The voice carried loudly into the room even before its owner came into view. It was none other than the matriarch of the Chu clan, Qin Wanru! As soon as she stepped into the room, she skewered Zu An with a furious glare.
You have successfully trolled Qin Wanru for 478 Rage points!
Zu An's heart nearly leaped out of his chest in fright. How did she know that I played truant so quickly? He spied Cheng Shouping hiding meekly behind her, and blood rushed to his head in anger.
This bastard! He sure knows how to tell on others!
"I don't want to go to the academy." Faced with Qin Wanru's murderous glare, Zu An could only buck up his courage and speak up for himself. If he wanted any rights in the Chu clan, he would have to fight for them... even if it seemed an impossible battle.
"That's not up to you to decide!" Qin Wanru bellowed. Her expression was enough to curdle his blood. "You had better be there tomorrow. I'll make sure someone is there to watch you. If you dare to pull something like this again, don't blame me for getting nasty!"
With a sharp exhale, Qin Wanru stormed out of the room. Furiously unwilling to let this transgression slide so easily, she turned back around and ordered, "Go to the Reflection Room and copy out our Chu clan's family rules a hundred times. I'll check on it, so you had better make sure that you don't miss out even a single word!"
"Family rules?" Zu An's face immediately darkened. He never thought that the common scene that was played out in countless historical dramas in his previous life would happen to him too!
Cheng Shouping giggled secretly, rejoicing over Zu An's bad luck. His actions did not escape Qin Wanru, and she turned on him with a frosty stare. "You have failed in your duties by allowing your master to play truant, yet you don't seem embarrassed by your actions at all! Since that's the case, I shall have you copy the family rules together with him!"
Cheng Shouping felt his jaw drop.
This was a total miscarriage of justice! He was merely an innocent bystander here!
Chu Huanzhao stuck out her tongue at Zu An and ran over to her mother's side. She pulled her mother's arm and said, "Mother, I reckon that my brother-in-law is just having difficulties trying to adapt to the academy. Give it a few days. I'm sure he'll do better."
"What did you call him?" Qin Wanru's frown emerged once more.
"B-brother-in-law…" Chu Huanzhao's face reddened. She was embarrassed because it was unseemly for her to have lost a bet against Zu An.
"How can this useless fellow be worthy of being your brother-in-law? You aren't to call him like that anymore, is that clear?" Qin Wanru glared at her daughter. She was reaching her boiling point, and yet her daughter still found ways to vex her even more.
"Orh~" Chu Huanzhao pulled a face at Zu An, as if to say it wasn't her decision not to uphold their contract. Her mother's edict meant she had no choice but to go against the terms of their bet.
Qin Wanru pulled her daughter out of the room behind her. "Come with me. Make sure not to hang out with people like that in the future. You'll only be led astray."
Watching Madam Chu depart, Zu An simply couldn't understand why that tigress allowed Chu Chuyan to bring him into the Chu clan, given her deep displeasure with him. Judging by her ferocity, it was no wonder why Chu Zhongtian had never taken in any concubines over the years. He sympathized with his father-in-law for having to spend his life with such a fierce creature.
At the same time, he wondered if Ji Dengtu had a masochistic streak in him. What in the world drove his interest in such a woman?
Old Mi's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "If you continue playing truant tomorrow, I'll break your legs." After saying his piece, he left the room too.
Zu An was terrified by Old Mi's pronouncement. The angry undercurrents permeating his tone left Zu An in no doubt that he would carry out his threat.
Once everyone was gone, Cheng Shouping burst out, "That old man must be out of his mind! How dare a mere gardener threaten our young master? Young master, you need not worry. I'll report this matter to Madam right away and have her teach Old Mi a lesson!"
Just as Cheng Shouping was about to make his escape, Zu An grabbed him by his collar and dragged him back into the room. "Looks like you're quite accustomed to making little reports to my mother-in-law, huh?"
Cheng Shouping fell to his knees and hugged Zu An's thighs. "Young master, you wrong me! I didn't see you coming out of the academy even after everyone else had been released, so I feared you were in danger. Thus, I ran all the way back to the Chu Estate to inform Madam, so that she could mount a rescue. My loyalty to you is like the unceasing flow of a river; the stars and the moon above can vouch for that!"
Zu An sneered. "So I should be thanking you for this, huh?"
Cheng Shouping immediately put on a fawning smile. "How can this humble one be worthy of young master's gratitude? I'll be satisfied as long as you're willing to quell your anger."
"Given your bootlicking skills, you should never have ended up in such a pitiful plight. Did you do something to offend my mother-in-law?" Zu An remembered how Madam Chu had ordered Cheng Shouping to copy the family rules as well. There seemed to be more to this story.
"Of course not! How could this humble one dare to offend Madam?" Cheng Shouping shook his head vehemently. "Back then, when I heard Madam telling Master that she was going to bring in some concubines for him, I immediately went around to find suitable women as candidates for the Madam. Given my loyalty, how could I possibly offend her?"
Zu An saw the truth immediately. Qin Wanru wasn't being serious, but you actually brought women back for her to choose. You should be glad that she didn't have her servants beat you to death on the spot!
"Young master, let's hurry to the Reflection Room to copy the family rules. Otherwise, Madam is going to punish us for disobeying her orders again," Cheng Shouping said bitterly.
"What are you in such a hurry for? It's merely the family rules. How long could it possibly take?" Zu An remembered how his teacher had punished him by making him copy down the classroom rules in his younger days. How difficult could it be to copy a couple of rules? With his writing speed, it would be a walk in the park!
