That night, Lu Ming pulled Cao Shi over, forcibly carried her to bed, and made both mother and daughter serve him.
After having sex with the daughter, he had sex with the mother, and then with the daughter, going on and on until both mother and daughter finally fell into a deep sleep.
Lu Ming, however, woke up after less than an hour, full of energy.
He turned to look at Cao Shi; her beautiful face, her hair clinging to her forehead, the sweat just dried, gave her a somewhat tragic beauty.
Beside her, Feng Qin was curled up in his arms like a kitten, seeking some security.
Getting up to tinker with the greenhouse, Lu Ming didn't indulge in the pleasures of love.
Now was not the time to sleep. With his overlord's body, he didn't need much rest.
Unless his energy and mana were completely depleted, he wouldn't need a longer rest.
Otherwise, he didn't need a long rest; a short rest was enough to restore him to full strength.
Seedlings have already sprouted in several plots of land within the greenhouse, growing at an exceptionally rapid pace.
With the addition of special fertilizer, the four-day maturation time can be compressed to three days.
Normally, medicinal herbs grown outdoors take at least six months to yield any results.
Furthermore, because they are medicinal herbs, the actual profit is not high, far less efficient than growing grains.
Most medicinal herbs rely on wild harvesting, which is very limited, and suitable herbs are often difficult to find.
However, using the system's built-in farmland, cultivation only takes seven days.
The greenhouse doubles the speed, adding approximately three days, and with fertilizer, it's four days.
In total, plants mature in just three days.
This rapid pace allows him to accumulate a large amount of raw materials in a short time.
Using these herbs for himself or others is an excellent choice.
Especially in the treacherous city of Luoyang, it allows him to establish a foothold without worrying about future shortages.
As long as people fear death, they can remain invincible.
Where there is profit, there will be demand; this is the way of the world.
Treatment also requires medicinal herbs, and in the absence of them, cultivating them oneself is the most cost-effective option.
It's the only way; there's no other way.
He picked up his forged copper dagger and began whittling a small twig.
He started making wooden needles. Wooden needles have a limited number of uses, basically only three.
Silver needles, made from copper plates, have no limit on their use, but they are more precious, so he didn't use them.
Firstly, they require smelting copper ore, and only self-smelted copper is effective.
Secondly, after the copper ore is smelted into copper, it needs a lengthy secondary processing to become copper plates.
Using a sharp copper knife to cut and create copper needles, and then smelting them into silver needles, is extremely troublesome.
Lu Ming made wooden needles only to thread them, storing enough needles and thread for future battles.
The method for training veterans is simple: more fighting, more bloodshed—that's how you train new recruits into veterans.
But veterans were even more precious in ancient times because of poor medical conditions. Many injuries couldn't be treated promptly, leaving soldiers to die.
Without sterilization, infection meant either amputation or certain death.
This drastically reduced the number of veterans, making them even more valuable.
Veterans could stabilize the morale of the army. If even one soldier collapsed, it could easily trigger a complete collapse. Veterans could maintain morale and lead new recruits to achieve formidable fighting power.
Since Emperor Ling had sent him on the expedition, Lu Ming certainly wouldn't return empty-handed. He needed to acquire a decent army.
He could even bring them home later. After Emperor Ling's death, the struggle between the eunuchs and General He Jin would intensify.
Even after the Wu Kuang incident, General He Jin remained aligned with the Yuan family.
Essentially, the eunuchs represented imperial power, while the Yuan family represented a powerful clan; this was a struggle between imperial power and aristocratic families.
The Ten Attendants and He Jin were merely representatives, with He Jin being a scapegoat pushed forward, ultimately leading to his demise.
Having made nearly a thousand wooden needles, Lu Ming began threading them again—a skilled task.
Each item he crafted granted him a small amount of crafting experience, though not much, it was better than nothing.
With more experience, he could sometimes achieve even greater results.
A twig could make four needles, but with experience, five could be made. The more experience he gained, the more needles he could produce, potentially doubling the number—that was the benefit of crafting experience.
However, for a lazybones like Lu Ming, his life was either filled with women or on his way to them.
It was quite unusual for him to be able to calm down now.
Meanwhile, Princess Wannian went to the palace early in the morning to meet Empress Dowager Dong.
Emperor Ling also spoke to Empress Dowager Dong about his intention to marry Princess Wannian to Lu Ming. He didn't hold back, only mentioning his fondness for his youngest son, Liu Xie, and that Lu Ming's ascension to the throne would allow him to build an army, preparing for the future.
Once Lu Ming married Princess Wannian, he would be on their side.
This was something Empress Dowager Dong couldn't refuse, as her relationship with the Empress was consistently strained—not mortal enemies, but certainly extremely hostile.
If Liu Bian ascended the throne, the Empress would become Empress Dowager, putting her in a very difficult position.
According to custom and tradition, the eldest son ascending the throne was normal.
The appointment of a secondary heir required the Empress Dowager's approval; such was the rule. Therefore, even if Empress He was being targeted, she couldn't say anything openly.
Having Liu Xie ascend the throne was the best outcome. At least Liu Xie was far superior to Liu Bian.
"Wan Nian has been married before, and Lu Ming is so outstanding. I worry that he might hold a grudge later," Empress Dowager Dong said, understanding men all too well. While remarriage wasn't uncommon for women, that applied to commoners. For those of high status, such considerations didn't apply. Admittedly, it was a good thing, but what if Lu Ming rose to a high position? He might have reservations.
"Hmph! He wouldn't dare!" Emperor Ling clearly hadn't considered this, or rather, disdained to consider it. To him, a bestowed marriage was a great honor; how could Lu Ming dare to be picky!
Empress Dowager Dong, after a moment's thought, added, "It's rumored that the daughter of the great scholar Cai Yong has been widowed for a long time. Why doesn't Your Majesty grant this wish and marry Cai Yong's daughter to Lu Ming, marrying him off together? She and Wan Nian would be close friends, able to support each other. This would also provide them with external support within the scholarly community, which would be beneficial for Xie'er as well."