Chapter 14: No Bed, Only Soup

Wei Lan braced her hands behind her and propped herself up slightly before leaning forward, bringing her lips close.

She truly didn’t understand it—why were people here so obsessed with biting each other?

Even though Lu Zijin hadn’t shown her any mercy when she bit down earlier, Wei Lan was still worried she might hurt her.

She deliberately bit very lightly, first finding the right spot, then only barely breaking the skin before pushing her pheromones into Lu Zijin’s body.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long before Lu Zijin went limp against her.

Wei Lan instinctively reached out to support her—
but the moment her hand brushed Lu Zijin’s waist, the woman shot her a cold glare.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Oh.”

Wei Lan immediately pulled her hand back.

“Lie down first.

Let me lean on you for a moment,” Lu Zijin said.

Her voice was soft now—even though the words were clearly an order, they came out gentle and languid.

“Okay.”

Wei Lan obediently lay back down.

She didn’t dare touch Lu Zijin again, her arms stiff at her sides, her body straight as a little white poplar.

After a long while, Lu Zijin finally recovered some of her strength.

By then, Wei Lan could barely keep her eyes open.

She’d already been drained once during the day, her energy heavily depleted.

At night, she had been asleep, dragged awake, and drained again.

She was exhausted—so exhausted she could barely think—she just wanted to sleep.

Lu Zijin pushed herself up slightly and looked down at the person beneath her, who was on the verge of falling asleep.

She reached out and pinched Wei Lan’s cheek.

Her voice turned cool again.

“If you want to sleep, go back and sleep.

You are not to sleep here.”

“You’re really stingy,” Wei Lan muttered.

“I’m exhausted from you tossing me around, and you won’t even lend me half the bed.”

She truly didn’t want to get up and walk all the way back to the Fuqu Courtyard.

“No.”

Lu Zijin’s tone was firm.

“I already told you—since you married into this household, you should be aware of your position.

This is not a place where you may stay overnight.

Get up.”

Wei Lan pushed herself upright, unwilling in every possible way.

But thinking about how she still needed to eat, she swallowed her frustration.

“Fine, I’m getting up.

Then get off me too—I’m exhausted.

It’s the middle of the night and I still have to walk back.”

As she spoke, her stomach let out a loud gurgle.

She had used up too much pheromone.

Even though she’d already eaten dinner, she was hungry again.

Watching Wei Lan grumble and pout in dissatisfaction, Lu Zijin’s lips curved slightly—then quickly flattened again.

Seeing that the Qianjun she’d married seemed rather displeased with her, Lu Zijin unexpectedly showed a trace of kindness.

She called out toward the door, “Qing Zhi, have someone bring the ginseng chicken soup from the kitchen.

The Lord Consort is hungry.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Qing Zhi immediately sent several maids to fetch the soup.

Yun Xiang had naturally overheard everything.

She nearly exploded with anger, muttering resentfully under her breath:

“That’s a hundred-year-old ginseng specially prepared for Miss by the young master.

What right does that trash have to eat it?”

Qing Zhi glanced at her but said nothing.

Wei Lan got off the bed and finished dressing.

Her stomach growled even louder.

Lu Zijin lay comfortably on the bed and said, “The Lord Consort may finish her late-night meal here before leaving.”

“Alright.”

Wei Lan replied weakly, already plotting—she was going to eat a lot.

Best if she ate Lu Zijin into bankruptcy.

Not long after, the maids brought the soup in.

Besides the ginseng chicken soup, there were several delicate pastries, all neatly arranged on the table.

Qing Zhi bowed slightly to Wei Lan.

“Lord Consort, the soup has been kept warm over low heat.

You may try it.

The small kitchen also prepared a few pastries—please enjoy them together.”

Wei Lan nodded.

“Alright.

You may all leave.

I’ll handle it myself.”

“Yes.”

The maids withdrew from the room.

Wei Lan immediately picked up a piece of peach blossom cake.

Lu Zijin’s private kitchen really was something else—after just two bites, her eyes lit up.

The cake was soft and glutinous, infused with the faint fragrance of peach blossoms.

Not overly sweet—perfect.

Wei Lan loved it.

As expected of the gold sponsor’s kitchen—the skill level was on a completely different tier.

She sampled several more pastries in succession.

Every single one tasted good.

Then she ladled herself a bowl of ginseng chicken soup and took a sip.

The broth was rich and fresh.

Combined with ginseng and other herbs, it wasn’t bitter at all—instead, it carried a unique, warming depth of flavor.

Wei Lan liked it so much that she drank several bowls in a row.

She finished off every last pastry on the table.

Only when the plates were completely empty did she finally feel satisfied.

Sitting there, she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Sure, I got bitten twice in one day… but soft rice really is delicious.

Lu Zijin lifted the bed curtain slightly with her fingertips.

Seeing that Wei Lan had eaten everything, a faint smile surfaced at the corner of her lips.

She had used Wei Lan’s pheromones twice today—Wei Lan must have expended quite a bit of energy.

