Xiaohong had no idea why Second Wife was so obsessed with uncovering Ye Kong’s secrets, but since her mistress brought it up, she naturally listened carefully.

Second Wife stared out the window, frowning. “Actually, I’m doing this for Wen’er and Wu’er’s sake. Even with famous teachers guiding them, their martial arts have completely stagnated. Wen’er is nearly twenty, and Wu’er is already eighteen. They’ll soon head to the battlefield to build their careers. If we can learn Ye Kong’s methods and help Ye Wen and Ye Wu dramatically improve their martial arts, it would benefit both the Ye Manor and all of us.”

Xiaohong nodded. So that’s it. No wonder Second Wife suddenly changed her attitude toward Ye Kong and his mother. The fundamental reason was still for her own sons.

Not surprising, really. What mother doesn’t want the best for her children? Moreover, in Cangnan Continent’s culture, a son’s glory elevates his mother’s status. If Ye Wen and Ye Wu achieved success, she would legitimately rise to become the proper wife.

“Please rest assured, madam. Xiaohong will certainly handle this well and won’t disappoint you,” Xiaohong immediately said.

Second Wife knew that to get subordinates to work, you had to offer some benefits. She stroked Xiaohong’s glossy black hair and smiled. “Xiaohong, I know you have high ambitions, wanting to rise up and become a phoenix perched on high branches. That’s why I’ve never let you serve the master. I’ve been thinking, eventually I’ll arrange for you to become my Ah Wu’s concubine. When he establishes his own household and office, you’ll be half a mistress yourself. As long as you handle this matter well, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied. How about it?”

In the past, Xiaohong would have been delighted. Ye Wu had been eyeing her hungrily for a while. Although Ye Wu wasn’t her ideal husband, he was the Third Young Master. If she could marry the Third Young Master, that would definitely be climbing to a high branch.

But now Xiaohong thought differently. The image of a certain young man had suddenly burst into her heart. She didn’t know why, but it happened just like that. That guy had a terrible temper and was sly as a ghost, yet she just couldn’t let him go.

“What? You’re unwilling?” Second Wife saw Xiaohong actually spacing out and asked with displeasure.

“Will… ing. Willing.” Xiaohong didn’t dare refuse, but inside she wondered, if Second Wife knew she liked Ye Kong, how would she react?

But that boy played dumb and didn’t understand romance at all. What should she do about that?

Ye Kong had no idea that countless maids were thinking about him that night, or he would have slapped on an Invisibility Talisman and gone on a shooting spree.

He was still pondering that formation talisman. After studying it for half the night and feeling he basically understood it, he began setting up the formation.

Standing in the center of the room, he held the formation talisman and channeled spiritual energy into it… Damn, no response.

“How can this be? Is this not how formation talismans are used?” Ye Kong was somewhat puzzled. He tried two more times, but the formation talisman still showed no reaction whatsoever.

Ye Kong sat back down at the table and suddenly realized, no wonder Fan Jiushe used Imprisonment Cage Grass to trap me instead of a formation talisman. This formation talisman is completely broken and unusable.

To think he’d spent half the night researching a talisman that turned out to be a useless defective product. Ye Kong could only smile bitterly.

Actually, when he was researching it earlier, he’d noticed one break point in the circuit that seemed very abnormal. Apparently the circuit was broken, preventing spiritual energy from passing through, which made the formation talisman unable to function.

Ye Kong really needed a formation for cultivation, but this formation talisman was broken. This annoyed him greatly. He thought about throwing the formation talisman into his storage pouch, but then he had an idea.

“Why don’t I try repairing this formation talisman? It’s a perfect test of my technical skills.” Previously, Ye Kong wouldn’t have had this confidence, but now things were different. Brother here has lower low-grade spirit herb juice now.

Ye Kong acted on the idea immediately. He took out a relatively short section of Imprisonment Cage Grass vine from his storage pouch and used his small sword artifact to cut several openings in the vine, letting white viscous grass juice drip out, which he caught in a clean inkstone.

The broken section of circuitry was very short. It would [Read on Jormuntl]only take a small amount to reconnect the circuit.

