Chapter 342: Account Book

Zu An laughed heartily, "Well said, I'll go with you."

To his surprise, Chu Chuyan shook her head and said, "No, you stay."

Zu An looked bewildered.

He felt as if he had shot himself in the foot. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have offered any advice.

Chu Chuyan explained, "Ah Zu, with my father detained by Sang Hong and me leaving, only my mother and Xiao Zhao will be left at home. You know how my second and third uncles have always coveted our main branch. On top of that, families like the Sangs, Wus, and Zheng Yuans are constantly eyeing us. With both internal and external threats, I'm truly worried."

"Xiao Zhao is naive, and my mother is a bit too straightforward. If I leave, they're bound to cause trouble."

Zu An looked troubled. "Wife, you know your mother's attitude towards me. There's no way she'd listen to me, so what's the point of me staying?"

"My mother isn't deliberately targeting you; she's mainly just too worried about me," Chu Chuyan said, taking his hand. "Ah Zu, you truly have been wronged these past few days."

Zu An took the opportunity to embrace her slender waist. "Haha, with such a beautiful wife by my side every night, I don't feel wronged at all."

Chu Chuyan's cheeks flushed, and she couldn't help but retort, "You're incorrigible."

Zu An held her close. "Wife, but I'm really worried about you going to the capital alone."

Chu Chuyan smiled faintly. "I used to travel far quite often before I met you. Besides, my cultivation is still higher than yours, hmph."

Zu An's face darkened. "Bringing that up hurts my feelings."

It was a sore point for him; despite his various cheat-like abilities, all the women he was close to had higher cultivation levels than him.

Even a weakling like Chu Huanzhao initially overpowered him in cultivation and even bullied him once.

Chu Chuyan leaned on his shoulder. "Ah Zu, I know you're not what people generally perceive you to be; you're actually very capable. So, I trust that you'll be able to protect my mother and sister while I'm away."

"Don't flatter me," he said, though being praised by the proud Chu Chuyan made him feel a little lightheaded.

Upon returning to the Chu manor, Chu Chuyan gathered Qin Wanru and Chu Huanzhao and informed them of her plans.

Qin Wanru looked excited. "Excellent, it's high time we fought back! Your father is good in every way, but he's a bit indecisive. Now that we're being bullied right under our noses, we can't afford to worry about so many things."

Zu An secretly clicked his tongue, thinking that this woman truly had a fiery temper and was very straightforward.

Chu Huanzhao, on the other hand, looked reluctant. "Sister, how long will you be gone?"

Chu Chuyan hugged her sister and softly said, "At the fastest, three months; at the slowest, half a year. During this time, you must listen to Mother and your brother-in-law, and don't be mischievous anymore."

Chu Huanzhao nodded. "Don't worry, I won't cause any more trouble."

After the recent events concerning the Chu family, she seemed to have matured considerably.

Qin Wanru, standing by, was somewhat surprised. It was understandable for Xiao Zhao to listen to her, but listening to her brother-in-law?

What was more, given Xiao Zhao's temper, she didn't show any inclination to object.

At this moment, Chu Chuyan took a small booklet from her bosom. "Mother, please keep this ledger. It's inconvenient for me to carry it when I go to the capital."

Since she was going to threaten others, she naturally couldn't bring her trump card. Otherwise, if they turned hostile and captured her, wouldn't the ledger also fall into enemy hands?

Qin Wanru understood this principle and carefully placed the ledger inside her clothes. "Don't worry, I'll guard it well, even if it costs me my life!"

Zu An couldn't help but say, "It hasn't come to that point yet, don't say such inauspicious things."

Qin Wanru instinctively glared at him, but for once, she didn't argue back.

Chu Huanzhao, on the side, asked worriedly, "Sister, will you be in danger?"

Chu Chuyan patted her head. "Don't worry, Xiao Zhao, with my cultivation, I can certainly protect myself."

"Although you're powerful among your peers, there are many old monsters in the capital. What if people from the older generation disregard their status and attack you?" Chu Huanzhao, despite being usually carefree, wasn't foolish.

