Yan Zhen didn’t dare at all. He shook his head vigorously, his face flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s fine. I’ll just circulate my energy for a bit, and it’ll settle down soon.”
He had almost forgotten that he was supposed to be an expert.
His mentor knew his body all too well. A little teasing from her was enough to make him lose control. How embarrassing.
However, Elder Yu Yan didn’t go along with his plea. Her jade hand reached out and found the source of his agitation. Chuckling, she said, “This is exactly when a concubine should step in. How can I let Little Yan Zhen circulate your energy to fight it off?”
Yan Zhen had just started to calm down a little, but this sneak attack shattered his composure. He hissed through his teeth and gave a wry smile. “Great-Aunt, stop fooling around. I need to prepare for body refining. If my master finds out I broke my vow, it’ll be bad.”
Hearing him put it that way, Elder Yu Yan couldn’t bring herself to tease him further. With some regret, she let go and instead pulled him into an embrace.
“Then let’s sleep. Do you want me and Xiao Lu to sing you a lullaby?”
Yan Zhen’s mouth twitched. He wasn’t a three-year-old child who needed coaxing to sleep, after all.
“No need.”
“Then… a goodnight kiss?”
“Uh…”
Elder Yu Yan smiled and planted a gentle kiss on Yan Zhen’s cheek. Then she turned to her younger sister. “Won’t Xiao Lu give Little Yan Zhen a goodnight kiss?”
The Family Head Yu Lu felt her heart stir, though her expression remained awkward. “The Yu Family doesn’t have that kind of bedtime custom.”
Only sappy romance novels from her girlhood had scenes like that.
But Elder Yu Yan shot back, “Does that mean Xiao Lu doesn’t dote on Little Yan Zhen anymore?”
The Family Head Yu Lu hesitated. “Sister…”
“Alright then, that means I’m the one who dotes on Little Yan Zhen more~” With their faces pressed together, Elder Yu Yan even nuzzled him. “What do you think, Little Yan Zhen?”
Without hesitation, Yan Zhen recited the standard safe answer. “I think both Great-Aunt and Mother-in-Law treat me wonderfully.”
The Family Head Yu Lu’s expression eased a bit.
Elder Yu Yan grinned and tapped Yan Zhen’s nose. “You little slicker.”
“Alright, Sister, stop disturbing Son-in-Law Yan Zhen from resting.”
“…”
The voices gradually quieted, but none of the people on the bed felt the slightest bit sleepy.
It was Elder Yu Yan’s first time sharing a bed with Yan Zhen, and she looked over his body with great curiosity. Her jade hands occasionally roamed here and there.
The Family Head Yu Lu stared dazedly at her sister’s actions, as if she were the one in her place, freely caressing Yan Zhen’s skin as she pleased.
As for Yan Zhen, sandwiched between two beautiful elder beauties, how could he possibly fall asleep?
The other three women were lost in their own tangled thoughts.
Shui Bailan ached for her niece while wondering what she herself should do.
Dean Yu Qing felt the same pity for her niece, all the while pondering whether that little scoundrel would truly accept her.
Mentor Yu Xuan’s mind kept flashing with images of her mother feeding her lover, so vivid it was as if she had witnessed it herself.
The night passed in silence.
Only as dawn approached did Yan Zhen finally fall into a deep sleep—and then he had a nightmare.
In the dream, he smoothly married into the Yu Family. A year later, all four beautiful elders were proudly sporting big bellies, their lovely faces glowing with maternal radiance. Only his mentor wife still had a flat stomach.
At once, Mentor Yu Xuan’s gentle oval face twisted into a yandere glare. Brandishing a gleaming kitchen knife, she chased him down eight streets.
“What the hell!?”
Yan Zhen jolted awake with a start. He opened his eyes and realized it was just a dream, letting out a sigh of relief.
With his Nether Realm divine soul cultivation, he still had nightmares. That said something about how immense the pressure on him was.
