Chapter 104: The elder brother is like a father

Tingyuxuan was a study that Chen Yunfan specially set up in this three-courtyard house after he came to Shuzhou.

The name is elegant, the decoration is elegant, and the style is very high.

Especially on rainy days.

As rainwater slides down the roof tiles, it hits the bamboo flutes under the eaves, producing a series of crisp sounds.

In his words, if one's knowledge is insufficient, one cannot fall behind in other areas.

However, it certainly has a certain style.

But when it rains, the sounds of traditional Chinese string and wind instruments fill the study.

Not to mention Chen Yunfan, even the calm and collected Chunying found it noisy.

Especially when she was handling official business for Chen Yunfan, hearing the sound of bamboo outside the study and seeing Chen Yunfan lying on the other side of the bed reading a play script, a resentful look immediately appeared on her face:

"Young master, please take a look at these official decrees and policies."

Chen Yunfan didn't even look up, slowly turning the page and saying lazily:

“You are the ‘White-Robed Prime Minister,’ so you can even see a thing or two about the situation in the Great Wei. Handling such a small amount of official business is naturally no problem for you.”

That's true, but things can't go on like this forever.

Chunying reluctantly picked up the booklet she had just finished processing, walked over, and said:

"Young master, you can skip everything else, but you must take a look at this one."

Chen Yunfan glanced at her and, seeing her serious expression, took the grain from her. "The summer harvest of grain from Dingyuan Army this year has been stored in the warehouse, totaling 2.13 million shi in the three towns."

"This year's harvest is quite good. Based on the standard of one shi of grain per month, the soldiers of Dingyuan can last until the end of the year."

Chunying: "The Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office needs to urge the Commander's Office to distribute 200,000 shi of grain to the Shuzhou Prefecture City for storage."

Chen Yunfan threw down the booklet and scoffed, "What does this have to do with me? It's a thankless task; whoever wants to do it can go."

Chunying hesitated for a moment before saying, "Young Master, you are now a councilor, and this is what you are responsible for."

Chen Yunfan turned his head away, "No, no, the Xiao family has submitted twelve memorials this year requesting grain, but the court hasn't given any."

"Now that we finally have food, they certainly won't give it away. Why would I be so foolish as to provoke them?"

"Can……"

"No buts, my involvement in politics is rather suspicious, so let's keep a low profile and be cautious."

Seeing that he wouldn't budge, Chunying stopped trying to persuade him, put away the booklet, and returned to her desk to handle other official business.

Chen Yunfan, however, continued reading the script, occasionally letting out a laugh, clearly enjoying the parts he was reading.

Just then, a crisp, explosive sound rang out.

Dole.

The two turned around and saw a bright arrow stuck in the wall.

Chen Yunfan looked outside, frowned slightly, and muttered under his breath, "These shady guards really think this is my own backyard."

Hearing the sound, Chunying went over, took out an arrow, and glanced at a piece of paper inside. "Young master, a message was sent by a hawk."

Chen Yunfan withdrew his gaze and took the note: "The Illusionary Sound Sect has reappeared. The Liu family of Shuzhou intends to take action against the Hundred Herbs Hall in order to suppress the Xiao family's medicine hall."

This single sentence has a beginning and an end.

But it was also incomplete and without a clear beginning or end.

Chen Yunfan pondered for a moment, then immediately began to curse, "Why did they give this information to me?"

"If you want to deal with the Xiao family, let the Illusionary Sound Sect do it."

"If you don't want to, do you intend to use me to pass the message on to the Xiao family?"

Upon hearing this, Chunying's expression shifted slightly: "The Liu family of Shuzhou is a branch of the Liu family of Jingzhou."

"However, because of Liu Hong, the Left Envoy of the Provincial Administration Commission, the Liu family of Jingzhou is gradually losing control of this area..."

Chen Yunfan interrupted, "And then? The Hidden Guards also dislike Liu Bu Shuang of Shu Prefecture?"

