Chapter 809: The Amusing Ladies

"Sister, my illness..."

Shen Lu blushed and turned her head slightly, speaking the latter half of her sentence in a mosquito‑tiny voice: "It seems to have gotten better."

"Better?!" Yan Qiushui's eyes lit up instantly, shining terrifyingly.

Shen Lu lightly nodded, then shook her head a bit, saying, "I'm not entirely sure, but it seems to have improved a little; anyway, last night… sister, you must have seen it then."

"At first I really felt uncomfortable, a bit unaccustomed. But later… it just… felt quite natural."

She actually wanted to say she quite liked that feeling, it was very comfortable, but she really couldn't bring herself to say it.

Too embarrassing.

Yan Qiushui beamed, her eyes briefly moist, saying, "Good, good, good."

"I also feel it's gotten even better…" Shen Lu gave a faint smile, "Although I didn't marry the same man as my sister, serving the master alongside her as an attendant seems… not bad either."

Yan Qiushui gave Shen Lu a look, saying, "This is already the best outcome; as for the rest, don't even think about it—you know the situation in the manor, and going forward… we'll have to adjust a bit."

Just recalling last night's scene made her scalp tingle with embarrassment, her whole body almost breaking out in a rash.

But last night, no matter how shy she was, it didn't help.

The young lady of her old master's household took the lead; she couldn't resist, could only grit her teeth and accept, and such things will surely happen more often in the future.

Besides trying to adapt herself, there seems to be no other way.

After all, even the master had been arranged by the ladies; as their two attendants, they had no choice.

Shen Lu stuck out her tongue and whispered to Yan Qiushui, "I really didn't know the ladies used to be so formidable; at first they almost scared me to death. Their behavior is practically… like mountain bandits."

"Shh!"

Yan Qiushui quickly pressed a finger to her lips. "Nonsense, hurry up and get dressed—the master and the ladies are up, and we're still in bed talking about this!"

Shen Lu nodded repeatedly. "Indeed we need to hurry… ah… how did my clothes get torn?"

"... It seems the young lady tore it."

"…" Shen Lu stared blankly for a moment, then gave a helpless smile. "I remember now. The young lady sometimes does… improper things. Sister, hurry up and get dressed, go help me get something—I have nothing to wear."

"Got it." Yan Qiushui sped up, but when she grabbed the skirt and looked at it, she also froze. "I… seem to have nothing to wear either—when did my skirt get torn like this?"

Shen Lu thought seriously, "This seems to have been… the Fifth Lady who tore it, I think. You weren't using the skirt to block back then, were you? You even hid your head under the covers out of shyness; the Fourth Lady suggested using scissors, and the Fifth Lady just went ahead and did it."

Yan Qiushui: …

"The ladies… are quite strong." Yan Qiushui gave a wry smile. "Give me your skirt first; I'll go back to my room to get clothes."

"Give!"

Shen Lu took off the skirt she had just put on and gave it to Yan Qiushui, then hid herself under the covers.

The two managed to piece together an outfit, Yan Qiushui quickly put it on and left the master bedroom where Chen Wuji, Huo Sanniang, and the others were.

Just as she stepped out, she met the stares of a group of people.

In the courtyard, Chen Wuji, Huo Sanniang, and everyone else were all present.

Chen Wuji was writing documents; the others were picking vegetables, practicing swords, brewing tea—each occupied with their own tasks.

Yan Qiushui glanced around, her cheeks flushing instantly. "Master, lady, I… I didn't mean to wake up late; I truly didn't hear the rooster."

Yan Qiushui swore this was absolutely the biggest social death of her life.

Nothing could be more embarrassing than this moment!

Shen Youwei came over, chuckling, and asked, "How are you? Any discomfort?"

Yan Qiushui's mouth twitched, she gave a dry laugh. "Second Lady, I… I'm fine."

"That's good, last night your shouting scared us; although you kept saying you were fine, we couldn't help but worry!" Shen Youwei, who was a head shorter than Yan Qiushui, now adopted completely the air of an experienced elder, speaking with an old‑fashioned solemnity.

Of course, she did it on purpose.

The words "serious and solemn" could barely stay on her for that long.

Yan Qiushui wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into from embarrassment.

The daytime review was practically as brutal as a pig‑killing knife.

She really wanted to say, "My living ancestor, Second Lady, please stop, don't ask anymore."

But…

Don't dare!

In Chen Wuji's household, the distinctions between master and servant aren't really that clear.

But Yan Qiushui and Shen Lu both came from the Qin family's strictly regulated grand manor; to them, these things are deeply ingrained, and even now it's not easy to change them.

"Anything uncomfortable, tell us, right? And what about little Shen Lu?" Shen Youwei asked.

Yan Qiushui gave a dry laugh. "She has nothing to wear; I need to go get her clothes."

"It's fine, go wash up first; I'll help her get her clothes." Shen Youwei said amiably.

Yan Qiushui hurriedly refused. "I wouldn't dare trouble the Second Lady to do it herself; I'll go get it, it'll be quick."

"Go wash up; today you'd better take a hot bath." Shen Youwei pushed Yan Qiushui and decided that without further discussion.

Seeing that, Yan Qiushui had no choice but to give up.

Having taken the advice, she fetched hot water from the kitchen, was about to return to her and Shen Lu's room for a quick soak as advised, when suddenly she heard strange sounds coming from the main house, like Shen Lu's voice.

Faintly, one could hear words like "don't".

Yan Qiushui instinctively thought Shen Lu had been summoned by the master for a second round, but when she turned she saw the master himself seated in the courtyard, writing documents, while the young lady and the ladies were nowhere to be seen.

Yan Qiushui realized instantly, hurriedly slipped away, and could only silently mourn for Shen Lu in her heart.

The ladies love to play; she can't stop this sort of thing.

…

Two days later, the Military Arsenal Workshop produced a new batch of armor and crossbows.

Three thousand sets of armor, five thousand linked crossbows.

These armaments all use iron produced in San Guan Jun.

Since allying with Yang Yu, the iron from San Guan Jun has already created nearly ten thousand sets of armor for Chen Wuji.

This is the second batch currently produced.

The previous batch was slightly more, but after distributing the benefits evenly, each unit actually didn't receive much.

This time Chen Wuji plans to fully equip Feng Linchuan's troops.

The Southwest Chu Wang's battle in Qiang Land was remarkably outstanding; this is considered some of the rewards he deserves.

Armor and linked crossbows are fully loaded onto vehicles; Chen Wuji also prepares to dispatch troops.

Before departing, he summoned Chen Xingyuan, instructing him to mobilize as many people as possible to transport iron to San Guan Jun; the Court's army is heading south, and his cooperation with Yang Yu is likely nearing its end.