If Life Were Only Like Our First Meeting

Xiao Wan'er did not continue unrolling the Calligraphy Copybook. Instead, she rolled it back up and placed it in the box.

Mr. Yue Ming had seen all of their movements clearly. Standing with his hands behind his back, he gave a soft snort.

"Miss Wan'er, tell this old man now: was this Calligraphy Copybook truly written by Chen Yi?"

Before Xiao Wan'er could answer, Xiao Die at the side could no longer hold herself back. "Eldest Miss, it really was written by the son-in-law! Xiao Die was right there at the time, and Xiao Die even saw strands of fluorescence..."

At that moment, Xiao Jinghong raised a hand to cut her off. "Enough, Xiao Die. No need to say more."

Only after Xiao Die resentfully shut her mouth did she turn toward the old man and dip slightly in a bow. "As for the origin of this Calligraphy Copybook, Xiao Manor will give Mr. Yue Ming an answer later."

Mr. Yue Ming glanced at her and nodded placidly. "I shall await the good news."

With that, he turned and strode away.

After Bowing to the Xiao Family members, several nearby students followed after him.

Wang Lixing looked at the expressions of the two Misses, then at Xiao Die, whose lips were pursed as though she were about to cry. After some hesitation, he bowed and said,

"Eldest Miss, Second Miss, these characters were indeed written by the son-in-law."

Xiao Jinghong looked at him. Beneath the Half Armor, a faint glimmer surfaced in her eyes, as though she had not expected him to speak up at such a moment.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "I already know of this matter. We will discuss it after returning home."

Then Xiao Jinghong instructed Xiao Die to follow them and helped Xiao Wan'er board the carriage once more.

Xiao Die followed closely behind, sitting outside the carriage compartment with her head lowered, not daring to raise it for even one extra glance.

She did not know which sentence she had said wrong just now, and unease inevitably crept into her heart.

At that moment, Xiao Wan'er set the Calligraphy Copybook aside and asked, "Xiao Die, did you truly watch the son-in-law write these characters?"

"Yes, Eldest Miss. Xiao Die would not dare lie."

The two Xiao sisters exchanged a glance. The pleased-yet-chiding look in Xiao Wan'er's eyes seemed to say that her second sister had found herself a fine husband.

Yet Xiao Jinghong still harbored some doubts.

To be precise, she found it difficult to believe her eldest sister's claim that one's handwriting reflected one's character. Otherwise, how could she explain her husband's acts of Forcibly Seizing a Woman and Visiting Brothels?

Thinking of this, Xiao Jinghong asked, "Xiao Die, tell me every single thing the son-in-law has said and done during this period. Leave nothing out."

"Yes, Second Miss..."

Xiao Die's gaze swept over the Half Armor on her face before she lowered her head again and began recounting matters in fits and starts.

She spoke in great detail, from Chen Yi being confined and made to copy the Family Rules, to writing that poem, Shuzhou Chant: Marrying into the Xiao Family, to having his confinement lifted and going to Yanhuaxiang South of the City, as well as pretending to "Forcibly Seize a Woman" in order to help Li Huaigu and Miss Yunxiang.

Only one matter was concealed by Xiao Die—the poem titled Graceful Spirit Ode. She did not dare mention it at all, afraid that Second Miss would punish the son-in-law after hearing it.

After she finished, the carriage compartment remained silent for a long while.

Xiao Wan'er went through everything Chen Yi had done in her mind. Remembering how he had climbed over the wall into Jiaxing Garden that night, she could not help but smile.

Her jade-like face, framed by pure white fur, grew even more radiant, as pure as a blooming lotus.

"Second Sister, the things your husband does cannot be judged by ordinary reasoning."

"Perhaps." Xiao Jinghong temporarily set aside the knot in her heart.

Compared with those students and famous men who put on airs of elegance, and the common folk who merely echoed whatever others said, Xiao Die's words clearly carried more weight.

Knowing that Xiao Jinghong's temperament was somewhat colder, Xiao Wan'er said no more and instead opened the Calligraphy Copybook again.

As her delicate hands lightly unfurled it, strands of pale white light emerged one after another from every character on the five-foot-long sheet of Yunsong Paper.

