A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 341 The Dream Weaving of the Sinking Scale
So much has happened these past few days. Lu Xiao has to handle family and military affairs during the day, and also find time to train new recruits. He must have just finished dealing with his business and returned home tonight.

Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the man's sharply defined features. A hint of weariness lingered between his deep, handsome brows, but when facing her, Lu Xiao always maintained this composed and confident demeanor, as if nothing needed to be worried about as long as he was there.

Shen Tang couldn't bear to see him working day and night, so she grabbed his hand, pursed her lips, and shook her head, saying, "You're not made of iron; you can't take it."

"Does the female master worry about other people's health but not her own?" Lu Xiao knelt on one knee by the bed, his long, broad hands holding hers against his face.

The man was so tall and imposing that this position allowed them to look at each other at eye level, the warmth of their skin flowing between them. His tone was still gentle and deep, yet there was an inexplicable hint of reproach in his voice.

Shen Tang felt inexplicably timid! She shrank her head into the blanket, blinked at him, and remained silent.

Seeing her charming and innocent appearance, Lu Xiao's lips curled up slightly. He reached out and rubbed her hair, explaining, "My lady, you don't need to feel guilty. It's my duty to relieve your worries. Besides, there's nothing going on at the Lu family. The recruit training has been handed over to Shufeng. I've been free these past few days, so I'll take this opportunity to help you process the accumulated official documents."

Without giving her a chance to refuse, Lu Xiao got up and went to the study, taking all the official documents to the desk in the bedroom and dealing with them seriously.

He sat on the bench, his back straight as a pine tree, his long eyelashes slightly lowered, his profile with its superior and smooth lines, and the way he worked seriously was indescribably charming!

Shen Tang couldn't help but take a second look!
The soft rustling of the pen on paper was so soothing that it was almost sedating. Perhaps she was truly exhausted from the past few days, because Shen Tang soon fell asleep.

She couldn't sleep soundly; her right leg was wrapped in the blanket, which had been pulled off at some point.

Lu Xiao put down his pen and helped her cover herself with the blanket.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Lu Xiao turned his head to look over.

Jialan pushed open the door and came in. She looked surprised when she saw Lu Xiao there. She turned to look at Shen Tang sleeping on the bed, then swallowed her words and took out a box of scented candles from her space.

The candle is deep blue, with a soft, shimmering light inside, making it look dreamy and beautiful.

Jialan looked at Lu Xiao and tentatively asked, "Could I borrow a light?"

Lu Xiao casually pulled out a lighter and tossed it to him.

Jialan asked in surprise, "You smoke?"

"I rarely smoke. Sometimes when I'm out socializing, I can't do without this stuff when dealing with those old hands in the military." However, he never smoked in front of Shen Tang. Sometimes when he saw her, he would even change his coat so she wouldn't smell it.

Jialan didn't ask any more questions. She turned on the lighter, lit the scented candle, and placed it on the bedside table.

Pale blue smoke, like flowing silk, clung to the sleeper's body, layering into wavy scales before finally dissipating in the snow-white moonlight streaming through the window—a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

"Dream Weaving of Submerged Scales." Lu Xiao exclaimed as he smelled the unique fragrance. "It truly lives up to its reputation as a precious incense from the sea. I've heard that it's made from rare materials such as chilled silver seaweed, pine crystals, blue coral powder, and extracts from the tear glands of whale sea monsters. It requires a perfumer with at least thirty years of experience and takes half a year to make. It's priceless in the outside world."

"You have good taste! This incense can also calm the mind and soothe the soul. Here, I'll give you a box." Jialan got along well with people of good taste and generously gave Lu Xiao a box of incense.

"Then thank you very much, Your Highness." Lu Xiao put the incense into his spatial storage.

"We're all family, no need to be so polite." Jia Lan's face was stunningly beautiful and captivating, but when he looked at the female sleeping on the bed, a hint of worry flashed across his face.

"I came over tonight because I had something to tell her, but never mind, let her get a good night's sleep."

Jialan casually pulled up a stool and sat on the edge of the bed, tossing a stack of official documents onto the table. "Green Field City is relatively peaceful with City Lord Shi Ye and Hu Yun there; there haven't been any major disturbances. But tonight, I received an urgent report that an avalanche has occurred in Gray Cliff City." "Fortunately, the avalanche occurred in a relatively remote area, so the casualties were not high, only a dozen or so people died. However, given the ongoing war, it has caused widespread panic, and the situation there is very dire."

Lu Xiao frowned. Man-made disasters combined with natural calamities were not a good sign.

Not to mention that Shen Tang is just a newly enthroned young monarch. Even if the previous emperors returned, they would probably be helpless in the face of such a thorny issue.

Lu Xiao picked up the document and glanced at it, then casually said, "I remember that Gray Cliff City is close to Winter City, and the Yun family has a large portion of its troops stationed in Winter City."

Jialan nodded, "That's right. If it weren't for the Yun family's troops stationed in the northern border, your empire probably wouldn't have been able to protect that northern territory long ago. Also, this coup was also caused by the Yun family sending troops to hold the line and protect the northern border."

If Shen Tang hadn't become the monarch of the Night Glow Empire, Jia Lan wouldn't have cared so much about these trivial matters.

He disliked the Yun family, especially that stupid wolf Yun Han, but he had to admit that the Yun family was still loyal to the empire.

This impressed him greatly; it was no wonder that Tangtang had gone to such lengths to save the Yun family father and son.

Lu Xiao rubbed his temples and said in a low voice, "The Yun family is guarding the northern border, so there shouldn't be any major problems for the time being. However, since the rebels occupied the capital, trade with the area has been forced to stop. I've sent the air force to deliver supplies there as soon as possible to help the disaster victims."

"Well, I've arranged for the factories to start producing grain as soon as possible. That should be enough for you to send someone with the first batch of supplies over." Jialan said, then added with a hint of worry, "However, the city's grain reserves are running low..."

Greenfield City and some surrounding cities suitable for farming are now the empire's main grain-producing areas.

Shen Tang also arranged experimental fields in various cities, but there were too few. It was winter, and the crops were growing slowly and had not yet reached maturity for harvest.

For now, we can only take it one step at a time.

Fortunately, good news came shortly afterward.

Xiao Jin led his army to successfully suppress the riot in Guping City.

However, local public morale has plummeted, and there is always the possibility of riots.

When Shen Tang learned of this, she originally wanted to send Lu Xiao with troops to provide support, but Shen Li said, "Little Tang'er, if you send out all your heavy troops, the capital will be empty. Be careful that someone doesn't take advantage of the situation."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" The Empire has too few high-ranking orcs, and she can only feel at ease if she sends Lu Xiao over.

Shen Li smiled and said, "Lu Xiao will stay and guard the capital. I will lead troops to provide support."

This cunning fox rarely volunteered, so Shen Tang readily sent him over, thinking that there was no harm in using unused labor.

Two weeks later, good news arrived.

[Ding! Congratulations, host! Shen Li has led his troops to recapture Wind Howl City. The morale of all cities under his command has increased by 10!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host! Xiao Jin has led his troops to recapture Tieling City. The morale of the people in all cities under his command has increased by 10!]

[With the influx of refugees into various regions, public security has declined to varying degrees across the country.]

[Updating the territory map for the host!]

(End of this chapter)