Chapter 368: Chapter 241: Autumn Letter to My Wife

Shen Huatang was aware of this, so she could no longer be as outspoken as she had been before.

At this thought, she sighed. "In that case, I can only let General Jinghong down."

There was nothing she could do. She could only pretend that nothing had happened.

Of course, Chen Yi was unaware of what others were thinking. After finishing a landscape painting with a few deft strokes, he began to write a letter to Xiao Jinghong.

This time, he didn’t write a poem as he usually did. Instead, he wrote a letter home in his capacity as her husband.

It was filled with warm inquiries and cheerful updates on his current situation.

At the end, however, Chen Yi thought for a moment and added a poem. He even made a point of writing it in his Perfection Realm Cursive Script:

"Threads of rain and needles of wind weave the late autumn air,

I laugh at my restless heart, which loves to climb the stair."

"The letter is written, like wild geese as clouds begin to part,

With the Jianghu’s waves now still, so too is my heart."

"I only urge you to eat well, pity the mums so thin,

And don’t resent the slow boat for the distance we are in."

"In this world, we are partners of mist and rosy haze,

Not envying the bonded ducks, but the free gull’s wandering ways."

A Mental Realm materialized, enveloping the study, though it didn’t spread to cover all of Quchi like his *Song of the Water Melody* had.

Yet, in the breaking dawn of the rainy autumn day, the figures of Chen Yi and Xiao Jinghong could be seen sitting side by side within it.

Chen Yi looked up with a slight smile. "My dear, seeing how much effort I’m putting in, I hope you’ll go easy on me in the future."

He wasn’t asking for much—only that when Xiao Jinghong eventually found out about all the things he had done, she might hit him a little less hard.

With that in mind, he added a few more lines.

[*Autumn Letter to My Wife*. A poem for our mutual encouragement.

Finally, I’ve decided to participate in this year’s Annual Examination. It’s just a formality, so don’t read too much into it.

I still remember the promise we made. I hope you do, too.]

’What promise?’

’The promise, of course, was that he would spend his life as an idle, live-in son-in-law of the Xiao Family.’

’Although the Xiao Family’s circumstances had forced him to offer help from the shadows, he had no intention of toiling away forever.’

’Once he was certain that all the malicious forces in Shu State had been dealt with, he still yearned for that good life of "picking chrysanthemums ’neath the eastern fence, and gazing leisurely upon the southern peak."’

Chen Yi blew the ink dry, sealed the letter in an envelope, and his gaze drifted to the window.

The rain was falling harder now.

Amid the RUMBLE of thunder, a cold wind whipped through the flowers and trees. Drifting leaves and petals were slapped against the stone slabs by the downpour.

Layer upon layer.

It was chaotic, yet possessed a rare tranquility.

Chen Yi loved nature and quiet. He loved sunny days and rainy days alike.

The one thing he didn’t like was trouble.

He especially disliked people disturbing his tranquil and carefree life.

People like Liu Hong and Ma Shuhan. People like the Hidden Guard and their Financiers. People like King Landu and Lin Huai’an.

’Your schemes in Shu State originally had nothing to do with me,’ he thought, ’but you never, ever should have dragged the Xiao Family into this.’

Even though Chen Yi knew the Xiao Family was an unavoidable piece of the puzzle in Shu State, he still wished those people had actively avoided them.

Whether or not they could have was no longer his concern.

Afterward, Chen Yi resumed painting to hone his Painting Skill and integrate the Profound Mysteries of the Painting Dao.

His progress was surprisingly good.

Including the past two days, he had painted around a hundred pieces in total and had completely absorbed the Minor Achievement Painting Dao, elevating his Ink-Wash Painting to the peak of proficiency.

The only drawback was that Ink-Wash Painting emphasized spirit over form. It was full of charm for landscapes, but wasn’t quite adequate for painting portraits.

Thus, before dinner, Chen Yi began to study other Painting Techniques.

Techniques like fine-line ink drawing and meticulous, heavy-color painting.

Eventually, he came up with a solution.

’I just need to prioritize intent and fuse ink-wash, line drawing, and meticulous colored painting into a single style.’

’Chen Yi’s thinking was simple.’

’He had the Painting Dao on his side, which already gave him profound guidance on all sorts of Painting Techniques. As long as he could achieve his desired effect, what did the specific technique matter?’

’It would just mean spending a little more time practicing the Painting Dao.’

Having made his decision, Chen Yi was no longer in a rush.

Seeing that it was getting late, he called for Xiaodie to tidy up the study.

After Xiao Wuge returned, they had dinner, and then everyone retired to their respective rooms to rest.

With each autumn rain, the weather turns colder.

Autumn was a season for sleeping early and rising early.

Unfortunately, after returning to his room, Chen Yi only cultivated his Four Symbols Skill for about two hours before getting up and changing into a set of Night Clothes.

Under the cover of the deserted, rainy night, he slipped out of the Xiao Family residence and headed straight for the house on Chuansi Street.

Wang Ji and Zhang Dabao were already waiting for him there.

While Zhang Dabao began applying his disguise, Chen Yi asked Wang Ji, "Is the letter translated?"

Wang Ji hastily produced a stack of papers and handed the top two sheets to him. His expression was grave as he said:

"My lord, the contents of this letter are... you had better see for yourself. This humble one dares not say more."

He had taken precautions that afternoon.

When he’d found someone to translate the letter, he had deliberately copied its contents onto dozens of separate scraps of paper. Only after they were all translated did he piece the message back together.

Although some sentences were disjointed and fragmented, it didn’t prevent him from discerning the letter’s true contents.

He hadn’t realized the gravity of it until he looked. The revelation had chilled him to the bone.

Chen Yi glanced at him, having already guessed some of the letter’s contents, and began to read it calmly.

[For the personal attention of King Landu. I, Lin Huai’an of the Ji State Trading Company, extend greetings on behalf of my master.

The two previous transactions between you and our Ji State Trading Company were concluded to the great satisfaction of all. This time, I wish to propose another trade with you.

Ten thousand *shi* of Refined Iron, two thousand sets of Heavy Armor and horse barding, two thousand Refined Iron Hundred-Refined Blades...]

Chen Yi frowned slightly as he finished reading.

’Ji State Trading Company?’

’It seems that Jia Yuzhi mentioned that name this afternoon...’

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