Three women make a drama.

But the number of women in the Spring Lotus Garden at this moment was more than you could count on one hand.

Yet there was only one and a half men.

One was Chen Yi. The other half... was Xiao Wuge.

Not many men could handle such a scene with ease.

You’d either have to be a monk who had purged all worldly desires, an ignorant child, or a man who had grown up surrounded by women.

Chen Yi, of course, belonged to none of those categories. His ability to deal with these ladies and young misses of extraordinary birth was entirely thanks to Xiao Wan’er being by his side.

Just think about it.

When a woman of such transcendent, otherworldly beauty is present, would you even notice any other woman?

It was, in essence, a practical application of the "darkness under the lamp" effect.

With Xiao Wan’er sitting in the pavilion like a brilliant, radiant lamp, even when she said nothing and only smiled gently, all the other women lost their luster.

At least in Chen Yi’s eyes, the only woman who could sit beside Xiao Wan’er and shine just as brightly was his wife, Xiao Jinghong.

Fortunately, Xiaodie didn’t know what he was thinking. Otherwise...

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have thought much of it either.

On the contrary, she probably would have said, as if it were a matter of course, "The Young Master has good taste. Xiaodie is naturally no match for the two Young Misses."

Perhaps she would even have a shy smile on her face, feeling happy that Chen Yi had even considered her in the same league as Xiao Wan’er and Xiao Jinghong.

In any case, over the course of about four hours that afternoon...

Chen Yi simply adhered to the basic principles of hospitality, sitting properly beside Xiao Wan’er and making small talk with these ladies and young misses of supposedly extraordinary backgrounds.

There was Madam Zhang of the Zhang Clan, wife of Tang Zixing, the Inspector General of the Shu State Inspectorate Office.

There was Madam Sun of the Sun Clan, wife of Bai Yelin, the Grain and Grass Supervisor of the Shu State Capital Commandery.

And there was Wan Rourou, the eldest young miss of the Wan Family, a great local clan with a hundred-year heritage in Shu State.

The first two ladies were older, around forty or so.

The latter was not young either, at twenty-five or twenty-six. She had a graceful and dignified appearance, yet she remained unmarried.

Perhaps due to their similar circumstances, Xiao Wan’er and Wan Rourou were clearly a bit closer.

Of course, in the current situation, Xiao Wan’er would not show it so obviously.

Most of the time, she deferred to Madams Zhang and Sun, treating them with the respect due to elders.

This was especially true for Madam Zhang.

Her husband, Tang Zixing, as the Inspector General of Shu State, was specifically in charge of monitoring all officials, which was equivalent to wielding an imperial sword.

However, according to Madam Zhang, Tang Zixing had been arriving at and leaving his post on time lately, as if there were no urgent matters to attend to.

But her own status and the Tang Family’s standing were undeniable.

Whether they had a guilty conscience or not, others would more or less show her and the Tang Family some deference.

However, Madam Zhang clearly knew her place. She wasn’t arrogant about her position, and her conversation was always proper, never causing any dislike.

"Ever since my boy passed the County Examination the year before last and entered Guiyun Academy, he’s shut himself off from the world and focused solely on his studies."

"Unfortunately, he’s not very gifted. He failed the provincial examination last year and is preparing to try again in two years. At least he can be considered diligent."

As Madam Zhang spoke these two sentences, although her eyes were on Xiao Wan’er, her words were inevitably aimed at Chen Yi, the academy Instructor, hoping he would pick up the conversation.

’Tang?’

Chen Yi recalled a student in his study hall, Tang Ye.

’He’s only fourteen. I don’t know how learned he is, but his calligraphy is at least decent.’

’His evaluation in the calligraphy practice book, if I remember correctly, was "Passable Plus." It’s definitely decent.’

’For his age, he must have put in a lot of hard work on his calligraphy.’

Seeing Chen Yi remain silent with just a smile on his face, Xiao Wan’er said naturally:

"My brother-in-law only just arrived at the academy today, so perhaps he hasn’t gotten to know everyone yet. But that’s alright, there’s plenty of time ahead."

Seeing Madam Zhang’s strained smile, Chen Yi smiled and nodded. "Tang Ye is the youngest student in my study hall. His handwriting is quite good."

"Is that so?"

Hearing this, Madam Zhang’s face immediately broke into a smile.

She was happy both because of Chen Yi’s praise and because he remembered her son.

After a few humble remarks, the subtext of her words was a clear hope that Chen Yi would teach Tang Ye with great care, essentially wishing for Tang Ye to achieve success in the Calligraphy Dao.

"Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Since your son has the heart for it, he will surely become a great talent."

It was a good thing Chen Yi added the word "great," otherwise the statement might have sounded a bit arrogant.

Madam Zhang’s smile became even more dignified. "Ye’er doesn’t need to achieve something as extraordinary as Mr. Qingzhou. A little talent would be enough."

This, of course, was another humble remark.

After all, in a great clan like the Tang Family, a little talent could only ensure the family’s status wouldn’t decline for a time.

Only a person of great talent could take the family to the next level.

Chen Yi and Xiao Wan’er were both well aware of this, so they exchanged a few pleasantries and let the topic pass lightly.

During this time, the other two ladies also spoke up.

Madam Sun came from a humbler background; at least, compared to the Xiao Family and the Tang Family, her Bai Family was only a minor clan.

However, her husband’s position as the Grain and Grass Supervisor for the Dingyuan Army was an extremely important office.

Even the Old Master and Xiao Jinghong would see the value in winning him over.

Therefore, Chen Yi and Xiao Wan’er naturally had no intention of slighting her.

At the very least, Xiao Wan’er, having been immersed in her family’s affairs, would not slight Madam Sun.

As for Madam Sun’s request, it was also very simple.

She just hoped that her son, Bai Yutang, could enter that study hall and learn the Calligraphy Dao from Chen Yi.

Although she put it tactfully, Chen Yi knew in his heart that her son had likely looked down on him before.

’To put it nicely, it was a case of "scholars scorn each other," or "there is no first place in literature." To put it bluntly, it was more like, ’What can a live-in son-in-law possibly teach anyone?’’

Therefore, Chen Yi did not agree, instead deferring the matter to Mr. Yue Ming and others at the academy, thus tactfully refusing her.