Daily Survival After Inheriting a Harem (GL) - Chapter 23.1

On this side, Qiu Qi knew nothing about the approaching storm. She was still enjoying the pleasure of secretly eating snacks together with Lan Tang.

After eating and drinking her fill, Lan Tang’s tone and attitude toward Qiu Qi improved quite a bit. She stuck out her tongue and licked the lingering sweetness around her lips, looking as if she still wanted more.

Qiu Qi came up with an idea and held up the bottle in her hand to tempt her.

“Little Lan Tang, I still have lots of happy water over there. How about this? Answer one question for me, and I’ll give you another bottle.”

“Really?”

Lan Tang grew cheerful for a moment, but quickly suppressed herself and answered cautiously,

“I can answer questions, but if it’s something that would be bad for Master, I won’t tell you.”

“Of course. How could I hurt Madam?”

Qiu Qi smiled brightly, looking exactly like a bad older sister with “there is no silver buried here” written all over her face.

“Then… then ask first, and I’ll listen.”

“It’s like this.”

Qiu Qi moved closer and lowered her voice, as if whispering a secret.

“How can I make Madam like me more?”

“Master likes me the most.”

Lan Tang glared at her, carrying the possessiveness of someone defending her territory.

Qiu Qi compromised with a nod, as if coaxing a child.

“Then I want to become the second person she likes most. Senior, do you have any methods?”

“You…”

Lan Tang’s gaze wandered over Qiu Qi, from the cat ears on her head to the tail swaying behind her.

“It seems… there really is a method.”

“Tell me!”

“Bai Tang used to be Master’s second favorite. Your beast form looks a lot like Bai Tang,” Lan Tang said seriously.

Qiu Qi: “I inexplicably gained another love rival? Who is Bai Tang?”

“It…”

Lan Tang lowered her head, and her voice carried a little sadness.

“Bai Tang was a cat-beast Master used to raise. It was my fault. I insisted on taking it out to play, but I didn’t watch it properly and let it get lost. By the time we found Bai Tang, it was already a bloody, mangled corpse.”

Bai Tang had not been with Pei Yuqing as long as Lan Tang had, so it had not yet reached the point where it could cultivate into human form. Outside the barrier of Guluo Mountain, there were famously ferocious beasts everywhere. A little cat-beast like her naturally became the most delicious lunch in their eyes.

Lan Tang blamed herself over this for a long time. On one hand, she was sad about Bai Tang. On the other, she worried that Pei Yuqing would abandon her because of this. Fortunately, Pei Yuqing was not that heartless. After punishing her with a beating and several months of confinement, confirming that she knew her mistake, everything seemed to return to normal.

Only, even someone as slow as Lan Tang could sense that after that day, there were far fewer smiles on Pei Yuqing’s face.

“Hey, little one, don’t cry.”

Qiu Qi had not expected that asking a question would stir up Lan Tang’s sad memories. Somewhat at a loss, she pulled at her sleeve and wiped Lan Tang’s face messily.

“Madam will misunderstand and think I bullied you again.”

Lan Tang used her sleeve to sniffle, then continued,

“Bai Tang was like you. When it was happy, it would wag its tail crazily like a dog. When it was unhappy, its ears would droop. Every time it showed that kind of expression, no matter how big a mistake it made, Master would forgive it very quickly.”

“Then it seems Madam really liked it.”

If this were modern times, Pei Yuqing would probably be called a cat slave.

“But it wasn’t as thick-skinned as you.”

The moment Lan Tang’s gaze fell on Qiu Qi’s unserious face, her memories were abruptly cut off.

“Smiling cheekily, shameless, always bullying Master and taking advantage of her. Someone like you deserves to be hated by Master.”

“I—”

Qiu Qi discovered that she really did not have much room to argue.

“I’ll change, okay?”

Still, she had finally learned why Pei Yuqing’s attitude toward her these past few days had been so much better than before. So it was because of these ears and tail?

