What was the price of showcasing one's talent?
The guards standing watch outside the side room went from two to four.
Xiao Die kept him company inside the room, under the high-sounding pretext of keeping a close watch.
She truly understood the meaning of keeping a close watch.
However, Chen Yi did not utter half a "no"; on the contrary, he raised both hands to show his welcome.
After all, being grounded alone was akin to being cast into the cold palace, while two people meant huddling together for warmth.
If there were still four guards standing watch, it proved that the Xiao Family valued him greatly and was protecting him.
You must be joking, for he could not even defeat a single one, let alone needing four?
At this moment, Xiao Die tossed the bedding, lifted the corner of the table, and asked doubtfully, "Son-in-law, where did you hide that Rebellious Poem?"
Rebellious poem?
True to yourself, the girl Xiao Die who excelled at face-to-face surveillance arts.
Such a phrase set in the early Kangxi or Qianlong years of the Qing Dynasty would make one's prison seat rot while waiting for an autumn execution, and with slightly worse luck, one could even mingle with the extermination of nine familial clans.
While copying the Xiao Clan rules, Chen Yi kept a deadpan face and said, "Xiao Die, is it possible that your son-in-law never wrote that poem?"
"Impossible!"
Innocent as Xiao Die was, her brain worked very well-her memory was exceptionally outstanding.
Within three breaths, her mouth opened and closed seventy or eighty times, reciting that "Shuzhou Chant: Marrying into the Xiao Family" without missing a single word.
Her enunciation was clear, her voice clean and bright, and famous xiangsheng masters would have to kowtow to her upon hearing it, begging her to take them as disciples.
After listening, Chen Yi shifted the blame with a counter-accusation: "Your poetic talent is not bad, but you are still a bit worse than me."
Xiao Die grew anxious. "Oh, Son-in-law, it was clearly you, not me."
"Your poem's title is even 'Marrying into the Xiao Family', and Shuzhou only has Wushan and Chishui, so where is Bashan? And what about Chushui?"
Chen Yi rolled his eyes. You grasp the main points very accurately, Miss Xiao Die.
Seeing that he did not speak, Xiao Die akimboed with both hands as if she had won a great victory, her small face tightening as she said seriously, "Son-in-law, with me watching you, don't even think about running."
"Fine, fine, fine, I won't escape..."
Chen Yi had no plans to run for the time being, especially after learning that someone wanted to harm him.
Even if he were to run, he would have to wait until he possessed a certain degree of self-preservation ability before considering it.
Moreover, over this period, he found that staying in the Marquis's mansion was not bad either.
He was a frail scholar who could neither lift things with his hands nor carry them with his shoulders, so it would not fall to him to do bitter labor. Additionally, he had food, clothing, and people to wait on him, which was simply the dream life for someone like him who had spent a few years as an ox and a horse.
If his grounding were lifted in the future, and he could always remain an idle son-in-law like this, drinking tea, fishing, and living at a leisurely pace, come to think of it, there was nothing bad about it.
"Son-in-law, are you thinking about running away?" Seeing him smiling over there, Xiao Die's vigilance shot to the maximum.
Chen Yi withdrew his thoughts, put the copy of the family rules aside, and said without raising his head:
"I am wondering if the chef will still make beef tonight; that basin at noon was eaten by a certain little pig."
Xiao Die's face froze in a daze, followed by her shyly lowering her head and fidgeting as she muttered, "Son-in-law, I am not a little pig..."
She at most just had a larger appetite.
However, this could not be blamed on her; if anyone was to blame, it was... the son-in-law.
That's right, it was all the son-in-law's fault!
Who told him to always think about running away, causing her to search from Chunhe Garden to the adjacent Jiaxing Garden for the Eldest Miss.
She had run back and forth several times.
Her physical strength had been completely exhausted, so naturally she ate a bit more.
Chen Yi finished copying one portion, then picked up a sheet of Yunsong Paper, teasingly saying, "Little Pig Xiao Die, you had better not be."
"Oh, Son-in-law, stop messing with my name randomly; it sounds so ugly..."
After getting along these days, Chen Yi had long figured out Xiao Die's foodie attributes.
Had it not been for the temptation of food, he guessed he would still be like when they first started, being complained about by Xiao Die all day long.
Saying that his escape from marriage had brought misery to the Second Miss and the Xiao Family, and also caused the Old Master to fall gravely ill, saying that the Three Prefectures of the Great Wei Nine Provinces were all buzzing about it, and even saying that even little children had changed to a new nursery rhyme.
-Something like the Jinghong Woman, the runaway groom, gold and jade matches turned out to be a dream, and the Xiao Manor would henceforth be a laughingstock.
