Chapter 447: Meeting the Commandant

Shen Youwei thinks this will embarrass Chen Wuji.

But Qin Zhanhong laughed it off, saying, "With your husband's temperament, there's no point getting angry at a piece of wood. It's fine; maybe later when he sees it he'll even praise my skill."

"Indeed, the skill is quite good." Chen Wuji laughed from the opposite corridor.

He was about to see what those few people were up to, but he didn't expect to see this shocking scene as soon as he stepped out.

One must say, Qin Zhanhong is really talented, even managing to come up with this thing.

It's a bit too ahead of its time.

Chen Wuji's shout made Huo Sanniang, who had her eyes closed guessing what she was eating, snap them open; upon seeing the thing before her, her face flushed crimson, she broke free, jumped up and struck Qin Zhanhong, "Zhanhong, what the hell did you make? How could you let me eat this?"

Qin Zhanhong giggled as she ran off, "Sanniang, why can't this be eaten? Really, there's nothing to fear; what's there to be shy about if it's fake?"

"Don't run! I'll beat you to death!" Huo Sanniang, flushed with shame and anger, chased Qin Zhanhong and gave her a beating.

Just now she had actually been seriously pondering for a while what exactly she was eating.

The courtyard erupted in chaos, but thanks to Chen Wuji's intervention the situation was barely brought under control.

"Alright, everyone just take a break." Chen Wuji said with a smile.

Huo Sanniang, flushed with shame and anger, gave it her all today; even if she couldn't catch up, she kept pursuing desperately.

"Little hoof, if you've got the guts don't run." Huo Sanniang, though she had stopped her hands, her anger hadn't really subsided; just thinking of the foolish thing she'd just done, she, besides being ashamed and furious, just wanted to beat Qin Zhanhong to death.

Qin Zhanhong, like a little peacock returning victorious, said with a grin, "Sanniang, I've trained in martial arts; if I don't use it to flee now, what's the point of having learned it?"

"Wuji, don't stop me; I'm definitely going to beat her to death today!" Huo Sanniang shouted angrily.

Actually…

Chen Wuji and they were several steps apart, not blocking at all.

But Huo Sanniang had even called out that step herself; surely, one ought to intervene.

Thus, Chen Wuji immediately stepped forward, placing himself between them, "It's not a big deal, no need to, no need to…"

Huo Sanniang, puffing with anger, shouted at Qin Zhanhong, "If it weren't for Wuji stopping me, I'd definitely beat you to death! Quickly throw away your thing—what a mess you've made."

Qin Zhanhong nearly laughed herself crazy.

"Thank you, Sanniang, for sparing me, but this thing can't be thrown away; I secretly polished it for days to make it. Whether you use it or not doesn't matter, but this is a surprise for my husband." Qin Zhanhong said.

Chen Wuji blinked, "How did this become a surprise for me?"

"Because I love you deeply."

Chen Wuji: ……

That statement isn't wrong.

But her saying that while holding that thing feels so awkward.

"What nonsense are you talking about? How did you come up with making this?" Chen Wuji wondered curiously where Qin Zhanhong's ahead-of-its-time idea came from.

"Just bored, I made it on a whim." Qin Zhanhong said, "I once saw a jade one in the palace belonging to a lady; it was crystal clear and very beautiful, but we probably couldn't afford it."

"But if I really had to buy it, I might be reluctant to part with a handful of silver for that thing; it feels like a loss."

Chen Wuji indeed gained quite some insight.

"I thought you figured this out yourself, but it turns out it's already existed?"

Qin Zhanhong looked surprised, "Husband, you don't know this thing?"

"It's been around for a while; I don't know when it first appeared, but I've seen it many times. The ladies in the palace use the finest ones, all sorts, all kinds of oddities."

"The girls in brothels also use it; our previous strongholds were hidden in such brothels, a mixed bag, so we've seen this sort of thing often."

Huo Sanniang and Shen Youwei listening to these things felt like hearing heavenly scriptures.

"Why do the girls in brothels need this? They're not lacking men." Shen Youwei asked.

Seeing everyone looking eager for wisdom, Qin Zhanhong's confidence to display her knowledge surged; she lightly coughed and said, "You folks don't understand this; they're not lacking men, but rather they use it to cultivate their skills."

Huo Sanniang covered her burning cheeks with both hands, asking bewildered, "What skill does one practice with this?"

"Naturally it's those boudoir arts and such; some girls aren't pretty, so they can only rely on martial arts to conquer men; otherwise why do so many men love to run to brothels? Because the girls there are indeed more formidable, each possessing real ability." Qin Zhanhong said.

This wasn't just shocking Huo Sanniang and Shen Youwei; Chen Wuji also gained a hefty insight.

He didn't expect that Da Yu's brothels even had secret techniques passed down.

This piqued his interest a bit; he wanted to investigate further.

"Do you know any of those arts?" Huo Sanniang asked softly.

Qin Zhanhong shook her head, then felt a bit embarrassed, "Although I've been a bit wanton in front of you, I'm still a lady from a respectable family; how could I possibly go learn these things on my own?"

She glanced at Huo Sanniang and Shen Youwei's faces, then whispered, "Do you want to learn?"

"No, no."

Shen Youwei and Huo Sanniang immediately shook their heads.

Qin Zhanhong gave a low chuckle; she already understood in her heart.

"It's not that they don't want to; they just can't bring themselves to say it."

"Didn't you say wash up and go to bed early? Why are you still here?" Xiao Yuji, having thrown on a garment, walked out from the corridor, saw Chen Wuji and the others in the courtyard, and asked strangely.

Chen Wuji seized the moment to wave his hand and said, "Let's go, tidy up and sleep."

Tomorrow he also has to lead troops on campaign, so tonight isn't suitable for staying up too late.

That night, the large bed Xiao Yuji had just acquired creaked for most of the night before finally settling down.

……

No words all night.

The next day Chen Wuji lazily stayed in bed, only getting up at the si hour.

At the tavern he accompanied several ladies for a meal that could hardly be called breakfast, then rushed to the county office, handling yesterday's dispatched official business on one hand while ordering Chen Baojia to be summoned for discussion on the other.

Chen Baojia has been traveling back and forth between Yunan City and Xishan Village during this period.

After three rounds of expansion, the Chen Clan Troops, with new and old mixed together, daily training is indispensable. Chen Baojia, this chief commander, is not at ease delegating the training to his subordinates, so he shuttles between the two locations personally overseeing the training.

"Family Head, Chen Baojia has arrived."

Chen Li walked in from the doorway, clasped his hands and said.

"Let him in." Chen Wuji was reviewing documents, without looking up, he said.

"Yes!"

"Uncle Shi Yi Shu, you also wait a moment."

"Yes."

Chen Li relayed a message outward; shortly after, Chen Baojia entered, his complexion darker than before but his bearing more like that of a commander, head held high and chest out.

"Greetings, Commandant!"