Chapter 11

Of course, if Chu Chuyan was the mastermind behind all this, he would have to accept his fate. At worst, he could expose his own shortcomings to prove his innocence, but fortunately, it didn't come to that.

Zuan An composed himself and said to Chunhua, "Take your settlement fee. You arrived just in time. The last woman who was taken into the mansion is now in the military camp, complaining that she can't take it anymore. You can take her place."

"Settlement fee?" Chunhua finally understood, "Wait, why is she in the military camp?"

"Didn't you know?" Zuan An feigned surprise, "My wife is perfect in every way, except that she loves me too much and is a bit jealous. The last woman who entered the mansion like you was given a reason to be sent to the soldiers in the military camp. Oh, being a new bride every night, it must be hard for her."

Anger from Chu Chuyan +433!

Chu Chuyan didn't expect him to give her such a reputation. Facing the strange looks from everyone, she wanted to kill Zuan An, but she knew the events of the past two days were suspicious. This guy was still somewhat suitable for her requirements, and if she had to recruit a new husband, it would involve various forces again.

So, despite her icy expression, she didn't argue.

"To the military camp?" Chunhua's face changed instantly. In their circle, there were different levels. The highest were the courtesans of the brothels, followed by the ordinary women of the brothels, and then the cheaper prostitutes like her. But the lowest were those who were sent to the military camp due to crimes.

The soldiers in the military camp were all hungry and thirsty men, and no woman could endure that intensity. After about half a year, they would be completely ruined.

Thinking of the terrifying stories circulating in their circle, Chunhua's face turned pale.

Zuan An nodded, "Don't worry, they are our private army, and they will take good care of you. They are eager for something new."

Chu's wife couldn't hold back anymore, "Rascal, our Chu family..."

She was about to say that their private army wouldn't do such despicable things, but Chunhua couldn't bear it and started waving her hands and screaming, "I don't want to go to the military camp. What I said just now was all a lie. I don't even know you."

She then pulled Diao Yang, "Diao Yang, this is completely different from what you told me. Say something, I don't want to go to the military camp."

Diao Yang's face changed drastically, and he kicked her away, "You crazy woman, don't make false accusations. Our Chu family has strict military discipline. There's no such nonsense..."

He was about to say more but was suddenly enveloped by a powerful aura and couldn't make a sound.

Chu Zhongtian's face was stern as he looked at Chunhua, "Was it he who asked you to say those things just now?"

Chunhua nodded frantically, "He found me and gave me twenty taels of silver, saying there would be even greater benefits once I entered the mansion. I thought this was a duke's mansion, and a little bit of dirt from the big shots here would be enough for me to live on for the rest of my life, so I came here in a daze. Please spare my life, sir."

Chu Zhongtian then released Diao Yang, "Do you have anything to say?"

Diao Yang's face was pale, and he quickly knelt down and begged for mercy, "Please spare my life, master. I was also acting under someone's orders."

"Who ordered you?" Chu Zhongtian demanded.

"I... I don't know," Diao Yang swallowed, "He met me through the wall, gave me a good reward, and I've always been dissatisfied with the eldest miss marrying a waste like Zuan An, so I got confused for a moment. Please show mercy, master, considering my years of hard work."

Hearing this, Xue'er, who was tightly holding her braid, finally let go.

Chu Zhongtian grunted and waved his hand to have him taken away, then his gaze swept over everyone, "Since the truth is clear, Zuan An was framed. Given that he has already been punished, we won't pursue the matter further. No one is to mention this again. Who has any objections?"

Chu Tiesheng gently waved his fan, and Chu Yuepo slightly moved his abacus, both looking down at their noses. The mastermind wasn't found, and at this moment, who would dare to step in? That would be asking for trouble.

Zuan An breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had finally passed this hurdle. However, Chu's wife was dissatisfied, "Are you just going to let him off?"

"Of course not," Chu Zhongtian immediately smiled, "Given Zuan An's constant misbehavior, to prevent him from causing more trouble in the future, after he recovers, he will be sent to the Mingyue Academy for training... I originally thought he should practice to temper his character, but considering his talent, I'll change it to studying literature. Even if he becomes a bookkeeper in the family, it would be good."

"Mingyue Academy?" Zuan An was a bit stunned, but then he thought, since Chu Zhongtian is the Duke of Mingyue City, this Mingyue Academy is probably a private school.

His attention was now on the anger points he had collected. He had accumulated 1646 points so far, enough for another draw.

He was carried back to his room and was about to start the draw when a red figure burst in.

Recognizing it was the second miss of the Chu family, Zuan An was on guard, "What do you want?" He wondered if she had discovered his fake injuries.

Chu Huanzhao jumped onto a table and sat down, her slender legs swinging in the air, "I just came to apologize."

"Apologize?" Zuan An was taken aback.

Chu Huanzhao's face showed a hint of discomfort, "Didn't we agree not to pursue that night's incident? I didn't protect you today, and you ended up being punished."

