Chapter 357: Chapter 237: Brother-in-law, You’re Not Leaving Tonight, Are You?

"After Elder Ming arrived, his son retired from the Dingyuan Army to help manage the estate."

"Previously, they were the ones who registered and collected the land rent, which the Third Steward and his men would then come to collect."

Chen Yi smiled and nodded, asking, "The other gentlemen must also be veterans of the Dingyuan Army, I presume?"

"Yes, Elder Fang and the others are too, but they were assigned here by my grandfather in recent years..."

While they chatted and laughed, the group finished lunch. After a short rest, Kang Ming approached and asked,

"Miss, which places would you like to see? I can lead the way."

Xiao Wan’er didn’t refuse. She had Shen Huatang bring a map and pointed to several circled locations on it.

"We’ll go see all of these places."

After looking, Kang Ming hesitated. "Miss, the roads outside of town are narrow. I’m afraid a carriage won’t be able to pass."

Xiao Wan’er smiled. "It’s no problem, we can walk."

"Absolutely not! Someone of your stature..."

After much persuasion, it was only when Shen Huatang spoke up that Xiao Wan’er finally agreed to go on horseback.

Chen Yi benefited as well, getting to ride there on horseback with Xiao Wan’er.

Before long, Liu Si’er came over leading two horses. He stopped a slightly shorter horse next to Xiao Wan’er and led the other one over to Chen Yi.

"Sir, this one is spirited. You should be careful."

Chen Yi grunted in acknowledgment, took the reins, and vaulted onto the horse with a smile.

"I’ve practiced riding before in Jiangnan Prefecture. No matter how spirited..."

He hadn’t even finished speaking when the black steed beneath him suddenly reared, almost throwing him off.

"Ngh—"

The steed let out a long neigh.

Chen Yi instinctively moved to bring it under control, but a glimpse of Liu Si’er out of the corner of his eye gave him pause. Instead, he just yelled and gripped the reins tighter.

Xiao Wan’er saw this, her eyes widening in alarm as she cried out, "Be careful!"

At that moment, Shen Huatang leaped into action without hesitation, flying up and stomping on the horse’s head.

THUD!

Instantly, the black horse that was about to bolt dropped to its knees, its head pinned to the ground by Shen Huatang’s foot.

As the horse went down, Chen Yi tumbled to the side, ending up in an undignified heap on the ground.

Xiao Wan’er didn’t think twice, rushing over to check on him, her expression anxious as she asked,

"Are, are you okay?"

Chen Yi clambered to his feet, covered in dust. He rubbed the side of his face, grimacing in pain. "I’m, I’m fine."

To make the act more convincing, he discreetly gave himself a couple of bruises, and half of his face swelled up before their very eyes.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Wan’er’s delicate brows knitted together for the first time. She whirled around to face Liu Si’er.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Liu Si’er immediately dropped to his knees. "Please forgive me, Miss. I was careless and caused Sir to be injured. I await your punishment."

"You..."

Before Xiao Wan’er could finish, Chen Yi waved his hand with a smile. "It’s just a scratch. Nothing serious."

Seeing that Xiao Wan’er was still glaring at Liu Si’er, Chen Yi gently tugged her sleeve and continued, "Wan’er, there’s no need to punish Liu Si’er. It was my own fault for being careless."

Xiao Wan’er glanced back at him, her beautiful eyes reflecting his swollen face. She hesitated, then nodded.

"Elder Ming, do you have any liniment? Please bring some over."

"Yes, I’ll go get it right away."

Chen Yi naturally didn’t refuse. His gaze fell upon the black horse, a faint glint flashing in his eyes.

He then discovered what was wrong with the horse—a Silver Needle was embedded deep in its rump, reaching the bone.

Upon seeing this,

Chen Yi glanced at the sweating Liu Si’er out of the corner of his eye and inwardly scoffed.

’What a... clumsy test.’

He had already learned from Lou Yuxue that the Hidden Guard planned to test him to see if he possessed any skill in Martial Arts.

He’d thought Lou Yuxue would handle it personally, but who would have thought that woman would delegate the task to Liu Si’er.

If Chen Yi hadn’t been on his guard just now, he might have exposed his body’s abnormal strength.

After all, he had tempered his body to a solid foundation back when he was at the Ninth Grade, possessing the Power of Three Symbols.

By now, his physical strength had progressed even further, reaching the Power of Four Symbols.

He could have easily subdued that black horse with his physical power alone.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Chen Yi offered a few more words of comfort to Liu Si’er, while mentally adding another strike against his name.

’I only broke one of his limbs last time. It seems I went too easy on him.’

「A short while later.」

After applying the liniment for Chen Yi, Xiao Wan’er looked at the shorter horse beside her and said hesitantly,

"To avoid any more accidents, Brother-in-law, why don’t you... sh-share a horse with me."

A blush spread across her face before she could even finish speaking.

Chen Yi was stunned for a moment. He glanced at the expressions of Shen Huatang and the others, then magnanimously accepted.

"In that case, thank you, Wan’er."

Shen Huatang, of course, saw their expressions and simply sighed to herself without saying anything.

