Chapter Summaries

Chen Yi finished copying the Xiao family rules while using his daily intelligence to gain fortune and improve his calligraphy. After recalling his past and writing a poem, he frightened Xiao Die, who mistook it for a sign that he planned to flee again.

• Xiao Die counted Chen Yi's copied family rules and declared that he had completed them a hundred times in fifteen days.
• Chen Yi used his daily intelligence about Xiao Wan'er auditing the accounts to gain fortune and invest it in his calligraphy.
• Chen Yi remembered how he had been forced into marriage with Xiao Jinghong after years of mistreatment in the Chen household, and learned that his predecessor had died after being manipulated into an elopement.
• Chen Yi wrote a poem titled "Shuzhou Chant: Entering the Xiao Gate" while Xiao Die went to fetch their meal.
• Xiao Die saw the poem, panicked, and ran off shouting that Chen Yi wanted to flee again.

While confined in the Xiao Manor, Chen Yi joked with Xiao Die, reflected on the declining Xiao family, and fell asleep. He woke from a nightmare about his future wedding night and asked Xiao Die whether the Second Miss was pretty.

• Xiao Die searched the room for Chen Yi’s rebellious poem and recited it from memory, while he denied writing it and teased her about eating too much.
• Chen Yi decided that staying in the Marquis’s mansion was comfortable for now and thought about the Xiao family’s losses and the household members he had heard about.
• Xiao Die fell asleep while keeping watch, and Chen Yi also dozed off after copying the family rules.
• Chen Yi dreamed that a rugged woman called him her husband and pinned him down for their wedding night, then woke when Xiao Die called him to dinner.
• Xiao Die rang a bell to ward off Chen Yi’s nightmare, and he asked whether the Second Miss was pretty.

Chen Yi remained confined in Chunhe Garden while copying the Xiao family rules, and his Daily Intelligence revealed an elopement he could not investigate. Xiao Wan'er allowed him to move around the garden after he finished a thousand rules, admired his calligraphy, and wrote to Xiao Jinghong that he regretted fleeing the wedding.

• Chen Yi learned that he had copied eight hundred family rules and received Daily Intelligence about Fang Lichun and Wang Boyuan's planned elopement in Wushan.
• Chen Yi reflected on the Xiao family's military losses and continued reading while waiting for Xiao Die to return with lunch.
• Xiao Wan'er told Xiao Die that Chen Yi could move around Chunhe Garden after copying one thousand family rules and assured her she would inform Xiao Jinghong.
• Xiao Wan'er examined Chen Yi's writing, recognized its exceptional calligraphy, and considered how Xiao Jinghong might respond to his abilities and remorse.
• Xiao Wan'er wrote Xiao Jinghong a letter reporting that the household was well and that Chen Yi regretted fleeing the wedding.

After fifty days confined in Chunhe Garden, Chen Yi learned that he could leave the Wooden Tower and roam the garden, though his confinement would continue until Xiao Jinghong replied to Eldest Miss Xiao’s letter. He was also told to begin martial arts training, while Xiao Die became his dedicated maid.

• Chen Yi finished memorizing the Family Rules and asked the guards whether they would stop watching him once he left his quarters; Wang Lixing said they would guard outside the garden.
• Wang Lixing told Chen Yi that Second Miss Xiao Jinghong was a Fourth Rank cultivator who could travel through the air for dozens of li.
• Xiao Die arrived with word that the guards could move outside the garden, and Chen Yi rushed out to enjoy the pond and fresh air.
• Xiao Die explained that Chen Yi’s confinement would remain until Xiao Jinghong replied to Eldest Miss Xiao’s letter, and that the Xiao Family required him to practice martial arts under a master.
• Xiao Die told Chen Yi that Eldest Miss Xiao had assigned her to follow him as his dedicated maid, and Chen Yi teased her before she offered to fetch him food.

Chen Yi began learning martial cultivation under Xiao Xuanshuo’s arrangements and discovered that he had successfully practiced the Great Spear Stance. The chapter left him at the first step of the Martial Dao, with his body still uninitiated.

• Chen Yi reassured Xiao Die that he was not angry with her and made a crude fishing rod to catch the pond’s goldfish.
• Xiao Xuanshuo arrived with Wang Lixing and warned Chen Yi that he would only be taught basic cultivation unless he earned more for the Xiao Family.
• Wang Lixing demonstrated the Great Spear stance and explained how stance training and breathing would temper the body.
• Chen Yi struggled to hold the stance as Wang Lixing corrected his posture and guided his breathing.
• Chen Yi’s practice triggered a system notification that he had reached initial glimpse in Great Spear Stance Training, while his Martial Dao body remained uninitiated.

Chen Yi began Great Spear Stance Cultivation under Wang Lixing’s guidance and used a Fortune point to advance his Martial Dao understanding. After discovering that Xiao Wuge and Zhang Heng would fight at Jiaxing Garden that night, he decided to try to witness the encounter and gain Fortune.