He wondered who was so talented.
After exchanging a few idle words.
Seeing that Xiao Die had gone quiet, Chen Yi raised his head to look, and could not help but be amused.
He saw her sitting on a small wooden stool with her legs pressed together, her hands propping up her chin with her elbows resting on her knees, already having entered a state of sleep.
Her eyes were half-closed, saliva was drooling from the corner of her mouth, and her head bobbed down twice from time to time, which still looked rather cute.
Xiao Die this lass has a pretty good personality, carefree and without bad intentions. If she were my wife, life in the future would definitely be very interesting.
Actually, Chen Yi was quite grateful to Xiao Die.
If it weren't for Xiao Die accompanying him and chatting these past days, he wouldn't have familiarized himself with this world so quickly.
He might have even thought that the people in the Marquis's mansion were all heartless.
In reality, most people were not bad.
This could be seen a thing or two from Xiao Die-if the family rules were rigorous or the masters of the household were harsh and vicious, they certainly would not let her have such a naive and pure disposition.
However, the people of the Xiao Manor were fine, but they were no longer at their peak, and instead were going downhill step by step.
Elder Master Xiao was advanced in age, and years of garrisoning the frontier and fighting battles left his body constantly plagued by injuries and illnesses, or else he wouldn't have collapsed from shock due to his elopement.
The Old Madam passed away last year.
Meanwhile, Lady Xiao Jinghong's father and several uncles had died or been crippled because of the wars, and the same was true for her mother and several aunts.
Just like the Yang Family Women Generals.
Nowadays, all the major and minor affairs of the household were managed by the Eldest Miss Xiao Wan'er, with several collateral branches assisting, such as the legitimate sons and grandsons of the Second Old Master's family and so on.
In addition, the direct lineage also had a Young Marquis named Xiao Wuge, who he heard had always been studying in the mansion's schoolroom, and must also be a scholar accomplished in both literature and learning.
As for Lady Xiao Jinghong, Xiao Die rarely brought her up, acting as if she were very afraid of her, and every time she would stammer and fail to speak coherently.
Chen Yi thought to himself that it wouldn't be the same as what his predecessor understood-minor gossip from Jiangnan Prefecture said that Xiao Jinghong was eight feet tall, sturdily built like an ox, with eyes like copper bells, and luxuriant body hair...
It shouldn't be; it must be meddlesome people spreading exaggerations.
After all, she dared to take the two characters "Jinghong" as her name; even if she wasn't as beautiful as "graceful like a startled swan, spirited like a swimming dragon", she should at least touch upon it somewhat, right?
Thinking about these things.
Chen Yi finished copying another copy of the family rules, rubbed his sore and swollen wrists, sipped a bit of Spring Tea, and leaned back in his chair to rest.
Before long, he also dozed off along with her.
Spring brings sleepiness, autumn fatigue, and summer drowsiness; nothing more than that.
In a hazy daze, Chen Yi heard someone calling him, the voice soft and waxy, carrying the delicate and weak charm of a Jiangnan Water Town.
He was amused and opened his eyes.
Then he saw a rugged woman resembling Zhang Fei standing by the bedside, speaking in a coarse voice:
"Husband, you are awake. The two of us should have our wedding night. You must have waited anxiously, right?"
Chen Yi's smile froze, and he blankly looked at her, murmuring, "Second Brother, you recognized the wrong person; I am your elder brother Liu Bei."
"What Liu Bei or Cao Cao, none of them compare to tonight's fine night. Off you go!"
Then Chen Yi was pinned down on the bed by her, shaking and shaking and shaking and shaking...
"Son-in-law, wake up. It's time for dinner."
Chen Yi abruptly jerked awake, and upon seeing Xiao Die, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as if lingering in fear.
Good heavens, fortunately it was a dream.
"Son-in-law, did you have a nightmare?" Xiao Die asked with concern.
Seeing him nod, Xiao Die found a little bell from somewhere.
Walking around him while circling, she rang it.
Amidst the tinkling sounds, Xiao Die chanted: "Evil spirits retreat, souls do not scatter, evil spirits retreat..."
Chen Yi found it interesting and asked, "Where did you learn that?"
This sort of business was not something a maidservant could casually rig up.
"Previously, I saw the Old Madam use this to drive away nightmares and evil spirits for Young Master Wu Ge."
Xiao Die stopped, a smile returning to her face. "Son-in-law, this is very spiritual. Ever since then, Young Master Wu Ge never had nightmares again."
"Let's hope so..."
Chen Yi recalled the nightmare just now, and goosebumps rose all over his body.
He could not help asking, "Xiao Die, answer me honestly, is the Lady... I mean the Second Miss, pretty?"
Before you continue