Zu An thought to himself that it was no wonder beautiful women had privileges; even their pouting was adorable.

"It's not really a secret," Zu An replied. "This substance is called MSG. After I met you, Madam, and learned you had a poor appetite, I had my subordinates research it. They specifically developed this, hoping it would improve your appetite."

"MSG?" Yu Yanluo smacked her lips, unable to stop exclaiming, "This truly is miraculous! It makes food so savory and delicious. No, not just savory and delicious—it deserves every praise. The umami flavor has been enhanced a hundredfold, even a thousandfold!"

Zu An chuckled. "You don't have to be too concerned, Madam. While it seems magical, it's not difficult to make. Just dry shiitake mushrooms, grind them into a powder, then mix with dried scallops and other flavor enhancers. The resulting substance can greatly improve the savoriness of food."

Yu Yanluo blinked, her expression turning extremely strange as she looked at Zu An. "You're telling me the recipe so easily?"

Zu An was momentarily stunned. "What's the big deal? The main thing is that I'm short on time and can only make a small amount of MSG. To ensure you have access to it in the future, I figured I might as well tell you directly. Given the Yu clan's capabilities, it shouldn't be hard to reproduce it. This way, you can always enjoy your meals and won't waste away due to a poor appetite."

Yu Yanluo couldn't help but sigh. "Do you realize how much potential business you just gave away with that casual remark?"

"I just want you to live more comfortably, Madam. I wasn't thinking of anything else," Zu An said with a smile.

Yu Yanluo observed him for a long time, seeing no pretense in his demeanor. She couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "You are truly unlike any other man in this world. In such a short time, you've given me so many surprises. The warm packs were already a huge business, but compared to this MSG, it's a world apart. While warm packs are practical, the families who use them are often wealthy or noble."

"But MSG is different. Based on the processing method you just mentioned, mass production costs could be negligible. This means ordinary families could use it. Although the profit per unit might be less than for warm packs, once the overall market expands, the total profit would far exceed that of warm packs."

Zu An listened, wide-eyed, and finally couldn't help but say, "Madam, you truly are a business genius! You can find such enormous business opportunities in anything."

Yu Yanluo smiled, pressing her lips together. "That's just professional habit. Ultimately, it's thanks to your ingenious ideas. How about this: if you don't mind, I'll take charge of this business from now on, and we'll split the profits fifty-fifty."

Zu An didn't play coy. "I hadn't thought that far ahead. It's all up to you, Madam. If you think it's valuable, then I'll follow your arrangements."

Yu Yanluo couldn't help but exclaim, "I've only met you a few times, and you've already brought me wealth multiple times. You must be my lucky star."

"It is truly my honor to be your lucky star, Madam," Zu An said, bowing to her like a gentleman.

Yu Yanluo's smile became even brighter. "Alright, I'll take that as your agreement. I'll instruct my people to follow up on the MSG business."

Zu An smiled faintly. "How much money we make is secondary. What I most hope for is that you always have a good appetite, Madam."

Yu Yanluo's face flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but playfully retort, "You really know how to charm; you even made my heart flutter a little. You could definitely trick any young girl with those lines."

Zu An feigned surprise. "Aren't you a young girl, Madam?"

Yu Yanluo froze for a moment, then burst into laughter, shaking with mirth. She playfully punched his shoulder. "You appear honest on the surface, but you're incredibly cunning."

Zu An sighed. "You truly misunderstand me, Madam. I may appear cunning, but deep down, I'm very honest."

Yu Yanluo scoffed. "If you're honest, then there are no honest men left in this world."

Despite her words, there was no hint of real anger.

Women are strange; they praise honest men, yet they are rarely attracted to them, preferring instead men with a bit of a mischievous streak.

Yu Yanluo didn't know why, but she always found talking with Zu An incredibly enjoyable, a feeling she had never experienced with any other man.

The two quickly finished their meal, devouring everything. Yu Yanluo seemed to want more. "I haven't eaten this much in ages, but I'm afraid I left you wanting."

Zu An chuckled. "It's fine. I'm quite robust; I'd be fine even if I didn't eat for a day or two, and I had plenty just now."

Yu Yanluo seemed a little troubled. "What will we do in the future? I can't let you go hungry every time."

"That's not a problem. We can have hot pot next time. I can bring some ingredients from outside," Zu An suggested.

"Hot pot?" Yu Yanluo's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "I'm not very used to the strong smell of lamb, and regular hot pot often feels a bit bland."

She hadn't had much appetite lately, so light hot pot wasn't very appealing to her.

"That's easy. We can make spicy hot pot," Zu An said, feeling a nostalgic longing for the flush and sweat of his previous life. "You're sensitive to cold, so eating something spicy would be good to dispel the chill."

"Spicy hot pot?" Yu Yanluo's eyes lit up. "That sounds interesting. We can try it sometime."

After she called a servant to clear the dishes, she and Zu An resumed their training.

For some reason, both of them felt time flew by, and two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Yu Yanluo nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent. Now, no one should be able to see through your disguise."

