The Most Shameless... Husband in History

Speaking of the bizarre disappearance of that birthday ode, the owner of the mounting shop was full of grievances and did not know whom to tell.

Originally he planned to find a famous calligraphy master to copy one, but after searching for four or five well-known down-and-out calligraphy masters in Shuzhou City, none of them could write even one-tenth of that person's charm.

Later on, the mounting shop owner still would not give up, spending a great deal of money to ask the calligraphy master of Guiyun Academy, Mr. Yue Ming, to take action, and only then did he get five-tenths of the appearance of the original characters.

Yet he truly did not dare to say these words, fearing that Mr. Yue Ming would think he was disparaging him, so he had no choice but to dawdle with this piece of calligraphy for several more days before handing it to Xiao Die.

What the mounting shop owner did not know was that the moment the calligraphy reached Chen Yi's hands, he saw that his birthday ode had been swapped.

Furthermore, someone had given him a very clumsy imitation to finish the task, as if fearing he would not be able to tell.

How could anyone have the nerve to put my, the son-in-law's, signature on this kind of calligraphy?

"What? This isn't the son-in-law's handwriting?"

Chen Yi explained a few sentences, and Xiao Die understood, immediately bristling her eyebrows.

Without waiting for Chen Yi to say more, she took that piece of calligraphy and hurried out the door.

"Son-in-law, I'll go find him!"

Chen Yi looked at her back and chuckled in spite of himself.

Who would have thought that after Xiao Die came back, she would say with a dejected expression, "Son-in-law, that piece of calligraphy can't be found."

"Oh?"

"The mounting shop owner said that piece of calligraphy was lost that very night, and the mounted one he gave me was written by Mr. Yue Ming from Guiyun Academy."

Chen Yi uttered an "oh" and did not take this matter to heart.

Perhaps some calligraphy enthusiast took a fancy to his piece of calligraphy and, being muddle-headed for a moment, stole it.

"Where is the calligraphy?"

"It's still at the mounting shop," Xiao Die said with righteous indignation. "That owner is utterly detestable. Not only did he say nothing after losing it, but he also had someone copy it. Too bad."

Chen Yi glanced at her and asked hesitantly, "You didn't say anything else, did you?"

Xiao Die thought about it. "I said a lot. I don't know which sentence the son-in-law is asking about."

"Just things like that imitated calligraphy won't do, that it's very clumsy, and so on."

"Things like that... well, it seems I only said those kinds of things."

"..."

Chen Yi sighed and let her grind ink beside him.

Xiao Die sensed his abnormality and, while grinding the ink, asked, "Son-in-law, did Xiao Die say the wrong thing?"

"Not really, it's just that..."

That Mr. Yue Ming happened to be the mentor of top imperial scholar Li Huaigu.

If words like these reached his ears, he would probably incur people's aversion for no reason.

Thinking about it, Chen Yi did not say any more to spare Xiao Die from overthinking, picked up the wolf-hair brush, and spread out a new sheet of Yunsong Paper.

Composing his mind, he envisioned the rough layout and composition in his mind, then dipped it in ink, dropped his brush, turned his wrist, and rewrote the "Yongyu Le: Ode to Marquis Xiao".

This time he no longer used Wei Qing script, instead using running script brushwork that had already been upgraded to the proficient level.

As he wrote every stroke and dot more casually, as if fitting his state of mind, wisps of qi within his body quietly emerged, stirring the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Essence and gathering at the tip of that wolf-hair brush.

Every character he set down blossomed on its own as if formed by nature, and a faint layer of pearly white luster glimmered on the characters.

Xiao Die poked her head out to watch from the side, and seeing those pearly whites, she almost thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

When she rubbed her eyes and looked over again, the pearly white luster was indeed gone from the characters already written, but another layer had emerged on the newly written characters.

Xiao Die opened her mouth slightly, looking at Chen Yi's serious expression, and then looking at the characters written by his brush.

After going back and forth a few times, she quickly covered her mouth and dared not speak, fearing she would disturb the Artistic Conception of the son-in-law's writing.

Although she could not understand it, nor did she comprehend the meaning of these signs, she knew that the son-in-law at this moment seemed to be radiating light, making her not dare to move rashly.

After a moment.

