"It wasn’t me."

Realizing she had recognized him, Chen Yi flatly denied it and turned to run.

"After him!"

There was no way Fang Hongxiu would let him get away. She immediately led several of her subordinates in pursuit.

As they chased, she reminded them, "Be careful. Don’t let him use the terrain to his advantage like last time."

The three Imprisonment Officers beside her nodded repeatedly. "Rest assured, Lord Hundred Households."

They clearly remembered the last time they’d chased him relentlessly, only to be successfully ambushed by Chen Yi around a corner.

Chen Yi, of course, remembered as well, so this time he repeated his old trick, ducking into a small alley.

Fang Hongxiu and her men were instantly on alert, their pursuit slowing for a moment.

Then, they all drew the long Blades from their waists. As they rounded the corner, they led with their weapons.

This way, even if they were ambushed, they could still fight back.

But when they entered the alley, they weren’t attacked. Instead, they saw the tall figure in the Raincoat and bamboo hat standing about fifty feet away.

Behind him was a high wall; he was at a dead end.

Fang Hongxiu’s heart stirred. She raised a hand to signal a halt, her brow furrowed as she stared at the figure.

"You can’t escape. Surrender now."

Seeing them stop at the alley’s entrance, Chen Yi grinned. "Are you so sure?"

"Believe it or not, if I count down from ten, you’ll obediently let me go."

He then extended one hand, palm open toward Fang Hongxiu, and began to count down.

"Ten."

"Nine..."

Fang Hongxiu frowned. Her eyes were fixed on Chen Yi, but her peripheral vision scanned the surroundings.

After confirming that there was nothing out of the ordinary, she couldn’t help but grit her teeth and scoff, "Stop with the theatrics!"

An Imprisonment Officer beside her immediately berated him, "Who in the world are you, daring to interfere with the Imprisonment Department’s business time and time again?"

Another spoke up as well. "You can stay silent for now. Once we capture you, we have plenty of ways to make you talk."

Chen Yi ignored them, continuing his count, one number after another.

"...Three, two, one."

"Fall."

Before Fang Hongxiu could voice her confusion, she felt her entire body go limp. She couldn’t even hold onto the long Blade in her hand.

"You... you... you used poison?"

"You..."

As she glared fiercely at Chen Yi, the three people behind her had already collapsed to the ground.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG.

After the crisp sound of three long Blades hitting the ground, Fang Hongxiu couldn’t hold on any longer either. She propped herself up with her Blade and knelt on the ground. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t muster an ounce of her Power under the effects of the Qingfeng Drunk.

Seeing this, Chen Yi smiled and walked over.

As he walked, he pulled the bamboo hat on his head lower. "Why chase me so relentlessly?"

"I already told you, you’d obediently let me go."

With that, Chen Yi came to Fang Hongxiu’s side. Seeing her struggling desperately, unable to even turn her neck, he couldn’t resist giving her a hand.

He gave Fang Hongxiu’s shoulder a gentle push, causing her to topple to the other side.

THUD.

Her bamboo hat flew off.

Fang Hongxiu lay limply on the rain-soaked ground, her Imprisonment Officer uniform drenched.

But on her beautiful face, her eyes were still wide open, trying to get a clear look at Chen Yi’s features.

But in the dim, rainy night, all she could see under the bamboo hat was a section of a rounded, bearded chin.

"You... you’d better... not let me catch you..."

If she weren’t currently paralyzed, she would have definitely pressed her long Blade against this bastard’s neck.

It wasn’t just her.

The three Imprisonment Officers beside her were also glaring fiercely at Chen Yi. "You won’t get away."

"Bastard, don’t let us catch you!"

Chen Yi stepped over them noncommittally, sighing in his hoarse voice, "I’m just a nobody. Let me go."

Fang Hongxiu gritted her teeth. "N-Never."

Hearing this, Chen Yi paused, turned his head to look at her, and chuckled.

"Including last time, I’ve spared your lives twice now."

"The old saying goes, ’Once is a pass, twice is a warning, but there won’t be a third time.’ Tell me, if we meet again, do you think I’ll still let you go?"

With that, he swaggered off, disappearing into the dim curtain of rain.

But Fang Hongxiu still didn’t look away, her beautiful eyes fixed on the direction he had gone.

Faintly, she could still hear that despicable man’s voice.

"Oh, right. The poison’s effects will last for four hours."

"You’ve been out in the rain for so long, be careful not to catch a cold. Remember to take a hot bath and make some ginger tea when you get back."

"And Hundred Households Fang, you’re so pretty, with such a nice figure. I hope no roving degenerates happen to pass by while you’re like this."

"Otherwise... tsk, tsk, tsk..."

After hearing this, Fang Hongxiu couldn’t help but curse, "Bastard! Pervert!"

But the thought of what Chen Yi had just said sent a chill through her.

The three Imprisonment Officers beside her had also heard his taunts. They all flinched, not daring to speak.

"After we get back, remember what to say and what not to say."

"Don’t worry, Lord Hundred Households. We know what to do..."

Hearing this, Fang Hongxiu gritted her teeth, her heart filled with extreme hatred for the villain who had taken them down twice now.

’No matter what, I will hunt you down, bring you to justice, and throw you in the great prison!’

This minor interlude, of course, did not affect Chen Yi much.

However, he was a bit more careful on the way back, no longer lost in thought about the matter of the Hidden Guard as he had been before.

