After Lu Chen finished speaking, Lin Wanyun said, "You exhaust your mind over the affairs of the North Country and still look after your wives at night; you really should take in more nourishment."
Hearing this, Lu Chen smiled slightly, then put down his hand and scooped up a spoonful of soup. "Madam Lin is right, with so many women of mine, I really should replenish."
At this point, Lu Chen lifted his hand again and brought the spoonful of soup to his lips, as Lin Wanyun stared intently at Lu Chen's movements, eager to see him drink the soup.
The next moment, Lu Chen blew on the spoon and tipped it, drinking the soup into his mouth.
After seeing Lu Chen's throat move to swallow, Lin Wanyun's heart tensed up again. Chen'er hadn't noticed before because he hadn't touched the soup; she was unsure whether he would detect anything now that the Pair-Wing Butterfly powder had entered his body.
Lin Wanyun tentatively asked, "Chen'er, how is the soup?"
Lu Chen replied with a smile, "Not bad, no different from the soup Zixuan used to brew. I've been fortifying myself every day recently; I've grown accustomed to it."
With that, Lu Chen took out a small bowl from the lunchbox, ladled some more soup into it, and continued to drink.
Seeing Lu Chen drink so much soup at once, Lin Wanyun's face also revealed an almost imperceptible smile.
The first attempt at drugging Lu Chen should have been a success.
She would find another opportunity to drug Lu Chen a couple more times, and once Chen Wanrong had also ingested the female Pair-Wing Butterfly's powder, it should be very easy to infect Lu Chen with the Love Worm.
While Lin Wanyun was thinking this, Lu Chen began to eat his midnight snack. He seemed completely unaware of anything amiss.
Seeing this, Lin Wanyun was completely reassured.
A while later, Lu Chen suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, right, Madam Lin, what has Miss Chen been up to lately?"
Lin Wanyun replied, "She's been practicing in the pavilion every day, the same as before."
"Chen'er, it's been a long time since you listened to her play the zither, hasn't it? Are you tired of it?"
"The Palace Master mentioned this matter a few days ago; Chen Wanrong seems somewhat disheartened that you don't visit her. I think she might have fallen for you," she said.
As she spoke, Lin Wanyun's beautiful eyes gazed at Lu Chen's handsome face, eager to see his reaction.
Hearing Lin Wanyun's words, Lu Chen sighed, "Ah, I really want to listen to her play, but I've been so busy lately. I hardly have any spare time every day."
"Fortunately, Dean Zhuge has brought his students from the Universal Academy to the North Country. In some time, once I hand over some government affairs to Zhuge Zhongguang, I will have time to listen to Miss Chen play the zither again."
Lin Wanyun said, "So it's because you've been too busy. I thought maybe you'd lost interest in the Palace Master since you haven't gone to listen to her play in several months."
Lu Chen said with a laugh, "How could I not be interested? Miss Chen is as beautiful as a celestial being. If I were not interested in her, would I even be a man?"
After he spoke, Lu Chen continued to eat, and Lin Wanyun did not say much more, just stood quietly at the side.
After a while, Lu Chen finished the midnight snack that Mu Zixuan had prepared and picked a soft piece of paper from the table to wipe his mouth.
Lin Wanyun then said, "Chen'er, I'll take these things away."
Lu Chen said indifferently, "Hmm, alright."
Lin Wanyun then bent down to start cleaning up the lunchbox on the table.
As Lin Wanyun bent down, the graceful curves of her body became even more pronounced, stirring some restlessness within Lu Chen.
Lu Chen then said, "Sigh, it's really better not to eat such nourishing food late at night; I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep again tonight."
Lin Wanyun thought Lu Chen was just making small talk and didn't take his words to heart, as she busied herself cleaning up while distractedly saying, "Zixuan is just looking out for your well-being."
As Lin Wanyun finished tidying up the lunchbox on the table and was about to leave the study, Lu Chen suddenly spoke up, "Oh, Madam Lin, there's something I want to ask about."
At these words, Lin Wanyun hadn't yet realized what Lu Chen was planning to do next; she thought he wanted to ask about some serious business.
Lu Chen rose from his seat and asked, "Madam Lin, General Lin once came to see me and told me about a few things."
"General Lin?" Lin Wanyun was momentarily startled.
She quickly reacted, "Do you mean my sworn brother Lin Xiuming?"
Lu Chen nodded, "Yes, him."
Lin Wanyun's eyebrows knit slightly, sensing this was probably not going to be good news; after all, Lin Xiuming had previously discussed Lin Mansion's intentions with her.
Lin Mansion planned to marry her off to Lu Chen as part of an alliance.
Of course, she was definitely against it. She was already thirty-two years old, and at her age, women had children as old as Lu Chen.
Their age difference was nearly that of a generation; how could she marry Lu Chen?
Curious, Lin Wanyun asked, "What did Xiuming tell you?"
At that moment, Lu Chen rose from his chair and walked slowly to the center of the study. Then, he said to the maid at the door, "Xiao Huan, stand guard at the entrance of the courtyard. Without my command, do not approach the study."
No sooner had Lu Chen's words fallen than Xiao Huan's voice could be heard from outside the study.