Chapter 267: The War Horn Sounds

Only after a long while passed did Qin Wanru react. She looked nervously at her daughter. “Even Physician Bao couldn’t do anything, but he knows the treatment method? I’ve never heard of him having any medicinal skills!”

“He probably learned it from that mysterious master.” Chu Chuyan gave Zu An an embarrassed look, and then continued, “He used acupuncture to extract the cold energy bit by bit from my body. I could even sense the changes happening to my body.”

“Acupuncture?” Qin Wanru’s expression changed. She said in a hurry, “Physician Bao and Divine Physician Ji have both mentioned that everyone’s bodies are entirely different. Trying to remove your cold energy this way without understanding your body’s condition well can easily result in irreparable harm! Stop this treatment immediately! You are not allowed to do something so risky!”

“He is different… he knows what my body is like.” Chu Chuyan lowered her head in embarrassment, feeling her ears become a bit hot.

Qin Wanru blinked her eyes: “???”

What do you mean he knows your body?

Chu Chuyan had no choice but to reveal the events in the dungeon in the end. She immediately said in a hurry, “I think it’s because the technique he learned from his master is special. Either way, I can clearly feel my condition improving. Mother, you should be able to tell that my body has become warmer these days too, right?”

“You really do have such skills?” Qin Wanru was still skeptical, but she suddenly thought of something. She pulled her daughter to the side in a hurry and quietly asked, “When he removes the cold energy through acupuncture, do you… have to take off your clothes?”

Chu Chuyan’s face immediately became red. She lowered her head, her voice extremely quiet as she voiced her confirmation.

“You took off your clothes?” Qin Wanru was truly shocked. She was left in a daze for a really long time.

She knew better than anyone why the Chu clan took in Zu An. This was nothing but a marriage in name to deceive outsiders.

Her daughter had always been extremely prideful ever since she was young. She had geniuses all around her, yet she turned down other men.

Qin Wanru really found it hard to understand why her daughter would undress in front of him.

“The two of you have already… done the deed?” Qin Wanru suddenly thought of an even more serious issue, asking this in a hurry.

“Mother, what are you saying?!” Chu Chuyan was still rather inexperienced in this field, her habits as a young lady weren’t easy to change. How could she overcome her shame and admit to these things in front of her mother and sister? She immediately said, “He is only giving me treatment on my back, the rest… of my body is covered.”

Only then did Qin Wanru release a breath of relief. But even so, it was hard for her to understand why her daughter agreed to this.

She suddenly thought of another matter. She immediately suppressed her voice and asked, “Did he… do anything disrespectful to me last night?”

When she thought about how she was drugged by her younger daughter and accupoint struck by the older, she immediately felt extremely tired.

Chu Chuyan recalled how Zu An thought Qin Wanru was her and spooned her all over… her face couldn’t help but blush. She immediately said, “No, I also covered you up properly.”

She knew that her mother was already furious. She might really go mad if she found out what happened last night.

Either way, nothing really happened either, so what she said can’t be considered a lie either, right?

Chu Chuyan didn’t even realize that she never told a lie before. But after she met Zu An, she began to blurt out all types of white lies.

The huge boulder weighing down on Qin Wanru’s chest was finally removed.

“I don’t feel like dealing with this terrible mess anymore. It was all stirred up by you two, so clean it up on your own.” After saying this, she stormed off with a huff.

Her own daughters fed her narcotics and struck her accupoint, going against her to instead defend another man! This really was too much for her heart to take.

All of this originated from this brat Zu An!

You have successfully trolled Zu An for +44 +44 +44…

Zu An was speechless. He didn’t expect this woman to still hold so much resentment towards him.

Chu Huanzhao also felt a bit guilty. She immediately tried to console her mother, “Mom, I’ll go with you…”

Only now did Chu Chuyan turn to Zu An. “You don’t want to stay in the Chu clan anymore?”

Zu An suddenly lacked confidence when he looked into her enchanting eyes. “The main issue is that your mom keeps harassing me…”

Chu Chuyan shook her head. “My mother is only tough on the surface. The reason why she had everyone withdraw from the study is out of consideration for your dignity. She originally only planned to scold you a bit, but who would have thought that you would charge head on? This left her in an awkward position.”

Zu An said with a frown, “I can’t just remain her punching bag forever, right?”

Chu Chuyan said, “Mother isn’t as terrible to you as you think. Her words might have been a bit harsh today, but a different clan might have immediately decided to have you flogged. This is also permitted in Great Zhou Dynasty’s laws, but she didn’t do this in the end. She also left angrily just now out of consideration for me and Huanzhao, to just let this situation end here. Otherwise, the messier the situation this becomes, the more chaotic it will be for the clan.”

When he heard her mention flogging, Zu An inwardly thought this world’s live-in son-in-laws really don’t have any human rights…

Of course, he wouldn’t just willingly take it if the other party really did go that far either.

But this title really was like a ticking time bomb. Who knows when this might be used against him?

Chu Chuyan’s voice became a bit more gentle when she noticed his awful expression.

“Please be understanding. Mother’s mood has been quite terrible recently. First, she was worried about my sudden illness, and then Governor Sang Hong began to pressure our clan for contributions through court decree, so she can’t help but feel a bit fretful. On top of all of this, you just refuse to back down, so things got so out of hand… cough cough…”

She got a bit stirred up while talking, so she began to cough again.

