The Deepest Affection in Qin's Time

"This is really difficult..."

Cao Yuan muttered to himself, thought for a moment, and then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Madam Mingzhu's training techniques are quite good; she's got Madam Hu completely under her thumb, making her obedient and providing excellent service. Since that's the case, perhaps...

Cao Yuan chuckled as he looked at Yan Lingji, who was clearly unhappy.

"Alright, I won't make things difficult for you. I can let you leave, but..."

Upon hearing this, Yan Lingji not only did not breathe a sigh of relief, but became even more uneasy, wondering what kind of trap Cao Yuan was going to set for her.

"...But what?"

"I'm going to take you somewhere and hand you over to someone. You have to listen to her and do whatever she tells you to do, understand?"

"This……"

"Don't worry, I won't kill you, nor will I sever your limbs or cripple your martial arts, but you have to behave yourself."

Yan Lingji stared at Cao Yuan with her beautiful eyes, not knowing what to say for a moment, feeling as if she had punched a piece of cotton.

Feeling powerless, frustrated, and uncomfortable...

Seeing that Yan Lingji remained silent, Cao Yuan clapped his hands and said, "Then it's decided that way."

Yan Lingji lowered her head resignedly, but a glint of shrewdness shone in her large eyes.

She, Yan Lingji, will never be a slave!

When she gets the chance, she'll definitely teach this jerk a lesson!

However, Yan Lingji had no idea what awaited her.

Cao Yuan had no interest in explaining.

The next day, shortly after dawn.

Cao Yuan then took Yan Lingji to the Han King's Palace alone.

With the waist token given by Lady Mingzhu, and his current position as Honglian's court tutor, he traveled unimpeded all the way to the depths of the palace, to Lady Mingzhu's bedroom.

"Master, you've arrived~"

Madam Mingzhu greeted her with a smile, like a maidservant.

However, when she saw that Cao Yuan was accompanied by a very charming and beautiful woman, her smile froze slightly, and a hint of hostility appeared in her eyes.

Cao Yuan casually pushed Yan Lingji to Madam Mingzhu.

"Train her well, understand?"

The hint of hostility in Madam Mingzhu's eyes vanished completely in the blink of an eye.

She sized up the beautiful and well-proportioned Yan Lingji, and smiled seductively: "Don't worry, Master, leave it to me. I'll make sure she willingly becomes your woman."

When Yan Lingji heard and saw this scene, what shocked her the most was not that Cao Yuan had allowed someone else to train her, but the conversation between Cao Yuan and Madam Mingzhu, and Madam Mingzhu's identity.

She did her research before coming to Xinzheng.

It was clear that the woman in front of him was the First Lady of South Korea.

She never imagined that Madam Mingzhu would become Cao Yuan's woman—no, his servant!

Cao Yuan nodded, turned around and left the bedchamber.

He still had some things to do today. He had promised Honglian that he would teach her and impart the essence of Confucianism, and he could not break his promise, so he left first.

However, he still highly regarded Madam Mingzhu's professional abilities.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have made such arbitrary arrangements and allowed him to leave so easily.

After Cao Yuan left, Madam Mingzhu smiled and asked Yan Lingji, "What's your name?"

"...Yan Ling Ji".

"Hmm, not a bad name."

Lady Mingzhu said casually, "From now on, you are the master, and I am your mistress. Do you understand?"

The moment Cao Yuan gave Yan Ling Ji to her, she already had a plan in mind.

I plan to train Yan Lingji well, and then have her and my good friend Hu Meiren serve Cao Yuan together, with Hu Meiren as the master. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have three beauties together?

At that time, he will definitely be unable to leave her...

Chapter 124 Mingzhu's First Lesson: Fire-Fighting Princess

The Han royal palace is neither particularly large nor particularly small.

Cao Yuan strolled from Lady Mingzhu's bedroom to Honglian's bedroom, taking about half an incense stick's time.

Just as Cao Yuan entered Honglian's palace, a palace maid quietly left and went straight to Lady Mingzhu's palace to tell her that Cao Yuan had gone to Princess Honglian's palace.

As the de facto ruler of the royal palace, Lady Myungju had spies everywhere in the palace.

"Okay, you can go back now."

"Yes, Madam..."

After the palace maid left, Madam Mingzhu put the matter out of her mind. She didn't mind Cao Yuan going to see Honglian, and if needed, she would even help Cao Yuan out.

"What a beautiful woman!" Madam Mingzhu gently lifted Yan Lingji's chin and clicked her tongue, saying, "The Baiyue people are indeed charming and alluring. The Hu sisters are like that, and so are you."

When Yan Lingji saw the way Madam Mingzhu looked at her as if she were admiring a piece of merchandise, the corners of her mouth turned down slightly.

Lady Mingzhu remained unperturbed by Yan Lingji's arrogant attitude and continued, "Since my master has instructed me to properly train you, I will give you a chance to choose your own path. How about it?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Lingji raised an eyebrow slightly, looked at the elegant but ill-intentioned Lady Mingzhu in front of her, and blinked her dreamy eyes.

She chuckled softly, "Oh? Which path does Madam wish me to choose?"

