At this moment, although Zhao Zhangru had her eyes closed, pretending to be sound asleep, her acting was quite poor—it was almost as if the words "I'm faking it" were written all over her face.
Yet deep down, she was filled with helplessness. She had been in a daze when she vaguely heard someone beside her mumbling as if in a dream. As the close sister of many years, she instantly recognized the voice—it was Miao Ansu.
So, as the "big sister" of their bestie group, Zhao Zhangru originally wanted to open her eyes and comfort her friend lying beside her. But as soon as she opened them, she saw the figure of Wei Tingyu.
She stared for a few seconds, stunned, before slowly recalling—right! Both she and Miao Ansu had been taken into the marquis' household as concubines just yesterday!
That's why Wei Tingyu was here…
Then, the scenes from the night before flashed back vividly in Zhao Zhangru's mind, making her so embarrassed that she dared not even breathe too loudly.
After all, if Wei Tingyu noticed and turned around to see her awake, how awkward would that be?
So, she hurriedly closed her eyes again and continued pretending to be asleep.
But alas, things didn't go as planned. Perhaps from the nerves, her throat suddenly tickled—and she let out two uncontrollable coughs.
That instantly caught Wei Tingyu's attention!
Zhao Zhangru mentally cursed her own uncooperative throat! Of all times to itch, why now?
Was it trying to get her embarrassed to death!?
Though her eyes remained closed, she could clearly feel Wei Tingyu's scorching gaze locked onto her.
What should she do? Keep faking sleep?
But his gaze hadn't left her face—he obviously knew she was pretending!
Or… should she just open her eyes and own up to it? After all, she was now a proper concubine of the marquis—waking up together didn't seem like that big a deal.
With that thought, Zhao Zhangru stopped pretending. She bit her lip and suddenly opened her eyes—only to meet Wei Tingyu's half-smiling gaze.
"Ah! My lord!" she blurted out, blushing furiously.
Still, committed to the act, she shyly said, "You woke up first? Why didn't you wake me, my lord?"
Still pretending, huh?
Wei Tingyu looked at her adorable, exposed expression—the kind that clearly knew she'd been caught but insisted on keeping up the act. He couldn't resist and leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek.
"Ah!" Zhao Zhangru yelped, shocked by the sudden sneak attack. Completely unprepared, she instinctively cried out in surprise.
"Hm? Morning already?" The loud cry had unfortunately woken Miao Ansu as well.
…
"Aiya! No wonder the magpies were chirping nonstop outside my window this morning!"
Dou Zhao walked into Wei Tingyu's main residence just in time to witness Miao Ansu and Zhao Zhangru helping the marquis get dressed—and immediately teased them with a playful tone.
"So it turns out three people in the marquis' residence got their wishes fulfilled last night! Congratulations, congratulations!"
There was just a hint of jealousy in her words. Wei Tingyu caught that and sent her a subtle air kiss, silently showing off.
Hmph! Look how pleased with yourself you are—now that all three of us sisters belong to you!
Dou Zhao rolled her eyes inwardly at his smug expression—but the air kiss still made her heart flutter, so she walked over and joined the other two women in helping him get dressed.
One had to admit, ancient clothes were truly a hassle to wear—especially those of noble families. If Wei Tingyu had to dress himself, he'd be fumbling for half the day.
Now, with three clever, skillful women helping, he didn't need to move a finger—he simply stood there like a big character "大" while they bustled around him.
The maids and older servant women coming in and out of the room saw this scene and couldn't help but chuckle.
It was rare—even unheard of—to see the wives and concubines of a household working together so harmoniously to dress their husband. Even the older nannies who had served multiple families had never witnessed such a sight!
Many secretly clicked their tongues in amazement, some even giving Wei Tingyu a mental thumbs-up.
To manage his inner court so well, the marquis was truly a man of talent!
Wei Tingyu, for his part, simply closed his eyes and let the three women flutter about him. He didn't even twitch a finger.
To the three women, this relaxed attitude wasn't laziness—it was a sign of deep trust from the marquis. And if he trusted them so, they couldn't disappoint him.
What they didn't know was that Wei Tingyu had already entered the system space in his mind to check the surprise reward he'd just unlocked!
[Congratulations, host! You've unlocked the hidden achievement "Three Flowers Under One Roof"!]
[Requirement: Take in Dou Zhao, Miao Ansu, and Zhao Zhangru—three close friends—into the household as concubines.]
[Achievement Reward: Hidden Achievement Gift Pack x1, and System Military Camp Unlocked!]
Wei Tingyu was overjoyed—what a profitable wave!
Taking in Miao Ansu and Zhao Zhangru had not only earned him two beautiful women, but also brought in dowries worth tens of thousands of taels of silver!
And best of all, he'd unknowingly completed a hidden system achievement—and unlocked a new feature!
Without bothering with the gift pack just yet, Wei Tingyu chose to check out the military camp system.
[System Military Camp - Level 1]
[Available Units: Peasant Rebel Army]
[Combat Strength: Low]
[Morale: Very Low]
[Weapons: Farming Tools]
[Armor: None]
[Unit Type: Infantry]
[Overall Combat Rating: ☆]
[Recruitment Cost: 5 taels of silver]