Chapter 1536: Ambush
Chapter 1536: Ambush
“What’s wrong?” Zu An asked, startled. Could it be that she’s already found out about what I did with the Second Empress earlier? Is it because I still have some of the Second Empress’ smell on me?
“Why don’t you have any ki aura around you? You don’t seem any different from a normal person,” Yu Yanluo said, looking at him worriedly.
Zu An couldn’t help but blush with shame. She’s showing me such concern, and yet I’m thinking all of these nonsensical thoughts. He replied, “Don’t worry. I’m fine. This is only because my cultivation method is a bit special…”
Yu Yanluo was still worried after she heard his explanation. Only after she checked his pulse and sensed that there was nothing wrong did she feel at ease. She said, “Your cultivation method really is unique. Anyone who lowers their guard around you might end up paying a heavy price.”
Zu An chuckled, replying, “You’re making me sound like a tiger dressed up as a pig or something.”
…
After the two chatted for a while longer, Yu Yanluo’s attention returned to the residence. She said, “I went over to your place to look for you. When I heard that the Second Empress bestowed a new Regent Manor on you, I came over to give this place a try. I didn’t expect you to really be here, though. To be honest, the Second Empress really treats you quite well.”
Zu An thought, It was more than just ‘well’. We couldn’t possibly know each other better! She knows what parts of me are longer and shorter, and I know her depth.
“Still, you practically promoted the youngest prince single-handedly. This is actually something you deserve,” Yu Yanluo said with a sigh. In the past, it wouldn’t have been difficult for her to gift Zu An with such a residence. After all, she had once been one of the wealthiest clan leaders in the world. But after what had happened to the Yu clan, that wasn’t so easy anymore.
“Alright, let’s not think about those things anymore. Come and pick a courtyard you like!” Zu An said, pulling her into the manor to look around.
“Ah… We’re not related to each other yet, so this is a bit improper, right…” Yu Yanluo protested weakly, but despite that, she still couldn’t hold back from following him. She looked around with her beautiful eyes. All women had a sort of natural desire for decoration, after all.
“What do you mean we’re not related to each other?” Zu An replied, wrapping his arm around her slender waist. “The Great Elf King came up to me to discuss my marriage with Snow, but I said I wanted to take both of you as my wives at the same time.”
“Ah?!” Yu Yanluo exclaimed, feeling both pleasantly surprised and embarrassed. However, after being the Yu clan’s lord for so many years, she quickly realized that replying like that in front of the Great Elf King definitely wouldn’t make him happy. Furthermore, her own status was special…
She sighed and said with a conflicted expression, “You don’t have to worry about me too much. I still have my status as Cloudcenter Duke’s madam, so it won’t be good for your reputation if I marry you. You and Miss Qiao can get married by yourselves.”
Zu An held her hand, saying, “Don’t worry, it’ll be the marriage between the Regent and the Medusa Queen. Who cares what Madam Yu in Cloudcenter thinks? You don’t have to worry about such things.”
Yu Yanluo was really moved by his words, nodding slightly. Still, she retained enough of her intellect to reply, “Even though the Fiend races’ territory and the human territory are far from each other, many merchants still come and go between them. If news got back, it wouldn’t escape the ears of those with ulterior motives.
“The rest of the world believes Cloudcenter Duke hasn’t died yet. If you ever need to use Cloudcenter Duke’s resources, as the Commandery Duke’s wife, I’ll naturally have a lot of say in that. In that case, I’ll be able to help you accomplish some things. Right now, the world looks peaceful, but there are actually many sinister plans brewing in the shadows. We can’t give up Cloudcenter Commandery’s foundation so easily just like that.”
“But you’ll be wronged then,” Zu An said with a frown.
“That’s not being wronged at all! I don’t want to be completely bound to the Fiend races either; I want to return to the Yu clan one day too. This feels pretty good to me,” Yu Yanluo said to make him feel better. “Alright! Let’s stop thinking about these things. Hurry up and take me in to choose a room.”
“In that case, I just won’t get married for now. We’ll just wait until the situation becomes clearer,” Zu An said. When he sensed Yu Yanluo’s meticulous care, he felt that he really was the most fortunate man in the entire world.
Yu Yanluo was a bit worried, saying, “But if you do that, won’t the princess’ side…”
“Don’t worry. Snow isn’t in a rush either, and she’s still really young to begin with,” Zu An said as he pulled her inside to choose a room.
Yu Yanluo’s frown gradually disappeared when she saw the elegant and secluded rooms inside.
…
Whenever there were some people who were happy, there were others in the world who weren’t so happy.
At the moment, Sang Hong was feeling quite distressed. In order to stall for time for Zu An to come back, he had really racked his brains in every way to slow down the Imperial Envoy’s return to the capital. If it wasn’t mountain brigands, it was bandits. He had even assumed the role of a just and incorruptible official, helping the nearby provinces’ common people preside over injustices.