Zuan An was amused, thinking this girl was a bit naive. He was eager to draw, so he waved his hand, "It's fine, it's normal for a child to have no say in the family."

Anger from Chu Huanzhao +66!

Zuan An was surprised to see her face turn sour. She huffed and jumped off the table, saying as she left, "In the future, I'll protect you at the academy. If anyone bullies you, just mention my name."

Zuan An rolled his eyes, thinking, "You're just a little girl, acting like a big sister. Besides, as the son-in-law of this mansion, after today's events, who would dare to bully me in the family's private school?"

He didn't take it seriously, looked around to confirm everyone had left, and then got out of bed.

He washed his face and hands solemnly, then found a stick of incense and lit it, praying, "Heavenly gods, God, Allah, bless me, let me draw something good."

With the 66 points from Chu Huanzhao, he now had 1712 anger points.

He summoned the keyboard, moved the cursor to the draw section, and carefully pressed the enter key. The cursor quickly flashed between the numbers and the space bar.

The result, as expected, was "Thank you for participating!"

This was within his expectations. The probability of winning was low, and he knew his luck wasn't great, having only won a basin from the lottery in his entire life.

He pressed the enter key again to draw:

"Thank you for participating!"

"Thank you for participating!"

"Thank you for participating!"

...

This is too much!

Zuan An was frustrated, wondering if it was his bad luck or the low probability of winning.

On the 13th draw, the cursor finally stopped on the "8" key. He was excited, as this was a new key, and he didn't know what it would be.

A small bottle appeared before him, containing a green, shiny liquid. Below it was a description: "Poison Bottle, Throwing Type, can paralyze and weaken targets in a small area, ignoring defense levels below 5th rank."

Zuan An was delighted. Ignoring defense levels was a powerful attribute, though it only worked on targets below 5th rank. But he shouldn't encounter 5th rank experts anytime soon, right?

Hopefully not...

He now had another trump card for survival and happily put the small green bottle back into the keyboard space. The only downside was the color, which seemed a bit ominous.

He drew four more times, but as expected, all were "Thank you for participating!"

The winning probability was really low.

Zuan An was glad that earning anger points seemed easy, but collecting them meant making enemies. In this world of cultivation, would he be killed by a powerful expert?

No, I need to be more careful in the future!

I wish I could be like the Northern Mystic, eliminating everyone I meet, but my strength doesn't allow it. I can only be as cautious as the Steady Master Brother.

Anger from Qin Wanru: "+2 +2 +2 +2..."

A series of messages made Zuan An dizzy. What was wrong with his cheap mother-in-law? What had he done to upset her?

On the other side, after Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru returned to their room, Qin Wanru was still fuming, "That rascal really makes me angry. My poor Chuyan, her happiness in this life is ruined by such a guy."

Chu Zhongtian quickly poured her a cup of tea, "This is Chuyan's own choice."

Qin Wanru took a sip but was still not satisfied, "All for your Chu family!"

Chu Zhongtian smiled awkwardly and tried to shift her attention, "Compared to that, I'm more curious about who is targeting Zuan An."

Hearing this, Qin Wanru's brows furrowed, "Indeed, I didn't believe you before, but what happened in the ancestral hall today does seem like someone is targeting him."

Chu Zhongtian nodded, "On the wedding night, Zuan An ran to Huanzhao's bed for no reason. That guy, though a rascal, wouldn't have the nerve to do that."

Qin Wanru huffed, "Today in the ancestral hall, he didn't seem to lack nerve."

Chu Zhongtian said, "Huanzhao was knocked out that night, otherwise, how could he have gotten into her bed? You don't think he has that ability, do you?"

"If that wimp had that ability, I wouldn't be so angry," Qin Wanru said, clearly still upset about her daughter marrying such a husband.

Chu Zhongtian sighed, "There's something I haven't had the chance to tell you. Our spirit spring was contaminated that night."

"What!" Qin Wanru stood up abruptly. The two main industries of the Chu family were salt and weapons. The quality of Chu family weapons was superior to others, thanks to the spirit spring that nourished and refined them.

The spirit spring was the lifeblood of the Chu family's weapon industry. Other families might have similar rune arrays, but the spirit spring was unique to the Chu family.

"That night, you were so angry with Zuan An that I didn't dare tell you. Now, I think someone used Zuan An to create chaos and distract everyone, while secretly contaminating the spirit spring."

Qin Wanru asked urgently, "Can the spirit spring be restored?"

Chu Zhongtian shook his head, "The person used Devil's Saliva, and it will take at least twenty years to recover. Fortunately, they didn't have much, so it might take a few decades for the spirit spring to slowly regain its power."

"In a few decades, our Chu family might not even exist," Qin Wanru knew Devil's Saliva was the most evil and corrupting substance. Once the spirit spring was contaminated, there was no way to fix it. "Do you think it was the Emperor's side or the Prince's side?"