Maybe it was just his imagination, but when Chen Yi came to the front courtyard early in the morning to see Sun Fu off, he felt that Elder Master Xiao was giving him a very strange look.

It was the kind of look one would give a priceless treasure that was just out of reach.

He couldn’t help but wonder, ’Did the Elder Master find out that my Calligraphy Dao has reached Perfection?’

But even if he knew, he shouldn’t be looking at me like this.

’After all, I’m practically one of the Xiao family.’

Little did Chen Yi know that in Elder Master Xiao’s heart, it was only at this moment that he truly considered his grandson-in-law a part of the Xiao Family.

Before this, the Elder Master had simply had a good impression of Chen Yi, feeling that he was a worthy match for his granddaughter, Xiao Jinghong.

He never expected Chen Yi to make any contributions to the Xiao Family.

Even now, after learning that Chen Yi’s Calligraphy Dao had reached Perfection and going on a complex emotional journey, he still couldn’t bring himself to order Chen Yi to do things for the Xiao Family.

It was probably a matter of conscience.

After all, given the Xiao Family’s current circumstances, dragging anyone in was tantamount to asking them to put their lives on the line.

If not for the fact that Xiao Wan’er, Xiao Jinghong, and Xiao Wuge were bound by blood, the Elder Master would have wished for them to stay out of it as well.

Alas, that was impossible now.

Sun Fu watched the old man and his grandson-in-law, able to guess what was on their minds. After placing the brocade box in the carriage, he said with a smile:

"Qingzhou, if you have free time in the future, you should visit the Qingjing Residence more often. Otherwise, this old fellow will have no one to talk to, and his condition might worsen."

Chen Yi was moved and was just about to nod in agreement when he heard the Elder Master retort with a laugh:

"Since when do I need you to worry about me?"

"You should worry about yourself! Don’t get to Jinling only to find you can’t make a living to support your family."

Sun Fu wasn’t annoyed by this. He simply gave Chen Yi a slight nod and a meaningful look before firing back at the Elder Master with something along the lines of how he’d rather be a beggar than ask him for help.

Listening to the two elders bicker, Chen Yi just smiled.

He understood the meaning in Sun Fu’s eyes and guessed that Sun Fu must have said something to the Elder Master to cause such a change in him.

However...

Chen Yi could only refuse silently in his heart.

’Having tea and playing chess with the Elder Master is fine, but actively going over to find things to do for them...’

’Impossible.’

For one, he had no interest in becoming an official or joining the army.

For another, while it might not cause problems in the short term, it would inevitably arouse suspicion in the long run.

’And with those people from the Hidden Guard fanning the flames, heaven knows what would happen if I actually became an official or joined the army through the Xiao Family’s connections.’

’There’s no guarantee Ge the Third wouldn’t arrange some "meritorious deeds" for me just to get me promoted.’

’None of this is what I want.’

Not long after, Sun Fu bid farewell to each person who had come to see him off, sharing a few laughs before elegantly climbing into his carriage and announcing, "Let’s depart."

The carriage started moving at his word.

Amidst the RUMBLE of the wheels and the CLOP-CLOP of the hooves, the carriage gradually blurred in the curtain of rain.

Faintly, an aged yet vigorous voice drifted back:

"Don’t worry about having no friends on the road ahead; is there anyone under heaven who doesn’t know you? Haha..."

Hearing Sun Fu’s laughter, Elder Master Xiao’s face broke into a smile as he grumbled good-naturedly:

"That old coot got a great deal and now he’s showing off."

Chen Yi smiled but said nothing.

Beside him, Xiao Wan’er and Xiao Wuge both seemed to have thought of something as their eyes fell on him.

"Brother-in-law, did you write those lines for Grandpa Sun?"

Chen Yi met their gazes and didn’t hide it, nodding as he said:

"Elder Sun came to see me yesterday. I couldn’t very well let him leave empty-handed."

Before Xiao Wan’er and Xiao Wuge could respond, the Elder Master put on a stern face and said:

"Qingzhou, if shameless old fools like him come knocking in the future, just refuse them. I’ll back you up."

"Especially Sun Fu and Zhang Xuan. Those two have been in the army for too long. They’re the most thick-skinned of all—nothing but army ruffians."

At his words, not just Chen Yi, but also Xiao Wan’er and the others couldn’t help but chuckle.

Laughing and talking, the group returned to their respective residences.

After passing through the central courtyard, Xiao Wan’er didn’t forget to remind him, "Brother-in-law, please come back early today."

"Boss Chen Yu from Hundred Herbs Hall is visiting this afternoon, and I’d like to have him stay for dinner."

Chen Yi smiled, nodded, and readily agreed.

Of course, he couldn’t be in two places at once. If Chen Yu was there, he himself certainly couldn’t be.

