Arriving outside her door, he pressed his ear against it and heard Tiger Girl’s steady breathing.

After a moment’s hesitation, Chen Yi knocked on the door.

THUMP. THUMP, THUMP.

Although the muffled sound was masked by the patter of the rain, it was enough to jolt a martial artist awake.

"Who is it?"

"It’s me."

"Brother-in-law?"

Not suspecting a thing, Pei Guanli scrambled out of bed and opened the door.

Perhaps because she had been startled awake, her round face still looked dazed and sleepy.

She didn’t even notice she was only wearing her undergarments, and the heavy bell she wore swayed with a soft tinkle.

Chen Yi glanced at her, then averted his gaze and coughed. "Get dressed. I’ll wait for you in the living room."

With that, he turned and went downstairs.

After he was gone, Pei Guanli muttered, ’We could have just talked here.’

But as she rubbed her eyes and became more alert, she noticed the chill on her skin and glanced down.

She let out a yelp, followed by a frantic JINGLE-JANGLE.

Chen Yi found it amusing. He knew Tiger Girl was wild by nature and didn’t pay much mind to the proprieties between men and women.

He didn’t think she’d done it on purpose.

A short while later, Pei Guanli came timidly downstairs, her face beet red. She sat beside him with her head lowered. "Brother-in-law."

Chen Yi looked at her and couldn’t help but smile. "You’re a grown woman now. It’s time you got married."

"I am not!"

"Not a grown woman, or not time to get married?"

Forgetting her shyness, Pei Guanli wrinkled her nose. "I don’t want to get married so early! Even Ah Ma isn’t rushing me."

Chen Yi didn’t press the issue. He smoothed her messy hair and said with a smile,

"I have something urgent I need your help with."

Pei Guanli touched the stray hairs at her forehead, her pretty, round face blushing slightly. She blinked her big eyes and stared intently at him.

"Brother-in-law, what is it?"

Chen Yi took out the letter and handed it to her. "I need you to get this letter to the Madam as soon as possible," he instructed.

"For Sister Jinghong?"

Pei Guanli took the letter and began to read, sounding out the words: "Fire in the Three Towns... Sword Madman..."

Despite the messy, crooked handwriting, she managed to understand its meaning. A look of excitement instantly appeared on her face.

"Brother-in-law, is something fun happening again?"

’Fun?’

Chen Yi smiled and nodded. "You could say that."

"But when you go, you must act as if you found this letter by chance. Don’t let on that you knew about it beforehand."

"So I need to keep your secret from Sister Jinghong again, right?"

"Yes. She can’t know for the time being, so you’ll need to find a good excuse to go back."

Pei Guanli nodded repeatedly, grinning. "I get it, I get it! I’m going back to visit Ah Ma, right?"

"Exactly. The Madam will get suspicious if you’re too obvious about it."

Chen Yi wasn’t sure if Tiger Girl truly understood or was just pretending, but he had no better person for the job. He could only meticulously explain every last detail.

Pei Guanli took note of everything and began to rehearse her role convincingly.

"First, I’ll do this, and then this... and then I’ll ’accidentally’ let the letter fall out for Sister Jinghong..."

"Right, I have to say I’m going back to the clan to visit Ah Ma and my brothers. The excuse... the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

"Brother-in-law, that’ll definitely work, right?"

After running through it a couple of times, Pei Guanli had the whole process figured out.

"Okay, I’ll set off now."

"Don’t be in such a rush. Wait until dawn, then tell your eldest sister and have her prepare a horse for you before you leave."

"Okay, okay! Don’t worry, Brother-in-law. A little thing like this is no problem for me."

Seeing how confident Pei Guanli was, Chen Yi didn’t hold back his praise.

"It’s a good thing you never took up opera. You’d be the star of the show by now."

Pei Guanli giggled, her two canine teeth peeking out. She was clearly enjoying the praise.

"I think so too..."

After giving her a few more instructions, Chen Yi told her to hide the letter well, then got up and left.

Pei Guanli closed her door, looked left and right, then furtively pulled the letter from her robes like a thief, unable to suppress a mischievous chuckle.

’Just you watch, Brother-in-law.’

’I guarantee Sister Jinghong won’t suspect a thing.’

After muttering to herself for a moment, Pei Guanli tucked the letter under the string of bells she wore, patting it as if it were a treasure.

JINGLE, JINGLE...

In his study, Chen Yi heard the faint jingling from the next room and shook his head with a smile.

’Whether this succeeds or not is all up to you, Pei Guanli.’

...

「In the pre-dawn hours, the rain began to subside.」

Sun Fu, dressed neatly for travel, arrived at the Qingjing Residence holding a brocade box. Inside was the calligraphy scroll titled "Farewell to Duke Changming in Shu State."

He was set to depart for Jinling today, and before leaving, he wanted to have a word with Marquis Xiao.

In fact, he had already informed Marquis Xiao of his plans a few days prior.