Ye Kong dipped his brush tip in a little juice, held his breath, aimed at the break point, and touched down then lifted.

Although creating spirit talismans required a “Spirit-Communicating Talisman Brush”, meaning one that could channel spiritual energy, Ye Kong was only doing a minor repair. An ordinary brush should work as a substitute.

The brush tip touched and the break point connected, but it had no effect. The juice that landed on the talisman paper didn’t bond with it at all. As soon as his hand moved, the juice rolled off like a little dewdrop.

“How can this be? Is this not how you extract juice from lower low-grade spirit herbs?”

Ye Kong’s thinking wasn’t wrong, but the juice used to create talismans couldn’t just be taken by squeezing a few drops from spirit herbs. The correct method was for cultivators to use their internal spiritual fire to burn the spirit herb into liquid, a process also called refinement.

But Ye Kong didn’t know this! Besides, his current control over fire attribute wasn’t skilled enough to steadily and continuously emit flames.

However, Ye Kong did have some cleverness. He quickly realized the juice wasn’t concentrated enough. If he could condense it, maybe it would work.

Next, he spent some time using a small bowl to collect quite a bit of white adhesive juice, then placed it on the table to let the moisture evaporate naturally.

With everything done, he felt a bit sleepy. Early-stage immortal cultivators also got drowsy. If you don’t meditate or sleep, you’ll get increasingly tired.

Meditation and sleep can both relieve drowsiness, but they’re different. Meditation can absorb spiritual energy while sleep cannot. However, being woken from sleep is no big deal, while getting slapped during meditation makes you cough up blood.

Having just arrived at a new place, Ye Kong didn’t dare meditate carelessly. Better to sleep. He rolled up his clothes, unauthorized copy got on the bed platform, and slept in his clothes.

Little young ladies, getting up early to use the privy, finishing at the privy, facing the mirror to apply yellow flower makeup, finishing their grooming, then going to see Young Master Ye Kong.

Today Chen Jiuniang was truly busy, though not with embroidery work. Having moved to the inner courtyard, no one without eyes dared make her work anymore. She was busy dealing with all those little young ladies.

Although the two maids rejected last night had spread negative publicity about Ye Kong, this still couldn’t dampen the other maids’ enthusiasm.

Maids in large households all had scheming minds. Who didn’t want to climb to a high branch? Even if there was no possibility of being taken as a concubine, following a famous young master like Ye Kong would bring reflected glory.

Those who considered themselves somewhat attractive got dolled up early and found excuses to come to this courtyard. As for excuses, that was too simple – come to learn embroidery! Become Chen Jiuniang’s disciple and establish the relationship first.

Chen Jiuniang was also very happy. A room full of beautiful girls chirping like orioles and swallows. Never mind men finding it pleasant, even Chen Jiuniang as a woman felt comfortable.

“Auntie, this is what I embroidered last time. Please give me guidance. Please criticize it more, I’ll humbly accept it all.”

“Auntie, your embroidery is truly the best. Hehe, those mandarin ducks look alive.”

“It’s not the mandarin ducks that are alive, it’s your mind that’s getting ideas! Hahaha…”

“You spring-crazy girl, you’ll be the death of me. Watch me pinch you…”

Chen Jiuniang watched the maids laughing and playing around, and she was very happy too. It had been so, so long since things were this lively.

She naturally understood the maids’ thoughts very well. Although goddaughter Xiao Qin’s position in her heart was already set, men needed multiple wives and concubines with children everywhere to look proper, right?

“You should embroider it this way. Yes, having the needle come up from below first would be better…” Chen Jiuniang instructed while carefully observing the maids.

This one’s not bad, quite pretty, but her hips are too small. That one’s also good, looks like she’d bear sons, but she’s a bit old. This one here is the same age as Kong’er, with a good figure and face, but her temper is too volatile…

Chen Jiuniang was picking flowers among flowers until her eyes were dazzled. She didn’t even notice when little Lu Qin arrived.

When Lu Qin came today, she first went to their old residence. Seeing no one there, she asked around and learned they’d moved to the inner courtyard.