"Thank you for your careful guidance, Madam," Zu An said sincerely. He wouldn't have been so grateful just for learning to impersonate Jian Yanyou.

The main reason was that during their time together, Yu Yanluo, as a master of painting, had given him many pointers.

Although his previous drawings were very lifelike, they lacked spirit, making it easy for a true painting master to spot the flaws.

Now that he had touched upon Yu Yanluo's path and, through her help, vaguely understood many aspects of 'spirit,' he would essentially leave no facial flaws when impersonating others in the future.

"Indeed, with your extraordinary aptitude, you learn everything quickly," Yu Yanluo said, smiling with pursed lips. "I'll call Gong Pan in a moment; he's Yanyou's personal guard captain. If you can fool him, then there will be no problem at the Duke's estate. He can then escort you there."

"So soon?" Zu An felt a sudden surge of conflict upon hearing her words.

Yu Yanluo couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't worry, and don't lose confidence just because I saw through you the first time. Actually, your disguise skills are already very high. Plus, after a few days of my training, I might even be fooled if I didn't know."

"I'm not worried about going to the Duke's estate, it's just..." Zu An hesitated, "Madam, could you call over a male servant?"

"Why?" Yu Yanluo asked curiously. "Male servants are generally not allowed near my residence. Calling one suddenly might seem strange."

"Uh... I need him for something," Zu An stammered, unable to tell her he needed to pretend to be a woman to deceive someone.

This voice disguise is such a pain!

Seeing his hesitation, Yu Yanluo's expression also grew strange. "You're not interested in men, are you?"

Zu An: "..."

"Of course not," Zu An said, feeling exasperated. Having eaten and lived together for days, they had become friends who could talk about anything, so he finally decided to explain. "It's mainly because my disguise technique is a bit special. Before I can perfectly impersonate someone, I have to... first pretend to be a woman and deceive a man. Only then can I use it."

Unable to explain the voice changer, he could only attribute it to the technique itself.

Yu Yanluo's beautiful eyes widened, and a smile appeared at the corner of her lips. The smile then broadened, growing wider and wider until she could no longer hold back, shaking with laughter.

While laughing, she apologized, "I'm sorry, I don't usually laugh like this, unless... I really can't help it, ha ha ha..."

Zu An wore an expression of utter despair; this whole situation was simply too embarrassing.

After her laughter subsided, Yu Yanluo still found a servant from the estate and personally witnessed the entire process of him pretending to be a cute girl and tricking the man, laughing heartily throughout.

As the servant left, he felt like he was floating, thinking, 'Madam never calls men near her chambers, but today she called me.'

'That sweet-voiced young girl, I wonder what her relationship with Madam is. Her voice is so lovely, she must be gentle and delicate in person.'

'And Madam was smiling the whole time. Although she clearly tried to hide it, I could still hear it. Could Madam have taken an interest in me?'

'She rarely smiles at others.'

'Oh, my ancestors must be sending good fortune! I definitely need to go offer more incense when I get back.'

Inside the room, Zu An had already changed into Jian Yanyou's appearance, and he looked at Yu Yanluo with annoyance. "That's enough, haven't you finished laughing yet?"

Yu Yanluo covered her lips. "Because it really was very funny."

Zu An: "..."

He cleared his throat. "You can call Gong Pan now."

Yu Yanluo also remembered their main task and, suppressing her laughter, sent someone to find Gong Pan.

Not long after, Gong Pan arrived outside the room. "Greetings, Madam. How may I be of service?"

Yu Yanluo gestured for Zu An to follow, then slowly opened the door. "Commander Gong, look who this is."

Gong Pan looked up and saw the man next to her, his eyes wide with extreme shock. "Duke!"

"Long time no see," Zu An said with a smile, using the tone of Jian Yanyou he had been practicing.

"Duke, it really is you!" Hearing the familiar voice, Gong Pan was both surprised and overjoyed. He rushed over and clutched Zu An's leg, a grown man sobbing uncontrollably.

"Get up, why are you crying so much?" Zu An quickly helped him up.

"Duke, you don't know, ever since you left, our people have either died or scattered..." Gong Pan quickly wiped his eyes. "Oh, never mind that, your return, Duke, is the greatest news!"

Yu Yanluo, standing nearby, said, "Yanyou's serious injuries haven't fully healed. Not only has his cultivation decreased, but he's also lost some memories. Commander Gong, you'll have to look after him from now on."

Gong Pan immediately said with a serious expression, "As long as I'm here, anyone who tries to harm the Duke will have to step over my dead body."

Zu An quickly offered a few words of encouragement.

Following this, Yu Yanluo, accompanied by members of the Yu clan and Gong Pan, escorted Zu An back to the Duke's estate.

During this period, the official circles in Yunzhong Commandery had experienced a series of upheavals, so various factions had already pricked up their ears, watching for any ripple or disturbance.

Not long after, a startling piece of news quickly swept through the entire officialdom of Yunzhong Commandery.

The Duke of Yunzhong Commandery, who had been missing for a long time, had returned!