Chapter 38 The Most Shameless Husband in History

The owner of the calligraphy and painting mounting shop was filled with grievances about the mysterious disappearance of the birthday greeting, but didn't know who to talk to.

He originally planned to find a famous calligrapher to copy his work, but after visiting four or five well-known but down-on-their-luck calligraphers in Shuzhou City, none of them could capture even a fraction of the original's style.

Later, the framing shop owner still didn't give up and spent a lot of money to hire Mr. Yue Ming, a famous calligrapher from Guiyun Academy, to fix the characters, which finally brought back about 50% of the original appearance.

But he really didn't dare to say those words, fearing that Mr. Yueming would think he was belittling him. So he held onto the calligraphy for several more days before finally handing it over to Xiaodie.

What the framing shop owner didn't know was that as soon as the calligraphy reached Chen Yi's hands, he realized that his birthday greeting had been switched.

And they even gave him a very poor imitation to complete the task, as if they were afraid he wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"How dare you use this kind of handwriting on my signature, your son-in-law?"

"What? This isn't the son-in-law's handwriting?"

After Chen Yi explained for a few moments, Xiao Die understood and immediately raised her eyebrows.

Before Chen Yi could say anything more, she grabbed the calligraphy and rushed out the door.

"Young master, I'm going to find him!"

Chen Yi watched her retreating figure, smiled, shook his head, and didn't take it seriously.

When Xiaodie returned, she said dejectedly, "Young master, that calligraphy can't be found."

"oh?"

"The owner of the mounting shop said that the calligraphy was lost that very night, and the one he mounted was written by Mr. Yue Ming of Guiyun Academy."

Chen Yi responded with an "oh," but didn't take the matter to heart.

Perhaps some calligraphy enthusiast took a liking to his work and, in a moment of confusion, stole it.

"Where are the words?"

"It's still in the framing business," Xiaodie said indignantly. "That boss is really awful. He didn't say anything after it was lost, and he even had someone copy it. He's so bad."

Chen Yi glanced at her, then asked hesitantly, "You didn't say anything else, did you?"

Xiaodie thought for a moment, "I've said a lot, but I don't know which question the young master will ask."

"It's like saying that the calligraphy copy is no good, it's very clumsy, or something like that."

"Hmm... I think that's what I always say."

"..."

Chen Yi sighed and told her to grind the ink beside him.

Xiaodie noticed his unusual behavior and asked while grinding ink, "Young Master, did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's just that..."

That Mr. Yue Ming happened to be the mentor of Li Huaigu, the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination.

If such words were to reach his ears, he would likely become unpopular for no reason.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Yi stopped talking to avoid making Xiao Die overthink things, and picked up the wolf-hair brush to spread out a new sheet of cloud pine paper.

After calming himself down, he formed a rough outline in his mind, then dipped his brush in ink and began to rewrite the poem "Celebrating Marquis Xiao".

This time, he did not use the character "Wei Qing" again, but instead used the running script technique that he had already mastered.

As he wrote each stroke more freely, as if in accordance with his state of mind, wisps of energy quietly emerged within him, stirring the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and condensing at the tip of the wolf-hair brush.

Each character, as if naturally formed, shines with its own unique brilliance, with a faint, shimmering white luster on it.

Xiaodie peeked out from the side and, seeing the shimmering white, almost thought she was seeing things.

When she rubbed her eyes and looked again, the already written characters had indeed lost their luminous sheen, but a new layer had appeared on the newly written characters.

Xiaodie opened her mouth slightly, looking at Chen Yi, who was looking serious, and then at the words he was writing.

After going back and forth a few times, she quickly covered her mouth and didn't dare to speak, for fear of disturbing the artistic conception of her son-in-law's writing.

Although she couldn't understand or comprehend the meaning of these signs, she knew that her son-in-law seemed to be radiating light at this moment, making her dare not act rashly.

A moment later.

After Chen Yi finished writing, he inscribed the title, signed his name, and stamped his seal. Only then did he put down his wolf-hair brush and let out a long sigh.

