Bai Juren regretted it. If time could turn back, he would never have volunteered. He had already sacrificed himself. “I wasn’t shaking.”

Zhou Shuren was in a hurry to get home for dinner. “Bai Juren, get out of the carriage. You’ve wasted my time.”

His wife would worry if he got home late.

Bai Juren was dumbfounded. He couldn’t help but wonder if Zhou Shuren was lying to him. He steadied himself. He thought he was doomed today, but now his momentum was gone. He wanted to talk again, but his momentum had weakened. He pursed his lips and quickly got out of the carriage.

Before getting out of the carriage, Bai Juren glanced at the coachman wearing a hat. He squinted, but he couldn’t see anything different. He resented Zhou Shuren. He had been too embarrassed just now.

The coachman waited for the carriage in front to leave, then raised his head and waved his whip.

Zhou Shuren was playing with the whip inside and outside the carriage. It was two long whips and one short whip. After a few more flicks, he would be able to figure out the meaning. However, Zhou Shuren was much more composed. At least he had many people protecting him. His only worry was that he had been poisoned.

At the Zhou residence, Zhulan was extremely worried when Zhou Shuren returned late. “What happened?” she asked.

Zhou Shuren replied, “What could have happened? I was just delayed by some business at the yamen. Was the baby good today?”

Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief, touching her belly with a gentle smile. “The baby is very good.”

If Doctor Zhang hadn’t taken her pulse, she would have been worried that there might be something wrong with the baby; it was just too well-behaved.

Zhou Shuren looked at Zhulan’s belly, his eyes narrowing. This time, not only had the Emperor been used as bait, but he would also remember it.

Anyone who dared to threaten his wife and children would face consequences. Zhou Shuren’s gaze was deep and unsettling. He really thought that the reason he let Bai Juren go was that if he hadn’t, wouldn’t that have exposed that he had powerful connections? However, Bai Juren should be trapped now, just waiting for everyone to arrive before he could take them all in one fell swoop.

The next day, Zhou Shuren arrived at the yamen not long after. Wu Chun had received the letter the day before and came directly to the yamen today.

Zhou Shuren smiled.

His father-in-law valued Wu Chun highly and even sacrificed his other grandsons to protect Wu Chun. It was indeed worth it. He only wrote a letter asking Wu Chun to find a servant who knew martial arts, but Wu Chun actually came in person.

Zhou Shuren knew why Wu Chun had come; the young man was there to intimidate and let those with ulterior motives know that the Zhou family had military relatives by marriage.

When Chen Daren saw Wu Chun, he greeted him as “General Yang.”

Wu Chun smiled and asked, “Chen Daren, how are you?”

Chen Daren replied, “All is well.”

But inwardly, he was startled. People were so forgetful! Zhou Daren’s wife was low-key, and Zhou Daren never visited the Yang residence, much less met with General Yang. They had all forgotten that the garrison in Lizhou City had connections with the Zhou family—one by marriage and the other indirectly.

Yang Wu Chun arrived at the government office with his guards, and the news spread quickly to those with a keen eye.

These people shared Chen Daren’s thoughts. Zhou Daren had had too little contact with the Yang family, and coupled with his own antics, it was easy to overlook the Zhou family’s in-law connections. Of course, the Yang family had also been too low-key.

Now they realized that the Zhou family had military relatives by marriage, and the Yang family had saved General Zheng Hong’s life. The Zheng family of today was not the same as before; they wielded considerable power on the frontier.

In the government office, Zhou Shuren and Wu Chun sat down to drink tea. Zhou Shuren sighed inwardly. A few years ago, Yang Wuchun was afraid of him, but now, after being baptized in blood, Yang Wuchun exuded a murderous aura.

“Don’t worry too much,” Zhou Shuren said.

Yang Wuchun’s lips twitched. How could he not worry? He was smart enough to be courted, let alone his gū fu. His chances of returning to the capital were slim, and his chances of achieving great merit were even slimmer. But his gū fu was different.

(End of Chapter)

---