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Chapter 428: A Loophole

The ones speaking were all elders of the Chu clan. Even though they weren’t very skilled themselves, they occupied stations of great seniority without having any duties towards the Chu clan.

“I concur! The clan has not experienced a moment of peace ever since Zu An joined!”

“The clan master’s decision to bring him into the clan was too negligent.”

Qin Wanru frowned, clearly unhappy with the way everyone was criticizing Zu An. She got up and shouted, “Our Chu clan would have already been destroyed if it hadn’t been for Zu An. You all have no right to complain!”

Someone grumbled, “Aren’t we still going to be destroyed all the same? We should have just let Chu Second Master succeed in his takeover. He is also a part of the Chu clan, after all.”

Qin Wanru was furious. “What did you say?!”

Chu Yuepo, of the third branch, rushed out at this time to serve as a mediator. “We are all here for the Chu clan’s sake! We should be thinking about how to deal with the current predicament, and not stoke any further internal friction!”

Qin Wanru sat down with an angry huff. Unfortunately, no one could come up with any good ideas, even after a lengthy discussion.

While they were all in despair, Chu Yuepo stood up and said, “I’ve actually thought of a way out. I just don’t know if I should share it with everyone.”

“Why are you still playing around with suspense?” Chu Zhongtian said impatiently. “Hurry up and say it.”

“I am worried that I will anger Master and Madam,” Chu Yuepo said hesitantly.

The others immediately became impatient as well. “Third Master, when did you become so wishy-washy?”

Qin Wanru snorted as well. “Why would we get angry if it will really help our Chu clan?”

Thus encouraged, Chu Yuepo finally said, “I noticed a loophole within the imperial edict. We can…”

Qin Wanru shot to her feet immediately. “No way! I will not agree to that!”

Chu Zhongtian chimed in as well. “Indeed. Ah Zu has contributed greatly to our Chu clan. How can we treat him like this?”

Chu Yuepo sighed. “I know that this seems slightly unreasonable, but our Chu clan is on the verge of collapse! Master and Madam, as the leaders of this clan, you must not act so emotionally!”

The others began to voice their agreement as well. Chu Zhongtian’s expression flickered several times. In the end, he raised his hand to stop the discussions. “I will not allow it. The founding principle of our Chu clan’s Red Cloak Army clearly states that we will not abandon anyone. If we do something like this, then even our men will turn their backs on us. This will tarnish the centuries of prestige that our Chu clan has accumulated. In such a state, the Chu clan will not survive for long.”

“Dear…” Qin Wanru was extremely moved. Back then, she had fallen in love with him precisely because of how upright he was. She hadn’t expected him to still be the same person, even after so many years.

The rest of the members looked at each other in dismay. Seeing the seriousness of his tone, they were at a loss as to how to persuade him.

Chu Yuepo was once again the one who reacted quickest. He immediately said, “Master and Madam, you’ve misunderstood me! Although it seems as though we are abandoning Zu An on the surface, we are actually saving him!”

Chu Zhongtian frowned. “What do you mean?”

Chu Yuepo explained, “Master, please think about it. Why did they insist on this three-day deadline even though they didn’t find Zu An in the estate?”

“This…” Chu Zhongtian trailed off into silence. Qin Wanru began to ponder this as well.

Chu Yuepo continued, “Clearly, even though it seems as if they are forcing us to hand over Zu An, they are actually trying to force Zu An to come out of hiding. They are using us to threaten him into making a move!”

Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were stunned. They weren’t dullards, but they had just been too preoccupied with all the chaos swirling around them. Now that it has been brought up, they quickly realized that this was indeed the case.

The two of them entered a quick discussion, and Qin Wanru was the first one to address the rest of them. “Fine, we will do as you have suggested!”

…

Three days passed quickly. The various powers of Brightmoon City all gathered near the Chu Estate to see how the situation would play out.

Even the common people rushed over, drawn by the commotion. Even though the Chu clan enjoyed a good reputation, most ordinary folk were quick to rejoice when calamity fell upon those richer and more powerful than them. None bothered to look into the reasons behind it all, although, given their abilities, there was little chance that they would be able to figure out the truth.

Zu An put on one of the masks he’d taken from Chen Xuan and blended into the crowd.

Not long after, King Liang and Liu Yao led a group of intimidating subordinates into the Chu Estate. Behind them came several men carrying a table with an incense holder.

