Li Chen had lingered with the Shuisky Lineage for quite some time.
During that time, his gains had been considerable.
Not only had he thoroughly conquered Olga and Lyudmila, two sisters with vastly different personalities but equally captivating charms, he had also, through Olga's highly effective missionary efforts,
Naturally "accepted" several beautiful noblewomen and young ladies of the Shuisky Lineage, some drawn by his reputation, others inspired by the "glory of the Witch Ancestor."
His Private Courtyard rang with music and revelry almost every night, steeped in an intimate atmosphere.
Yet within this domain that seemed already under his control, one block of "unyielding ice" remained unmelted: the sisters' mother, Mikhailovna, whose mature beauty had yet to fade.
No matter how freely Li Chen indulged himself with her daughters and the other women in the Private Courtyard, or what blush-inducing sounds they made, this anxious noblewoman always held fast to her final boundary.
She was like a frightened yet dutiful lioness, pacing anxiously around the outskirts of the den and keeping watch for dangers from outside, yet refusing to step into the heart of that perilous whirlpool.
Whether Li Chen's hints were overt or veiled, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to remain composed as she resisted those "excessive demands" laced with teasing and coercion, never agreeing.
Li Chen rubbed his chin and began to reconsider his strategy.
He realized that, perhaps in Mikhailovna's eyes, since her two daughters had already fallen and become his women, it no longer made any sense for her, their mother, to "sacrifice" herself in exchange for their safety. The logic simply did not hold.
Moreover, the women who had already submitted to him, willingly or otherwise, might also have lost their value as people worth "saving" in Mikhailovna's eyes. After all, such amorous