• Xiao Xuanshuo watched Chen Yi practice, judged him unimpressive, and instructed Wang Lixing to wake him before dawn each day for stance training.
• After two hours of training, Chen Yi was exhausted, and Wang Lixing advised him to eat more meat and continue practicing daily.
• Xiao Die brought Chen Yi pastries, and he asked her to fetch more food and meat while he recovered.
• Chen Yi noticed new strength from training, saw his updated cultivation panel, and spent one Fortune point on Martial Dao · Body.
• Chen Yi read an intelligence notice predicting that Xiao Wuge and Zhang Heng would fight at Jiaxing Garden before midnight, then resolved to try to watch them.

Chen Yi sneaked into Jiaxing Garden to witness the expected fight between Young Marquis Xiao Wuge and Heir Apparent Zhang Heng, only to find two small children wrestling. After the system rewarded him for witnessing the start of their grudge, someone caught him from behind and ordered him not to move.

• Wang Lixing and the guards discussed Chen Yi’s martial training and his troubled marriage to Second Miss.
• Chen Yi climbed into Jiaxing Garden to wait for the fight promised by his Daily Intelligence.
• Chen Yi discovered Xiao Wuge and Zhang Heng wrestling like children over insults about Chen Yi running away from his wedding.
• Xiao Wan'er arrived, heard Zhang Heng accuse Xiao Wuge of starting the fight, and sent Zhang Heng back to his room.
• The system awarded Chen Yi the Profound Tier Fist Technique—Collapse Mountain and Fortune +12, then a voice behind him ordered him not to move.

After being caught sneaking into Jiaxing Garden, Chen Yi met Xiao Wan'er and returned to Chunhe Garden, where he reflected on the Marquis's household and wrote a poem about her. His calligraphy advanced as his writing stirred a trace of profundity.

• Hua Tang caught Chen Yi in Jiaxing Garden, but Xiao Wan'er recognized him as Xiao Jinghong's husband and invited him to drink tea.
• Chen Yi explained that Xiao Wuge had fought the heir apparent, and Xiao Wan'er urged Wuge to learn from his brother-in-law.
• Shen Huatang escorted Chen Yi back to Chunhe Garden and warned him to behave properly in the Marquis's mansion.
• Chen Yi told Xiao Die to stop addressing him formally, then stayed awake thinking about the people he had met and his cultivation.
• Chen Yi wrote a poem about Xiao Wan'er, and his calligraphy reached the Proficient Level as he glimpsed the intent of the Way of Calligraphy.

Chen Yi discovered that his calligraphy realm could deepen through personal comprehension and wrote the lyric “Graceful Spirit Ode,” which Xiao Die mistakenly took as proof of his feelings for Xiao Wan'er. He concealed his improving martial arts from Wang Lixing, then advanced his Martial Dao Body to the Minor Accomplishment Realm and planned to practice Collapsing Mountain Fist after tempering his body.

• Chen Yi realized that his calligraphy could draw on the qi produced by martial training, finished “Graceful Spirit Ode,” and inscribed it with his name.
• Xiao Die read the lyric, suspected Chen Yi had written it about Xiao Wan'er, and hid it at the bottom of the papers so no one else would see it.
• Chen Yi deliberately disrupted his stake training and told Wang Lixing that he felt weak and fatigued, concealing how easily he entered the training state.
• After Wang Lixing left, Chen Yi used the panel to raise Martial Dao Body to the Minor Accomplishment Realm and decided to save his remaining fortune for later.

Chen Yi secretly advanced his martial training while pretending to avoid it, then learned that a hidden guard was passing a secret letter inside the Xiao residence. After receiving letters from the Chen family and Xiao Jinghong, he had his confinement lifted and remained wary of whoever had tried to ruin his wedding.

• Wang Lixing reported Chen Yi's lack of interest in martial training to Xiao Xuanshuo, who told him to stop pressuring the son-in-law.
• Chen Yi secretly practiced Great Spear Stance Cultivation for an hour each day and reached the Ninth Rank Lower Realm and Proficient Level.
• Chen Yi's daily intelligence revealed a hidden guard passing a secret letter in the Xiao residence, leading him to suspect people plotting against the Xiao family.
• Xiao Die delivered letters from Cui Yu and Xiao Jinghong; Chen Yi read Cui Yu's condescending message about his elder brother's success and his father's orders.
• Chen Yi read Xiao Jinghong's letter lifting his punishment for escaping the wedding and telling him that her return date was uncertain.

Xiao Jinghong inspected the Black Armored Army and arranged practical training against pirates and horse bandits before preparing to return home for her grandfather’s birthday. Pei Guanli invited her to the Thirteen Tribes’ Torch Festival and mutual-market talks, then announced she would go to the Xiao Family anyway, while Xiao Jinghong learned that Chen Yi had begun martial training and planned to stop at the Protectorate and Supervision Court on the way back.

