Chapter 4 Soaring Through the Air: Xiao Jinghong
Five days later.
Chen Yi leaned against the window, his eyes fixed on the west gate of Chunhe Garden—the end of the long corridor leading to Jiaxing Garden.
Since Xiaodie brought him the "good news" about the eldest daughter of the Xiao family, he was extremely excited and finished copying the remaining two hundred family rules in just five days.
No, we can't use the word "copy," it should be "memorize."
The entire text contains only one hundred characters, which he could recite fluently even with his eyes closed.
"First, be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, even unto death on the battlefield; second, all male members of the clan who reach the age of six must enter the martial arts training ground..."
The family rules of the Marquis Wu family were very strict, requiring loyalty to the emperor, martial arts training, or bringing glory to the family.
They seemed to understand something but found it impressive.
A jumble of random thoughts.
Chen Yi still couldn't calm down.
You have to know that he has not left the house for fifty days. Even when he is in the cell, he has to be given time for exercise every day, but he really hasn't even stepped out of the door.
Even the guards at the door could see his impatience, and a smile appeared on their faces.
Over the past few days, the four armored soldiers had come to know Chen Yi and felt some sympathy for his elopement.
Think about it carefully—a scholar from a prestigious family, well-read and with the potential to pass the imperial examinations, is arranged by his family to marry into another family. Anyone would feel upset in that situation.
"Brothers," Chen Yi noticed their looks and started to make small talk: "If I can get out of this room, do you guys not have to stay here?"
The four armored soldiers exchanged glances, and one of them, whose left arm had a woven rope attached, said in a deep voice:
"Yes, but we will guard outside the garden."
"..."
Chen Yi thought to himself, "Okay, that works too."
He took a big step forward by moving from a three-story wooden building to a garden of more than ten acres.
Perhaps it was because Chen Yi was about to be released from confinement, or perhaps the soldiers' opinions of him had changed.
In short, while waiting for Xiaodie to return, the group became much more familiar with each other.
Chen Yi then asked the question he had been wanting to ask the most: "Is it really possible to fly through the air through martial arts cultivation?"
He had long known from his memory that martial arts were prevalent in the Wei Dynasty, and that those with high cultivation levels possessed unimaginable power.
For example, Yin Tiankuang, the leader of the Duan Dao Sect in Jiangnan Prefecture, once visited the Chen family and showed off his Duan Dao skills - he split a hill in half with just one sword.
There is also the legendary Sword Ghost who "blocked the river with one sword" and single-handedly broke through the armor of three thousand soldiers, killing the Tiger Guards who came to encircle him and leaving corpses everywhere.
But Chen Yi only knew the former and had never seen the latter, so during this period of time he would occasionally fantasize about becoming a martial arts master - the kind that would live in seclusion.
If he could use the opportunity to practice martial arts, he would be able to quickly improve his martial arts skills with the blessing of the Tao realm.
The armored soldier with the woven rope on his left arm, named Wang Lixing, replied, "Of course, the Second Miss can."
Chen Yi was taken aback. "Second Miss... Madam? Her martial arts cultivation is that high?"
Wang Lixing nodded, his expression showing a hint of longing: "The Second Miss has an exceptionally high talent in martial arts. At only twenty years old, she is already a fourth-grade cultivator, capable of flying dozens of miles in the air and traveling two thousand miles a day."
Chen Yi was secretly amazed. Was Xiao Jinghong really that powerful?
Well, it seems that before he has enough strength, he should be honest and low-key.
Not long after.
Xiao Die finally passed through the archway with its green tiles and white walls and appeared at the end of the corridor. She immediately saw Chen Yi peeking out and ran over with a grin.
"Son-in-law, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"
“Any of them is fine,” Chen Yi rolled his eyes, his excitement subsiding a little. “For me, the son-in-law, any news is good news.”
Xiaodie grumbled in boredom and immediately told a few soldiers, "The eldest lady said that you can just stay outside the garden from now on."
"Yes, Miss Xiaodie."
The soldiers had anticipated this.
After bowing to Chen Yi, Wang Lixing led the other armored soldiers out of the garden in single file.
Watch them disappear.
Without waiting for Xiaodie's good or bad news, Chen Yi jumped out of the window with one hand on the windowsill and rushed towards the pavilion not far away with a roar.
Xiaodie hurried forward, "Uncle, uncle, please run slower."
