The Zhen Residence.
It belonged to a moderately wealthy household in Zhaoqiu City.
It could not compare with the riches of the Jia Residence.
Yet its grounds had been meticulously arranged, with carved beams, painted rafters, pavilions, towers, artificial hills, lakes, and everything else one could want.
Following Xu Youshan, Li Zizai passed through corridors and overgrown grounds before being led into a room. It was lavishly decorated, and the table was laden with vegetables, fruit, and assorted pastries.
"Wait here and have something to eat. I'll be right back."
After speaking, Xu Youshan turned and left without giving Li Zizai a chance to refuse.
Inside the room, Li Zizai frowned.
After traveling with his master for half a year, he was no longer the boy he once was. Something felt strange, though he could not quite put his finger on it.
Remembering how his master had developed a fondness for joining in the bustle after traveling through the mortal world, especially for teasing him, Li Zizai became increasingly certain that there was more to this matter.
To be safe, he did not touch the food on the table. His previous experience with Knockout Powder remained fresh in his memory, and he would not fall for another trick so easily.
Meanwhile, in the inner quarters of the Zhen Residence.
Inside a side room were two lavishly dressed women, one standing and one reclining.
One was plump, with a face like a full moon, adorned in gold and silver. She had something of Yang Yuhuan's bearing, though her features were rather unremarkable, only somewhat above average. She waited respectfully upon the other woman.
A graceful figure draped in black gauze reclined on a cushioned couch, her slender waist curving like a water snake. Large expanses of snow-white skin showed through the