Heena absorbed this information, her strategic mind already working through implications despite her exhausted state.

"So now Maya is free to move around the household again. And she has the protection and support of an official who has influence over your father’s business interests."

"Exactly," Samuel confirmed grimly.

"This is bad," Heena muttered.

"Very bad," Samuel agreed. "Maya now has a powerful ally who can shield her from consequences and provide her with resources. And Chen Yifan has a personal interest in maintaining his relationship with her, which means he’ll likely continue supporting her against any accusations or problems."

Heena tried to think through potential responses, but her brain was still foggy from exhaustion.

"We need... we need to..." she started, then trailed off with a yawn she couldn’t suppress.

Samuel immediately became concerned again.

"You need to REST," he said firmly. "Strategy and planning can wait until you’ve recovered. You’re still exhausted."

"But Maya—"

"Will still be there tomorrow," Samuel interrupted. "And you’ll be much better equipped to deal with her after you’ve slept properly and regained your strength."

He had a point. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Heena was in no condition to scheme or fight right now. She could barely sit up without help.

"Fine," she conceded reluctantly. "But tomorrow we need to—"

She was interrupted by another massive yawn.

Samuel smiled slightly and helped her lie back down among the pillows.

"Tomorrow," he promised. "We’ll plan tomorrow. For now, just rest."

He pulled the blanket up over her carefully.

Heena’s eyes were already closing despite her attempts to stay alert.

"Samuel?" she murmured sleepily.

"Yes?"

"Next time... not so many rounds... can’t handle it..."

She was asleep before she could hear his response.

Samuel looked down at his sleeping wife with a mixture of tenderness, guilt, and—if he was being honest—a certain amount of masculine satisfaction.

He’d lost control completely last night. All his careful restraint and self-discipline had shattered the moment she’d pulled him onto that bed.

Years of repressed desire and denied attraction had exploded all at once.

He probably should feel more guilty about it.

But looking at Heena now—her face peaceful in sleep, her body finally relaxed, her guard completely down—he found he couldn’t regret it.

.

.

.

The next day.....

Maya was sitting calmly at the stone table in her personal courtyard garden, drinking tea and enjoying the gentle afternoon breeze.

She looked peaceful, content, almost serene as she sipped from her delicate porcelain cup.

Just a slight distance away from her, hidden behind some decorative bushes, FOUR pairs of eyes were staring at her with intense focus.

Heena was squatting down uncomfortably behind the shrubbery, her legs already starting to cramp from holding the awkward position. She was wearing dark, nondescript clothing that she hoped would help her blend into the shadows.

The System was floating beside her in his lion form, also staring at Maya with what could only be described as intense concentration.

After several minutes of silent observation, the System finally turned to look at Heena and asked in a genuinely confused whisper, ’Host, why are you acting like a common thief hiding in bushes? This is beneath your dignity as the Black Lotus!’

Heena’s response was immediate and violent.

She literally raised her hand and SLAPPED the System across his little lion head with enough force that the sound echoed across the courtyard.

’SMACK!’

The hit was so loud that even Maya, sitting several meters away, paused in her tea-drinking and turned her head around with a slight frown, clearly having heard something.

She looked around the garden suspiciously for a moment.

But seeing nothing obviously out of place, she shrugged and went back to her tea.

Meanwhile, behind the bushes, the System was grabbing his head with both paws, his little face scrunched up in pain.

’OW OW OW OW OW!’ he whimpered mentally. ’Host, if you keep doing this, you’re going to turn me into an actual FOOL! My processing circuits can’t handle repeated physical trauma!’

Hearing that complaint, Heena looked at him with absolutely zero sympathy and said in a venomous whisper, "Oh, do you think you’re NOT a fool already? Whose fault is it that I need to squat down here in the dirt, hiding behind bushes like some kind of amateur spy?!"

The System gulped nervously as Heena pointed her finger directly at his face.

Her voice was soft—barely audible to avoid detection—but it was FULL of venom and accusation.

"If not for a certain GLUTTONOUS LION who was too busy eating popcorn instead of acquiring the surveillance equipment I specifically requested WEEKS ago—if you had actually GOTTEN those devices like you were supposed to—then I would be sitting comfortably in my room right now, watching this entire scene unfold on a nice screen!"

She leaned closer to the terrified System.

"But NO. What did you do? You just FORGOT about it because you were too busy EATING. Again. Always eating. That’s all you ever do!"

Hearing that accurate but harsh assessment, the System tried to defend himself and said weakly, "But Host, you were also busy fooling around with the young master all night and half the next day! If not for THAT distraction, we would have had time to—"

He didn’t get to finish that sentence.

Because Heena’s eyes had gone absolutely deadly, and she glared at him with an expression that promised violence.

"Are you," she said with dangerous calm, "seriously blaming ME right now? Are you ACTUALLY trying to shift responsibility for YOUR failure onto ME?"

Hearing that tone, the System immediately shut his mouth and said hurriedly, "NO! No, of course not, Host! I would NEVER! Look! LOOK! Maya is smiling! Something’s happening! We should pay attention!"

Heena turned around to focus back on their surveillance target, though she made a mental note to punish the System more thoroughly later.

And indeed, Maya’s personal maid attendant was approaching the stone table.

Heena really wanted to comment on how this household was absolutely FULL of incompetent fools.

Like, seriously. WHAT THE HECK was going on with the servant situation here?

Maya had multiple "personal attendants" who weren’t even actually employed by this household—they were servants from NEIGHBORING families or completely different establishments.

Like, WHO in their right mind allowed OTHER families’ servants to just casually come into their home?

And WHY did those servants come here? For FUN? For GOSSIP?

They definitely weren’t being paid by this household. They were clearly coming here to gather information, spread rumors, and generally create chaos.

And this family just... ALLOWED it. Encouraged it, even!

’Come on, people,’ Heena thought with exasperation. ’Have you never heard of operational security? Information control? Basic household management?!’

But whatever. That was a problem for another day.

Right now, she needed to focus on what Maya and her maid were discussing.

The maid leaned down and whispered something directly into Maya’s ear—speaking so quietly that even Heena’s trained hearing couldn’t pick up the words from this distance.

Heena strained to listen, tilting her head at different angles, trying desperately to catch even a fragment of the conversation.

But she couldn’t hear ANYTHING.

It was infuriating.

She turned to glare at the System, who immediately trembled and turned his head away like he was trying to become invisible.