However, he still looked visibly tired, and he rubbed his temples as he leaned back in his chair.

"Bring some food."

Xiaodie snapped out of her daze and quickly fetched some pastries and water. Then she stood behind Chen Yi and gently pressed his temples with her palms.

"Young master, you were so...so amazing just now."

Chen Yi sat up a little straighter, closed his eyes and enjoyed the pressure from her fingers, feeling much more relaxed.

"Tell me, what's so great about it?"

"Those words, they're all glowing, they're so beautiful."

"Yeah?"

Chen Yi realized that Xiao Die must have meant the artistic conception left on the words after his energy stirred the spiritual essence of heaven and earth.

He knew this ever since he started practicing martial arts, and as his cultivation level increased, he used it more and more skillfully, almost to the point of being able to control his mind.

Once he makes further breakthroughs in calligraphy, his calligraphy will be able to advance even further, and the artistic conception in his calligraphy will be even more charming.

At that time, his ninth-grade cultivation was clearly insufficient.

Take a break.

Chen Yi then instructed Xiao Die to take the calligraphy and paintings to the mounting shop, "Remember to bring a few armored soldiers to guard them, lest they be stolen again this time."

"Yes, son-in-law, Xiaodie will definitely not let it get lost this time!"

That would be best, otherwise by the time this birthday greeting is framed, the old Marquis's birthday will have already passed.

...

The next day.

A faint light appeared in the east, casting a purple glow on the clouds.

On the official road outside Shuzhou City, a carriage adorned with carved clouds and painted dragons was parked by the roadside. Shen Huatang, dressed in a plain white dress, stood expressionlessly beside the carriage, holding a long sword.

Although she wasn't particularly beautiful, only considered pretty, her aloof demeanor still drew extra attention from passing carriages.

Shen Huatang was completely unaware, her eyes fixed on the end of the official road.

About an hour later, she saw a carriage bearing the red flag of the Xiao family approaching from afar, and then she knocked on the carriage and said:

"Young Miss, the Second Miss's carriage has arrived."

"Thank you for your trouble."

Xiao Wan'er lifted the curtain and, with Shen Huatang's help, stepped down from the carriage. She pulled her cloak tighter around her neck, letting the fur collar cover her neck.

She looked at the car in the distance, raised her hand slightly above her shoulder, and waved.

"Second sister, over here."

Although the sound was soft, the people in the carriage in the distance had already heard it, followed by a clear, cold voice:

"Please wait here, elder sister."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the carriage came roaring up and stopped in front of Xiao Wan'er.

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Jinghong, dressed in a light and casual chivalrous outfit, jumped off the carriage. Her high ponytail fluttered in the wind, and she was still wearing the silver half-armor on her face, only revealing her crystal-clear white lips and jawline.

Xiao Wan'er stepped forward and took her hand, a delicate smile appearing on her pale face. "It's alright, I only arrived an hour early."

Xiao Jinghong smiled and nodded, saying, "Big sister, it's cold outside, let's talk in the car."

As she spoke, she pulled Xiao Wan'er into the car together.

Once they were seated, Shen Huatang jumped onto the carriage and lashed the horse's rump with her long whip, shouting, "Giddy up!"

Ta-da...

The horses' hooves pounded on the official road, not joining the long queue to enter the city, but passing through the empty city gate beside them.

"Second sister, this inspection of the three towns must have been tiring. Don't rush to go out later, rest at home for a while."

"good."

Xiao Jinghong nodded, and was about to speak when her earlobe twitched slightly, and a series of sounds from the surrounding area of ​​Shuzhou City reached her ears.

Chen Yi and Chen Qingzhou of the Xiao family, in broad daylight, forcibly abducted a woman from the common people and even frequented brothels.

The most shameless son-in-law in history?

Xiao Jinghong pursed his lips slightly, his eyes sharpening.

I think he's the most shameless... husband in history!

(End of this chapter)