Zu An was utterly stunned. Is she a dog? How in the world is she able to sniff people out through their smell? 

Unable to believe it, he lifted his sleeves and smelled himself, but he only detected a faint fragrance. Don't all women pretty much use the same fragrances? I can’t tell the difference at all.

Chu Huanzhao’s hand flashed out to grab his ear. “Speak! What did you and Zheng Dan do? Did you do something that let me… I mean, my older sister down?!”

“Let go, let go!” Her grip was so painful that it nearly squeezed tears out of Zu An’s eyes. He thought that his sister-in-law was slowly becoming gentler and more amicable, but she was still a Tyrannosaurus Rex at heart. “I didn’t do anything at all! This smell is probably from this morning, when she fell from the carriage and into my arms.”

Their interaction caught the attention of the students passing by, who swiftly began gossiping amongst themselves.

“I thought that Zu An would at least fare a bit better now that he’s a teacher, but it looks like he is still considered the lowest in the family.”

“Yeah, look at how he whimpers before Chu Second Miss, not daring to fight back at all.”

“Well, that’s the life of a drafted-son-in-law. Mooching is tough, y’know.”

“It doesn’t look too bad. It must be quite pleasurable to be held like that by such a beautiful sister-in-law.”

“Shoo, get away from me! What if your fetish is contagious?”

… 

The students’ whisperings reached Zu An’s ears, and he almost wept as he felt his reputation falling into tatters.

“Are you sure?” Chu Huanzhao hesitantly released his ear, but she leaned forward to sniff him again. The doubt in her eyes refused to go away. “Is there a fragrance in the world that lasts that long?”

Zu An replied sheepishly, “That’s not something I’d know.”

Chu Huanzhao brooded for a while before finally backing off with a cold sniff. “Hmph, I guess the stench of vixens tends to linger!”

Zu An was silent for a while, frowning at her choice of vocabulary. “Honestly, where did you learn such crude words? You’re ruining your reputation like that.”

“Why? Does your heart hurt when I insult Zheng Dan?” Chu Huanzhao morphed from the kind sister-in-law into the little demon who had used her whip to lash him. “My older sister rarely has time to come to the academy, so it goes without saying that I have to keep an eye on you in her place, lest you do something to let her down!”

“I really didn’t do anything at all! Can you stop slandering me?” Zu An’s tears were on the brink of flowing out. Even if I wanted to do something, my current plight doesn’t allow me to. Ahhhh, I really must get my hands on the Evanescent Lotus by hook or by crook, no matter what price I have to pay!

“That better be the case!” Chu Huanzhao gave one last sniff before her temper mellowed. “Brother-in-law, I’m really not making a big fuss out of this. You should know that many men view my older sister as their dream lover, so it’s inevitable that other women would become envious of her. Zheng Dan is one of them. Don’t be fooled by her appearance; she’s approaching you because she wants to prove her superiority by stealing my older sister’s man.”

Zu An wasn’t too happy with that. “Hey! Isn’t it possible that she’s simply approaching me because of my charm?”

Chu Huanzhao eyed Zu An from head to toe before finally shaking her head. With a perfectly earnest look on her face, she replied, “That’s absolutely impossible.”

Zu An’s pride suffered a critical hit. I really want to beat this lass up. Can’t she at least lie to make me feel better?

“Hey, brother-in-law, there’s no need to get so angry. At least you’ve got my older sister. Isn’t that enough?” Chu Huanzhao noticed the awful look on Zu An’s face and quickly placated him with a smile. “You don’t know how many people in the academy are envious of you. They would willingly trade twenty years of their life just to marry my older sister in their lifetime!”

Zu An rolled his eyes. “Others might not know better, but you, of all people, should be aware of just what kind of relationship your older sister and I have.”

Chu Huanzhao smiled sheepishly. She had indeed heard about their peculiar relationship. “You have to give my older sister some time. You should also know that she’s a proud person. It’s inevitable that she’s unable to accept you right away.”

Zu An’s face darkened further. “Is that how you console a person? Am I really as bad as you say?”

Chu Huanzhao replied with a sharp nod. “In the past, even I wouldn’t have bothered to spare you a second glance. However, after getting to know you, I realized that you are different from what the rumors make you out to be. You do have a lot of strengths. I believe that my older sister will slowly come to like you once she knows what kind of person you are.”

“Hopefully.” In truth, Zu An wasn’t too bothered about that. What was foremost in his mind was the Evanescent Lotus. Without that, even if Chu Chuyan really fell for him, it would still be for naught.

Zu An’s downcast tone and crestfallen silhouette weighed on Chu Huanzhao’s heart. My brother-in-law sure is pitiful. My older sister doesn’t like him; my parents scorn him; even the servants don’t show him respect. He must be having a tough time in the Chu Estate. I must treat him better so that he can feel the warmth of a family.

With that, she ran up to him and called out sweetly, “Brother-in-law~”

Taken aback by her sudden sugary tone, Zu An gave a little start. “What?”

“Nothing much. I just wanted to call you.” Chu Huanzhao’s eyes domed into beautiful crescents.

Zu An eyed her sideways. Chu Huanzhao was acting weirdly, but he was so absorbed in his own affairs that he decided to let it slip.

By the time they walked out of the academy, Cheng Shouping and the servants of the Chu clan were already waiting for them at the entrance. When Cheng Shouping saw Chu Huanzhao fluttering around Zu An like a butterfly, he was astonished. 

