Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

That evening, Zhao Lingxi returned to the palace. The imperial physician said that she was far along in her pregnancy and needed someone to watch over her at night; the palace midwives and female physicians had all been arranged.

Before leaving, she paused at the entrance of the east wing without turning back, only saying, "If you need anyone tonight, send Xiaolan and Xiaoyu over. Those two girls are nice and pretty." After saying that, she walked through the corridor and headed towards the palace wall.

When Lin Yanzhou returned to the side hall, Xiaolan and Xiaoyu were already waiting at the entrance of the warm pavilion, apparently on the princess's orders. Xiaolan stood by the door, holding a dry cotton towel, as if she had just wiped the table. Xiaoyu stood beside her; the lights in the room were already lit, the copper lamps in the warm pavilion had been oiled, and the wicks had been trimmed. The warmth from the underfloor heating rose evenly from the soles of her feet.

Several items were laid out on the table, brought by Lin Yanzhou from the modern world: a few cans of cola, a bag of potato chips, and several small, transparent bottles, revealing the color and texture of the liquids inside. Xiaolan looked down at the items, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the cola cans and the bag of potato chips, but she didn't reach out to touch them. Xiaoyu stood half a step behind her, wiping the already cleaned seam along the edge of the table with a cotton towel.

Lin Yanzhou entered the warm room, sat down on the edge of the bed, and reached out to open a can of cola. The can popped open softly, the bubbles rising and falling back, making a sound in the quiet room before stopping. He took a sip and placed the can on the low table. Xiaolan's gaze followed the can of cola for a moment, then returned to its original position.

"Those items," Lin Yanzhou tilted his head to indicate the direction of the table, "take a look for yourselves. Tonight, whoever has the best technique and gets the highest score from the judges, that's who gets them."

"Well, of course, I'm the only referee, and the standard depends on how comfortable I am."

Xiaolan walked to the table, picked up the small bottles, unscrewed the cap of one of them, and sniffed it. A very faint fragrance wafted from the bottle, unlike the herbs and oils she was used to smelling; it was more delicate, like a scent that had been repeatedly purified.

She unscrewed the cap, picked up the other one, unscrewed the cap, squeezed a little onto the back of her hand, spread it with her fingertips, and looked down at the skin surface as it was slowly being absorbed. She didn't speak, turned around and placed the bottle on the edge of the low table, then retreated to the foot of the bed, standing within Lin Yanzhou's line of sight.

Xiaoyu also picked up a bottle and tried it, rubbing it open before sniffing the back of her hand. She put the bottle back on the table and stood on the other side of the foot of the bed. There was some distance between them, but they were both within his reach.

Xiaolan moved first. She raised her hand and dimmed the lamp, changing the light from bright yellow to a warmer, darker tone. Then she bent down to untie the sash of his outer robe, folded it neatly, and draped it over the screen. She retreated to the edge of the bed, placed her hand on the edge of his shoulder blade, and began to slowly push down along both sides of his spine.

Her pressure went from light to heavy and then back to light, with a steady rhythm. Her fingertips paused briefly when they reached the bottom, as if waiting for the muscles to fully relax before moving on to the next section.

Xiaoyu waited on the other side until Xiaolan finished her first cycle before approaching. Her movements were lighter than Xiaolan's, her fingertips starting at her waist and pushing forward along the ribcage. Her force wasn't like Xiaolan's, peeling away layers of deep tension; it was more like slowly covering the surface.

There was no conversation between the two, but their rhythms were slowly converging. Xiaolan's strokes were deep and steady, while Xiaoyu's were light and gentle, like two different parts of the same piece of music adjusting their pitch and volume, ultimately settling on the same chord progression.

Lin Yanzhou leaned against the headboard, feeling the two forces gradually aligning in their respective rhythms. Xiaolan's hand slid from her shoulder blade to her waist, her thumb pushing down along the contours of her spine, pausing briefly above her sacrum, as if waiting for the tension to completely release before withdrawing her force.

Xiaoyu's hand slid from his abdomen to his chest, slowly moving upwards along the contours of his sternum, stopping just below his collarbone. The warmth of her palm formed an even blanket over his skin. The warm room remained quiet for a long time, save for the soft sound of steam flowing from the underfloor heating system, as if the continuous flow was filling the gap that had not yet been occupied by other sounds.

The can of cola was still on the low table, its surface now warm to room temperature. Xiaolan picked it up and took a sip, pausing as she swallowed, looking down at the dissipating bubbles around the rim of the can. "This tastes different from mead," she said, "it's stronger." She put the can back. Xiaoyu also picked it up and took a sip, then looked down at the rim of the can. "I felt something in my throat when I swallowed, like something scraped against it."

She placed the jar back on the table, her gaze briefly meeting Xiaolan's. Both of them simultaneously turned their attention back to Lin Yanzhou, as if using that overlapping look to make a silent confirmation, before returning to their respective positions, waiting for him to decide how to spend the rest of the evening.

At this moment, Xiaolan spoke gently, "Honey, I just learned a set of verbal skills. I think this cola tastes really good and can replace the water used in the verbal skills. Would you like to try it?"

"Great! Xiaolan put in a lot of effort, your husband will reward you handsomely later! Come on, baby!"

"The aunt who taught me said that if you want to feel more comfortable, you can... you can... you can spray it in your mouth."

Suddenly, a new image flashed through Lin Yanzhou's mind: Holy crap, this is so awesome!

Xiaoyu said aggrievedly, "I also studied it, but my voice is weak. I tried something, but it didn't work at all. I'm sorry, Imperial Preceptor..."

Lin Yanzhou hugged Xiaoyu tightly: "Xiaoyu is also very good. You can learn slowly. You have your own advantages. Your voice is more penetrating than Xiaolan's. Not many men can stand your voice. Don't you feel that our cooperation is more harmonious every time we are together?"

After comforting Xiaoyu, his spirits lifted again.

In one night, they made love four or five times, yet Lin Yanzhou felt no fatigue or weakness whatsoever. It was as if this transmigration had given his body a complete makeover.