Zu An was surprised that even the ignorant Chu Huanzhao knew so much about these intricate politics. In a way, it highlighted just how horrible of a situation the Chu clan was in.

The fact that they had appeared together meant that they weren’t afraid of the Chu clan finding out about their ties. To the rest of the world, it could be viewed as a message urging them to choose a side.

Sang Hong was a shriveled old man with a bit of a goatee. He looked far older than his actual age. He was said to be quite a competent official in the royal court, and could deal with ten times the amount of documents that an ordinary person could.

Despite his withered appearance, his eyes held a spirited glimmer, and he gave off an imposing air.

Zu An couldn’t help shaking his head at the sight. Wow, he really reminds me of all of those overworked programmers I have seen in my previous life. As I thought, 996 is really toxic.[1]

His son, Sang Qian, looked more normal in comparison. While Sang Qian wasn’t as eye-catching as Xie Xiu and Shi Kun, he had an air of militaristic gallantry around him that drew several excited shrieks from the fangirls in the crowd.

However, the attention of these women soon shifted to Shi Kun.

“Big brother Shi, big brother Shi~”

“Big brother Shi, I love you~”

“Waaa, so handsome. My gosh, I’m going to faint…”

… 

Zu An rolled his eyes in disdain. He...