Daoqi Huangcheng

Chapter 53. Good News
Despite the harsh winter, the Crane Mansion was not cold. Although it was called the Crane Mansion, everyone knew that the person who had the most influence in the mansion was Lord Song.

After Song Chen rode back to the mansion, the servants led the horse away, and Song Chen walked quickly to the inner courtyard to look for his wife.

The Pei sisters are not usually home, but today is the day he returns. They will definitely bathe, change clothes, and dress up to wait for their beloved to come home.

Song Chen had little Daoist heart.

He's so vulgar, incredibly vulgar.

When he first arrived, he might have still carried the naivety he had before his transmigration, but that's gone now.

He's a man, and men like pretty young women, so naturally he does too.

With so much pressure all the time, when I get home I have to play with the Pei sisters and at the same time maintain my "vulnerability" in other people's eyes.

But today was different from the past. As soon as he entered the inner courtyard through the hanging flower gate, he heard dogs barking in the distance, along with Qingyue's clear, bell-like laughter, which was intermittent but exceptionally pleasant to the ear.

He walked quickly over and saw Qingyue, the young lady, leading a large black dog by the Tianyu Lake in the inner courtyard.

The big black dog ran around like a madman, and Qingyue, the young lady, held the reins and ran back and forth behind it. Her black hair fluttered in the wind, and her porcelain-white face had two rosy cheeks due to excitement and the cold.

Upon seeing Song Chen, Lady Qingyue handed the reins to a servant, clapped her hands, and happily ran towards the young man in the black robe.

All the good days were given to her by this young man, so of course she wanted to live a good life with him.

"Master!"

Young Lady Qingyue stood in front of Song Chen, her rosy cheeks making her look pitiful.

Song Chen couldn't help but pat the little face, glanced at the big black dog in the distance, and laughed, "The Wei family sent your dog back again? But... it seems different from your previous one. Did they get a new one?"

It's not surprising that the Wei family would do these ingratiating things because of his current status.

"No~"

Qingyue shook her head, then smiled and said, "Do you still remember Strange Beast Street?"

Song Chen certainly remembered.

The State of Jin has a Garden of Strange Beasts, while the State of Dayong, after obtaining a cultivation technique from the Myriad Beasts Sect, piloted the training of a group of "beast tamers" and also piloted the construction of a street—Strange Beast Street.

Previously, in an effort to foster a better relationship with Qingyue, he had suggested visiting the Strange Beast Street, but Pei Qingyue declined, citing the many matters concerning the Wei family.

"The Strange Beast Street is open?"

"Yes, this black-armored demon dog was given to us by a shop owner on that street. That shop owner has some cooperation with the Forging Gang, and he gave us this black-armored demon dog after he learned about our manor."

Song Chen slightly put his hands behind his back, and suddenly grabbed the black jade slip of the "Yellow Springs Scripture" in his hand. His eyes reflected the "karma" of the black-armored demon dog.

Born
training
training
Still training
Until they became very sensible.

After a moment's thought, Song Chen put away the black jade slip containing the "Yellow Springs Scripture".

There's no problem with this black-armored demon dog.

"What's wrong, my husband?" Pei Qingyue asked when she saw him lost in thought. "If you're not happy, I'll send the demon dog back."

Song Chen smiled and said, "Keep it if you like."

Pei Qingyue's dark eyes suddenly darted around, and she pulled Song Chen's hand, saying, "My lord, come here."

Song Chen followed her lead, walking along the lakeside into the distance. After turning a corner, the viewing pavilion appeared in the distance.

Laughter rang out from the pavilion; it was Pei Qianxue chatting with several beautiful women. Upon seeing him arrive, the women rose and bowed along with Pei Qianxue, two of them secretly sizing him up.

These two beautiful women were stunning and charming, like ripe peaches on a branch, having long since shed their girlish naiveté.

Especially the one on the left, with a delicate face, tall figure, and reserved expression, she has a scholarly air about her, yet her curves are perfectly rounded, exuding an alluring femininity.

A beautiful woman smiled and said, "Lord Song is back. Sister Qianxue will be busy now, so we'll be leaving now."

Another beautiful woman said, "I'm so envious."

Another beautiful woman said, "If you're envious, why don't you stay too?"

The beautiful women chuckled, bowed again, and then took their leave.

Song Chen glanced at the beautiful women, and then Madam Qianxue grabbed his arm.

