Chapter 1934: A Restless Evening
Chapter 1934: A Restless Evening
Jiang Luofu’s face turned red as she said, “I just never expected you to be so ferocious.” That little boy from the past had actually grown up to this extent… For some reason, she actually felt a bit awkward in front of him.
“The Meng clan have no one to blame but themselves. I already gave them a chance,” Zu An said with a chuckle. “I’m usually a pretty good-tempered person. I believe big sis Jiang understands that quite well.”
In that instant, Jiang Luofu felt as if that naughty young man from Brightmoon City had appeared again. She couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity. She harrumphed and said, “Hmph, you’re a brat who's always up to no good. None of those people who offended you in the past met good ends.”
That wasn’t all. The first time he met her, their statuses had clearly been completely different, and yet this brat had actually dared to stare at her black stockings without any sense of shame. At the time, she hadn't minded that much, because that only confirmed her beauty. Besides, this kid was pretty handsome, and he hadn't been able to win against her in a fight. If he really had any bad thoughts, she could have beaten him into submission just by stepping on him.
But now…
When she thought about Zu An's current strength, she realized that she couldn't really do much to stop it if he wanted to do something to her…
…
Although the two of them were walking slowly under the moonlight in a leisurely mood, the rest of the capital had already fallen into complete chaos.
In a tower inside King Ying Manor, a young man dressed in extravagant clothes closed the windows. He sat down slowly in his seat, remaining silent for a long time.
His trusted aide asked worriedly, “King?”
That person was none other than another prince, King Ying. He and King Wu, Zhao Yan, shared a mother - Zhao Han’s concubine, Xu Meiren.
King Ying took a deep breath, gradually calming his mood. He said, “That fool King Dai did help us take on a bolt of lightning, at least. Give out the orders to suspend all of our plans. From now on, we are to conceal our strength and bide our time.”
“But we already made so many preparations…” another trusted aide said with an unwilling expression.
“You idiot! That Zu guy is already strong to such an extent, and he is even an important person to the crown princess. If we do not act against the crown prince, do you want us to go against someone else? Even the empress changed her stance in favor of roping him in. If we still try to fight over the seat of crown prince, wouldn't we just be courting death?” King Ying couldn't help but curse.
When they recalled how vicious Zu An was, to the point that not even an earth immortal could stand a chance, King Ying's subordinates shivered. Opposing that man definitely wasn't a good decision.
“Right, send someone to warn King Wu and tell him to lie low as well. If the things he did in the past are exposed, no one will be able to save him,” King Ying instructed them, suddenly remembering something.
“Understood,” the subordinate to his left said, then bowed and quickly left.
“Don’t tell me we can’t do a single thing now?” another subordinate asked weakly.
“It is not that we cannot do anything. The Imperial Tutor Zhao Chen has died, but his heirs are still alive and well, and are all in authoritative positions. They will definitely be unable to swallow this resentment. We can try to form an alliance in secret,” King Ying said coldly. The more he spoke, the clearer his thoughts became.
“But even the glorious earth immortal Zhao Chen wasn’t that Zu bastard’s match, so what could his heirs do?” another person asked doubtfully.
“What do you understand? Even though that Zu bastard is strong, he is all alone. The world is too big, and you need to rely on others to rule. People might be too scared of his strength at first to dare to do anything, but as time goes on, more of them will agree on the surface but start to oppose him in secret. I promise you that none of the orders he gives out will be carried out, and then he will not even be able to pick out a single flaw in the process. He might even begin to question the validity of his own orders, thus destabilizing his prestige," King Ying said. “What we need to do is to wait, wait until something happens. Then, we will have our chance. What we need to do right now is to accumulate enough strength and rope in enough friends.”
“The king is wise!” the others replied. Still, although they were speaking words of flattery, they all felt regret inside.
It's such a pity that the king isn’t the late empress’ son. Otherwise, if he succeeded the throne, the empire would definitely become more prosperous by the day. He's countless times better than that idiot of a crown prince!
King Ying stood up again. He pushed aside the window and looked in the direction of the Meng clan, his face full of pity as he remarked, “Still, it is truly a pity for Meng Chan.”
Even though he had always looked down on King Dai, thinking of him as no one special and perhaps even on the lower end of intelligence, he had to admit that King Dai had an excellent wife.
Meng Chan’s beauty and resourcefulness had always been on par with the crown princess, Bi Linglong. When the crown princess was being selected, apart from the esteemed daughter of the Jiang clan, Bi Linglong and Meng Chan had been the most popular candidates.
But at some point, father emperor decided that Meng Chan showed off her competence too much and wasn’t a good fit for being a mother of the empire. In contrast, Bi Linglong was a bit more reserved, so that was why she was chosen as the crown princess.
Of course, whether that was the real reason or if it was because father emperor was worried about the Meng clan's great ancestor having too much influence, that is likely something only he alone knew.
Eventually, with father emperor’s tacit approval, Bi Linglong then gradually began to display her astonishing quick wit and talent…
When Meng Chan received that blow to her confidence, she had become completely discouraged. But the Meng clan’s doorsteps had practically been trampled rotten from the amount of marriage proposals they received. After all, Meng Chan was a beautiful and intelligent woman, and she even had the Meng clan backing her. Even putting everything else aside, Meng Chan’s beauty and charm were both first-rate among the noble circles, and she had endless pursuers.
King Ying had even been one of them himself; he had adored her. Eventually, however, his majesty had bestowed her onto King Dai in marriage. King Ying had been forced to bury his feelings deep down in his heart.
