Chu Zhongtian took a while to recover his wits. 

Just how brazen must you be to dare ask for beautiful maids in the presence of your parents-in-law and your wife? Do you think we would just send them to you to compete with our daughter? No parent in the world would ever do that!

Back then, I had wanted a few beautiful maids too, but I ended up alone here as well, didn’t I?

Chu Zhongtian unconsciously directed a sulky look at his wife.

Zu An was shocked by Qin Wanru’s words as well. A furrow gradually formed on his forehead as he asked, “You can’t be so stingy as to refuse me compensation after the huge contribution I’ve made to the Chu clan, can you?”

Qin Wanru found herself speechless for a second time in quick succession.

Chu Chuyan finally spoke up. “Do you still not understand the situation yet? We want to know who’s behind you! What’s your purpose of going this far to infiltrate our Chu clan—!”

Halfway through her words, she suddenly began coughing violently. Chu Zhongtian quickly expressed his concern. “Your injuries seem to be much worse than I expected.”

“It’s not an issue. They won’t hamper me.” Chu Chuyan shook her head before turning her gaze back to Zu An.

“I infiltrated the Chu clan?” Zu An was puzzled. “Weren’t you the one who chose me as your drafted son-in-law and brought me in?”

Chu Chuyan’s face colored slightly. “I wanted to… choose an ordinary, unambitious man. I thought that you fit the criteria. While everyone’s said that you’re inept… I didn’t care about that. But now, it’s clear that you’ve been keeping me in the dark all along.”

Qin Wanru followed up as well, “Indeed! You went through so much effort to hide your true strength so as to appear harmless to us. Without a doubt, you must be planning something truly ambitious. On top of that, you were able to circumvent the background checks we conducted. This means that there has to be a greater power assisting you. Speak! Were you sent by the empress’ faction or King Qi’s faction?”

Zu An finally understood why they were so angry at him. Instead of answering, he replied with a question of his own. “Mother-in-law, who do you think I was sent by?”

“Shut your mouth! Don’t call me mother-in-law!” bellowed Qin Wanru furiously. “Of course you’re…”

Halfway through her angry tirade, she trailed off. It dawned on her that Zu An’s actions didn’t benefit any of the factions she had just listed.

“If I really had malicious intentions in mind, why would I risk exposing myself in order to help the Chu clan win the Clans Tournament? Surely you are aware of the implications behind this tournament as well,” added Zu An.

“Hmph! It could be because you weren’t valued by the Chu clan thus far, and you needed a way to make a name for yourself and win our favor. At the same time, you would also be able to get together with Chuyan… ahem, ahem.” 

There was no way that she could have missed how her daughter and son-in-law hadn’t been sleeping in the same room.

“Fine, allow me to put it in another way, then. If I was from the empress’ faction, why would I get into a conflict with the Shi clan, and why would Snow—whom they had placed by Chuyan’s side—be out for my life?” said Zu An. “And if I’m from King Qi’s faction… oh… there does seem to be a possibility there.”

Qin Wanru sneered coldly. “Nothing more to say, huh?”

However, how could Zu An possibly lose an argument? He recovered swiftly and thought of an idea. “There’s actually an easy way to prove that I’m not related to King Qi.”

“How do you intend to prove it?” asked Chu Chuyan.

Subconsciously, she hoped that Zu An had nothing to do with either of these powers. She wasn’t really fond of Zu An, but she had already gotten used to being with him. While he was different from how she thought he would be, finding someone else for her at this point would be difficult.

“How about this?” Zu An pointed to heaven and swore, “King Qi’s sons will have no buttholes, and all of his daughters will become my concubines. Now, you can’t possibly still think that I’m from King Qi’s faction, can you?”

Qin Wanru physically recoiled in horror whereas Chu Chuyan hurriedly averted her embarrassed gaze.

Chu Zhongtian burst out angrily, “How dare you say such words out loud! If King Qi hears of this, he’ll have you executed right away!”

Zu An chuckled cheekily in response, “Well, doesn’t that prove that I have no relations with King Qi? Am I worthy of your trust now?”

“Even if you aren’t related to King Qi, there’s no ruling out that you might still be from the empress’ faction,” said Qin Wanru. “Who knows? You might have just been putting on a skit with Shi Kun and the others so as to win our trust.”

