Night Talk Between Couples

Xiao Wan'er thought of several reasons, but none seemed likely to get past Second Sister, so she could only have her ask Chen Yi for his opinion first.

After all, from what she knew of Chen Yi, he was indeed learned, but he was also an idle, lazy good-for-nothing.

Even if he wasn't... he had better be!

Leaving aside Xiao Wan'er's troubled thoughts, once Xiao Jinghong received her answer, she began thinking of finding a time to speak with Chen Yi.

Just as she had said before, she knew full well why Grandfather had brought Chen Yi into the family as a live-in son-in-law, so she had never considered refusing.

It was simply that the Xiao Family and the Dingyuan Army currently had far too many miscellaneous matters to handle. For the time being, she had no way to sort out her relationship with Chen Yi, much less know how she ought to get along with him.

After much thought.

Xiao Jinghong decided to let the two of them each busy themselves with their own affairs.

After all, she would soon be occupied with establishing a Mutual Market together with the Thirteen Tribes in the Shuzhou mountains, and likely would not be able to spare attention for anything else in the near future.

Having Chen Yi help her elder sister could also be considered finding something for him to do.

She did not expect Chen Yi to contribute much; she only hoped they could weather the present crisis steadily.

Naturally, Chen Yi knew nothing of any of this.

After Xiao Jinghong, Xiao Wan'er, and the others returned, he had lunch together with the two sisters, Xiao Wuge, and Zhang Heng.

Xiao Die ate at a small table in the side room with Shen Huatang and Su Zhenyue.

Only Pei Guanli was next door in the Wooden Tower, gnawing on a pork knuckle as she pitifully wondered when she could openly appear in the Xiao Family.

But that was probably impossible anytime soon. After all, even Xiao Jinghong found it hard to speak of how Pei Guanli had poisoned her way from the outer courtyard all the way to the rear courtyard.

During the meal, Chen Yi and the others exchanged a few words now and then. It was plain and uneventful, yet fairly harmonious.

Chen Yi held no particular dislike for Xiao Jinghong, but neither did he feel affection or love for her.

So long as she did not force him to do things and allowed him to remain peacefully in the Marquis's mansion, a future as calm as still water would be better instead.

Yet throughout lunch, Xiao Wan'er remained quiet and withdrawn, lowering her head without a word and not even glancing at Chen Yi from the corner of her eye.

Though Xiao Jinghong found it strange, she did not know that Eldest Sister's change was because of Chen Yi. She only assumed it was due to the Xiao Family's current predicament.

Chen Yi, however, knew the reason and thought he would find a chance to explain later.

"Eldest Sister, Second Sister, you didn't see how imposing the Third Place Scholar was. The whole street was filled with talented scholars..."

Just as before, Xiao Wuge recounted everything that had happened over this period.

"No, they can't be called talented scholars. Brother-in-law said that only those with both talent and virtue are talented scholars. Some people have neither talent nor virtue."

Once he finished, Chen Yi picked up a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth. "Wuge, talk less and eat more."

That little traitor blabbed every last word. Was he really not afraid of getting Chen Yi banished to the military camp?

Xiao Wan'er and Xiao Jinghong did not think much of it, only feeling that the two of them had a good relationship.

Meanwhile, the Young Heir Apparent Zhang Heng beside them remained silent throughout, behaving much more honestly.

Chen Yi found it amusing. One thing truly did subdue another.

After lunch, everyone dispersed.

Xiao Wan'er had not returned to the residence for a long time, and there were countless affairs both inside and outside the household that needed sorting through, such as the accounts of the Main Branch and the Second Branch.

Xiao Jinghong, meanwhile, had even more to attend to.

That entire afternoon, Chunhe Garden could not be called anything but lively.

One moment, members of the Xiao Family's collateral branches came calling; the next, city guards from the Shuzhou Prefecture, people from the Judicial Department, and officials from other yamen came to pay visits.

There were also several clearly well-born ladies who came to the door, saying they wished to discuss arrangements for a banquet with Xiao Jinghong and Xiao Wan'er.

Chen Yi had initially found it rather novel, since Chunhe Garden had not been this lively in a long time.

But those people were only polite to his face, while behind his back they pointed and whispered, leaving him unable to continue fishing.

So he simply returned to the Study Room to read medical texts and practice calligraphy, quite at ease.

Nightfall.

After finishing his writing practice, Chen Yi stretched lazily, then leaned on the chair and rubbed his slightly sore eyes to rest them.

The next moment, a Light Screen appeared before him:

[Fortune +1.]

[Evaluation: The person has not arrived, the voice has not been heard, the scene has not been seen—yet Fortune falls from the heavens, and you do not seize it. You are a naturally idle and lazy fellow.]

Chen Yi glanced over it, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

Although he had not left the residence during this period and had only gained a little Fortune, the progress of his techniques in every "Dao" had been considerable.

He had practiced Running Script to Mastery Level. With the reinforcement of the Way of Calligraphy and Qi, he could already achieve brilliance contained within.

He had cultivated the Great Spear Stance Cultivation to the peak of Proficient Level. Once he had enough Fortune to raise his Martial Dao Body to major accomplishment, he could make the stance cultivation break through to Mastery Level.

By then, his strength would improve by leaps and bounds. He estimated that it could reach Four Elephant Strength.

Additionally, his Fist Techniques, Palm Techniques, and movement techniques had all reached Proficient Level. Of them, the Collapsing Mountain Fist, which he had encountered first, had even reached the consummate stage of Proficient Level.

"The only troublesome thing is still the Medical Dao."

Chen Yi looked at the several medical books on the desk, feeling quite the headache.