• Xiao Jinghong judged the Black Armored Army’s formation and aura acceptable but found its cultivation too weak to match Barbarian Warriors, so she ordered its soldiers to gain practical experience against pirates and horse bandits.
• Xiao Jinghong met Pei Guanli in her tent and learned that the tribal elders invited her to the Torch Festival to discuss a mutual market involving all Thirteen Tribes.
• Xiao Jinghong declined to attend the festival because she needed to return for her grandfather’s sixtieth birthday, and she refused Pei Guanli’s request to come along.
• Pei Guanli left the tent declaring she would go anyway and teach the runaway groom a lesson, but Xiao Jinghong let her go, trusting her not to harm Chen Yi.
• Xiao Jinghong learned from a letter that Chen Yi had started martial training but was lazy and untalented, and she said she preferred him to remain an idle son-in-law rather than pursue ambitions.
• Xiao Jinghong ordered preparations for the return journey the next day, with stops at the Protectorate and the Supervision Court to check on a reply from the Capital Prefecture.

Chen Yi considered places to visit in Shuzhou while fishing unsuccessfully and avoiding trouble for the Xiao Family. Xiao Wan'er then asked him to look after Xiao Wuge while she was away.

• Xiao Die described places around Shuzhou, and Chen Yi learned that the south of the city had forbidden flower alleys.
• Chen Yi continued trying to catch the distinctive golden-whiskered carp, which had eluded him for two days.
• Xiao Die admitted she had told Xiao Wan'er only that Chen Yi had been fishing, while withholding a poem that might reveal his changed behavior.
• Xiao Wan'er arrived with Xiao Wuge and Shen Huatang, and Chen Yi greeted them in the pavilion.
• Xiao Wan'er told Chen Yi she had to leave home for a while and asked him to look after Xiao Wuge.

Xiao Wan'er left Xiao Wuge in Chen Yi's care so he could learn Chen Yi's easygoing way of handling affairs before being sent to Jinling as a hostage. After fishing, eating, practicing calligraphy, and training his body, Chen Yi learned the Collapse Mountain fist technique and prepared to grow stronger.

• Xiao Wan'er arranged for Xiao Wuge to stay with Chen Yi, explaining to Shen Huatang that she hoped he would learn Chen Yi's disposition before going to Jinling as a hostage.
• Xiao Yuan asked Elder Zhang why the imperial examination and His Majesty's favor toward the Chen Family might bring calamity upon the Xiao Family, and Elder Zhang told him Chen Yi had been appointed Top Scholar.
• Xiao Wuge caught five carp while fishing with Chen Yi, then told him Xiao Wan'er wanted him to learn from Chen Yi.
• Chen Yi explained to Xiao Wuge that people should calmly accept what has happened and mend their mistakes, then practiced running-script calligraphy.
• Chen Yi trained in the Great Spear Stance, ate prepared meat, practiced his fist technique, and reached the initial glimpse level of Collapse Mountain.

Chen Yi learned the Collapsing Mountain Fist and received intelligence about a scholar trapped at a brothel south of the city. The next morning, Xiao Die and Xiao Wuge accompanied him there, unaware of his real reason for going.

• Chen Yi upgraded Martial Dao · Fist to Initial Glimpse and practiced the Collapsing Mountain Fist in the bamboo grove until he could perform it with some proficiency.
• Chen Yi's daily intelligence revealed that Xiucai Liu Man was cornered by his lawful wife inside the Lihong Courtesan House in Yanhuaxiang, south of Shuzhou City.
• Wang Lixing woke Chen Yi for stake training, and Chen Yi claimed the Young Marquis's teeth grinding had kept him awake before Xiao Wuge appeared and denied hearing of it.
• Chen Yi announced that he was going out for a stroll, but Xiao Die, Xiao Wuge, and armored guards followed him because of Eldest Miss's instructions.
• Chen Yi led the group toward the south of the city, and Xiao Die grew worried that he was taking the Young Marquis somewhere improper.

Chen Yi took Xiao Wuge and Xiao Die to the south of Shuzhou City, where he watched a brawl outside the Lihong Courtesan House. Observing Scholar Liu dodge his angry wife’s attacks granted Chen Yi the Yellow Tier Body Movement Technique Playful Dragon Teases Phoenix, and he left with little confidence in its usefulness against Xiao Jinghong.

