Chapter 1947: Bargaining Chip
The assassin who had just broken through the rear mountain’s gates had a fair and graceful body. She was clearly a woman. On top of that, her cultivation wasn’t bad, and she always made use of her speed or wits to shake off her pursuers. However, there were formations everywhere across the rear mountain, so she was still captured in the end.
The reason for Zu An’s shock was that the woman was actually Madam Dai, Meng Chan! He had just received news that she broke out of prison a few days prior. Why hadn’t she used that chance to get away from the capital, instead running all the way here? Wasn’t she just walking directly toward her demise?
…
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, Meng Chan was in terrible condition. Her aptitude had always been excellent, the best among her peers. That was why she had been able to break into the rear mountain. Unfortunately, the defenses inside were too strict, with formations everywhere that she had accidentally set off. Even though she was able to rely on her clan treasures to avoid being trapped by those formations, the commotion created was like a beacon that guided the guards to her.
On several occasions, she had managed to break out of their encirclement with great difficulty, only to be surrounded yet again. When she saw the guards surrounding her from all directions, Meng Chan finally sank into despair. She had already done everything she could, and had nothing left. When she thought of that, she threw her own weapon to the ground, saying, “I came to meet your libationer. Bring me to see him!”
However, no one responded to her. After all, anyone who would barge into Royal Academy’s rear mountain, a heavily restricted area, had to be an enemy. Of course, the guards were also a bit surprised. They hadn’t expected the one who trespassed to be such a beautiful woman. Her outfit emphasized stealth, but also perfectly outlined her figure.
When she saw the guards point their spears at her, Meng Chan was certain that as long as one of them acted on impulse, the others would immediately stab her. She didn’t even dare to state her identity as King Dai’s wife. She was already a fugitive now, after all. If others found out and arrested her, they would immediately send her back, resulting in even less chances of her seeing that person.
“Libationer, regent, I want to meet with you!” she helplessly shouted at the mountaintop. She knew that there was no way her voice would be able to reach across such a huge distance, but there was nothing else she could do.
Can it be that I, Meng Chan, who has always flaunted myself as a beautiful and intelligent woman, am only destined to fall here?
She fell into deep despair. However, after a while, she suddenly sensed that something was strange. She noticed that the guards had all disappeared, and standing in their place was a tall and handsome man. She was a bit stunned; it was precisely this man who had descended upon her clan manor like a demonic deity. Countless Meng clan experts had perished at his hands. The Meng clan had quickly gone from extreme joy at seeing his attack to absolute ruin.
“You wanted to meet with me?” Zu An asked in confusion. He really couldn't understand what this woman wanted.
Meng Chan took a deep breath to calm all the complicated emotions that were stirring within her, then said, “That’s right. I previously sent a maid to contact you, but you refused. I had no choice but to seek you out myself.” Under the moonlight, her body was completely wrapped within her black outfit, and only her blushing white face was exposed. It only made her look more beautiful, though.
Zu An couldn't help but feel that the whole situation was a bit absurd. In the end, this woman had only broken out of her imprisonment to meet him?
“I just felt that there wasn’t much for the two of us to talk about,” Zu An said indifferently. “Besides, now that you’ve come to me, it means you won’t be able to escape any longer.”
“I never planned to escape again after coming here in the first place,” Meng Chan said. Her chest, which had been rising and falling intensely, slowly calmed.
“Are you thinking of getting revenge? Your cultivation is at the peak among your peers, but it's still too far from mine. I won’t give you the chance to leave and plan for future revenge either,” Zu An said, not wanting to release a tiger that could come back to bite him. Previously, he hadn’t bothered wasting any more effort on her. However, now that she had even come all the way here, he’d have to have lost his mind if he let her go again. He had seen too many movies in the past where, because the villain felt as if the main character was too weak, they had let that person go. Later, however, the main character had grown up and killed them instead….
Pah pah pah! I’m not the villain!
Meng Chan shook her head and said, “I didn’t come to get revenge, nor do I dare to have any thoughts of revenge. I only came to propose a deal with you.”
Sigh, what do you mean, at the peak among my peers? Aren’t you also the same age as me?
“A deal?” Zu An replied, his tone carrying a hint of mockery. “I killed your father.” He refused to believe that Meng Chan would really sincerely carry out a deal when there was such a blood grudge between them. Besides, he didn’t think she had anything he needed.
“The living will always be more important than the deceased,” Meng Chan said, her expression remaining extremely calm. She carefully observed Zu An’s expression while talking. When she saw that he didn’t believe her, she could only say, “Regent, perhaps it might be because you grew up in Brightmoon City, but you do not understand the conduct and behavior of people here in the capital. People like us, as long as we are the rational sort, only care about future interests and not personal grudges. No grudge is worth mentioning compared to the future prospects of one's clan.”
“Even if that person was the one who killed your father?” Zu An asked coldly.
“That’s right,” Meng Chan replied confidently. “Murder of one's father, theft of one's wife... For ordinary people, those might be absolutely irreconcilable grudges, but for us, those things are not so important. Of course, that depends on the premise that there is enough to gain.”