“Isn’t that simple to disprove as well?” Zu An put his hands up and began swearing once more. “From now on, the empress shall…”

Chu Zhongtian hurriedly reached out to cover Zu An’s mouth. “Enough, enough! You shouldn’t talk about the empress in such a manner even if she can’t hear you. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before your rotten mouth lands you into deep trouble!”

Zu An scoffed inside. Sorry to let you down, but I’m counting on this rotten mouth of mine to rise through the ranks.

“Then how do you possess your current level of cultivation?” Chu Chuyan stared at Zu An intently. “Based on what I saw in the dueling ring, you should be at the third rank at the very minimum.”

“Are you surprised to see that your husband isn’t a good-for-nothing, unlike what the others say?” Zu An leaned toward Chu Chuyan as he asked with a smile.

Chu Chuyan subconsciously took a step back to widen the distance between them before saying, “I’m more shocked than surprised. You haven’t answered my question yet.”

“Oh.” Zu An pondered for a moment before replying, “Actually, I’ve been talented ever since I was young. It’s just that I don’t like bragging so I’ve been keeping a low profile all this while. That’s why the world misunderstands me… Ah! The common populace simply doesn’t understand prodigies and discriminates against them!”

“Do you take us for fools?” Qin Wanru’s patience wore thin. “We did a thorough check on you before accepting you in as our drafted son-in-law. In the past decade, you’re a good-for-nothing from head to toe. Your deceased uncle doesn’t know any cultivation either, so there’s no one around you that you could have learned cultivation from.”

Zu An laughed heartily. “Well, it’s like this. Many years ago, I met an old beggar who was on the verge of starving to death. Out of pity, I gave him a bun. In his extreme gratitude, he imparted to me a cultivation technique. I’ve been practicing it diligently since then, and before I knew it, I reached my current level.”

He had seen plenty of martial arts movies in his previous life, and was intimately familiar with the plot devices that give rise to the protagonist’s power skips.

“Hah! A cultivator that was starved to the point where he needed you to save him?” Qin Wanru didn’t believe a single word of it. “Are you taking me for a fool?!”

“I mean, cultivators can find themselves in bad situations too! God knows what he has been through!” Zu An swiftly supplemented his story.

Qin Wanru and Chu Zhongtian exchanged glances before nodding inconspicuously. If Zu An had tried to explain all of the details, they might have doubted him even more. However, Zu An’s vehement and forceful insistence on his imperfect story somehow made him look much more credible.

“Very well, we’ll believe you for the time being. However…”—Qin Wanru’s tone suddenly turned sharp—“if we ever find out that you have been deceiving us, I guarantee that we’ll not be so kind to you!” 

“But what if, by then, Chuyan and I already produce grandchildren for you? Won’t you go easy on me for the sake of your grandchildren?”

Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were both left speechless.

Chu Chuyan’s face flushed red with anger and embarrassment. “Shut up! Who’s going to bear your children?!”

Zu An shrugged calmly. “Aren’t we a couple? It’s perfectly normal for us to have children.”

“Pui!” No matter how cold-natured Chu Chuyan was, she was still a young maiden. Zu An’s teasing made her turn her head away in a huff.

This fellow really is too much! Despite being… he still wants to make fun of me!

Chu Zhongtian coughed lightly to alleviate the awkwardness in the room. “So, Zu An…”

But before he could finish, Zu An interrupted, “Father-in-law, please don’t call me Zu An anymore. Please call me Ah Zu instead.”

“Ah Zu?” Chu Zhongtian was perplexed. “That’s quite an odd nickname.”

Zu An explained with a smile, “Back in my hometown, Ah Zu is a term used to refer to handsome guys.”[1]

Chu Zhongtian couldn’t help but roll his eyes. However, knowing that Zu An had a screw loose, he decided against arguing with him. “Ah Zu, you crippled two of the most outstanding juniors in the Yuan clan today. You must make sure to be careful from now on. I’ll dispatch more experts to protect you as well.”

