Chapter 48 The flogging was too noisy
Chen Yi originally intended to ignore his half-brother.
To his surprise, just after midnight that night, a golden light entered his eyes.
[Daily Intelligence - Low-Grade Mystic: Mid-morning, on the official road north of the city, the top scholar of this year's imperial examination, Chen Yunfan, arrives on horseback, greeted by officials from various government offices and prominent families of Shu Prefecture. A small amount of good fortune may be obtained.]
Chen Yi glanced around, rubbed his chin, and said, "It seems we have no choice but to go."
He didn't really like Chen Yunfan, but this opportunity was exactly what he needed.
After observing the commotion within the mansion over the past few days, his luck has reached 83 points, and he is not far from achieving mastery of "Martial Arts Body".
After a moment's thought, Chen Yi chuckled, "The words on the calling card are full of brotherly affection, but I wonder what he will say in person."
Judging from the fact that Chen Yunfan is just like Cui Yu, the eldest wife of the Chen family, he probably wouldn't say anything nice.
In fact, Chen Yi didn't know much about his elder brother.
During the years he was imprisoned in the mansion, the two met only a handful of times.
The last time I heard the name "Chen Yunfan" was when Li Huaigu said that in this imperial examination, the emperor had defied public opinion and appointed him as the top scholar.
I heard that this caused quite a stir among the students in Kyoto Prefecture, most of whom were dissatisfied with Chen Yunfan, the top scholar.
"The fact that he still went to such lengths to come in this situation shows that he doesn't take the chaos seriously."
Thinking about it, Chen Yi lay back on the bed and gradually drifted off to sleep.
While he was fast asleep, in the neighboring Jiaxing Garden, the two Xiao sisters were still working late into the night by candlelight.
Xiao Wan'er looked serious, holding an abacus in one hand and pressing the other hand on the ledger, her fingers clicking the beads rapidly.
After calculating each page, she would trace the characters in red on the ledger.
Xiao Jinghong sat opposite her, his fine wolf-hair brush moving swiftly as he wrote lines of text on the memorial. The gist of his writing was:
"The southern barbarians are currently unstable, and the Dingyuan Army, both new and veteran soldiers, lacks sufficient funds, provisions, and pay, which may make it difficult to continue."
Although she had previously told the old Marquis that she wanted to establish a trade market with the Wumeng Mountain tribe to generate profits to solve the military needs, she still did not intend to give up asking the imperial court for money and grain.
Just as she had thought, the Dingyuan Army was a border defense force established by the imperial court, not a private army of the Marquis of Dingyuan.
No matter how you look at it, the burden of money and provisions should not fall on them.
I was busy until late at night.
Xiao Wan'er closed the ledger. Although her face was pale, her eyes brightened, and she said with delight:
"Second sister, the manor has a surplus of four thousand taels of silver this month, which is enough to cover the remaining payment for the batch of medicinal herbs that Uncle Dongchen brought in."
Xiao Jinghong also finished writing his memorial, carefully checking it as he reminded everyone:
"Sister, it's been raining a lot in Jingzhou and Shuzhou lately. That batch of medicinal herbs came from Beizhou. Don't forget to inform Uncle Dongchen."
Xiao Wan'er said with a smile, "I already asked Hua Tang to talk to them yesterday. Our pharmacy has been doing well lately, and we're just waiting for this batch of medicinal herbs to be put into use, so we can't afford to be careless."
After Xiao Jinghong checked and found nothing wrong, he put away the memorial, stood up, stretched his arms and legs, and looked at her:
“Grandfather is right. With you here, everything is fine in the manor.”
Xiao Wan'er said reproachfully, "How can you praise someone like that to their face? If we're talking about credit, you've worked harder."
Xiao Jinghong smiled, her lips curving upwards. "If we sisters work together, we can surely hold out until Wuge inherits the title of Marquis."
Upon hearing this, a trace of worry appeared on Xiao Wan'er's delicate face. "That's right. Right now, the thing we're most worried about is Wu Ge."
After she finished speaking, she paused, thinking about Xiao Wuge's recent changes, and couldn't help but think of Chen Yi, along with that poem "Wan Shen Fu".
A subtle sense of shame and annoyance shattered her worries.
At this moment, Xiao Jinghong removed half of his armor and seemed to sigh, "Speaking of which, Wu Ge has grown a lot during the time he has been following Chen Yi."
"Sister, you were right to suggest that Wu Ge follow him."
