Zheng Dan’s face immediately turned red. There are so many people watching, why does this guy have to…?

She was willing to try anything with him in private, but she had nurtured the classy, elegant and refined image of the Zheng First Miss for over ten years. She desperately wished for a hole to squirm into and hide in.

Sang Qian’s face immediately went red as well, but it was from anger. He roared at Zu An, “You bastard! You’re going too far!”

If not for the bars of the prison carriage obstructing his way, he would have already leapt out to take Zu An’s life.

You have successfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

Zu An had an innocent look on his face. “I was just offering a suggestion to help everyone out and save us some time. What’s wrong, is young master Sang scared of going to the capital? I feel no fear even though I’ve offended the emperor, so why is young master Sang so scared? As a man, you really shouldn’t be so cowardly all the time.”

“No way! I’m not! I’m…” Sang Qian was about to faint from anger. Was this what he was getting upset about? It was clearly because this bastard had teased his wife in front of his face!

But he was too worked up right now, and his thoughts were all over the place. It was hard for him to even formulate what he wanted to say.

You have successfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

“Enough, enough! Qian’er, you’re no match for him. Stop quarreling with him already.” Seeing his son being toyed with like this had given Sang Hong a huge headache. He immediately stopped his son from arguing further.

King Liang snorted. “Switch the criminal’s wife with Sang Hong. We’ll keep him and Zu An in here.”

There was no way he would let Zu An and Zheng Dan stay together.

Sang Qian’s eyes immediately lit up when he saw that Zheng Dan was going to be in the same carriage as him. His anger immediately turned to joy. “Let’s do that!”

Sang Hong’s face darkened. Is this how badly you want to leave your father?

Zheng Dan’s face paled when she heard these arrangements. She buried her head in her arms.

Zu An obviously didn’t want to see this happen. “Respected king, I really cannot understand your choice. Are you really going to place a newly wed bride and groom together in the same carriage? Do you want to give them a chance to consummate their marriage? They’re both so young and vigorous, what if sparks suddenly fly? Are you doing this for the Imperial Guard to enjoy?”

King Liang was stunned. He seemed to realize that this was slightly inappropriate as well. “Then…”

As soon as his eyes shifted to Sang Hong, Zu An said, “It’s even more improper to put Miss Zheng with Sir Sang. Who leaves a father-in-law and new bride in a room together? If some gossip gets out, it won’t be good for your reputation, respected king!”

King Liang was so angry that he felt like laughing instead. “Does that mean I should be putting you and Miss Zheng in the same carriage?”

Zu An nodded. “Of course! I am an outsider to begin with, so no one has to worry about anything weird happening. Moreover, I am Miss Zheng’s teacher at the academy, and we have shared a classroom in the past. No one will find this strange. Miss Zheng is also known for her composure and grace, so there’s no way she would allow me to disrespect her in any way. Lastly, we’re all sealed up, and there are so many eyes everywhere. What can go wrong?”

“This…” King Liang slowly fell silent. What this fellow said wasn’t completely unreasonable.

Sang Qian immediately panicked. “No way! Definitely not…”

Zu An cut him off before he even finished his sentence. “What’s wrong? Do you not trust Miss Zheng’s character? Perhaps you believe that she will do something with another man in front of everyone else’s eyes?”

Sang Qian was hard-pressed. “My wife is as clear and pure as ice, and as flawless as the finest white jade! Of course I trust her! But…”

Again, Zu An cut him off. “Are you questioning King Liang’s integrity, then? Do you think he’ll shield me if I do something bad as a way to spite the father and son of the Sang clan?”

Sang Qian immediately waved his hands frantically when he saw King Liang’s unkind gaze shift to him. “Not at all! How would I dare to doubt the respected king? It’s just that…”

Zu An promptly cut him off a third time. “Respected king, since young master Sang agrees to my suggestion, how about we just do things this way?”

Sang Qian was about to blow his top and say something else, but his father pulled him down. “Sit.”

“But…” Sang Qian was really panicking now.

Sang Hong said coldly, “Do you think King Liang is stupid? He won’t make that kind of arrangement. Zu An is just messing with you! Please don't turn yourself into a laughingstock. You’re embarrassing our Sang clan!”