Meanwhile, Meng Chan had also become a canary in a cage, and King Ying had thought that she would just fade away like that. However, Meng Chan had actually never given up. After the battle of Violet Mountain, King Dai and the Meng clan’s series of maneuvers had been truly stunning. They had aimed lethal blades at the Eastern Palace again and again.
King Ying had watched with the cool eyes of a bystander and felt extreme admiration, knowing that those strategies were definitely the work of Meng Chan.
As expected of the woman who used to be on par with Bi Linglong!
As expected of the object of my adoration!
She had just been a tiny bit off; just that tiny bit, and Meng Chan would have succeeded. But who could possibly have expected that Zu An, at his young age, could easily kill even an earth immortal?
All that had happened really seemed to be an inevitable twist of fate.
But now, King Dai and the Meng clan were completely finished. Meng Chan, as Madam Dai, was naturally also done for. If an unmatched hero appeared now to give her hope, if she were to be saved, her young feminine heart would be full of affection, right?
The image of himself dressed in golden armor as he descended upon the Meng manor to save Meng Chan appeared in King Ying's mind. Overwhelmed by emotion, he couldn't help but take a step forward. He even reflexively wanted to fly toward the Meng manor right then and there.
But a gust of cold night wind brushed past, and he immediately recovered his reason. It was fine to dream about these things, but when it came to really doing it... Well, he still understood his own limits.
That Zu bastard’s hand alone… No, even a single finger could crush me to death.
What a pity…
When he thought about the bitter future of that beautiful woman, he was filled wiht pity. However, there was nothing he could do.
He dismissed his subordinates and took out a bottle of wine from his cabinet. He had always been full of self-control for many years, rarely touching a drop of alcohol because he was worried that it could affect his judgment. But today, all he wanted was to drink the night away.
…
Similar things were happening in many different places. Others didn't necessarily carry deep affection for Meng Chan the way King Ying did, but their decisions weren't too different. They all decided to stop all their schemes and plots. After all, Zu An’s performance today was just too explosive. They definitely didn’t want to provoke that disaster in their own households.
However, unlike the dispirited mood within the king manors, in a certain remote courtyard in the capital, there was an elder who felt incredibly moved. He almost slapped his thighs rotten from excitement.
“I never expected the imperial grandson to be so formidable!”
“The heavens really still remember our Great Meng Dynasty!”
A woman said with a sigh next to him, “Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to want to accept the identity of the imperial grandson.”
Her face was veiled, so it was difficult to make out her appearance. Her figure was graceful, and her waist and back were straight. There was an outstanding air about her.
“This is his duty decreed by fate. It isn’t something he can choose to acknowledge or refuse,” the elder said as he paced back and forth, clearly feeling quite irritated as well. After some time, his eyes lit up. “I know what to do! Send orders to all of our people in the streets and alleys, especially areas like bridges where a lot of people gather to find writers. After some time passes, as his prestige grows higher and higher, we’ll spread the news that he's the imperial grandson.”
The woman was startled, saying skeptically, “Won’t you completely provoke him then?”
“Why would he be provoked? We're all on the same side. Even if he carries some resentment, it won’t be that big of a deal,” the elder said with a smile. “This guy is just too lazy. Since he doesn’t want to attend to these matters, I'll force him to pay attention.”
The woman looked out the window, a trace of worry between her brows.
She had to admit that the elder’s suggestion was ingenious, at least. If the rumors of the imperial grandson spread, the Great Zhou Dynasty’s court would definitely be on high alert. Then, even Zu An’s identity as the Regent wouldn’t protect him. Rather, it would be precisely that identity that would make certain people from the Great Zhou Dynasty even more guarded against him. Then, the two sides would inevitably start another conflict. Zu An had only dealt with the Meng clan and the earth immortal Zhao Chen this evening. The Great Zhou Dynasty’s national weapons hadn't fully been used.
But if the situation were related to the imperial grandson of the previous dynasty, the various forces definitely wouldn’t just watch without doing a thing like they had tonight. Then, Zu An would become an enemy of the entire world. He would have no choice but to rely on them to obtain aid.
It is a good plot, but…
When she thought about the strength Zu An had shown and his personality, she wondered whether there really wouldn't be negative consequences to doing such a thing.
…
Meanwhile, the people in the Sang manor were filled with extreme shock.
When he looked at Zheng Dan, who was leaping and jumping around in silly happiness, Sang Hong sighed. Then, he said to his daughter, “Qien’er, I think it would still be better if you had Sisi take on his surname.”
With the power Zu An had displayed, who would dare to make his bloodline follow behind another? Besides, if Sisi took on Zu An’s surname, that would only bring the Sang clan more benefits. They could even allow Sang Qien to live in the Regent Manor with a justifiable pretext.
Sang Qien shook her head and said, “I think it would be better not to. If we did that, it would make the Sang clan seem too snobbish. I think we should do things as we discussed before and let nature run its course.” She knew her big brother Zu had a wife. Her own relationship with him would always seem to lack something.
Sang Hong was stunned. Then, he nodded and said, “You’re right, you’re the one who's thinking with a clear head. I got a bit too agitated.” However, he added, “But you should put in a bit more effort and try to give birth to nine or ten of Ah Zu’s children.”
Sang Qien stomped her feet and said in annoyance, “Dad, I’m not a pig! How many can I even give birth to in a year?”
“You can add in…” Sang Hong began, although his face heated up. In the end, he was too embarrassed and excused himself hurriedly after a few more words.
Aunt Mu knew that he couldn't bring himself to continue. She could only share in his troubles and say quietly in Sang Qien’s ear, “Qien’er, actually, you can add in your sister-in-law…”
Sang Qien was speechless. Her face turned completely red from embarrassment!