Chapter 265: The Sound of the Attack

After a while, Qin Wanru finally came to her senses. She looked nervously at her daughter. "Even Doctor Bao couldn't do anything. Can he really cure you? I've never heard of him having medical skills."

"It must be something his mysterious former master taught him," Chu Chuyan replied, glancing shyly at Zu An. "He used acupuncture to guide the cold energy in my body, expelling it bit by bit. I can feel the changes in my body."

"Acupuncture?" Qin Wanru's expression changed. She quickly said, "Both Doctor Bao and Divine Healer Ji mentioned that everyone's internal condition is vastly different. If an outsider recklessly tries to dispel the cold without understanding your situation, it could easily cause irreversible harm. Stop immediately! You must not do anything so dangerous!"

"He's different; he knows my body's condition," Chu Chuyan lowered her head shyly, feeling her ears warm.

Qin Wanru blinked. "???"

What do you mean, he knows your body's condition?

Chu Chuyan still felt awkward admitting what happened in the secret realm. She quickly said, "It's probably because the method his mysterious master taught him is quite special. Anyway, I can clearly feel my body improving. Mother, you must have noticed how much warmer I've been these past few days, right?"

"He's really that amazing?" Qin Wanru was half-believing, half-doubting. Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she quickly pulled her daughter aside, whispering, "You said he used acupuncture to guide the cold energy... did you have to take off your clothes?"

Chu Chuyan's face immediately flushed. She lowered her head and hummed a reply, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito.

"You took off your clothes?" Qin Wanru looked utterly shocked, taking a long time to process it.

She knew the Chu family's true purpose behind taking Zu An as a son-in-law perfectly well. In her view, it was merely a marriage in name, intended only to deceive outsiders.

Her eldest daughter had always been incredibly proud since childhood, constantly surrounded by auras of genius, and had never shown any warmth towards men.

She found it incredibly hard to imagine why such a daughter would agree to undress in front of that fellow, Zu An.

"Did you two already... already consummate the marriage?" Qin Wanru suddenly thought of a more serious question and asked urgently.

"Mother, what are you talking about!" Chu Chuyan was still young and innocent, and her years of maidenly habits were hard to change. How could she possibly admit such things in front of her mother and sister? She quickly explained, "He only did acupuncture on my back. I used something to cover... to cover other areas."

Qin Wanru finally breathed a sigh of relief. Yet, even so, she still found it hard to understand why her daughter would agree to such a thing in front of Zu An.

Suddenly, she remembered something else and quickly lowered her voice to ask, "Last night, did he... did he do anything inappropriate to me?"

The thought of being drugged by her younger daughter and then acupunctured by her elder daughter made her feel exhausted.

Chu Chuyan's face flushed as she recalled how he had mistaken her for himself and held her in his arms last night, causing a commotion. She quickly said, "No, and I also covered you with the quilt."

She knew her mother was fuming, and if she truly knew what happened last night, there would be utter chaos.

Besides, nothing serious actually happened last night, so this wasn't really a lie, was it?

Chu Chuyan didn't even realize that she had almost never lied before, but after meeting Zu An, she had started telling all sorts of white lies.

A huge weight finally lifted from Qin Wanru's heart.

"I can't be bothered with this mess anymore. You two sisters created it, so you clean it up yourselves." With a huff, she turned and left.

It pained her greatly to think that her two beloved daughters had talked back to her for another man, one drugging her and the other using acupuncture on her.

And the instigator of all this was that fellow, Zu An!

Rage points from Qin Wanru +44+44+44...

Zu An was speechless for a moment, not expecting her to harbor such strong resentment even after leaving.

Chu Hanzhao, standing nearby, also felt a little guilty. She quickly chased after her mother, trying to curry favor with various acts of cuteness. "Mother, I'll see you out..."

Only then did Chu Chuyan turn to Zu An. "You don't want to stay in the Chu family anymore?"

Looking into her captivating eyes, like a starry sky, Zu An felt a little uneasy. "Mainly, your mother often targets me..."

Chu Chuyan shook her head. "My mother can be harsh with her words. This time, when she lectured you, she specifically dismissed everyone else out of consideration for your reputation. She originally just wanted to reprimand you privately, but who knew you would contradict her directly and embarrass her?"

Zu An frowned. "I can't just be her punching bag forever, can I?"

Chu Chuyan explained, "Mother isn't as bad to you as you think. For instance, if you had said those words today in another family, they could have simply beaten you to death with a staff, which is permissible under the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Yet, she never did that. And when she just stormed off, she used me and Xiao Zhao as an excuse to end the matter, otherwise, the more we argued, the more muddled it would become."

Hearing her mention being beaten to death, Zu An thought, *Sons-in-law in this world truly have no human rights.*

Of course, if they were truly out to kill him, he wouldn't just surrender.

However, holding such a status was truly a ticking time bomb; he didn't know when someone might use his identity against him.

Noticing his displeased expression, Chu Chuyan's tone softened:

"You also need to understand that Mother has been in a bad mood lately. First, there was my incident, which made her constantly worry. More recently, Prefect Sang Hong has been forcing her to pay donations on the Emperor's orders, so she's naturally a bit anxious. On top of that, you don't know how to say a single soft word, which is why such a big fuss was made, *cough cough*~"

Speaking with some agitation, she couldn't help but cough.

