When he heard the driver’s invitation to Zu An, the young heir Zhao Zhi’s breathing became hurried.

Few people in this world would be offered an invitation by that Madam.

He was a vain man, but had never had the chance of meeting her in person. He saw her as someone that was beyond the reach of even the emperor, his father, or the heirs of various noble houses, and therefore, it was completely natural for her to disregard him as well.

Yet she’d invited Zu An, someone so far beneath him, for a meeting, something that he himself had never even dared to dream of!

They are confidantes!

The word appeared in his mind, but he immediately realized that it didn’t accurately reflect what he was thinking about.

Then again, Zu An was about to enter the carriage and share the same cabin as her. To a certain degree, it was true.

As he looked at Zu An, his eyes were no longer filled with endless contempt, but unfathomable jealousy.

Why? Why did the gorgeous Chu First Miss choose him?!

Why is the number one beauty of the capital, Yu Yanluo, also treating him like this?

You have successfully trolled Zhao Zhi for 555… 555… 555…

Worst of all, Yu Yanluo had seen him in this sorry state. What a total humiliation!

He’d consoled himself that not many had been around to witness these events, especially since all the commoners had run off. Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were both part of King Qi’s faction, and they would probably not speak of this. The carriage seemed to belong to a common clan, and all he had to do was to secretly get rid of them.

That way, no news about his utter defeat to Zu An would leak out. However, the number one beauty of the capital, Yu Yanluo, just had to be inside that seemingly ordinary carriage!

There was no way he could kill her. His dad would probably be the first to beat him to death if he even dared to try.

Even he himself couldn’t bear to do it.

He’d seen her from a distance before, and even dreamed about her. That exceptional face seemed to be something that didn’t belong to this mortal world. Which man could steel their resolve enough to destroy such a natural work of art?

The more he ruminated, the more unbearable the memory of being crushed by Zu An became.

It’s all because of that son of a bitch Zu An!

You have successfully trolled Zhao Zhi for 1024… 1024… 1024…

Zu An gave the driver a look of surprise. “Who is this Madam of yours?”

The driver with the missing tooth chuckled. “You’ll know once you enter the carriage.”

Zu An glanced at King Qi’s heir, then at Han Fengqiu, feeling slightly puzzled. Who could make both of them react like this?

The woman inside this carriage spoke up. “Young heir, this young master saved my life earlier on. Could I ask you humbly to let this matter rest, for my sake?”

The voice was soft and pleasant. It was neither cute nor childish, yet it was enough to soften the hearts of all who heard it.

Murong Qinghe was extremely envious. “I wish my voice sounded that good.”

“Your voice is pretty nice. It’s a lot nicer than a certain pretentious person,” said Chu Youzhao with a snort. For some reason, she felt a natural enmity towards this mysterious woman. She was clearly up to no good.

“Really?” Murong Qinghe was extremely happy to hear her crush praise her in such a manner, and her cheeks turned slightly rosy.

My voice obviously doesn’t sound as good, but big brother Chu still said such a thing. He must care a lot about me. Ah! I’m so embarrassed.

King Qi’s heir felt his heart tremble as well. Yu Yanluo actually spoke to me! And she took the initiative to do so!

He was a bit overwhelmed and subconsciously tried to stand up and sort out his clothes. Only then did he notice that all of his clothes had been blasted to ashes by his own lightning. Fortunately, Han Fengqiu acted quickly and covered him up to hide this ugly sight.

He gave Zu An a hateful glare. I will get my revenge, or my name is not Zhao Zhi!

When he looked in the direction of the carriage, though, his malicious expression was instantly replaced by a smile. “Madam, since you are the one making this request, I must show you the appropriate respect. Mister Zu, your murders of military officers will be properly investigated. We’re leaving!”

Han Fengqiu sighed in relief. He had no idea what they would do if they stayed to confront this mysterious expert.

This young heir was worthy of his position after all, taking this opportunity to withdraw without making it look like they were fleeing.

