106: Chapter 106 That concubine, I...I

Jiantian Division.

Zhao Laosan still had that same deadpan expression. With a "thud," he pressed the seal down, stamping the Waist Tokens of Chen Shanzhi and his three companions.

"Today's patrol: no incidents. Five points accumulated."

Jiang Feiyu snatched her Waist Token back. Looking at the updated numbers on it, she couldn't help but ask:

"Zhao Laosan, we've been patrolling Caishikou for several days now."

"Aside from helping Auntie Zhang find her cat or breaking up a fight for Uncle Li, we haven't done much."

"When can we get some new missions that give more points?"

Zhao Laosan lifted his eyelids, his tone devoid of any inflection. "Your Rank is insufficient. You can only take Copper Grade Lower Rank missions."

"Want missions with more points? Reach Copper Grade Middle Rank first."

"How much longer will that take?" Chen Shanzhi asked casually as he brushed the dust off his clothes.

"That is not for you to worry about. Just complete your missions well. Promotions will surely come in due time."

Zhao Laosan put away the dossiers and turned to leave, maintaining his cold and aloof persona.

Chen Shanzhi's lips twitched. Why did those words sound so familiar?

It was as if he were listening to the empty promises of a boss from his previous life.

Murong Yun crouched on the stone steps and took a large gulp of wine, looking utterly drained of the will to live.

"Damn it, I'm the young master of the prestigious Murong Family, yet now my head is filled with which vendor's pork is injected with water and whose scales are rigged."

"If word of this gets out, how am I supposed to show my face in the capital?"

...

The next day at Caishikou, evening.

At the end of the stalls, Mrs. Wang was laboriously moving wooden boards.

Beside her, five-year-old Yaya was crouching on the ground, carefully picking up flour crumbs from the dirt and putting them into a cracked bowl.

"Aunt Wang, closing up for the day?"

Chen Shanzhi walked over, naturally taking the heavy wooden board from her hands and propping it onto the nearby cart.

Mrs. Wang was startled. Seeing it was Chen Shanzhi, she hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron in a flustered manner, a grateful smile squeezing onto her face. "Lord Chen, you're helping again. This really isn't proper..."

"It's nothing," Chen Shanzhi waved it off. "How was business today?"

Mrs. Wang smiled.

"Not bad, there are only about ten buns left."

"I won't trouble Lord Chen today."

"I'll take them back and soak them in water for the child's father to eat."

"Wrap them all up."

Chen Shanzhi fished a piece of broken silver from his robe. "The few of us haven't had dinner yet. These will do perfectly to tide us over."

Mrs. Wang shook her head repeatedly. "I've been troubling Lord Chen these past few days; I'm already quite embarrassed."

"There aren't many left this time, so I won't bother Lord Chen to help me take care of them."

Chen Shanzhi tossed the silver onto the stall and said with a smile, "I really am hungry."

After saying that, he reached out to take a bun to eat.

Only to find that the dozen or so buns that were just on the stall had completely vanished.

Chen Shanzhi's mouth twitched. He turned his head to see Jiang Feiyu standing nearby, her cheeks puffed out like a little hamster's.

Noticing Chen Shanzhi looking over, she extended her fair palm, offering the one remaining bun.

With a hint of reluctance, she asked, "Wanna eat?"

Chen Shanzhi pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head, indicating he wouldn't eat.

Then he said to Mrs. Wang:

"Aunt Wang, the Refugee Area outside the city is a long way off. Head back early."

"Yaya, do you want to eat candy tomorrow?"

Yaya bit her finger, her large eyes sparkling as she nodded timidly.

He watched as the mother and daughter pushed their creaking small cart and disappeared around the street corner.

After finishing the buns, Jiang Feiyu remained silent for a long while before suddenly blurting out:

"Chen Shanzhi, I used to think the capital was quite large and full of fun things."

"Now I feel... this place is a bit crowded."

"Because you used to only look at the sky and never at the ground."

Chen Shanzhi patted her head as if he were rubbing his dog Wangcai at home.

"Behind all that luxury and fine food, there are plenty of people who can't even get a bowl of hot soup."

"This world has never changed."

The group left Caishikou and parted ways at the academy gate. They didn't return to the academy dormitories but instead took their respective carriages home.

This was because tomorrow was the Rest Day that occurred every ten days.

...

Zhenguo Marquis Mansion.

As soon as Chen Shanzhi stepped through the main gate, he smelled a refreshing aroma of meat.

It was the scent of a pork trotter stewed until it was incredibly tender.

"Shan'er, you're back?"

A voice as warm as jade drifted from the Dining Hall.

Chen Shanzhi walked through the door and saw Chen Rou sitting by the table, wearing only a light purple casual robe.

The form-fitting silk highlighted her shapely curves to perfection.

At her age, in her early thirties, a woman was like a fruit at the peak of ripeness.

In particular, the curves of her chest trembled slightly as she stood up.

It was truly a bountiful sight, yet it also exuded the particular dignity of an elder.

"Auntie." Chen Shanzhi composed himself and greeted her respectfully.

"Come, sit down. Let Auntie have a look at you."

Chen Rou pulled Chen Shanzhi over, her fair fingers pinching his face. She said with concern:

"You've grown thin. It seems the food at the academy isn't very good."

"A while ago, Auntie saw that you reached seventieth on the hidden dragon ranking."

