Time Travel: The Noble Family-Chapter 1386 - 568: The Matter Settled
An Zhichen brought Yueyao into the palace to directly face the Emperor.
An Zhichen did not hide anything from the Emperor, explaining everything in detail, and voluntarily took the blame afterward, as Zhou Shu had offended the Imperial Court, and he had made decisions privately which were improper.
The Emperor did not care much about Zhou Shu, seeing An Zhichen being so sensible, he didn’t say much. He just looked at Yueyao and said: "Come back to the palace in three days." This time, the Emperor wanted Yueyao to paint for him.
Yueyao dared not say a word of objection, and naturally agreed.
On the way home, Yueyao felt completely relaxed. The sword hanging over her heart was finally gone, how could she not feel relieved?
When all these matters were settled, Yueyao couldn’t help but ask An Zhichen: "Isn’t Big Brother Zhuo in the military camp? How did Zhou Shu manage to capture him?" Even if Zhou Shu had magical abilities, if An Zhizhuo was in camp, he couldn’t have caught him. The problem was most likely with An Zhizhuo himself.
An Zhichen heard this and his face turned unpleasant: "Brother Zhuo fell for a woman, and then Zhou Shu exploited the situation." He hadn’t known earlier that Zhou Shu was behind it.
Yueyao became increasingly perplexed. If he was in love, why not just marry her, why would Zhou Shu exploit the situation: "What is the woman’s status?"
An Zhichen’s face soured: "This brothel woman resembles my late sister-in-law by about seventy to eighty percent. Brother Zhuo wanted to take her as a concubine, but Elder Uncle refused." If he had kept her by his side, Elder Uncle might not have said anything, but Brother Zhuo wanted to seriously hold a feast.
Yueyao felt An Zhizhuo was rational: "Why did Second Paternal Great-uncle not allow it? Just taking her as a concubine and not as a wife?" Having a concubine might not be ideal, but it’s definitely not the main wife, even having a feast doesn’t really matter.
An Zhichen said: "The matter isn’t that simple." If An Zhizhuo had offspring, he could marry a concubine, in fact, even if An Zhizhuo didn’t marry, Second Old Grand Master probably wouldn’t care. The problem now is An Zhizhuo has no children under him, not even one boy or girl. Taking this woman as a concubine, who would later marry a good family’s daughter to him? No family would accept their daughter being called sister with a brothel woman. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Yueyao thought for a long time and then said: "This matter, we can’t really intervene." Tingzheng is her own brother, and she can’t even manage him, let alone when it’s so distantly related.
An Zhichen looked at Yueyao, shook his head, and said: "If this woman were a prostitute, it would be fine, but this woman..." If she still had her chastity, An Zhichen could help persuade Second Paternal Great-uncle. After all, having a woman that Brother Zhuo accepted is extremely rare, but nobody knows how many clients this woman has served. If it’s just about taking her as a concubine, it wouldn’t matter, but the problem is, what if she has a child? How would the child find a place in society in the future? Not just the An Family’s Second Old Grand Master, but the whole An Family Clan wouldn’t agree.
Yueyao opened her mouth but said nothing more.
An Zhichen considered the issue very tricky; he knew An Zhizhuo’s temperament well. He’s as stubborn as a mule, once he makes up his mind he won’t stop until he achieves his goal. But this stubbornness would only cause distress for Second Paternal Great-uncle.
Yueyao didn’t know what to say either. In matters like these, she felt it was best to stay out of it. But little did Yueyao expect that in the end, she couldn’t stay out of it.
An Zhichen thought of Zhou Shu now on his way to Haikou, and asked, "Yueyao, do you think he really won’t return to the mainland?"
Yueyao thought for a bit and said: "I don’t think he’s lying about this. He came this time just to see me once, trying to rid himself of nightmares. Seeing how he caught Brother Zhuo after so much painstaking effort shows he’s someone who cherishes life, and the mainland is extremely dangerous for him, he wouldn’t dare to risk it again."
An Zhichen thought about how the couple had been living in fear during this period and was filled with anger inside. But they also had weaknesses being held by Zhou Shu, letting him go like this left him really unwilling. He originally wanted to catch Zhou Shu and kill him brutally. However, through this contest, deep down An Zhichen couldn’t help but admire Zhou Shu, the man’s guts and ruthless tactics.
Yueyao understood An Zhichen’s unwillingness and comforted him: "Our family’s safety is more important than anything else." Zhou Shu kidnapping her was indeed hateful, but since Zhou Shu wouldn’t appear again, the matter has passed, no need to dwell on it.
An Zhichen responded with a sound, but his mind shifted. Although the Emperor had appointed the Ninth Prince as Crown Prince, he hadn’t weakened the Seventh Prince’s power. An Zhichen knew the Emperor was playing a balancing act, but the officials below suffered, and this time it was an unwarranted disaster for him. Yet he didn’t want to tell Yueyao about these matters to avoid making her worry.
