Did Brother-in-law See It?

Seeing that the visitor was Liu Si'er, Chen Yi frowned inwardly but kept his face impassive as he said:

"Fourth Brother, what urgent matter brings you to Chunhe Garden in the dead of night?"

Standing in the shadows beneath the corridor, Liu Si'er stepped forward at his words, exposing himself to the moonlight. He looked Chen Yi straight in the eye and bowed.

"This subordinate was presumptuous. Just now, I heard footsteps in the garden and feared for the safety of the Young Marquis and the Son-in-law, so I rashly entered. I hope the Son-in-law will forgive me."

Chen Yi looked at him calmly, wondering when he had entered Chunhe Garden and whether he had seen Pei Guanli.

"Earlier, I was training under cover of night. I never expected to cause Fourth Brother such a misunderstanding."

Liu Si'er gave an "oh," maintaining his bow as he raised his head to examine Chen Yi. Then he suddenly realized.

"Is the Son-in-law worried about the upcoming assessment? That makes sense. Second Master demanding that you enter the lower tier of the Ninth Rank Realm within two months is indeed far too harsh."

Before Chen Yi could reply, Wang Lixing entered Chunhe Garden. He had clearly overheard their conversation. Looking between the two, he frowned.

"Fourth Brother, this is against the rules."

Liu Si'er repeatedly agreed, saying with a smile, "Please forgive me, Son-in-law. Forgive me too, Lixing. I truly was a little too hasty."

Wang Lixing patted his shoulder, then bowed to Chen Yi. "Son-in-law, I failed to stop Fourth Brother. I hope you will forgive us."

Chen Yi understood then. Liu Si'er must have only just entered Chunhe Garden and, upon seeing his silhouette, had wanted to probe him.

At the thought, Chen Yi broke into a smile. "No matter. Fourth Brother is concerned for the safety of Chunhe Garden and ought to be rewarded. Another day, I'll speak to Wu Ge and have him ask the Old Marquis for instructions."

Wang Lixing's expression froze. "This..."

Liu Si'er's heart sank slightly. Even though he had failed to spot anything unusual about Chen Yi, hearing him put on airs and hold this over him still irritated him greatly.

If he had not known that the agency had plans and arrangements for the Fledgling, he would have given the Fledgling a taste of his own medicine.

Before either of them could speak again, Chen Yi waved a hand. "This Son-in-law is tired. You two should stand guard outside."

Watching him stroll into the Wooden Tower as a lamp lit up in the study room within, Wang Lixing's expression darkened further. He turned and pulled Liu Si'er outside.

"Fourth Brother, you crossed the line this time!"

Liu Si'er gave a dry laugh. "Sorry. I misheard just now and thought it was that petty thief who had infiltrated the Marquis's mansion before."

"I didn't think too much about it, nor did I have time to notify you, Third Brother, and the others. I simply vaulted into the garden to investigate. It was my fault."

Though he said that, recalling Chen Yi's earlier reply, he asked, "Has the Son-in-law been practicing Great Spear Stake Training these days?"

Seeing that he did not seem to be faking it, Wang Lixing sighed. "Second Master's assessment is no joke. The Son-in-law naturally understands the consequences. When that petty thief broke in last time, I already knew he had been secretly training at night."

Liu Si'er clicked his tongue inwardly. So it was true.

He immediately cleared Chen Yi of suspicion.

Thinking about it, that Fledgling Chen Yi was merely a frail scholar. He had also been imprisoned by the Chen Family of Jiangnan for so long. Even if he possessed some learning, there was no way he could have discovered him.

Yet after several days of investigation, he could confirm that the maidservant who had entered his room was the same one who had appeared at several residences in the rear courtyard.

Since she was not in Chunhe Garden, she could only be in the neighboring Jiaxing Garden.

The latter was more likely—perhaps when he had sent out that Secret Letter, that person had caught him red-handed.

Liu Si'er pondered inwardly, a bitter smile appearing on his face. "What do we do now? The Son-in-law wants to report us to the Old Marquis..."

Wang Lixing glanced at him and said helplessly, "From what I've observed these past days, the Son-in-law is easy to talk to. Go apologize to him tomorrow."