In the end, however, the capital couldn’t take it anymore. The emperor was furious and had sent a messenger criticizing him, forcing him to return as quickly as possible. When he felt the clear wrath in that decree. Sang Hong could only laugh bitterly to himself. He had no idea what kind of punishment awaited him once he returned to the capital.
Still, what was happening to him was nothing significant compared to the bigger issue of Zu An’s disappearance. Just how great of a crime was colluding with the Fiend races?!
The only thing that was worth being happy about was finally receiving the news that his daughter-in-law Zheng Dan was pregnant. Previously, many letters from home had gone missing due to the distance of Cloudcenter Commandery, its messy political situation, and various problems with the Devil Sect and bandits.
Of course, he knew it wasn’t Zheng Dan who was pregnant, but rather Qien’er who was pregnant. However, in order to pull the wool over people’s eyes and make them think it was Sang Qian’s posthumous child, they h ad decided to deliver the message that way.
“Finally… In the end, I didn’t become the Sang clan’s greatest sinner,” Sang Hong murmured, shedding tears of joy. He felt that everything he had done so far was worth it. That outrageous bet had all been worth it.
“But unfortunately, I still can’t contact Ah Zu,” he muttered. He had tried to contact Zu An through the recording mirror, but for some reason, he couldn’t reach Zu An at all.
His majesty had eventually sent a specialist to monitor his quick return to the capital, so he couldn’t even use the mirror as easily anymore. Otherwise, the emperor could discover that Ah Zu was in the Fiend race territory.
“Sir Sang, Silkworm City is just up ahead,” an imperial guard approached and said, pointing at the distant city wall.
Sang Hong frowned. Silkworms eat mulberry leaves… This city’s name isn’t auspicious for me at all…[1]
Still, he couldn’t help but laugh soon afterward. It was because the city was good at raising silkworms and was a major producer of silk that it had obtained its name. They weren’t that far from the capital city, anyway. What kinds of problems could even happen when they were in the emperor’s domain?
Silkworm City’s local officials rushed out to greet the Imperial Envoy. They said that, as the city was small, it couldn’t hold many people. In response, Sang Hong expressed his understanding. This wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened. As such, he had the accompanying Armed Escort Division remain outside the city while he took a dozen or so of his own attendants into the city.
Gao Ying had remained in Cloudcenter Commandery to continue serving as its military officer, maintaining the balance of power there. Pei You had been worried that Gao Ying wouldn’t be able to keep the various forces of Cloudcenter Commandery under control on his own, so he had stayed behind to help out.
Of course, Sang Hong wasn’t all that convinced by that answer. That guy could just have stuck around to hang out in Cloudcenter’s brothels because he was reluctant to return. After all, he’d be constantly under his clan’s watchful eye if he were back in the capital. He couldn’t do whatever he wanted there.
The Embroidered Envoy’s Xiao Jianren, as well as Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, had both returned to their posts ahead of time. They were part of the Embroidery House, so they couldn’t waste time with the main troop.
After experiencing an enthusiastic evening banquet, Sang Hong returned to his room while feeling a bit tipsy. He was normally a careful person and never drank too much, but because his daughter had gotten pregnant, the huge weight on his chest had finally been moved aside. He drank a bit more as a result of his happiness.
He slept into the night in a daze, when he was suddenly roused awake by a noise outside. He looked out the window and saw fiery light flickering fiercely. The smell of smoke spread through the air.
“A fire!” he exclaimed, quickly reacting to what was happening. He hurriedly grabbed some clothes and ran out.
The members of the Imperial Envoy ran out one after another. Many of them were still sleeping. The others quickly rushed over to wake them up, while the relay station’s men all did their best to put out the fire. The entire place was an absolute mess.
When he looked at the raging fire, Sang Hong suddenly felt as if he had been jolted awake. Such a ferocious flame definitely wasn’t natural! As a connoisseur of scheming himself, he felt goosebumps all over his body.
“Go! We’re leaving this city!” he called out, quickly summoning his subordinates and rushing to flee. As long as he could reunite with the army outside the city, he would be safe. Unless the attackers had a massive army, there was no way they could defeat the elite Armed Escort Division made up of several hundred members. However, this place was too close to the capital, so such a thing would be impossible.
Suddenly, a large group of masked marksmen appeared around the relay station, firing a concentrated barrage of arrows that covered every angle. Several of Sang Hong’s men immediately collapsed.
Sang Hong was about to deal with the archers when a black rift suddenly opened up behind him. A slender, pitch-black sword stabbed at the vital point beneath his ribs with lightning speed, striking like a viper!
1. ’Mulberry’ in Chinese is ‘Sang’, the same character as Sang Hong’s surname. ☜