The young master is truly amazing. Not only did he manage to marry the First Miss, but he managed to win over the unruly Second Miss too. I really need to get the young master to teach me a thing or two. If I could just pick up a sliver of what he knows, it’d be more than enough for me to get a beautiful wife!

It was a silent trip home. Shortly after they returned to the estate, Chu Zhongtian called the two of them over for dinner. Surprisingly, Chu Chuyan was present as well.

Zu An was slightly perplexed. As a student of Brightmoon Academy, Chu Chuyan should have been attending classes. Weirdly enough, however, the two of them had never encountered each other in the academy. From what Chu Huanzhao had said, it appeared that she really hadn't been to the academy these few days.

He wondered what she was so busy with. She seemed to be constantly traveling to all sorts of places. Cheng Shouping once mentioned that she personally managed many of the Chu clan’s businesses. That could explain why she was constantly busy.

When Chu Huanzhao saw Chu Chuyan and her parents at the dining table, she rushed up to them joyfully. “Father, mother, big sister, you won’t believe what happened in the academy today. Zu An was…”

Qin Wanru cut her short. “We can talk about that later. For now, there’s something more important we need to discuss.” 

Chu Huanzhao turned to Zu An and shrugged helplessly. Her cheeky gestures were really adorable.

Zu An felt a surge of warmth in his heart. His sister-in-law did treat him well, although the same couldn’t be said about his mother-in-law. Qin Wanru had quite a domineering personality, and she had never bothered to hide her contempt for him. It was fortunate that her two daughters weren’t like her.

I really wonder what’s wrong with Ji Dengtu to make him lust after such a woman. Does he have some sort of weird fetish?

If Qin Wanru could have read Zu An’s thoughts at that moment, she would surely have erupted like a volcano. 

“Chuyan, due to the premature opening of the Ursae Dungeon, the tournament against the Yuan clan will be brought forward to two days later. How are your preparations coming along?” asked Qin Wanru.

“The tournament?” Zu An’s heart leapt into his mouth. 

This had been brought up some time back. The Chu clan and the Yuan clan were both active in the arms trade, which created an intense rivalry between the two clans. However, as nobles, it was beneath them to resort to underhanded methods like common merchants—such acts would severely tarnish their reputations. To divide the market, the clans agreed to let their juniors duel with one another in a tournament.

This was intended to be a friendly duel, so as to avoid acrimony between the two clans. At the same time, the tournament would spur the juniors of the two clans to work harder on their cultivation.

Zu An hadn’t expected the Clans Tournament to come so quickly.

“This should not be a problem,” replied Chu Chuyan. “I’ve been monitoring the training of the juniors of our Chu clan, and they have been working diligently. From our past experiences, they should be able to hold their own.”

Chu Zhongtian frowned. “We can’t use our previous experiences as a gauge. The Yuan clan has the backing of the Wu clan now, so the cultivators they dispatch are bound to be far stronger than in previous years.”

Chu Huanzhao piped up, “Since the Yuan clan is seeking external help, why don’t we do the same too? Aren’t we disadvantaged like that?”

“What do you know?” Chu Zhongtian sniffed in response. “If I were to ask for external help like them, wouldn’t that demonstrate that our Chu clan is really afraid of their Wu clan? Besides, I’ve lived my life proudly. I won’t lower myself to resort to such tricks!”

Zu An scoffed at his words. Isn’t this the perfect example of someone who would suffer just to uphold his pride? It’s really hard to associate the word ‘proud’ with this henpecked husband.

“Even if they engaged the help of the Wu clan, there’s no way they would stand a chance against me,” Chu Chuyan replied.

Zu An was left slightly shaken. He hadn’t expected his wife to utter such intimidating words. On top of that, not a single person—not Chu Zhongtian, Qin Wanru, or Chu Huanzhao—questioned her words. Her prowess was deemed a self-evident truth.

She was a renowned prodigy of Brightmoon City, rumored to be at the fifth rank. 

Zu An had fought with two fifth rank cultivators thus far, and had nearly lost his life on both accounts. That being said, there were likely to be significant differences between fifth rank cultivators. Pei Mianman had easily defeated Yuan Wendong in a duel, even though they were both fifth rank cultivators. That bizarre black flame she summoned was a truly frightening entity.

He wondered whether Chu Chuyan or Pei Mianman was more formidable.

With Pei Mianman on his mind, his thoughts subconsciously drifted to the brawl they’d had in Chu Chuyan’s bedroom the other night. That woman’s figure is truly incredible… 

“You might be able to win a match, but there are a total of ten matches, and one of them is a sure loss. Honestly, I don’t have much confidence going into the Clans Tournament this time around.” Qin Wanru glanced at Zu An as she shook her head.

It was a rule that the juniors in the main family branch had to participate in one of the ten matches. There were fewer rules governing the participation of the other juniors. Those who were strong enough could be fielded, regardless of whether they were from another branch of the family, or a servant of the clan.

The Chu clan’s greatest disadvantage was none other than Zu An. The rules dictated that he had to participate in the tournament, and his match was considered a sure loss.

Tsk, you really look down on me. As displeased as Zu An was, he maintained a composed expression. “Don’t worry, I’ll surely win my round.”

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone who took his words to heart. Even Chu Huanzhao, who usually supported him, didn’t think that he could win.

“Don’t harbor such unrealistic fantasies. Let’s go with our previous plan to pit you against Yuan Wendong. Even if you lose the match, you’ll still be contributing significantly to the Chu clan. I’ll accompany you to the academy tomorrow to ensure that Yuan Wendong would choose to face you. Try to find a way to rile him up,” said Chu Chuyan.