Chen Yi finished writing, inscribed the title, added his signature, and stamped it with a seal before putting down the wolf-hair brush and letting out a long breath.

Only, his expression was still visibly exhausted by a naked eye, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose as he leaned against the chair.

"Bring some food."

Xiao Die came back to her senses, hurriedly went to fetch some pastries and water, and then stood behind Chen Yi, her palms gently pressing his temples.

"Son-in-law, the way you looked just now was so... so amazing."

Chen Yi sat up a bit straighter, closing his eyes to enjoy her finger pressure, his body and mind relaxing a great deal.

"Tell me, how was it amazing?"

"Well, it's just those characters, they were all glowing on top. Very pretty."

"Is that so?"

Chen Yi understood; Xiao Die must have been speaking of the Artistic Conception left on the characters after his qi stirred the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Essence.

Ever since he practiced the Martial Path, he had known about this point, and as his Cultivation Base increased, he used it more and more skillfully, almost with his intent following his heart.

Once he made another breakthrough in the Way of Calligraphy, his calligraphy would be able to advance further, and the Artistic Conception on the calligraphic works he wrote would carry even more charm.

Only, at that time, his Ninth Rank Realm Cultivation Base would obviously not be enough.

Resting for a moment.

Chen Yi then had Xiao Die take the calligraphy and paintings to the mounting shop. "Remember to take a few armored soldiers to stand guard, so they don't get stolen by someone again this time."

"Understood, son-in-law! This time Xiao Die will certainly not let it get lost!"

It better be that way, otherwise by the time this birthday ode was mounted, the Old Marquis's birthday would have already passed.

The next day.

A faint eastern light emerged, shining on the rosy clouds to produce a trace of purple qi.

On the official road outside Shuzhou City, a Cloud-and-Dragon Carriage stopped by the roadside, and Shen Huatang stood beside the carriage frame expressionless in a plain white dress, holding a long sword in her arms.

Though her appearance was not pretty, being merely delicate, that cold demeanor of hers still prompted passing carriages to cast a few more looks.

Shen Huatang remained completely unaware, her eyes looking straight down the end of the official road.

After about an hour, she saw a carriage flying the Xiao Family Red Banner driving over from afar, and then she knocked on the carriage compartment and said:

"Eldest Miss, Second Miss's carriage has arrived."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Xiao Wan'er lifted the curtain, stepped down from the carriage with Shen Huatang's support, and gathered her cloak, letting the fluff between the collars wrap around her neck.

She looked at the distant carriage, raised her hand from afar slightly higher than her shoulder, and waved.

"Second Sister, over here."

Though her voice was soft, the person on the distant carriage had already heard it, and then a cold voice came over:

"Sorry for the wait, Eldest Sister."

As the voice faded, the carriage came roaring over and stopped in front of Xiao Wan'er.

Immediately following that, Xiao Jinghong, dressed in light martial artist attire, jumped down from the carriage, her high ponytail fluttering in the wind, and her face still wearing that silver half-armor, revealing only her crystal-clear jade-white lips and jaw.

Xiao Wan'er stepped forward to pull her, a hint of tender and delicate smile appearing on her pale face. "It's no trouble, I only arrived an hour early myself."

Xiao Jinghong curved her lips into a smile and nodded, saying, "Eldest Sister, it's cold outside, let's talk in the carriage."

With that, she pulled Xiao Wan'er to sit in the carriage together.

When they were seated steadily, Shen Huatang jumped onto the carriage frame, swung her long whip, and lashed it against the horse's rump. "Hitch!"

Clack, clack...

The horse's hooves trod on the official road, bypassing the long queue of people entering the city and passing right through the empty city gate beside it.

"Second Sister, there has been much hardship in inspecting the Three Towns this time. Later on, don't rush to go out, and rest at home for more days."

"Alright."

Xiao Jinghong nodded, and just as she was about to speak, her earlobes twitched slightly, and a string of sounds from around Shuzhou City entered her ears.

Chen Yi of the Xiao Manor, Chen Qingzhou, forcibly seized a woman in broad daylight and even patronized brothels?

The most shameless matrilocal son-in-law in history?

Xiao Jinghong slightly pursed her lips, her gaze turning a bit sharper.

I see he is the most shameless... husband in history!