She rubbed her chin and nodded, seeming to think of some rotten idea.

“You have to keep your word.”

Lan Tang looked at Qiu Qi.

“My happy water.”

“Okay, of course I’ll keep my word.”

Qiu Qi rubbed the head of this greedy little thing.

“Wait here, little one. I’ll go get it for you now. After drinking happy water, pull up the corners of your mouth and smile. Your little companion definitely wouldn’t want to see you drooping that ugly face either.”

“Who are you calling ugly!”

“I’m ugly, I’m ugly, all right?”

Qiu Qi took two bottles. She gave one to Lan Tang, then carried the remaining one to the kitchen.

She sliced some ginger, then placed it into the cola that was heating up. She stirred it with a spoon, covered it again, and waited for it to boil.

Ginger cola was another divine way to drink cola. After heating, the sweetness of the cola became stronger. Added with the slight spiciness of ginger, one sip could not only warm the stomach and guard against cold, but also perfectly dispel chill. For someone with a cold constitution like Pei Yuqing, it was more suitable than anything.

When Lan Tang sent word that Pei Yuqing had woken up, Qiu Qi carried the ginger cola she had made and happily ran over to knock on the door.

Before entering, she specially removed the headscarf covering her ears and smoothed the fur on her tail, precisely positioning herself as a cute little milk cat waiting to be rubbed.

“Madam.”

She poked her head in and saw Pei Yuqing facing away from the door, lowering her head as she tidied the collar of her clothes. Her distinct-knuckled fingers were resting against the side of her jade-white neck, carrying a rare translucent feeling.

It was a very ordinary movement. Pei Yuqing also had no particular expression. Even the sideways glance she cast over was only casually indifferent. Yet because of that natural abstinent aura she carried, Qiu Qi nearly went weak in the knees and knelt down.

Wuwuwu, no matter how she looked at Madam, or when she looked at Madam, she was so pretty!

“My lord, I heard you were looking for me?”

Pei Yuqing finished tidying her clothes, walked over, took the thing in Qiu Qi’s hand, and placed it on the table.

“Were you waiting anxiously? Why didn’t you have Lan Tang come in and call me?”

“I wasn’t anxious, I wasn’t anxious. I didn’t want to disturb Madam’s nap.”

Qiu Qi walked over, lifted the teapot filled with ginger cola, and poured Pei Yuqing a small cup.

“I just happened to brew some tea. It warms the body and drives away cold, so it’s perfect for Madam. Try it.”

Pei Yuqing lowered her head and looked at the brown liquid, hesitating for a moment. Then she raised her eyes and glanced at the person across from her.

Qiu Qi’s round eyes were bright and sparkling. The ears on her head were trembling, and her entire face was filled with expectation.

Sighing inwardly, Pei Yuqing could only pick up the teacup and take a light sip.

At first, there was a faint sweetness. When it passed through her throat, a slight spiciness emerged. After she savored it, there was also a faint astringency that was not obvious, but it happened to balance the sweetness so she did not find it too cloying.

It was novel, and it could be considered tasty. Most importantly, after a few sips, her throat and stomach seemed to be filled with warm spiritual energy, and her whole body felt much more comfortable.

Noticing that Pei Yuqing’s furrowed brows had relaxed, Qiu Qi knew she did not dislike this taste. Just as she was about to press her advantage and act spoiled, she was interrupted by a sudden sound.

Knock, knock.

Yan Wan’s voice came through the door.

“My lord, Ruyi Pavilion has delivered goods. Would you like to try them on now?”

Goods from Ruyi Pavilion?

Qiu Qi, who had just poured herself ginger cola, froze. Then she sprang up as if there were springs on her butt.

“Okay, okay, take it back first. I’ll try it on back there!”

“My lord, if you accept the goods without trying them on, you may easily suffer a loss or be cheated,” Yan Wan reminded.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I trust the boss.”

