A Fine Brawl

Nightfall brought a slight chill.

Just past the Hour of the Boar, the second-watch gongs and drums sounded within Xiao Manor, and the lights in every courtyard gradually went out.

Only the personal guards remained on patrol in shifts.

Even they walked slowly and kept their footsteps as quiet as possible, lest they disturb the household's rest.

Outside Chunhe Garden.

Two red lanterns hung beneath the doorway eaves, bearing the character for joy on one side and Xiao on the other. They swayed gently in the breeze, their candlelight flickering within.

"Brother Xing, did the second son-in-law complete a full stance today?"

"Mm." Wang Lixing deliberately lowered his voice. "He can hold the Great Spear Stance Cultivation for an hour at a time. He has talent, but it is a pity he started practicing martial arts too late."

The three Armored Soldiers beside him showed surprise and exchanged glances.

"It truly is a pity. Had he begun cultivating the Martial Path earlier, he would now be both scholarly and skilled in martial arts. He would have been worthy of Second Miss."

"Ge Laosan, watch your tongue!"

Wang Lixing shot the speaker a glare. "Is Miss's marriage something you can discuss so casually?"

Ge Laosan hastily begged forgiveness. "Brother Xing, don't be angry. I just can't get over him fleeing the marriage that day."

"Brother Xing, please forgive him. Third Brother has no restraint over that mouth of his."

Hearing the other two Armored Soldiers urge him on, Wang Lixing shook his head. "Do not mention the matter of fleeing marriage again. Since Second Miss has already made her decision, we need only obey her orders."

"Yes, yes..."

After a moment of silence, Ge Laosan could not help speaking again.

"Still, the son-in-law is a pitiful man too."

"Indeed. Not only is he frank and free-spirited, he has learning as well, yet the Chen Family treated him like that."

"After he was brought to the Disciplinary Hall that day, the Chen Family people simply left. They did not even leave behind a maidservant or servant. That says enough about how he lived in the Chen Family."

"Fortunately, Second Miss protected him. Otherwise, by Second Master's wishes, expelling him from the family would have been the lightest punishment. He might even have received a vicious beating..."

Just as Wang Lixing and the others chatted quietly, a faint creak of a door sounded from the deathly silent Chunhe Garden.

Chen Yi crept out of the side room on tiptoe. After looking around, he quietly headed toward the western courtyard wall.

He was fully dressed at the moment, without changing into black night clothes or covering his face. That was so that if someone discovered him, he could find an excuse like "the long night is endless, and sleep would not come."

As for why he had appeared in Jiaxing Garden... he had heard people fighting and had gone over out of curiosity to watch the excitement. That was perfectly normal, wasn't it?

Though that was what he thought, Chen Yi still did his utmost not to make a sound.

After all, when one lived under another's eaves, even a justified reason could not spare one from punishment.

Chen Yi followed the corridor to the entrance of Jiaxing Garden. Seeing the doors firmly locked did not surprise him.

He looked around and spotted a stone block at a low spot beside the wall. He immediately stepped onto it and craned his neck to peer into Jiaxing Garden.

Within the vast courtyard, everything was pitch-black and indistinct. Only the lanterns outside two Wooden Towers cast a dim yellow glow.

Seeing that Jiaxing Garden was utterly silent, Chen Yi checked the Daily Intelligence again. After confirming the time and place, he directly flipped over and jumped into the courtyard.

"Phew."

Chen Yi quietly let out a breath. This Great Spear Stance Cultivation really was effective. Just one session had already made his body feel much lighter.

It seemed that acting was acting, but he could not let his Martial Path cultivation fall behind.

"Fortune was sought amid danger. First, let's see what this fortune is all about."

Chen Yi found a shadowy corner and crouched down, patiently waiting for Young Marquis Xiao and the heir apparent whose name he had never heard to appear.

He wondered what the match between Xiao Wuge and Zhang Heng would look like. It would probably be similar to Yin Tiankuang's, right?

Chen Yi did not have to wait long. After roughly the time it took to burn an incense stick, he heard two faint voices from nearby.

"...Brother Heir Apparent, you went too far. By seniority, you should call him brother-in-law too."

"I won't! He's a runaway groom. I didn't say anything wrong."

Chen Yi heard the voices coming from the garden behind the nearby Wooden Tower. Why had this gotten tangled up with him again?

