Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Is Chapter 346 going to use this to test the cadres?

As the two talked, it had become completely dark.

Torches were lit throughout the village, making it bright and the air filled with the aroma of roasted meat and rice wine.

Alliance Leader Yang put down his wine cup, glanced at the sky outside, and turned to Lin Chen with a smile:

"Your Highness, it's getting dark, and the mountain path is difficult to traverse. If you don't mind, why don't you stay here for the night and continue your journey tomorrow?"

Lin Chen paused for a moment, then nodded: "Then I'll take my leave."

Leader Yang clapped his hands with joy:

"Not at all! It's my honor that Your Highness is staying here!"

As he spoke, he turned and shouted outside. Several maid-like girls came in with tea and fruit, quickly cleared the table, and replaced it with new fruit platters and snacks.

Alliance Leader Yang drank a few more cups with Lin Chen and chatted about the customs and culture of Nan Yue.

As he was talking, he suddenly clapped his hands.

The curtain was lifted, and a row of girls entered, seven or eight in total, of varying heights and builds.

But they were all dressed in the finest attire of the Southern Yue, with silver crowns on their heads and silver ornaments all over their bodies, making a jingling sound as they walked.

Several young women followed behind, dressed more elegantly, with a mature charm in their eyes and brows.

Lin Chen held his wine glass, glanced at it, and then looked at Alliance Leader Yang.

Leader Yang said with a smile:

"Your Highness, these are all girls from my clan, and a few others are gifts from nearby tribes."

Although they cannot compare to the beauties of Dayan, they are still quite pretty. If Your Highness does not mind, would you like them to serve you tonight?

Lin Chen put down his wine glass, his face expressionless, and said, "Alliance Leader Yang, what do you mean by this?"

"It's nothing special, just a small token of my appreciation." Alliance Leader Yang quickly waved his hand.

"It is a rare occasion for Your Highness to come to Nanyue, so I cannot neglect you. These girls are all here voluntarily, and there was absolutely no coercion involved."

Lin Chen glanced at the girls.

Several of them were indeed good-looking, with bright eyes, looking at him expectantly.

The young women looked at him with such adoring eyes that they seemed to be cats eyeing a fish.

He withdrew his gaze, picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said slowly:

"Leader Yang, I appreciate your kindness, but please let the girls go back."

Alliance Leader Yang was taken aback: "Does Your Highness look down on him?"

"It's not that I look down on it." Lin Chen shook his head: "It's just that I have a problem; I'm not used to communication without emotion."

Besides, we have to travel tomorrow, and if we stay up all night, we won't be able to get up tomorrow.

Alliance Leader Yang wanted to persuade him further, but Lin Chen waved his hand, his tone casual but leaving no room for negotiation:

"Let them go back; don't hold the young lady back."

Seeing that Lin Chen truly didn't want it, Alliance Leader Yang had no choice but to wave his hand and dismiss the girls.

As the girls walked to the door, one of them turned back to look at Lin Chen, her eyes filled with disappointment.

Alliance Leader Yang rubbed his hands together, somewhat embarrassed: "Your Highness, this old man..."

Lin Chen raised his wine glass: "Alliance Leader Yang, let's drink."

Leader Yang quickly raised his cup, and the two clinked glasses.

After the wine was downed, the awkwardness dissipated.

Alliance Leader Yang drank a few more cups with Lin Chen and chatted about some interesting things in Nan Yue. Seeing that Lin Chen was getting a little annoyed, he got up to say goodbye and asked someone to take Lin Chen to rest.

The guest rooms were very clean. The bamboo houses were two stories high, and you could see the lights of the village and the dark mountain shadows in the distance when you opened the window.

The bed was covered with brand-new bedding, which smelled of sunshine.

Lin Chen lay down on the bed, crossed his legs, put his hands behind his head, and looked at the bamboo ceiling above him.

Lan Fenghuang sat by the bed, poured him a cup of tea, and handed it to him:

"Husband, why didn't you want those girls just now? I saw them, and two of them were quite pretty."

Lin Chen took the tea and took a sip: "Not bad, then? What about those I saw in the brothel?"

"That's different." Lan Fenghuang covered her mouth and chuckled. "The ones in the brothels cost money, these are free."

Lin Chen handed the teacup back and pulled her over, saying, "I don't want it even if it's free; it's too much trouble."

Lan Fenghuang leaned against Lin Chen's chest, looking up at him: "What trouble?"

Lin Chen chuckled lightly and said slowly:

"Once you take someone's girl in, you'll owe them a favor. That old fox, Leader Yang, won't be easy to repay his favors."

Lin Chen paused, then said, "Besides, I don't lack women or people to sleep with. Why would I bother with unfamiliar women? I'm not a teddy bear, am I?"

"Teddy?" Blue Phoenix asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Lin Chen smiled and whispered a few words in Lan Fenghuang's ear.

Lan Fenghuang's face flushed red instantly, and she reached out and punched Lin Chen.

"Where...where did you learn all this nonsense?"

