Chapter 195: The Calm Before the Storm

After parting ways with Zhao Wenshan, Lu Shude was in high spirits.

He took a deep, heavy gulp of tea, then leaned back, reclining in his armchair. His eyes were slightly closed, his left hand gently patting his potbelly, his right hand resting on his knee.

He shook his head and swayed, humming a low tune.

On his dough-like face, only four words were written.

Victory is in my grasp.

Very soon, the matter of Zhao Wenshan accusing Han San spread outward from around Jinan Prefecture, like a hurricane sweeping across the entirety of Shandong.

Scholars everywhere in Shandong were filled with righteous indignation, feeling as if it had happened to them, and wanted to come to the scene to show their support.

The censors in Beijing were also stirring.

It is just as the saying goes: strike while the enemy is weak.

To curry favor with the powerful and trample the weak, to beat a dog that has fallen into the water, has always been a traditional virtue of the Chinese people.

Regarding the Embroidered Uniform Guard, most officials did not have even a shred of affection.

When they learned that Han San had fallen into misfortune, those censors and Imperial Censors all brought out their signature skills.

Some shot cold arrows and fired side cannons, some fanned the flames and stirred up trouble, and some openly submitted memorials. Both in the open and in the shadows, they were all determined to drag Han San, this pawn of the Zhang Family, down into the water.

However, Zhang Yunxiu did not feel much panic.

Early this morning, he rose early as usual to temper his body in the crisp autumn dawn.

A few days ago, he had received a letter from Han San.

The letter informed him of their plan.

After reading it, Zhang Yunxiu replied with only four words: "Enforce the law impartially."

He then paid it no more mind.

A fine, cold rain began to fall over Beijing in the early morning, and a mist like a thin veil rose rapidly. Looking out, in no time at all, his surroundings were a sheet of white.

He hurriedly quickened his pace to finish his morning tasks.

Afterward, he washed up simply and went to the dining hall for breakfast. Inside, Xu Ruoxi and Zheng Xi'er, their bellies slightly rounded, were sitting on the chairs to the left, chatting idly.

On the other side, Lvluo was leading several maidservants in setting the morning meal.

Seeing Zhang Yunxiu enter, Xu Ruoxi and Zheng Xi'er stopped their conversation and rose one after another to welcome him.

Lvluo, off to the side, had cheeks flushed pink and called out sweetly, "The master has arrived; Lvluo will go call the kitchen to send the food over right away."

Having said this, she skipped out of the dining hall, full of joy.

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and pulled the two beauties to the round table to sit down.

He wrapped his arms around both beauties, first pecking the one on the left, then pecking the one on the right, which immediately drew looks of disdain from both.

"The maids are still here," Xu Ruoxi chided, blushing.

"So what if they are?" Zhang Yunxiu turned to Xu Ruoxi and gave her a firm peck, then lifted his head, scanned the maids, and said, "All of you, get out! My service is enough here!"

"Yes." The maids looked at each other, then covered their mouths and giggled, moving with lotus steps as they exited the dining hall.

Seeing no one else around, Zhang Yunxiu became even bolder, his large hands becoming quite restless. Because the two women were pregnant, he had not been intimate with them for over a month and a half.

Today, seeing their fair, delicate necks.

Smelling the faint fragrance on their bodies, a trace of lustful fire suddenly surged up.

However, that was as far as it went.

Upon hearing footsteps outside the dining hall, Zhang Yunxiu finally remembered Lvluo, that little troublemaker. He hurriedly released the two beauties and put on the appearance of a gentleman.

At the doorway, Lvluo led people in to deliver the food.

Then, she stood respectfully to the side to wait.

A casual glance.

Lvluo noticed that the two mistresses had flushed cheeks and disheveled clothing, and she immediately understood what she had interrupted. Instantly, her body trembled slightly, and two red clouds appeared on her fair, oval face. At the table, Zhang Yunxiu chatted and laughed as if nothing had happened.

Xu Ruoxi and Zheng Xi'er felt a sour ache in their hearts; when women are pregnant, their desires in that regard are particularly intense. That was why the two had long since moved into separate rooms from Zhang Yunxiu, just to prevent this fellow from causing trouble.

Now that he had stirred things up, their bodies were burning, and they felt as if ants were crawling over them.

Each harboring their own thoughts, they finished the breakfast. Zhang Yunxiu rose to leave, but Lvluo shyly blocked his path and asked, "Master, where are you going so early in the morning?"

"You've got a lot to say today, little potato." Zhang Yunxiu turned back and glared at her, asking with a look of vigilance, "Speak, have you been up to some mischief lately?"

"N-no." Lvluo lowered her head, bit her lip, and shook her head like a peddler's drum.

Zhang Yunxiu had been busy and exhausted lately, so he didn't pay it much mind; he waved his hand and walked out quickly.

Xu Ruoxi beckoned, calling Lvluo to her side, and whispered into her ear. As Lvluo listened, a flush of blood crept from her ears up to her cheeks.

At that moment, she was like a peeled sweet potato, with white steam rising from her.

"Young Mistress, will this really work?"

"Do it or don't, it's up to you. You little potato, do you expect the master to take the initiative to come find you?" Xu Ruoxi glared at the maid, then stood up from her chair and walked carefully out of the dining hall.

Zheng Xi'er, off to the side, followed, covering her mouth and giggling.

That evening, Zhang Yunxiu returned to the bedroom, yawning as he undressed and got into bed. He reached his hands into the silk quilt, but instead of touching the mattress, he touched a hot, soft, and delicate body.

"Who!!" Zhang Yunxiu was startled.

The silk quilt was slowly lifted.

A somewhat petite, yet fair and fragrant body was revealed from within.

It was none other than Lvluo.

At this moment, she was wearing only a red bodice on her upper body, and on her lower body, a pair of milky-white underpants that looked like thin gauze.

Large patches of snow-white skin were exposed directly to the air.

"W-why are you here?" Zhang Yunxiu asked cautiously.

"I... I came to warm the bed for the master," Lvluo replied timidly, her pretty face red enough to bleed.

"Oh, then have you warmed it up yet?"

"N-not yet."

"Then you warm it up first, I'll come back in a while," Zhang Yunxiu said, turning around to leave.

Lvluo grew anxious, suddenly jumping off the bed and grabbing Zhang Yunxiu from behind, then pleading with a tearful voice: "Master, Lvluo knows she was wrong, Lvluo doesn't want to marry, doesn't want to marry."

"Lvluo wants to serve the Young Lady and Master for her whole life."

Feeling the softness coming from his back.

Ripples stirred in Zhang Yunxiu's heart; he did have a fondness for this little potato. She was not tall, only a little over 1.5 meters, with a petite and delicate figure.

It made one unable to help but want to cherish her.

Taking a deep breath, he pried open her delicate hands, turned his body around, and asked: "Who told you to come?"

"N-no one, it was Lvluo who came on her own." Lvluo shook her head repeatedly, her fragrant body lunging forward and pressing directly into Zhang Yunxiu's chest, "Master, Lvluo wants to serve you."

Having said that, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed toward Zhang Yunxiu's lips.

Zhang Yunxiu felt the moisture on his lips, and his breathing immediately intensified, his steady breath turning into heavy gasps.

Knowing it had a miraculous effect, Lvluo hugged Zhang Yunxiu's neck while twisting her soft body like a water snake.

In the dead of night, a lone man and a lone woman.

Plus, this girl was originally Xu Ruoxi's maid, which meant she was a direct concubine.

Zhang Yunxiu immediately stopped suppressing himself.

He scooped up Lvluo and rushed toward the bedside. (End of this chapter)