If I have a computer here with me, I can easily copy it a thousand times even… Oh, wait a moment, there isn't any difference between copying it once and copying it a thousand times on the computer. I nearly forgot about the Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V functions.
I wonder if my keyboard will have similar functions in the future too.
While Zu An thought little of the punishment, he eventually caved in to Cheng Shouping's incessant pleading. With a deep sigh, he made his way toward the Reflection Room. After all, since Madam Chu was punishing him, the least he could do was to appear repentant.
The Reflection Room was a place where punishment was meted out to members of the Chu clan who had erred. They functioned like isolation cells in the prisons in his previous life, but looked much more welcoming.
"This room doesn't look as bad as I thought," Zu An murmured.
"Young master, let's get to work quickly. We won't be getting any sleep tonight otherwise," Cheng Shouping said tearfully.
"Isn't it just copying a hundred times? What's so hard about that?" Zu An rolled his eyes. This fellow really is a country bumpkin. In Zu An's previous world, there were books that contained ten million words or more!
"Where are the family rules?" Zu An looked through the bookshelves, but found nothing that related to them.
"It's all there." Cheng Shouping pointed to the wall. He looks so calm. He must be unaware of how huge a punishment this is.
Zu An turned his head to take a look. "Holy shit!"
A huge stone tablet stood against the wall, stretching from floor to ceiling. It was inscribed with many small characters. At a glance, it had to contain several thousand words.
What the hell! Why does the Chu clan need so many family rules? Are they just trying to make life difficult for the younger generations?
With a face verging on tears, Cheng Shouping passed paper and a brush to Zu An. "Young master, let's start now."
Zu An's eyes darted around as his mind worked. Finally, he turned to face Cheng Shouping. "Little Pingping, did you not declare your loyalty to me earlier?"
Cheng Shouping immediately puffed out his chest. "Of course! My loyalty to young master is unwavering, nothing can—"
Zu An spoke over him. "You don't need to say it out loud. You can prove your loyalty to me through your actions instead."
He pushed the paper and the brush back toward Cheng Shouping, and patted his shoulder. "I'll be counting on you."
Cheng Shouping's quizzical expression quickly turned to horror as the meaning of what Zu An said dawned on him. Looking at the stone tablet that was completely covered in words, he whined, "Young master, this won't do. I can't possibly copy all of it by myself!"
"A man should never say that something is beyond his capabilities," Zu An encouraged him. "Trust me, you can definitely do it."
Cheng Shouping looked ready to bawl his eyes out. Zu An had to find something better to motivate him with. He quickly racked his brains, and an idea came to mind. "As long as you copy the family rules in my stead, I'll create an opportunity for you to interact with Snow alone in the future."
"Is young master serious about this?" Cheng Shouping's eyes lit up.
Zu An nodded vigorously. "Of course! Just think about it. There are times when I would need some privacy together with my wife. Naturally, you'll be left alone with Snow."
Cheng Shouping was moved with emotion. Sniffing his snot back up his nostrils, he grabbed Zu An's hand tightly. "Young master, you really are the best to me!"
Zu An pulled his hand back quickly, his lip twisting in disgust. "Let's not get touchy here. All right, do your best then! I'm heading out for a walk."
Bringing up Snow reminded Zu An of Chu Chuyan's current absence. Since Snow was her personal maidservant, it was likely that she would be away as well. This was a golden opportunity to search her room. Hopefully he could find something pointing to the identity of the individuals who were out for his life.
Even though he was looked down upon in the Chu Estate, he was still the young master of the Chu clan. No one would dare to block his way.
He arrived at the courtyard outside Chu Chuyan's residence. Thankfully she valued a peaceful environment, and Snow was the only one waiting on her. This made it easier for him to sneak into her room.
He walked up to the door and tried to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. Just as he had expected, the room was locked.
"Who is she guarding against?" Zu An muttered. He would not let this minor obstacle stop him.
He scanned his surroundings. Sure that no one was around, he whipped out a black cloth and concealed his face. He couldn't afford to be caught sneaking into his wife's room—that would be too embarrassing!
He circled around the residence and found a window that faced a secluded area of the compound. He took out a dagger, slipped it through a crack in the window, and pushed the latch open.
"Heh, it doesn't take a genius to figure this out." Zu An smiled gleefully. The nifty tricks he'd seen in the historical dramas from his previous life really came in handy.
He pushed the window open and leaped in. The intoxicating fragrance of his wife immediately filled his lungs. Her scent was especially pleasant. It was just a pity that he couldn't touch her.
He was familiar with the layout of the place, having been here once before. He searched the study room quickly, but found nothing noteworthy, so he swiftly moved on to her bedroom.
He started off by searching around the bed. In the dramas he'd watched, there were usually secret knobs that triggered secret compartments in the bed.
Unfortunately, his examination did not reveal any secret compartments. He did, however, uncover a book hidden beneath a pillow. The title of the book was [Sweet Pampered Wife: Dominating Sword Immortal's Ninety-Nine Days of Searching For Love].
He remembered seeing Chu Chuyan secretly reading the book back in the carriage. Out of curiosity, he leafed through it. Its contents were strikingly similar to those female romance web novels in his previous life.
While flipping through the book, his eyes fell on an elegantly hand-written note in the margins of one of the pages. 'Love arises from nowhere, and it grows deeper and deeper…'
Zu An's mouth hung open. He hadn't expected that frosty-faced wife of his to have such a… such a youthful side to her.
"Tsk tsk tsk~" Zu An quickly and carefully replaced the book in its original position, and sighed in relief. If that woman were to find out that he had looked through this, she would surely skin him alive.
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