Yet the luster on the Calligraphy Copybook soon faded, leaving behind only characters with faint flowing radiance flickering within them.

As Xiao Wan'er looked on, her eyes froze.

It was as though those horizontal and vertical strokes possessed some strange and uncanny power, making it impossible for her gaze to shift even a fraction.

Nor was she alone. Xiao Jinghong at her side was the same.

But unlike Xiao Wan'er, who did not cultivate the Martial Path, what Xiao Jinghong saw in the Calligraphy Copybook was not mere writing, but wisps of ethereal, leisurely Artistic Conception.

In her daze, a figure in a long robe seemed to appear before her, strolling through mountains and fields.

The figure was tall and slender, his long hair gathered into a topknot behind his head. A gentle smile always rested upon his handsome face as he unhurriedly took in the beauty around him.

"My brother-in-law's calligraphy truly broke free of every convention. No—it should be said that his calligraphy had already formed a school of its own."

After a long while, Xiao Wan'er praised, "No wonder Mr. Yue Ming spoke as he did earlier. The significance of this Calligraphy Copybook was likely..."

Likely enough to make countless renowned calligraphers of the Great Wei Dynasty swarm toward it like ducks.

Just as Mr. Yue Ming had done today, disregarding both his status and his image to argue with a maidservant from the Marquis's mansion.

Xiao Jinghong returned to her senses and nodded. "That should be the case."

Xiao Wan'er looked at her with a pleased-yet-chiding expression. "Second Sister, are you unhappy?"

"Eldest Sister is overthinking it."

Xiao Jinghong turned her head toward the carriage window. The figure she had seen in the Calligraphy Copybook still lingered in her mind, and an inexplicable curiosity arose within her.

In truth, before their marriage, she had secretly gone to Fengchun Tower to take a look at Chen Yi.

At the time, she had only felt that her husband was like other Scholars and students—steeped in bookishness, with a trace of resentment and gloominess about him.

He was completely different from the "husband" she now heard others describe.

Thus, Xiao Jinghong was deeply curious about what had happened to Chen Yi during the time she had been away from the Marquis's mansion.

Surely he had not been swapped out like beams and pillars secretly replaced?

Not long after.

Shen Huatang drove the carriage through the gates of the Xiao Family, followed by another carriage of the same make, as well as Wang Lixing and the others.

Watching the carriages pass through the central courtyard and head straight for the rear courtyard, Ge Laosan muttered, "Looking at the way our two Misses are acting, why do I feel like the son-in-law is finished this time?"

Smack.

Unable to bear it any longer, Wang Lixing slapped him and glared. "Are you tired of living, saying something like that?"

Ge Laosan was just about to speak when realization dawned on his face. He hurriedly pressed his palms together in apology. "Brother Xing, forgive me. The young miss has been away from the manor for some time, and I forgot."

He truly had forgotten.

Eldest Miss Xiao Wan'er was not so bad, since she had no Martial Path cultivation to rely on.

But Second Miss Xiao Jinghong was a Fourth Rank Realm cultivator. Her Martial Path had long since transcended the ordinary. She could hear sounds others could not hear, see things others could not see, and step upon the clouds to soar into the heavens.

A powerhouse of such a level could hear what he said behind her back even if she was not paying attention to him.

Liu Si'er glanced at the two of them and said quietly, "In any case, with Second Miss back, everyone in the manor can behave themselves a little more."

Damn it, the one who most needed to behave was that Fledgling!

With the Xiao Family's two Misses returning to the manor, every residence in the entire Marquis's mansion received the news.

Within Qingjing Residence.

When the Old Marquis received word from a servant, he was playing chess with Duke of Gan and the others. A faint delight appeared on his face upon hearing it.

"Jinghong has returned to the manor. This old man will not be able to keep you two company much longer."

Zhang Xuan curled his lip slightly. "You old bastard, you are shameless enough, and you even stepped in dog shit to have such a genius as Jinghong emerge from your Xiao Family."

Sun Fu nodded. "The words may be crude, but the reasoning is not. That is indeed true."

The Old Marquis was not angered. After his joy faded, however, a trace of loneliness surfaced on his face.

