Chapter 288: Chapter 168: Oops, I’ve Overdone It This Time

SLAP! He smacked his hand right onto it.

"Ouch! My dear nephew, be gentle. That hurts your aunt," Aunt Song cried out.

Lu Yuan rubbed the area in a circular motion and said, "It’s alright, it’ll feel better in a moment."

Aunt Song said, "You know, now that you’re rubbing it, it doesn’t hurt anymore. It just feels cool and rather nice."

"Of course! This is a miracle balm!"

Lu Yuan paused, then continued, "As good as this medicine is, it can only be applied here. The redness and swelling elsewhere will just have to heal on its own."

Aunt Song said, "That’s fine. It’ll heal in a few days. Then, your aunt will have a proper rematch with you!

Hey, hey, hey! Gentle! Why are you suddenly pressing so hard?"

Lu Yuan quickly lightened his touch. "But Auntie, you should cut back on spicy food for a while!"

Aunt Song had been propping herself up on the bed with both hands for so long that her arms were starting to feel sore.

"Why? Can’t I eat chili peppers?" Song Meiqin pressed.

After rubbing in the medicine, Lu Yuan used both hands to pull Aunt Song’s butt cheeks apart and said,

"Aunt Song, it looks like you might be developing hemorrhoids!"

Being so suddenly pulled apart by her nephew, Aunt Song felt an urge to take a dump.

Aunt Song hurriedly got up and pulled up her pajama pants.

She turned around and said, "My dear nephew, can’t you be a little more gentle with your aunt?"

Lu Yuan scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly.

"Are you staying the night here with me again?" Aunt Song asked.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment. "I’d better not. You get some rest, Aunt Song. I’ll come see you tomorrow."

Hearing her nephew’s words, Aunt Song felt a pang of disappointment.

But she couldn’t very well insist that he stay.

After all, she was still in pain and couldn’t properly ’serve’ her nephew.

Song Meiqin straightened her pajamas and said, "Well then, you should get some rest too, nephew."

Lu Yuan made a loud MWAH sound, then set down the medicinal paste and the Spirit Stone Lamp.

"Get some sleep, Aunt Song. I’ll head back now."

After seeing her nephew out, Aunt Song locked the door from the inside.

She turned off the Spirit Stone Lamp and flopped onto the bed to sleep.

Lu Yuan returned to his wife’s room.

The family of three was sleeping in one bed.

Before falling asleep, Lu Yuan rested his hand on Su Liyan’s waist.

Between them, Bengbeng was sleeping soundly.

Lu Yuan and Su Liyan lay on their sides, facing each other.

Lu Yuan said, "Go to sleep, honey. Once I’m done with this Mansion Guard recruitment, I’ll build a crib for our Bengbeng."

Su Liyan whispered, "Okay, honey~ Then I can snuggle into your arms to sleep."

...

A few chicken calls could be heard. It wasn’t the crowing of a rooster—the roosters had already crowed much earlier.

It was the clucking of a hen that had just laid an egg.

Woken by the noise, Su Liyan saw that her husband was still asleep, even though the sun was already high in the sky.

Su Liyan gently patted her husband, waking Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan stretched lazily and said, "Our Bengbeng was quite a handful last night."

Su Liyan said, "Well, babies get hungry every few hours and need to be fed."

Last night, whenever Bengbeng got hungry, she would kick her legs instead of crying.

Bengbeng just kept kicking Lu Yuan. Her little feet weren’t big, but they packed a surprising punch.

A kick to the stomach was enough to make Lu Yuan wince in pain for a while before he could get back to sleep.

As he got dressed, Lu Yuan asked, "Did Bengbeng used to kick you at night too?"

Su Liyan thought for a moment. "No, our Bengbeng usually just pats me with her hand to wake me up."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan lifted the still-sleeping Bengbeng with both hands.

"My dear daughter, you’re targeting your old man!"

Bengbeng was still fast asleep, her breathing a little heavy. You could hear soft snoring sounds.

She remained asleep even as Lu Yuan lifted her up.

Helpless against his daughter, Lu Yuan had no choice but to place her back on the bed.

Lu Yuan said to his wife, "It’s getting late. I’ll skip breakfast today and just grab something to eat on the way."

Just as Lu Yuan was about to leave, Su Liyan suddenly reached out and held his arm, pleading coquettishly, "Honey~ I want to go to the Martial Hall with you today."

