Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

Nighttime, Zhenbei Prefecture.

The hustle and bustle of the day gradually subsides as night deepens.

Lin Mo rubbed his throbbing temples and slowly made his way to his own courtyard.

He was terrified during the meal in the dining hall.

A table full of women, all talking about being virtuous and gentle, but their eyes were full of predatory glint.

Especially that vixen, Liu Yiyi.

The barefoot toes kept moving under the table, which made him furious and he almost overturned the table on the spot.

This is unbearable.

Pushing open the door, the cool moonlight slanted across the mahogany table, and the room was completely silent.

Lin Mo didn't turn on the light, and collapsed onto the bed.

Meanwhile, in a small courtyard on the western side of the mansion.

Several stalks of green bamboo rustled in the night breeze.

Inside the room, a solitary lamp flickered erratically, its flame burning weakly.

"Oh dear, Eighth Sister, say something!"

"What time is it? You still have the mind to embroider your lousy mandarin ducks?"

An anxious voice boomed from inside the room.

Ye Yunshang, Lin Mo's ninth sister-in-law, was sitting on the embroidered stool feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles, twisting and turning her body.

She was only wearing a light pink silk nightgown.

With her restless movements, the hem of her skirt slipped up to her thighs, and under the light, her two long, beautiful legs were dazzlingly white.

She came to find her eighth sister-in-law, Xu Wenya, intending to discuss something.

After rambling on and on, the person on the other end remained completely silent.

She just kept her head down, embroidering the things in her hands stitch by stitch.

Ye Yunshang's anger flared up instantly.

She rushed over, snatched the brocade from Xu Wenya's hand, and slammed it angrily on the round table.

"Keep embroidering, keep embroidering! If we keep going like this, we'll both turn into old maids in this mansion!"

Xu Wenya trembled as her embroidery was taken away. She raised her head, revealing a gentle and charming face typical of women from Jiangnan.

She wasn't annoyed; instead, she let out a soft sigh, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz.

"Ninth Sister, what do you want me to say?"

"In this kind of thing... what woman would take the initiative to bring it up?"

"If you don't speak, I don't speak, and he doesn't speak either, are we really going to spend the rest of our lives living like widows in this mansion?"

Ye Yunshang stomped her feet in frustration, her rounded chest heaving violently.

"Eighth Sister, look at the mansion now."

"The eldest sister manages the household affairs, the second sister holds military power, and the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh sisters—which one of them doesn't have a proper job?"

"Most importantly, they are now Lin Mo's legitimate women!"

Yunshang bit her rosy lower lip, her eyes slightly red.

"Now it's just the two of us left. Before my father-in-law passed away, he clearly said that he would also give us to Lin Mo."

"But look at us now, every time Lin Mo sees us, he still calls us 'Eighth Sister-in-law' or 'Ninth Sister-in-law.' That way of addressing us... it's so formal!"

Yunshang became more and more aggrieved as she spoke, and the tears in her eyes almost solidified.

Lin Mo has more and more women around him, and even the princess of the Southern Frontier has moved in openly.

If she and Xu Wenya continue to be stuck with the title of "sister-in-law,"

In the future, there may not even be a place to stand in Zhenbei Prefecture.

Listening to Ye Yunshang pouring out her grievances, Xu Wenya, sitting on the edge of the bed, also looked gloomy.

"But Lin Mo... he's getting busier and busier. There are so many things to deal with in Zhenbei City, how can he have the time to think about us..."

Xu Wenya looked down at her hands, which were only good for holding embroidery needles, and a sense of inferiority welled up in her heart.

"Besides, what can we possibly do to help him?"

"We can't fight on the battlefield like our second sister, nor can we manage accounts and housework like Sister Liu... All we know is this kind of lowly needlework."

"What he needs is a woman who can fight alongside him, not someone like us... a useless burden."

"nonsense!"

Ye Yunshang's almond-shaped eyes widened.

"Men fight tooth and nail outside, what do they come home to but seek comfort and affection?"

"We may lack other things, but our bodies and our overflowing tenderness—are they really inferior to those cold, hard ledgers and spears?"

As Ye Yunshang spoke, she suddenly stood up.

She turned around in front of Xu Wenya, deliberately showing off her curvaceous figure.

"No! We can't just sit here and wait to die!"

A resolute glint flashed in Xu Wenya's eyes.

"Eighth Sister, we must take the initiative!"

"Take the initiative? How... how do I take the initiative?"

Xu Wenya was startled and asked timidly.

Ye Yunshang leaned close to her ear, her voice extremely low, carrying a hint of ruthless determination.

"Tomorrow, I'll go to the kitchen and stew a pot of nourishing soup, with plenty of tiger penis and deer antler!"

"Then, pick out your best outfit and go find him in his yard!"

"Once the deed is done and we have a legitimate status, we can hold our heads high in the mansion!"

"Ninth Sister, this...this is too shameless. What if...what if Lin Mo gets angry..."

Xu Wenya was terrified and her cheeks flushed.

"Never mind that! The bold get rich, the timid starve!"

Ye Yunshang acted swiftly and decisively; after speaking, she turned and walked out.

"Eighth Sister, I'm going back to try on the clothes!"

"You'd better think of something too! Stop just doing embroidery all day!"

boom.

The door closed.

A deathly silence returned to the room.

Xu Wenya sat alone in front of the embroidery frame, her mind filled with Yunshang's words, "Take the initiative."

She lowered her head and looked at her voluptuous figure.

In terms of looks, she was no less beautiful than any of the sisters in the mansion.

In terms of figure, her gentle and charming demeanor, nurtured in the water towns of Jiangnan, is unique and captivating.

But she just couldn't bring herself to say it.

Xu Wenya bit her lower lip lightly with her pearly teeth, and her hand uncontrollably reached for the collar of her moon-white nightgown.

Hook your fingertips on the ribbon and give it a gentle tug.

The silky fabric slid down her rounded shoulders, and the cool air sent a shiver down her spine.

Most of her full figure seemed to leap out of the fabric's confinement, dazzling the eye in the dim light.

"Take the initiative..."

Xu Wenya muttered to herself, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.

She thought of Lin Mo's broad shoulders and his deep eyes.

An unprecedented longing began to grow wildly in my heart.

With trembling hands, she opened a mahogany box at the very back of the wardrobe.

Inside was a dress that her mother had secretly given her before she got married—a "treasured" piece of clothing.

It was a light blue gauze dress, as thin as a cicada's wing.

Inside, there was only a matching strapless top that barely covered her vital parts, with very little fabric.

This isn't clothing, it's clearly... an aphrodisiac poison.

Xu Wenya gritted her teeth, exerted force with her fingertips, and freed herself from the last restraints on her body.

She stood before the cold bronze mirror, looking at the unfamiliar woman in the reflection—a woman with skin as white as snow and a captivating allure.

Tonight, she didn't want to be the gossip queen anymore...