"And I heard you also made a name for yourself on the academy wind and cloud ranking?"

Chen Shanzhi grinned. "It's nothing. Look at whose bloodline I carry."

"Pah, stop being so cheeky."

Chen Rou's fair face flushed slightly as she rolled her eyes at him. She then pulled him down to sit and began constantly piling food into his bowl.

"Auntie is truly happy that Shan'er has finally come to his senses."

"I used to fear you would just idle your life away in the capital, but now you seem to have some of your father's shadow from back then."

As Chen Rou spoke, she also worried that Chen Shanzhi might become too arrogant, so she added earnestly:

"However, you mustn't let it go to your head. Back then at the academy, your father was number one on the wind and cloud ranking."

"You must be more diligent in your cultivation in the future. Don't spend all day fooling around with those fair-weather friends..."

Chen Shanzhi felt his head start to buzz.

It had begun—the universal skill of elders everywhere: nagging.

Seeing that Chen Rou was about to launch into a long lecture, Chen Shanzhi acted quickly.

He picked up a piece of pork trotter that was stewed to a bright red, trembling glaze, and shoved it directly into the small bowl in front of Chen Rou.

"Auntie, try this. The mansion's cook is truly skilled."

"This pork trotter is rich but not greasy, it melts in your mouth, and it's good for your skin."

Chen Rou's words were cut off, and she was momentarily stunned.

She looked at the pork trotter in her bowl, and the corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously.

It was a look of gratification, mixed with the helplessness of having her nagging interrupted.

"You child..."

She opened her rosy lips and took a small, gentle bite.

Sure enough, the juices burst across her tongue, and a rich, savory aroma instantly filled her senses.

Perhaps because it was a piece Chen Shanzhi had given her, she felt it was more delicious than any delicacies she had ever eaten.

She chewed and swallowed slowly, and as soon as she was about to continue her lecture—

"Auntie, these bamboo shoots are also crisp. You should eat more."

Another chopstick-full of food arrived.

Chen Rou took another bite.

"And this steamed sea bass, it's very fresh."

The third serving followed immediately.

Chen Rou finally realized what was happening—this brat was trying to stuff her mouth so she couldn't talk.

She was both annoyed and amused. Seeing Chen Shanzhi approaching again with a piece of glistening pork belly—

She couldn't help but reach out her slender, jade-like hand and give Chen Shanzhi's wrist a light slap.

"You're not done yet, are you? Listen to Auntie finish her..."

With this slap, Chen Rou didn't use any Qi; it was purely a playful amount of force.

But Chen Shanzhi's wrist was caught off guard by the slap, causing his grip to loosen.

"Whoops!"

That greasy piece of pork belly, dripping with sauce—

Due to momentum, it slipped from between the chopsticks and traced a graceful arc through the air, heading straight for Chen Rou's ample chest.

Chen Rou's light purple casual robe was made of the finest silk. If it were stained by this heavy, dark sauce, it would be ruined instantly.

Chen Shanzhi's eyelids jumped. In the split second before he could pull back the chopsticks in his right hand—

His left hand shot out like lightning, fingers splayed, to intercept the piece of pork belly mid-air.

*Smack.*

With a soft sound, Chen Shanzhi felt a warmth in his palm; he had caught the pork belly firmly.

But because the momentum was too great, his left hand couldn't stop instantly upon catching the meat, and it naturally lunged forward.

Then, he felt the back of his hand press against something incredibly soft, elastic, and warm as jade.

The entire world seemed to freeze in that instant.

In Chen Shanzhi's left palm was the sticky, greasy pork belly.

But the back of his left hand was deeply buried within that expanse of light purple "waves."

What followed was an unimaginable softness.

Chen Rou froze completely.

Her beautiful eyes widened, her red lips parted slightly, and she stared blankly at Chen Shanzhi's hand resting on her chest.

Because Chen Shanzhi had used force to catch the meat, his fingers had naturally curled.

And so the back of his hand squeezed into the... depths.

Chen Shanzhi was also stunned.

He felt the grease in his palm spreading; that was the texture of the pork belly.

But at the same time, a faint fragrance, like that of someone who had just bathed—

Was drifting through the pores on the back of his hand and rushing straight to his head.

That fragrance overpowered the scent of the pork hock and the entire table of delicacies.

He could even clearly feel, through the thin silk—

The faint, rhythmic sound of a heartbeat transmitted through the back of his hand.

Time seemed to stretch on for a long while, yet it was also just a fleeting moment.

Chen Shanzhi subconsciously clenched his fist.

With this clench, the protruding knuckles on the back of his hand pressed even harder into that soft place.

The sensation was slippery and tender to the extreme.

Chen Rou's delicate body trembled slightly, and a barely audible hum escaped her throat.

"Shan... Shan'er."

Chen Rou's voice carried a hint of a tremor. That face, usually dignified and gentle, was now turning red at a visible speed, all the way to her ears.

Even her fair neck was stained with a charming shade of pink.

Chen Shanzhi finally snapped back to his senses.

He withdrew his hand as if he'd been electrocuted. The piece of pork belly in his palm was so slippery that it fell to the floor with a "thud."

He looked at his left hand, which was covered in grease but still retained that startling sensation. For a moment, he was so embarrassed he could have dug out another Zhenguo Marquis Mansion with his toes.

"That... Auntie, I... I..."

For a moment, Chen Shanzhi seemed to have forgotten how to speak.