Sang Qian was startled: "How did you know?"
"If you don't want anyone to know, then don't do it in the first place." Sang Hong sneered. "A honey trap, how could you even think of that!"
Sang Qian looked embarrassed: "I just wanted to take over the Plum Blossom Gang's businesses, you know we also secretly run a gambling den..."
"Alright, don't let me know about those things." Sang Hong said impatiently.
"Oh~" Sang Qian thought to himself, thinking that although you are a noble person and never covet money, the expenses in officialdom are so high. How can you rely on your salary alone? "Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trivial matters. Moreover, history has proven that the honey trap is still very useful."
Sang Hong glared at his son and said, "Are you stupid? Those who use honey traps are all carefully trained female spies. Who would use their own fiancée!"
Sang Qian smiled awkwardly: "I can't find a suitable candidate right away, so I'll let Zheng Dan give it a try. Don't worry, she's always been gentle and reserved, and she's smart. She won't let Zu An gain any advantage."
"I don't know where you get your confidence from. You're playing with fire. One wrong move and you'll lose everything." Sang Hong sneered.
"Don't worry, Father. In terms of looks, family background, and ability, how can that Zu'an compare to me?" Sang Qian said proudly. "Miss Zheng has always been arrogant and haughty. How could she possibly be interested in such a guy?"
Seeing his son's nonchalant attitude, Sang Hong frowned secretly. He felt that his son was too confident. However, he had met Zheng Dan before. She appeared gentle and obedient, but she was actually very opinionated and came from a wealthy family. It was unlikely that she would be interested in a son-in-law like that.
Thinking of this, he finally felt relieved: "Fine, since that's the case, give her another task and see if she can find out information about the mysterious master behind Zu An from him."
Sang Qian was taken aback: "Didn't you tell me and that masked man to split up and investigate?"
Sang Hong shook his head slightly: "If that mysterious expert intends to hide, the Chu family may not be able to find anything; the same goes for you; so it depends on whether that guy Zu'an will be bewitched by beauty and accidentally leak some information."
He looked worried. He didn't know why, but he had been 100% confident about this trip to Bright Moon City. However, after learning about this mysterious expert, he felt that his sure-fire victory had become more uncertain. He wondered if things might go wrong because of this incident, so he had to eliminate this uncertainty in advance.
“Okay, I’ll talk to Zheng Dan.” Sang Qian readily agreed, but felt a little awkward. He had just been scolding me for using my fiancée as a honey trap, but now he was actually encouraging me to use my honey trap.
Sang Hong hesitated for a moment, then said, "By the way, there's something I need to remind you of. What if Zheng Dan does something to betray you during the mission? What are you going to do?"
"She dares!" The image of his fiancée being pinned down and defiled by Zu An flashed through Sang Qian's mind, and his eyes widened in fury. "If she dares to do anything to betray me, I'll wipe out the entire Zheng family!"
"A man's rage!" Sang Hong rebuked angrily. "If such a thing really happens, you must remain calm and composed..."
Before he could finish speaking, Sang Hong interrupted him: "Wouldn't that make me willingly become a cuckold?"
“Of course not!” Sang Hong said angrily. “To achieve great things, one must endure what ordinary people cannot. If something really happens, you can’t hold Zheng Dan accountable without asking questions. That will only push her into the arms of another man.”
"What you need to do is to superficially appease and forgive her, completely put her at ease, and do your best to serve you. Once the situation has been settled, then settle accounts with her later."
Sang Qian was somewhat dismissive, but his father was always strict, so he didn't bother to argue: "I understand."
Hearing the perfunctory tone in his voice, Sang Hong frowned, but didn't say anything more. He hoped that Zheng Dan was really smart enough not to go astray.
"By the way, are you going to that courtesan competition tonight?" Sang Hong sat down again and leisurely sipped his tea.
"Indeed, I heard that Qiu Honglei, the most beautiful courtesan at Shenxianju, is looking for a lover tonight. Miss Qiu is exceptionally beautiful and talented, and countless men have fallen at her feet. Yet, for so many years, she has remained a celibate courtesan, never entertaining clients. The men in the city have been lusting after her for a long time, so I'll naturally try my luck today..."
Halfway through his speech, Sang Qian suddenly noticed his father's almost fiery gaze and awkwardly stopped talking. It was indeed inappropriate to discuss these things with his father.
Sang Hong snorted heavily: "You shouldn't go tonight. What kind of behavior is it for a high-ranking official of the imperial court to frequent brothels?"
“Visiting prostitutes is a refined act; what’s so improper about it?” Sang Qian disagreed.
“That Qiu Honglei is no simple woman,” Sang Hong said in a deep voice. “I even had someone investigate her…”
"So you're interested in her too, Father?" Sang Qian said knowingly. No wonder he didn't want me to go; he was afraid I'd compete with you for her.
Sang Hong knew what he was thinking just by looking at his eyes, and his face turned as black as charcoal: "Nonsense, I'm just trying to complete this mission and gather as much information as possible. This woman is so famous in Mingyue City, of course I have to investigate her, but unfortunately I can't find anything. She just looks like an ordinary courtesan."
"She was originally a courtesan, wasn't she?" Sang Qian was a little confused.
“That’s the strange thing,” Sang Hong said, looking out the window toward the south of the city. “She is so beautiful and famous. If she were just an ordinary courtesan, how could she have remained chaste for so many years?”
"Huh~" After his father said that, he realized that something was wrong.
Sang Hong added, "Besides, you just got engaged to Miss Zheng, and you're already going to find some courtesan? What about Zheng Dan and the Zheng family's reputation? This time, dealing with the Chu family requires a lot of effort from the Zheng family, and I don't want our cooperation to go wrong because of you. Stay home today and don't go anywhere!"
Sang Qian looked disappointed, but he knew he couldn't disobey his father's orders. He could only look resentfully in the direction of the Immortal Abode in the south of the city, wondering which lucky person would be able to pick this peerless fairy flower tonight.
Meanwhile, back in the Chu residence, after seeing Ji Dengtu off, Zu An returned to his room and began meditating and cultivating. In any case, Qin Wanru was guarding Chu Chuyan's side, so he couldn't go over there anyway.
I had just sat down when there was a knock on the door: "Grandpa, is Grandpa home?"
Zu An was taken aback. The voice sounded familiar. After a moment's thought, he remembered that it was Chu Yucheng, the son of the third branch of the family. He had met him during the family competition with the Yuan family and had also seen him a few times at the Chu residence. However, the two sides did not have any contact at that time.
"What does this guy want from me?" Zu An wondered. He got up to open the door and, sure enough, a chubby boy who looked like a ball was standing at the door with a smile.
Her eyes were almost as narrow as slits.
Zuan dared not underestimate him in the slightest. In the clan competition, this guy was like a small tank, his fat body serving as the best meat shield, leaving his opponents with no chance to fight back.
Even more surprisingly, there was another person standing next to him, arms crossed, holding a sword with a cold expression. It was Chu Hongcai, the son of the second wife.
"What do you two want with me?" Zu An asked curiously.
"Of course it's good news." Chu Yucheng came over and put his arm around his shoulder, a knowing smile on his face. "There's a courtesan competition at Shenxianju tonight, want to come along?"
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