Qiu Qi frantically winked at Yan Wan, only wanting her to hurry up and take the thing away before Pei Yuqing saw it.

But Yan Wan seemed blind. Holding the box, she lowered her eyes to the floor and did not move.

“My lord.”

Pei Yuqing put down the cup. Her footsteps gradually approached.

“Try it on here. I will help you.”

Qiu Qi choked on a breath.

“No need!”

“What is wrong?”

Pei Yuqing leaned down toward her.

“Did my lord not say that you would absolutely never hide anything from me, and that you were willing to share everything with me?”

“I-I did say that… but…”

But now she regretted it.

“So my lord’s feelings were only for that brief moment.”

Pei Yuqing lightly sighed. A bit of sorrow appeared between her brows, making Qiu Qi’s heart tighten.

“It was I who thought too much of myself.”

“How could that be!”

Qiu Qi turned around.

“Madam absolutely did not think too much of herself. I just super, super like you! There is nothing related to me that you cannot know!”

Pei Yuqing hid the expression on her face.

“Then try it on here. My lord also said that there is nothing I cannot know.”

Qiu Qi choked and weakly asked,

“It’s just a piece of clothing.”

“Since it is only clothing, then there is nothing that cannot be seen.”

Pei Yuqing raised her hand toward Yan Wan.

“Put the item down. I will help my lord try it on.”

“Yes, Madam Pei.”

Yan Wan placed the thing down and withdrew, even very thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

Hearing the slow, unhurried sound of Pei Yuqing opening the box behind her, Qiu Qi felt a terror as if she wanted to immediately burrow into the ground and escape.

“My lord, come try it.”

That leisurely sentence made Qiu Qi feel as if an envoy from hell was calling her name.

Forcing herself to smile, she turned around and saw Pei Yuqing holding that incomparably glittering Soft Hedgehog Armor with both hands, watching her with a gaze that seemed able to see through everything.

Qiu Qi moved her feet. Her steps were heavy, as if they were tied to falling stones.

That day at Ruyi Pavilion, she had moved fairly quickly. Added with Pei Yuqing standing behind her, she probably had not seen the Soft Hedgehog Armor.

But now, this thing was being held in her hands. Even a fool who had never seen it would casually ask what it was for. How was she supposed to answer then?

—This was specially used to prevent you from stabbing me with a knife at night.

With that answer, she definitely would not survive tonight!

She could only dryly laugh and try to use acting to deceive the heavens and cross the sea.

“This vest is pretty nice, right? Bling bling.”

Pei Yuqing only smiled without speaking. She reached out and, with a speed so slow it suffocated Qiu Qi, untied her outer clothes layer by layer as if peeling off her skin.

Qiu Qi hugged her arms, shivering from the cold, but did not dare complain at all. She felt that she was currently waiting for execution. If she said even one wrong word, she could not be saved.

“My lord, raise your arms.”

Pei Yuqing patted the head of Qiu Qi, who had curled into a ball, and watched with satisfaction as the beast ears on her head trembled.

“Oh, okay.”

Pei Yuqing undid the clasps of the Soft Hedgehog Armor and slipped it over Qiu Qi’s head. Then she leaned closer, wrapping her hands around Qiu Qi’s waist from behind in a half-embrace as she lowered her head to fasten the clasps.

Qiu Qi nervously swallowed. Her wildly swaying tail had nowhere to go and froze stiffly in midair.

Pei Yuqing lowered her eyes, taking in all of her unnatural physical reactions. A smile of unclear meaning spilled from her lips.

With a click, the clasp closed. Pei Yuqing spoke.

“If not for this Soft Hedgehog Armor last time, my lord would likely have had difficulty escaping death. I hope my lord will not do such reckless things again next time. I will worry about you.”

That gentle, pleasant voice pressed against her ear. The tone was also genuinely tender and caring. But the more Qiu Qi listened, the more something felt wrong. Once she processed it, she realized—damn it, this was the Grim Reaper giving her a final warning!