King Liang was still hesitant. Even though putting Zheng Dan together with either Sang Qian or Sang Hong was somewhat inappropriate, putting her together with Zu An was equally inappropriate!

Zu An said in a hushed tone, “Respected king, do you think I would do something as dangerous as keeping the original copy of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra on me?”

“Of course not,” King Liang replied subconsciously. The Embroidered Envoy had already searched his body, after all, and found nothing.

“No one would keep something so precious on them, right? For the sake of my own safety, I’ve memorized all of it in my head, and then destroyed the original,” Zu An said with a chuckle.

King Liang grunted. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

He understood his own position well enough. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra wasn’t something he should have any thoughts about. Once he handed this fellow over to the emperor, his job would be done.

As for how the emperor was going to get this secret manual out of his mouth, that was none of his business.

Zu An chuckled. “I just wanted to remind you that sometimes, if someone becomes agitated, unhappy, or experiences other such negative emotions, it might affect their mood. If their mood is affected, it might cause them to misremember things, or even forget them altogether. Once this reaches the emperor…”

King Liang’s expression changed instantly. He knew what Zu An was trying to say. He snorted and said, “Lock Zu An up in this prison carriage. We’ve already wasted enough time. We are setting out immediately!”

Sang Qian was incredulous. He couldn’t believe his ears!

Sang Hong’s jaw fell open as well.

Sang Qian couldn’t help but look at his father, “Dad, didn’t you say that it wouldn’t end up like this?”

Sang Hong’s face went red. “I have no idea why this is happening either! What the hell is King Liang planning?”

Sang Qian was about to say something else, but King Liang’s subordinates had already received their instructions. They sealed up the vocal acupoints of both father and son so that they could no longer speak.

Sang Hong frowned. He stared at King Liang with eyes full of resentment.

Zu An smiled at Zheng Dan when he entered the carriage. Zheng Dan’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately picked up her dress and moved over to the other side of the carriage, staying as far away from him as possible.

Her actions drew praise from everyone else present. “Miss Zheng really is the role-model for all distinguished daughters. She still maintains her distance from other men even in this sort of situation.”

When he heard this, Sang Qian’s expression finally eased a little.

“Ah Zu!” Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru rushed over. They clearly found it hard to accept this reality.

Zu An waved his hand. “Master, Madam, please do not feel bad. Who knows, I might even reunite with you all soon.”

Qin Wanru couldn’t hold back a snort. “Are you cursing us to die?”

After all, in most people’s eyes, Zu An seemed doomed.

Zu An chuckled. “Of course not! Right, there’s still one more thing. Once Chuyan comes back, tell her not to remarry so quickly! I still plan on coming back and marrying her again!”

The husband and wife pair of the Chu clan knew that Zu An had already made a clean escape, yet he had revealed himself because he wanted to save the Chu clan. Tears welled up in their eyes. Qin Wanru said, “If you manage to return, then we will definitely marry Chuyan off to you again.”

Zu An then said, “Oh yeah, don’t marry Huanzhao off too early either. Once I get back…”

When he saw Qin Wanru’s brows stand up vertically, he hurriedly said, “When I come back, I’ll need to vet her suitors to make sure she has a decent one! Haha… ha…”

Qin Wanru’s tears turned to laughter. “Brat, you’re always so indecent.”

However, she knew that there was no chance of him returning. He was saying this just to console them.

She felt horrible inside. She continuously wiped away her tears.

Chu Zhongtian sighed again and again. His face was clouded with worry.

“Master, Madam, are we really going to let the young master be brought away like this?” Yue Shan had silently arrived by their side. With him were others who were also furious at this injustice, including Cheng Shouping, Jiao Shan, and others.

Chu Zhongtian sighed. “We cannot risk the lives of everyone else in the clan. Ah Zu has sacrificed himself for us, so we should all treasure our lives.”

Everyone in the Chu clan was saddened when they heard this. Even Chu Hongcai, who was still resentful over his father’s death, let his grudge go completely. He didn't think he could have been as courageous, if he were in Zu An’s shoes.

Qin Wanru said, “Don’t worry, we will try to save Ah Zu. The Chu clan has a little influence in the capital as well.”

Even though this was what she said, she knew that hope was already beyond fleeting.