A faint blush appeared on Murong Qinghe's wheat-colored skin as she hurriedly explained, "No, it's not that. My grandfather wanted to host a banquet tonight and invited you and Duke Wei to his residence for a chat. I happened to be free, so I took on the task."
Qin Zheng, the eldest son of the Qin family, is the Duke of Cheng, while Qin Se, the second son of the Qin family, is the Duke of Wei. With two dukes in one family and holding military power at the same time, one can see how glorious the Qin family is now.
The title of Duke is the highest rank among dukes. For example, Chu Zhongtian's Duke of Mingyue is one rank lower. However, the Chu family has actual fiefdoms and armies, so their actual power is much greater than that of ordinary dukes, and they are almost comparable to Dukes of the State.
Zu An stopped Murong Qinghe from covering up his misunderstanding and curled his lip. Who are you trying to fool? You kept glancing at Chu Youzhao while you were talking. Who can't see your purpose?
Does the Qin family head know that Chu Youzhao is disguised as a man? If he does know but doesn't say anything, causing Miss Murong to fall deeply in love, it's a bit of a betrayal.
Qin Zheng nodded upon hearing this: "Yes, my second brother and I will definitely be at the banquet on time tonight."
He naturally knew why Murong had invited him this time, and thinking of this, he subconsciously glanced at Zu An, and his anger surged up.
Originally, the situation was very favorable for King Qi in the struggle between King Qi and the Crown Prince. However, this unexpected turn of events has caused the King Qi group to suffer heavy losses during this period, and now they have even lost the important position of Commandant of the Capital Region!
Qin Zheng's anger level increased by 724!
Seeing the anger points received in the backend, Zu An couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. He could roughly guess what the reason was, but was this my fault? I'm a victim too. This trip to find Chu Chuyan is probably destined to be anything but smooth.
At this moment, Chu Youzhao hurriedly said, "Grandpa, my brother-in-law still has something to ask you."
"Brother-in-law?" Qin Zheng frowned. "What brother-in-law did you get?"
Before Chu Youzhao could grasp the situation, she hurriedly introduced Zu An: "Zu An, this is my eldest sister's husband..."
Before she could finish speaking, Qin Zheng interrupted her: "The Chu family has already written a letter of divorce and terminated the engagement with him. What relationship does your sister have with him now?"
Chu Youzhao was speechless for a moment, and strictly speaking, it seemed to be true.
Zu An frowned, but before he could speak, Qin Zheng spoke again: "Young Master Zu, I heard that you presented the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra' to the Emperor, so you were given the title of Phoenix Man?"
Although his tone was polite, there was a clear sense of distance in it.
However, since he was Chu Chuyan's maternal grandfather, he could only patiently reply, "That's right, I did present the scriptures to the Emperor earlier."
Qin Zheng stared intently at him: "Is there really a way to achieve immortality?"
Zuan said calmly, "If you believe, it exists; if you don't believe, it doesn't."
"If there truly were a way to achieve immortality, why would the Emperor spare your life?" Qin Zheng sneered.
Zu An retorted, "Is the Duke of Cheng questioning the Emperor's stinginess and cruelty?"
Qin Zheng's breath hitched. She hadn't expected to make such a mistake in her haste: "Of course that's not what I meant. It's just that as the ruler of a country, His Majesty cannot be judged by the moral standards of ordinary people. He has to consider the future of the empire, so it's only right that he does certain things."
Zu'an replied, "His Majesty has read the scriptures and believes that although the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture is beneficial to cultivation, it cannot lead to immortality, so he spared me."
This was also the result of his discussion with the emperor. After all, bearing the title of immortality would be a huge trouble for him. He would have a headache dealing with all sorts of flies, let alone have the energy to complete the mission.
"That makes sense." Qin Zheng nodded secretly. If immortality were truly possible, there would be no reason for the emperor to let him go. Moreover, the fact that he was only granted the lowest rank of baron proves that what he offered was not particularly valuable.
In fact, the news that came from the palace before showed this point. The emperor even announced that anyone who dared to talk about immortality would be executed.
But could this be a deliberate cover-up by the Emperor? I need to discuss this with Murong and the others tonight.
Seeing Qin Zheng's ever-changing expression, Zu An couldn't help but admire the emperor's brilliant move. Clearly, the mix of truth and deception had left these people bewildered, leading to all sorts of wild guesses.
Zu An coughed lightly and explained his purpose: "I have come here to take Chu Yan home."
Having answered the other party's questions and demonstrated sincerity, it's now the Qin family's turn.
"Go home?" Qin Zheng's face darkened. "You and Chu Yan have nothing to do with each other anymore. What's the point of taking her home? Besides, this is her home."
Zu An's voice also turned cold: "If I remember correctly, the Duke of Chengguo severed his father-daughter relationship with Chu Yan's mother a long time ago. Strictly speaking, you two have no relationship at all, so how can this be considered her home?"
"You!" Qin Zheng was furious. As a high-ranking official in charge of military power, when had anyone ever dared to speak to him like that?
Qin Zheng's anger level increased by 999!
Zu An remained expressionless. He had even managed to withstand the Emperor's attacks. No matter how capable Qin Zheng was, could she compare to the Emperor?
"Grandpa, don't be angry," Chu Youzhao said anxiously, trying to mediate between the two. "Brother-in-law, you don't know, but Grandpa has taken good care of us siblings all these years."
Qin Zheng snorted: "My daughter and I are not matters for outsiders to interfere with. Besides, no matter what, we are still bound by blood, which is different from what you are going through."
Zuan replied, "If you truly consider her family, why would you imprison her here like a prisoner? Can this still be considered home?"
"You!" Qin Zheng almost laughed in anger. Why did you put Chu Yan under house arrest? Don't you have any self-awareness? It's because you're worried she'll get involved in your affairs and do something stupid.
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