From the meaning of these words, Pei Yuqing was not as ignorant as Qiu Qi had imagined. She had long known the function of the Soft Hedgehog Armor, and knew Qiu Qi had been wearing it that day. She even thought that sacrificial block had been something Qiu Qi had planned in advance, a deliberate bitter-meat trick.

An icy palm pressed against Qiu Qi’s lower back. Pei Yuqing pressed there with neither light nor heavy force.

“My lord, does it fit?”

Qiu Qi jolted from being touched. This posture, seemingly as intimate as an embrace, did not bring her peace or comfort. Instead, because she could not see Pei Yuqing’s expression at this moment, it made her feel doubly uneasy and at a loss.

“Next time…”

Qiu Qi’s brain spun wildly. She quickly thought of a countermeasure. First, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Pei Yuqing’s waist, then buried her face tightly against her.

“Even next time, if I’m not wearing this Soft Hedgehog Armor, I will still stand in front of Madam without hesitation. To me, Madam’s safety is more important than anything.”

“How can my lord say such things?”

Pei Yuqing stroked her head. Her lips were close to Qiu Qi’s ear, intimate like a lover’s murmur.

“Who knows which will come first, an accident or tomorrow? My lord has a special identity, so it is better to be careful and cautious. Regarding what happened last time, we must thank Shopkeeper Lu. That day, she was the one who took the initiative to introduce this Soft Hedgehog Armor to you, yes?”

The warning in Pei Yuqing’s voice was so cold that Qiu Qi’s tail fur exploded on the spot. It seemed the other woman not only knew about that little scheme of hers, but might even have laid a trap long ago and waited for her to jump into it.

Sure enough, such a short amount of time was not enough to melt this block of thousand-year-old ice.

The best thanks for Lu Ren would be money, Qiu Qi thought. So she said,

“I already gave it. As long as Shopkeeper Lu receives the payment, she smiles even happier than a three-year-old child.”

As she was thinking, another cool sentence fell from above her head.

“It seems my lord has been sending quite a lot of money to Ruyi Pavilion recently.”

The way she said this made it sound as if Qiu Qi were a scumbag taking the family money outside to keep a mistress.

“If I say we are only in a pure money transaction, Madam, would you believe me?”

“As long as it is something my lord says, I believe it.”

Pei Yuqing smiled very faintly and picked up the now half-cold ginger cola, holding it to Qiu Qi’s lips.

“Why are your lips so pale? Drink some water to moisten them.”

Qiu Qi reached out to take it, thinking that her lips were not pale because they were dry. They had clearly been scared white!

“Cough, cough, cough—”

When a person was unlucky, even drinking water could get stuck between their teeth. Qiu Qi’s absent-minded mouthful directly choked into her windpipe, and her face instantly flushed with color.

Pei Yuqing pressed her fingers against Qiu Qi’s soft lips. The wiping motion was very slow, so slow that Qiu Qi seemed able to feel the temperature of her gaze growing hotter and hotter.

After carefully wiping the water stains clean, Pei Yuqing laughed very softly.

“Reckless.”

This tone really was not Qiu Qi overthinking. It was both gentle and doting. Clearly, Pei Yuqing was talking about something bad about her, yet Qiu Qi felt that her head was like a steam engine right now, puffing out happy heat.

“I-I-I…”

After choking for a long time, Qiu Qi still could not squeeze out a proper sentence. So she simply began retreating.

“Right! I still need to hurry and go draw. The earlier I hand in the goods, the earlier I can sell them for money!”

Pei Yuqing did not expose her excuse full of holes and instead very easily loosened the arm restraining her.

Qiu Qi did not dare look into her eyes. She gave a ninety-degree bow, lifted her short little legs, and rushed out at the fastest speed of her life.

“Goodbye, Madam! Good night, Madam!”

…

Qiu Qi plunged into the study. Only after memorizing several pages of spiritual arts incantations did she calm down a little.