Chunying analyzed, "It seems they hope to use the Xiao family to weaken the Liu family of Shuzhou."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "Young Master, the Xiao family had actually long suspected that the Huanyin Sect, which stole the medicinal herbs, was related to several aristocratic families in Shu Prefecture."

"In addition, Liu Jing and Liu Huanzhi, the sixth sons of the Liu family from Jingzhou, opened Linglanxuan next to several of the Xiao family's pharmacies."

"Presumably, the Xiao family's punishment hall is also keeping an eye on Liu He and Liu Jing from Shuzhou."

"I just don't understand Old Master Xiao's plans. He doesn't seem to be in a hurry to take action."

After listening, Chen Yunfan said thoughtfully, "Given the current situation of the Xiao family, I guess the old Marquis wants to see who they are."

"It's not hard to see from his previous birthday banquet that the old Marquis had already made plans to protect the Xiao family until the very end."

"A man who has spent his life on the battlefield must have a tremendous counterattack before his death, so he naturally needs to find a suitable target."

Chunying seemed to realize something, "Those people in Shuzhou must also be worried about this."

Chen Yunfan nodded. "However, it seems that the Hidden Guards have quite a few ambitions in Shu Prefecture."

Chunying also holds this view.

If the target is only the Xiao family, the Hidden Guards would likely choose to sit back and watch the fight unfold rather than intervene.

"What does the young master intend to do?"

"I'll do nothing. Let them fight it out, I'll play mine."

As he spoke, Chen Yunfan's hand trembled slightly, and the note turned into tiny fragments, which were blown out of the study by the wind.

He looked out at the rainy night and sneered, "Do they think their hidden guards are worthy of ordering me around?"

Chunying opened her mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

The words that were meant to be spoken were abruptly cut short.

Chen Yunfan didn't care what she thought; having made up his mind, he lay back down and continued flipping through the script.

He would chuckle occasionally.

He pondered for a moment.

Chunying tried to speak, "Young Master, Young Master Yi is now the manager of Jishi Pharmacy."

"I heard that most of the tea drinks that Baicaotang supplies to the Xiao family's pharmacy are sold through Young Master Yi."

"If Baicaotang suffers a disaster, it may also affect Young Master Yi."

Chen Yunfan's smile faltered. After a moment of silence, he suddenly sat up, his expression turning serious.

"Chunying, what you said makes sense. I shouldn't have done nothing."

Just as Chunying was feeling somewhat pleased, she heard him say, "Why don't we sneak over and rescue Baicaotang?"

"Forehead……"

"Think about it, if Yi Di finds out in the future that it was I who saved Bai Cao Tang and allowed him, the manager, to live in peace, wouldn't he be grateful to me?"

"should……"

Chen Yunfan raised an eyebrow and said, "You think so too, right? Then it's decided."

"These next two days, have those bastards keep an eye on the Liu family and see when they make their move."

Chen Yunfan muttered a few words to himself, then chuckled and said, "As expected of me."

"Just you wait and see. In the future, I will definitely restore the order of elder brothers and let Yi-di know what it means to be the eldest brother as a father!"

"...As long as you are happy, young master."

As expected, the young master takes everything concerning Young Master Yi very seriously.

...

Xiao family, Chunhe Garden.

"The rain kept falling, and the atmosphere wasn't very harmonious..."

After finishing his cultivation, Chen Yi stood in the pavilion in a good mood, watching the rain patter on the willows by the pond.

Although he had not obtained a suitable method for cultivating true essence during this period, he had still reached the middle stage of the eighth rank by mastering the Xuanwu Breath Concealment Technique.

Besides the four meridians in the hands and feet, four more meridians in the body were opened, which greatly increased the true energy in the dantian and tanzhong dantian.

Not only did he benefit from boxing, footwork, and spear techniques, but he also made progress in medicine, calligraphy, and chess.

For example, the techniques of acupuncture such as "using qi to control the needle" and "connecting the meridians" both require the support of true qi.

