A younger man cupped his hands and said, "Reporting, Lord Thousand Households. None of us were eliminated today; we all passed the assessnt."
This middle-aged man was Jiang Huai, the Central Guard Thousand Households of the Southern Town Patrol Departnt.
Jiang Huai set down his teacup. After saying "Good" three tis in a row, he declared, "As expected of my finest n. The Zhao Mansion’s assessnt is no match for you."
This group of n could already be considered the elite of the Jinyi Guard, representing the power of the Court.
Naturally, an assessnt from Lu Yuan wouldn’t be enough to stump them.
Jiang Huai had sided with the Grand Celestial Master’s faction today, not the Spirit Binders’.
If Jiang Huai were to reveal all the Xingzi he had detained, it would likely cause quite a stir.
Jiang Huai possessed more than just three Xingzi. If this were a real evaluation, there would be no need for him to bring out the one he was most proud of.
Jiang Huai said to his subordinates, "You must take this mission seriously. Upon its success, the Commander-in-Chief himself will have a great reward for you!"
The twenty-so n, each brimming with confidence, replied to their superior, "We guarantee the completion of this mission!"
Jiang Huai looked at his subordinates, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Go on. All of you get so rest. The assessnt continues tomorrow."
After the n replied in unison, they bowed and backed out of the room.
"Oh, Xiaochen! There’s a package on my horse’s back. It has a canister of tea leaves inside. Fetch it for ."
"Yes, my lord."
That night, after seeing Su Liyan and Bengbeng to sleep, Lu Yuan quietly slipped away to Aunt Song’s room.
He and Aunt Song had made plans.
Aunt Song had already washed up and was lying in bed, wrapped in a blanket, just waiting for her "nephew."
Aunt Song lay motionless on the bed.
Lu Yuan quietly walked up to her and asked, "Aunt Song, what are you doing?"
Song iqin, who had been staring at the ceiling, was startled by Lu Yuan’s voice.
She had been waiting for Lu Yuan for a while and had just been lying in bed, spacing out.
"Nephew, you’re here," Aunt Song said, turning her head to look at Lu Yuan. "You scared , coming in so suddenly."
Lu Yuan scratched his head. "Bengbeng just fell asleep, so I ca over quietly. I tried to be quiet when I entered the room, too."
Lu Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, looked at Aunt Song, and continued, "Aunt Song, why have you wrapped yourself up like a human burrito?"
"A burrito? Why would you say that?" Both of Song iqin’s hands were trapped in the blanket; she couldn’t pull them out.
Lu Yuan pinched Aunt Song’s delicate cheek.
Her skin was as smooth and well-kept as a young girl’s.
Aunt Song blinked her eyes. "Nephew, I heard from others that when a Consort attends to the emperor, she’s also presented like this, all wrapped up in a blanket?"
"Maybe. I wouldn’t know about things like that. Aunt Song, don’t tell you deliberately rolled around a couple of tis on the bed to wrap yourself up like this."
"What else would it be?" A smile played on Song iqin’s lips as she continued, "I wanted to let my dear nephew enjoy the sa kind of royal treatnt."
Aunt Song always ca up with so new ga. It was never the sa thing twice, always a pleasant surprise.
Lu Yuan listened to her words.
’Aunt Song really knows how to have fun. So, instead of letting nibble on her feet, she wants to roleplay now?’
’Whatever.’
A truly "hungry" Lu Yuan pounced.
He landed firmly on top of the blanket-wrapped woman.
Song iqin felt the heavy weight pressing down on her, making it even more impossible to pull her hands free.
Lu Yuan cupped her face with both hands and playfully squished her cheeks, absolutely adoring her.
Every now and then, he’d lean in to plant a loud kiss or two on her.
He left her face covered in slobber.
Aunt Song didn’t seem to mind, responding as best she could.
She seed to be enjoying being "bullied" by her nephew like this.
Seeing that Aunt Song was completely unable to resist, Lu Yuan grew bolder.
His hands began to misbehave, roving over the top of the blanket.
He forced an opening and slipped a hand inside.
His cold hand pressed against Aunt Song’s skin.
The icy touch made Aunt Song yelp.
"So cold, Nephew! Why are your hands so cold?"
Lu Yuan said, "Just let my dear aunt warm them up for , and they’ll be warm in a mont."
Lu Yuan could feel sothing soft and plush in his hand, like cotton but with more elasticity.
He moved his hand in circles over it.
He rubbed up and down, like a bathhouse attendant giving a vigorous scrub-down.
The coldness of his hand made the sensation all the more distinct for Aunt Song.
Aunt Song teased, "Nephew, your hands are so cold. Could it be that your constitution is weak?"
A man can take any kind of criticism from his woman, but not that.
Aunt Song’s words made Lu Yuan feel like she was looking down on him.
’If I don’t show her my true abilities, I’ll never live it down.’
’I’ll show Aunt Song in a little bit whether I’m ’weak’ or not,’ Lu Yuan thought.
