Chapter 650: Glamour Fills the Capital

Zu An's scalp tingled. He quickly helped Qiu Honglei sit upright and said, "Honglei, why are you joking at a time like this? The priority is to figure out how to handle the aftermath."

The Left Guard General's only son had been crippled here, which would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar.

Qiu Honglei naturally knew this would be very troublesome, so she stopped joking. "I've already made the two young masters of the Qin family fall asleep," she said. "They won't be coming over for now."

Zu An realized why there had been such a commotion without any reaction from those two. He'd assumed they were too absorbed in their "diligent work" to notice anything outside.

Chu Chuyan frowned slightly, clearly puzzled as to how she had so silently put her two cousins to sleep, especially since they were outstanding among their peers.

However, that wasn't the main concern now. She glanced at Cheng Gang and said calmly, "Just say I did it. No matter how powerful the Left Guard General is, he can't do anything against our Chu clan."

After all, the Chu clan were hereditary dukes, holding significant power over a region and commanding military forces. They naturally had nothing to fear from a mere Left Guard General.

As Zu An pondered the pros and cons of this approach, Qiu Honglei scoffed, "Everyone says Miss Chu is incredibly intelligent, but I don't see it that way."

Chu Chuyan's face turned frosty. "If you have something to say, say it properly," she snapped, "don't be so sarcastic."

Qiu Honglei explained, "Has Miss Chu forgotten where this is? This is the courtesan quarters. Once it gets out that you crippled Cheng Gang here, what about your reputation?"

Chu Chuyan's expression subtly shifted as she realized that if this incident became public, onlookers, unaware of the full story, would instinctively assume she had been disgraced by Cheng Gang in the courtesan quarters, and only then had she, in a fit of rage, taken action.

"Thank you for the reminder." Despite some reluctance, she was always clear about gratitude and grievances, so she still appreciated Qiu Honglei's advice.

Qiu Honglei giggled. "Don't thank me," she said, "I just don't want Azu to be sad in the future."

Chu Chuyan ground her teeth in irritation. She had just begun to change her opinion of Qiu Honglei slightly, only to find this "vixen" as annoying as ever.

Zu An pondered for a moment. "Let's say Youzhao did it," he suggested. "She's a 'man' anyway, so others won't think too much of it. Moreover, given her status in the Qin clan, they will protect her, so there's naturally no fear of Cheng Xiong's retaliation."

There was another reason for this approach: to completely sever Cheng Xiong's ties with the Qin clan, or at least create a significant rift. This way, if something happened to Cheng Xiong, the Qin clan wouldn't fully come to his aid.

Chu Chuyan hesitated, clearly aware of the implications. However, she didn't want Zu An to make a powerful enemy like the Cheng clan, especially since he was helping her younger sister. So she nodded and said, "Alright."

Chu Youzhao, having learned the full story, already detested Cheng Gang, so she naturally had no objections.

The group then began discussing the details and didn't disperse until the latter half of the night, as each had their own tasks to arrange.

Thinking of how Chu Chuyan had several times seemed on the verge of speaking before she left, Zu An secretly wiped cold sweat. Fortunately, the incident with Cheng Gang had erupted and diverted attention; otherwise, a meeting between the two women would have been like Mars colliding with Earth.

He had to be careful in the future. While having women on both arms was pleasant, he absolutely couldn't let them meet.

After returning to the palace, he summoned the silver and copper embroidered-uniform envoys temporarily assigned to him by Zhuxie Chixin and instructed them on their tasks.

The next day, the capital was abuzz with discussions about a certain case. If social media existed in this era, it would undoubtedly have been the top trending topic.

The Left Guard General's only son, Cheng Gang, had been crippled in the courtesan quarters last night!

The Left Guard General was a high-ranking general who also commanded the imperial palace guards, a crucial position. Cheng Gang was considered a top-tier "princeling" in the capital, so for someone of his status to be crippled, it naturally caused a huge uproar.

Everyone expected the Left Guard General to unleash his fury, tearing the culprit to shreds to vent his hatred. After all, Cheng Gang was his only son, always doted upon, and now he had been rendered infertile—a profound vengeance.

But surprisingly, Cheng Xiong remained silent and did not retaliate.

Court officials gradually caught on, each privately inquiring about what had happened.

There are no impenetrable walls in the world, and soon someone discovered that Cheng Gang had not gone to the courtesan quarters alone that night; he had been accompanied by a young master of the Qin clan.