"If her parents had not both died on the battlefield, why would my Xiao Family have needed to let Jinghong step forward and take the lead?"

"Enough, enough. On a happy day like this, do not speak of things that spoil the mood."

"That girl Jinghong can hold on for another ten years at most. Once Wuge returns from Jinling, your Xiao Family will still be the same Xiao Family."

"Let us hope so."

At the same time, outside Chunhe Garden.

Xiao Jinghong and Xiao Wan'er arrived together outside the garden. Behind them, Shen Huatang and a young woman wearing a Silver Half-Armor each carried luggage in their hands.

Xiao Die, Wang Lixing, and the others followed behind them.

Xiao Die looked toward Chunhe Garden and vaguely heard the son-in-law laughing and joking inside. She hesitantly said, "Young lady, should I go inform the son-in-law?"

Xiao Jinghong waved to indicate there was no need, then signaled for them to stop and remain silent.

Then she and Xiao Wan'er entered Chunhe Garden together, and the voices at their ears immediately became clear.

"Historically, the most... uh... brother-in-law, you have been fishing for nearly a month, yet not a single fish has bitten."

Young Heir Apparent Zhang Heng still spoke with disdain in his tone, but compared to before today, his attitude had noticeably improved.

"Brother Heir Apparent, you do not understand. Brother-in-law said this is called, 'Jiang Taigong fishes, and only those willing take the bait.' It is not that brother-in-law cannot catch fish, but that he does not want to catch any."

Listening to Xiao Wuge's childish voice, Xiao Wan'er suppressed a cough and winked at Xiao Jinghong.

Then they looked toward the figure squatting by the pond and digging in the soil with a small shovel, hearing him say,

"A child worth teaching indeed. Wuge, your learning is enough to crush the heir apparent."

"Really?"

"Impossible! This heir apparent has learning too!"

"For example, Your Highness?" Chen Yi teased. "Surely it is not learning how to lie, getting exposed by an elder, and then being whipped soundly?"

After saying that, he and Xiao Wuge both burst into laughter, making Zhang Heng so furious that he began shouting loudly.

"It is a good thing too. Your mother sent you to Chunhe Garden, so from now on, you..."

As he spoke, Chen Yi pinched the earthworm he had dug out of the soil. "Look, it is this big!"

Just as he was about to show off to the two little ones, he spotted Xiao Jinghong in her Half Armor Mask and Xiao Wan'er smiling at him from not far away. He could not help but freeze.

Upon seeing them, Xiao Wuge cheered and ran over, calling affectionately, "Eldest sister, second sister, you are finally back!"

As if he had encountered his nemesis, Zhang Heng settled down the moment Xiao Jinghong gave him a glance. "Eldest Cousin Sister, Second Cousin Sister."

Chen Yi quietly studied them before suddenly smiling and raising a hand in greeting. "Wife, Eldest Sister."

Seeing that he merely smiled gently, Xiao Jinghong found his figure and appearance gradually overlapping with the figure she had seen earlier in the Calligraphy Copybook. She could not help feeling somewhat dazed.

The originally illusory and blurred image gradually solidified into a real man holding a wriggling earthworm in his hand, yet he remained just as gentle and free-spirited.

At this moment, Chen Yi was also looking at Xiao Jinghong.

Although the Half Armor Mask concealed part of her face, it was not difficult for him to see that Xiao Jinghong possessed extraordinary beauty, especially since her eyes resembled Xiao Wan'er's so closely.

Yet what drew Chen Yi's attention even more was her bearing—that proud, independent air, as cool and detached as a Banished Immortal.

The two gazed at each other for quite some time.

Xiao Jinghong was the first to regain her senses. She turned her head slightly awkwardly. "Husband, I have only just returned to the manor. I will go change clothes first."

Noticing the look in her eyes, Xiao Wan'er immediately smiled suggestively, making Xiao Jinghong turn around and walk away a little faster.

Watching her retreating figure, Chen Yi had already clearly imprinted her form and appearance in his mind. He smiled knowingly.

"If life were only like our first meeting."

"Wife, you truly do possess the beauty of a startled swan in flight..."