Chen Yi knew Wang Ji wasn’t just being polite.

After his visit to Guiyun Academy the day before yesterday, the discussions among the scholars in Shu State City had already reached his ears.

If he hadn’t been feigning illness at home and refusing visitors, Spring Lotus Garden would have been overflowing with people long ago.

Even so, many members of Noble Families who felt they had some influence with the Xiao Family were still flocking to Qingjing Residence and Jiaxing Garden.

Chen Yi was aware of all this.

It wasn’t because his Cultivation had improved, sharpening his hearing.

It was because of Xiaodie, his personal "ace reporter."

He didn’t know if she was just particularly popular, but in the few times she left Spring Lotus Garden each day, she always returned with some news.

Which master from what family, what his former official rank was, had gone to see the Old Master.

Which lady and her daughter had visited Jiaxing Garden, and so on.

On top of that, Xiao Wan’er had been coming over to talk with him these past two days.

When she came in the morning, she would bring a bowl of ginger tea and tell him to drink it while it was hot.

If she came in the evening, she would arrange for dinner in Spring Lotus Garden.

Then, during the meal, she would tell him about the people she’d met that day, what a few of them had said, and what their current relationship with the Xiao Family was like.

Most of the time, Chen Yi let it go in one ear and out the other, making no promises.

Of course, Xiao Wan’er wouldn’t make any promises either, nor would she force Chen Yi to agree to those people’s requests to "pull some strings."

In a way, she was helping Chen Yi fend off a lot of trouble.

However, not everyone in the Marquis’s Mansion was as reasonable as the Old Master and Xiao Wan’er.

For example, Xiao Dongchen from the second branch had approached Xiao Wan’er, asking her to help put in a word for him.

And someone from the third branch’s Xiao Shen had also come knocking.

Chen Yi had naturally refused them all.

These days, just annotating the workbooks for the hundred students in the study hall already took him a full hour, which was enough of a headache.

He had no desire to take on more students and become a beast of burden for Guiyun Academy.

After a few pleasantries, Wang Ji used some tea to write two words on the stone table, sighing as he spoke,

"The dog days of summer are almost over. I expect it will affect tea sales."

Chen Yi glanced at the two words on the table—"Seeking Advice"—and smiled, but he didn’t rush to answer. He picked up the teapot and poured him a cup of tea.

"Boss Wang, you think three steps ahead. Not bad."

Wang Ji looked embarrassed and raised his teacup to hide it. "Mr. Qingzhou, you flatter me."

"I’m sure you’re aware of Jishi Medicine Hall’s recent situation. With the continuous rain, the wharf and the East and West Markets are full of idle folk. Wangji Tea sales are down by ten percent compared to before."

"Although many people still come because of our reputation, there will come a time when they’ve had their fill of this tea."

Chen Yi took a sip of tea, understanding his meaning. He shook his head with a smile.

"In business, not losing money is a win. Earning less is still earning. Small fluctuations are perfectly normal."

"Instead of wasting energy on this, you should think more about how to open up new sources of revenue."

The current five tea drinks were sufficient. It wasn’t that he couldn’t create new ones, but that it was unnecessary.

He had previously thought Wang Ji understood that the next priority was to expand Hundred Herbs Hall to other states and counties. Now, it seemed Wang Ji’s vision was still not farsighted enough.

As long as they could open a few more Hundred Herbs Hall branches, he was confident he could be rolling in money even if he gave Wangji Tea away for free.

After hearing this, Wang Ji lowered his head in thought for a moment. Realizing the root of the issue, he couldn’t help but look enlightened and cupped his hands. "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Qingzhou."

"You’re too kind, Boss Wang."

"I’m just an armchair strategist. In the future, Jishi Medicine Hall will have to rely more on your Hundred Herbs Hall."

"Mr. Qingzhou, you’re being too serious..."

After a bit more small talk, Wang Ji took a letter from his robes and placed it on the table.

"This is a thank-you letter from Liu Yun. He asked me to pass it on to you. His injuries have healed."

"Oh?"

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow slightly. He guessed there had been progress with Liu Lang’s matter, so he simply put the letter away.

Seeing this, Wang Ji stood up to take his leave.

Just as Chen Yi was about to return to his study to read Liu Lang’s news, Xiao Wan’er approached with several people, each carrying a few account books.

Chen Yi saw them from a distance and had no choice but to put the letter away again.

He stood up and instructed Xiaodie to move the tea set to the other side of the railing while greeting,

"Elder Sister."