"Could it have been the Qin clan's young master who did it?"

"In a place like the courtesan quarters, it's usually over a woman, fueled by jealousy."

"No wonder Cheng Xiong dared not retaliate. The Qin clan is far more powerful than the Cheng clan. Cheng Xiong was even General Qin's subordinate in his early years."

A group of people thought they knew the truth, but it wasn't long before another sensational piece of news broke: it wasn't a Qin young master who had acted, but the grandson of Duke Chengguo, the Chu clan's heir.

At first, everyone didn't understand why the Chu clan's heir would strike so severely, but soon another piece of news spread: it turned out that Cheng Gang, blinded by lust that night, had harbored ill intentions towards the Chu clan's heir and was consequently crippled by the heir's actions.

"That Cheng Gang fellow actually likes men?"

"I knew there was a reason Cheng Xiong kept staring at my backside all day; turns out his whole family is like that."

"Hmph, why don't you take a look at yourself? The Chu clan's heir has red lips and white teeth, incomparably handsome; that's why Cheng Gang couldn't control himself."

"Tsk, tsk, Miss Chu is widely recognized as a fairy-like figure. Who knew her younger brother would also be so 'stunning'? If someone could have both siblings in the future, wouldn't that be heavenly?"

Chu Youzhao hadn't expected to become famous in this way. Previously, her handsomeness was only known within a small circle of aristocratic young masters in the capital, but now everyone in the capital was curious about her appearance, wondering how she had enticed Cheng Gang to make advances toward a man.

In a way, her current "notoriety for beauty" even surpassed her sister's.

"It's all that scoundrel brother-in-law's idea! How am I supposed to face anyone now?" Chu Youzhao restlessly kicked her feet in her room. Hearing the rumors circulating outside these past few days, she was so embarrassed she felt like she could dig a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment into the floor with her toes.

Chu Chuyan suppressed a smile. "Who told you to go to a place like the courtesan quarters?" she said. "Is that where you should be? If your brother-in-law hadn't saved you, what happened to you would have been a thousand, ten thousand times worse than it is now."

Chu Youzhao's face flushed red. "That may be true," she mumbled, "but with this commotion, how can I ever go out and face people again..."

It was truly social death.

Thinking that even Murong Qinghe had looked at her with a strange expression, she couldn't hold back anymore. "It's so annoying!"

She burrowed into her covers, completely covering herself, as if that would make her feel less embarrassed.

Seeing her tossing and turning in bed, Chu Chuyan couldn't help but smile. Her gaze drifted to the window; she was curious about what Zu An planned to do next.

She soon found out!

After the imperial court learned of the matter, they dispatched the Capital Prefect to investigate the case. Given the victim's unusual identity, an explanation was certainly necessary.

The Capital Prefect also felt a headache. On one side was the Left Guard General's only son, and on the other were the heirs of three dukes. He was utterly helpless.

However, as a city warden in a capital teeming with powerful nobles, he wasn't some pedantic fool and quickly came up with an idea.

The Qin and Chu clans were hard to provoke, but surely he could provoke the courtesan quarters?

So he sent constables to the courtesan quarters to arrest people, ordering them to seize the courtesan queen and everyone in her courtyard. After taking their statements, he intended to pin the blame on them. This would provide an explanation for the case and allow both sides to save face.

As for whether the women in the courtesan quarters were innocent and pitiable, that held no meaning for these officials in the political arena.

They were already miserable enough in the courtesan quarters anyway; sending them to an early reincarnation to be reborn as pure individuals in their next life, perhaps they would even thank him for it.

Unfortunately, while the plan was sound, unexpected changes soon occurred.

After the constables arrived, Courtesan Queen Frost Moon had long since vanished, and even the maids in her courtyard were all gone.

Even stranger, many items in the courtyard had been deliberately destroyed, seemingly to conceal some secret.

Professional instincts immediately put the constables on alert. They finally found clues among a pile of ashes: a letter, only partly burned. It was likely left behind accidentally because the people in the courtyard had evacuated too hastily, without enough time to ensure complete destruction.

The constables saw the content, which seemed related to the assassin case from a few days ago, and quickly reported it to the Capital Prefect.

The Capital Prefect immediately realized this involved a major case and quickly reported the matter to the imperial court.

Upon learning of this, the imperial court was shaken. The Emperor was furious and ordered the embroidered-uniform envoys to thoroughly investigate the matter.