And just as he’d expected, the old steward and his n had nearly gone mad searching for him.
After all, if they had lost their young master...
...then the matter of exterminating the Xilingzi’s Xingzi wouldn’t be considered a great accomplishnt.
They could forget about getting a reward from the madam to marry three concubines; they’d be lucky to save their own skins.
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan quickly explained what had happened, leaving out any ntion of Song iqin.
He focused on the matter of the "great ghoul" and told the old steward to send n to clean up the scene.
When the n heard this, they were all dumbfounded.
They just looked at each other in disbelief.
’Wait...’
’Is our young master really this much of a badass?’
’He took down a two-hundred-year-old ghoul all by himself?’
Leaving the n to their baffled stares, Lu Yuan spurred his horse and galloped away.
Song iqin’s carriage was already waiting for him at the crossroads.
Lu Yuan boarded the carriage. Song iqin, who had been waiting for so ti, smiled, patted her shapely thigh, and said in a sultry voice:
"Why don’t you get so sleep."
’Heh... This woman seems a little too eager...’
Lu Yuan didn’t say anything more. He didn’t dare to, really.
’Who knows what else Aunt Zhao told her.’
’If she says sothing else as bizarre as that "foot-eating" comnt, I won’t know where to hide my face.’
’I’m just too thin-skinned for this!’
So he just shut his eyes and pretended to sleep.
But he had to admit, Song iqin was a mature woman, after all.
She wasn’t as buxom as Aunt Zhao, but her thighs were still soft and full.
They made for a surprisingly comfortable pillow.
Before long, between the gentle rocking of the carriage and the comfort of his shapely pillow, Lu Yuan drifted off to sleep.
When Lu Yuan awoke,
it was early morning, and they were already inside the city walls.
Lu Yuan could sll stead buns from a roadside stall, mixed with the faint, sulfuric scent of burning coal.
For a mont, it reminded Lu Yuan of the slls from breakfast stalls after pulling an all-nighter at an internet cafe back in his old life.
Of course, the most relatable feeling was...
...the bitter cold.
It was just like pulling an all-nighter at the cafe in winter, nodding off in the middle of the night, and waking up shivering.
Lu Yuan wasn’t shivering, but he still felt the chill.
’But thankfully, we’re almost ho. I can warm myself by the stove.’
Lu Yuan glanced out the window, then turned to look beside him.
Song iqin was gazing at him, her beautiful eyes twinkling.
"Does your foot still hurt?"
As he spoke, Lu Yuan bent down, gently lifted Song iqin’s leg, and slipped off her shoe and stocking.
Song iqin couldn’t help but hiss in pain.
Lu Yuan examined it. The swelling was worse than last night, but it wasn’t a serious injury.
Lu Yuan said at once,
"Don’t go back to your own place. Just co to Aunt Zhao’s house. The estate has a physician, so you shouldn’t delay treatnt."
Song iqin nodded gently.
"I’ll listen to you."
Soon, they arrived at the main gate of the Zhao Family estate. Lu Yuan jumped down from the carriage first and arranged for soone to summon the physician to the main hall in the front courtyard.
Once Song iqin had been helped into the main hall and the physician had arrived, Lu Yuan yawned and headed back to the central courtyard. He needed to catch up on his sleep.
He had napped on the way back, but the constant rocking of the carriage had kept him from sleeping soundly.
The central courtyard was still.
The only sound was the chirping of a few small sparrows on the roof.
He guessed it was a little after six in the morning.
City folk slept in late and rose late.
His wife used to wake up at four or five in the morning, but now she didn’t get up until half-past six, mostly because there was nothing to do if she rose any earlier.
Lu Yuan quietly pushed the door open and peeked inside.
’Heh.’
’Aunt Zhao and my wife really did sleep cuddled up together last night. And they’re in my bed, too.’
Tiptoeing so as not to wake them, Lu Yuan went over to Aunt Zhao’s bed.
He tore off his clothes, tossed them aside, and lay down on Aunt Zhao’s bed. He started to feel drowsy almost imdiately.
For one, he had been freezing outside all night, and the warmth of the room instantly made him sleepy again.
And for another, Aunt Zhao’s blankets slled absolutely divine.
A mix of rouge, powder, and a milky sweetness.
The scent was intoxicating.
Not long after Lu Yuan fell asleep, Su Liyan was the first to wake.
She saw her husband sound asleep on the other bed and froze for a few seconds before quickly getting up.
Zhao Qiao’er was also awake by now.
Drowsy and bleary-eyed, she leaned against the headboard, her full chest half-exposed.
She, too, was stunned for a mont to see that Lu Yuan had returned at so point and was now fast asleep in her bed.
Then her gaze fell on Su Liyan, who was quietly gathering Lu Yuan’s clothes.
When Lu Yuan had co in, he’d tossed his clothes carelessly onto a chair, and they had since slipped to the floor.
Su Liyan picked up his overcoat, paused for a mont, then brought it to her nose and sniffed.
’What’s this?’
For a mont, Su Liyan felt a surge of panic.
’Why does it reek of a corpse?’
’Xilingzi?!’
’My husband went to Xilingzi yesterday?!’
While Su Liyan was lost in her thoughts, Zhao Qiao’er ca up beside her.
She also took Lu Yuan’s overcoat and sniffed it.
’Hm?’
’Why does this reek of Song iqin’s rouge and powder?’
’So yesterday...’
’Lu Yuan was with Song iqin?’
’Huh?!’
......
Lu Yuan had no idea how long he had slept.
By the ti Lu Yuan had slept his fill and felt fully rested, it was at least two or three in the afternoon.
The central courtyard was still quiet.
He had no idea where his wife and Aunt Zhao had gone.
After getting dressed, Lu Yuan went outside, grabbed a guard to ask what was going on, and found out.
They were all in the main hall of the front courtyard.
The guard also ntioned that Aunt Zhao had been in a towering rage that morning.
Lu Yuan thought about it. ’That makes sense.’
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