Chapter 762

Actually, Sarolin had already reviewed it once, and there should have been no issue—but he loved to drink, and yesterday he’d been so drunk he couldn’t be sure if he’d made a mistake, so he dared not explain at all.

Li Chen did not immediately punish him; he merely waved his hand, his tone cold and tinged with displeasure: “You’ve performed so poorly, go back and reflect! I’ll keep you under observation for now!”

This ambiguous punishment was more terrifying than direct retribution.

Sarolin returned home in a daze and told his wife Wendini; the two embraced and wept uncontrollably, feeling as if the sky had collapsed.

At that moment, the clan chief Lothema’s fury arrived. He came personally to Sarolin’s home and pointed at his nose, scolding harshly:

“Sarolin! You fool! The Lord gave you an opportunity—that’s a tremendous grace! How dare you be so negligent, drink and ruin your duty, and dare to deceive the Lord with substandard goods?! Do you know you nearly brought catastrophic disaster upon our clan?! If not for the Lord’s mercy, I’d have crippled you right now!”

In his rage, Lothema immediately ordered Sarolin thrown into the clan’s dungeon to await judgment—actually, this was also meant as a display for Li Chen.

With her husband imprisoned and his fate uncertain, even possibly executed by the furious clan chief, Wendini felt her world shatter instantly.

She wept bitterly, begging everyone for help—but who would dare plead for someone who had offended the Lord?

With no other options, she remembered Sylph, the “favorite” who now had the Lord’s ear.

She knelt outside Sylph’s courtyard gate, begging her to save her husband.

Sylph led her inside, gazing at her face—heartbreaking, desperate, yet still breathtakingly beautiful—and silently sighed, pleased that her plan was proceeding smoothly.

She put on a look of reluctance, hesitated long, then as if making a final decision, lowered her voice: “Aunt Wendini, Uncle Sarolin has truly committed a grave offense. He angered the Lord, and even the clan chief cannot save him. The only hope now may lie with the Lord himself.”

“But how can we even gain an audience with the Lord to beg for mercy?” Wendini sobbed uncontrollably.

At her rank, even requesting an audience with Li Chen was nearly impossible.

Sylph leaned close, her voice laced with temptation and helplessness: “Normal channels won’t work. But there might be one unconventional way. The Lord has only recently awakened and lacks someone close to attend him.”

“If you, Aunt, are willing to lower yourself, go personally to beg the Lord, swear you wish to atone for your husband’s sins by becoming his slave, his servant, attending him day and night—perhaps, moved by your sincerity and… this…” (Sylph’s gaze lingered meaningfully on Wendini’s stunning beauty and voluptuous figure) “…the Lord might show mercy and spare Uncle Sarolin this once.”

She had expected Wendini, a woman of such purity and resolve, to reject her outright—or even curse her—and had already prepared her next arguments, even methods of half-coercion.

Yet, to Sylph’s surprise, when Wendini heard “slave and servant,” her body trembled violently, her face drained of color, her eyes filled with torment and anguish.

But when she thought of her husband, whose fate was unknown in the dungeon, and of her young daughter who might lose her father, she closed her eyes; two silent tears fell. When she opened them again, only a resigned, unyielding determination remained.

Her voice was hoarse but crystal clear: “Fine. Thank you. If it can save him, I’ll do anything.”

Under Sylph’s recommendation, Li Chen’s personal female slave team gained one new member: Wendini, outwardly saintly, inwardly fierce.

A personal female slave meant she must remain at Li Chen’s side twenty-four hours a day, ready to fulfill any demand, with virtually no private time or space.

Yet, to Wendini’s confusion—and unease—Li Chen, though keeping her near, did not immediately claim her as she had expected.

The Lord merely had her naked each day perform seemingly ordinary chores within the sacred hall: massaging his stiff muscles, warming his bedding with her body heat before he slept, kneeling quietly beside him while he read or sipped tea, serving him tea and water.

Wendini was supremely confident in her appearance and figure; she could tell this Lord was far from ascetic—evident in the increasingly radiant complexions and occasional sultry glances of Bi Luodi and Feladora.