Zu An immediately helped her sit down. “You shouldn’t get too worked up, you haven’t completely recovered. You should rest more while your body is still weak.

Chu Chuyan sat down and drank some water. Her complexion became a lot better.

Zu An then asked with a bit of curiosity, “What are these contributions that need to be offered?”

Chu Chuyan explained, “Whenever the country needs silver for disaster relief or any large scale projects, they will always call for contributions from rich merchants. These are the so-called contributions.”

“There’s this type of thing?” Zu An blinked. “If it’s something voluntary, then can’t we just refuse?”

“How can it be that simple?” Chu Chuyan shook her head. “It seems voluntary on the surface, but the actual situation is definitely not this way. Those asked to make contributions are all the great and wealthy clans. The reason why these clans were able to grow so large in the first place was mostly because of the court’s policies.”

“If you refuse to contribute, those smaller clans under you will be more than willing to take your place. They’re eager to obtain this type of opportunity, eager to receive some favorable policies from the court.”

“Our Chu clan operates in the salt and arms trade. We are the most wealthy clan in all of Brightmoon City, perhaps even the entire nearby commanderies, so there is naturally no way for us to escape this fate.”

…

Zu An gradually picked up on what was happening. “Then according to what you say, this contribution should be a type of political contribution. The rich merchants offer up their wealth, and then the court will bestow favorable policies, this is a win-win for both sides. Why has it become such a vexing situation for us?”

Chu Chuyan explained, “Let’s explain things from the salt industry’s perspective. The royal court’s salt certifying system has led to some salt merchants enjoying market dominance and earning tremendous profits, so they obviously need to reciprocate. Those salt merchants also understand that the reason for their current achievements is completely because of the court policy’s great benefits. That’s why they don’t oppose these contributions at all.”

“But if the court asks for contributions every few days, then no matter how rich and imposing these clans are, they still won’t be able to tolerate this type of milking.”

“This is let alone the fact that our Chu clan has already owned our land from centuries ago. The reason for our prosperity today isn’t because of the court’s grace, but rather because of these salt and iron mines that we obtained through blood and sweat. If you want to hear something truly heartbreaking, the Great Zhou Dynasty hadn’t even been founded when our Chu clan owned our land.”

“Not only have we not received any benefits from the court these past few years, we’re being pressured to make contributions. Of course we’ll begin to feel some unwillingness.”

Zu An was stupefied. He couldn’t help but say, “From your tone, it’s almost as if the Chu clan has already decided to rebel.”

“Don’t speak any nonsense.” Chu Chuyan shot him a look. “We are merely a bit dissatisfied, but things haven’t reached that point. The royal court is currently rich and powerful. Even if we did have such thoughts, it would be nothing more than courting death.”

“But this will definitely make your clan a thorn in the eyes of the royal court. If I was the emperor, I would get rid of you first,” said Zu An with a sigh.

“There are actually still quite a few clans like ours, and they are similarly powers that cannot be eliminated just because the emperor wants them gone. Otherwise, the whole country will easily rise up in rebellion.” Chu Chuyan replied, “That is why the emperor can only act through the law system. Sang Hong came here precisely bearing this task. They have their eyes on our salt and iron mines, but they can’t just steal them from us.”

“Both sides will then fight in this type of manner to see who can have the last laugh.”

Even though Chu Chuyan spoke about all of this in a calm manner, the worry between her brows exposed her true thoughts.

“Branches will always be at the mercy of the roots. I can’t help but feel that your Chu clan is walking further and further down a path of death.” Zu An couldn’t hold back this opinion.

Chu Chuyan shot him a look. “How can we possibly not be aware of this? But we can’t just let the foundation established by the Chu clan’s ancestor be ruined under our hands, right? That is why even if we know the odds are stacked against us, we still have to try our hardest. This is the glory and devotion we hold towards our clan.”

Zu An was stunned. He noticed a strange type of radiance flicker past her face as she spoke.

Rarely did his previous world have families like this, so it was quite hard for him to understand their choice. Now, he picked up some things.

If they really wanted to weigh right and wrong, regardless of whether it was the emperor, royal court, or Chu clan, none of them were wrong. They all had their own motives and objectives. In the end, this was just a clash of interests.

“By the way, what is with that Qiu Honglei? Why did she suddenly contact you?” Chu Chuyan asked while looking at him. Her expression was a bit strange.

“I don’t know what she’s thinking either. Don’t worry, nothing happened between us. I still have to defend my purity for you!” When Zu An said this, he suddenly recalled the events between him and snow. He immediately lost confidence.

Though thinking back, wasn’t Snow given to me to sleep with right from the start? Strictly speaking, I’m not really letting Chu Chuyan down.

His confidence immediately shot back up.

“Defend your purity?” Chu Chuyan sneered. “Was that lipstick mark from last night hers?”

Zu An: “……”

Why do you still remember that?

Chu Chuyan sighed, and then she said, “Just don’t run around anymore today. Chen Xuan already tried to assassinate you this morning. Don’t give him another chance.”

She fished out a pamphlet from her inner pockets while speaking. “This is for you. If you spend your idle time cultivating, it might just give you another layer of protection against Chen Xuan.”

“What is this?” Zu An was stunned. He unwittingly received it and saw the words ‘Snowflake Sword’ on the cover.