She could not panic when something happened. She had to sort it out first.

First question: Why did Pei Yuqing know she had been acting, yet still not kill her?

Thinking carefully, not long ago, she had just encountered an assassination attempt and had been unconscious for a long period of time. If they wanted to eliminate her, wasn’t that the best opportunity? Yet not only had Pei Yuqing not acted, the others had also behaved properly.

This calm before the coming storm made her very uneasy. After all, not long ago, Pei Yuqing had still brought a knife to serve in bed. Looking at her then, there had not been the slightest sign of a softened heart.

Could something have happened in between that she had ignored?

But if there was any difference between now and before…

Right! The demon realm’s bounty order!

Three hundred years ago, the previous Saintess of the human race had led her team in a great battle against the demon race. After that battle, the Saintess lost the ability to walk with both legs in exchange for sealing the Demon God.

Because of her contribution, the demon race, who had committed evil without restraint, was driven back to the foot of Mount Qiwu in the north to live like stray dogs.

After lying dormant for three hundred years, they had now returned with a bounty order. They were absolutely coming in aggressively, and their target was directly aimed at the Beast Core Pearl inside Qiu Qi’s body. With that pearl, they could break the Demon God’s seal and help the demon race restore their former prestige. And now Qiu Qi had just so happened to lose the ability to protect herself. If they did not act now, when would they?

As for opponents capable of matching the Demon God, aside from the original body with maxed-out combat value and the retired previous Saintess, Yun Qingci, only Pei Yuqing’s father, the Elf King, remained.

But unfortunately, this Elf King had been cold by nature and never interfered in anything outside Guluo Mountain.

Pei Yuqing’s older sister had once married into the human imperial family and became the empress, one person below and above ten thousand. The timing happened to match that human-demon war. Worried for her husband’s safety, she asked the Elf King for help, but he refused on the grounds that the elf race had never interfered in outside disputes.

In the end, the empress put on armor and went to battle alongside her husband. Her spiritual arts were exhausted, and she shed her final tear in her husband’s arms, dying in that war three hundred years ago. It was also because of this matter that Pei Yuqing severed ties with her father and left Guluo Mountain alone. Unexpectedly, her luck was poor, and she encountered the original body, who plotted to abduct her.

After Qiu Qi sorted through this old history, her mood unconsciously became much heavier.

Actually, through these days of interaction, she had long seen that Pei Yuqing was someone who looked icy on the surface, but was actually more delicate and sentimental than anyone. Someone who could grieve for so long over a cat’s death—when her older sister died back then, just how had she endured it?

Qiu Qi sighed repeatedly and silently wiped away a bit of moisture at the corner of her eye before putting her attention back on the great matter of her own life.

Overall, the current situation was this: as long as she died, the Beast Core Pearl would fall into the Demon God’s hands, and another disaster would descend upon the human race. So as the current emperor’s sister-in-law, Pei Yuqing definitely would not watch that happen. Not killing her was partly because of the servant contract, and partly because she wanted to keep a trump card that could restrain the demon race.

Of course, all of this was only temporary. However, she could use this temporary situation to properly plan a path of survival for herself.

Qiu Qi snapped her fingers, her gaze landing on the World Weapons Illustrated Guide on the table.

“Baby, now you really can finally be of some use.”

…

After Lan Tang’s earlier reminder, Qiu Qi very quickly used a similar method to reach an agreement with Lu Ren and put cola on the shelves at Ruyi Pavilion as well.

Initial sales were not actually very good, because most people’s fixed impression equated black-brown liquid with bitter Chinese medicine. However, thanks to Lu Ren’s silver tongue, she first raised the price and opened sales channels among nobles who liked trying fresh and rare things. Then she used those nobles as a topic to attract curious commoners to buy it. In less than half a month, the price of a single bottle of cola had increased fivefold.

However, compared with the sales of the illustrated booklets, this was truly a small witch before a great one and not even worth mentioning.

