Jade Steps, Jade Trees, Like You, Rare in the Human World

No matter how careful he had been, he was still discovered in the end.

Chen Yi immediately raised both hands, afraid that blade gleaming with cold light might give him a slash.

"Don't attack."

Hearing the voice, Xiao Wan'er looked over. She seemed to recognize Chen Yi and stepped closer.

"Hua Tang, put away your sword. This is Jinghong's husband."

"Yes, Eldest Miss."

The woman named Hua Tang sheathed her longsword, yet still stood behind Chen Yi as though waiting for him to make a move so she could run him clean through.

Chen Yi relaxed inwardly and looked straight at Xiao Wan'er, his eyes lighting up.

Earlier, with shadows flickering throughout the garden, he had only caught a fleeting glimpse of her. Now that he could clearly see Xiao Wan'er's face, a flutter rose in his heart.

In his previous life, he had seen his fair share of beauties, but when those women stood before Xiao Wan'er, they were nothing but rouge and powder.

How could he describe her beauty?

Her oval face, icy-skinned and jade-white, seemed draped in stars and moonlight. Even in this dim garden, her beauty remained unmistakably clear.

As he thought of it, a line of poetry surfaced in Chen Yi's mind—Jade steps, jade trees; like you, rare in the human world.

Seeing him fall silent, Xiao Wan'er assumed he had been frightened and asked gently, "You weren't startled, were you?"

Chen Yi withdrew his gaze and shook his head. "No."

Though Xiao Wan'er was curious why he had appeared in Jiaxing Garden, she looked around and knew this was not a place to talk. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Then... let's go inside and have some tea first."

"Alright."

Chen Yi did not refuse. Things had already come to this, so he was straightforward about it.

In a moment.

Chen Yi was invited into the reception room of the Wooden Tower.

Sitting in an armchair, he appeared to calmly examine his surroundings, though inwardly, he was somewhat uneasy.

These past days, the name he had heard most often from Xiao Die was "Xiao Wan'er." He knew she was the chief butler of the Marquis's mansion.

Not only did she manage the food, drink, and expenses of every residence and courtyard, she also oversaw the Xiao Family's shops, fertile fields, and other properties outside the mansion. Other than Old Master Xiao Yuan, she held the greatest authority.

In certain matters, even Xiao Jinghong—the general who had succeeded Marquis Dingyuan and gone into the army—had less say than Xiao Wan'er.

Now that she had caught him sneaking out, who knew what fate awaited him?

Surely he would not be sent back to the side room just after being released?

As Chen Yi looked around, Xiao Wan'er approached under the escort of the female guard with a longsword at her waist.

Xiao Wuge still followed behind her with his head hanging.

"Brother-in-law, please forgive Hua Tang. She is my personal guard. She acted as she did earlier only because she did not know your identity. I hope you will not blame her."

Chen Yi raised his brows inwardly. From her tone, did that mean she did not intend to pursue his sneaking out of Chunhe Garden?

"Of course not. I should be the one apologizing. I disturbed you late at night; please forgive the offense."

The overly literary tone made him feel a little uncomfortable, but he still stubbornly defended himself.

"Tonight, the night was long and sleep would not come. I heard someone shouting 'runaway groom, runaway groom,' so I came over..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Wan'er's lovely brows drew together slightly. "Brother-in-law, do you know who said it?"

Xiao Wuge also raised his head to look at him, his eyes carrying a trace of grievance.

"Of course it was that heir apparent." Chen Yi glanced at him and said with a smile, "The Young Marquis is well-behaved and sensible. He only fought him because he could not swallow his anger."

"I see." Xiao Wan'er's brows eased, and a gentle smile appeared on her jade-white face. "Then I wrongly blamed Wu Ge."

"That was how it was..." Xiao Wuge gave Chen Yi a grateful look, though he did not forget to mutter under his breath.

Xiao Wan'er shot him a reproachful glare. "Why don't you thank your brother-in-law?"

"Wu Ge thanks brother-in-law." Xiao Wuge paused, then stepped forward and bowed. "As for your fleeing the marriage earlier, brother-in-law, Wu Ge will write it off completely."

The smile that had just appeared on Chen Yi's face instantly collapsed. "Heh heh... writing it off completely is good. No man is a sage; who can be without faults? Right?"

Little brat, he had to bring up the one pot that would not boil.

Xiao Wuge smiled shyly and looked toward Xiao Wan'er, failing to notice that she was gazing at Chen Yi approvingly.

Her brother-in-law truly was a learned man.

With that thought, Xiao Wan'er smiled. "Wu Ge, from now on, you should spend more time with your brother-in-law."

"Your brother-in-law is a renowned talented scholar of Jiangnan Prefecture. If there is anything you do not understand, you may ask him for guidance."

"Eldest Sister, Wu Ge understands."