"I suppose so," Xiao Wan'er gritted her teeth, then after a moment asked, "How are things between you and him?"
Xiao Jinghong fiddled with the half-mask and said in a vacant tone, "Let's just call each other husband and wife for now."
"Why?"
“I spoke with him before, and the situation is better than I expected.”
“Sister, we both understand Grandfather’s intentions. As long as Chen Yi can stay peacefully in the Xiao family, that will be the greatest help to us.”
Hearing this, Xiao Wan'er looked at her second sister, who had a calm expression, and opened her mouth, unsure of what words of comfort to say.
But when she thought of something else, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
"If I were in better health, perhaps you wouldn't need to find a husband for me this time."
Xiao Jinghong turned to look at her, "Sister, you're wrong. Even if you were perfectly healthy, I should be the one choosing a husband."
“My grandfather approached the Chen family in Jiangnan Prefecture not because he valued their prestige, but simply to find a reason to silence the gossips of the other families in Shu Prefecture so that I could stay with the Xiao family.”
"Actually, this inspection of the three towns..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Jinghong shook his head: "Never mind, military matters cannot be mentioned to outsiders."
Xiao Wan'er understood, but didn't take it to heart, and her guilt and self-blame eased a little.
Just then, Xiao Jinghong spoke up: "Sister, what do you think about having my husband come and help you?"
Xiao Wan'er was immediately flustered, "This, I..."
"You're not willing either?"
"No, it's not that I'm unwilling, but... my brother-in-law is exceptionally talented; it might be inappropriate for him to engage in business."
"Just that?"
"Yes, that's it."
Seeing Xiao Wan'er nod, Xiao Jinghong understood the situation and put her half-armor back on, saying, "I believe my husband is a reasonable person."
"Sister, you should get some rest. Grandfather's birthday is the day after tomorrow, which will be a busy time."
With that, she waved her hand and led Su Zhenyue, who was guarding the door, back to Chunhe Garden.
Xiao Wan'er stared blankly at the candlelight on the table, her heart filled with turmoil.
"If he were reasonable, he shouldn't have written that poem."
...
Nothing was said that night.
As the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) passed, the dark clouds dispersed, and the sky cleared.
Chen Yi woke up slowly and dressed himself with Xiao Die's help.
Looking at Chen Yi, who was unusually dressed in fine clothes and had a tall and handsome figure, Xiao Die asked curiously, "Young Master, are you going out today?"
Chen Yi looked at himself in the bronze mirror to make sure everything was neat and tidy before speaking: "You noticed?"
Xiaodie nodded, "But young master, tomorrow is the old master's birthday, and the mansion must be very busy today. If you leave the mansion at this time, I'm afraid there will be no one to take care of you."
Chen Yi walked outside, smiling as he said, "Of course, there's no one around if I go by myself, but it's different if I bring the young marquis along."
Xiaodie was taken aback for a moment, then quickly followed up, laughing and saying, "The young master really knows how to do things."
It's not that there's a way, it's a way out of a situation.
Chen Yi knew that his "elder brother" Chen Yunfan had come with ill intentions this time, so he had to prepare a backup plan.
With Xiao Wuge present, even if Chen Yunfan is a powerful dragon crossing the river, how could he possibly surpass Marquis Dingyuan?
Thinking it over, Chen Yi first went to inform Xiao Jinghong, and then went to Jiaxing Garden to pick up Xiao Wuge and head out of the mansion.
Wang Lixing, who originally bore heavy responsibilities, followed along with Yan Hong.
Chen Yi glanced around and casually asked, "Where's Fourth Brother?"
Before Wang Lixing, who was more familiar with him, could speak, Yan Hong replied, "Young Master, Fourth Brother went to the east of the city to buy things and hasn't returned yet."
Chen Yi sized him up, smiled and nodded, then led Xiao Wuge and Xiao Die onto the carriage.
"Brother-in-law, where are we going?"
"Um... I have a question for you."
"Brother-in-law, please speak." Xiao Wuge's face tightened; this must be the first time his brother-in-law had tested him.
Chen Yi pondered, "If someone doesn't get along with you and insists on taking advantage of you, how should you deal with them?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wuge looked bewildered. "Brother-in-law, is there such a person?"
"Assuming it exists."
"Oh, then... then I'll order someone to beat him with a board."
"Not bad, not bad, but having someone hit you with a board is too noisy. It would be better to use a blunt object instead."
(End of this chapter)
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