Jiaxing Garden?
Chen Yi gazed at the contents on the panel, thinking to himself that the hidden guard really knew how to pick a spot.
Of the ten residential courtyards in the entire Marquis's mansion's back quarters, only Jiaxing Garden had the slackest guards because Xiao Wan'er, Shen Huatang, and the others were not there.
Recalling what he had seen during his nocturnal visit to Jiaxing Garden earlier, Chen Yi knew that the rockery pond was right outside the wall of his Chunhe Garden, and made up his mind.
Even for the sake of fortune, he had to go and check out this so-called "hidden guard" to see who he really was.
Pondering this,
Chen Yi calmed his mind, quietly waited for the time it took to burn a stick of incense, and once he was certain Xiao Die and the others were fast asleep, he quietly got up again and left the wooden tower.
This time, because he had the Playful Dragon Teases Phoenix Body Movement Technique, his form was even lighter and swifter, and it took him almost only five breaths to reach the western courtyard wall of Chunhe Garden.
Carefully observing his surroundings and seeing that the armored soldiers outside the courtyard made no move, Chen Yi vaulted over the wall and entered Jiaxing Garden.
Yet he failed to notice that inside Xiao Jinghong's boudoir, a figure caught sight of his form with a look of puzzlement.
"Brother-in-law, what are you sneaking around over there for?"
Pei Guanli tilted her head and thought for a moment, a flash of slyness crossing her face, before she also quietly slipped out of the side room and pursued Chen Yi.
On the other side.
Hidden beneath a cluster of flowering trees, Chen Yi crouched in a corner of Jiaxing Garden, quietly waiting for that "hidden guard" to appear.
Who would have thought that no sooner had he finished hiding than he saw a figure vault over from the Chunhe Garden side.
Supposing it to be the "hidden guard", he looked closely, only to see that it was Pei Guanli.
Chen Yi could not help but be speechless.
Yet it was obviously inappropriate to speak up and warn her at this moment, as it was hard to tell whether that "hidden guard" had arrived at Jiaxing Garden.
Having no choice, he had to toss a stone to make a slight sound.
Fortunately, Pei Guanli was clever enough; she followed the sound and came over, and upon spotting him, opened her mouth to ask, "Sis-"
Before she could spit it out, Chen Yi clapped a hand over her mouth, pulled her into the cluster of flowering trees, leaned close to her ear, and lowered his voice, "Shut your mouth and watch."
The scorching breath made Pei Guanli's earlobe instantly feel itchy, and she hurriedly waved her hand to signal that she understood.
Chen Yi released his hand without speaking further, instead pointing toward the rockery pond and signaling her to watch and keep quiet.
Pei Guanli looked in the direction of his pointing finger; though she did not understand what she was supposed to see, she knew she must not make a sound at a time like this, so she obediently squatted down to one side.
Chen Yi paid her no mind, keeping his eyes fixed intently on the rockery pond while waiting for the "hidden guard" to arrive.
During the wait, amidst the tranquil flowering trees.
Pei Guanli inexplicably recalled the scorching sensation by her ear just then, and still felt her little heart pounding thump-thump-thump without stop.
She touched her somewhat burning cheeks and glanced at Chen Yi.
Seeing his expression calm and his focus fixed intently on the pond not far away, Pei Guanli had no choice but to press down on her chest, quietly take a deep breath and let it out, struggling to calm herself down.
You are so utterly useless, Pei Guanli; have you never seen a man before?
Besides, he is still Sister Jinghong's husband... Stop, don't think about it!
What Pei Guanli, lost in wild thoughts, failed to notice was that at that moment a sturdy figure had already quietly arrived at Jiaxing Garden.
Chen Yi spotted the newcomer at a glance, held his breath, kept his eyes locked firmly on him, and felt a trace of familiarity bubble up in his heart.
Who was it?
The armored soldiers he had interacted with in the Marquis's mansion were few; aside from Wang Lixing and the others, the rest were only the few guards who had followed them south to Shuzhou City that day.
Matching them one by one, a figure flashed across Chen Yi's mind-was it him?
Soon, as that figure stood within the pavilion beside the rockery pond, Chen Yi confirmed his guess.
Although the newcomer wore armor and a helmet, with a facial visor to boot, he could be certain that the man was none other than Liu Si'er, who had driven their carriage earlier!