Zu An quickly helped her sit down. "Don't get agitated. You're still recovering from serious injuries and are very weak. Please rest for a bit."

Chu Chuyan sat down and drank some water, her complexion improving significantly.

At this point, Zu An asked with some curiosity, "Donations? What are those?"

Chu Chuyan explained, "Whenever the country needs funds for military campaigns, disaster relief, or major construction projects, it calls upon wealthy merchants across the land to donate property to the state. This is called 'donations'."

"There's such a thing?" Zu An was dumbfounded. "If it's voluntary, then I don't have to donate, right?"

"It's not that simple," Chu Chuyan shook her head. "Although it's nominally voluntary, in practice, it's definitely not. Generally, those asked to donate are powerful, wealthy magnates. The reason these families can build such large businesses is mostly due to favorable imperial policies."

"If you don't donate, there are plenty of smaller families below you who are eager to, hoping to seize such an opportunity to gain favorable policies from the imperial court."

"Our Chu family, dealing in salt and iron, is considered the wealthiest family in Mingyue City and even the surrounding prefectures. Naturally, we can't escape the fate of being asked for donations."

Zu An gradually understood what was happening. "According to you, these donations sound like political contributions, where wealthy merchants donate funds and the imperial court grants favorable policies. That should be a win-win, so why are you so troubled?"

Chu Chuyan explained, "Take the salt industry, for example. The imperial court implements a salt permit system, which indirectly leads to some large salt merchants forming monopolies and earning enormous profits. Naturally, they are expected to repay the court accordingly. These salt merchants also understand that their current success is entirely due to the benefits of imperial policies, so they don't object to donating."

"However, the imperial court frequently demands donations, and even the wealthiest families can't endure such constant extortion."

"Furthermore, our Chu family has owned this land for hundreds of years. Our current prosperity isn't due to the imperial court's favor, but because our ancestors fought with their blood and sweat to secure these salt and iron mines. To speak frankly, when our Chu family acquired this land, the Great Zhou Dynasty hadn't even been established yet."

"Over the years, we haven't received any benefits from the imperial court, yet we are constantly forced to make donations. Naturally, we are quite unwilling."

Zu An listened, wide-eyed, and couldn't help but say, "From your tone, it sounds like the Chu family is planning a rebellion."

"Don't talk nonsense," Chu Chuyan retorted, giving him an annoyed look. "It's just some dissatisfaction, but it won't escalate to that point. Besides, the imperial court is strong now; such a thought would be nothing short of seeking death."

"But families like yours will definitely become thorns in the imperial court's side. If I were the Emperor, I would eliminate you first," Zu An remarked.

"There are actually many families like ours throughout the land, and the Emperor can't simply eliminate them at will, or it would easily lead to widespread chaos," Chu Chuyan replied. "So the Emperor can only follow rules and regulations. Sang Hong's visit this time is precisely for this reason: he covets our Chu family's salt and iron mines but cannot seize them openly."

"Thus, both sides employ their own strategies in offense and defense. It's a matter of who will have the last laugh."

Although Chu Chuyan spoke lightly, the worry etched on her brows revealed her true feelings.

"The arm can't twist the thigh, after all. I just feel like your Chu family is going further and further down the path of self-destruction," Zu An couldn't help but quip.

Chu Chuyan shot him a glance before saying, "Do you think we don't know that? But the foundation our ancestors laid for the Chu family cannot be lost in our hands. So, even knowing it might be impossible, we must try our best. This is our family's honor and sense of mission."

Zu An paused. He noticed a strange glow on her face as she spoke, and he gradually began to understand.

In his previous life, such ancient families were rare, so it was difficult at first to understand their choices, but now he was beginning to grasp something.

If one were to truly assign right and wrong, neither the Emperor, the imperial court, nor the Chu family was entirely wrong. They each had their own motives and goals; ultimately, it was all just a struggle for interests.

"By the way, what was going on with that Qiu Honglei? How did she find her way to our house?" Chu Chuyan suddenly asked, looking at him with a strange expression.

"I don't know what was going on with her. Don't worry, nothing happened between us. I've been keeping myself pure for you!" Zu An had just finished speaking when he suddenly remembered what had happened with Xue'er earlier, and he felt a little guilty.

However, on second thought, Xue'er was originally the maid she had given him to serve as a concubine. Strictly speaking, this wasn't really betraying her.

With that thought, his confidence returned.

"Keeping yourself pure?" Chu Chuyan scoffed. "The lipstick on your lips last night was left by her, wasn't it?"

Zu An: "..."

How did she remember that?

Chu Chuyan sighed and then said, "Don't wander around today. Chen Xuan just tried to assassinate you during the day; don't give him another chance."

As she spoke, she took a small booklet from her embrace. "Here, take this. Practice diligently in your free time, and you'll have more self-preservation ability when facing Chen Xuan in the future."

"What is this?" Zu An was startled. He instinctively took it and saw the four large characters "Snowflake Divine Sword" written on the booklet.