’Fortunately, whether I’m Chen Yu or Chen Yi, I’ll be able to get a bite or two of that dinner.’

Xiao Wan’er, naturally unaware of his thoughts, began giving instructions to Cui’er and Juan’er while also saying:

"Just now, Guanli came by and said she’s returning to her clan. I’ve already had someone prepare a generous gift to be sent to the Mountain Race along with her."

"I was thinking of writing another letter to Second Sister. You should write one too, and we’ll have it delivered at the same time."

"..."

Chen Yi wanted to say that Xiao Jinghong hadn’t even replied to his last letter, so there was nothing more to write.

But after a moment’s thought, he kept it to himself and went straight to his study. With a flourish of his brush, he composed a short poem of a few dozen characters, titled "Thoughts of Summer."

’However, I estimate that once Xiao Jinghong sees the letter mentioning the "burning of the Three Towns’ summer grain," she won’t be in any mood to appreciate this "Thoughts of Summer" poem.’

’So, it should be fine if I just dash something off, right?’

After tidying up the study, Chen Yi gave the letter to Xiao Wan’er and also secretly gave Pei Guanli a few instructions to make sure she didn’t slip up.

Tiger Girl’s eyes were full of laughter as she nodded vigorously at him, then she hopped onto her carriage and rode off.

Once she was gone, Chen Yi saw that it was getting late, so he said goodbye to Xiao Wan’er and headed to the academy.

In an instant, the Spring Lotus Garden became completely empty.

Even Xiaodie was with Xiao Wuge in the Jiaxing Garden, studying.

After arranging everything, Xiao Wan’er took out the letter Chen Yi had written.

She hesitated for a moment, then put it away again.

’It’s not right to read other people’s letters without permission.’

With that thought, Xiao Wan’er gazed out at the gloomy, rainy weather, her mind drifting off to who knows where.

「...」

The morning’s Calligraphy class passed quickly.

As usual, Chen Yi gave the one hundred students in the study hall an assignment.

"Write a piece of Calligraphy, but this time, do it in the way that best suits your heart."

"It doesn’t have to be perfectly neat, and you don’t have to follow Wei Qing’s Style, but you must put your heart into it."

Drawing on his general impression of the students, Chen Yi pointed to a handsome-looking boy sitting in the front row as an example.

"Take Tang Ye, for example."

"You have a lively nature and are always full of wild and creative ideas. You can apply that same divergent thinking to the Calligraphy Dao."

As he spoke, Chen Yi wrote the character for "eternity" on a sheet of Yunsong Paper.

His brushstrokes followed his heart.

The horizontal stroke slanted slightly upward, the vertical one leaned to the lower left. It looked crooked, yet it gave off an extremely comfortable feeling.

Fourteen-year-old Tang Ye stared at the character, then imitated it on his sand tray.

Judging by its form alone, it was already thirty to forty percent similar to the one Chen Yi had written.

Tang Ye stared blankly at the sand tray and asked, seemingly half-understanding, "Sir, is... is this considered a new style of calligraphy?"

Chen Yi smiled and nodded. "As I’ve said, Calligraphy is like Painting. Whatever the world looks like in your eyes, that is how you should write."

"A so-called ’new style’ is nothing more than following your heart to write characters that best reflect your true intentions."

"The reason those who came before you failed is simply that they weren’t skilled enough, or their understanding of the Calligraphy Dao was one-sided."

"After all, not everyone can break free from the shackles of established rules."

Chen Yi put down his Wolf Hair Brush and said, "Class dismissed."

After the students bowed, he returned the bow and walked out of the study hall.

Mr. Yue Ming, Mr. Zhuo Ying, and others were already waiting at the door.

Chen Yi greeted them and followed Mr. Yue Ming to the rear residence, paying no mind to who in the study hall collected those sheets of Yunsong Paper.

Once they were seated in the study of the rear residence,

Mr. Yue Ming handed him a cup of tea that had already been prepared. "How did the students perform today?"

Chen Yi took a sip of tea. Noticing the headmaster’s embarrassed expression out of the corner of his eye, he asked with a smile, "Did someone pull some strings, and you couldn’t refuse them, Elder Sir?"

Mr. Yue Ming knew he couldn’t hide it from him and nodded with a bitter smile.

"Five years ago, when the Barbarian Race attacked, there was a food shortage throughout Shu State, and even our academy was affected."

"At that time, a great clan generously offered their help, and I promised them that I would repay them handsomely in the future, so..."

As he spoke, Mr. Yue Ming stood up and bowed. "I hope Qingzhou will grant permission."

Chen Yi quickly stepped aside and said, exasperated, "Headmaster, please don’t bow at the drop of a hat. I can’t bear such a gesture."

