The koi couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
“No reason,” Ye Piaoling said. “Just consider it one of my peculiar quirks!”
The koi was speechless for a long moment before replying, “That wish won’t do. Make another one.”
Seeing this, Ye Piaoling was disappointed.
She thought for a while and murmured, “If you can’t even manage a simple bathrobe, I’m starting to doubt your capabilities… Looks like I’ll have to make a simpler wish, something you can actually handle.”
Koi: “Fine, let’s hear it.”
Ye Piaoling stared at it seriously and said, “I want to eat braised carp.”
“…”
The koi’s heart skipped a beat, and it quickly said, “The Regent King’s bathrobe is nothing more than a trivial matter for me. But I was recently injured, and many of my spells are difficult to cast right now. You’ll have to wait a while. Once I recover my strength, I’ll use magic to fetch it for you.”
“Great!” Ye Piaoling clapped. “I knew you could do it!”
The koi said, “It’s settled then. Now hurry up and change my water!”
Ye Piaoling replied, “I’ll do it as soon as I wake up!”
Upon hearing this, the koi immediately ended the dream so she would wake up sooner.
…
Ye Piaoling woke from her dream.
Habitually, she rolled over and went back to sleep…
She slept until the next day, well past noon.
Sitting up and stretching, she remembered the dream from last night and her promise to change the koi’s water.
Ye Piaoling quickly put on her clothes and went to check the fish tank in the hall.
In the tank, the cornmeal had mostly settled, forming a thick layer of yellow at the bottom like a sandy beach.
On the water’s surface, the koi was once again floating belly-up, lying motionless with an expression of utter disillusionment…
Ye Piaoling tapped the fish tank. “Brother, don’t lose heart. I’ll get you some clean water right away.”
After changing the water, Ye Piaoling placed the koi back in the tank.
The koi was already numb.
It remained in the same position, floating on its back.
Ye Piaoling watched it for a while.
It didn’t move at all, like an emoji floating on the water.
“Tsk, as a fish, you sure love striking this pose. How willful.”
Ye Piaoling sighed, shook her head, and went out.
At lunchtime, Fox Shadow returned.
Ye Piaoling said, “No need to feed Huohuo anymore. It doesn’t eat.”
Fox Shadow: “Huohuo?”
“That’s the koi,” Ye Piaoling explained. “I gave it a name—Huohuo. How does it sound? Nice, right?”
“…”
Fox Shadow was speechless for a moment before sighing in relief. “Good thing I already have a name.”
Ye Piaoling asked, “How did the investigation on Concubine Liu go?”
After being harmed by her several times, it was time for revenge!
Fox Shadow replied, “Concubine Liu previously made reckless remarks insulting the Prime Minister. After sobering up, to accept punishment, she voluntarily reduced her monthly allowance and dismissed most of the servants in her courtyard. She also repented for being unworthy as a mother and sent Young Master Tianbao to another concubine’s courtyard to be raised.”
Ye Piaoling frowned.
Even her own son—she could give him away. How ruthless this act was…
Fox Shadow continued, “Seeing her genuine remorse, the Prime Minister treated her much better. Concubine Liu’s morning sickness is severe; she vomits everything she eats. Later, she only wanted to eat dishes from her hometown in Jiangnan and requested a chef from there. The Prime Minister agreed.”
Ye Piaoling asked, “Oh? Has the chef arrived?”
Fox Shadow said, “He’s here. After eating the dishes he prepared, Concubine Liu indeed stopped vomiting. That chef has been kept at the Fragrant Courtyard, specifically in charge of Concubine Liu’s meals.”
Ye Piaoling pondered carefully, sensing that things were not as simple as they seemed.
Dismissing the servants, then bringing in a young and robust chef from their hometown…
Although everything seemed reasonable on the surface,
Ye Piaoling had a strong premonition:
Dad, you’re about to be cuckolded!!
“How old is that chef? What kind of person is he? Does he have any cultivation?”
“His name is Tu San. He’s in his thirties, a broad-shouldered and sturdy man. He has no cultivation, but I heard he knows a bit of martial arts.”
Ye Piaoling smiled.
Perfect…
Tonight, she would go to the Fragrant Courtyard and give Concubine Liu a grand gift!
…
Night fell.
Ye Piaoling used her Lightness Skill and arrived at the Fragrant Courtyard.
The Fragrant Courtyard was large. Besides the main room where Concubine Liu lived, there were several side courtyards for the servants to reside in.
Ye Piaoling leaped onto the roof and lifted a tile.
Since gaining martial arts, her senses had become exceptionally sharp. Under the bright moonlight, she could vaguely see that Concubine Liu’s bed was empty.
Ye Piaoling was not surprised by this.
Concubine Liu’s pregnancy at this critical moment was likely fake. What she needed most now was to actually conceive a child!
Ye Liao Zhai was unlikely to help, so she could only turn to someone else…
Like her fellow townsman Tu San, who had traveled thousands of miles to get here!
Dismissing the servants and sending her son away would greatly facilitate her late-night meetings with her fellow townsman.
The only question was, where would Concubine Liu choose to meet to avoid being discovered?
Ye Piaoling moved swiftly across the rooftops of the Fragrant Courtyard, checking all the rooms, but found no trace of Concubine Liu.
This was strange.
Ye Piaoling frowned.
Could she have hidden underground?
Ye Piaoling’s figure silently glided through several courtyards and finally arrived at a dilapidated side courtyard.
This was the most remote corner of the Fragrant Courtyard, where unused miscellaneous items were piled up year-round. It was dusty, rundown, and rarely visited by anyone.
Behind the courtyard was a dry well.
Ye Piaoling’s gaze fell on the dry well, flickering with realization.
A sturdy rope was tied to the pulley, extending all the way down into the deep well…
Ye Piaoling walked to the edge of the well.
At the bottom of the well, Concubine Liu was embracing Tu San intimately.
Tu San laughed, “After all these years, you still haven’t forgotten your old flame!”
“You rascal, I’ve been thinking of you all along!”
“Try harder and conceive quickly. Then, let the cuckolded prime minister raise my son for me, hahaha…”
Ye Piaoling sat down by the well, listening to their conversation, and silently marveled at Concubine Liu’s ingenuity in finding such a place to carry on an affair—right at the bottom of a well.
The deep well could block all sounds and movements.
Moreover, in the dead of night, even if someone occasionally passed by and heard noises from the dry well in the desolate courtyard, they would likely assume it was haunted and run away in fear…
This was the perfect place for a secret rendezvous!
While marveling at the idea, Ye Piaoling took out the dagger she carried with her and began cutting the rope.
The well was over ten meters deep. Without the rope, there was no way to climb back up.
Concubine Liu and Tu San could live happily ever after at the bottom of the well…