No wonder King Wu hadn’t chosen any other daughters with distinguished backgrounds, but insisted on marrying the daughter of a third-rate clan.

“Who cares how pretty she is? It’s not as though she’ll ever be mine, anyway.” Compared to the others, Zu An was rather calm.

King Wu turned around and looked in his direction. His slender brows came together slightly in a frown, although it was unclear if it was because of what Zu An had said.

The surrounding imperial guards also turned angry looks upon him, but they did not know what to retort with. After all, it was true that their fates would never intersect with hers in this lifetime.

Would King Wu’s wife ever care about a nobody like you, though?

You have successfully trolled the Imperial Guard for 66… 66… 66…

“Stupid skirt-chaser! You’re being rude to this beauty.” Zheng Dan snorted angrily, without bothering to be polite. Everyone had seen how she’d been bullied the whole way here, and her anger was understandable.

Zu An had a helpless look on his face. “Am I wrong, though?”

“Thank goodness King Wu is magnanimous, and holds no grudge against you. If you really managed to offend King Wu, you’d die without even knowing how.” It looked as though Zheng Dan was scolding him, but she was actually warning him off, and advising him to curry favor while he was in someone else’s territory.

Zu An showed no intention of giving a damn. “Who cares? I’ve even offended the emperor himself. Do you think I’ll care about someone small like King Wu?”

Zheng Dan had no words for him.

This guy really didn’t seem to care anymore.

However, what he said did make some sense. Since he’d already offended the emperor, offending King Wu didn’t really make a difference.

King Wu was full of apologies. He said to King Liang and the others, “I am truly sorry. My condition is quite poor, and I’ve ended up making a fool of myself.”

He didn’t even give a single look in Zu An’s direction. It was as if he hadn’t even heard what he’d said.

Zheng Dan couldn’t help but nudge Zu An. “Look at how open-minded he is.”

“Open-minded?” Zu An had a pondering expression on his face, because he’d received a system notification.

You have successfully trolled Zhao Yan for 458 Rage points!

This fellow really is good at putting on an act! He’s nothing like me. Look how frank and honest I am!

King Liang said, “Since Little Yan is not doing so well, please, head back in and get some rest. We can take care of the matters here.”

King Wu shook his head. “An assassination has taken place here. It was this humble king’s shortcomings that allowed something like this to happen. How can I wash my hands of this?”

Seeing that he was taking the initiative to bear the responsibility, King Liang and Liu Yao didn’t feel comfortable heaping further blame on him. They both said, “What are you saying? We’ve already found out that the assassin is a Dark Elf. It’s extremely difficult to detect one if they decide to infiltrate, no matter how tight security is.”

Zu An could barely hide his disdain. These guys were clearly pointing fingers not too long ago and criticizing his subordinate. Now that the master himself has come, they instead act as though they’re all one happy family? Just how two-faced can you get?

After some more small talk, King Liang finally said, “Since your condition is poor, let’s not remain outside like this. We’ll follow you back to your manor first.”

“Indeed, indeed. It was I who was negligent.” King Wu laughed. “This way. Oh, right! Yu Qing, come here and greet your great uncles.”

Madam Wu walked over in a stately manner, a gentle smile painting her lips. “Yu Qing greets my great uncles.”

Her gracefulness left both the boorish members of the Imperial Guard, as well as the two old men, King Liang and Liu Yao, in a daze.

King Liang was the first to snap out of it. He coughed to hide his awkwardness. “I’ve heard that my great nephew's wife was outstanding, but those rumors are nothing compared to the person herself! Little Yan is really lucky to have a wise and gentle wife like you.”

Madam Wu smiled sweetly. “Great uncle is too kind with your praise.”

While they were talking among themselves, Zu An asked Zheng Dan out of curiosity, “By the way, what clan did this Madam Wu come from again?”