Seeing her sister thinking deeply, Chu Chuyan smiled genuinely. "Don't worry. As long as the ledger exists, those people won't dare to harm me."

After speaking, she looked seriously at the other two. "Mother, Ah Zu, I will send updates home periodically. If you lose contact with me for several consecutive days, it means something has happened to me. In that case, you must immediately expose the contents of the ledger. Everything our Chu family has was earned on the battlefield; we have the courage to perish together."

Qin Wanru tightly held her daughter's hand, her voice choked. "Chuyan~"

Although she was usually strong, she was still a woman. With her husband in trouble, her daughter embarking on an uncertain journey, and the Chu family's future shrouded in uncertainty, her vulnerability was immediately apparent.

Her emotional outburst prompted her two daughters to finally release the worries and sorrows they had suppressed, and their eyes welled up with tears.

Zu An instinctively wanted to comfort them but knew that anything he said at this moment would be too hollow. It was better to let them vent thoroughly so they wouldn't bottle up their feelings and suffer internally.

The mother and two daughters embraced and cried for a while before their emotions gradually stabilized.

Only then did Qin Wanru notice Zu An standing nearby. Her face flushed, she quickly wiped her tears and sat up straight. "Oh, Chuyan, while you're in the capital this time, please visit your third... your younger brother. He's been alone in the capital all these years; it's truly unfair to him."

Zu An recalled hearing long ago that the young master of the Chu family was studying in the capital but had never met him.

He wondered if this brother-in-law would be easy to get along with.

It didn't matter either way; even if he wasn't easygoing, Zu An figured he could just give him a spanking, and then he'd surely become cooperative.

"Yes, I will," Chu Chuyan nodded.

"Also, if you need help, go find your maternal grandfather," Qin Wanru reminded her.

Zu An, standing by, suddenly understood. The Chu family held a ducal title, and for Qin Wanru to be Chu Zhongtian's official wife and to have prevented him from taking concubines all these years, her family must also be a prominent one. He wondered why he had never heard anyone mention them in the manor before.

Chu Chuyan hesitated. "Mother, isn't Grandfather's family somewhat..."

"Blood is thicker than water; he shouldn't just stand by and watch us suffer," Qin Wanru said, hesitating slightly. "If he truly is heartless, you can go to your maternal aunt; she will definitely help you."

At the mention of her aunt, a faint smile appeared on Chu Chuyan's face. "Alright."

After returning to Qingyin Pavilion, Zu An curiously asked Chu Chuyan, "Does your mother have a younger sister?"

"Yes," Chu Chuyan replied as she began packing her belongings.

"A full sister?"

"Of course, she's my full aunt. When I was little, my aunt was very good to me. It's a pity I haven't seen her in many years." A faint smile appeared on Chu Chuyan's face as she recalled the past.

Zu An said "Oh" and then remembered something, quickly reminding her, "Right, you must remember that you're going to threaten those people for help, not beg them. Don't do anything foolish for the sake of the family's interests."

Chu Chuyan paused. "What foolish things?"

Zu An hesitated before explaining, "For example, if some families threaten your purity and demand something in return for helping the Chu family, don't be foolish enough to agree."

He'd seen too many cliché and ridiculous plots like that in melodramatic TV shows from his previous world, and he didn't want it to happen to them, so he was giving her a preemptive warning.

Chu Chuyan pursed her lips and smiled. "Oh, are you jealous?"

Zu An snorted. "I'm just reminding you."

"Don't worry, I'm not foolish, and besides..." Chu Chuyan's face flushed slightly. "In my heart... no man compares to you."

Zu An's heart swelled with emotion. He immediately swept her into his arms and carried her towards the bed.

"Wait a moment..." Chu Chuyan said, flustered, pulling out a book. "Put this away first."

Zu An looked closely and saw the large characters on the book's cover: "Overbearing Sword Immortal's 99 Days of Love Pursuit."