Chapter 287: Why Can't I

At this thought, Chu Zhongtian could no longer remain calm and hurried to check some important items in the mansion.

Seeing him rush off, Chu Huanzhao thought something serious had happened and quickly followed him.

Chu Zhongtian quickly checked and found that nothing in the mansion was missing; the vital spiritual spring had already been contaminated long ago.

"Was I overthinking it?" Chu Zhongtian quickly summoned the servant named Jin Zhu and asked where Qiu Honglei had been placed.

Jin Zhu looked confused and said, "Didn't the master say to arrange Miss Qiu in the young master-in-law's room?"

Chu Zhongtian was stunned. "When did I say that?"

"Miss Qiu said so," Jin Zhu replied earnestly.

Chu Zhongtian was left speechless.

He thought to himself, how could the mansion produce so many odd characters? Cheng Shoubing was already bad enough, and now there's another Jin Zhu?

At this moment, Chu Huanzhao was the first to react. "She went to brother-in-law's room?"

"How shameless is this woman!" Chu Huanzhao's anger flared up without warning, and she furiously ran towards Zu An's courtyard.

Chu Zhongtian's eyelids twitched because he noticed his daughter was actually carrying a whip this time.

Worried that trouble would erupt, he quickly chased after her.

Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei and Pei Mianman exchanged hundreds of blows in the dark. From initial probing, they had escalated to full-blown fighting, and neither woman held back their attacks.

Before long, both sustained significant internal injuries.

"Bitch, who are you?!" Pei Mianman gasped for breath and asked fiercely in a brief pause after an exchange of blows.

She had been joyfully waiting for Zu An to return this time, only for some strange woman to appear out of nowhere. The huge psychological disparity made her extremely displeased.

Qiu Honglei was not to be outdone. "And who are you, bitch?"

At the same time, her mind raced. Who was this woman? Was she Zu An's friend or enemy?

Yet there was no information about this woman in their previous intelligence. It seemed they had missed many things.

Both women harbored ulterior motives, and neither was willing to ask about the other's relationship with Zu An first, fearing they would expose themselves.

And so, the two began a new round of combat, and both struck each other in the chest.

"Huh, how can this woman be so ample?"

"This woman is actually no less ample than I am. Does A'Zu have someone like this around him?"

...

As the fight reached its climax, Pei Mianman suddenly paused. She had heard hurried footsteps approaching from a distance. She coldly snorted, "You're lucky this time!"

She didn't want the Chu family to know of her presence, so naturally, she was unwilling to continue fighting.

"Hmph, a mere fifth-rank. If I see you next time, you'll surely die!"

With that, she flashed and leaped out. Her movement technique was extremely fast, and she quickly disappeared into the night.

Qiu Honglei also rubbed her chest, a hint of pain flashing across her face. "That bitch's attacks were truly vicious. If it weren't inconvenient for me to reveal myself in the Chu family today, I would have killed you a hundred times over."

"Hmph, a mere fifth-rank!"

"Qiu Honglei, come out!"

At that moment, an angry shout from a young girl came from afar.

"Is that the foolish second young lady?" Having planned to come to the Chu family, she had naturally conducted a detailed intelligence investigation of the family and knew every important person within it.

She had intended to tidy her clothes, which were disheveled from the fight, but she suddenly hesitated and then simply opened the door.

"What happened to you?" Chu Huanzhao had come to confront her, but seeing the other party in such a sorry state, she instinctively held back all the words she was about to say.

Chu Zhongtian, standing by, was also stunned. At this moment, Qiu Honglei's clothes were a bit disheveled, her hair was loose, and her face carried a hint of charming rosy flush. There was a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. She looked even more alluring and, at the same time, more pitiful.

"Miss Qiu, what happened to you?" Chu Zhongtian couldn't help but ask.

"To answer Duke Mingyue, a woman suddenly came and attacked me just now. If Duke Mingyue hadn't arrived so quickly, I'm afraid... I'm afraid..." As Qiu Honglei spoke, tears streamed down her face. Having spent years at the Immortal Abode, she had mastered the art of shedding tears with precision, making people feel sympathy without appearing artificial.

"A woman?" Chu Zhongtian was startled and subconsciously looked at his daughter.

Chu Huanzhao quickly said, "Why are you looking at me? I've been with you the whole time."

Chu Zhongtian thought for a moment and then pushed the door open to check inside. It was dark, but guards had already come and lit lamps.

Seeing the disordered tables and chairs inside, Chu Zhongtian's expression became even stranger. "Is Miss Qiu also a cultivator?"

How strange. He couldn't feel any elemental energy fluctuations from her.

"I wouldn't call myself a true cultivator, but I know a little martial arts," Qiu Honglei replied, having already prepared her response. "After all, in a place like the Immortal Abode, one needs to put in more effort to protect oneself."

Chu Zhongtian nodded; this explanation was reasonable. He briefly inspected the room. "It seems there were no lights in the room, so the mysterious intruder also couldn't see clearly, and their power was thus somewhat diminished."

Qiu Honglei quickly added, "Mostly, it was thanks to Duke Mingyue's timely arrival. That's why the villain, in fear, hastily fled."

Being praised by such a beauty, even Chu Zhongtian, who usually disliked women, felt a sense of comfort. "Ultimately, it was the Chu family's oversight, allowing Miss Qiu to be startled in our mansion. You said the intruder was a woman?"

