Trouble

Madam Liu closed the door behind her and walked over to sit at the table.

Li Jiwu hurriedly picked up the teapot and poured her a cup of tea.

Madam Liu took a sip before leisurely saying, "It's done."

Li Jiwu's eyes lit up, but he still held himself in check. He asked quietly, "My father agreed?"

"He did." Madam Liu set down her teacup, a smug smile touching her lips.

"He'll likely take the eldest young master out to discuss business in the next few days. You can have De Zhu get ready to report to the Sword-Forging Courtyard."

At her words, Li Jiwu could no longer hide his delight. He hurriedly bowed deeply to Madam Liu. "Thank you for your help, Aunt Liu! I'm deeply grateful!"

Madam Liu waved a hand and smiled. "We're family. There's no need to stand on ceremony. De Zhu is a distant cousin of mine, and I'm glad you've helped him become a manager at the Sword-Forging Courtyard. This is what you'd call a mutually beneficial arrangement. Neither of us loses out."

Li Jiwu nodded repeatedly. Just as he was about to exchange a few polite words, his gaze inadvertently fell on Madam Liu.

She wore a thin outer robe, its collar slightly open, revealing a stretch of snow-white skin. Her hair was loosely pinned up, and traces of lingering desire and languid allure still lingered in her eyes. In the dim candlelight, she looked especially enticing.

Li Jiwu's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. His gaze grew unconsciously heated, and he moved half a step closer with a smile. "You're right, Aunt Liu. We're family, so there's truly no need to stand on ceremony."

His hand quietly came to rest on the back of Madam Liu's.

When Li Jiwu laid his hand over hers, Madam Liu didn't pull away at once. Instead, she gently patted the back of his hand.

With an air of half-hearted refusal, she shot him a reproachful look. "Second Young Master, what are you doing?"

Seeing her like this emboldened Li Jiwu. He grasped her hand and smiled. "Aunt Liu, you have such beautiful hands, smooth and soft as jade. Father really is a lucky man."

Madam Liu put on an angry expression and lowered her voice. "I'm your stepmother. How dare you disrespect me? If word gets out, will you still be able to show your face?"

Li Jiwu remained unruffled. Still holding her hand, he argued with conviction, "Aunt Liu, you're being so formal. It's precisely because you're my stepmother that I should take good care of you on Father's behalf and show you filial respect. Father is advanced in years and short on energy. There are some things he can no longer manage. As his son, isn't it only natural for me to ease his burdens and show my stepmother a little filial devotion?"

His words were lofty and righteous, but his face wore an ambiguous smile, and his fingers traced little circles in Madam Liu's palm.

Madam Liu's stern expression finally crumbled. She let out a giggle, pulled her hand back, and lightly tapped his shoulder. "With that silver tongue of yours, you could bring even the dead back to life."

Li Jiwu chuckled and leaned closer. "So, does that mean you agree, Aunt Liu?"

Madam Liu shot him a sidelong glance. She neither agreed nor refused, only lifting her teacup for another sip. Yet there was a seductive charm in the corners of her eyes.

The air between them grew more and more charged. They teased each other back and forth, their voices growing lower and their laughter softer.

Just then, a sudden crash came from outside the room, as if something had been knocked over.

Both of them jumped. Their smiles froze, and they turned toward the door in unison.

Li Jiwu abruptly released Madam Liu's hand and strode to the door. He held his breath and listened for a moment before cautiously pulling it open a crack and peering outside.

The courtyard was empty. Only a mottled wildcat crouched beside a flowerpot in the corner, batting at an overturned pot with its paw. When it saw the door open, it looked up and meowed at him before lightly leaping onto the wall and running off.

Li Jiwu let out a breath of relief, closed the door, and returned to the room.

"It's nothing. Just a wildcat."

Madam Liu patted her chest, a trace of lingering fright on her face.

"You scared me to death."

After that scare, neither of them felt like continuing their flirtation.

Li Jiwu coughed twice, then turned serious. "Aunt Liu, let's leave things here for tonight. I'll make arrangements for Zhao De Zhu. You should go back and get some rest, too. Don't let Father grow suspicious."

Madam Liu nodded, straightened her collar and hair, and returned to her usual appearance.

She rose and walked to the door, then glanced back at Li Jiwu, her eyes still reluctant to part.

"Then I'll be going. Be careful yourself."

With that, Madam Liu opened the door and hurried into the night.

Li Jiwu stood in the doorway, watching her disappear into the distance. Only then did he close the door, a meaningful smile rising at the corners of his mouth.

Everything fell silent once more.

Only then did Shen Chu slowly lift his head from the shadows beyond the courtyard wall.

He had been returning from a nighttime killing when he happened to hear some noises from Li Jiwu's room as he passed. Curious, he had stopped to listen for a moment.

He hadn't expected to overhear such a filthy affair.

Shen Chu's expression turned a little strange.

In his previous life, he had watched plenty of all kinds of bizarre videos online: Tokyo this, hot that, someone's wife, close relatives—every imaginable subject under the sun.

He considered himself fairly worldly, but this was the first time he had actually stumbled across something like this in real life.

He had recognized Madam Liu when she appeared just now.

She was the woman in white who had recruited him that day.

No wonder she had given him a chance despite his poor natural aptitude.

It turned out this second mother was into this sort of thing.

It seemed his face really could earn him a living here at the Li Residence.

But there were probably plenty of people who shared this second mother's tastes. Though he had benefited from her kindness, he couldn't let gratitude cost him his chastity...

It was just a pity for Master Li...

Shen Chu touched his face again, gave a wry smile, and quietly turned to leave.

The next morning,

the Sword-Forging Courtyard's furnaces blazed red, and hammers rang out. Everything was as usual.

Shen Chu stood at his station, hammer in hand, repeatedly pounding a glowing-hot piece of iron.

After all his recent training, his technique had grown increasingly practiced. Every blow landed with steady precision and force.

Sweat ran down his jaw and dripped onto the scorching anvil, evaporating with a hiss.

Immersed in the pure, simple labor, he felt the energy within him circulate with every swing of the hammer.

The proficiency of his Thousand Hammer Refinement skill was slowly increasing,

but what troubled him was that the skill was still stuck at lv1, without budging at all.

Sigh.

Who knew when it would reach lv2?

Shen Chu couldn't help sighing. Just then, footsteps came from the courtyard entrance, accompanied by several respectful greetings.

He looked up and saw Li Jiwu entering the courtyard with a smile, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe and his hands clasped behind his back.

A man in his early thirties followed behind him. He was sturdy-built and dressed in plain clothes.