Meanwhile, Chen Yi looked at Xiao Wan'er in confusion. How had the whole tone of the conversation changed while they were talking?

What learning did he have? He had not even mastered everything the previous owner of this body knew.

It would have been fine if no one asked him anything. But if someone did, would he not be completely exposed?

Even after the maidservant named Shen Huatang escorted Chen Yi back to Chunhe Garden, he still could not figure out what Xiao Wan'er meant by those words.

Surely she did not truly think Xiao Wuge could learn anything from him?

Come on. Learning to fish from him would make more sense.

Before Chen Yi could figure out Xiao Wan'er's intentions, Shen Huatang spoke. "Son-in-law, Eldest Miss is kind-hearted and does not hold grudges, but I must remind you."

"Hm?" Chen Yi came back to himself and looked at her.

Earlier, with Xiao Wan'er's pearls and jade before him, he had not paid much attention to this maidservant with a sword at her waist. Only now did he realize how extraordinary she was.

With Chen Yi's shallow cultivation of Qi, he could not see through Shen Huatang's cultivation base, but he sensed a faint sharpness flowing from her, like a longsword returned to its sheath.

"Guard Shen, speak plainly."

"I hope that Son-in-law will conduct himself properly within the Marquis's mansion. Do not let anything like tonight happen again, lest you harm others and yourself."

With that, Shen Huatang dipped slightly in a bow and headed straight back to Jiaxing Garden, closing the door at the end of the corridor behind her.

Click. It locked.

Chen Yi frowned inwardly. Was she telling him not to implicate Xiao Wan'er, or...

"Son-in-law, y-you, why are you here?"

At that moment, Xiao Die came running over in a short jacket, her face full of anxiety. Her petite figure was so light that a gust of wind seemed capable of blowing her away.

"You aren't planning to run again, are you? Even if you do run, you cannot go to Jiaxing Garden. What if you accidentally offend the Young Marquis or Eldest Miss? You, you..."

Chen Yi could neither laugh nor cry. "Put your heart back in your stomach. I only... heard people arguing in the middle of the night and came to take a look."

Tell a lie two or three times, and even if it was not true, it became true.

Xiao Die looked at him suspiciously. Only after confirming that he was serious did she pat her rather ample chest in relief.

"Son-in-law, can't you sleep?"

Chen Yi shook his head as he walked ahead and said, "Xiao Die, stop calling me 'you' so respectfully from now on. It makes me uncomfortable. Just treat me as you did before when you're with me."

"But son-in-law, things are different now." Xiao Die froze.

"What is different? You are still you, and I am still me. In any case, listen to me. If I hear that respectful 'you' again, I'll deal with you according to family rules!" Chen Yi threatened.

"...Oh."

Xiao Die tilted her head as she followed behind him. After pondering hard for a while, her little head nearly crashed, yet she still could not understand what had provoked Son-in-law.

After Xiao Die went to sleep in the adjoining room, Chen Yi could not fall asleep.

At times, he thought about what had happened tonight; at others, he considered the Fist Art Manual in his mind and planned his future cultivation.

More often, he recalled what had happened in Jiaxing Garden—the Young Marquis, the heir apparent, Xiao Wan'er, and Shen Huatang.

Clearly, the Marquis's mansion was far more complicated than he had previously imagined.

After tossing and turning for over an hour, Chen Yi was still wide awake. He simply draped a blanket around himself, went to the study room, lit an oil lamp, and poured water to grind ink.

Recently, as his calligraphy improved, he had discovered that writing could calm his mind. It was no small blessing.

Chen Yi steadied himself, dipped his wolf-hair brush in ink, and set it to Yunsong Paper.

At first, he wrote only meaningless lines.

For example, after writing "Fallen blossoms are not heartless things," he followed it with, "My light boat has passed ten thousand mountains."

Or after writing, "Last night, the east wind visited the little tower again," he added, "It was only then that I felt lost."

Without realizing it, Xiao Wan'er's figure surfaced in Chen Yi's mind. His wolf-hair brush paused, then moved with effortless freedom as he wrote:

Snow soul cuts clouds to form temples, ice silk washes the moon to form eyes.

Kui Gate night swells with stars and rivers, pouring backward over a thousand mountains in jade radiance.

Sword Qi first gathers the color of brow-darkness; crane shadows secretly cross the dawn of Shu's skies.

Jade steps, jade trees; like you, rare in the human world...

Chen Yi became absorbed in his writing, not even noticing that the scant Qi within his body had been drawn into the characters. Strands of mysterious wonder drifted upward from the words.

[Words formed by nature. Calligraphy: Wei Qing Style, breakthrough to Mastery Level, gaining a glimpse of the intent of the Dao of Calligraphy.]

[Dao of Calligraphy: Minor accomplishment, progress +60, reached...]