"Yes, it was a woman, probably not very old." Qiu Honglei secretly added in her mind: *But her chest was so big.*

"A woman..." Chu Zhongtian fell into deep thought, recalling the several consecutive invasion incidents that had occurred in the mansion recently. Could this be a coincidence?

It seemed the mansion's defenses needed a thorough overhaul.

So he said, "Miss Qiu, this area is quite secluded, and the defenses might be a bit weak. Someone, please take Miss Qiu to the side room to rest for now."

He naturally couldn't leave her to sleep in his son-in-law's room.

Qiu Honglei had no objection. "Thank you, Duke Mingyue."

At the same time, she was secretly annoyed. It was all because of that mysterious woman; otherwise, she could have waited for Zu An to return later and tried to get closer to him.

After settling Qiu Honglei, Chu Zhongtian hastily summoned the butler, Hong Zhong, to have him reorganize the mansion's defenses, as too many incidents had occurred recently.

Chu Huanzhao, meanwhile, was sent to check on her elder sister's injuries. It was only halfway there that she realized she had run off to settle scores with that vixen; how could she just leave like this?

However, thinking of the other party's disheveled appearance, her anger finally subsided a little. She thought, *I don't know who that mysterious woman was, but she really vented my anger for me.*

A moment later, her mood suddenly dipped again. Although she was usually carefree, she could still distinguish between beauty and ugliness.

She had originally thought Qiu Honglei's renowned beauty was merely an exaggeration. After all, how beautiful could one truly be?

But having just witnessed it with her own eyes, she had to admit that the other party was indeed unbelievably beautiful, every gesture exuding feminine charm.

She couldn't help but glance at her own unremarkable chest and muttered softly, "The crucial thing is, they're so ample..."

"What are you mumbling about?" Qin Wanru was standing guard outside her daughter's door and suddenly noticed her younger daughter returning, mumbling to herself and looking displeased.

"Nothing." Chu Huanzhao's gaze suddenly sharpened as she noticed her mother's ample chest, and she immediately felt even more depressed.

Why didn't I inherit this from Mother? Otherwise, why would I need to fear that Qiu Honglei?

"What's wrong with you?" Noticing her abnormal expression, Qin Wanru couldn't help but reach out and touch her forehead. Her elder daughter had already had an incident, and she didn't want her younger daughter to suffer any misfortune.

Chu Huanzhao's face flushed, and she quickly changed the subject. "Nothing, how is my sister doing now?"

Now it was Qin Wanru's turn to blush. "Your brother-in-law is... is treating her."

Hearing news of her brother-in-law, Chu Huanzhao immediately beamed. "Brother-in-law is amazing! If I ever get sick, I'll ask brother-in-law to treat me too!"

Qin Wanru, standing by, was greatly alarmed and quickly said, "No, absolutely not!"

"Why?" Chu Huanzhao looked bewildered, unable to understand her reaction.

"There's no why; it's simply not allowed." Thinking of Zu An's method of treatment, Qin Wanru's face flushed crimson.

"Why can Big Sister, but I can't? Mother, you're too biased." Chu Huanzhao was already unhappy because of the Qiu Honglei incident, and then she recalled how her parents had always praised her elder sister since childhood. Although it was never explicitly stated, children could keenly sense which one their parents preferred.

The accumulated grievances of many years suddenly erupted. Tears immediately welled up, and after leaving a remark, she ran off without looking back, not turning around no matter how Qin Wanru called out to her from behind.

"This child!" Qin Wanru stamped her foot. At this moment, Chu Chuyan and the others were at a critical juncture, and she dared not leave the doorway to chase after her younger daughter. She could only stamp her foot helplessly.

*My foolish daughter, if you knew how your brother-in-law treats your sister, would you still be willing to let him treat you?*

It's all that Zu An's fault!

Rage value from Qin Wanru +531!

Zu An, inside the room, shivered. He thought, *Is this woman incompatible with me? Why is she suddenly angry at me now?*

Chu Chuyan noticed his unusual reaction and asked with a somewhat dazed expression, "What's wrong?"

As soon as the sound came out, she herself was startled; she could hardly believe it was her own voice.

She had never spoken in such a charmingly languid tone before, but now, everything felt natural.

Zu An smiled faintly. "Nothing."

*Hmph, your mother constantly makes me angry. It's the same if I get it back through you.*

...

It was unknown how much time had passed; Qin Wanru was almost weak from standing at the door. The room door finally opened, and Zu An emerged, fully dressed.

Qin Wanru was secretly annoyed. She thought, *Are you an animal? How much time has passed? It took you this long to come out!*

Unfortunately, she couldn't say these words aloud, so she could only ask, "How is Chuyan?"

Zu An replied, "She is out of danger. After a few more stabilizing treatments, she should make a full recovery, and her chronic illness will be completely eradicated."

Qin Wanru was stunned. "Still... a few more stabilizing treatments?"

"Mmm~" Zu An's face flushed. This was actually due to his selfish desires; in truth, after today, Chu Chuyan's injuries were already mostly healed.

It was just that he was in charge now. It would be foolish of him to let such a good opportunity slip away.

Qin Wanru's face alternated between green and red, but ultimately, she said nothing. Instead, she hurried inside to check on her daughter's well-being.

Zu An felt that leaving now would seem a bit heartless, but it would be awkward to stay while the mother and daughter had a private conversation.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw Yue Shan rushing over with a hurried expression. "Where are the master and madam? Something big has happened!"