Home / System / Daily Dossier: Secrets of a Lazy Husband / 69

Author: Bader

2026-04-26 02:29:15

Inside the Joyful Pavilion.

Caelum arrived neither too early nor too late. Sylvia had just led five men of various ages, all dressed in long robes, through the outer gate.

Evangeline was waiting outside the wooden building. When she saw Caelum approaching, a touch of self-consciousness flickered across her normally cool and elegant face.

Finding her reaction quite interesting, Caelum offered a slight bow from a distance.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Evangeline instructed Sylvia to have

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59
The province of Shuzhou appeared to settle into a state of deceptive tranquility over the following days. To an outside observer, the bustling markets and crowded streets suggested nothing was amiss, yet beneath this mask of normalcy, a dark undercurrent of tension was beginning to stir. The news regarding the theft of the Shau family’s medicinal shipment had spread like wildfire, carried by the words of travelers who had witnessed the aftermath at the mountain inn. Public opinion was divided into distinct camps. The members of the martial arts community were convinced that the stolen crates held legendary artifacts or ancient spiritual herbs, far beyond the value of common medicine. Some went as far as to claim that a mythical ginseng root, intended to save the ailing Old Patriarch of the Shau family, had been the true target. Meanwhile, the common folk of the city remained skeptical, believing the Shau family’s influence was too vast for any bandit to challenge for long. They spoke
88
The aftermath of a summer rain often brought a stifling heat that felt as though the downpour had never occurred at all. From the moment the sun crested the horizon, the rising steam carried a warm, muggy dampness that clung to the skin, creating an atmosphere that was both oppressive and irritating. It was the kind of weather that made one feel restless, yet there was an old saying that a calm mind brings its own coolness. Within the pavilion of the Shau estate, Caelum, Duke Zhang, and Mr. Sun remained composed, their temperaments as steady as ancient mountains. In stark contrast, Butterfly was bustling about, her twin hair buns bobbing back and forth as she tended to their needs. Despite the heat and the visible beads of sweat on her forehead, she moved with a diligent rhythm. By noon, when the sun reached its zenith and its rays were at their most piercing, Duke Zhang and Mr. Sun finally felt the weight of fatigue. They prepared to depart for a brief afternoon respite. Before leav
87
Evangeline proved to be far more resilient than Caelum had initially anticipated. In the agonizing moments following the revelation that the medicinal herbs had been stolen, she did not succumb to a fit of hysteria or a physical collapse. Instead, after a brief, paralyzing lapse of shock where the world seemed to stand still, she regained her composure through a sheer, agonizing effort of will. She stepped forward, her movements deliberate, and took Beatrice’s cold, blood-stained hands into her own. With a silent strength that surprised even the watching servants, she led the broken warrior into the inner chambers, away from the prying eyes and rising whispers of the estate workers, to begin a relentless interrogation of the night’s tragedy.Caelum remained in the background, a silent observer shrouded in the shadows of the villa’s corner. He listened intently to every jagged breath and every fractured sentence that escaped Beatrice’s lip
86
The faint, silvery light of a new dawn began to bleed through the intricate paper windows of the Spring Lotus Garden, finding Butterfly already long since departed from her bed. For her, serving in the Shau estate was not merely a livelihood; it was a profound debt of gratitude toward Caelum, the young son-in-law who treated her with a gentleness rarely found within the cold, rigid hierarchies of noble households. She moved with a silent, practiced grace, drawing freezing water from the deep well that stung her skin with an icy bite, yet she didn't mind. She meticulously cleaned the living quarters, ensuring that every mahogany surface gleamed and that the faint scent of sandalwood incense replaced the stale air of the night. Her eyes constantly flitted toward Caelum’s chamber door, filled with a mixture of hope and a playful sense of competition. It had wounded her professional pride as a dedicated maid to find that Caelum had risen before her for
84
At a post station located fifty miles north of the Silverstream provincial capital, the thick, heavy clouds that had dominated the sky for days finally began to part by the hour of the Rat. The moon, bright and silver, cast a brilliant glow over the landscape of Silverstream, which had been thoroughly washed by the relentless rains. In the stillness of the night, the world seemed to glisten, and for those who had trained in the internal arts of martial power, the darkness was no hindrance to their vision.Beatrice was dressed in her signature flowing green robes, her long dark hair tied neatly behind her head to stay out of her way. She sat perched high on a sturdy branch of a tree overlooking the post station, her arms cradling her long sword, Pine Moon. From her high vantage point, she could oversee the entire layout of the station below. Although they were only two miles away from the Red River and a nearby garrison of the provincial guards, Beatrice remained deeply vigilant. Outsi
83
At dinner time, Evangeline was in high spirits. The weight that had been pressing on her heart for days had finally been lifted, leading her to speak more than usual. Most of her words were directed at young Leo, with only a small portion addressed to Caelum. It seemed Evangeline still remembered the awkward encounter from that night; though she could manage a few sentences, she didn't quite dare to look him in the eye.Caelum found it amusing but didn't pay it much mind. While it had been a mere misunderstanding, in the world governed by strict rules and etiquette, the boundaries between men and women were taken seriously. It was only right to observe certain proprieties.Only a wild girl like Beatrice wouldn't care for such things. She ignored the rules of her own mountain sect, let alone the formal etiquette of the Imperial court.After dinner, Evangeline walked Caelum and Leo out of the wooden villa. Seeing that the rain had finally ceased, she smiled softly. "It rained for ten d

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