So the little girl headed to the rear courtyard. But the rear courtyard wasn’t somewhere you could just enter casually. Not just men, but even women couldn’t easily enter. You had to be announced. To get announced quickly, you had to give tip money – not much, just ten or so copper coins would do.

The servants guarding the courtyard gate knew Ye Kong was formidable, but this was their rule. Besides, it wasn’t the Eighth Young Master himself coming. Who knew what kind of nobody was coming to find him?

Tipping was the rule, but those servants weren’t convenient to say it directly. Little Lu Qin didn’t think about such things. Hearing they would announce to the Eighth Young Master, but those two servants were like old dogs guarding the house – mouths moving, bodies not moving.

“You two, please help announce me,” Lu Qin said after standing for quite a while with aching legs.

“Little sister, can’t you see we’re busy? We’ll go when we’re done.” That fellow sat at the gate busy counting ants.

“You two brothers, I don’t see you busy [visit our site]at anything?” The little girl didn’t understand such things and spoke honestly.

The younger one was displeased. “Little girl, how do you know I’m not busy? Can I tell you what I’m busy with? Truth is, I’m waiting here for an important person. If I announce you and the important person happens to arrive right then, causing a mistake, will you take responsibility?”

This excuse was well-found, blocking Lu Qin from having anything to say. Next to him was an old servant playing bad cop, reminding her, “That’s right, we gate guards don’t have it easy. Miss, if we’re careless, we get punished. If we cause trouble for you, they’ll dock our silver.”

The two servants put on pained and sorrowful expressions. Even knowing they were extorting, you couldn’t get angry. They were quite pitiable too, weren’t they?

Lu Qin understood their meaning now. The current little girl wasn’t poor anymore. She quickly fished out a silver ingot and hurriedly handed it over.

“Thank you for your hard work, you two brothers.”

The two servants’ eyes lit up when they saw it. Whoa, a rich person! Two taels of silver just for an announcement! Their faces immediately bloomed with smiles. “Little girl, excellent.”

But just then, a woman’s clear rebuke came from behind: “Do you know who she is? Accepting her silver, aren’t you afraid of having your legs broken!”

The two servants’ fingers trembled. They turned around to see Xiaohong, Second Wife’s most favored senior maid, standing behind them. Second Wife was currently the Ye Manor’s controller, and Xiaohong was someone they couldn’t afford to offend.

Lu Qin was rather surprised. This woman looked about two years older than herself and was quite pretty, but I don’t know her. Yet judging by her tone… am I that famous?

“So it’s Sister Xiaohong. She is…?” Although Xiaohong was only sixteen, she was clearly the most prominent maid. Even Steward Ye Cai wouldn’t offend her. Those servants naturally all called her “sister.”

“She’s the Eighth Young Master’s sworn sister! You’re extorting money from his sworn sister [unauthorized copy]– you… think about Sister Ma!”

The two servants shuddered in fright. Sister Ma was beaten unconscious and kicked out of the manor. For two taels of silver, angering that violent maniac was not a good trade.

“Miss, don’t be polite. For such a small matter, why would you need to spend money? We’d accept anyone’s silver, but never yours.” The old servant quickly withdrew his outstretched hand.

Lu Qin actually felt sympathetic toward them and still offered the silver. “It’s alright, take it. You’re waiting for an important person and will be punished because of me. How could I just stand by?”

Xiaohong naturally knew their tricks. She pulled Lu Qin aside and smiled. “Sister, they’re just bluffing. Quickly put away the silver. I’ll take you in.”

“Oh.” Lu Qin had a good impression of this warmly affectionate sister. As they walked, she asked, “Sister, what’s your name? I don’t think I know you.”

Xiaohong had previously received orders from Second Wife to pay attention to Ye Kong, so she naturally knew about Lu Qin’s relationship with him. That’s why she was being especially warm.

“I’m called Xiaohong. Miss Lu, if you don’t mind that I’m a servant, just call me Sister Xiaohong. I often hear Auntie Chen mention you…” Xiaohong was extraordinarily enthusiastic. Lu Qin’s impression of her was quite good. By the time they reached Ye Kong’s courtyard, the two were as familiar as if they’d been close friends for decades.