Xiao Wan’er nodded. After gesturing for Cui’er and Juan’er to put down the account books, she looked him up and down and said with a smile,

"Your complexion is much better. You must be fine now."

Chen Yi nodded. ’If it weren’t for avoiding all those unnecessary social obligations, why would I need to feign illness?’ he thought.

"Did no one from the mansion visit Jiaxing Garden today?"

Xiao Wan’er shook her head gently. "I’ve already instructed Huatang to turn them away for now."

After speaking, she paused and then pointed to the account books on the table.

"Wang Ji just told me that the boss of Hundred Herbs Hall will arrive in Shu State in two days. I want to calculate our profits and buy him a presentable gift."

"Elder Sister, you can decide. I don’t understand these things."

"You don’t understand, or you’re just trying to be lazy?"

Chen Yi paused, a little stunned. Seeing the mock reproach on her face, he said frankly, "I really don’t."

"I’ll choose to believe you for now."

Despite her words, after calculating all of next month’s expenses, Xiao Wan’er saw that the storeroom would still have a surplus of eleven thousand taels in silver coins. Joy bloomed across her features.

"Brother-in-law, what do you think we should get him?"

Him?

’Me, I suppose.’

Seeing that she was really preparing to buy a gift for him, Chen Yi’s heart stirred.

"I heard from Wang Ji that the boss of Hundred Herbs Hall loves fishing. How about we get him a fishing set?"

Xiao Wan’er was taken aback. "Is that a good idea?"

"We’ve earned so much silver from Hundred Herbs Hall. How can we just give him a fishing set?"

"Elder Sister, you probably don’t have much experience with fishing. There’s a lot more to fishing gear than meets the eye."

"It’s true that the ordinary fishing gear in the East Market only costs fifty copper coins, and the ones in the West Market are only one or two taels in silver coins."

Chen Yi said with a serious expression, "But for true fishing enthusiasts, the gear in their hands is worth at least eight or ten thousand taels of silver."

Xiao Wan’er’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise. "Just for a fishing rod? Worth ten thousand taels?"

"Of course."

"The rod itself is made from a special Ice Bamboo found only in the East Sea. It’s perfectly round, smooth, and jade-white, with incredible resilience. A single rod is worth three thousand taels in silver coins, and it’s so rare you can’t buy one even if you have the money."

"The fishing line is woven from the sinew of a deep-sea whale. It’s said that even an Upper Three Grades Martial Arts Powerhouse would have trouble snapping it."

"The hook is forged from Cold Iron. The moment an ordinary fish bites the bait, it’s frozen solid."

At this point, Chen Yi couldn’t help but rub his hands together, smiling. "So tell me, how could it not be worth ten thousand taels of silver?"

He shouldn’t have brought it up. Just talking about it made his own hands itch with desire.

He had first heard about this fishing set from Duke Qian and Sun Fu. It had an elegant name: "A Little Cold Plum."

This was because when the hook was cast into the river, the combined effect of the Ice Bamboo and the Cold Iron would cause an ice flower to bloom on the water’s surface.

Evidently, Xiao Wan’er had never heard of "A Little Cold Plum."

Even if she had, she would never spend that much money to give the Shopkeeper of Hundred Herbs Hall a fishing rod.

"Let’s wait until we’re earning more before we gift something like this."

Chen Yi nodded with a hint of regret. "Alright."

Seeing his expression, Xiao Wan’er couldn’t help but tease,

"I think my brother-in-law wants one for himself."

"Of course! It’s the ultimate treasure for any fishing enthusiast."

Xiao Wan’er saw the trace of longing on his face. Her heart stirred, and she asked thoughtfully,

"Where can one buy that... Ice Bamboo fishing rod?"

"It’s called A Little Cold Plum, not some Ice Bamboo fishing rod. As for where to buy it, I have no idea."

Xiao Wan’er nodded and said no more, but she silently committed this to memory.

Right now, the mansion’s finances were tight, and they didn’t have much in the way of silver coins.

If the storerooms were full in the future, she wouldn’t mind gifting Chen Yi "A Little Cold Plum."

Although Chen Yi was eager, he also felt that spending so much money on a fishing rod was a bit extravagant, so he changed the subject.

This would prevent him from impulsively spending the silver coins he had on him.

As noon approached, Xiao Wan’er got up to leave.

"The day after tomorrow, remember to accompany me to meet the boss from Hundred Herbs Hall. I hear his surname is also Chen, and his name is Chen Yu. Perhaps you two are related in some way."

"I probably won’t have time. I have to go to the academy that day."

"That’s fine. You can just say a few words to him when you come back for dinner."

"..."

Watching Xiao Wan’er give her instructions as she stood to return to Jiaxing Garden, Chen Yi sighed to himself.

’I don’t have a Clone Skill or some other divine power. How can I appear under the same roof as myself?’

’Looks like I’ll have to find an excuse to stay outside the mansion that day.’

After lunch, Chen Yi returned to his room and opened Liu Lang’s letter.

The contents were very short, just three lines.

I’ve agreed to Heizi’s proposal. The time has not been set.

I hear others want to get involved. Heizi is very pleased and says the chances of success are high this time.

Heizi has arranged for me to meet that person tomorrow night. Do you have any instructions?

After reading, Chen Yi’s brow furrowed slightly.

"Others? High chances of success?"

The first thing he thought of was the Hidden Guard.

But the Hidden Guard had previously said they needed to send a message to some Pavilion Master in the Capital Prefecture.

’Two days isn’t enough time for letters to go back and forth, is it?’

’Or did the Hidden Guard contact Black Tooth in advance?’

After a moment’s thought, Chen Yi had two suspicions.

The first was the "Lady Tiger" from the Hidden Guard.

From what he’d overheard the night before last, she already had connections with Black Tooth. It was possible she would make her move before receiving news from the Capital Prefecture.

The second was the Financier who was paying for the job, or some other figure with immense power and connections.

If it was the first, it wouldn’t be so bad. The Hidden Guard was influential, but they didn’t have many Martial Arts Powerhouses. The "Sword Madman’s" strength would be enough to handle them.

If it was the latter... he was afraid he would have to come up with a plan.

"Tsk, I knew things wouldn’t go this smoothly. Luckily, there’s still time."

’It seems a trip to Hundred Herbs Hall will be necessary tomorrow.’

’I wonder if the Old Master and the others have gotten wind of this,’ Chen Yi muttered to himself, glancing out the window in the direction of Qingjing Residence and shaking his head slightly.

’Whether they know or not doesn’t matter.’

’This time, I’m going to do something. I’m going to take care of some people.’

...

At dinnertime, Xiao Wan’er sent a messenger to say that she was hosting a banquet for the Tang Family’s first lady and her daughter, so she wouldn’t be coming over.

Chen Yi had already heard the sounds from Jiaxing Garden, so he told Xiaodie to bring their food from the back kitchen.

Speaking of which, it seemed the spread of his Calligraphy Dao had also brought some benefits to the Xiao Family.

Take the Tang Family, for example.

Although Tang Zixing hadn’t shown his face, his wife had been visiting the Xiao Family quite frequently these past few days.

Although she came for the sake of her son Tang Ye’s education, everyone in the Xiao Family was happy to see it happen.

Chen Yi was aware of this but didn’t try to take credit.

After all, every matter had its pros and cons.

In the eyes of the Old Master and others, this was a good thing.

But in the eyes of others with ulterior motives, it was an out-and-out bad thing.

In any case, he still needed to be careful for the time being.

Just as Xiaodie finished preparing dinner, Xiao Wuge and Pei Guanli arrived in the living room.

"Brother-in-law, guess what my Cultivation level is now!"

"Mid-Eighth Grade."

"Yep, yep! Aren’t I amazing?"

He didn’t know if it was because of the duel between Xie Tingyun and Shen Huatang or for some other reason, but she had been cultivating diligently for several days straight.

If not for the fact that the meals Xiaodie sent over were always scraped clean, he would have suspected the Tiger Girl was sick.

Fortunately, hearing that her Cultivation had broken through was good news.

"What about you, Brother-in-law?"

Seeing Pei Guanli’s blunt question, Chen Yi replied irritably, "The Middle Three Grades."

"Huh?"

Chen Yi rapped her on the head. "What ’huh’? I’m a Ninth-Grade Martial Artist. What’s there to ask about my Cultivation?"

Seeing this, Xiao Wuge and Xiaodie laughed heartlessly at the side.

But the Tiger Girl wasn’t annoyed. ’I’m someone who knows Brother-in-law’s secret,’ she thought.

’Those who don’t know are not to blame. Ignorance is innocence.’

After some laughter and a short rest,

Seeing it was getting late, Chen Yi returned to his room, sat cross-legged on his bed, and began to practice the Four Symbols Skill.

In a way, what he’d told the Tiger Girl wasn’t exactly a lie.

Because his breakthrough to the Middle Three Grades was happening tonight!