"Fourth Brother? Heh, a Marquis's Mansion Guard carefully selected from the military is actually a mole hidden for years."
It was only then that Pei Guanli noticed an extra person by the rockery, frightening her into hastily covering her mouth to keep from gasping aloud.
She looked at Chen Yi, and seeing his solemn expression yet lack of action, hurriedly shrank her body back even further, terrified of being discovered by that man.
Not long after.
After sweeping his gaze around like a falcon, Liu Si'er nimbly drew a stack of papers from his bosom and stuffed them into the gap beneath the outer edge of the pavilion.
Having done this, he once again surveyed his surroundings before walking out through the main gate of Jiaxing Garden.
Seeing this, Pei Guanli was just about to move when Chen Yi preemptively raised a hand to press the back of her neck, leaned in closer, and whispered in a low voice:
"Don't move, wait a bit longer."
That breath made Pei Guanli suddenly feel somewhat dizzy, and she frantically pressed the bell on her neck and nodded her little head.
In a mere ten breaths, Liu Si'er went and returned, standing like a phantom in the dark shadows of the doorway to scan the surroundings.
Upon confirming that there were no discoveries, his gaze relaxed, and he shook his head slightly before walking out of Jiaxing Garden once more.
Yet Chen Yi still made no move, his hand continuing to press upon Pei Guanli.
It was not that he was overly suspicious or had some deep understanding of these "hidden guards" hiding in the Marquis's mansion.
Rather, right up until now, he had not received any notification of attaining fortune.
Sure enough.
After an interval close to the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Liu Si'er returned to Jiaxing Garden a second time, heading straight for the rockery pond, and even intentionally leaned out to touch the secret letter outside the pavilion before leaving with peace of mind.
[Witnessed the keen caution and ghostly movement technique of the Marquis's mansion's hidden guard, comprehending the mysteries of his body movement technique. Reward: Playful Dragon Teases Phoenix grade upgraded to Mystic Grade, Fortune +12.]
[Review: The person arrived, sounds were heard, and the scene was witnessed, but the sneakiness remains far too strong; he is a creature of inherent wretchedness.]
As the illusory characters flashed through his eyes one by one, Chen Yi's mind instantly flooded with additional content pertaining to the Playful Dragon Teases Phoenix Body Movement Technique.
Since he had previously practiced this set of body movement techniques, he merely needed a moment of retrospection to comprehend the differences within, and believed that it would not take long to bring his cultivation progress of the new Playful Dragon Teases Phoenix Body Movement Technique up to speed.
Thinking this, Chen Yi stood up.
After scanning his surroundings, he walked straight toward the pavilion.
Seeing this, Pei Guanli snapped back to her senses and hurriedly followed, "Brother-in-law, you are amazing."
"How did you know he would come back again? Did you already discover that person beforehand, which is why you know him so well?"
"Then what kind of person is he? Is he a mole hidden in the Marquis's mansion? Can I go tell Sister Jinghong?"
Chen Yi had a headache from her chatter and frowned, "Shut up."
Pei Guanli obediently closed her mouth, yet could not suppress her excitement.
In this brief moment alone, she had already concocted a shockingly moving, tragic, and beautiful romance script about silent devotion asking for nothing in return.
-Clearly her brother-in-law possessed immense skills, yet out of "love", he willingly chose to marry into the Xiao family as a matrilocal husband for Sister Jinghong's sake. It was simply too incredible!
Once Sister Jinghong found out, she would surely be moved, right?
Acting as though she had uncovered a grand secret, Pei Guanli closely followed behind Chen Yi, watching him retrieve items from beneath the pavilion, and could not help leaning forward to look together.
"Brother-in-law, what is this?"
As it turned out, on that secret letter there were merely four lines totaling twenty-eight characters, yet they featured designations such as Jia-1 and Bing-3.
Chen Yi shook his head; he did not know either.
Clearly this required a codebook to decipher the secret letter, and if one could not find that corresponding codebook, the contents upon it could not be unlocked in a short time.
Pondering for a moment, an idea struck him.
He immediately returned to his study, fetched brush and ink, added a few characters to the secret letter, and then placed it back beneath the pavilion.
Pei Guanli quietly followed him the entire time, and upon seeing the characters he had added, she held back for a long while before finally failing to contain herself, bursting into a chuckle.
"Brother-in-law, you-you are too bad, ha-ha..."
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