Perhaps it was Chen Yi's illusion, but on the way from Chunhe Garden to the Qingjing Residence in the middle courtyard where the Old Marquis resided, the looks the servants and maidservants of the Xiao Manor gave him were much kinder.
Even the uncles and aunts of the Second Branch whom he encountered greeted him warmly and politely, first calling him Young Marquis, then addressing him as second son-in-law.
Some he knew, and some he did not.
Fortunately, Xiao Wuge was there, so it did not lead to him making a fool of himself.
Wang Lixing and the others behind him saw it all, and when they walked to a quiet spot, they said familiarly, "The second son-in-law's popularity in the estate is much better now."
Ge Laosan was habitually uninhibited and chimed in, "Not to mention the various masters and mistresses, even I admire the son-in-law's talent. You must know that I had opinions about the son-in-law running away from the marriage..."
Before he could finish, the armored soldier beside him hurriedly covered his mouth.
Wang Lixing turned his head to glare at him, then apologized softly to Chen Yi, "Old San is just that kind of person, please forgive him."
Chen Yi waved his hand and said without any taboo, "No harm done, no harm done. Previously my mind was clouded, but if I had known earlier that the Xiao Manor would treat me this way, I would never have run away from the marriage."
Hearing this, Wang Lixing and the others looked at each other and raised their thumbs in unison.
Aside from his talent, the second son-in-law's temperament was also superb. If it were anyone else, being grounded for several months would probably have caused a huge uproar long ago.
Not long after.
Accompanied by Xiao Wuge and the others, Chen Yi crossed the middle courtyard's porch, and an elderly man with a hunched back and carrying some sundries walked toward them from the opposite direction.
Chen Yi and Xiao Wuge took the initiative to step aside, and they watched Wang Lixing and the others bow to him in a military salute: "Uncle Gui."
The old man seemed a bit hard of hearing, and he walked away limping as if he had heard nothing.
Chen Yi looked at him a few more times, suddenly remembered something, and asked Wang Lixing, "Uncle Gui?"
Wang Lixing's expression was slightly unusual, and he replied in a low voice, "Uncle Gui is an old veteran of the Dingyuan Army, and was once the personal guard in front of the Old Marquis's tent."
Chen Yi nodded understandingly and walked forward, "No wonder you show him such respect."
Wang Lixing and the others followed, "Come to think of it, Uncle Gui is also a pitiful man. In the last battle when the Old Marquis repelled the Barbarian King's army many years ago, Uncle Gui was heavily injured, though fortunately he was treated in time and had no major trouble."
"He thought that returning to Shuzhou would bring him a promotion and a rise in rank, but it happened to coincide with the personnel replacement of the Protectorate and the Provincial Administration. The military merits of many old veterans were biased, and Uncle Gui's contributions simply vanished."
"Later, the Old Marquis felt he had wronged him, so he let him stay in the Marquis's mansion and even allowed him to marry and have children."
Listening to Wang Lixing recount that past event, Chen Yi arrived outside the gates of the Qingjing Residence courtyard before long, his mind mostly lingering on Uncle Gui.
This "Uncle Gui" should be the elderly servant Pei Guanli had mentioned earlier. With such twists and turns happening to him, it was indeed possible that he might harbor resentment toward the Xiao Family and develop two-faced intentions.
Thinking this, just as Chen Yi was about to ask someone to announce him, Xiao Wuge beside him waved at the guards at the gate and pulled him directly into the courtyard.
"Grandfather, brother-in-law has come to see you."
Chen Yi followed, rounded the shadow wall, and swept his gaze across the area.
The courtyard was smaller than Qinghe Garden, but it had many flowers and plants. On both sides of the bluestone-paved path were two rows of grape trellises with vines climbing over them, and below them were various plants and trees, with a stream flowing through the middle.
In the distance, he saw three old men sitting in the pavilion on the south side of the courtyard, drinking tea and playing chess.
One of them had a rugged visage and a sturdy build, yet it was clearly visible that his body was somewhat frail.
The other two sat opposite each other on either side of the chessboard.
One was neatly dressed and exuded nobility, though at the moment his brows were slightly raised as he looked triumphantly at the opposite old man.
As for the last man, Chen Yi could not see his face clearly, only hearing him curse angrily: "Even as a Duke, you cannot take back your move like this! This is already the third time!"
"What do you mean by taking back a move? I, the old man, call this the fierce tiger dozing off."
"You doze your..."
Before the two could quarrel further, the sturdy old man at the side stopped them, then beckoned for Xiao Wuge to come over while casting his gaze toward Chen Yi.
Though his eyes were cloudy, Chen Yi could perceive his scrutiny.
Without needing to say more, Chen Yi offered a calm greeting: "Chen Yi greets the Old Master, Duke Zhang, and Mr. Sun."
Before the Old Marquis could say anything, Zhang Xuan, who was just thinking about how to take back his move, pushed the chessboard directly aside: "Oh? Your granddaughter's husband has come?"
Sun Fu immediately felt the world go dark before his eyes, his chest tight with anger as he almost stood up to strangle this old bastard.
Yet, knowing that juniors were present, coupled with his own cultivation and scholarship, he managed to endure it, turned back, and looked at Chen Yi to appraise him.
Old Marquis Xiao glared at them, then motioned for a servant to bring a chair for Chen Yi: "Sit down and talk."
Chen Yi bowed again before walking over and sitting down, his expression quite peaceful.
Although this was his first time seeing the Old Marquis, the Old Duke, and Old Sir Sun, Xiao Wuge had spoken of them often over these past few days.
Thus Chen Yi had a rough understanding of the three seniors' temperaments and only needed to sit properly.
