Chapter 272: Chapter 209: Parting the Clouds to See the Blue Sky
He flicked it twice.
The delicate paper instantly disintegrated into shreds, drifting out the window.
The White Robed Pavilion Master watched the paper shreds drift away and disappear, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Immediately, he flicked his sleeve.
His figure vanished abruptly, transforming into a phantasmal white shadow that shot into the red-walled, heavily fortified Imperial City to the north.
Faintly, a low, suppressed voice echoed in the empty, silent room:
"Obsessed with spurning fame and fortune, how can one ever grow into a great roc that blots out the sky?"
...
「Thousands of miles away.」
Shu State.
The rain, which had fallen for three straight days, finally stopped as the Mid-Autumn Festival approached.
Although the sky remained overcast, the sun was now visible behind the clouds.
Its furnace-like heat caused the temperature throughout the cloud-covered lands of Shu State to steadily climb.
Muggy.
It was far from pleasant.
Chen Yi, of course, felt none of it, but in front of Xiaodie and the others, he had to put on a show of being drenched in sweat.
Fortunately, he was long accustomed to such concealment.
He could fake these common physical reactions with nonchalant ease.
After lunch, he had Xiaodie prepare iced tea, then sat by the pond to fish with Xiao Wuge.
The three of them chatted idly while sipping the cool, refreshing tea.
For the most part, it was Xiaodie who did the talking, with Chen Yi occasionally chiming in with a word or two.
Xiao Wuge, on the other hand, said nothing at all, only cheering out every now and then, "Brother-in-law, a fish is on the hook!"
"Brother-in-law, a big one’s coming up."
"Brother-in-law, look! I’ve avenged you! This is the fish that splashed water all over you..."
’As if I needed him to avenge me.’
Chen Yi grumbled internally, his thoughts a stream of bitter complaints typical of a fisherman who’d caught nothing.
So whenever this happened, he would just grunt an "mhm," giving Xiao Wuge a noncommittal response.
Then he would pretend to ask Xiaodie, "Has anything interesting been happening in Shu State Prefecture City lately?"
Or, "With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, which of the East and West Markets is livelier?" and so on.
Xiaodie seemed to know a little about everything and would reply with a few sentences about some trivial matters.
"Young Master, the most bustling place in the city recently is still Kangning Street."
"Ever since your ’Post-rain Reflections’ became known, scholars have been flocking to Guiyun Academy to see it."
As Xiaodie spoke of this, her face broke into a wide, beaming smile.
"I heard that Mr. Yue Ming specially hired several Guards to stand at the entrance, afraid that people might try to force their way in."
"Even so, there are still many scholars with official ranks who are trying all sorts of ways to get into the academy."
"It forced Mr. Yue Ming’s hand. This morning, he posted a notice saying that the exhibition hall will be open tomorrow."
"However, if someone wants to view your prized calligraphy, they still need to submit a visiting card in advance. Otherwise, they can only see the piece that demonstrates Great Success in Calligraphy Dao."
Chen Yi just hummed, showing a lack of interest.
As he had expected, the Cursive Script calligraphy at the Perfection level of the Calligraphy Dao had indeed attracted a great number of visitors.
But what he hadn’t expected was that the number of people coming to visit the Xiao Family hadn’t decreased; on the contrary, it was trending upward.
Among them were regulars like Madam Tang of the Tang Family and Miss Wan of the Wan Family, as well as some new guests who had come after hearing the news.
Most of them wanted to pull strings and use connections, trying to see if they could become a disciple of his, Mr. Qingzhou.
On top of that, because of the incident a while back where the summer grain in Iron Wall Town was burned, many people were also coming to visit the Old Master.
The two groups of visitors combined kept the Xiao Family’s gatekeepers busy from morning till night.
The Old Master, left with no choice, first ordered that he would only see one person per day, and later simply claimed to be ill and refused all visitors.
But Xiao Wan’er wasn’t so decisive.
She was a soft-hearted person by nature, always trying to be considerate of everyone.
Therefore, she accepted most of the visiting cards handed to her, and for those she truly couldn’t turn away, she would chat and laugh with them for a bit.
From morning to night, her Jiaxing Garden was almost never empty.
Never mind Chen Yi, who wouldn’t join the hustle and bustle; even Xiao Wuge, who was supposed to be having lessons with his tutor, got two days off.
’Why bother?’
’It would be so much better to just refuse them all, like I do.’
Chen Yi had his thoughts, but he also knew that this was just Xiao Wan’er’s nature; no outsider could persuade her otherwise.
A-side, Xiaodie noticed his lack of interest and changed the subject.
"Also, because of your ’Post-rain Reflections,’ many young scholars have recently been boasting that they’re going to overshadow you at the Mid-Autumn poetry gathering."
"Overshadow me? Great! The sooner, the better. They should go ahead and crush this Young Master of yours right into the dirt."
Seeing Chen Yi’s nonchalant attitude, Xiaodie said seriously, "Young Master, they won’t be able to do it."
"Why not?"
"Because they’re simply not talented enough, of course!"
"...Xiaodie, who taught you how to flatter people like that?"
"Sister Hua and the others from the central courtyard."
"Sister Hua and the others said that we servants need to have sweet mouths. That’s the only way to win the favor of the masters, madams, and young misses."
Chen Yi turned his head and shot her a glare. "Stop learning such nonsense. I don’t fall for that stuff."
Xiaodie stuck out her tongue, replied with a smiling "I understand," and then began to talk about the grand celebrations of past Mid-Autumn Festivals.
From the bustling little shows in the East Market, the grand operas in the West Market, and the competing poetry gatherings on Kangning Street, to the courtesans vying for supremacy in South City’s Yanhua Lane.
All in all, one could get a sense of the liveliness of Shu State City.
"Young Master, where would you like to go for a stroll?"
"Me? Anywhere is fine."
’And nowhere is fine, either.’
Chen Yi would much rather stay in Spring Lotus Garden and sleep in.
But he also knew that during the Mid-Autumn Festival, there would be no shortage of pomp and ceremony in the Marquis’s Mansion.
Ancestor worship, welcoming guests, hosting banquets, and so on.
If Xiao Jinghong didn’t come back, he might actually get some peace and quiet.
But if Xiao Jinghong did return, he would have to accompany him to social engagements or go deliver festival gifts to some of the elders.
Such were the social obligations that came with marriage.
Hearing this, Xiaodie paused. She naturally didn’t dare to casually offer a suggestion. ’How could a mere Maid presume to make decisions for her master?’