Still, Lu Zijin deliberately said,

“Are you done eating?

If so, sit and rest for a bit.

I’ll have someone escort you back shortly.”

“Got it.”

Wei Lan snorted softly.

So heartless—uses me up and then kicks me out.

Seeing her reluctance, Lu Zijin instead found herself smiling.

The Qianyuan she’d married seemed… rather interesting.

But that was all it was.

Wei Lan was nothing more than a tool for easing her rut—she would never harbor any other feelings.

After resting a while, Wei Lan saw that there was no movement from behind the bed curtain.

Left with no choice, she stood up to leave.

It was late, and she was extremely tired.

She really didn’t want to go—but since Lu Zijin wouldn’t let her sleep there, she had no option.

Worried that Lu Zijin might already be asleep, Wei Lan deliberately slowed her movements while closing the door.

Several young maids were still waiting outside.

When Qing Zhi saw Wei Lan come out, she said,

“I’ll have people escort you back.”

Wei Lan nodded.

“Alright.”

Her body felt unbearably heavy now.

She just wanted to lie down and sleep.

The entire walk back passed in silence.

Wei Lan felt like she was sleepwalking—completely drained.

Back in her own bedroom, she stripped off her outer garments and collapsed onto the bed.

When she woke again, daylight was already streaming in.

After a full night’s rest, she felt somewhat better.

Wei Lan lay there blankly for a moment before getting up.

Her jade pendant carving had been interrupted yesterday—it was only halfway done.

Now was the perfect time to continue.

She washed up, ate a light breakfast, and plunged straight back into her workshop.

The three-dimensional jasper pendant carved with a nine-tailed fox had reached the openwork stage.

Normally, not every pendant required full openwork carving.

But the quality of this jasper was average, with small dark inclusions inside.

Wei Lan had no choice but to remove them using openwork techniques—
and at the same time, use hollowing to give the pendant more depth and dimension.

Fortunately, she wasn’t disturbed this time.

She spent a full hour using a bow saw to process the openwork, then drilled a hole at the top of the pendant.

In modern times, this step would have been easy—whether an ox-nose hole or a straight-through hole, electric tools handled it effortlessly.

But in ancient times, it was different.

Wei Lan had to use a string bow to drive an iron spindle, rotating it repeatedly.

A diamond-tipped drill beneath the spindle gradually bored through the jade through continuous rotation.

She rinsed the drilled jade in water, held it up to the light, and inspected it carefully.

Only after confirming that the channel was perfect did she move on.

Next came the first polishing stage.

She went to the rotary wheel, replacing the steel disc with a wooden plate made from dried gourd shell.

Pressing the jade against it, she began stepping on the pedal, driving the wheel into rotation.

Once it was spinning, she sprinkled wet jade-polishing grit over the surface and carefully ground the jade bit by bit.

This step required extreme caution.

Too much force could easily damage the surface.

After completing this stage, the carving was essentially finished— only the final step remained: leather polishing.

She removed the wooden wheel and replaced it with cowhide.

Stepping on the pedal again, the hide moved back and forth under the pull of the cords.

Wei Lan pressed the pendant against it.

This step brought the jade to its smoothest, most lustrous finish.

By the time she finished, the meal hour had already passed.

Holding the nine-tailed fox jade pendant, Wei Lan pushed open the door and stepped outside.

The sunlight was bright.

She lifted the pendant up, letting the light pass through it.

The translucent, hollowed jasper shimmered beautifully.

Looking at it, a smile finally appeared on her face.

She knew she could do it.

Of all the jade pieces she had carved these past few days, this was the one she was most satisfied with.

She felt that she had almost fully synchronized with this body now—
her old carving instincts had completely returned.

Li Zhufeng hurried over when she saw Wei Lan step out.

“Lord Consort, why are you only coming out now?

It’s nearly past noon—I’ll have someone bring your meal right away.”

Wei Lan found her enthusiasm a little suspicious, but didn’t think too much of it.

She nodded.

“Go ahead.”

She was in such a good mood today that she almost wanted to run a few laps to celebrate.

Then she remembered—she had raw jade but had forgotten to buy cords for hanging the pendants.

Looks like I’ll need to go out and buy some.

Not long after, dishes from the small kitchen were brought in.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but today’s food seemed better than usual.

Wei Lan didn’t dwell on it.

She picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

Lunch consisted of stir-fried lamb, clear fish soup, and several other small dishes.

The cook’s skills were solid—everything tasted good.

Wei Lan ate with great appetite.

Of course, compared to Lu Zijin’s meals, this still fell short.

The cooks in Lu Zijin’s courtyard were the most famous in Panyang City.

Every ingredient was carefully selected—meat slaughtered fresh on the spot, vegetables picked that very morning.

Still, Wei Lan wasn’t picky.

The soft rice she was eating now tasted just fine.

Just as she was finishing up and slowly sipping a bowl of fish soup— Li Zhufeng and Zhao Linghui arrived together.

Both wore smiles, each more enthusiastic than the other— so much so that Wei Lan broke out in goosebumps.