After finishing his appraisal, Sun Fu's stiflement from the chess game dissipated, and he nodded, saying, "Not bad, not bad. One can tell your studying has reached your bones."
Zhang Xuan interjected, "A scholarly stench?"
"Old ruffian, you..."
Old Marquis Xiao said helplessly, "I say, the two of you old fellows quarreling and making a fuss in front of the juniors-aren't you afraid of becoming a laughingstock?"
"He dares?" Zhang Xuan looked at Chen Yi and asked with a smile that didn't reach his eyes: "Do you know who I am?"
Chen Yi secretly raised an eyebrow. This Old Duke seemed to have quite a few opinions about him?
"Lord Duke of Qianguo."
"Wrong, I am your father's bitter enemy!"
Oh?
Chen Yi's heart suddenly understood; so the root of the matter lay here. A smile appeared on his face: "My late father never mentioned it to his junior. Please forgive me, Lord Duke."
Zhang Xuan was taken aback. He raised a finger to point at him, so angry that his beard and mustache quivered: "You youngster truly have no fear..."
Old Marquis Xiao beside him hurriedly stopped him: "How old are you, and you still think you're a child?"
"But the words he just said... did Chen Xuanji not take me, this old man, seriously?"
"You're thinking too much."
Old Marquis Xiao signaled Sun Fu to drag the man away. Zhang Xuan walked toward the wing room with a dark face, not saying a word.
After the people had left.
Seeing that Chen Yi remained calm, Old Marquis Xiao shook his head and laughed, "You rascal, were you doing that on purpose?"
Chen Yi grinned, "I can't hide it from the Old Master."
Although he found Duke Zhang's attitude strange, this did not prevent him from "counterattacking."
Of course, he knew his limits and would not make it too obvious.
Old Marquis Xiao chuckled, "Not bad, you're one who refuses to suffer a loss."
"Still, if Chen Xuanji were here right now, he'd probably slap the two of you across the face."
"This grandson-in-law would like to hear the details."
"It's all old history. Six years ago, it happened that the barbarians pushed east and pillaged around Jiaozhou..."
The Old Marquis made no concealment and recounted the feud between Duke Zhang of Qianguo and Chen Xuanji.
Put simply, Chen Xuanji, who was then serving in the Jiangnan Prefecture Provincial Administration, failed to promptly allocate food supplies to support Jiaozhou, which displeased Zhang Xuan.
Because of this, the two of them forged a grudge.
However, as far as Chen Yi knew, Chen Xuanji had been dispatched by His Majesty to the Western Buddhist Kingdom right after that period, and by now he probably truly did not remember his conflict with Zhang Xuan.
After finishing, Old Marquis Xiao smiled and said, "That old fellow only cares about the matter at hand, not the person. If you have time to write him a poem, I guarantee it will coax him into smiling from ear to ear."
Chen Yi hesitated slightly. Poetry was not all that easy to come by.
Just this single ci poem had wrung out all his mental energy, and he had to rack his brains for a long time before copying the whole thing down.
"This grandson-in-law has made a note of it."
After a brief chat, Old Marquis Xiao did not keep him long. Learning that he wanted to leave the estate to go out and stroll around, he directly agreed.
"What happened in the past is in the past. Jinghong has already forgiven you, so naturally I won't hold onto it."
"However, since you are now in the Xiao Family, you should still settle down. Don't go to places like South of the City."
Chen Yi wore an embarrassed expression and nodded in agreement.
If not for the fact that he had wanted to go out and see some entertainment earlier, he would not have deliberately gone to any Yanhuaxiang.
Not long after, Chen Yi took Xiao Wuge with him and left the Qingjing Residence directly.
Old Marquis Xiao pondered for a moment, then had Zhang Xuan and Sun Fu invited over.
Duke Zhang of Qianguo hurried over, asking impatiently, "How is it? Did your granddaughter's husband agree?"
Sun Fu laughed reproachfully, "You are a Duke yourself, yet you scheme against a junior like this. Don't your cheeks burn?"
Without a trace of shame and taking pride in it, Zhang Xuan said, "If I can get a poem just like Old Xiao's, I'll risk everything."
Old Marquis Xiao glared at him: "As soon as you stick your rear out, old man, I know you're up to no good."
"Go ahead and be happy, Chen Yi agreed. But how you smooth things over afterward is up to you. When the boy came to pay his respects, you were the one who brought up Chen Xuanji."
"Rest assured, rest assured, the old man knows what to do..."
After leaving the Qingjing Residence, Chen Yi went straight back to Chunhe Garden with Xiao Wuge and the others, hearing idle gossip along the way from time to time:
"The second son-in-law's Birthday Ode has spread all over Shuzhou City. I heard many scholars feel it's a pity that someone with such talent married into our Xiao Manor."
"What's a pity? The estate doesn't treat the son-in-law poorly."
"That may be, but you can't shut the public's mouths. Who knows if the Second Miss is still angry at the son-in-law for fleeing the marriage."
"She shouldn't be..."
There are no secrets in a great household. As long as certain matters are not deliberately blocked, they naturally become known to everyone very quickly.
Fortunately, these remarks were considered positive, and Chen Yi did not pay them much attention.
Yet when he arrived outside Chunhe Garden, he saw the hunched-back Uncle Gui walking out from Jiaoxing Garden.
Hm?
Chen Yi stopped in his tracks and said with a natural expression, "Brother Xing, please prepare the carriage. Later, the Young Marquis and I are heading out of the estate."
If he remembered correctly, the backyard sundries were always cleared away at the break of dawn.
When abnormal things happen, there must be demons-it seemed the secret letter sent out by the "Hidden Guard" earlier had received a reply.
Before you continue