Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 239 Girl Three Years Older, Delivering the Elixir

The carriage came to a stop in front of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.

Lin Chen jumped out of the car and helped Zhao Mingyue up.

The gatekeeper's servant had already come to greet them, bowing and scraping.

"Your Highness, you're finally back! The matriarch has been asking about you several times."

Lin Chen was taken aback: "Grandmother wanted to see me? What's wrong?"

"Your Highness, they're not looking for you, they're looking for your ladies." The servant leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Our matriarch said the weather is nice today, so she invited the ladies to her courtyard to enjoy the flowers and tea, and have a private chat."

Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

It startled him; he thought something had happened.

"Okay, got it." He turned to look at Zhao Mingyue.

"You go to Grandma's first, I'm going back to my study to take care of some things."

Zhao Mingyue nodded and straightened her sleeves:

"Okay, then come over and sit for a while when you're done with your work?"

"It depends."

The two separated.

Lin Chen walked towards the study, still pondering the things he had been thinking about on the way there, how to ask the Empress for that mountain.

To just say it directly would seem too blunt.

To beat around the bush is not like his style.

Just as I was thinking this, I looked up and saw Liu Shengxue coming from the opposite side.

Wearing that pale yellow shirt and carrying a zither, she walked at a moderate pace.

Upon seeing Lin Chen, she paused, then knelt down and gave a graceful bow: "Husband."

Lin Chen stopped, a smile playing on his lips: "How's it going?"

Liu Shengxue pursed her lips: "Mr. Bai said... it's alright."

"It's alright, it's pretty good." Lin Chen waved his hand.

"I know Dongfang Bai. She said it was alright, so it's at least 80 points or higher. Play it for me later."

Yagyu Yuki nodded: "Yes."

Lin Chen was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned back, saying:

"By the way, what Mr. Bai taught you yesterday, was it that...?"

He paused, then gestured, "A brothel scene?"

Liu Shengxue's face flushed red, and she lowered her head, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz:

"Mr. Bai said...that's not suitable, he should teach 'The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate' instead."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow: "The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate? That's fine too. Play it for me later."

Yagyu Yuki lowered her head and hummed in agreement.

Looking at her slightly reddened ears, Lin Chen suddenly found this woman quite interesting.

She's uninhibited in bed but extremely shy off it—this contrast is absolutely adorable.

This is much more interesting than those top courtesans in the brothels who only knew how to flirt.

"Alright, go ahead." He waved his hand.

"You should go to Grandma's place to admire the flowers too. There aren't so many rules in the house. Wives and concubines are equal. Don't make it like a palace intrigue."

Liu Shengxue raised her eyes and glanced at him quickly.

There was something in those eyes.

It seemed like an accident, but it also seemed like... something else.

Lin Chen didn't pay any attention and turned to walk towards the study.

Liu Shengxue stood there, watching Lin Chen's figure disappear behind the moon gate.

A breeze blew by, and she hugged her zither tightly as she slowly walked towards the inner courtyard.

……

In the study.

Lin Chen sat behind his desk, tapping his fingers on the table.

He was thinking about how to ask the Empress for the mountain.

After thinking about it for a long time, I finally decided—I'm not going to think about it anymore.

Just go for it.

He picked up his pen and began to write a letter.

"Your Majesty, I wish to make a comeback..."

I wrote half of it, but then I felt it was too straightforward.

Cross it out.

"Your Majesty, Dongshan is a very nice place..."

But I felt that was too euphemistic.

Cross it out.

"Your Majesty, I think my recent performance has been quite good. May I be rewarded with a mountain?"

When I finished writing it, it looked like I was begging for food.

Lin Chen threw down his pen and leaned back in his chair.

"Writing letters is too much trouble," he muttered to himself. "I'll just go to the palace and say it. Anyway, the Empress can't do anything to me."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Enter."

It was Yuan Tiangang who entered.

"My lord," he bowed and handed over a secret letter, "there is news from Zhongzhou."

Lin Chen took the letter, glanced at it, and smiled.

"That Dugu Qiubai guy is really something." He handed the letter to Yuan Tiangang, "Take a look."

Yuan Tiangang took the letter, read it, and smiled: "The Corpse Refining Sect has suffered considerable losses this time."

The letter said that after Dugu Qiubai recovered from his injuries, he went directly to a corpse-raising site of the Corpse Refining Sect and flattened the entire mountain with a single sword strike.

