What’s more, Chen Yi was often right, and his words were frequently profound and thought-provoking.

It reached the point where Xiao Wan’er subconsciously believed Chen Yi was capable of anything. At times, she even felt dull and ignorant in comparison.

Yet now, after hearing the piece Chen Yi played, she found herself breathing an inexplicable sigh of relief.

’Perhaps it was because she realized that no one in the world was truly perfect.’

A quarter of an hour later, the song ended.

Two lines of large, golden characters appeared:

[Successfully learned Zither Score: Carefree Travel. Level: Initial Insight]

[Zither Dao: Uninitiated 0/1 (Points assignable)]

Chen Yi glanced at the text, then stood up, feeling as if he could have played for longer. He looked at Xiao Wan’er and the others, smiled, nodded, and said, "My apologies for that poor performance."

Shen Huatang was the first to break. She rolled her eyes, turned her head away, and muttered something to the effect of, "He really did give a poor performance."

Pei Guanli, however, just burst out laughing. "Brother-in-law, I never thought your zither skills would be this bad! You’re so much worse than Sister Wan’er."

Xiao Wuge didn’t laugh. He just looked at Chen Yi with suspicion, asking hesitantly,

"Brother-in-law, the rumors back in Jiangnan Prefecture were that you had achieved Mastery in Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting."

Chen Yi spread his hands and said with a smile, "It’s true."

"When it comes to the zither, I’ve mastered nine out of ten aspects—I’m just clueless about the tenth. It’s a shame you all wouldn’t believe me."

His reflection shone in Xiao Wan’er’s bright eyes. Suppressing a laugh, she said, "It’s not that we didn’t believe you, Brother-in-law."

"It’s just that your Calligraphy Dao and Chess Dao are truly without peer, so we subconsciously assumed the rumors were true."

Chen Yi smiled and shook his head. "The rumors aren’t entirely accurate."

"It’s just like the rumors back in Jiangnan Prefecture that my wife was eight feet tall with an eight-foot waist. It’s all just gossip getting twisted."

"Say what?"

"They said Sister Jinghong was eight feet tall with an eight-foot waist?"

Pei Guanli said indignantly, "Those people in Jiangnan Prefecture are such liars."

Chen Yi pretended not to hear her.

He was now a live-in son-in-law of the Dingyuan Marquis’s Mansion. As the saying goes, "marry a chicken, follow the chicken," so he could now consider himself a man of Shu State.

As it was nearing noon, the group began to set up for lunch in the Spring Lotus Garden.

There were mooncakes, pressed duck, roast chicken—a lavish spread of all kinds of delicacies.

Xiao Wan’er’s mood naturally lifted, and she stopped worrying about the Medical Dao Academy and the Holy Emperor’s decree punishing the old master.

Xiao Wuge was still young. Though he knew something bad had happened at the mansion, his simple view was that as long as his family was still around, everything was alright.

Shen Huatang, along with Xiaodie and the others, had set up a small table and were eating their lunch under a tree to one side.

Pei Guanli was her usual carefree self. In between eating and drinking, she made sure to ask about the poetry gathering that evening.

"Brother-in-law, when are we heading to the academy?"

Chen Yi finished a duck leg, wiped his mouth, and replied, "Let’s wait until this evening and see what the mansion has arranged."

Xiao Wan’er paused, a little surprised. She looked at him and asked, "Won’t that be a bit late?"

"It’s no problem."

"These poetry gatherings have so many formalities—moon-worshipping, moon-gazing, listening to music, not to mention reciting poetry and composing couplets. If we go too early, we’ll just be spectators."

Chen Yi was in no hurry at all.

With so many instructors and students at the academy, his presence would hardly be missed.

Even with a large number of guests, the prestige of people like Mr. Yue Ming was more than enough to command the scene.

Xiao Wan’er said hesitantly, "We should still go a bit earlier."

"Because of the imperial decree today, I’m afraid Grandfather and the others are in no mood to enjoy the evening banquet."

Before she came to the Spring Lotus Garden, the old master had asked her to summon the accountants from both the mansion and the Medicine Hall.

He said they needed to calculate exactly how long the summer grain from the Three Towns would last, as well as the specific cost of purchasing more provisions.

To that end, Xiao Shen and others from the third branch of the Xiao Family had already gathered at the Qingjing Residence.

Chen Yi thought for a moment and no longer objected. "In that case, it wouldn’t hurt to head to the academy a bit earlier and take a look."

Xiao Wan’er hummed in agreement, her face breaking into a smile. "If we’re too early, we can just take a stroll by Quchi."

Pei Guanli threw her hands up in agreement. "Yes! We can go look at the decorative lanterns and guess riddles."

"Back when I was with my clan, my older brothers and sisters were always telling me how lively the Mid-Autumn Festival is in the city."

Chen Yi glanced at her and couldn’t resist teasing, "Are you any good at them?"

"Why wouldn’t I be?"

"Alright, I’ll give you one. One part is red and fears water, the other part is small and fears spiders. What am I?"

Pei Guanli’s smile froze. After a moment of thought, she stared at him blankly. "Brother-in-law, what kind of word is that?"

Xiao Wan’er covered her mouth and laughed. "It’s a ’firefly’."

"The red part is fire, which fears water, and a fly is small and fears spiders. Put them together and you get ’firefly’."

"Ah? That one doesn’t count, it doesn’t count!"

Seeing the indignant Tiger Girl, Chen Yi posed another riddle.

"It has a head but no tail, and horns but no mouth. It wags its head and horns, and its body is all water. Guess the object."

Before Pei Guanli could answer, Xiao Wuge’s eyes lit up. "I know! I know this one!"

"Brother-in-law, it’s a fish, right?"

Chen Yi nodded with a smile. "That’s right."

Pei Guanli, unwilling to admit defeat, forgot all about eating. She pouted, tugged on his sleeve, and begged him for another riddle.

"Alright, one more."

"It’s called sugar, but it isn’t sweet. It’s called salt, but it isn’t salty. In winter, it fills the..."

Amid the boisterous chatter of Chen Yi, Pei Guanli, and Xiao Wuge, Xiao Wan’er remained silent.

She just sat quietly to one side, watching and listening, occasionally taking a small bite of mooncake as her mind filled with memories of the past.

Though Xiao Wan’er had been in poor health since birth, her days in the mansion had been quite happy.

Back then, her father, Xiao Fengchun, had returned from Jinling to succeed to the title of Duke Dingyuan.

For a long time after, Xiao Fengchun was mostly away on duty, much like Xiao Jinghong was now.

Only during the holidays would Xiao Fengchun return to the mansion for a family reunion.

She remembered the Mid-Autumn Festival ten years ago, also held right here in the Spring Lotus Garden.