• Chen Yi rode south with Xiao Wuge and Xiao Die, then asked at a tavern for the location of the Lihong Courtesan House.
• Liu Si'er learned from the tavern keeper where Chen Yi had gone and wondered whether to report his visit.
• Chen Yi led the group around Yanhuaxiang, where Xiao Wuge wondered aloud why the area smelled awful.
• A furious matron and her attendants stormed the Lihong Courtesan House, dragged out Scholar Liu and a Poshir woman, and began beating and scolding them.
• Chen Yi watched Scholar Liu dodge the matron’s attacks and received Playful Dragon Teases Phoenix, then decided to leave.

After Chen Yi visited the south city, Xiao Xuanshuo grounded him again and ordered him to reach the Ninth Rank · Lower Tier or be sent to the Black Armored Army. Chen Yi stayed in the Marquis's mansion, advanced his martial arts, and began planning a birthday gift for the Old Marquis as the family prepared to return for the celebration.

• Wang Lixing reported Chen Yi's visit to the Lihong Courtesan House, and Xiao Xuanshuo ordered Chen Yi confined to the Marquis's mansion and set a martial Dao test.
• Chen Yi accepted the grounding calmly, reassured Xiao Die, and went fishing with Xiao Wuge.
• Over the next ten days, Chen Yi used Daily Intelligence opportunities in the Marquis's mansion to improve his martial arts and advance to the Ninth Rank · Middle.
• As the Old Marquis's birthday banquet approached, Chen Yi asked Xiao Die and Xiao Wuge about the Old Master's interests and decided to prepare a piece of calligraphy.

As Old Marquis Xiao's birthday preparations began, Chen Yi learned more about the Xiao family's history and trained to strengthen his cultivation. In the bamboo grove, an unseen woman recognized him and called herself a female hero.

• Xiao Wuge told Chen Yi about Old Marquis Xiao's military victories and asked him to accompany him to Jinling as his teacher, but Chen Yi refused.
• Chen Yi learned that Xiao Qiuyun had returned to the Xiao Manor with Zhang Heng and the Old Duke for Old Marquis Xiao's birthday.
• Chen Yi reviewed his cultivation progress, trained in Collapse Mountain Fist and movement techniques, and continued developing his dantian qi sea.
• A mysterious woman called out to Chen Yi in the bamboo grove, recognized him as Xiao Jinghong's husband, and gleefully agreed that she was a female hero.

Chen Yi subdued Pei Guanli after she tried to surprise him, then learned she was Xiao Jinghong’s tribal acquaintance who had only meant to tease him. To keep his martial arts secret, he demanded her silence, but Pei Guanli instead asked him to teach her how he had become so skilled in just over ten days.

• Chen Yi evaded Pei Guanli’s attack and restrained her when she clung to him and admitted she had been playing around.
• Pei Guanli explained that she knew Xiao Jinghong through her grandmother and had wanted to annoy her after being barred from the birthday banquet.
• Chen Yi released Pei Guanli, then took her into another chamber when he realized she might reveal his hidden martial arts.
• Chen Yi offered to let the incident go if Pei Guanli kept quiet, and threatened to turn her over to the guards if she refused.
• Pei Guanli learned Chen Yi had practiced martial arts for only a little over ten days and asked him to teach her.

Chen Yi hid Pei Guanli from the guards after she broke into Chunhe Garden and asked him to teach her the Martial Path. After reflecting on his combat abilities, he received a new Daily Intelligence clue about a Secret Letter in Jiaxing Garden.

• Pei Guanli asked Chen Yi to teach her the Martial Path and promised to keep his strength secret, and Chen Yi agreed to put her off until later.
• Pei Guanli revealed that she had drugged guards throughout the Marquis's mansion, then rushed back into Chunhe Garden to hide when guards began searching for her.
• Chen Yi sent Xiao Die to watch over the Young Marquis and convinced Wang Lixing's guards that the traces by the bamboo grove came from his Stake Training.
• After the guards left, Chen Yi told Pei Guanli to stay hidden and returned to rest, reflecting that his Martial Path helped him read opponents' moves and spot their flaws.
• The Daily Intelligence revealed that a Hidden Guard had concealed a Secret Letter beside the pond's rockery in Jiaxing Garden.

Chen Yi watched Liu Si’er deliver a coded secret letter in Jiaxing Garden and gained an upgrade to his movement technique by observing the hidden guard. He left the letter in place after adding characters to it, while Pei Guanli followed him and misunderstood his motives.

• Chen Yi sneaked into Jiaxing Garden to observe the hidden guard, and Pei Guanli secretly followed him.
• Chen Yi hid among the flowering trees with Pei Guanli and stopped her from making noise while they waited.
• Chen Yi recognized the hidden guard as Liu Si’er, who left a coded letter beneath the pavilion and returned twice to check it.
• Chen Yi received a Mystic Grade upgrade to Playful Dragon Teases Phoenix and gained twelve fortune after watching Liu Si’er’s caution and movement.
• Chen Yi retrieved the letter, found its coded lines indecipherable, then added characters and put it back beneath the pavilion, making Pei Guanli laugh.