The Corpse Refining Sect is now in an uproar, and the sect leader is personally leading a team to hunt him down.

But he vanished without a trace, as if he had evaporated into thin air.

"This old man," Lin Chen laughed, "is quite good at guerrilla warfare, hitting and running away, exciting."

Yuan Tiangang nodded: "Dugu Qiubai's swordsmanship is divine, and he is determined to hide. It won't be easy for the Corpse Refining Sect to catch him."

"Fine, let him play." Lin Chen put the letter away. "As long as he's alive, that's all that matters."

Yuan Tiangang paused, then said, "My lord, there is one more thing."

"explain."

"There's some movement over in Dongli."

Lin Chen's eyes narrowed: "What's that noise?"

"A report from the Bad Guard indicates that a large number of strangers have been appearing near the eastern border recently. They don't look like people from the Eastern Region; their clothing and accents don't match."

"Another stranger?" Lin Chen frowned.

"Yagyu Yuki mentioned this last time too; there are more people of unknown origin in the Eastern Lands now."

He thought for a moment and said, "Have the guards keep an eye on things. Report any news immediately. Don't alert them. Let's see what they're up to first."

"Yes."

Lin Chen suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, where is that Mei Jiu Niang now? Any news?"

Yuan Tiangang's lips twitched slightly.

Lin Chen immediately sensed something was wrong when he saw his expression.

Sure enough, Yuan Tiangang paused for a moment, then replied:

"Mei Jiu Niang is the sect leader of the Hehuan Sect. She has been famous for many years, and her cultivation level is at least that of a terrestrial immortal. If she wants to hide her tracks, the Bad Guards will not be able to detect her at all..."

Yuan Tiangang glanced at Lin Chen and continued:

"My lord, Mei Jiu Niang is at least three hundred years old. Although the Hehuan Sect's techniques can preserve youth, but..."

Lin Chen's lips twitched slightly. He raised his hand to interrupt Yuan Tiangang and coughed lightly.

"Old Yuan, although I am a womanizer and love beauty, I am not so indiscriminate in my eating habits."

"Over three hundred years old, at least three hundred years older than me, and the sect leader of the Hehuan Sect. You've probably slept with thousands upon thousands of men. Do you really think I'm that kind of person who's indiscriminate in my desires?"

"No!" Yuan Tiangang replied immediately, but his eyes flickered slightly.

Those eyes clearly said: You are.

Lin Chen rubbed his forehead and waved his hand helplessly:

"Alright, alright, go ahead and get busy, stop making snide remarks about me."

After Yuan Tiangang left, Lin Chen leaned back in his chair.

Over three hundred years old?

He is still the sect leader of the Hehuan Sect.

Although a woman is three hundred years older, she can still be given an elixir of immortality.

but……

Lin Chen quickly banished the thoughts from his mind.

No, no, this car can't be driven.

He then remembered the secret report he had just received.

A great change is imminent, and all forces are stirring with ambition.

Although the Eastern Region is remote, it is still a lucrative opportunity.

We need to hurry.

Lin Chen stood up and walked to the window.

The sun was shining brightly in the courtyard, and you could faintly hear the old lady's laughter coming from her direction.

The ladies were all over there enjoying the flowers and drinking tea; the atmosphere must have been quite harmonious.

Lin Chen thought that if he could really take over Dongshan, he could build a mountain villa there and turn the entire mountain into a fortress.

As the eternal foundation of the Lin family.

In the future, when I have free time, I will take my whole family to stay in the mountains.

We don't need to worry about court intrigues or江湖恩怨 (jianghu grievances).

Just sunbathe, drink tea, and enjoy the scenery.

Wife, kids, and a warm bed.

How good.

Lin Chen smiled.

Then he turned around and walked towards the old lady's courtyard.

As I passed by the garden, I heard laughter coming from inside.

"Sister Mingyue, you and your husband didn't come home all night last night. Did you have a good time?"

It was Wen Ruoxi's voice.

"Don't make fun of me, Ruoxi..." Zhao Mingyue's voice was a little shy.

Lin Chen paused, standing outside the moon gate and looking inside.

The sun was shining brightly, and several women sat in the pavilion, their tea steaming.

The old lady and her mother, Su Wanqing, smiled so much that their eyes narrowed into slits.

He suddenly realized that the scene was actually quite nice.

He took a step and walked towards the pavilion.