Chapter 57: Fox Borrows Tiger's Fierceness

Chu Zhongtian also stood up and said, "Xiao An, I know you want to do your part for the Chu family, and your intentions are good, but... sigh, you don't need to overthink this matter. We will handle the grand competition arrangements."

After speaking, he also stood up and left. Seeing his hurried expression, he was clearly going after his wife.

Zu An couldn't help but inwardly complain that this cheap father-in-law was a typical henpecked husband. However, his temperament was quite good; he was even kind and pleasant towards a good-for-nothing like him. Zu An just wondered if his kindness was genuine or if he was secretly cunning.

Chu Hanzhao was excitedly coming to find him when Chu Zhongtian's voice came from outside: "Zhao'er, your mother is looking for you."

"Oh~" Chu Hanzhao's excited face immediately fell. He shrugged his hands helplessly at Zu An, then reluctantly went outside.

"Are you and Hanzhao very close?" Chu Chuyan asked with a hint of surprise.

Zu An smiled smugly, "I've always been quite personable."

Chu Chuyan was speechless.

After glancing at him, she turned to leave, adding, "Oh, and a reminder: men shouldn't make promises they can't keep."

Zu An couldn't help but sigh. Not a single person in this family believed him. Life was truly as lonely as snow.

He suddenly remembered something and hurried after her, calling, "Wife, wife~"

Chu Chuyan abruptly turned around. "Shut up! I told you before not to call me that."

"You only said I couldn't call you 'Niangzi'," Zu An quickly corrected himself, noticing her eyebrows furrowing in anger. "Then, can I call you Yan'er?"

Chu Chuyan was speechless.

She thought to herself, "My parents call me that, and you call me that too. It sounds strange. But if I don't let him call me that, should I really let him keep calling me 'wife'?"

"Hey, do you have any shame? After all that, you're still buzzing around Miss like a fly all day." Xue'er jumped out, blocking the path between them. As she spoke, her eyes flickered down to his lower abdomen, her tone full of mockery.

"Do I need you to meddle when I'm looking for my own wife?" Zu An rolled his eyes. "You've been seen naked by me, yet you're constantly in front of me. Who's truly shameless here?"

"You!" Xue'er's face flushed crimson. She considered that incident a great humiliation, and now this fellow dared to bring it up. Infuriated, she immediately drew her sword, ready to kill him.

Rage points from Qiao Xueying +999!

"Alright, alright, you two, stop fighting." Chu Chuyan was worried that if she didn't intervene, this guy would truly be torn to pieces. "What do you want from me?"

Zu An glanced at Xue'er, whom Chu Chuyan had pulled aside, mentally measured the length of the sword in her hand, and then stepped back to a safe distance before speaking: "It's like this: someone wants to kill your husband. Are you going to do something about it?"

Xue'er's heart skipped a beat, and her anger from earlier subsided somewhat. She looked at him with a mix of surprise and uncertainty, various thoughts swirling in her mind.

Chu Chuyan's delicate brows furrowed slightly. This fellow wasn't calling her "wife" anymore, but he was calling himself "husband." "Who wants to kill you?"

Zu An first cast a glance at Xue'er, making her tremble with unease, then said, "The Plum Blossom Gang wants to kill me."

"The Plum Blossom Gang?" Chu Chuyan was startled. "How did you get involved with them?"

Zu An spread his hands. "I don't know either. Logically, a handsome young man like me, adored by everyone, shouldn't have any enemies. But the Plum Blossom Gang has tried to kill me repeatedly. The last time I was struck by lightning, it was Plum Blossom Twelve who caused it."

"Is that true?" A hint of surprise appeared on Chu Chuyan's usually calm face.

Zu An nodded. "Would I lie to my own wife?"

Xue'er, standing beside them, snorted, "Go ask around in the city! This guy is famously full of lies. Lying to his wife..." She quickly corrected herself after Chu Chuyan shot her a glare, "...lying to Miss is nothing new."

Zu An gave her a deep look. "I say, you're always against me, little girl. Is it because you've fallen for me and are trying to get my attention this way?"

"I..." Xue'er choked, almost fainting from anger. "Miss, don't stop me! I'm going to kill this guy today!"

Rage points from Qiao Xueying +725!

Zu An quickly began running circles around Chu Chuyan, while Xue'er chased him with her sword. They went round and round, neither able to catch the other for a moment.

"Yan'er, aren't you going to do anything? She's trying to murder your husband!" Zu An yelled while dodging.

Chu Chuyan's face was cold. "If your hands touch me again, I'll be the one to kill you first."

Zu An awkwardly withdrew his hands. While running around her to dodge, he had made quite a bit of physical contact, and he hadn't expected her to see through his intentions so quickly.

Speaking of which, this cheap wife felt very cold; her whole body was like an ice sculpture.

"You said Plum Blossom Twelve caused you to be struck by lightning, but do you have any proof?" Chu Chuyan asked.

"He said it himself," Zu An replied. Seeing that she really didn't intend to stop Xue'er, he wondered if this woman was serious and planning to use Xue'er to kill him.