It was just that, back then, he hadn’t yet obtained the treasured scroll and lacked confidence in his upcoming trip to Jinling.

He certainly wasn’t as full of vigor as he was now.

Even Elder Master Xiao, who was in the middle of washing up and dressing, was surprised when he saw him.

He looked Sun Fu up and down.

The Elder Master blurted out, "Did you spend the night in Yanhua Lane?"

Sun Fu nearly choked, so furious his beard bristled and his eyes went wide.

"You old coot! Can’t anything good ever come out of that mouth of yours?"

"This is what they call ’glowing from a happy occasion’!"

"A happy occasion? I seem to recall you looking all doom and gloom just a couple of days ago, the very picture of desolation."

"What happened? Is your daughter-in-law expecting?"

"I wish..."

The two old-timers bickered for a bit out of habit.

Sun Fu knew the man was just being difficult and didn’t continue the banter. He placed the brocade box he was carrying onto the table and said,

"Take a look. *This* is the ’happy occasion’."

"And it’s not just for me, but for you too."

Marquis Xiao looked at him, slightly curious. "You’re sure it’s a happy occasion?"

"Just make sure it’s not a ’fright’ instead of a pleasant surprise. I’m telling you, my health might be a bit better these days, but I can’t handle any sudden shocks."

Sun Fu ignored him, opening the brocade box and taking out the roll of Yunsong Paper.

He paused, his expression serious. "Watch closely. Don’t blink."

Marquis Xiao eyed the paper in his hands dubiously and urged, "Stop dithering. Hurry up and open it."

"I’d like to see just what treasure has you acting so secretive."

Then, Sun Fu unfurled the roll of Yunsong Paper.

The moment the first character came into view, a fluorescent glow filled the dimly candlelit hall.

Faintly, a voice could be heard chanting, "A thousand li... of yellow clouds... the bright sun dims..."

At the same time, an illusory scene manifested on the paper: yellow sand blotted out the sky, obscuring the sun’s halo, while a lone figure stood below, gazing up into the distance.

Marquis Xiao’s expression immediately turned serious after just one glance.

He then watched as the scene on the paper shifted again. Wild geese flew south amidst a heavy, drifting snow. Then, another figure appeared, walking and smiling, with a crowd of people following behind.

...until the figure stood atop the walls of Jinling City, gazing into the distance.

Marquis Xiao saw the figure’s face clearly—it was none other than Sun Fu, Sun Changming!

Marquis Xiao was visibly moved. "This... This is?"

Before Sun Fu could explain, the Marquis’s eyes swept to the bottom-left corner of the paper. His cloudy eyes instantly cleared, shining with the same brilliant light they had when he led his troops into Poshisu Country.

"Chen Yi, Chen Qingzhou. Late summer, the twenty-first year of Anhe."

Sun Fu smiled and nodded, seemingly satisfied with the Marquis’s stunned expression.

"I told you it was a happy occasion for you as well. I wasn’t wrong, was I?"

Marquis Xiao stared intently at the calligraphy scroll and the illusion it projected, only speaking after a long moment.

"Heh... Indeed... it is a happy occasion."

Sun Fu studied the Marquis’s face as he carefully rolled up the scroll and returned it to the box.

"You certainly don’t look like you’re celebrating a happy occasion."

"What’s wrong? Your grandson-in-law has achieved Perfection in the Calligraphy Dao. He’s just one step away from becoming a contemporary Calligraphy Saint, and you’re not happy?"

Marquis Xiao’s gaze drifted toward the Spring Lotus Garden as he sighed softly. "I am happy, of course. It’s just..."

"The more brilliant Qingzhou’s talent becomes, the more... worried I feel."

Sun Fu burst out laughing. "You old coot, are you worried Qingzhou has designs on your Xiao Family?"

Marquis Xiao nodded hesitantly, his expression a little strained.

"Changming, you should be aware of the Xiao Family’s current situation. If Qingzhou were to develop... other ideas, I’m afraid Jinghong wouldn’t be able to control him."

"You’re worrying over nothing. Qingzhou is a fine young man."

"Fine, I won’t hide it from you..."

Sun Fu then recounted his conversation with Chen Yi from the previous day, concluding with,

"Feeling better now?"

"Qingzhou has never had any such ideas."

"Instead of worrying about him, you’d be better off keeping an eye on your family’s Second and Third Branches, not to mention Duke Qian’s household."

Marquis Xiao’s expression grew grim. "Are you serious?"

Clutching the brocade box, Sun Fu snorted. "When have I ever deceived you?"

Seeing him speak with such conviction, the Marquis’s expression softened.

He was silent for a long time.

He couldn’t help but sigh again. "We have wronged Qingzhou."

"It’s good that you realize that."

"In the future, if he really does become a Calligraphy Saint with a world-renowned name, your Xiao Family may well have to rely on his favor."

"That’s... not entirely impossible..."