King Liang cleared his throat, and then he said, “This stick of incense has almost finished burning. The three-day deadline is almost up, yet you all still haven’t handed Zu An over! Are you asking for your clan to be eradicated?”

Even though he didn’t deliberately raise his voice, his master rank cultivation ensured that every single person could still hear what he said.

He had been in a bad mood the past few days. He’d gone to visit the Immortal Abode with lofty expectations for their courtesan queen, Qiu Honglei, only to find that the beauty had already left.

The other girls were still high-quality, but not being able to meet this long-admired beauty still left him feeling frustrated and annoyed.

Even though he was of advanced age, he still had hands and a mouth. It wouldn’t prevent him from having some fun.

Chu Zhongtian paid him no attention. He stood on a high platform and declared loudly, “The drafted son-in-law of the Chu clan did not cherish our daughter after marrying her. Instead, he constantly played around with women outside. He even had close relations with women from brothels, and wanted to take in a courtesan queen from the Immortal Abode as a concubine! This triggered a huge uproar in the estate. He has completely neglected his duties as a husband! Furthermore, his morality and conduct is questionable. That is why, after discussing it as a clan, we have written out the articles of annulment of his marriage to our daughter. Henceforth, he is no longer a member of the Chu clan. From now on, he shares no relationship with our Chu clan!”

A huge commotion broke out right after his announcement. The common people were much more interested in Zu An’s affair with the Immortal Abode’s courtesan queen.

Quite a few people already knew about what had gone on between Qiu Honglei and Zu An in the Immortal Abode. They never expected it to go so far that even a marriage had been considered, and it was even more surprising that Qiu Honglei had been the one to take the initiative to visit the Chu Estate.

Tsk tsk tsk, this fella really was too greedy! Even though he already had the goddess of the Chu clan, he still wasn’t satisfied! He’d actually gone after Qiu Honglei as well!

They had all been upset before, but as time had gone on and similar stories kept emerging, they had begun to grow numb. They began to wonder what special attributes he possessed that made so many outstanding women fall for him.

King Liang’s eyelids twitched. The last thing he’d expected was for the girl that he’d been yearning for to have already thrown herself at Zu An!

A random bumpkin dares to steal her from me, a king? Absolutely preposterous!

You have successfully trolled King Liang for 999 Rage points!

Zu An frowned when he saw the incoming Rage points. How did he end up provoking this man?

He pushed the matter aside for the moment, and stared at Chu Zhongtian in a daze.

He never expected to hear this, especially after taking the huge risk of coming here. If they’d been in a different situation, he might have joked around and whined about how much he’d done for the Chu Clan, and how much he’d bled for the Chu clan, but he just couldn’t bring himself to get into the mood at all.

From the moment he’d crossed over to this world, he had always stayed in the Chu Estate. Even though many people there had treated him quite badly, there was still Chuyan and Huanzhao. Chu Zhongtian and Madam Chu treated him quite well as well. He’d begun to gradually treat the Chu clan as his real home.

He’d come back this time precisely for the sake of the Chu clan. How could he have predicted this result?

Right at this time, a gentle voice sounded next to his ear. “Ah Zu, don’t show yourself. They are trying to bait you into coming out.”

Zu An was stunned. He tried to trace the source of the sound, and noticed Qin Wanru looking in his direction.

He was stunned, but quickly realized what was going on. This mask was the same one that he’d worn the last time the two of them had gone out on their adventure. No wonder she recognized him!

He felt a surge of warmth. So this was the reason behind the annulment.

King Liang was furious. “What a joke! Is this the game you guys are going to play? Do you think we’re all stupid?”

Chu Zhongtian said in a composed and unhurried manner, “If I may speak, respected king. If I am not mistaken, the emperor’s imperial edict stated that we needed to hand over our son-in-law, Zu An. It did not say to hand over the individual called Zu An. Since Zu An is no longer our son-in-law, we should not be bound by the imperial edict anymore.”

Everyone was stunned by this last statement. Even Xie Yi couldn’t help but stare at him. Was this still the same rigid and honest person that he’d known all this while?

Chu Zhongtian continued, “Respectfully, I must trouble you to help us find that man. He has been quite the annoyance to our Chu clan as well! We’ve done nothing but treat him well, yet not only did he deceive our first daughter, he even tried to go after our second daughter. Huanzhao is still so young! He is truly a scoundrel.”

Zu An felt the urge to bury his face in his palm.