Caught Off Guard

Steward Su had hurried over from Anyuan County, covered in dust from the road. His old bones had been jolted about in the carriage for two days.

He had originally planned to set out with the eldest young master, but the An Family could not be left without someone in charge. As the person the old master had trusted most, he had been kept behind by An Ziran.

But only temporarily. Back then, Steward Su had been the witness to the marriage agreement between the two families. With him present, their case would be more convincing. That old man surely could not have forgotten Steward Su so easily.

"Eldest Young Master, the An Family's affairs have been settled. I've already instructed Steward Feng and the others, and Su Zi is helping keep watch as well. There shouldn't be any major problems." Steward Su took a sip of the tea Chunlan had poured. He looked rather weary. To avoid wasting time, he had barely rested these past two days, and the jolting carriage had made resting along the way impossible.

Seeing this, An Ziran said to Qiulan beside him, "Take Steward Su to rest. Anything else can wait until tomorrow."

That last sentence was directed at Steward Su.

Steward Su rubbed his temples. He truly was exhausted, so he did not object. After speaking to An Ziran, he left with Qiulan. A room had been reserved for him ever since they moved in, so he could move in without any preparation.

After the two left, An Ziran picked up a stack of account books from the table. They were exceedingly thick.

"Eldest Young Master, leave this sort of rough work to this servant." Chunlan hurriedly took the account books from his hands. She had always been stronger than most, and back in the An Family, she had done every kind of heavy work.

But ever since the eldest young master had stopped being fat, the more she looked at him, the more she felt he resembled a delicate young master. The baby fat on his face also made him especially adorable. He had still been losing weight lately, but she actually thought he was fine as he was. Unfortunately, she was only a servant; she could think it in her heart, but she did not dare say it aloud.

An Ziran's gaze settled on Chunlan's face. There was a resilient firmness in her expression, along with a brilliant smile free of the slightest impurity. He could not help but laugh. These account books had been brought from the An Family by Steward Su and were extremely important. Ordinarily, outsiders were not allowed to touch them, but being single-minded was not entirely a bad thing either.

When Chunlan turned around, she caught that fleeting smile at the corner of the eldest young master's lips and froze. Had she just seen something extraordinary? The eldest young master was smiling?

"Let's go to the study." An Ziran walked out first.

Chunlan finally came back to herself. Her cheeks had already been dyed with rosy clouds, and she lowered her head as she hurried after him.

The next day, there was news regarding the matter An Ziran had asked someone to investigate. The person he had hired was a local loafer named Liu Er. People like him were usually well-informed, and for this, An Ziran had spent five taels of silver.

Seeing that An Ziran was generous with his money, Liu Er became much more efficient. Aside from matters that could not be inquired into, he had found out nearly everything An Ziran wanted to know.

They arranged to meet at a teahouse.

An Yuzhi's face flushed crimson. She had waited in the hall early in the morning. This time, she was going too, because An Ziran wanted her to hear for herself what others had to say about her betrothed.

Soon afterward, the brother and sister left together with the maid Qiulan.

An Ziran had not arranged the meeting at Three Springs Restaurant from the day before. Though the restaurant was not bad, that waiter had caught his attention. Because of his profession in his previous life, he observed people's expressions and body language with particular care. Whether the waiter had lied or not, he could tell at a glance.

The moment he entered the teahouse, An Ziran heard someone calling him. Looking inside, he saw Liu Er sitting in a private room on the second floor, waving at him through the open window. "Young Master, over here."

An Ziran declined the teahouse waiter's offer to lead the way and went upstairs with his sister and maid.

When Liu Er saw that two more people had come, his eyes shifted, but he said nothing. He merely smiled, then eagerly poured An Ziran a cup of hot tea and fawned, "Young Master An, please have some tea. The tea at this teahouse is quite good, and many people enjoy it. Of course, the price is a little steep too."

An Ziran said calmly, "You drink it. How did the matter I asked you to investigate go?"

At the mention of this matter, An Yuzhi nervously clutched her handkerchief tighter.

Since he had asked, Liu Er stopped beating around the bush and immediately explained, "I found out already. Old Prince Fu is the current emperor's uncle and is advanced in years. A few years ago, he still insisted on attending court, but he hasn't done so in recent years. They say he has remained in the prince's residence and rarely comes out. He has a grandson named Fu Wutian, whom the current emperor personally conferred with the title of Prince Jun. Speaking of Prince Jun, he truly inspires fear at the very sight of him!"