Although he had the guidance of the Medical Dao's profound mysteries, the subjects involved were simply too numerous and complicated, and it was not something that could improve through reading alone.

For example, the Four Diagnostic Methods—Observation, Listening, Inquiry, Palpation—required him to see patients in consultation.

Then there were things like Acupuncture and prescribing medicine. By merely shutting himself away to build a cart behind closed doors, his improvement would be far slower than in the Way of Calligraphy or the Martial Path.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Yi could only set it aside for now. He could not seriously go find a medical clinic and sit there seeing patients, could he?

With that thought, he got up to stretch his limbs and walked to the window, only to pause.

Under the bright starry night of Early Summer, Xiao Jinghong sat within the Pavilion by the Pond, absently watching the Golden-haired Carp endlessly leaping about.

After thinking it over—

Chen Yi left the Study Room and entered the pavilion. He sat down by the table and casually asked, "It's so late. You're still not asleep?"

Xiao Jinghong had heard his footsteps long ago and had already prepared herself, but hearing such casual words from him still made her pause in surprise.

She turned her head to look at him, something strange flickering through the eyes beneath her Half Armor. "You've changed a great deal."

Chen Yi picked up the cups on the table, poured two cups of tea, and passed one to her. "People change."

He did not call her wife, and she did not call him husband. Very good—this was an open and honest situation.

Xiao Jinghong stared at him for a moment before nodding. "That's true."

Then she relaxed as well, leaning half against the stone table as her gaze returned to the pond.

After all those years of tempering in the military, she truly had changed a great deal.

Seeing her lost in thought, Chen Yi did not speak to disturb her and simply slurped his tea on his own.

Perhaps bothered by the sound, Xiao Jinghong thought for a moment before asking, "Why did you flee the marriage before?"

Chen Yi paused. "Probably because I thought of the ordinary life ahead and couldn't accept it."

It was not as if he had wanted to flee the marriage. But there was nothing he could do—he had been framed.

With that in mind, Chen Yi tentatively said, "If I said that I actually didn't want to flee... well, I probably still couldn't accept it."

Before he could even finish, Xiao Jinghong's eyes had already given him her answer.

Thinking carefully, Xiao Jinghong truly had no reason to believe him.

After all, on the day of the wedding, in everyone's eyes, he had been the Xiao Family son-in-law who fled the marriage amid the chaos.

If he had died, perhaps the Xiao family would have thoroughly investigated the matter. But he was still alive.

Xiao Jinghong withdrew her gaze and continued, "Then why do you seek stability now?"

Chen Yi smiled. "Probably because I thought of a more distant future."

"Like Old Master—he fought north and south for decades, yet now he is enjoying his old age peacefully within the estate."

"So I thought that when I reach Old Master's age, I should probably be just like him."

"Since that is the case, if I start enjoying life now, wouldn't I save myself many years of detours and much pointless toil?"

"..."

Xiao Jinghong froze again and turned to look at him, seemingly trying to see whether he was talking nonsense.

But honestly, such a viewpoint did sound rather fresh.

"With your talent and learning, don't you feel it's a pity? Don't you feel unwilling?"

Chen Yi answered honestly, "Sometimes I do, but when I think carefully about it, that kind of life doesn't suit me."

Seeing Xiao Jinghong nod, he pointed at the Half Armor and asked, "May I ask why you always wear that mask?"

Xiao Jinghong looked at him for a moment, then raised her hand and removed the mask from the side, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face.

This time, it was Chen Yi who was stunned.

When he had first met Xiao Jinghong, he had known her looks were not poor, but he had never expected her to resemble Xiao Wan'er by ninety percent.

Only, the sisters' figures and temperaments were completely different.

Xiao Wan'er was like a pure lotus, so delicate that one could not help wanting to protect her.

Xiao Jinghong, meanwhile, had a few more traces of heroism and a few less traces of frailty. And beneath the corner of her eye, on that breathtakingly beautiful face, lay two faint scars.

"The first time I led troops on a patrol beyond the pass, we encountered the Barbarian Tribe army. I was careless and got injured by one of those barbarians."

For some reason, Xiao Jinghong added an explanation. "But I don't wear it to hide ugliness. It is simply inconvenient in the army in many ways, and wearing a mask is better."

Chen Yi continued looking at her face. Only after a long while did he smile and nod. "Your beauty has not diminished. Instead, it has gained a trace of heroism. Very good."

"But I want to know—where is the person who injured you now?"

"Dead, naturally."

"Then he really got off too easily."

After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.

As far as Chen Yi was concerned, he had come to understand Xiao Jinghong a little better. He found her straightforward and unpretentious—not bad at all.

And in Xiao Jinghong's eyes, Chen Yi probably... simply looked pleasing enough.

In any case, at this moment, she no longer felt restrained. Instead, both body and mind had relaxed somewhat, and even her worries over the Dingyuan Army's Money and Grain had eased.

They chatted idly for half an hour.

Chen Yi glanced at the sky, then rose and cupped his hands. "Madam, allow me to introduce myself again. Chen Yi, courtesy name Chen Qingzhou, a native of Jiangnan Prefecture."

Finding it amusing, Xiao Jinghong rose as well and said with a smile, "Xiao Jinghong, greetings, Husband."

That smile was like the evening breeze brushing across one's face.

Chen Yi froze for a moment, then nodded and turned toward the side room, lazily Waved Hand as he went.

"Madam, good night."

He thought that perhaps, even many years from now, he would still remember that smile.

Xiao Jinghong watched him enter the Wooden Tower. Only after hearing his unhurried footsteps disappear into the side room did she look down at the Half Armor Mask in her hand, lost in thought.

"Husband, good night."