Lin Chen chuckled and grasped her fist: "Do you even need to learn this? It's talent."

Lan Fenghuang was both ashamed and angry. She tried to pull her fist back, but Lin Chen held it tightly and she couldn't pull it away.

She glared at Lin Chen, but her eyes weren't intimidating; instead, they were watery, which made Lin Chen's heart flutter.

He released Lan Fenghuang's hand, flipped over, and pinned her beneath him.

Blue Phoenix exclaimed in surprise, placing her hands on Lin Chen's chest:

"No... the soundproofing here is bad, and there are people next door."

Lin Chen glanced in the direction of the next room, a playful smile playing on his lips:

"What's there to be afraid of? It's not like we haven't heard of it before."

Lan Fenghuang wanted to say something, but her mouth was already covered.

Moonlight streamed through the cracks in the window, casting silvery-white patches of light on the ground.

The distant songs gradually faded, replaced by the chirping of insects, one after another.

The bamboo house swayed gently in the night breeze, making a soft creaking sound.

Lingbo sat on the bed in the next guest room, eyes closed, legs crossed, meditating.

Her breathing was steady, like a still pool in the deep mountains, without a ripple.

The vital energy flows slowly through the meridians, circulating throughout the body in one cycle, two cycles, three cycles.

Everything is normal.

Then I heard a noise from next door.

The sound was like a feather gently landing on the water's surface, causing ripples to spread out in concentric circles, impossible to suppress.

Lingbo frowned slightly and paused in breathing.

She tried to bring her attention back and continue to regulate her breathing.

The true energy was still flowing, but the rhythm was out of control.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself down—one, two, three… Just as she counted to three, another sound came from next door.

This time it was heavier, clearer, and the lingering sound echoed long afterward.

Lingbo opened her eyes and looked at the wall opposite her.

The bamboo wall was so thin that she could see a sliver of candlelight shining through from the other side.

Her ears started to burn, not from shyness, but from the rush of blood to her head.

She wasn't unaware of Lin Chen's promiscuity, but this was the first time she'd been this close.

The sounds from next door came and went, like a mountain stream, sometimes rushing, sometimes flowing slowly.

Lingbo sat on the bed, motionless, but her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white.

She wanted to shut off her hearing, but for some reason she didn't.

Lin Chen's voice from next door was low and deep, sounding like he was laughing, or perhaps he was saying something.

Blue Phoenix's voice was even softer, intermittent, like dandelion seeds scattered by the wind.

Lingbo couldn't hear what they were saying, but the sounds crawled into her ears like tiny insects, tickling her, and she couldn't get rid of them no matter what she did.

Her ears turned bright red, and her cheeks burned.

She stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.

A cool night breeze blew in, carrying the scents of grass, trees, and earth, and the heat on my face subsided a little.

The wind scattered those sounds, then gathered them again, like fog, omnipresent.

She leaned against the window frame, looked up at the moon, and the moonlight shone on her, making her look like she was draped in a layer of silver gauze.

Her breathing gradually calmed down, and her heartbeat slowly returned to normal.

The base of my ear is still hot, but the burning sensation has subsided.

She closed her eyes, feeling the moonlight pouring in from the top of her head, flowing through her meridians, and converging into her dantian, washing away her restlessness little by little.

The noise from next door was still there, but she was able to face it calmly now.

It's not that I don't care, maybe I'm just used to it, or maybe...

Just then, a low laugh came from next door.

Lin Chen's voice was languid and smug, like a cat that had just stolen some fish.

Lingbo tapped her finger lightly on the window frame.

She realized that the laughter wasn't directed at Lan Fenghuang, but at her.

That person knew she could hear him; not only did he know, he deliberately let her hear him.

Her brow furrowed slightly, then relaxed.

The moon climbed to its zenith, round and bright.

Lingbo stepped back from the window and sat back on the bed.

She crossed her legs again, closed her eyes, and began to regulate her breathing.

This time, she didn't try to block out those voices; instead, she treated them like the wind, the rain, and the mountain streams.

The sound comes and goes as it pleases; it neither welcomes nor rejects, neither lingers nor chases away.

The vital energy began to circulate again in the meridians, one cycle, two cycles, three cycles.

Steady and continuous, like a mountain stream, neither hurried nor slow, never ceasing.

She didn't know when the noise from next door stopped.

Her lips curved slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.

The moon was setting in the west outside the window, and the starlight was dim.

The sound of roosters crowing came from afar; dawn was approaching.

Lingbo opened her eyes, her gaze clear.

She glanced in the direction of the next room, her lips curved slightly, then she regained her composure.

Next door, Lin Chen lay on the bed, while Lan Fenghuang was already asleep, breathing evenly, with a faint blush on her face.

He had one arm around her waist, the other behind his head, looking up at the ceiling with a slight smile on his lips.

He sensed that Lingbo's aura had become disordered.

The woman followed him the whole way, carrying the bag the whole time, and finally she started to react.

Lin Chen smiled and closed his eyes.

interesting.