"Little scoundrel, you're amazing!! Qinger loves you so much!!"
"Let Qinger help you get dressed!!"
Opening his eyes to another pleasant morning, Jia Lingyun pulled the beauty into his arms.
"No rush!!"
"The roleplay is over, you can resume your true identity as Yu Shishi!"
Yu Shishi pecked Jia Lingyun lightly, her eyes liquid and full of enchanting affection.
"Shishi thanks the Prime Minister!"
After Yu Shishi returned to the Prime Minister Estate for the second time last night, Jia Lingyun could not resist engaging in a bit of roleplay with her.
"From now on, you will refer to yourself as Qinger, and you are only permitted to call me 'little scoundrel', understood?"
"Qinger understands!!"
Yu Shishi was very compliant. Jia Lingyun had thoroughly enjoyed himself last night, letting the fires that never went out at Huaqing Pool burn to their limit.
The faint crimson spots on the bedding were enough to prove the rumors true: Yu Shishi sold her artistry, not her body.
"Could there really be a woman in this world that the Prime Minister cannot have?"
Yu Shishi was extremely curious about who the 'Qinger' she played last night really was—someone who could make the Prime Minister yearn for her in such a way!
Jia Lingyun frowned slightly, his expression turning displeased.
"Shishi, have you ever heard the saying that the more you know, the faster you die?"
Yu Shishi's eyes trembled. Realizing she had spoken out of turn, she hurriedly begged for mercy.
"Forgive me, Prime Minister!!"
She never expected Jia Lingyun's mood to flip so suddenly. He got straight out of bed and called for a maid to dress him!
Yu Shishi's eyes were filled with grievance, her little lips puckered.
"Prime Minister..."
Watching Jia Lingyun's departing back, Yu Shishi secretly scolded herself for running her mouth and asking questions she shouldn't have.
Jia Lingyun remained hesitant.
A woman sent by Prince Lu could not be guarded against too carefully.
The beauty trap was a timeless stratagem; countless heroes and great men had met their downfall because of it!
Even though she had already been thoroughly inspected and found to be as flawless as unblemished jade, Diaochan was also flawless when sent to Dong Zhuo!
Yu Shishi's motives were impure, but one night of tenderness was enough.
He wanted to kill Yu Shishi to prevent future trouble.
Yet Yu Shishi was also the first woman in both his past and present lives!
He was in a real dilemma!!
The bedchamber of tenderness is the graveyard of heroes!
Last night, out of more than a dozen beautiful courtesans, Yu Shishi was the only one kept behind—not because of her exceptional looks, but because Qingniao's investigation had revealed that among all those women, Yu Shishi alone possessed no martial arts cultivation. Now, looking back, she was far more terrifying than the rest of them!
"Birdie~"
Walking into a secluded, tree-shaded spot, Jia Lingyun murmured softly.
Qingniao leaped down from her hiding place.
"Young Master, what are your orders!"
Even though Jia Lingyun was already the Prime Minister, Qingniao preferred to call him Young Master, and he let her be.
A hundred days of grace for a single night as husband and wife, a bond deep as the sea for a hundred days—he believed that day-in and day-out patient reform would eventually make Yu Shishi turn over a new leaf!
"Keep Yu Shishi under close surveillance. This includes, but is not limited to, who she speaks to, what she does every day, what she eats, and what she gets up to—record every single detail!"
Qingniao furrowed her brow into deep creases and crossed her arms.
"Young Master, aren't you being a bit too psycho? Your desire for control is off the charts! Making her play the Empress Dowager last night was one thing, but you actually..."
"Hey, hey, hey!!!"
A rare flush appeared on Jia Lingyun's face as he hurriedly cut Qingniao off.
"Stop talking nonsense! The reason the surveillance is so strict is because she is a spy sent by Prince Lu's Estate. I want to find out who in the Prime Minister Estate is in contact with her so I can draw out the insider, follow the vine to unearth the melon, and round them all up in one go!"
"Understood!"
"And... last night... were you eavesdropping outside the wall?"