Lu Yuan glanced at the sleeping Bengbeng. "What if Bengbeng gets hungry?"

Su Liyan said, "It’s fine. I’ll pump some milk in a bit and divide it into a few portions. When Bengbeng wakes up, our mother can just feed her."

Lu Yuan thought that was a good idea. His wife hadn’t left the mansion since the baby was born.

Su Liyan’s body had long since recovered to its peak condition.

It was about time he took his wife out for a stroll.

Hearing her plan, Lu Yuan said, "Alright, I’ll wait for you. Get ready and we’ll head out."

After Su Liyan had arranged everything, she set off with her husband.

A group of Mansion Guards followed behind the Young Master’s Nephew and the Young Madam.

On the way to the Martial Hall, Lu Yuan checked the sun’s position. It was already quite late.

’When I’m sleeping, no one dares to wake me,’ he thought. ’Bengbeng kept me up again last night, so I didn’t sleep well. I really need to build myself an alarm clock one of these days. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll end up delaying important matters.’

When Lu Yuan entered the Martial Hall Courtyard with his Mansion Guards,

the six hundred people in the courtyard had already been waiting anxiously for nearly an hour.

Lu Yuan hurriedly stepped onto the high platform and shouted through a megaphone, "Sorry to keep you all waiting."

"I’m late today, so time is limited.

So, here’s the plan. For the third round of assessment today, I will select some of you to fight me. Of course, you are also free to challenge me voluntarily.

Anyone who defeats me will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. Those who lose will fail the assessment, and those who fail may be eliminated.

Everyone else will be hired as Mansion Guards for the Zhao Mansion.

Of course, before I make my selections, anyone is welcome to challenge me first!"

After Lu Yuan finished speaking, the Mansion Guards were stunned. This was completely different from the rules they had drafted for the third round.

’Why did the Young Master’s Nephew change the rules on the spot? And he’s challenging all six hundred of them by himself. Isn’t he biting off more than he can chew?’

’If all six hundred people fight him, they could wear him down with sheer numbers, even if they take turns.’

Lu Yuan’s plan was to get some real combat practice against these people and increase his practical battle Experience.

At the same time, Lu Yuan also wanted to weed out a portion of the candidates.

Without a valid reason, it would be difficult to reject people who wanted to join the Zhao Mansion.

After all, they had passed the first two rounds of assessments.

After Lu Yuan’s announcement, the hundreds of people below began to discuss whether they should volunteer to challenge him.

They knew that as long as they weren’t chosen, they would become Mansion Guards for the Zhao Mansion.

But if they didn’t challenge him, they would miss the chance to earn those ten taels of silver.

Ten taels of silver was equivalent to two years’ income for an ordinary worker.

For these people, although making money was relatively easy, ten taels of silver was still no small sum.

But if they lost, they might be eliminated.

Lu Yuan stood on the platform, giving the people below ample time to consider whether to challenge him.

This choice stumped the crowd below, leaving them agonizing over the decision.

Su Liyan, meanwhile, moved closer to Lu Yuan and tugged on his pant leg.

Lu Yuan, who was on the high platform, squatted down and asked his wife below, "What’s wrong, honey?"

Su Liyan said worriedly, "At a glance, there are quite a few capable people in this crowd.

Honey, why are you doing this?"

Lu Yuan patted Su Liyan’s head and said dotingly, "I know what I’m doing. Just watch."

"Honey, how about I join you? The two of us can take turns," Su Liyan said, confident in her own abilities.

But Lu Yuan rejected his wife’s idea. "You should take it easy for now. Your health is more important."

Su Liyan could see that her husband was resolute, so she didn’t protest further.

’I’ll just stay here by his side. Nothing bad should happen,’ she thought.

「A moment later.」

Among the six hundred people below, a burly man shouted, "I’ll do it! I challenge you!"

Lu Yuan could see that this burly man was merely a Traveler.

The crowd turned to look at the burly man.

’A mere Traveler dares to issue a challenge. As a Grand Celestial Master/Celestial Master/Spirit Binder, how can I be so timid?’

The burly man was like a spark that lit a powder keg in the crowd.

One after another, people started shouting.

"I’ll do it!"

"Me too!"

"Count me in!"

...

Lu Yuan looked at the frenzied crowd below and thought, ’Crap. I really bit off more than I can chew this time!’