However, the young heir he was praising was full of regret. Bloody hell, why the hell am I trying to act cool?

If he had stubbornly refused her and stayed instead, he might have invited more of the Madam’s attention to himself. At the very least, he could have exchanged a few more words with her.

He sighed. He’d finally landed such a rare opportunity to talk to her, yet he couldn’t even meet her face to face. Instead, Zu An was the one given the chance to interact so closely with her inside the carriage.

This Zu An is only a spineless coward who only knows how to hide behind a woman!

Then again, I want to hide behind a woman like Madam Yu too.

Ahh!! This is so infuriating!

You have successfully trolled Zhao Zhi for 924… 924… 924…

Zu An watched them as they left. After a slight moment of indecision, he decided not to do anything.

It wasn’t easy to deal with someone at the peak of the ninth rank, and the brat’s dad, King Qi, was an even bigger problem. It wasn’t the right time to go all in.

“Excuse me. Our Madam has invited you to meet her.” The driver walked up to him, his tone slightly dissatisfied.

What the heck is this? Anyone in the capital would be honored to be offered a meeting with my Madam, and would be eager to meet her. Why does this good-for-nothing brat seems so disinterested?

“Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts for a moment,” replied Zu An with a laugh. He snapped out of his daze and strode towards the carriage. He was quite curious as to who was inside.

Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe subconsciously tried to follow him to find out who it was, but they were stopped by the driver. “Young miss, young master, please wait here.”[1]

Murong Qinghe wasn’t bothered, but Chu Youzhao was both angry and nervous. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much she could do against someone who was at least at the master rank. She could only watch as her brother-in-law walked over to the carriage, as if he were walking straight into a succubus’ lair.

When Zu An arrived next to the carriage, he clasped his fist and said, “Thank you for your help, Madam.”

A chuckle sounded from within. “You saved me earlier on as well.”

Chu Youzhao’s nose wrinkled in disdain. This woman’s laughter was just like that of a witch! Wasn’t she clearly trying to seduce him? She had to admit, though, that it was the most beautiful voice she had ever heard.

Zu An laughed in a self-deprecating manner. “If I had known that the madam had such a formidable guard, I wouldn’t have meddled. I was almost done in by those fellows from King Qi’s Estate.”

As if sensing his dissatisfaction, the woman inside said with a gentle voice, “This only serves as further proof of your valor. Even though outsiders might think of you as an uncouth and frivolous man, I know that there is a chivalrous core deep within you. Regardless of how powerful the enemy is, you will always stand against them when you see injustice. This was how it was back then, and it is still the same now.”

Zu An’s cheeks warmed. “I’m starting to get embarrassed from all this praise, haha… Hm? It seems like you know me?”

There was a momentary silence within the carriage, after which the woman inside said, “You should come inside.”

The driver with the missing tooth was stunned. Did I hear it wrongly? Is Madam actually inviting him inside?

The two of them were going to share that narrow space?

He had worked as a driver for this particular Madam for many years. He knew that, because of her stunning beauty, she cared a lot about the distance between her and those she interacted with. She never let any other man get that close to her.

Now, though, she was inviting this brat inside! She seemed to care a lot about Zu An. He began to wonder if she had secretly fallen for him.

This brat is pretty decent-looking, but is this Madam of mine someone who cares about appearance? She won’t ever find someone as pretty as the one she sees in the mirror, so appearance probably doesn’t matter to her.

Maybe she admires him as an impressive junior? Yeah, that’s possible…

As all manner of thoughts ran through the driver’s mind, Zu An moved aside the curtains and went into the carriage. Before he could lay eyes on the woman, though, a wave of dizziness overcame him.

Bloody hell, is this the rebound of the ‘Keyboard, Come!’ ability? How is it this brutal?

As this thought emerged in his mind, he lost control of his body, and fell involuntarily. There came a woman’s cry of alarm, and he collapsed into a soft body.