"What do you mean by that?" An Ziran's expression shifted when he heard Liu Er use the phrase "inspires fear at the very sight of him."

Liu Er chuckled. "It seems Young Master has not heard Prince Jun's epithet?"

An Ziran raised an eyebrow. "What epithet?"

"Prince Jun only returned to Gentlemen City a month ago. Before that, he had been fighting on the borderlands. Only after returning was he bestowed the title of Prince Jun by the current emperor. Before then, he was Da Ya's guardian war god. He had fought countless campaigns, rendered great service in battle, and his military achievements were so illustrious that none could compare. This humble one heard that ever since he first entered the battlefield, he had never lost a single battle. Whenever enemies heard his name, they were terrified at the wind and fled in panic!" Liu Er spoke with impassioned fervor, his eyes filled with admiration.

At last, a trace of surprise appeared on An Ziran's face.

Yu Zhi's betrothed was actually such an extraordinary figure. Moreover, from Liu Er's tone, he could tell that this war god's prestige among the common people very likely surpassed even that of the current emperor.

Fu Wutian. It seemed he was no simple figure!

An Yuzhi was so excited that her little face had turned red. She had never expected her future husband to be such a formidable person. Beauties all loved heroes, and she was no exception. Her family had once invited opera performers to put on plays, and she had admired the heroes in those performances greatly. Sometimes, she had thought that if she could marry a hero, she would have no regrets in this life.

But she knew she could not decide her own life, especially her marriage. Reality held too many helpless constraints, so she had only dared to think about it in her heart. She had never expected the situation to take such a sudden turn.

An Ziran noticed her expression and immediately knew she must be very satisfied. Still, he had not expected An Yuzhi, a young lady raised in the inner chambers, to admire heroes. But that was good too. This marriage now seemed possible after all. With that thought, he looked at Liu Er again. "Anything else? For example, Prince Jun's parents?"

Liu Er replied, "Young Master, Prince Jun's parents passed away many years ago. Only Prince Jun and the old prince remain in his branch of the family."

He was also skilled at observing people. He could not tell what An Ziran was thinking, but An Yuzhi was another matter. Her face was completely red; one glance told him she had feelings for Prince Jun. Considering that they had been asking about Prince Jun's circumstances, he found it quite interesting. There were not many young ladies in Gentlemen City who dared set their sights on Prince Jun. He wondered whether this young lady still had the courage for it.

Lastly, An Ziran asked for the location of the prince's residence before giving Liu Er the remaining five taels of silver.

Liu Er thanked him repeatedly. "Many thanks, Young Master. If you have work like this again in the future, feel free to seek out this humble one anytime." Then he left with the five taels of silver.

Only the three of them remained in the private room.

An Ziran sent Qiulan outside to stand guard before looking at An Yuzhi, whose face was flushed with embarrassment.

Under his gaze, An Yuzhi's face instantly burned. She lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes, but she knew what her brother wanted to say. After a long while, she said in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, "This younger sister will leave everything to Elder Brother's decision."

An Ziran curled his lips.

A beauty could never pass a hero's test!

After returning to the courtyard residence, An Ziran told Steward Su the results of their inquiries. Rather than looking pleased, the old man wore an expression of worry.

An Ziran knew what he was concerned about and comforted him, "Steward, there is no need to worry too much. Old Prince Fu arranged this marriage agreement. I believe he would not let his own grandson break it, unless they no longer care about their reputation."

Steward Su sighed, not comforted in the least.

Who knew what those imperial relatives were thinking? He thought that if the old master had known Fu Fengzheng was the current emperor's uncle, he probably would not have agreed to this marriage agreement back then.

"Eldest Young Master, what should we do next?" If they had been an ordinary family, they could have gone straight to their door. But since it was a prince's residence, they had no choice but to consider the consequences. This was another matter that worried Steward Su.

After pondering for a moment, An Ziran said, "This matter cannot spread yet. If they are unwilling to fulfill the marriage agreement, it would be disadvantageous for us if they learned of it beforehand. We will make some preparations first, then catch them off guard."

Steward Su understood a little, yet did not understand a little. Before long, he would know.

At a quarter past the hour of the Goat, An Ziran and Steward Su appeared near Prince Fu's residence.

Steward Su looked at the imposing gates of the prince's residence. The two stone lions were majestic and fierce, more than twice the size of the stone lions before the An Family's gates. Before he had even approached, he already felt intimidated. He could not help glancing at the eldest young master beside him, truly not knowing whether this decision was right. All he could hope was that the old master's judgment had not been wrong.

"Let's go!"