Chapter 358: What Do You Want

Since she had already caught up, their identities were definitely exposed.

Qin Wanru steeled herself, preparing to use her cultivation to escape with Zu An. Even though she knew they would likely not evade a seventh-rank master, she still had to try.

Sensing the change in her body, Zu An hugged her tightly. "Madam, don't be impulsive!"

Qin Wanru was puzzled. With a knife practically at their throats, running now offered a glimmer of hope. Once that woman exposed their identities, it would be too late to escape.

"Trust me, it should be fine." Zu An was actually quite anxious, knowing he was taking a gamble.

"Oh, why are you here?" The old man, seeing Qiu Honglei in black, couldn't help but ask. He simultaneously glanced at Zu An and the woman slowly moving away. Seeing that they didn't look back, the murderous intent in his eyes lessened slightly.

"I'm chasing someone; someone just escaped from that direction," Qiu Honglei replied.

Hearing the words from behind, Qin Wanru's body trembled slightly. She secretly pinched Zu An hard; it was because he had stopped her from fleeing, and now it was too late to escape.

Zu An gasped, wondering if all women loved pinching people so much.

"Chasing someone?" The old man then uttered a sound of surprise, pointing at Zu An and the woman in the distance. "Is it them?"

Qiu Honglei looked at their retreating figures with a playful expression. Especially seeing Zu An's hand around the woman's waist, the corners of her lips curled up even more.

As if sensing her gaze, Qin Wanru's entire body stiffened.

Zu An also grew nervous. Although he had some suspicions, a woman's heart was an unfathomable mystery, and he wasn't sure what choice she would make.

After a long pause, Qiu Honglei shook her head. "It's not them; I'm chasing one person."

Hearing her answer, Qin Wanru was stunned. She looked at Zu An with a puzzled expression. Although she said nothing, the meaning in her eyes was clear: why would the other person lie?

Zu An also breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled slightly, offering no explanation, and prioritized getting Qin Wanru out of there.

"Is that person highly cultivated, to be able to escape from you?" The old man didn't suspect anything, as it seemed to him that Qiu Honglei had no reason to lie.

Qiu Honglei shook her head. "Their cultivation is a bit higher than mine, but they're cunning. However, I struck them in a vital spot, so even if they escaped, they're as good as dead."

Qin Wanru had been keeping her ears open for sounds from behind, so even though they had already rounded the street corner, she could still faintly hear the voices.

This made her even more perplexed. For the woman to say that, wasn't she clearly misleading her companion and even resolving their concerns?

The old man nodded. "If you struck them in a vital spot, they're likely dead, but we mustn't be careless. Men, go search around and see if there are any suspicious injured individuals."

Soon, a group of subordinates left as ordered. He then continued, "By the way, where is Gu Yueyi?"

"Senior Brother is over there dealing with Sang Qian," Qiu Honglei replied.

The old man snorted. "Gu Yueyi is probably no match for Sang Qian. Let's go help him!"

With that, his body shot away in another direction like a large bird.

Qiu Honglei looked back in the direction where Zu An and the woman had disappeared, muttering to herself, "You owe me a favor."

After speaking, she also followed the old man.

After confirming their departure, Qin Wanru, who was behind the corner, finally relaxed. However, her mind was filled with doubt. "Why did that woman let us go?"

Zu An shook his head. "I don't know either. Maybe they have some internal conflict and didn't want to give the old man the credit."

Qiu Honglei had just let him go; he couldn't possibly betray her now, could he?

After all, Qin Wanru was the Duchess, with countless resources at her disposal. Having suffered such a great loss this time, what would Qiu Honglei do if Qin Wanru directly dispatched troops to investigate the identities of the black-clad individuals at Immortal's Dwelling?

"Is that so?" Qin Wanru looked suspicious. "But I always feel you two must know each other. Otherwise, how dared you stay there just now?"

"Is that so?" Zu An feigned ignorance. "I just thought running away in that situation would be too obvious. I figured it was better to take a gamble. Luckily, I won. It seems my gambling luck is always good."

"The Chu family tradition has always been against gambling!" Qin Wanru scoffed. However, recalling how he won 7.5 million taels at the Silver Hook Casino, and another 1 million taels at the family competition, and now even won this life-and-death gamble, she found herself unable to utter many of the reproving words she had in mind.

Suddenly, she realized something was amiss and glared at him coldly. "How long do you intend to keep holding me?"

Only then did Zu An realize he was still embracing her. He instantly broke out in a cold sweat, released her at once, and jumped to the side. "I hope Madam doesn't mind. It was an emergency just now, and I had no other choice."

Listening to his continuous explanations, Qin Wanru's face was as calm as still water, and she remained silent.

Zu An felt a chill run down his spine, assuming he had truly angered her.

Although this world wasn't as strict about interactions between men and women as ancient China, it wasn't so open that a son-in-law could hug his mother-in-law.

But he truly had no other option at the time. Moreover, coming from modern times, he wasn't very sensitive to such etiquette, which led him to make such a shocking move.

After a long silence, Qin Wanru finally spoke. "Where are those salt warrants?"

"The situation was critical just now, so I hid them elsewhere. I can get them for you tomorrow," Zu An replied.

The matter of the Glazed Pearl was extremely important. Mi Li had once told him that such a large storage space had never been seen before, so he absolutely must not reveal its secret to anyone, as it could easily lead to his demise.

Qin Wanru's expression softened slightly. "Considering your service to the Chu family today, I won't pursue your impolite actions just now. But don't let it happen again!"

"Yes, yes, yes, there definitely won't be a next time." Zu An thought to himself, 'Am I tired of living to dare have a next time?' "By the way, Madam, I've performed such a great service today, shouldn't there be some reward?"

"You dare ask me for a reward?" Qin Wanru's eyes widened. This fellow truly had a thick skin to an extreme degree. She wasn't even going to pursue his rude actions, and yet he still wanted a reward?

It was important to know that in this world, no other man besides her husband, Chu Zhongtian, had ever touched her. In her capacity as Duchess, if any other man touched her, she had the right to directly imprison them. For serious offenses, immediate execution was also protected by imperial law.

However, Zu An was unaware of all this. He said discontentedly, "Of course. The Chu family manages so many people; fair rewards and punishments are the least you can expect, right? I retrieved the salt warrants this time, which at the very least saved the day. If there's no reward at all, who will risk their life for the Chu family in the future? Otherwise, let's find others to judge! I've rendered service to the Chu family; I've shed blood for the Chu family..."

"Shut up!" Hearing him ranting, Qin Wanru nervously looked around, relieved that no one else was present. "What kind of reward do you want?"

"I want..." Zu An suddenly paused mid-sentence. Right, what did he want?

Money?

The Chu family might not be as wealthy as he was now.

Besides, beyond a certain point, more money was just a number.

Power?

No interest.

Women?

Hmm, that one seemed promising, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Making such a request in front of her would be suicidal.

"Fair rewards and punishments are for outsiders. You're part of the Chu family; you don't need such things. Besides, with Chuyan, what more could you want?" Qin Wanru scoffed coldly, then turned and walked away, clearly not bothering to discuss the matter further with him.

Zu An could only smile helplessly and follow her.

Unexpectedly, Qin Wanru suddenly stopped ahead, catching Zu An off guard; he nearly bumped into her.

Seeing his discomfited state, Qin Wanru said indifferently, "By the way, you're not to tell anyone about what happened today, not even Chuyan."

Zu An uttered an "Oh" and then suddenly asked, "Can I tell father-in-law?"