Zu An was a bit stunned. In the past, both Sang Qien and Zheng Dan had always put their clan’s interests above all. They had even gone as far as sacrificing their own happiness. That was the case for the women of the other great clans too. He snapped out of his daze long enoguh to reply, “Enough to gain? I can guess your intentions for coming here, and I can indeed provide you with enough benefits. But unfortunately, there's no way you could have anything of interest to me.”
This woman’s objective was clearly based on the fact that, even though the Meng clan and King Dai’s families were greatly damaged, their roots still remained. As long as the court pardoned them, they would still have a chance of recovering after another hundred years. They would still have their place in the capital too. However, if things continued according to the empress’ previous decree, their clans would truly be done for. The men would be conscripted, and the women would become servants. Some of the most influential clans would truly completely vanish from the world.
“No, I definitely have something you would be interested in!” Meng Chan replied. Her eyes shone brilliantly; she was clearly extremely confident.
Zu An frowned and said, “Let’s hear it.” He was also a bit curious now. This woman was intelligent, so she definitely understood the consequences of trying to swindle him. Just what was it that allowed her to still be so full of self-confidence even now?
Meng Chan’s red lips opened slightly. After some hesitation, she asked, “This matter is of utmost importance, so could we talk about it in detail in the libationer’s house?” When she saw him frown slightly, she couldn't help but say with a helpless chuckle, “The libationer’s cultivation is too powerful, so you wouldn’t think that a weak woman like me could actually injure you, right?”
“There's no need to taunt me.” Zu An harrumphed. “If I find out that you're deceiving me, I believe you understand the price you'll have to pay.”
He turned around and walked up the mountain. Meng Chan was overjoyed and quickly followed behind. Even so, Zu An only took a slow step, and yet his body instantly appeared midway up the mountain. She was shocked and alarmed; shocked at his unfathomable cultivation, but alarmed because there was no way she could keep up. There were countless formations on the mountain, many of which she'd had a taste of herself earlier.
While she was at a loss for what to do, a gentle force swept over her, and she felt as if she were being swept up toward the clouds. When she snapped out of her daze, she discovered that she was already outside the courtyard at the mountaintop. She sighed inwardly. She didn’t even see how Zu An had done such a thing.
He's clearly so young and about the same age as myself, so just how did he cultivate to his current level?
Zu An pushed open the door, and Meng Chan quickly followed. Zu An stood in front of the window with his back to her as he looked at the moon, remarking, “The moon really is beautiful today…”
He then added, “You can speak now."
When she saw how Zu An exposed his back to her without any reservations, Meng Chan didn’t dare to have even the slightest thought of carrying out an assassination. She took a deep breath, then slowly said, “In the past, Bi Qi was the one in charge of the former dynasty’s imperial grandson.”
Zu An frowned. He coldly asked, “What does that have to do with me?”
Meng Chan replied, “While I was running and hiding over the past few days, I heard some rumors by the bridge. The regent seems to be the imperial grandson of the former dynasty.”
Zu An was surprised. He had been busy with pill concoction and cultivation, not hearing about the spread of that information. Just who could be responsible for those rumors? He harrumphed. “That’s nothing more than complete nonsense being spread in the markets. The Embroidered Envoy will find out the source. You aren’t going to try to use such groundless information as a bargaining chip, are you?”
Meng Chan paid close attention to his reaction the entire time. However, Zu An remained calm the entire time she was speaking, so she couldn't see anything either. She said, “Of course not. Please turn around and look at me, regent.”
Zu An used his divine sense and noticed that she had reached into her inner pockets, as if she was preparing to take something out. He turned around curiously.
However, Meng Chan actually undid her waistband. All of her clothes slid down her shoulders, exposing her spotlessly white, beautiful, and youthful body. Perhaps because of the night wind, or maybe because of her nervousness, her body trembled uncontrollably. Her breathing clearly quickened, and her fair white skin gradually turned faintly red.
Zu An looked at her calmly and said, “To be honest, I have heard quite a few rumors about you, and how you were an extremely intelligent woman. However, your actions have left me a bit disappointed today.”
Meng Chan bit her lip nervously. It even started turning a bit pale from the pressure. She was indeed good in many schemes, and those even included honey traps. Even so, that was only when she was the one making the strategies. The ones who carried them out were usually women who had been specially trained in the clan since they were little. This was the first time she had done such a thing herself, and sure enough, she'd messed up.
I guess this makes sense. I was the respected Madam Dai, the Meng clan’s precious daughter. I always lived at the peak of authority, so what kind of man would ever need me to use a honey trap on them myself? Besides, how could I possibly know how to seduce a man?
“If this was your bargaining chip, you can get lost now,” Zu An said in annoyance. What was this woman treating him as? Could it be that she thought of him as the type who would immediately give up everything else when they saw a beautiful woman? Meng Chan was quite pretty, but he already had so many beauties at his side, and all of them were devastatingly beautiful. Why would he be swayed by her?
“No, this isn’t my bargaining chip, but rather a gift. A gift as an offer of apology,” Meng Chan said. After her initial alarm, she also gradually calmed down. She continued, “Previously, King Dai and the Meng clan offended you too much, so your respected self must be full of anger. Meanwhile, as King Dai’s wife, as well as the daughter of the Meng clan, I can take your anger in their place.”
“That won't be necessary,” Zu An said, looking at her with a grave and stern expression. “if you still refuse to talk about your bargaining chip, you won’t have a chance to any longer.”
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