Without time to think further, he quietly crept over.

Keeping to the shadows all the way, he headed straight into the garden to see what was happening with those two.

Yet due to his angle, he could only see two elongated shadows cast by the lantern light. Their voices, however, became even clearer.

"You, you... are you asking for a beating?"

"A beating? Xiao Wuge, you can't beat me. If we really fight, I'm afraid I'll make you cry." One of the slightly childish voices spoke smugly.

"Why don't you shout along with me? Runaway groom, runaway groom, haha..."

"You said it again!"

The other voice shouted angrily. Then came a burst of crackling sounds as they began fighting.

"You dare lay a hand on me? Do you really think I won't beat you up just because we're in the Marquis's mansion?"

"You, shut up..."

Chen Yi watched the two shadows become entangled, and an odd expression crossed his face.

No matter how he looked at it, this did not seem like the work of experts. They fought without any form or method at all.

Taking advantage of a lull in their scuffle, he quietly changed positions and finally got a clear look at those two Martial Path...

"Martial arts children?"

Two children no taller than his waist, around four or five years old, were clutching each other's necks and wrestling together.

One moment one was on top, the next moment the other was on top, as they rolled about on the ground.

Amid it all were muttered phrases like, "Say it, say it," "Do you dare again?" and "How dare you hit my face?"

Chen Yi stared at them blankly as the image of "Martial Path experts" in his mind came crashing down.

"This is the so-called all-out brawl to determine the victor?"

If this Daily Intelligence was not just today's gossip, he would write his name backward.

The commotion here soon alerted the others in Jiaxing Garden, and two maidservants hurried over in panic.

"Young Marquis, Your Highness the heir apparent, please stop fighting!"

But the two unruly children showed no intention of stopping.

The maidservants did not dare step forward, and one of them ran out again.

Chen Yi's anticipation had shattered all over the ground. He wanted to leave too, but seeing that the panel remained completely still, he knew the fortune had not yet arrived. He could only continue crouching in the corner and watching.

Just then, a voice came from within the doorway.

"Wu Ge, Heng'er, you two, stop at once!"

The voice was gentle and soothing, soft and sweet like a woman from Jiangnan Prefecture.

A name surfaced in Chen Yi's mind. Xiao Wan'er?

Soon, a woman wearing a cloak hurried over. Her skin was crystalline and snow-white, and her bearing was extraordinary. She stepped forward and stopped the Young Marquis and Young Heir Apparent, who were tangled together in a fight.

"Tell me, why were you fighting?"

Xiao Wuge stood to the side, hanging his head.

Meanwhile, the bruised and swollen Young Heir Apparent, Zhang Heng, glared at him. "Sister, Wu Ge hit me first. He even said he was going to beat me to death."

With her back to Chen Yi, Xiao Wan'er looked at Xiao Wuge. "Is that so?"

"Eldest Sister, I..."

"Was it or was it not?"

"It was..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wan'er immediately beckoned to a maidservant. "Take Heng'er back to his room first. Attend to him and let him rest."

A smile immediately appeared on Zhang Heng's little face. He glanced at Xiao Wuge, then followed the maidservant out of the garden.

Even Chen Yi could hardly stand that smugness. He thought, This kid is finished.

As the saying went, one could see the old from the child of three. With so many wicked thoughts at such a young age, he would be no good when he grew up either.

[Witnessed the beginning of the feud between Young Marquis Xiao Wuge and heir apparent Zhang Heng, and comprehended the mysteries of their fists and kicks from their fight. Reward: Profound Tier Fist Technique—Collapse Mountain, Fortune +12.]

[Comment: He arrived, heard the sounds, and saw the scene, but his sneaking aura was far too strong. He is by nature a wretchedly furtive fellow.]

As the two lines of illusory words drifted past, Chen Yi paid no attention to the fist technique memories that had appeared in his mind. He only stared at the end of the evaluation.

He had let "slothful" slide before, but this time it called him "wretchedly furtive."

He had risked being discovered to come watch children playing house. Even if he had not looked heroic and imposing, he could not possibly count as "wretchedly furtive," could he?

This was going too far!

After finally calming himself, Chen Yi was just about to rise when he suddenly felt a chill at his neck.

Then a cold voice sounded beside his ear.

"Don't move."