Chapter 8 Jade steps and jade trees, as beautiful as you, rare in the mortal world.
No matter how careful you are, you will eventually be discovered.
Chen Yi immediately raised his hands, fearing that the gleaming blade would graz him.
"Don't do it."
Xiao Wan'er looked over upon hearing the voice, seemingly recognizing Chen Yi's identity, and took a few steps closer, saying:
"Hua Tang, put away your sword. This is Jing Hong's husband."
"Yes, Miss."
The woman named Hua Tang sheathed her longsword but remained standing behind Chen Yi, as if waiting for him to make a move so she could pierce him through.
Chen Yi felt relieved and looked straight at Xiao Wan'er, his eyes lighting up.
Previously, due to the shadows in the garden, he only had a quick glimpse of her. Now that he saw Xiao Wan'er's face clearly, a slight thrill suddenly arose in his heart.
He thought he had seen a lot in his previous life, but when those women stood in front of Xiao Wan'er, they were nothing but "common and vulgar women".
How can I describe her beauty?
Her fair, oval face was adorned with stars and moonlight, and even in the dim garden, her beauty was still clearly visible.
As he thought about it, a line of poetry came to mind: "Jade steps and jade trees, as beautiful as you, so rare in the human world."
Seeing him remain silent, Xiao Wan'er thought he was frightened, so she asked gently, "Is it not frightening you?"
Chen Yi withdrew his gaze and shook his head: "No."
Although Xiao Wan'er was curious as to why he had appeared at Jiaxing Garden, she glanced around and knew that this was not the place to talk. She hesitated and said, "Then, let's go to the room and have a cup of tea first."
"good."
Chen Yi did not refuse. Since things had come to this point, he was quite straightforward.
In no time at all.
Chen Yi was then invited to the reception room of the wooden building.
He sat on the armchair, looking around with a calm expression, but in fact he was somewhat worried.
These days, the word I hear most from Xiaodie is "Xiao Wan'er," and I know that she is the head steward of the Marquis's mansion.
He not only managed the food, drink, and daily necessities of each household and courtyard, but also the Xiao family's shops and fertile fields outside the home. He was arguably the most powerful person besides the patriarch, Xiao Yuan.
In some aspects, even Xiao Jinghong, the general who succeeded Marquis Dingyuan and joined the army, did not have as much say as Xiao Wan'er.
I was caught by her when I sneaked out this time, and I don’t know what will happen to me.
Can't we just go back to the room as soon as we're released?
Just as Chen Yi was observing, Xiao Wan'er walked over, escorted by the female guard with a long sword at her waist.
Xiao Wuge followed behind her with his head drooping.
"Brother-in-law, please forgive me. Huatang is my personal bodyguard. She acted like that just now because she didn't know your identity. I hope you won't blame her."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi secretly raised an eyebrow. The tone suggested that he didn't intend to pursue the matter of him sneaking out of Chunhe Garden.
"Of course not, I should be the one apologizing for disturbing you so late at night."
The overly formal tone made him somewhat uncomfortable, but he still insisted on offering a couple of excuses:
"That night, the long night was sleepless. I heard someone calling, 'Runaway groom, runaway groom,' so I came over..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Wan'er's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly: "Brother-in-law, do you know who said that?"
Xiao Wu Ge also looked up at him, his eyes filled with a hint of grievance.
“Naturally, it was that young master.” Chen Yi glanced at him and said with a smile, “The young marquis is well-behaved and sensible; he only fought with him because he was angry.”
“I see,” Xiao Wan’er’s eyebrows relaxed, and she smiled gently on her fair face. “I had misunderstood Wu Ge.”
"That's right..." Xiao Wuge gave Chen Yi a grateful look and muttered something.
Xiao Wan'er glared at him reproachfully, "Hurry up and thank your brother-in-law."
"Wu Ge thanks my brother-in-law," Xiao Wu Ge paused, then stepped forward and bowed, "The matter of my brother-in-law running away from the marriage has been written off in Wu Ge's place."
Chen Yi's smile vanished instantly. "Heh... It's good to wipe the slate clean. Nobody's perfect, right?"
That brat, always bringing up the most sensitive topics.
Xiao Wuge smiled shyly and looked at Xiao Wan'er, unaware that she was looking at Chen Yi with admiration.
My brother-in-law is indeed a learned man.
Thinking of this, Xiao Wan'er smiled and said, "Wu Ge, from now on, you should spend more time with your brother-in-law."
"Your brother-in-law is a famous scholar in Jiangnan Prefecture. If you encounter something you don't understand, you can ask him for advice."
"Big sister, Wu Ge has noted it down."