The same applies to the beauty and essence of calligraphy.

Even the evolution of chess positions in the game becomes clearer and more understandable.

The effects of true essence are truly profound.

"However, not having a method for cultivating true essence is not a long-term solution."

Thinking about it, Chen Yi planned to have Wang Ji obtain a copy from other channels the next day so he could start practicing.

While martial arts were prevalent in the Great Wei Dynasty, top-tier martial arts techniques, that is, those above the Earth level, were not common.

Most of them were controlled by the imperial court, aristocratic families, and sects.

The martial arts techniques that have been passed down outside are either incomplete or of low quality, making cultivation slow.

This is why Chen Yi has been waiting patiently.

He would prefer to receive a Heaven-level or Earth-level intelligence report, in which case he could be rewarded with a method for cultivating true essence.

Once and for all.

Unfortunately, these past few days we've only seen Yellow-level intelligence, not even a single Xuan-level one.

Sit for a while, until midnight—

[Daily Intelligence - High-Grade Mystic: Midnight is past midnight, and the Hidden Guards are discussing important matters in the Four Directions Hall. A small amount of good fortune may be obtained.]

The fluorescence flashed by in an instant.

After reading it, Chen Yi suddenly stood up and looked in the direction of Jiaxingyuan.

"It's past midnight, which is half an hour from now."

The hidden guards of Sifangzhai were discussing important matters. Xiao Dongchen was there.

Who is the other person?

However, Sifangzhai...

The fact that Jiaxing Garden is between him and Chunhe Garden is not a problem, but now that Shen Huatang is in the mansion, it is inconvenient for him to climb over the wall like last time.

But he didn't want to give up the Xuan-level intelligence he had finally received.

Even just a few glances from afar can yield considerable results.

Thinking about it, Chen Yi summoned the control panel.

[Chance: 147]

After a moment's thought, Chen Yi transferred the opportunity to "Martial Arts Steps," elevating it to the Great Perfection level.

Even the medicine powder given by Pei Yatou wouldn't work if we wanted to bypass Jiaxing Garden silently; the only way is to improve our movement skills as much as possible.

If, unfortunately, someone finds out... the night is long and I can't sleep, so taking a walk shouldn't be a problem, right?

Having learned from his previous experiences, the profound mysteries of "Martial Arts Steps" were suppressed in his mind before they even caused a ripple.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Yi practiced the Meteor Butterfly Step in the pavilion while absorbing the profound mysteries of the "Martial Arts Step".

Her figure shifted and elusive, shrouded in the rainy night, like a black butterfly leaping about.

Fifteen minutes later.

[Successfully learned the Meteor Butterfly Step (Earth Rank), Level: Proficient]

Chen Yi stopped and slowly calmed his internal energy.

He glanced at the rain falling from the sky, then at his clothes, and immediately returned to his room to change into a black long gown.

Without pausing at all.

Chen Yi then used his meteor-butterfly steps to stealthily darted from outside Chunhe Garden toward Sifangzhai.

In order to avoid Shen Huatang, whose cultivation level had reached the fifth rank, he deliberately took a longer route.

He avoided all the Xiao family soldiers he encountered along the way.

It took Chen Yi about fifteen minutes to finally arrive outside Sifangzhai.

Listen carefully for a moment.

Following his memory of having been there before, he leaped to another spot not illuminated by the lights of the Four Directions Study.

Seeing that no one was around, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Yi observed his surroundings.

Fortunately, the rain provided some cover, and the view inside the courtyard was not very clear due to the shadows.

Obviously, under such circumstances, the hidden guards could not discuss matters outside.

No sooner had he had such a thought come to mind than he saw Xiao Dongchen walk out of the wooden building.

A member of the Xiao family's personal guard, dressed in armor, followed behind him.

Chen Yi was slightly taken aback, then quickly hid himself and used the Xuanwu Concealing Breath Technique to suppress his aura before looking over.

Liu Si'er?

(End of this chapter)