Mr. Yue Ming straightened up and looked at him. "I truly couldn’t refuse. I had no other choice."

Chen Yi thought for a moment, then nodded. "If that’s the reason, then I have no objection."

"However, since you’re the one adding a person, you’ll have to remove one student as well."

"This... can’t you make an exception?"

"Without rules, there can be no order. I hope you’ll understand, Headmaster."

Mr. Yue Ming’s expression turned bitter, but he didn’t press him further. "Since it has come to this, I will go discuss it with Heming."

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow. "You really know how to pick them, Elder Sir."

But on second thought, Ma Guan was indeed the most suitable choice.

After all, his Calligraphy Dao was already well-developed.

Even if he didn’t study under Chen Yi, as long as he continued on his current path, his future achievements in the Calligraphy Dao would not be insignificant.

"A temporary measure..."

After this incident, Mr. Yue Ming understood the difficulty of the situation and secretly decided that he could not make any more exceptions in the future.

A moment later, Chen Yi finished his cup of tea and was about to get up and leave.

Just then, Mr. Yue Ming stopped him, picked up an envelope from the desk, and handed it to him.

"This is a letter from Fang Gui. He says he wants us to help him decide what to do."

"Oh? A letter from Brother Huai’gu?"

Chen Yi took it and glanced at it, his brow furrowing.

The letter’s content was none other than the matter of the grain tax for the Three Towns’ summer harvest.

Originally, after the Imprisonment Department captured the "murderer" of Liu Jing, the Governor’s Office had sent a message to Li Huai’gu, telling him to collect the grain tax at a rate of one-twentieth.

Who would have thought that just the day before yesterday, Li Huai’gu received another letter from the Governor’s Office.

Or rather, a seal and an order.

"’Strictly investigate the amount of summer grain stored in the Three Towns and collect the grain tax at a rate of one-tenth?’"

"The Governor’s Office has certainly mastered the art of issuing orders in the morning and rescinding them by evening."

It wasn’t hard to guess that this was Liu Hong’s "attitude" on display for the people who had arrived from the Jing State Liu Family.

All in all, he had laid his cards on the table for the Xiao Family to see—he was still ready for a fight!

Hearing his words, Mr. Yue Ming shook his head. "With the dispute between the Xiao and Liu Families flaring up, Fang Gui is the one who suffers."

Chen Yi grunted in agreement and thought for a moment. "The way I see it, this matter will go back and forth a few more times."

"Oh? Qingzhou, you think Governor Liu will change his mind again?"

"Probably."

Chen Yi didn’t elaborate, only telling Mr. Yue Ming to reply as they had previously discussed and have Li Huai’gu continue to slow his progress.

There were still over twenty days left before the one-month deadline.

Before then, the matter between the Xiao and Liu Families should be settled.

He refused to believe that the Liu Family would dare to be so shameless after being implicated in the "burning of the Three Towns’ summer grain."

If they really were, it went without saying that Elder Master Xiao would not let them off the hook.

After a bit more small talk, Chen Yi took his leave and rushed to the West Market without stopping.

He even specifically hired a carriage for the trip, hurrying all the way to Hundred Herbs Hall.

There, he switched to Wang Ji’s carriage and headed for Xichuan Street, west of Kangning Street in North City.

It had to be said, Wang Ji was fast.

The task he had given Zhang Dabao last night—acquiring two residences in North City and East City—Wang Ji had completed in just four hours.

One of them was in an alley behind Xichuan Street.

It was about two li from Liu Jing’s former residence, not too far.

"Sir, time was short, so we haven’t prepared everything. Please bear with us."

Chen Yi waved his hand. Seeing that time was tight, he had Zhang Dabao disguise him directly.

While this was happening, he gave his instructions, "When you see Eldest Miss Xiao, you take the lead. Explain the plan to expand Hundred Herbs Hall to her clearly."

Wang Ji hesitated. "Sir, that’s not appropriate."

He was just the shopkeeper of Hundred Herbs Hall. If he was too forward in that kind of setting, not only would people think he had no manners, but they would also think Chen Yi was too lax with his subordinates.

Chen Yi waved his hand. "It’s fine for me to be a man of few words. Just do as I say."

He had already decided to say and do as little as possible, preferably becoming a complete wallflower.

Seeing this, Wang Ji had no choice but to nod.

Then Chen Yi gave a few more instructions. Once the disguise was complete and he had checked it for any flaws, he took the carriage to the Xiao family estate.

Who knew that while his plan was well-laid, he hadn’t expected Eldest Miss Xiao to not play by the rules.

"Shopkeeper Wang, the young miss has given her orders. Boss Chen is to go in alone. You and the others are to wait outside."

"This..."