Chapter 58 Speak your mind and reason with others.

The birthday banquet is scheduled for noon, which is still four and a half hours away.

It may seem like a long time, but in reality, the schedule is already packed with all sorts of things.

It's past the middle of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

Xiao Wan'er and Xiao Jinghong then waited outside Jiaxing Garden with Xiao Wuge.

As the eldest sons of the Xiao family, the three were required to accompany the old Marquis to the ancestral hall to pay respects to their ancestors.

Apart from them, neither Xiao Xuanshuo, born to a concubine from the second wife's or the first wife's, was qualified to go in.

Chen Yi, of course, didn't have any either.

However, he stood calmly and composed among the Xiao family members, completely at ease.

Take a look at Xiao Jinghong in a moment, and compare her with Xiao Wan'er to see who is more beautiful.

He would glance at Xiao Xuanshuo every now and then, wondering when he would come to test his martial arts skills.

He spent most of his time looking at the people from the second wife's family.

There was no other reason than that the second branch of the family, led by the second master Xiao Wang, had a large and powerful force, and their people were everywhere in sight.

In addition, many people from the second wife's family were also watching, so he couldn't help but pay attention.

Especially Lady Xiao Qiuyun, whom he had only met twice, stared at his face with her peach blossom eyes as if she were seeing him for the first time.

Although Chen Yi didn't understand the reason, he didn't bother with it.

Over the past few days, he had witnessed the temperament of this Duchess of Gan.

She was polite and respectful to her elders, but she was absolutely uncompromising with her servants, household servants, and those of lower status than herself.

Otherwise, the young prince Zhang Heng wouldn't have been whipped so badly by the rattan cane that day.

Chen Yi thought for a moment, then winked at Zhang Heng.

It's unclear whether he saw it or not, but Xiao Qiuyun, who had been staring at him, did, her eyes flickering as if she were thinking about something.

Soon, the auspicious time arrived.

Lord Xiao arrived with several distinguished guests, including the old Duke Zhang Xuan, the former Provincial Governor Sun Fu, and three young men of different statures but similar ages.

"Please wait a moment, everyone. I'll go pay respects to my ancestors first."

"yes."

Chen Yi followed suit, bowing respectfully. As he stood up, he saw the old man pat Xiao Wuge on the shoulder, take his hand, and walk with a slightly hunched posture towards the ancestral hall deep in the backyard.

Xiao Wan'er and Xiao Jinghong followed behind.

They were originally supposed to wait outside, but their father, Xiao Fengchun, died in battle, and the young Marquis Xiao Wuge was too young to inherit the title.

As Chen Yi watched them disappear, he turned his gaze away and was about to casually look around when he met a smiling figure.

He was one of the three young men who had come with the old Marquis.

The middle-aged man, dressed in a blue robe and with a handsome but somewhat dark complexion, cupped his hands and said, "I am Li Changqing, currently the commander-in-chief of the Iron Wall Army."

Chen Yi glanced at him and bowed, saying, "Chen Yi."

He had heard of this name before and must have visited Chunhe Garden before, but he had never seen it.

At this moment, it seems that Li Changqing does indeed possess a hint of the commanding presence of a general.

He can certainly be described as young and promising.

Thinking about it, Chen Yi chuckled to himself. He was a young man, but his mind and thoughts were rather mature.

Indeed, though he was described as serene and carefree, he was actually no different from a hermit who had retreated to the mountains and forests.

We've exchanged greetings.

Li Changqing smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, please forgive me. I had military duties to attend to during your wedding with Jinghong, so I couldn't come back for a drink."

"I was initially a little disappointed, but then I heard that you ran away from the wedding, so it's better not to drink this wedding wine."

The moment those two sentences were spoken, the eyes of everyone in the quiet backyard turned to look at them.

Some wore ambiguous smiles, some seemed thoughtful, and others were full of sarcasm.

Chen Yi knew what everyone around him was thinking even without looking.

However, he simply looked at Li Changqing calmly, his expression serious, but he didn't say a word.

Oh, so this person is here to cause trouble.

Seeing this, Li Changqing still smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, is this because you are unhappy? Please forgive me. I have been in the army for a long time and I always speak my mind. Please don't take offense, brother-in-law."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi smiled.

"Brother Changqing is right. My previous elopement was indeed a bit rash."

"How about this, I'll bring my wife with me tomorrow to apologize to you, okay?"

Li Changqing's smile froze, a cold glint flashed in his narrow eyes, and the bloodthirsty aura he exuded from the battlefield intensified.

Seeing this, Chen Yi still didn't stop, and continued to smile as he said, "Brother Changqing, is this because you're not happy?"

"It seems I haven't thought this through enough. How about this, when my wife and I come to apologize, we'll also bring a gift?"