’It’s only been a few days since I last "took care" of Aunt Song, and she’s already getting this bold.’
’Even Aunt Zhao, with her sturdy fra, wouldn’t dare provoke like this after a while.’
’If I were to go all out, Aunt Song might not be able to handle it.’
Once his hand had ward up a bit.
Lu Yuan got up and tugged at the blanket, trying to free Aunt Song.
Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to proceed to the next step.
Aunt Song, naturally understanding what her nephew wanted to do next, cooperated by rolling a few tis.
As the blanket unfurled, a vision of pristine, fair skin t Lu Yuan’s eyes.
In ancient tis, there was Jing Ke’s assassination attempt on the King of Qin: as the map was unrolled, the dagger was revealed.
Today, there was Aunt Song’s rolling: as the blanket was unrolled, the flesh was revealed.
Lu Yuan hadn’t expected that Aunt Song had been waiting for him like this underneath it all.
Lu Yuan tilted his head back and covered his nose with his hand.
Seeing her nephew’s reaction, Aunt Song asked with concern, "Nephew, what’s wrong?"
With his head still tilted back and his hand on his nose, Lu Yuan said, "Auntie, I don’t dare look. I’m afraid I’ll get a nosebleed."
It wasn’t as if Lu Yuan hadn’t seen plenty before. What was he playing the innocent wolf for now?
Only then did Aunt Song realize she was being teased. She grabbed a pillow and swatted at him with it.
"Hurry up," she huffed. "I’m getting cold."
Lu Yuan stopped ssing around and tumbled onto her.
"I’m coming, Auntie~"
...
After breakfast the next morning, Lu Yuan went to the Martial Hall.
「Su Liyan’s Room」
Su Liyan was holding Bengbeng, feeding it.
Zhao Qiao’Er and Song iqin were also in the room, having both co to see Bengbeng.
Su Liyan noticed Song iqin sitting uncomfortably, constantly shifting her weight on her rear.
Su Liyan asked with concern, "Aunt Song, what’s wrong?"
Song iqin stamred, "It’s nothing, nothing. I’ve just been sitting for a long ti, and my rear has gone a bit numb."
It was a flimsy excuse.
Zhao Qiao’Er and Song iqin had only just arrived in Su Liyan’s room.
It was early in the morning, they had just woken up, and they hadn’t done any work.
She had just sat down, and the stool was even covered with a soft fur blanket. Even if she had been sitting for a long ti, her butt shouldn’t be hurting.
Of course, soone in the room saw right through it.
’My darling treasure must have given Song iqin a rough ti last night.’
Zhao Qiao’Er chuckled mischievously and casually patted Song iqin’s rear.
She asked, "So, are you sore from sitting, or from *doing*?"
Song iqin shot Zhao Qiao’Er a look and snapped, "None of your business!"
Hearing Aunt Zhao’s words, and recalling that Lu Yuan hadn’t slept in her own room last night, Su Liyan naturally understood what had happened and covered her mouth to hide a smile.
Seeing the two of them teasing her, Song iqin said, "You two, don’t be a bad influence on our little Bengbeng."
Since she couldn’t sit still anyway, Song iqin decided to just stand up.
As she stood, she rubbed her sore bottom, then took Bengbeng, who had just finished eating, from Su Liyan’s arms.
She looked at Bengbeng and said, "That’s right, isn’t it? Don’t you learn from them; they’re so improper."
Zhao Qiao’Er interjected, "Hey, you’re just badmouthing us right in front of our adorable little Bengbeng."
「The Courtyard of the Martial Hall」
Those who had passed the previous day’s assessnt had arrived early, conscientiously arranging themselves into the sa groups and positions as yesterday.
Take their money, follow their orders.
It had been that way since ti immorial.
Flanked by Mansion Guards, Lu Yuan ascended the high platform. He looked down at the crowd, which was half the size it had been the day before.
Even so, there were still five or six hundred people present.
Lu Yuan raised a speaking horn and shouted, "Welco back, everyone, to the Zhao Mansion recruitnt. Today is your second round of assessnt."
The crowd listened quietly, curious about what today’s assessnt would entail.
Lu Yuan continued, "Today, we’re going to try sothing new.
Those who pass today’s assessnt will not only advance to the next round of selection but will also receive a generous reward.
Of course, for those who don’t pass, each person will be given four taels of silver. The paynt will be distributed uniformly at the end of the day."
Hearing Lu Yuan’s words, the crowd began to whisper amongst themselves, just as they had the day before.
"What do you think the assessnt will be this ti?"
"Who knows."
"Even if we don’t pass, the silver they’re giving out is double what it was yesterday."
"Yeah, yeah, the Zhao Mansion is so rich! Even if we get eliminated, it’s still good to earn so silver."
"Who knows, maybe the payout will go up again tomorrow."
"So what? If you can get into the Zhao Mansion, you get in. There’ll be plenty of silver to earn later on."
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