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Chu Zhongtian was in the midst of sipping his tea when the sudden table slam scared him, causing his tea to nearly spill. In order to conceal his awkwardness, he cleared his throat and went along with his wife. “Indeed! Zu An, do you know what you’ve done wrong?”
Zu An inwardly scoffed at Chu Zhongtian for being a henpecked husband, but on the outside, he sincerely replied, “I know that I’ve done wrong.”
Both Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were taken aback by Zu An’s response. They thought that the latter would try to rebut them, as he had done many times before, and they even thought up of lines to counter his rebuttals. Zu An’s unexpected act of yielding deflated their air, leaving them suddenly at a loss about where to proceed with the conversation.
Chu Chuyan and Yue Shan also exchanged glances, surprised by how obedient Zu An was being at the moment. Was this really the fellow who had dominated everyone else in the casino with his sharp mouth earlier?
Qin Wanru pondered for a moment before deciding to go ahead with the script she prepared earlier. “Don’t you know that our Chu clan has rules forbidding our members from gambling?”
“I’m unaware of it. I’ve only realized it after hearing your words,” Zu An lied without even batting an eyelid. He thumped his chest and guaranteed confidently, “Mother-in-law, please quell your rage. Don’t let your anger harm your body. I promise to never walk into that sort of vile and depraved place in the future.”
Just how dumb must Mei Chaofeng be to allow him to enter the casino and continue winning their money? This promise was basically a no-brainer!
Qin Wanru’s air deflated once more. Zu An’s oddly earnest attitude robbed her of her chance to use her prepared lines. So, she could only turn to glare at Chu Chuyan to berate her, “You should have warned him then! How could you go along with him?”
Chu Chuyan hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she decided not to expose Zu An’s lie. “It was my negligence.”
She was worried that Zu An would be too severely punished, so she decided to carry some of the blame for him.
Meanwhile, Snow was tempted to speak up, but she held her tongue in the end. I’m going to take this fellow’s life later at night anyway, so it doesn’t matter whether the Chu clan punishes him or not anymore.
Needless to say, Qin Wanru could see through Chu Chuyan’s attempt to cover for Zu An. Just what kind of sorcery has Zu An cast on my daughter to make her speak on his behalf so soon?
She suddenly felt like her precious daughter had been stolen from her, which made her direct a sharp glare at Zu An.
You have successfully trolled Qin Wanru for +33 Rage!
This notification left Zu An taken aback. Even Chu Chuyan has already spoken up on my behalf, but you’re still angry at me? Aren’t you being too unreasonable here?
That being said, he was more than happy to receive more Rage points. It was his key to growing stronger, after all.
Chu Zhongtian coughed lightly before interjecting with a deep voice, “This matter has blown up by far too much this time around. We nearly got into a fight with the local guards. In the end, the main culprit who started this is still you…”
Before he could finish his words, Zu An took out a debt note and presented it. “Allow me to offer this 7,500,000 silver taels to the two of you. Chuyan is my wife, which makes me her man. Naturally, anything I own belongs to the Chu clan too.”
Black streaks appeared on Chu Chuyan’s words. It was not that what Zu An said was wrong, but it sounded oddly jarring.
Qin Wanru harrumphed in response. “We don’t dare to accept your money. Our Chu clan prides itself on its incorruptibility. We have and will never touch dirty money earned through drugs, prostitution, and gambling. If we do take your money, outsiders will start gossiping about how our Chu clan has fallen to the extent where we need our son-in-law to gamble in order to help with our finances.”
“Indeed. We can’t ruin the good reputation the Chu clan has built up over several centuries over this. Keep your money well, and don’t ever raise this matter again,” added Chu Zhongtian.
By the side, Snow heaved a sigh of relief. Even though she had guessed that this would be the case, she was still worried that the debt note would really fall into the Chu clan. If so, it would be terribly difficult for them to clean up the situation. It was gladdening to see that things were still going according to plan.
Zu An kept the debt note back into his robe. In the end, you’re just turning it down because it’ll be hard to cash out this debt note. If there’s really 7,500,000 silver taels laid out right before your eyes, I reckon that you wouldn’t be able to remain so ‘incorruptible’.
How much could the Chu clan possibly earn in a year? Before absolute profits, what does family rules count as?
“What a pity…”
Zu An was feeling troubled by this situation too. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to put this debt note to good use in his hand since he didn’t have the ability to demand the Plum Blossom Sect to repay its debt. At most, he could only try to claim the annual interest.
However, Mei Chaofeng was obviously not an honest person. One would really have to be naive to expect him to honestly fork out the interest. It was definite that he would try all sorts of things to shirk off the payment.
“You have to be punished for whatever that happened today, or else we’ll be sending out the wrong signal to the other clan members. The precedence you created might leave them with the wrong impression that it’s no big deal to visit the casino!” Qin Wanru slammed her fist on the table as she spoke. “Head to the Reflection Room and copy our family rules 10,000 times!”
“10,000 times?” Zu An widened his eyes in disbelief. “How am I supposed to finish copying that?”
“You’ll be grounded in the estate until you finish copying the family rules, lest you go around stirring trouble again,” said Qin Wanru with a gleeful glint in her eyes.
Hmph, don’t think that I’m unaware that you got Cheng Shouping to copy on your behalf the previous time. Now that you have to copy it 10,000 times, you won’t be able to finish it even if you recruit his help. With this, you’ll have no choice but to obediently remain in the estate for the next few nights.
“You’re dismissed. Head to the Reflection Room right away and start copying.”
Under Qin Wanru’s orders, Zu An had no choice but to depart with a bitter look on his face. After he was gone, Chu Chuyan couldn’t help but ask, “Mother, isn’t 10,000 times too many? How long would it take for him to finish copying all of that?”