"Where is he now?"

"He's dead, not even a trace of his body remains."

Chu Chuyan was speechless.

"You're just speaking without any proof! What can Miss do with a baseless claim like that?"

Chu Chuyan stopped Xue'er from chasing further, then said, "Xue'er is right. Although the Plum Blossom Gang is just a gang, their backing is quite complex. Without solid evidence, we can't do anything to them."

"Miss, I think this guy is just making things up," Xue'er said, panting, her chest rising and falling. "Why would the Plum Blossom Gang risk offending our Chu family to deal with him?" She wondered why he was so much fitter now.

Chu Chuyan nodded slightly, evidently agreeing with her to some extent. If they were to rashly go and demand accountability, what could they do if the other party simply claimed there was no proof?

Zu An even regretted killing Plum Blossom Twelve so quickly. He thought that if he had known, he should have forced him to write a confession at that time. But that was just a thought; it wasn't realistic in that situation.

"Even if there's no evidence about Plum Blossom Twelve, today, right outside the academy gates, Plum Blossom Thirteen came again and threatened to hack off my limbs and torture me to death, piece by piece. That can't be fake, can it?"

One must have the self-awareness of a kept man. He despised those who, despite being able to easily solve problems with their background, insisted on struggling deeply and relying solely on their own abilities. Besides, wasn't his way of "eating soft rice, but making it hard" also a form of relying on his own ability?

"Why would Plum Blossom Thirteen come to the academy to threaten you for no reason?" Xue'er said, holding Miss's arm and sneering at him. "I bet you did something to get on their bad side."

Zu An looked at her with a half-smile. "I've noticed that you've been speaking up for the Plum Blossom Gang since earlier. Could it be that you have some connection with them?"

Xue'er was startled. She instinctively glanced at Chu Chuyan, then quickly argued, "How could I have any connection with the Plum Blossom Gang? I just can't stand your unreasonable antics."

"Many people saw what happened today. If you don't believe me, you can ask Miss Er; she witnessed it herself. Can our prestigious Chu family just swallow this insult?" Zu An said, brimming with indignation.

Chu Chuyan thought to herself, "This guy really doesn't treat himself as an outsider, already saying 'our Chu family' so smoothly." After a moment's thought, she replied, "The Plum Blossom Gang is not simple; we still haven't figured out their true backers. Furthermore, although my father is a duke, he doesn't hold any local office. Interfering in local government affairs would be overstepping. So, we can't simply go and demand accountability for a mere threat."

Zu An couldn't help but curl his lip. "The Chu family, a Duke's residence, can't even deal with a mere gang. I'm ashamed for you all."

Xue'er stood with her hands on her hips and retorted, "Now you're really getting arrogant, aren't you? Do you understand court politics? Do you understand the precarious position of those in high places? Do you understand Master's current situation? You understand nothing, yet you're spouting nonsense here."

Zu An glanced at her. "Alright, alright, you know everything, but in the end, you're still just a little maid."

Xue'er gasped, then looked at Chu Chuyan imploringly. "Miss, I really want to hit him."

Rage points from Qiao Xueying +367!

Chu Chuyan smiled faintly. "Alright, that's enough, don't be so informal. He is, after all, your brother-in-law. You two act like a bickering couple all day."

Xue'er immediately jumped up, saying with a wronged expression, "A bickering couple with him? Miss, please don't disgust me."

Zu An ignored her and said to Chu Chuyan, "I knew your Chu family couldn't be relied upon. I have my own way to solve this, but I'll need your backing."

Plum Blossom Twelve and Plum Blossom Thirteen had attacked him one after another, and it wasn't in his nature to just take it. Moreover, he worried that passive defense would only lead to unknown troubles from the Plum Blossom Gang next time. Rather than that, it would be better to preemptively strike and utterly cripple them.

"Backing?" Chu Chuyan looked confused.

"It means providing support," Zu An explained. "I'm going to the Plum Blossom Gang shortly. You don't need to do anything, just ensure my safety."

Xue'er, standing beside them, snorted, "Isn't that just borrowing another's prestige?"

Zu An didn't mind. "Actually, I could go alone, but I'm mainly afraid the Plum Blossom Gang might get beaten too badly by me and resort to desperate measures."

"You?" Xue'er scoffed, her expression showing she thought he was overestimating himself.

Chu Chuyan, however, nodded. "Alright, I'll go with you. But I must state beforehand, I'll only be representing myself, not helping you on behalf of the Chu family."

"Don't worry, that's fine." A heavy weight finally lifted from Zu An's heart. With her accompanying him, his life would naturally be safe.

"What exactly are you planning?" Xue'er frowned tightly, looking at his confident demeanor, growing somewhat curious.

"It won't work if I tell you," Zu An said, wagging his finger. He then gestured politely to Chu Chuyan. "Yan'er, please."

Chu Chuyan furrowed her brows slightly, still not quite used to that form of address, but seeing his thick-skinned persistence, she gave up on correcting him.