Qin Wanru added, “Also, you shouldn’t get too complacent just because you managed to win your duels by sheer luck today. Your true cultivation is still only at the third rank. If Yuan Wendong hadn’t lost his focus at a crucial moment, the one to be crippled would have been you. You should try to keep a lower profile from now on.”

Zu An shrugged helplessly. “There’s nothing I can do about that. Someone as outstanding as me is bound to be in the limelight no matter where I go. Even if I wanted to keep a low profile, the world wouldn’t allow me to do so!”

Unable to stand all his bragging anymore, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru decisively kicked Zu An out of the room.

Once Zu An had been dismissed, Chu Zhongtian turned to his daughter and asked, “Chuyan, what’s your take on this matter?”

Chu Chuyan pondered with a frown before replying, “I don’t think that he’s a spy sent by the other clans. No one would send someone of his character over to spy on us.”

Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were in profound agreement with her. No one could ever forget Zu An’s unruly personality.

“No matter what, he’s only a third rank cultivator at the moment. Even if he isn’t being straight with us, we still have the means to deal with him,” said Qin Wanru.

Chu Chuyan nodded in agreement. “I’ll pay closer heed to him in the future.”

… 

Meanwhile, as soon as Zu An left the room, Chu Huanzhao quickly walked up to him together with a group of people. “Brother-in-law, brother-in-law! How was it? Did my parents reward you for your effort or something?”

The others in the crowd also looked at Zu An with heated looks in their eyes. No matter how low Zu An’s position in the Chu clan had been, he was still its son-in-law. With the merits he had accrued through the tournament today, there was no doubt that he would become deeply favored by the Chu clan from now on.

It finally dawned on Zu An that he faced a severe problem. Wait a moment… Yeah, where is my reward?

He had gotten too caught up in Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru’s tempo that he’d actually forgotten about this matter!

“You didn’t receive any rewards?” Noticing how Zu An had gone silent, Chu Huanzhao immediately felt indignant on his behalf. “How can my parents act like that? My big sister should have spoken up for you!”

“Who says that there’s no reward?” A smile curved up the corners of Zu An’s mouth. “They gave you to me as a reward.”

“Ah?” Chu Huanzhao was stunned for a moment as she tried to figure out the meaning of his words. Her face reddened. “Did they really…”

It was then that she noticed the twinkle in Zu An’s eyes and realized that he was making fun of her. She immediately used her crutches as a weapon and smacked them down on him. “Stinky brother-in-law, you lied to me! I’ll beat you to death!”

“I’m just joking! Hey, aren’t you injured? How in the world are you able to run that quickly?” Zu An quickly scooted off, with Chu Huanzhao chasing after him desperately.

The crowd was left staring at one another in bewilderment. The second branch’s Chu Hongcai heaved a deep sigh of relief and said, “That scared me! I thought that Uncle had really betrothed Huanzhao to him!”

The plump Chu Yucheng’s eyes arched upward into thin crescents as he said, “That’s not entirely impossible.”

Chu Hongcai scoffed in response, “What nonsense are you spouting? Just what kind of people do you think Chuyan and Huanzhao are? How could the two sisters possibly wait upon the same man? Not to mention, Zu An is just a drafted son-in-law!”

Chu Yucheng didn’t bother arguing his point. Instead, he watched the two people running around the Chu clan’s courtyard contemplatively. He could tell from Huanzhao’s coy response that she wasn’t averse to the idea at all. On top of that, instead of taking out her Wailing Whip to strike him, she had instinctively used her crutches instead. 

It looks like our drafted son-in-law is quite an interesting man.

… 

In the midst of fooling around with Chu Huanzhao, he unknowingly found himself at his own residence. As soon as he opened the door, however, he found Old Mi standing right before him, and he quickly backpedaled.

For some reason, he simply felt uncomfortable in the old man’s presence.

Chu Huanzhao also noticed that there was a stranger present, and it belatedly dawned on her that it was inappropriate for the second miss of the Chu Estate to be prancing around with her brother-in-law like that. Her face reddened, and she gave a dismissive sniff. “Hmph! I’ll settle the score with you next time!”

With that, she scooted off.

After Chu Huanzhao had left, Old Mi narrowed his eyes at Zu An and asked coldly, “How did you manage to raise your cultivation so quickly?”