Illustrated booklets were not something that could be sold openly, but Lu Ren had a group of old customers who regularly came to collect new goods.

These people had read countless “books,” understood the ways of this field very well, and were also the customers who knew quality best and were most willing to pay.

Many people immediately grew excited and wanted to buy the entire volume the moment they saw the outstanding cover art.

And Qiu Qi’s illustrated booklet was serialized. Every time, the plot at the end would stop right at the highest point. Yet she insisted on slowly updating only one booklet per week. As a result, hundreds of people now came to Ruyi Pavilion every day to ask about the latest state of the booklet. Had it updated? Was it on shelves? Was there still stock? They almost trampled the threshold flat.

Later, Lu Ren simply discussed it with Qiu Qi and fixed the release time to one specific day. They also pinned a membership plan. Anyone who bought more than five booklets would obtain the right to purchase the color-painted version. Currently, the color-painted version had a total of three booklets, so if one wanted to collect all the versions, they had to buy at least fifteen booklets.

But after actually putting it into practice, they discovered that far too many people had bought enough fifteen booklets. In the end, they could only choose ten slots, and the highest bidders would win, directly turning the membership system into an auction system.

Just from the first color booklet auction, Qiu Qi netted over a hundred gold.

If you had to ask how popular Qiu Qi’s illustrated booklets had become?

—They had forcibly turned restricted literature into bestselling literature.

For example, once night fell now, the number of pedestrians on the road decreased by more than half. If you asked what they were all doing?

—They were all holding those booklets and going into their bedrooms to learn new “knowledge.”

There were even rumors that the Saintess herself was searching at a high price for the limited-edition color booklet. However, Qiu Qi did not know whether this kind of gossip was true.

…

Because of several consecutive days of high-intensity drawing output, Qiu Qi’s inspiration had been squeezed nearly dry by this group of wolf-like and tiger-like buyers.

That day, she sat in the study from morning until afternoon, yet could not force out even one line draft.

On one side was Lu Ren urging updates three times a day, even more deadly than a comic editor. On the other side was her empty brain, completely lacking inspiration.

Inspiration had to be found. But where should she find it?

There were endless beauties in this courtyard, but not a single one could be used as material.

Qiu Qi bit the shaft of her brush, her head nodding bit by bit. Finally, at a certain moment, she caught a flash of inspiration. She slapped the table and called Yan Wan over.

“Steward Yan, around here, where is the most famous… pleasure house?”

Yan Wan leaned closer to her.

“My lord, with your identity, it is not suitable for you to go there. Why don’t I go invite Madam Pei here for you instead?”

“Don’t!”

Qiu Qi raised her voice.

“Absolutely do not let my madam know.”

After hearing this, Yan Wan looked at her with the genuine gaze of someone looking at a scumbag woman. The words “I despise you” were almost written on her face.

“I’m not going there to buy pleasure. What are you thinking?”

Qiu Qi explained,

“I’ve lost inspiration while drawing, so I want to go there and look around.”

“My lord, with your current body, going to a place like a pleasure house is not very safe.”

“Exactly.”

Qiu Qi snapped her fingers.

“That’s why I want to invite you to go with me!”

Ever since the demon race attack, after Qiu Qi heard about Yan Wan’s strength in killing a demon race member with one kick, she felt especially safe staying by her side.

How did that saying go? Sure enough, what you paid for gave the greatest peace of mind.

“My lord, are you ordering me?”

“I’m asking you.”

Qiu Qi clasped her hands together and blinked.

“Sister, Sister, please, please.”

Yan Wan was not Pei Yuqing. At her age, what drama queen had she not seen? She tugged the corners of her mouth without emotion and coldly refused.

“Then I do not accept this invitation.”

“…Then what if I say I’m ordering you?”

Qiu Qi tested in a small voice.

“When do we depart?”

This time, Yan Wan was just as straightforward.

“…”