"That's all I can do..."

Inside the Wooden Tower.

Chen Yi leaned against the window, looking out at the tranquil garden.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the trees and fell over him, swaying with the wind and casting an ever-shifting shadow.

In the silence, he thought in silence.

Liu Si'er must have followed Pei Guanli's trail from that day to find the rear courtyard. It seemed he would need to remind Pei Guanli to be more careful.

With Xiao Jinghong's connection, the Marquis's mansion would not do anything to Pei Guanli, but Liu Si'er was another matter entirely.

Chen Yi then thought of the contents of that Secret Letter, his thoughts stirring.

"What exactly do these 'Hidden Guards' want with me?"

"People on the outer fringe of the 'Hidden Guards,' like Liu Si'er and Uncle Gui, likely know nothing. After all, they have been in the Marquis's mansion for many years, while the timing does not match when I arrived here."

"Perhaps the 'Hidden Guard' mentioned in the Secret Letter, the one replacing Liu Si'er, knows something."

With that thought, Chen Yi stood in the side room, his feet crossing and weaving as he circled in place. He appeared slow, yet was in fact swift.

As his Meteor Butterfly Steps grew more proficient, his figure gradually blurred, forming a ghostly shadow in the darkness.

"Replacing Liu Si'er, replacing... That person will have to appear near Chunhe Garden often enough. It won't be hard to investigate."

Early the next morning, Chen Yi dressed neatly and followed Wang Lixing to the Purple Bamboo Grove.

As he stretched his limbs, he asked, "That petty thief from before still hasn't been caught, has he?"

Seeing him bring it up himself, Wang Lixing explained, "To be honest with you, Son-in-law, aside from the personal guards on rotation, everyone else in the Marquis's mansion is investigating in secret."

"That is why Fourth Brother became so nervous upon hearing movement last night. I hope the Son-in-law will forgive him and let him off this once."

Chen Yi chuckled. "Brother Xing, this Son-in-law understands that emergencies call for flexibility. Naturally, I won't blame Fourth Brother."

"Still, there can be no second time after the first. If something like this happens again, Brother Xing must stop him."

Wang Lixing inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed.

Fortunately, it was the Son-in-law here. If it had been Second Miss, Fourth Brother would have had hell to pay.

"Then we'll leave it at that for today. Brother Xing, do as you please."

Wang Lixing opened his mouth, looking at Chen Yi, who was no longer even bothering to pretend, and said dully, "Son-in-law, shall this subordinate take a look at your Stake Training?"

Chen Yi waved both hands repeatedly. "No need. With you here, this Son-in-law would only feel uncomfortable, and my training results would be greatly reduced."

"..."

Once Wang Lixing had left Chunhe Garden, Chen Yi did not hurry to train. Instead, he quietly went to the Wooden Tower to look for Pei Guanli.

Knock, knock-knock.

After the faint sound of the door, Pei Guanli seemed to have just awakened and came running over in a daze.

Her hair hung loose, and the string of Bells still rested around her neck. Wearing only her underclothes, she opened the door and said in a sweet, sleepy voice, "Brother-in-law, it isn't even light out yet..."

Chen Yi gave her a glance without looking further, then slipped a prepared note through the doorway and reminded her softly, "Remember to burn it after reading."

After saying that, he returned once more to the Purple Bamboo Grove.

Pei Guanli shut the door and rubbed her sore eyes. By the faint lamplight, she finished reading the note, and her little tiger fangs immediately bared themselves.

"Fine, I haven't even come looking for you, and you're already refusing to let this go."

"Once brother-in-law finishes spying on you, just see if I don't have Sister Jinghong deal with you."

Pei Guanli muttered a few words. Only after destroying all evidence of the note did she notice the chill on her body and lower her head for a look.

"Ah!"

Pei Guanli crossed her arms over her chest, and two blushes bloomed across her face.

Brother-in-law saw it, didn't he?

Brother-in-law definitely saw it.

Her face burned like fire as Pei Guanli hurried back to the side room, leaped onto Xiao Jinghong's bed, and buried herself beneath the blankets.

Now she was completely awake—and completely unable to sleep.