Chu Yan looked at her father in disbelief, "Father, which leg do you want to break first? How dare you keep a mistress while Grandpa is still alive? And you even managed to have a daughter with her?"
As soon as Chu Yan finished speaking, the main hall fell silent. Everyone was holding their breath and all turned to look at Madam Chu.
Madam Chu looked at the head of the Chu family in disbelief and said in surprise, "Brother Chu, you've really made something of yourself! You actually had a daughter behind my back?"
The head of the Chu family twitched his lips violently. He didn't bother to discipline his son, but instead grabbed his wife's hand and quickly explained, "Xiuxiu, this is impossible. Don't you know my problem? I can't accept any other woman coming within three steps of me except for you!"
Then he turned and glared at Chu Yan, "You brat, start taking over the medicinal herb business tomorrow too. I need to keep your mother company, and you dare to spread rumors about me? I already said it was just a hypothetical!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Chu exclaimed and shook off his hand, "I thought I was going to have another daughter, but it turns out it was just a hypothetical!"
Everyone stared at the family in silence once again.
The head of the Chu family smiled wryly and grasped his wife's hand again. "How about we have our son have more daughters so we can raise them as granddaughters?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Chu's eyes lit up. "Alright, I'll go find a wife for this young man tomorrow."
Chu Yan silently took a step back, subconsciously looking at her master, her eyes filled with only two words: Master, save me!
Li Mai hadn't expected that the head and wife of the most powerful family would be such interesting people. After glancing at her apprentice's expression, Li Mai thought for a moment and asked Madam Chu, "Did you not have any more children after Chu Yan?"
Such a prominent family only has one child, which is indeed a bit too few offspring. It seems that the head of the Chu family also has no concubines.
Madam Chu's eyes dimmed, and she shook her head. "After giving birth to Chu Yan, I became pregnant once, but I miscarried at three months. Since then, I have never been able to conceive again."
Li Mai gave a soft "oh," and said, "After I'm done with my work, would you mind letting me take your pulse?"
Madam Chu was taken aback, then quickly nodded, "Of course I'm willing. If Master Li can take my pulse, I will have no regrets in this life."
Li Mai nodded, "Then let's wait until the assessment is over!"
Madam Chu was delighted to hear this, and the head of the Chu family was also happy. The couple exchanged a glance, both suppressing the excitement in their eyes.
In the past three days, they have also learned that the reason why Li Mai stayed at the Prince Yun’s mansion was actually to treat the Prince Yun’s leg, but their son instructed them not to tell anyone.
It is also known that this matter has not spread in the capital. It seems that the defense of the Prince Yun's mansion is still very strong. No wonder he is a general who has never lost a battle, who can win even when seriously injured, and who can come back alive from the battlefield.
After being favored by the King of Yun to treat his leg, and considering that Li Mai had saved their son last time, they thought that Li Mai's medical skills must be very impressive. He was skilled in both martial arts and medicine, so he must be a descendant of some reclusive family.
At this time, they did not know that Li Mai and Zhou Quan's true identities were actually just farm boys from a small village.
Even Chu Yan and Zhong Hui didn't know Li Mai and Zhou Quan's true identities. Ever since Li Mai saved them, they had always viewed their master through a lens of prejudice, and they had never discussed where their master came from when they were together.
Li Mai and Zhou Quan would never casually tell people where they came from, and they would never proactively reveal their home address, as that would only bring danger to their families.
The King of Chu and his family were unaware that the King of Yun had already taken Li Mai as his sworn sister. Chu Yan and Zhong Hui knew, but they hadn't had time to tell their parents yet.
After Li Mai's interruption, the Chu couple stopped worrying about their son's earlier blaming of his father.
Chu Yan quietly bowed to her master to thank him for his help.
Zhong Hui glanced at him, her expression indifferent, but she was also somewhat moved. She hadn't expected Li Mai to actually speak up for Chu Yan.
Their master-disciple relationship with Li Mai was actually something they had gotten themselves into because they were about to return to the capital. They hadn't found anyone worth mentioning to their parents yet, and after half a year away, they hadn't made any connections worth handing over the jade pendant to. This would affect their next trip.
Fortunately, they had good judgment, and this master saved their lives. If their master hadn't intervened that night when they encountered that pack of wolves, it's hard to say whether they would have survived.
Chu Yan managed to pass the next assessment smoothly.
In six months, he demonstrated the five new pieces of knowledge he had learned to his elders.
He learned how to grow crops, witnessed how the food they ate came from seedlings, learned how to survive in the wild, learned to swim, and finally learned a new way to play chess: Gomoku (Five in a Row).
He and Zhong Hui played a game of Gomoku together and showed it to the elders. Everyone was confused. They wondered if the black and white pieces could be played like this.
When the two men said that this game was taught to them by their master, everyone looked at Li Mai with admiration.
Li Mai silently accepted their gazes. In fact, she really wanted to say that in her hometown, even six-year-old children can play Connect Four.
After Chu Yan finished her assessment, the Chu couple gave their son an A grade. They felt that their son had grown up a lot and matured a lot since he left, and that he had come to understand the hard-won nature of food.
These aristocratic scions living in the capital city have been born into a life of luxury, completely unaware of human suffering, the difficulty of obtaining food, or the vastness of the world.
When the two fathers decided to send their sons on a journey, they set up an assessment for them. This was to ensure that they would seriously learn things, rather than thinking that going out meant they were free from their parents and could do whatever they wanted.
Next was Zhong Hui's assessment. Zhong Hui was more composed than Chu Yan. They had learned about the same things after they left, and it wasn't just the part that Chu Yan showed to her parents; he showed what Chu Yan hadn't shown.
He then explained that they had always been together, so he knew everything Chu Yan had learned, and Chu Yan knew everything he had learned.
The Zhong family also gave Zhong Hui an A rating.
Both of them passed the assessment and even received an A grade, so they were both very happy.
The two also received a reward from their parents, each receiving a famous dagger.
The two of them also thanked their master.
Li Mai smiled and said, "I didn't do anything special, I just taught you a game of Gomoku."
After saying that, she took out two jade pendants and personally returned them to Patriarch Chu and Lord Zhong.
After the two people retrieved the jade pendant, they expressed their gratitude to Li Mai.
Li Mai once again expressed his humility, praising his two apprentices for their intelligence and excellent upbringing. In short, he gave Chu Yan and Zhong Hui a great compliment.
Every parent likes to hear others praise their child. Therefore, when the two families took back the jade pendant, they also gave Li Mai a gift, hoping that Li Mai would truly regard the two boys as his apprentices and give them more guidance in the future.
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