Chen Yi looked at Xiao Wan'er, puzzled. Why did the tone of the conversation suddenly change?
He has no real knowledge; he hasn't even mastered everything his predecessor knew.
It's better not to ask for advice, because if I do, I'll be completely exposed.
Even after Chen Yi was escorted back to Chunhe Garden by the maid named Shen Huatang, he still couldn't understand the meaning behind Xiao Wan'er's words.
We can't really believe that Xiao Wuge can learn anything from him, can we?
Stop it, it's better to learn how to fish from him.
Before Chen Yi could figure out Xiao Wan'er's intentions, Shen Huatang said, "Young Master, Miss is kind-hearted and doesn't hold grudges, but I feel it's necessary to remind you."
"Hmm?" Chen Yi snapped out of his daze and looked at her.
Previously, because of Xiao Wan'er's beauty, he didn't pay much attention to this maid with a long sword on her waist. Only now did he realize her extraordinaryness.
With Chen Yi's shallow cultivation level, although he could not see Shen Huatang's cultivation level, he could sense a sharp edge emanating from her, like a long sword that had been sheathed.
“Guard Shen, just speak plainly.”
"I hope that my son-in-law can behave himself in the Marquis' Mansion and avoid things like tonight happening again, lest it harm others and yourself."
After speaking, Shen Huatang bowed slightly and returned directly to Jiaxing Garden, closing the door at the end of the corridor as she did so.
Click, lock.
Chen Yi frowned inwardly. Was she telling me not to implicate Xiao Wan'er, or...?
"Young Master, what are you doing here?"
At this time, Xiaodie came running over in a short coat, looking anxious. Her petite figure was so light that it seemed like it could be blown away by a gust of wind.
"You're not planning to run away, are you? Even if you do, you can't go to Jiaxing Garden. If you accidentally bump into the young master and young lady, you, you..."
Chen Yi was at a loss for words. "Don't worry, I just...heard someone arguing in the middle of the night and came over to check it out."
If you tell a lie two or three times, it becomes the truth even if it is not true.
Xiaodie looked at him suspiciously, and only after making sure that he was serious did she pat her head and feel relieved.
"Young master, can't you sleep?"
Chen Yi walked ahead, shaking his head, and said:
"Xiaodie, please stop using those 'you' and 'you' terms. They make me very uncomfortable. Just treat me like you used to."
"But son-in-law, things are different now than before." Xiaodie said in surprise.
“What’s the difference? You’re still you, and I’m still me. Just listen to me. If I ever hear the word ‘you’ again, I’ll punish you according to family rules!” Chen Yi threatened.
"……oh."
Xiaodie followed behind with her head tilted, racking her brains for a moment, almost causing her little brain to shut down, still unable to figure out what had triggered her son-in-law.
After Xiaodie fell asleep in the compartment, Chen Yi couldn't sleep.
He would think about what had happened that night, and then he would think about the boxing manual in his mind and plan his next training.
The story focuses more on the experiences at Jiaxing Garden, including the young marquis, the heir apparent, Xiao Wan'er, and Shen Huatang.
Clearly, the Marquis's residence was far more complicated than he had previously anticipated.
After tossing and turning for most of the hour, Chen Yi was still full of energy. So he simply wrapped a blanket around himself and went to the study, lit an oil lamp, poured water and ground ink.
Recently, as his calligraphy has improved, he has also found that his mind can calm down when writing, which is a blessing.
Chen Yi calmed himself down, picked up his pen, dipped it in ink, and started writing on the Yunsong paper.
At first they were just meaningless words.
For example, after the line "Fallen petals are not heartless things," comes the line "A light boat has already passed ten thousand mountains."
Or, after writing "The east wind blew again last night in the small building," one might add, "But at that time, I was already lost in thought."
Unconsciously, Xiao Wan'er's figure appeared in Chen Yi's mind. He paused with his wolf-hair brush, then wrote freely:
Snow-white silk cuts clouds to form her hair, and icy gauze washes the moon to form her eyes.
The Milky Way rises above the Qutang Gorge at night, cascading down like jade over a thousand mountains.
Sword energy first condenses, eyebrows turn a deep blue; crane shadows stealthily cross the Shu Heavenly Dynasty.
Jade steps and jade trees, as beautiful as you, so rare in this world...
Chen Yi was so engrossed in writing that he didn't even realize that the tiny amount of energy within him was being drawn into the characters, and wisps of mystery were rising gently from them.
[The characters are naturally formed; the calligraphy, in the Wei Qing style, has reached the proficiency level, allowing one to glimpse the essence of calligraphy.]
[Calligraphy: Minor Success, Progress +60, Reaching...]
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