“I believe she’s from Northland Commandery’s Yun clan. The Yun clan cannot be considered a great clan even locally, let alone the rest of the world.” Zheng Dan’s expression took on a gloomy hue. In terms of family background, the Yun clan might even be inferior to Brightmoon City’s Zheng clan.[1]

Brightmoon City was much more prosperous than Northland Commandery, after all. However, since the Yun clan had married well, their prospects for the future were endless, while the Zheng clan was already in an imminent crisis. Sigh. All matters lie at the mercy of the whims of fate.

Zu An remembered Shang Liuyu mentioning the Northland Commandery in one of her extracurricular classes on the geography of the world. This was the northernmost region of the Zhou Dynasty. It was in a state of constant warfare, and could be considered to be the front line of the war against the foreign tribes. They were rough and tough folk, and it was unexpected that such a place could produce a gentle and refined girl like that.

Wait, her family name is Yun?

Didn’t that mean that her name was Yun Yuqing? He wondered if there was anyone named Jia Baoyu in this world.

After exchanging a few more words, their party quickly made their way towards King Wu’s manor.

King Wu explained the local customs and traditions of North Order Commandery to Liu Yao and King Liang along the way, sparing an occasional nod for Huang Huihong.

The Embroidered Envoy enjoyed a special status, after all. They were the emperor’s personal force! If a king like him was seen interacting with them too closely, he might be accused of scheming against the imperial palace. That would be a huge offence!

Madam Wu walked by his side, smiling gently all the way. Her eyes were always on King Wu, her expression full of love. This was something that everyone could sense.

The imperial guards were all envious of King Wu. He had actually managed to find such a perfect wife!

Some of them even tried to picture themselves in King Wu’s place.

However, they quickly abandoned these fantasies. King Wu was a glorious descendant of the emperor, while they were just mere soldiers. There was no comparison at all!

“Madam Wu really loves King Wu,” Zheng Dan said with a sigh. There was a melancholy expression on her face, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

Zu An was not inclined to agree. “How can you be so sure?”

“There’s no way that loving gaze of hers is fake!” Zheng Dan replied.

“Not necessarily. This seems like the sort of look that women can easily pull off.” Zu An thought back to those female stars of the variety shows in his previous world. They might not have been that great at acting, but if they wanted to flirt with a man, their expressions truly were convincing enough to make one’s entire body go limp.

That was why he refused to believe that the way in which a girl looked at you could represent true love.

“Hmph! You just refuse to believe that they can be happy together!” Zheng Dan said angrily.

It wasn’t only her. Even his Embroidered Envoy escorts glanced over at him with unhappy expressions.

“What are you all looking at? You’re not part of the married couple in question. Did you guys let your fantasies run too far?” Zu An snorted. He pulled the curtains down roughly.

You have successfully trolled Huang Huihong for 220 Rage points!

You have successfully trolled the Embroidered Envoy for 111… 111… 111…

If this kid wasn’t so important, we would have already kicked his ass today!

After they arrived at the Wu Manor, the Imperial Guard settled into a nearby military drill ground, which was already equipped with barracks and other required rooms.

King Wu himself invited King Liang and the others into the manor for a banquet. They invited Huang Huihong as well, but he refused. The Embroidered Envoy needed to guard Zu An. There were to be no more slip-ups.

“It is still a long way to the capital. There’s no way you can remain so tense all the way. Could it be that Commander Huang does not trust our Wu Manor’s defenses?” King Wu said with a laugh.

Madam Wu smiled at King Liang and said, “Great Uncle, help us convince him as well! If they remain outside the manor and guard the criminal on their own, we might not be able to provide them with timely aid in case of a sneak attack!”

King Liang grunted and said, “Indeed. Let’s all go inside the manor then. That gives us all a chance to promptly deal with any matters that may arise.”

The arguments made sense to Huang Huihong as well. Besides, he couldn’t bear to refuse someone as stunning as Madam Wu. “All right, then. However, we will not drink wine. It will be enough for us to trouble King and Madam Wu to bring us some food.”

“But of course!” Madam Wu smiled. She and King Wu exchanged a look, full of strange and mysterious intent.

1. Take note that Northland Commandery is not the same region as North Order Commandery.