Madam Mingzhu put one hand on her hip, swayed her waist slightly, and said with a charming smile, "It's very simple."

“You acknowledge me as your mistress, and I, as your mistress, will teach you how to behave in the presence of your master.”

"If you are unwilling, then I will have no choice but to train you into a well-behaved servant, in the capacity of master and servant."

Yan Lingji had long known that Madam Mingzhu was full of evil intentions. Upon hearing her words, she felt neither surprise nor anger. Instead, she laughed, her smile tinged with sarcasm.

"Is there a difference? Aren't we all just slaves?"

"No, no, no..." Madam Mingzhu gently shook her head, the tassels on her hair swaying gracefully, making her look charming and alluring.

"Of course there's a difference, a big difference!"

Lady Mingzhu explained very patiently, “If you acknowledge me as your mistress, then we are one family, sharing honor and disgrace, and good fortune. We are all the master’s women.”

Looking at the earnest and sincere Lady Mingzhu, Yan Lingji lost all desire to mock her and could only roll her eyes. She was utterly speechless.

Where did this weirdo come from? Is she rushing to be that guy's slave, dog, or concubine?

Lady Mingzhu seemed oblivious to the disdain on Yan Lingji's beautiful face, her smile unwavering as she said, "If you don't want to serve me as your mistress, then I'll have no choice but to treat you neither as a woman nor as a human being. I know a bit of those tricks of the Baiyue people, and I wouldn't mind trying them on you."

Yan Lingji was slightly taken aback, subconsciously recalling her experiences in Baiyue, and her expression changed slightly.

As a Baiyue person, she was certainly aware of the cruel methods employed by the Baiyue people.

Both the Poison King and the Corpse-Driving Demon were considered positive figures there.

Many Baiyue shamans, in order to practice their skills, directly experimented on living people, sacrificing entire villages and hamlets with blood, resorting to any means necessary.

The methods some sorcerers use against women are particularly heinous: disemboweling women, gouging out their hearts to concoct poisons, using menstrual blood in medicine... These are commonplace because the women are already dead. As for women who are not dead, those methods are even more egregious...

If there's any place in the world that can rival the cruelty of the Baiyue, it's probably only the Southern Frontier.

"Heh, scared?"

Faced with Madam Mingzhu's teasing words and smile, Yan Lingji slightly turned her eyes and whispered, "This servant is willing to serve Madam as my mistress. Please, mistress, have mercy on me~"

She wasn't foolish enough to subject herself to more torment and humiliation for a moment's pleasure.

"Hey~ My lovely beauty~"

Madam Mingzhu smiled with satisfaction.

Seeing that Yan Lingji was somewhat dirty, she immediately ordered the palace maids to prepare a hot bath.

While feigning friendship with Lady Mingzhu, Yan Lingji was looking for an opportunity to escape.

To Yan Lingji's utter surprise, Lady Mingzhu was actually a master.

Although she only possesses the strength of a first-rate expert, which is a step below her, she is still more than capable of dealing with him now that his internal energy has been sealed.

This discovery greatly discouraged Yan Lingji, who could only pin her hopes on the special power of the Vermilion Bird bloodline to help her break through the meridians sealed by Jing Ni.

The bathroom was filled with a misty, hazy atmosphere.

In the middle was a huge bath tub, like a small bathhouse in northern China in later times, large enough to accommodate nearly ten people bathing together.

"Little sister~ Let's take off our armor and take a bath~"

Lady Mingzhu gently placed her jade-like hands on Yan Lingji's rounded shoulders, her beautiful face bearing a smile.

Yan Lingji was unaware that Lady Mingzhu's training had already begun.

She felt that Madam Mingzhu had been quite nice so far, at least she hadn't made things difficult for her.

Yan Lingji obediently did as she was told, removing her close-fitting flame armor and placing it aside. Wearing only her undergarments, she stepped into the bathtub, still radiant and beautiful even amidst the misty steam.

Lady Mingzhu nodded in satisfaction as she saw how capable Yan Lingji was.

No wonder Cao Yuan personally brought Yan Lingji to be trained by her. She is indeed the best of the best, a beauty among beauties, making even the usually arrogant Cao Yuan feel a pang of jealousy.

"Whoosh, whoosh~"

Yan Lingji and Lady Mingzhu, whose clothes had been removed, entered the water to bathe together.

Even the palace maids serving them couldn't help but blush and steal glances at the two beauties bathing together.

Yan Lingji felt completely unsafe, shrinking slightly into a corner. Her smooth, jet-black hair floated on the water's surface, vaguely concealing the boundless underwater scenery. Her delicate and exquisite jade feet were tightly pressed together in the water, their shape beautiful and rounded, their toes slender and delicate. As Yan Lingji felt uneasy, her feet curled up slightly, like a cat's tucked-back claws, making her exceptionally endearing.

She dared not get too close to Madam Mingzhu, always feeling that Madam Mingzhu was somewhat strange, as if she were under some kind of curse or poison.

"Is my little sister afraid of me?"

Lady Mingzhu swam to Yan Lingji's side like a great white shark.