Seemingly oblivious to his shock, Sang Hong continued, "Your foundation is too shallow. Our Sang family cannot compare to those long-established aristocratic families. If we had Yan Xuehen, not to mention that she herself is a world-renowned grandmaster, the Baiyujing behind her is a powerful force that is no weaker than any aristocratic family."

“Oh, right,” Sang Hong seemed to remember something, and then added, “Don’t provoke Yun Jianyue. She’s the leader of the Demonic Sect. That’s a troublesome identity and will do you more harm than good.”

Zu'an was speechless for a moment: "Uncle, how many dishes did you eat tonight to get this drunk? You're overestimating me."

How should I put it, what he said is like when I was a kid, I was torn between marrying Liu Yifei or Gao Yuanyuan, and in the end it turned out I was just overthinking it.

Sang Hong said with a complicated expression, "You can handle even a woman like Yu Yanluo, I believe you can do it too."

What kind of woman is Yu Yanluo? For so many years, she has been the most beautiful woman in the world. How many princes and noblemen in the capital have she captivated back then?

He glanced at her from afar that year, and for the next six months he dreamed about her almost every day. It took him a long time to get over it.

Even the Emperor and Prince Qi were attracted to her, yet none of them succeeded in winning her heart.

As for the Duke of Yunzhong, those in the know understand that he was merely a shield deliberately pushed out by Yu Yanluo to avoid trouble.

If Zu'an has already won over every man's dream girl, what woman can't he win over?

Sang Hong even had a strange feeling that his daughter being able to be sisters with people like Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen seemed a bit too high a rank for her...

However, he quickly dismissed the thought. "Hmph, my daughter is the best woman in the world."

Zuan was speechless for a moment. He was already overwhelmed by these women today and really didn't want to continue discussing these issues: "What's the situation in Cloud City now? How did Uncle handle my disappearance?"

Seeing that the conversation had turned to serious matters, Sang Hong also became serious again: "Xu Yu has been searching for Yu Yanluo for a long time without any news, and gradually he has given up. The main reason is that the Yu family's mine collapsed, which is much more serious than Yu Yanluo escaping. He has been organizing people to carry out disaster relief and trying to restore the mine, but unfortunately, the results have been minimal."

Zuan sighed: "Such a violent spatial tremor, I'm afraid it won't be able to recover for a while."

“That’s true,” Sang Hong nodded. “On the other hand, the Duke of Yunzhong is unusually quiet. I heard he’s gone into seclusion again. In these turbulent times, he’s been keeping quiet. I feel like he’s brewing something big.”

Zuan Waterfall said, "Uncle, don't worry about the Duke of Yunzhong. He's probably really recovering from his injuries."

He was glad that before rescuing Yu Yanluo, he had deliberately announced that he was in seclusion to recuperate from his injuries, fearing that it would involve his status as a duke. Now that he had left, no one would suspect anything.

"Oh~" Hearing his certainty, Sang Hong felt relieved. After all, there was no conflict between him and the Duke of Yunzhong anymore. Even if something happened, it would be Xu Yu who would have a headache.

He thought for a moment and said, "By the way, tell me about the dead scale worms? We need to discuss this. Consider it your secret mission, so you can answer if the Emperor asks in the future. Also, we can take this opportunity to impeach Xu Yu. As the highest-ranking official in Yunzhong County, he was unaware of such a major incident in his jurisdiction and had to rely on others to solve it. This is a serious dereliction of duty..."

As he listened to his description of the next plan, Zu An was dumbfounded. He thought to himself that these people in the officialdom were really ruthless. They could even take advantage of an angle that no one had ever thought of. This time, Xu Yu would be in big trouble, even if he didn't die.

Zuan secretly rejoiced that Sang Hong was now on his side, which meant he no longer had to face such a terrifying enemy and could be used to deal with other enemies.

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle. By the way, is there any news from home in the capital? We've been away for so long, and Xiaoqian... they're all without anyone to take care of them. It's always a bit worrying." Zu'an originally wanted to ask Zheng Dan, but it wouldn't be appropriate to ask his daughter-in-law directly, so he could only use Sang Qian as a shield.

Thinking back to that night, Zu An felt a mix of emotions; the relationship between the two was just too strange.

When he asked about Sang Qian, Sang Hong's face softened a little: "Yunzhong County is too far from the capital, and it's impossible to talk about family matters using a video mirror... But you don't need to worry. The capital is not another place. Xiao Qian is always witty and intelligent, and Zheng Dan is there to support her. There should be no problem."

"That's good." Zu'an breathed a sigh of relief. "Uncle can send a message back through the post station so they don't have to worry about our safety."

Sang Hong naturally knew that he wanted to let him know he was safe, and said with a smile, "Be careful out there, but no matter how wonderful it is outside, don't forget the warmth of home."

"Don't worry, Uncle, I'll be back as soon as possible," Zu An said with a forced smile, clearly implying that he shouldn't be tempted by the outside world.

However, the other party's actions were almost explicit, implying that he should treat the Sang family as his own.

Whether it's Sang Qian or Zheng Dan...

"That's good. I'll try my best to delay things, but you must return to the capital within three months at most, or I won't be able to explain to the Emperor," Sang Hong instructed.

"Okay!" Zuan calculated the time; three months should be enough.

Maintaining the audio-visual mirror consumed too many elemental stones; even the imperial envoy was struggling to keep up, and Sang Hong soon ended the call.

Zuan put away the video mirror. He had originally thought about going out for a walk, but then he thought that Yu Yanluo was still angry and probably wouldn't have the face to see him. As for the others, going to them now would only add fuel to the fire.

In the end, he returned to the room, summoned the system, and planned to try his luck with the lottery.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!