Juan’er and Cui’er, on the other hand, gave them much stranger looks.

They both knew what Chen Yi had done before—he had lifted their miss’s blanket.

However, it was clear that neither of them dared to say a word.

「A moment later.」

And so, as Xiao Wan’er’s face burned red, Chen Yi sat behind her, holding the reins together with her.

"Wan’er, it’s getting late. We should get going."

Xiao Wan’er suddenly felt a warm breath tickle her ear. She immediately shrank her neck into her cloak and stammered, "Let’s, let’s go."

Kang Ming glanced at them. Although his expression was a little odd, he decided he was just overthinking things.

This second son-in-law was famous throughout Shu State and was also General Jinghong’s husband; he didn’t seem like a libertine at all.

To avoid making a big fuss, Xiao Wan’er had Liu Si’er, Cui’er, and Juan’er wait at the residence for the time being.

She then had Kang Ming lead the way, and left the residence with Chen Yi and Shen Huatang.

However, Xiao Wan’er soon began to have some regrets.

It had been fine back in town, where the roads were smooth, and she could maintain her posture to avoid contact with Chen Yi.

But once they left town, the roads were mostly dirt paths riddled with potholes, causing the small horse to bob up and down unsteadily.

It was inevitable that the two of them would brush up against each other.

It got to the point where Xiao Wan’er didn’t know where to look. She hid half her face in her cloak, wrapping herself up tightly.

Chen Yi, in contrast, looked perfectly calm.

In his heart, however, he felt a certain sense of relief.

’A cloak really is a wonderful thing. So thick, so warm... it really puts my mind at ease.’

Fortunately, after about half an hour, they arrived at the first location.

Xiao Wan’er finally remembered their business. Calming herself, she said,

"Brother-in-law, this place is the closest to town, and it’s a spacious area at the foot of Monkey Mountain. What do you think?"

Chen Yi surveyed the area and nodded. "With its green mountains and clear waters, it’s quite nice."

After a pause, he looked toward Monkey Mountain and asked, "Elder Kang, there must be quite a few medicinal herbs on this mountain, right?"

Kang Ming shaded his eyes with his hand and looked at Monkey Mountain. "You’re not wrong, Sir. There are indeed some medicinal herbs on the mountain."

"It’s mainly because Monkey Mountain is so overgrown that wild beasts often prowl here. Ordinary folk don’t dare to come."

Chen Yi nodded. Looking at Xiao Wan’er, who was right beside him, he explained with a light chuckle,

"Wan’er, this place is quite good."

"The main purpose of the Medical Dao Academy is to train Physicians, and identifying medicinal ingredients is something they must master."

"With the convenience of Monkey Mountain, they can follow their Instructors up the mountain to gather herbs and apply their knowledge in the future."

Xiao Wan’er endured the tingling sensation in her ear and looked at Monkey Mountain. "So we’ll decide on this place?"

Seeing the blush behind her ears, Chen Yi’s eyes darted about mischievously. "No rush. Let’s check out the other spots."

"Alright..."

Upon hearing this, Kang Ming continued to lead the way.

Only Shen Huatang, who had been keeping a close eye on Xiao Wan’er and Chen Yi, subconsciously tightened her grip on her Long Sword.

’This second son-in-law... Just how long does he plan on sharing a horse with the miss?’

But when she saw Xiao Wan’er’s expression, she couldn’t help but sigh. Forcing herself to turn away and survey the surroundings, she made a silent vow:

’You scoundrel, if you make one more indecent move, I will definitely... report you to General Jinghong!’

Of course, Chen Yi had no idea what Shen Huatang was thinking.

And naturally, he had no intention of taking advantage of Xiao Wan’er, either.

At most, he was using the opportunity to tease her a little and enjoy her rare, bashful expression.

Xiao Wan’er vaguely understood. Amidst her shyness, she couldn’t help feeling both amused and annoyed.

If Shen Huatang and Kang Ming weren’t there, she would have certainly given Chen Yi a piece of her mind.

Unfortunately, even after they had seen the last location, she never found the chance.

"What do you think, Brother-in-law?"

Seeing that their business was concluded, Chen Yi put aside his playful thoughts and considered the matter seriously.

"Let’s go with the place at the foot of Monkey Mountain."

"The other locations are either too far from town, making travel inconvenient, or too close to the villages, which would inevitably cause disturbances."

A smile appeared on Xiao Wan’er’s face upon hearing his reasoning. "Then it’s decided."

With this matter settled, she was naturally in a good mood.

"After we return to the manor tonight, I’ll have someone come here first thing tomorrow morning for a detailed survey."

"Alright..."

Kang Ming, who had been listening to their conversation, asked, "Miss, Sir, are you still planning to rush back to the Prefecture City tonight?"

"It’s nearly dusk. By the time you get back, I’m afraid the city gates will already be closed."

Xiao Wan’er was taken aback. Just as she was about to insist, she suddenly felt a few drops of water on her face.

She looked up to see that the sky had, at some point, become overcast with dark clouds.

Seeing this, Xiao Wan’er said hesitantly,

"Brother-in-law, perhaps we shouldn’t go back tonight..."

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