Caught Off Guard

Steward Su had hurried over from Anyuan County, his old bones jolted about in the carriage for two days.

He had originally planned to set off with the eldest young master, but the An Family could not be left without someone in charge. Since he had been the late master's most trusted person, An Ziran had kept him behind at the An Family.

But only temporarily. Steward Su had been the witness to the marriage agreement between the two families back then. With him present, it would be more convincing. That old man probably had not forgotten Steward Su so easily.

"Eldest Young Master, everything with the An Family has been settled. I've 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 for him. He looked somewhat exhausted. To avoid wasting time, he had barely rested these past two days, and the jolting carriage ride had made it impossible to rest on the road.

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

The last sentence was directed at Steward Su.

Steward Su rubbed his temples. He truly was tired, 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 there was no need to prepare anything before he could move in.

After the two left, An Ziran picked up a stack of account books from the table. It was very thick.

"Eldest Young Master, leave this sort of heavy work to this servant." Chunlan hurriedly took the account books from him. She had always been rather strong and had done all sorts of strenuous work back at the An Family.

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

An Ziran's gaze fell on Chunlan's face. Her expression held a resilient strength and a bright smile, without the slightest trace of impurity. He could not help but laugh. These account books had been brought from the An Family by Steward Su and were very important. Ordinarily, outsiders could not touch them. Still, being single-minded was not entirely a bad thing.

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

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

Chunlan finally came back to her senses, her cheeks already flushed crimson. Lowering her head, she hurried after him.

The next day, An Ziran received the results of the inquiries he had asked someone to make. The man he had hired was a local idler named Liu Er. People like him were generally well-informed, and An Ziran had paid five taels of silver for his services.

Seeing how generously An Ziran spent, Liu Er handled the matter much more efficiently. Other than information that could not be investigated, he had found out roughly everything An Ziran wanted to know.

They agreed to meet at a teahouse.

An Yuzhi's face flushed red as she waited in the main hall early that morning. She was going along this time too, because An Ziran wanted her to hear for herself what others said about her betrothed.

Soon afterward, the siblings left together with the maid Qiulan.

An Ziran did not arrange to meet at Three Springs Restaurant from the previous day. Though that restaurant was decent, the waiter from that day had caught his attention. Due to his profession in his previous life, he paid close attention to people's expressions and body language. 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 seated 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 took his sister and the maid upstairs.

When Liu Er saw that there were two additional people, his eyes shifted slightly. But he said nothing, merely smiled, then eagerly poured An Ziran a cup of hot tea. In a fawning tone, he said, "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 as well."

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

At the mention of the matter, An Yuzhi nervously clenched her handkerchief.

Since Liu Er had been asked directly, he stopped beating around the bush and immediately explained, "I found out. the Old Prince Fu is His Majesty's uncle. He is advanced in years. A few years ago, he still insisted on attending court, but he has not done so in recent years. It is said that he remains in Prince Fu's Manor and rarely comes out. He has a grandson named Fu Wutian, whom His Majesty personally bestowed with the title Prince Jun. Speaking of Prince Jun, he is truly someone people fear from afar!"

"What do you mean?" An Ziran's expression shifted when he heard Liu Er describe him as someone to be feared from afar.

Liu Er chuckled. "It seems the young master has not heard of Prince Jun's title?"

An Ziran raised an eyebrow. "What title?"

"Prince Jun only returned to Gentlemen City a month ago. Before that, he had remained on the battlefield at the border. Only after returning was he granted the title of Prince Jun by His Majesty. Before then, he was Da Ya's guardian war god. He fought countless battles, rendered outstanding military service, and possessed achievements no one could match. This lowly one heard that ever since he first entered the battlefield, he has never lost a single battle. Whenever enemies heard his name, they were all terrified and fled in panic!" Liu Er spoke with passionate excitement, his eyes filled with admiration.

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

Yu Zhi's betrothed was actually such a formidable person. Moreover, from Liu Er's tone, An Ziran could tell that this war god's reputation among the common people very likely surpassed even that of His Majesty.

Fu Wutian. He did not seem to be a simple man!

An Yuzhi's little face reddened with excitement. She had never expected her future husband to be such an impressive person. Beauties loved heroes, and she was no exception. Her family had often invited opera performers to stage plays in the past, and she had greatly admired the heroes in those stories. Sometimes, she thought that if she could marry a hero, she would have no regrets in this life.

But she knew that she could not decide her own life, especially not her marriage. Reality held too many helpless constraints, so she had only dared to entertain such thoughts in her heart. She had never expected things to take such an unexpected turn in the end.

An Ziran noticed her expression and immediately knew that she must be quite satisfied. Still, he had not expected a sheltered young lady like An Yuzhi to admire heroes. But this was good too. It seemed this marriage still had a chance. Thinking this, he looked at Liu Er again. "Is there 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 others. He could not tell what An Ziran was thinking, but An Yuzhi was different. Her flushed face made it obvious that she had feelings for Prince Jun. Thinking of how they had been asking about Prince Jun, 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 would still have the courage for it.

An Ziran asked one last question about the location of Prince Fu's Manor before giving Liu Er the remaining five taels of silver.

Liu Er thanked him repeatedly. "Thank you, young master. If you have work like this again in the future, feel free to seek out this lowly one." 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.

An Yuzhi's face instantly burned beneath his gaze. 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 soft as a mosquito's buzz, her face red, "Your younger sister will leave everything to Elder Brother's decision."

An Ziran curled his lips.

Even beauties could not resist heroes!

After returning to the residence, An Ziran told Steward Su the results of his investigation. Rather than looking pleased, the old man wore a worried expression.

An Ziran knew what he was worried about, so he comforted him. "Steward, there's no need to worry too much. The old Prince Fu arranged this marriage. I don't think he would let his own grandson break the agreement unless they no longer cared about their reputation."

Steward Su sighed, clearly not comforted.

Who knew what those imperial relatives were thinking? He thought that if the old master had known Fu Fengzheng was His Majesty's uncle, he probably would not have agreed to this marriage in the first place.

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

An Ziran pondered for a moment. "This cannot be allowed to spread yet. If they are unwilling to honor the marriage agreement, it would be disadvantageous for us if they learn of it beforehand. We'll make some preparations first, then catch them off guard."

Steward Su understood a little, yet did not fully understand. It was not long before he found out.

At a quarter past three in the afternoon, An Ziran and Steward Su appeared near Prince Fu's Manor.

Steward Su looked at the imposing gates of the manor. The two stone lions were mighty and fierce, more than twice the size of the stone lions outside the An Family's gates. Before they had even approached, he already felt intimidated. He could not help glancing at the eldest young master beside him, wondering whether this decision was truly the right one. Now, he could only hope that the old master's judgment had not been wrong.

"Let's go!"