Qingniao argued fiercely in her defense!
"No, I was not!!"
"Oh?"
Jia Lingyun cast a sharp, piercing glance at her, causing Qingniao to lower her head.
"Fine, truth is... I just happened to pass by, and I didn't hear a thing!"
I'll bet you didn't!!
She even knew Yu Shishi played the Empress Dowager... and yet she heard nothing at all!!
"Go on, go on. Watch your step next time, and don't go listening to things you shouldn't!"
"Hmph!!"
With a flash of fierce wind, Qingniao came and went without a trace. Amidst a sudden flurry of falling leaves, Jia Lingyun realized someone had materialized directly in front of him.
The man wore a scholarly white turban and white robes, with a white-hilted blade at his waist. He knelt there abruptly, holding a scroll of bamboo slips with both hands.
The fact that this person could approach without a sound and completely evade Qingniao's notice made Jia Lingyun realize he could not be underestimated. He prepared himself to run while softly asking:
"Big brother, what... are you doing?"
The man raised his head. He had a cold expression, handsome features, and a tall build. Meeting Jia Lingyun's gaze, he offered a faint smile.
"They always say the Prime Minister is more handsome than his subordinates. Seeing you today, the Prime Minister's looks are nothing special!"
Jia Lingyun: .....
Where did this weirdo come from?!
"What on earth... are you here for?"
The man shifted slightly, appearing beside Jia Lingyun in the blink of an eye. He leaned in close to examine Jia Lingyun carefully, then let out a string of appreciative murmurs.
"Hmm~~ Considering the old Prime Minister's rather wretched genes, producing a handsome face like yours is already quite a rare feat!"
"Big brother... are you even listening to me?"
"Tsk, tsk~~ It's just that the bridge of your nose isn't well-formed. I'm afraid it points to the early loss of your father!"
"Well! Spot on, and it's already come true! My father's coffin is still in the mourning hall—would you like to go take a look?"
"Ah! I almost forgot my main business!!"
With the graceful momentum of toppling gold mountains and collapsing jade pillars, the man dropped to his knees once more and thrust the bamboo slips toward Jia Lingyun.
"I am Chen Dao, leader of the Ink Guards, here specifically to submit the roster to my new master!!"
"The Ink Guards are willing to die for our new master!!"
Jia Lingyun's face was covered in black lines.
He really was a weirdo!!
Taking the roster, he discovered that the number of Ink Guards had already reached over two thousand—damn it, that number rivaled an actual army!
"Chen Dao, with so many Ink Guards, did the Emperor issue no decree to disband them?"
"Of course not. How could such a top-secret matter be allowed to reach the Emperor's ears? When the Late Emperor issued the decree to establish the Ink Guards, he explicitly capped the numbers at three hundred. But the old Prime Minister was mighty; he secretly expanded the Ink Guards in the dark, and whenever exceptionally fierce warriors capable of taking on ten men appeared in the Imperial Guard, he would recruit them into the Ink Guards at the first opportunity!"
"Huh? Isn't there a risk in doing that? What if the recruitment fails and the person informs on you? Wouldn't that expose everything?"
Chen Dao chuckled foolishly.
"Our Ink Guards are a harmonious, free-spirited family that people can join or leave as they please. If recruitment fails, we reason with them using logic and move them with emotion until they agree!"
"And if, no matter how much you try to persuade them, they simply refuse?"
"They die!!"
Uh...
...How very free-spirited!!
How remarkably harmonious!!
The more Jia Lingyun read through the roster, the more his heart trembled with dread.
Jia Tu was truly audacious—a traitor through and through!
Compared to him, he himself belonged in the Hall of Loyal Ministers!
That old scoundrel not only secretly expanded the ranks of the Ink Guards, but also trained them in intelligence gathering and assassination.
By now, the Ink Guards were no longer an ordinary guard unit; they had evolved into a terrifying organization that combined assassination, intelligence gathering, and personal body-guarding into one!
No wonder Jia Yi said the Ink Guards were the final barrier of the Jia Mansion—that statement was not false at all!