A shiver ran through Lin Wanting’s delicate frame as a wave of confusion and dizziness washed over her.

The kiss seemed to last an eternity, yet it also felt like a fleeting instant. When Chen Zheng finally pulled away, he smiled at Lin Wanting. “You’re so beautiful!”

“Darling…” Lin Wanting panted, her face flushing with shyness.

“Hm?”

At that moment, Chen Zheng’s brow furrowed.

“Darling, your body… why is it so hot?” Lin Wanting asked, her eyes widening in surprise as she glanced at him.

Chen Zheng also noticed the strange heat radiating from his own body, and his heart tightened abruptly.

“Wanting, please sit down for a moment. I have something to take care of. I’ll be right back to keep you company,” Chen Zheng said, gently pushing her away before turning and walking towards the bedroom.

Lin Wanting stared blankly at his departing back, an uncontrollable sense of loss welling up inside her. She bit her lip and cursed under her breath. Jerk! You rotten scoundrel!

Stamping her foot in frustration, Lin Wanting turned and left as well.

…

「In the bedroom!」

Chen Zheng sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating his True Yuan for one complete cycle, but he still couldn’t recover his strength.

“Hah…” He exhaled a turbid breath, a wry smile touching his lips.

Damn it!

He gritted his teeth and slapped his storage pouch, taking out a small medicine bottle. He poured a pill into his palm, swallowed it, and immediately closed his eyes to resume his cultivation.

…

Time flew by, and night soon fell. The entire mansion was brilliantly lit, creating an extremely festive atmosphere. Inside his bedroom, Chen Zheng remained cross-legged on the bed, attempting to heal by consuming one medicinal pill after another. Unfortunately, the pills were far too weak and had almost no effect.

Chen Zheng sighed, thoroughly vexed.

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

A sudden knocking echoed from the door.

“Who is it!” Chen Zheng snapped, opening his eyes with a hint of anger.

“It’s your servant!” a timid voice called from the other side.

“Come in!” Chen Zheng ordered.

CREAK!

The door swung open to reveal a maid carrying a tray. On it was an oil lamp that illuminated a plate of delicate side dishes, a cup, and a pot of wine. It looked quite sumptuous.

“Your servant has prepared a meal, Young Master. Would you grace me with your presence to eat and drink together?” the maid asked timidly.

Chen Zheng nodded, his gaze landing on the maid. “What’s your name?”

“Replying to the Young Master, this servant’s name is Cui Hua,” the maid hastily responded, her head lowered.

“Cui Hua,” Chen Zheng murmured the name softly, sizing the maid up for a moment before nodding. “Not bad. Very good, indeed.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Young Master!” Cui Hua replied, taken aback. A moment later, a radiant smile bloomed on her face.

“Cui Hua, I have something important to attend to tonight, so I can’t eat just yet,” Chen Zheng said with a smile. “Please wait here for a bit. Once I’m finished, we can eat together. How does that sound?”

“Yes!” Cui Hua nodded.

“Hehe!” Chen Zheng chuckled.

Cui Hua saw this and frowned in confusion. What did he mean by that laugh?

With a final smile, Chen Zheng left the room.

As he departed, another servant approached Cui Hua. “You’re new, so it’s normal that you don’t understand. But remember this: you must never provoke the Master in the future.”

“Oh, Cui Hua understands. Thank you for the warning, Uncle,” she replied, nodding with the very picture of docility on her face.

The older servant just chuckled, shook his head, and left the room as well.

Cui Hua glanced at the spread of food, a flicker of greed in her eyes. She picked up her chopsticks, chose a piece of meat, and placed it in her mouth. As she chewed, her eyes widened in shock. Heavens, this is… it’s absolutely delicious!

“Haha! This girl usually doesn’t even dare to touch meat, but today she’s helping herself! This meat is so tender. It would be even better if it were diced!”

“Hehe! You’re right! Looks like we’ve got a good one this time!”

Seeing Cui Hua eating the meat, the other cooks all gathered around, their shifty eyes fixed on the dishes in front of her.

An embarrassed flush appeared on Cui Hua’s face. “I’m full!” she declared, hastily pushing the plate aside and sweeping the rest of the food onto the floor.

The cooks glared at her with dissatisfaction. “This worthless wench! To think she’d secretly eat the food we bought with our own money!” one of them huffed coldly.

Seeing their unfriendly glares, Cui Hua panicked. “Sorry, so sorry! I’ll clean it up right away!” she said, quickly bending down to pick up the scattered food. However, as she bent over, she lost her footing and tumbled to the ground with a cry. “Ouch!”

CLANG! CRACK!

With a series of crisp sounds, Cui Hua slammed hard into a chair, sending it flying more than ten meters.

“Ah!” she screamed, landing flat on her face. “Owowow, that hurts so much! Wuwuwu…” She lay there, having taken a complete nosedive, unable to get back up.

A cook walked over and helped Cui Hua up. “Are you alright?” she asked.

Cui Hua shook her head, glancing at the other cooks with a pang of resentment. “I’m fine.”

“Let me take a look.” The cook inspected Cui Hua, then casually produced a silver needle and pricked her arm with it. Then, she pulled a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, uncorked it, and a rich fragrance of medicinal herbs filled the air.

The rich aroma wafted through the room, and the other cooks’ eyes immediately lit up with greed.

“What is that?”

“What’s that smell?”

“It smells like… spiritual herbs!”

The cook emptied the contents of the porcelain bottle, introducing each item one by one. “This is Lingzhi, this is Spirit Grass, this is Purple Jade Grass, this is Thousand-Year Spirit Wood, and this is a Hundred-Year Spirit Turtle!”

Cui Hua gasped, her eyes practically glowing green with envy as she stared at the box full of Spiritual Medicine.

“Young Miss, we’ll take all this Spiritual Medicine. Sell it to us!” one of the cooks said, licking her lips.

“You want to buy it all?” Cui Hua asked, hesitating. She had no intention of selling them cheaply.

“Listen, Young Miss, things like these cost a fortune to acquire,” another cook said, staring intently at Cui Hua.

“Alright!” Cui Hua gritted her teeth. “I’ll sell all of this Spiritual Medicine to you for one thousand taels of silver. Not a single coin less!”

“Okay!”

“Straightforward!”

“Haha!”

Hearing her price, the cooks all grinned from ear to ear. Their combined monthly wages only amounted to six hundred taels, after all.

“Please wait here a moment while I go change,” Cui Hua announced before turning and running upstairs, quickly vanishing from their sight.

“That girl is far too eager,” one cook remarked with a curled lip. “It’s her first day serving the Master and she’s already this impatient. Looks like she needs to be properly trained.”

“Indeed, indeed.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep