Xiao Jinghong watched Liu Lang stagger away, then returned inside and sat down.

What Liu Lang said weighed on her mind.

Although she had previously guessed that a Shu State Gate Valve was responsible for seizing the medicinal supplies, she had never considered the Liu Family as the main culprit.

Even her grandfather hadn’t explicitly mentioned it in his letter.

She pondered for a moment.

Realizing her grandfather’s intentions, Xiao Jinghong let out a long sigh.

’Grandfather must be waiting for news from my end.’

With that thought, she glanced at the two letters on the table before picking up another pastry and popping it into her mouth.

Her thoughts jumped back to an earlier moment.

’Now, where was I?’

’Oh, right.’

’Because of the matter with the Dingyuan Army, her feelings for Chen Yi had...’

"My Lady."

Just then, Su Zhenyue came running over in a hurry.

A flicker of resignation crossed Xiao Jinghong’s eyes as she waved a hand, tucking the two letters and poems into her robes.

"Has everything been arranged?"

"It’s all taken care of. Yan Hong has already set out. He should arrive at the Capital Commandery by noon the day after tomorrow."

As she spoke, Su Zhenyue noticed the damp patches on Xiao Jinghong’s clothes and couldn’t help but ask with some confusion,

"My Lady, were you just outside?"

Xiao Jinghong hummed in affirmation. "Senior Sword Ghost’s closed-door disciple was just here. He’s gone now."

Su Zhenyue paused, slightly taken aback. "Sword Ghost? Is his disciple that ’Sword Madman,’ Liu Lang?"

"The very same."

"He didn’t come to challenge you, did he?"

Xiao Jinghong nodded, her tone flat. "Unfortunately, his Dao doesn’t lie solely with the blade. He’s also distracted by the Spear Dao, which makes him somewhat uninteresting."

Su Zhenyue chuckled, covering her mouth. "Perhaps he wishes to emulate you, My Lady, but his talent is too limited for him to achieve much."

"Still, the fact that he came to challenge you means Senior Sword Ghost didn’t reveal your identity to him."

"Whether he revealed it or not is all in the past now."

Xiao Jinghong didn’t dwell on it, instead instructing, "Go bring some more food."

Su Zhenyue took her leave.

Xiao Jinghong watched her go, then once again took the two letters from her robes.

She didn’t open them, however. Her thoughts merely continued from before: ’I truly have wronged my husband.’

She fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Jinghong recalled what Liu Lang had said just moments ago. ’The Jing State Liu Family will be sending people to make a move against the Xiao Family Medicine Hall soon.’

’I remember Elder Sister’s letter mentioned that business at our Medicine Halls has just started to improve.’

’And my husband is doing an excellent job as the Shopkeeper of Jishi Medicine Hall. He must be putting his heart into it.’

’If the Jing State and Shu State branches of the Liu Family join forces... they’ll surely cause trouble for the Medicine Halls, won’t they?’

Xiao Jinghong stared at the letters in her hand, lost in thought.

She only snapped out of it when Su Zhenyue placed a plate of steaming pastries on the table.

"My Lady, are you still keeping the Young Master’s letters?"

Xiao Jinghong noticed the teasing glint in her eyes and calmly put the two letters away.

"I need to go out for something. I’ll be back tomorrow after nightfall."

Su Zhenyue blinked. "Huh? Now? Where are you going?"

"My Lady, we have a geological survey tomorrow. Without you here, the people from the Mountain Race won’t be able to keep those oddballs from the engineering division in line."

Xiao Jinghong tossed a pastry into her mouth. "Have Pei Guanli handle it... hmm..."

She paused, then changed tack. "Have her older brother handle it. Pei Guanli is coming with me."

Hearing this, Su Zhenyue hesitated for a moment before asking again, "My Lady, may I ask where you are going so late?"

Xiao Jinghong didn’t answer, merely instructing her to go wake Pei Guanli.

"Then I’ll go prepare the horses."

"No need. We won’t be gone long."

Seeing that her mind was made up, Su Zhenyue nodded and left the wooden cabin.

Xiao Jinghong watched her walk away, thinking to herself, ’It’s probably best if I go back and check on things.’

’I can also drop Pei Guanli off at the Xiao Mansion for a while. That’ll keep her from causing trouble here.’

Ultimately, she couldn’t set aside her worries about the Liu Family.

’And my husband...’

Not long after, Pei Guanli came running over, shouting at the top of her lungs.

Xiao Jinghong promptly grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and leaped into the night sky, turning her boisterous shouts into panicked shrieks.

"Sister Jinghong, slow down! I’m... scared... of... heights... AHHH..."

...

「The next morning, as dawn broke.」

The drizzle that had fallen all night had grown heavier, and raindrops the size of rice grains pattered against the roof tiles and the surface of the pond.

The Spring Lotus Garden was filled with the sound of PIT-PAT, PIT-PAT. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

At first, the sound was crisp and pleasant.

Chen Yi awoke from his cultivation. He got up, opened the window, and stretched his limbs while gazing out at the rainy Spring Lotus Garden.

The cultivation effects of his Four Symbols Skill, now at the Earth Tier, were indeed much faster.

However, the amount of True Essence in his two Seas of Qi wasn’t the key to opening the final Ren and Du Meridians.

He could only proceed bit by bit to avoid any mistakes that might damage these two most vital meridians.

Just then, Xiaodie, apparently having heard him moving about, knocked and entered with a basin of warm water and a towel.

"Good morning, Young Master."

"Morning."

After their greeting, Xiaodie soaked the towel and used it to wipe his face.

After he changed into a fresh robe, she helped straighten it for him before she began to tidy up the room.

When she saw the soaking wet black robe, Xiaodie picked it up suspiciously. "Young Master, did you go out last night?"

Chen Yi just laughed and gave a vague excuse about practicing his Martial Arts in the garden.

Xiaodie didn’t suspect a thing and put the robe in a basin to be washed.

The two of them left the room, one after the other.

Xiaodie seemed to recall something. "Young Master, it seems something happened in the mansion today."

Chen Yi’s interest was piqued. "Oh? What’s that?"

Xiaodie gestured with her chin toward the outer part of the garden. "A lot of people came to the central courtyard. Some from the Imprisonment Department, others from the Prefectural Yamen and the City Guard Army."

"No one’s clear on the specifics, but I heard that Brother Liu Si was injured by some ruffian last night."

"I’m guessing the people from the Government Office are here because of that."

’Ruffian?’

Chen Yi smiled and glanced at her. "Xiaodie, I want to have hot pot for lunch. Go let the kitchen know."

’You little brat, daring to call your young master a ruffian. As punishment, you can be the one to cook my meat slices.’

Xiaodie blinked in surprise, but she didn’t refuse.

But then she thought about the last time they had hot pot, and a pained expression crossed her face. "Young Master, could we maybe prepare two pots...?"

Last time, with the Eldest Young Miss here, she, Juan’er, and Cui’er couldn’t even sit at the table.

’Ugh, having to just stand there and watch, unable to eat... it was torture.’

Chen Yi saw her expression and let out a heartless laugh.

This made Xiaodie lower her head in embarrassment. "Young Master, I want to try some too, you know."

"Alright, alright. Tell the kitchen to prepare plenty of extra food."

"You got it!"

After breakfast, Chen Yi, knowing the situation with the Xiao Family Medicine Hall and Hundred Herbs Hall was likely still unresolved, settled down to play chess with Xiao Wuge in the pavilion.

He had to admit, Xiao Wuge was very bright. He picked up the rules, piece formations, and game records with incredible speed.

In just a day or two, his playing already looked quite polished.

They played until it was nearly noon. Not long after Xiaodie ran off to arrange the hot pot, Xiao Wan’er, Shen Huatang, and Xie Tingyun arrived together at the Spring Lotus Garden.

Chen Yi saw them and asked with a smile, "What a coincidence. I just sent Xiaodie to prepare hot pot."

Clearly, they hadn’t been drawn by the aroma.

But it also didn’t seem like they were here for anything too urgent.

At least, judging from the expression on her face, Xiao Wan’er seemed to be in a good mood.

And sure enough, Xiao Wan’er said with a smile, "Hot pot sounds great! It’s a perfect chance to liven things up."

Shen Huatang, standing beside her, didn’t show much reaction, but Xie Tingyun was already acting familiar, winking and giving Chen Yi suggestive looks.

Her expression seemed to say, ’You really know how to live it up, pal.’

Chen Yi found this amusing and didn’t forget to invite them to sit. "I heard there was some trouble in the mansion. An Armored Warrior was injured last night? Is it related to Hundred Herbs Hall?"

He was, of course, feigning ignorance.

Xiao Wan’er nodded. "Liu Si’er was injured, but thankfully, it wasn’t serious. We sent him to a Medicine Hall for treatment last night."

"Also, the crisis at Hundred Herbs Hall has been resolved for the time being. Wang Ji and Yan Hai are both safe and sound."

"It was a close call, though..."

As he listened to Xiao Wan’er recount the events of the previous night, Chen Yi fought back a strange feeling, thinking only that she was quite an eloquent storyteller.

She recounted every detail with such clarity, it was as if she had been there herself.

"It’s good that Boss Wang is alright."

Chen Yi paused, then asked, "Did you find out who was behind the Illusory Sound Sect?"

Xiao Wan’er hesitated. "I believe we already know, but Grandfather and Second Grand-uncle haven’t announced it publicly."

Chen Yi understood. He figured his grandfather-in-law and the others still needed to wrangle with the Liu Family.

After all, the Liu Family still had the Left Envoy of the Shu State Governor’s Office on their side.

It was unlikely that his grandfather-in-law and the others would push things to the point of no return.

The final outcome would probably be just as Chen Yunfan had guessed last night: the Liu Family would offer up their Sixth Young Master to appease the Xiao Family’s wrath.

Of course, none of this was Chen Yi’s concern anymore.

In his current situation, helping the Xiao Family earn some silver coins and ensuring the safety of Hundred Herbs Hall was the most he could do.

As for taking on a behemoth like the Liu Family himself... he’d rather not for the time being.

Before long, servants from the kitchen arrived.

Two hot pot sets were placed in the Spring Lotus Garden.

At one table sat Chen Yi, Xiao Wan’er, and the others. At the other sat Xiaodie, Juan’er, and Cui’er.

Despite their different statuses, everyone at both tables was now eating heartily, their mouths glistening.

Just then, Xiao Wan’er said, "Brother-in-law, I’m writing a letter to Jinghong today."

"You should write one too, and we can send them together."

Chen Yi paused, slightly surprised. ’Another one?’

’If I write another one, it’ll become *Three Thoughts on a Summer Night*.’

’Three thoughts... Re-thinking it...’

’On second thought, I should probably come up with a more fitting title.’