He blinked hard, and the two beautiful women in front of him were still there, so it wasn't a dream!

"Lord Zhao, you're quite the ladies' man!"

The man from the neighboring house was building a wall. Seeing this, he also curiously poked his head out, his eyes always unable to resist glancing at the two beautiful women who were sobbing behind their handkerchiefs.

The wall was burned down by the fire set by Zhao Dajia before. It couldn't be repaired in the winter, but now that spring has arrived and the water is no longer frozen, the neighbors can't expect Zhao Dajia to fix it, so they have to do it themselves.

Fortunately, Zhao Dajia has been quite generous lately. When he saw Zhao Dajia repairing the wall, he even gave him a small piece of silver. As a result, this neighbor has been treating Zhao Dajia quite well these days and is willing to speak to him with a smile.

He was building the wall here when the people from the Shen family came to deliver the two beauties. The people also told him to tell Zhao Dajia that these two were gifts from General Shen, and that Zhao Dajia could do with them as he pleased.

He relayed these words to Zhao Dajia, and the two beauties beside him cried even louder.

The matriarch of the Shen family was kind, and even though they were concubines, they could still live a life of luxury in the Shen household. But now, the general had given them to a minor official of the fourth rank, whose family was so impoverished. How were they supposed to survive in the future?

Zhao Dajia did not pounce on the two beauties like a hungry wolf, nor did he linger on them with even a glance. Instead, he sat down on a stone stool under a tree, lost in thought.

Did Shen Congliang send someone to him?

He doesn't usually have much contact with General Shen, and besides, these days they all see him as a thorn in their side, so how could they possibly send him people?

Zhao Dajia stroked his chin, thinking that this whole thing was just too sinister!

However, he did not panic. Instead, he planned to visit the Marquis of Changxing's residence the next day. Although that brat Chuanwen had opened the prelude to his tragic life, he still found her quite adorable when he thought of her at this moment. After all, she knew everything!

After making up his mind, Zhao Dajia didn't intend to waste the two people that Shen Congliang had sent. He turned around and looked at the two of them. They both shrank their necks, thinking that this poor and destitute official was finally going to take advantage of them. Who knew that the other party would just tell them to pickle vegetables!

The two men almost thought they had misheard, and even the neighbor who was building the wall was stunned, looking incredulously at Zhao Dajia on the stone block.

The two beautiful women had delicate, fair hands that were as smooth as jade, yet he had them used to pickle vegetables instead of undressing them!

Wasting such a precious resource would surely get you struck by lightning!

The neighbor thought bitterly to himself!

But the pragmatic Zhao Dajia had no such awareness. Seeing that the two were not moving, he frowned unhappily. After learning that they didn't even know how to pickle vegetables, he rolled his eyes at them and cursed them as useless!

Waste! Utter garbage!

When have these two beauties ever been called useless? General Shen has always treated them with utmost care, praising their beautiful singing, their mastery of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and even their seductive charm.

But today they were actually looked down upon, and it was because they didn't know how to pickle vegetables!

The two beauties were stunned, then cried even louder, trying to awaken the conscience of the poor and destitute official.

But Zhao Dajia just sneered inwardly. Ha! He knew that General Shen didn't have any good intentions. Sending two girls who didn't even know how to pickle vegetables over, did he want to feed them and let himself starve to death?

He would absolutely not let the other side succeed!

"You, go chop wood!"

"You, go and start the fire to cook!"

Even though the two were crying their eyes out, Zhao Dajia showed no pity and gave them orders, then said, "No food if you don't do it right!" before walking into the house with his head held high and looking smug.

Haha, what a clever little devil! That way he can use the excuse that those two can't do anything right and can't do anything well to stop feeding them!

After Zhao Dajia went inside, he quietly ate some dry rations, leaving the two beauties in the courtyard looking at each other in bewilderment.

The crying in the yard grew louder. Zhao Dajia covered his ears with the blanket in annoyance. The neighbor who was building the wall was about to say a few words of comfort when his wife, who had heard the crying, grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away.

The two beauties had been hoping their neighbor would show them some tenderness, but after a string of colons, their crying grew louder, attracting several neighbors to come and watch the spectacle.

Unfortunately, Zhao Dajia was shameless to begin with, and he didn't care whoever wanted to watch. However, the two beauties couldn't resist and gradually stopped crying.

Although they stopped crying, the two of them didn't chop wood, start a fire, or cook, since they knew nothing but how to be someone's concubines.

It was already dark, and although it was springtime, the nights were still a bit chilly. The two sat huddled together in the courtyard, gazing resentfully at the closed door, but ultimately refrained from knocking.

Ha! You stinky man! Let's see how long you can keep up this act!

They didn't believe any man was indifferent to women; that official was definitely faking it! Humph! That stinking scholar just loves to pretend to be high and mighty!

But soon Shi Shen took advantage of the darkness to quietly pick up Song Yi. Even if Shen Congliang found out that he had taken her away, he was not afraid. At worst, he would just have a fight.

Song Yi was overjoyed, calling him "cousin" with genuine affection and tenderness.

However, Shi Shen was not afraid of Shen Congliang, but the strategist surnamed Liu was. Besides, he was too busy taking care of himself to have any time to rescue Xiao Lü.

In the pitch-black night, a cool breeze rustled the leaves. After Song Yi left, only Xiao Lü remained in the courtyard.

Woof!

A dog barked suddenly in the quiet night, startling Xiao Lü so much she almost jumped. At that moment, she didn't care whether Zhao Dajia was pretending to be aloof or not. She took a few steps over and knocked on the door, saying in as gentle and seductive a tone as possible, "Sir, it's too cold outside. Please open the door and let me in."

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