“Why? Are you sympathizing with him now?” Qin Wanru harrumphed.
“When did I?” Chu Chuyan’s face reddened a little. Why in the world would I sympathize with that shameless fellow.
It was then that Chu Zhongtian spoke up with a soft chuckle, “Chuyan, you need not worry. Your mother might have a sharp mouth, but she’s a softie inside. It might look like she’s punishing Zu An, but in truth, she’s protecting him. Just think about it, would the Plum Blossom Sect let him off after suffering such a huge loss in his hands? If Zu An continues loitering around the city, it’s only a matter of time before they make a move on him. By then, if we don’t have any evidence on hand, we won’t be able to exact vengeance for him.
“However, if he obediently remains in the estate, no matter how many connections the Plum Blossom Sect pulls, it wouldn’t be able to bypass our guards to harm him.”
Chu Chuyan widened her eyes in realization. “I didn’t know that you have put so much thought into it. I should have thought deeper into the matter.”
A gentle smile finally emerged on Qin Wanru’s stern face as she said, “Chuyan, you’re far more talented than any one of us here. All you lack is just experience and time. In time to come, you’ll eventually surpass the two of us.”
Chu Chuyan replied with a smile, but her eyes reflected a slight hint of sorrow. By that time, my youth would have already been gone, and I’d still be all alone.
Zu An wasn’t even on her list of consideration yet.
…
Ah choo!
Zu An rubbed his nose as he wondered which young lass is thinking about him.
“Young master, you’re finally back!” a young voice sounded as Cheng Shouping rushed over with two buns on his head.
He heard that the young master had gone out with Snow this time around, and he wondered if he would bump into Snow if he rushed out. To his disappointment, the only person beside Zu An was the butler, Hong Zhong.
A sinister smile curled on Zu An’s lips as he grabbed Cheng Shouping by his collar and said, “You came at a good time. Let’s head off to copy the family rules together.”
“Again?” Cheng Shouping’s face immediately crumbled. “How many times do we need to copy this time around?”
Zu An waved his hands casually with a smile, “Don’t worry, it’s not much. Just 10,000 times.”
“10,000 times?” Cheng Shouping leaped up in horror. Is our young master bad at Math? Or does he have some kind of misunderstanding about what 10,000 means?
Just like that, the horrified Cheng Shouping was dragged all the way to the Reflection Room with Zu An and Hong Zhong. Once they arrived at their destination, Hong Zhong said, “Young master, please do not leave the Reflection Room until you’re done copying the family rules.”
After saying those words, he left the area, leaving Zu An and Cheng Shouping to stare at one another.
“Young master, please spare me. I can’t possibly copy the family rules 10,000 times!” Cheng Shouping was determined not to help Zu An this time around no matter what the latter said. He was still traumatized by how he was tricked to copy the family rules all alone for the entire night.
“C’mon. Who else is going to help me if not you?” Zu An wrapped his arms around Cheng Shouping’s shoulders as he nudged the latter with a smile.
“Hmph, I refuse!” Cheng Shouping shook his head adamantly.
Seeing this, Zu An sighed deeply before taking out a banknote. “Haaa, I was still thinking of rewarding you 100 silver taels if you were to help me with this task. However, since you aren’t willing to do so, I’ve no choice but to look for someone else then.”
While the debt note of 7,500,000 silver taels hadn’t been cashed out yet, he did manage to take away 150,000 silver taels from the casino earlier. From this perspective, his trip to the Silverhook Casino was fruitful.
Cheng Shouping’s eyes lit up. His hand reached out to swipe the banknote before a fawning smile emerged on his face. “As the study companion of the young master, how can I possibly allow someone else to wait upon you? It’s only normal for me to do it.”
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you then. I’ll be heading off to sleep now.” Zu An yawned a little. It turned out that his short walk outside was quite draining on him.
However, a tight knot formed on Cheng Shouping’s forehead as he said, “But young master, I can’t copy 10,000 times alone!”
Zu An rolled his eyes and replied, “Why do you think I gave you 100 silver taels? Don’t you know how to take the money to the other study companions in the estate to get their help?”
Chegn Shouping’s eyes lit up in realization. A moment later, however, he frowned. “But wouldn’t the money I have for myself be reduced then?”
Zu An shrugged casually. “I already gave you the money. It’s up to you whether you want to copy it on your own or get others to help you; you just have to finish copying the family rules 10,000 times.”
After saying those words, he strutted away gleefully, leaving the conflicted Cheng Shouping behind.
On the way back to his residence, Zu An began calculating the amount of Rage points he had earned. Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands…
Holy! I managed to get 60,224 Rage points!
A bright smile broke out on Zu An’s face. Thinking about all he had been through today, he felt that it was much better to play the antagonist than the protagonist.
Returning back to the residence, he was just about to wash his face and prepare drawing the lottery when a voice suddenly sounded behind him.
“How did you manage to do it?”
Zu An leaped in shock. He hurriedly turned around to take a look, only to see the feeble Old Mi suddenly appearing right behind him.
What the hell! This fellow looks as if he would crumble in the face of the wind, but he walks around without making a sound at all. Even after I raised my cultivation by so much, I’m still unable to sense his presence at all!
“What do you mean by that?” Zu An quickly replied, not daring to pull his weight before Old Mi. He was able to act fearlessly before others to earn Rage points, but for some reason, he couldn’t help but feel subconsciously intimidated by Old Mi. He dared not to provoke the latter at all.
Why is that so?
Zu An pondered over the question for a long while, but he was unable to come up with an answer.
“The entire estate has been talking about how you managed to win 7,500,000 silver taels from the casino. How did you manage to do it?” Old Mi eyed Zu An with small beady eyes filled with curiosity.