It took him about an hour.

Only then did he manage to slip past the Xiao Family’s Personal Guard and return to Spring Lotus Garden.

After washing up and changing into a clean long robe, Chen Yi didn’t rest. Instead, he went to his study.

He lit an oil lamp and sat alone at his desk.

Then, he glanced out the window and listened intently for a moment.

Seeing that Xiaodie, Xiao Wuge, and Pei Guanli were all sound asleep, he poured water to grind the ink, spread out a sheet of Yunsong Paper, and took up his brush to write and draw on it.

By now, midnight had passed.

Amidst the rush of the downpour, Spring Lotus Garden was filled with a chorus of croaking frogs, intermingled with the DRIP, DROP, SPLAT of the rain, creating a rather noisy ambiance.

Outside the two wooden buildings, eight lanterns swayed, illuminating two circles of light where flying raindrops were visible.

Faintly, within the study lit by the dim yellow candlelight, the distinct silhouette of a figure bent over a desk was cast upon the window paper.

About two hours later.

Chen Yi put down his Wolf Hair Brush. He looked at the circles and dots on the paper, muttering thoughtfully to himself.

"’To resist foreign aggression, one must first bring peace to the home front.’"

Compared to Ge the Third, Cui Qingwu, and that Lady Tiger, at least, Xiao Dongchen—the Gray Wolf—was far too selfish.

Add to that Xiao Wang, who controlled the Punishment Hall; Xiao Qiuyun, who had married into Duke Qian’s Mansion; and Xiao Ziqi, who served in the Military Supervision Institute...

These members of the second branch, colluding with the Hidden Guard from both inside and out, posed too great a threat to the Xiao Family.

He pondered for a moment.

While crossing out "Xiao Dongchen" on the paper, Chen Yi added a white piece to the chessboard in his mind: Liu Lang.

’I’ll use the incident with the summer grain fire in the Three Towns to get rid of him, then.’

’It’s a shame I don’t have three hundred thousand silver coins right now, otherwise...’

Chen Yi muttered a few more things to himself, then held the Yunsong Paper over the oil lamp until it burned to ash.

Fortunately, although he didn’t have that much silver, someone else did.

It seemed he would have to make Liu Lang put in some extra effort.

...

「Two days passed in the blink of an eye.」

The rain over Shu State Prefecture City had eased somewhat.

The downpour had turned into a steady drizzle.

It made the sweltering summer much more bearable.

But for some people, the cool, rainy days also had major downsides.

This was especially true for the artisans and street vendors who relied on good weather for their livelihood.

Fewer people on the streets naturally affected their business.

Even the tea sales at Hundred Herbs Hall and the Xiao Family Medicine Hall were somewhat affected.

In particular, Wangji Tea, which was made specifically to relieve summer heat, saw sluggish sales as the weather cooled.

Even though it only accounted for ten percent of the revenue, it still pained Wang Ji.

And so, first thing in the morning, he brought his account books to the Xiao Mansion.

Ostensibly, he was there to inform the Xiao Family’s young lady, Xiao Wan’er, of the meeting date with the owner of Hundred Herbs Hall.

In reality, after leaving Jiaxing Garden, he turned and headed straight for Spring Lotus Garden.

From a distance, he spotted Chen Yi drinking tea in the pavilion and couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

’This lord truly pays no mind to the affairs of the world.’

Setting aside the matter of Hundred Herbs Hall’s declining profits, just the recent buzz in Shu State Prefecture City would have kept any ordinary person from being so leisurely.

And the "buzz" he was thinking of was none other than the news that Guiyun Academy had gained two new masters accomplished in the Calligraphy Dao.

Ever since the news spread that day, most of the scholars in Shu State City had been discussing it.

Some envied the students of Guiyun Academy, some were grateful to have passed the County Examination and would soon be joining the academy, and others praised Chen Yi, also known as Chen Qingzhou.

"’A scholar accomplished in the Calligraphy Dao will do something for Shu State.’ Tsk, tsk."

"With that statement, regardless of Chen Qingzhou’s scholarship or whether he holds an official position, his reputation in Shu State, at least, won’t be poor."

"You’re right, my friend, but your view is a bit one-sided."

"How could that Chen Qingzhou lack scholarship? His previous works, like the birthday and wedding poems, all show his extraordinary knowledge."

"Besides, he’s now the Xiao Family’s live-in son-in-law. Even without an official post, he’ll be well-fed and clothed for life."

"True enough..."

Amid all the chatter, no one questioned the truth of the matter.

This was especially true for the members of the great Noble Families. Regardless of whether they had children studying at Guiyun Academy, they all hoped to get Chen Yi to teach them a thing or two.

But of course, that was an impossibility.

As far as Wang Ji knew, everyone who had approached the Xiao Family had been turned away by the Old Master and the Young Lady.

Dealing with those who went to Guiyun Academy was even simpler.

Mr. Yue Ming simply presented his "three-point agreement" with Chen Yi, dispelling the notions of many.

Thinking of all this, Wang Ji approached with a smile and a bow. "Mr. Qingzhou, I hope you’ll forgive my intrusion."

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow slightly and gestured for him to sit. "Shopkeeper Wang, when it comes to business, let’s keep it business. You should still call me Shopkeeper."

"I wouldn’t dare."

"If word got out, all the scholars in Shu State would curse my name."