“When Madam returned from her inspection of the three towns, she brought back some local specialties, including some from your Iron Wall Garrison. I imagine those gifts will meet your approval, brother.”

"Ah, it seems Brother Changqing is still not satisfied? Why don't you suggest a method, and I'll discuss it with my wife later?"

He had been wondering why Xiao Jinghong, despite wearing a mask and having a good figure and appearance, had no suitors.

So he did exist, and he was a general in the Dingyuan Army.

Unfortunately, as long as he didn't make a move, Chen Yi had a million ways to break through General Li's defenses.

"You certainly have a sharp tongue, but..."

"Evergreen!"

Before he could finish speaking, another young man not far behind him spoke up to advise, "Today is the Marquis's birthday banquet, don't let people laugh at us!"

Another burly man beside him echoed in a deep voice, "If General Jinghong knew about this, you would be punished."

Upon hearing this, Li Changqing's smile vanished, his eyes fixed on Chen Yi as he nodded, but his words remained unrelenting:

"If you dare to do something like running away from your wedding again, don't blame me for being impolite."

Chen Yi smiled and shook his head, then turned his head away from him, saying casually:

"Then there's no need for Brother Changqing to trouble himself."

Click, click.

Li Changqing clenched his fists, his teeth chattered, and his eyes practically spitting fire.

Seeing this, the other two young generals had no choice but to step forward and pull him back, one on each side.

The first to speak, a slender general in white, bowed respectfully to Chen Yi from afar:

"Brother Qingzhou, please forgive me. I was quite impetuous just now."

“Pang Xuan…”

Before Li Changqing could finish speaking, General Pang Xuan shouted, "Shut up! Aren't you embarrassed enough already?"

Chen Yi glanced at it sideways, then nodded with a smile.

This Pang Xuan is the garrison commander of Canglang Army Town, and it seems that his cultivation level is the highest among the three garrison commanders.

However, for a general, strength is secondary; what matters more is strategy, courage, and resourcefulness.

Looking back now, Li Changqing's strategy was mediocre, but his courage... well, you could say he was very bold.

They dare to cause trouble in this kind of situation.

Thinking to himself, Chen Yi thought, "Oh, he doesn't think I'm afraid of him, does he?"

I think so.

Then he probably made a stupid mistake.

Just then, Xiao Wang from the second branch of the family spoke up, "Alright, everyone be quiet, so as not to disturb my Xiao family ancestors."

Pang Xuan bowed to him in apology and led Li Changqing back into the crowd.

The farce has come to an end.

Chen Yi thought to himself, "This old man from the second branch of the family is really biased. Why didn't he say anything about disturbing the ancestors from the beginning?"

Sure enough, he, as the son-in-law of the Marquis's family, was still not well-liked.

However, upon reflection, the things he did were indeed against etiquette and law.

"Forget it, as long as they don't follow Li Changqing's example and provoke me."

Chen Yi stood tall and motionless, seemingly unaffected.

On the other hand, Li Changqing was furious; even in the dim light, his dark red and shiny face could be seen.

The others looked at each other, and most of them shook their heads and sighed.

In their eyes, this son-in-law was simply foolish. He could have just tolerated it and let it pass, but he dared to offend the old Marquis's right-hand man.

However, a few people actually praised Chen Yi more.

The old Duke whispered to the person beside him, "Changming, did you see that? Didn't I tell you that his earlier taunting was intentional?"

Sun Fu disagreed, saying, "Scholars cultivate a noble spirit, so naturally they will speak their minds and reason with others."

"Besides, he has already been punished for running away from the wedding. It would be ungentlemanly for others to keep bringing it up."

The old Duke was speechless; without even looking, he knew the power of those words.

One sentence was enough to make most of the people present lose their composure.

Only Chen Yi laughed, turned to look at Sun Fu and the old Duke Zhang Xuan, and bowed with a smile:

"I am very grateful for Mr. Sun's teachings."

Seeing his expression, Sun Fu paused for a moment before shaking his head with a wry smile, "If Ju Yi saw you talking like that, he would definitely give you two slaps."

He was simply speaking out of righteousness and saying something fair.

But Chen Yi's response turned into a "lecture".

The old Duke Zhang Xuan looked around and then laughed, "It has to be you scholars who can curse so filthyly without using a single vulgar word."

Now, those who already looked unwell looked even worse.

Of the three people speaking, two were of noble status, while the other, though of low status, was not easy to get along with.

If he were to actually speak up and refute, he might end up like Li Changqing, getting himself into a lot of trouble.

Chen Yi glanced at everyone, his smile growing even more gentle.

Since some people don't want him to keep a low profile today, he might as well let loose.

I just hope that those who can't stand him can be more tolerant and open-minded.

After all, it's one thing to say something, but if you get sick from getting angry, you can't use that to blackmail him.

(End of this chapter)