Although Lady Qianxue was unmarried, everyone in the inner quarters of the He family knew that she had also ended up on Lord Song's bed.

Therefore, such actions must not be done secretly or hidden.

"Still watching!"

"Lady Qianxue said coquettishly. Then, without waiting for Song Chen's response, she leaned closer and said, "The lady on the right just now is the wife of a general. However, the general has not returned from the northern expedition and is quite old. If you wish, my lord, she will sneak over tonight and have some fun with you."

The lady on the left is a young woman from the Han family. She looks plump, but she's only sixteen. She disliked the man her family had arranged for her to marry, but after I told her how wonderful you are, she's become interested and wants to marry you, even as a concubine. If you'd like, it wouldn't be bad to take her as a concubine.

Song Chen naturally had no interest.

He was attracted to the two young women's appearances, but when it came to marriage, he was only interested in arranged marriages that would bring him benefits.

Moreover, he was still waiting for his master's arrangements.

So he shook his head and laughed, "Worried you can't hold me back?"

Madam Qianxue said sadly, "My sisters and I will all grow old and lose our beauty one day."

Song Chen said, "I have heard of a kind of elixir called the Youth-Preserving Pill."

Madam Qianxue immediately became as delighted as a young girl, then leaned close to Song Chen's ear and said in a coquettish voice, "My lord, I... want it."

She omitted the words "Dan of Youthful Appearance".

Song Chen picked her up and strode towards the main house.

Lady Asahi gripped his arm tightly, her nails digging excitedly into his skin.

After a night of wind and rain, the plum blossoms in the corner of the wall bloomed quietly.

The incense burner emitted a warm, slightly decadent scent, and within the bedding, three bodies shared each other's body heat.

Lady Qianxue began to whisper sweet nothings in her ear.

Every time Song Chen returned, she would bring some "important intelligence that she could obtain within her own capabilities".

Compared to lazy women who become complacent and complacent after getting lucky, this lady is very clever.

After Song Chenfei achieved great success, she stopped using the "dried fish" trick and continued to work hard to add extra value to herself.

Helping her husband enjoy other beauties, selecting concubines for him, and providing intelligence were all ways she added extra value.

Compared to her, Pei Qingyue was just a young woman walking her dog.

"My lord, the news should be true. General Que left last spring and after a year and a half, he should have achieved a great victory and will soon return."

"I've inquired through various channels, and the prices of grain and horses are both falling. The blacksmithing guild, which previously had some restrictions on weapon forging—this wasn't allowed, that wasn't allowed—has started to loosen those restrictions in the past few days."

"This victory is probably not the first of its kind. A couple of days ago, a few wandering knights came from the north. While they were drunk and singing wildly, they were praising General Que's might and mourning the dead soldiers."

"In my humble opinion, General Que must have achieved considerable success, but he must have also suffered heavy losses."

"The Emperor will surely be overjoyed by the Que family's great achievement this time. The Grand General will likely be promoted to a higher position, but we don't yet know how he will be rewarded."

Pei Qianxue spoke each sentence carefully.

Song listened silently.

As he listened, something occurred to him, and he suddenly called out, "Qingyue."

Pei Qingyue was listening to her sister's rambling when her husband suddenly called her. She responded in surprise, "What is it?"

Song Chen asked, "Do you know the shop owner on Strange Beast Street who gave you the black-armored demon dog?"

Pei Qingyue said, "I met him once when I delivered the dog. He'er brought him here."

Song Chen said, "Then tell Que He that you really like this demon dog and want to buy another female to make a pair."

"what?"

Pei Qingyue didn't react for a moment, but then she didn't ask any more questions and replied, "Okay, I'll tell them tomorrow. The shopkeeper is on Strange Beast Street, so he should be able to deliver it that day. Husband, do you want to talk to the shopkeeper and find out something?"

Song Chen shook his head and said, "I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon."

Pei Qingyue was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding.

Madam Qianxue laughed and said, "Silly sister, don't you understand? The day He'er went missing, our good husband also left home early in the morning. Hehehe, that's called avoiding suspicion."

If I'm not mistaken, my lord must have felt that this boss might be suspicious and wanted to secretly follow him to find out more.

However, what I don't understand is why you think there's something wrong with this shopkeeper?

Song Chen casually said, "The black-armored demon dog he gave me is fine, so I hope he's fine too. Besides, one dog is never as good as two dogs, at least it'll keep him from being lonely."

(End of this chapter)