A strange ceiling met his gaze. Yan Zhen glanced left and right. Beside him, the Family Head mother-in-law and Elder great-aunt lay on their sides, each clutching one of his arms. Their breathing was even and steady—they were clearly still deep in slumber.
Two similarly exquisite faces, beautiful as paintings. Their graceful figures were faintly visible beneath loose sleepwear. Snowy skin contrasted sharply with raven-black hair, both exuding a faint, elegant fragrance.
Being pressed so close, he could even feel a soft swell.
Mornings were already Second Master’s domain, and this stimulation made it rise even more boldly, as if it were about to claim the dual emperors’ throne any moment!
—Don’t even think about it. I haven’t become an emperor yet!
Yan Zhen grumbled inwardly.
Suddenly, he sensed someone waking. To avoid awkwardness, he quickly shut his eyes.
It was Dean Yu Qing who stirred.
She sat up and glanced at Yan Zhen “sleeping” soundly between Big Sister and Second Sister, along with that most prominent protrusion. With a huff, she said, “Little pervert, you must have been having dirty dreams!”
“…”
—This Dean Little Aunt just loved badmouthing people behind their backs!
As he thought that, Yan Zhen suddenly felt himself being poked twice. His body went rigid. He heard Dean Little Aunt muttering to herself, “Hung like a donkey, and with dragon marks too. Shameless!”
“…”
Yan Zhen itched to open his eyes and snap back at her, but then he sensed Mentor Aunt waking up too. He kept pretending to sleep.
With a click, Dean Yu Qing whipped her head around. Her best friend was using a Reflecting Light Mirror to capture the moment she had poked him. She panicked at once. “Bailan, what are you doing?”
Shui Bailan deftly pocketed the Reflecting Light Mirror and said calmly, “That’s what I should be asking you. Taking advantage of Yan Zhen while he’s out cold again.”
Dean Yu Qing’s cheeks flushed, but she stubbornly shot back, “I-I’m already sharing a husband with Xuan’er. What’s wrong with a little touch? Besides, he’s the one flaunting it!”
Shui Bailan paused.
True, Yu Qing and Sister Yu Yan had gotten what they wanted. Only she and her sister-in-law were left—
She steadied herself, refusing to be swayed by her friend’s twisted logic. Sternly, she said, “Even if you’re husband and wife, you can’t just sneak it like that.”
“I love sneaking it. If you’re jealous, you can do it too. He’s right here, after all.”
“…”
—This Yu Qing was just smug now that she’d shamelessly gotten Xuan’er to agree!
Shui Bailan replied coolly, “I’ll send that recording to everyone in a bit.”
Again? Dean Yu Qing’s expression shifted. She quickly backed down. “I was just joking! Why take it so seriously? Delete it, quick!”
Her friend shot her a look of disdain.
“What’s with all the yelling first thing in the morning?”
The Family Head Yu Lu had woken too. She quietly released Yan Zhen’s arm and sat up slowly, her posture impeccable. As she adjusted her open collar, she scolded her younger sister and little sister-in-law.
“If you’re awake, go wash up. The boat should be docking soon.”
“It’s not early anymore, Xiao Lu.” Elder Yu Yan, who had been sleeping on the outermost side, smiled. “It’s almost the hour of the snake already. No more rocking means we’ve reached shore.”
“The hour of the snake?” The Family Head Yu Lu blinked. “How did I oversleep like this?”
“Me too. Sleeping next to Little Yan Zhen feels so secure. My whole body feels warm and cozy, just like when Mother used to hold me as a child. Don’t you feel the same, Xiao Lu?”
“Sister, I-I didn’t—”
“Alright, I get it. No more talking. Time to get up.”
“Then wake Xuan’er and Son-in-Law Yan Zhen too.”
“No need.”
Elder Yu Yan glanced at the two youngsters pretending to sleep and smiled. “We’ll wash up first. We can call Little Yan Zhen and Xuan’er later.”
With Big Sister calling the shots, the other three women had no objections. They obediently got out of bed and went behind the screen to the bathroom to freshen up. On the bed, only Yan Zhen and Mentor Yu Xuan remained.