She wasn't worried about Chen Yi escaping, since it was broad daylight and there were armored soldiers guarding the garden, unlike on their wedding day when Chen Yi escaped in the chaos on his way from the inn to the Marquis's residence.
Chen Yi ignored him and ran all the way to the pavilion. He opened his arms and took a deep breath in front of the rippling pool, instantly feeling refreshed.
Xiaodie came running up, panting, "Young Master, I haven't finished speaking yet."
Chen Yi didn't turn his head back, still holding his head high and breathing in the air of freedom.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Xiaodie continued, "The eldest young lady said that you will have to stay in Chunhe Garden for the time being. She has already written to the second young lady to explain, and after the second young lady replies, the confinement of the young master should be lifted."
Chen Yi let out a long breath, his mind suddenly clearing. "The good news?"
Xiaodie was taken aback. "This is good news!"
"So what's the better news?"
“There’s nothing better.” Xiaodie puffed out her cheeks, pouted, and looked at him angrily. “Young master, there’s only one bad news left.”
Chen Yi turned to look at her and said, "Tell me about it."
"The bad news is that the eldest lady said... no, it should be the old master who said that since the son-in-law has married into the Xiao family, he must follow the rules of the mansion."
"What rules?" Chen Yi raised his eyebrows and thought to himself that there really was bad news.
"Sir, you forgot that the family rules state that 'male members of the family who are six years old must go to the martial arts training grounds to learn martial arts.'" Xiaodie smiled, covering her mouth with her hands, "You have to practice too."
Chen Yi was taken aback. "Are you sure?"
This news was neither good nor bad for him.
He had previously guessed that the Xiao family would not teach him martial arts cultivation. After all, as a son-in-law who had escaped an arranged marriage, he had enough to eat, wear, and use. The Xiao family had already been more than kind to him.
Let him practice martial arts again...is this treating him as a family member?
He pondered for a moment.
Chen Yi's heart skipped a beat: "Could it be that they're planning to conscript men? They don't want me to join the army and fight, do they?"
Based on his understanding of the Xiao family over this period of time, he knew that there was indeed a shortage of male members in the household.
This is very possible...
Xiaodie didn't know what he was thinking, so she said with a forced smile:
"However, Miss told you not to worry, if you don't want to learn, you can just pretend and go through the motions. And since you can't leave Chunhe Garden yet, a teacher will be arranged to come."
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow and said irritably, "Xiao Die, remember to finish what you're saying in the future."
If that's the case, then he doesn't need to worry too much. However, just in case, he should still act as if he's "not good at martial arts" to avoid being conscripted into the army later.
Xiaodie stuck out her little tongue, "Who told you to just run here?"
Hearing this, Chen Yi sensed something was wrong and glanced at her, "You seem a little different from before."
"Really?" Xiaodie looked down at herself.
"You've changed your way of addressing me. In the past two months, you've never used a 'respectful title' on me. What's going on? Did the sun rise in the west today?" Chen Yi teased.
Xiaodie blushed and said softly, "Miss, Miss told me to follow you, Young Master, from now on..."
"Oh, I see~" Chen Yi drawled, "You're worried that I'll make things difficult for you in the future, huh?"
“No, no…”
"You're blushing, huh?"
Xiaodie pretended to hit him, but then she remembered that she would be his personal maid in the future, so she restrained herself, lowered her head and remained silent.
Seeing this, Chen Yi stopped joking and said a few heartwarming words.
Xiaodie smiled again and secretly looked at his back.
Previously, because her fiancé ran away from the wedding, everyone in the Xiao family disliked him, and she was no exception.
Only today did she realize that her son-in-law was actually a very nice person, as approachable as the eldest young lady, the second young lady, and the old master.
No.
Xiaodie thought about it carefully for a moment and realized that from the time she met Chen Yi until now, he had never treated her as a servant.
Although he would sometimes ask her to do things, such as grinding ink or bringing her food, his tone never made her feel superior; on the contrary, it was very peaceful.
This allowed her to completely relax.
Thinking about it, Xiaodie asked in a low voice, "Is the young master hungry? I'll go get some food."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
Chen Yi waved his hand without turning his head, still watching the fish jumping around in the pond with great interest, thinking about when he could get a fishing rod and catch them all at once.
He is a veteran angler who is known for “never coming up empty-handed”. How can he not cast a few rods?
(End of this chapter)
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