Cui Ciyou had spent the previous night on the sofa.
It wasn't as though his three wives had actually threatened to kill him, or even thrown him out of the house.
Alice had simply tossed every blanket and pillow from his soft, comfortable bed onto the living room floor, her face utterly expressionless.
Roxy, meanwhile, had thoughtfully added an extra blanket to the living room sofa. It was clean, though thin and clearly long unused, and she had gently reminded him in her clear, cool voice, "It's chilly at night. Don't catch a cold."
And Sylphy had been the very picture of gentleness and devotion. She had personally brought him a steaming cup of some unidentified herbal tea, supposedly miraculous for calming the nerves and aiding sleep, but so bitter it was downright offensive.
He had only been kicked out of the bedroom.
Thankfully, thankfully, he hadn't been kicked out of the house altogether.
And so, surrounded by this warm atmosphere of "familial care," Cui Ciyou had spent the night tossing and turning on the living room sofa, unable to sleep a wink.
The following morning.
When Cui Ciyou sat up on the sofa, he was greeted by a somewhat eerie silence.
Normally, everyone in the house would already be busy at this hour.
There would be Alice's powerful cries of "Hah! Hyah!" as she practiced her swordsmanship in the courtyard.
The rustle of pages as Roxy read her books.
And the clatter of pots and pans as Sylphy helped Lilia prepare breakfast for everyone in the kitchen.
The entire mansion was so quiet that he could have heard a pin drop.
Cui Ciyou's heart sank, and an ominous premonition rose within him.
He cautiously got up from the sofa and tiptoed toward the dining room.
Inside, the three