You Promised to Be an Idle Son-in-Law, How Could You Become a Land Immortal?

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: I’ve Suppressed You for 5 Years, and You Don’t Hate Me?

He was told she was ”on her way back to the mansion,” but after asking for details, he learned that Xiao Jinghong had just departed from Guangyuan in northern Shu State and was expected to arrive in five days.

As for the birthday gift she had prepared, it was beyond Chen Yi’s expectations. He hadn’t thought she would be as thoughtful as Xiao Wan’er.

Yan Hong, with extreme caution, had his subordinates carry the box into the Spring Lotus Garden and began his introduction:

”This was carved from a giant turtle shell specially sourced from Guangyue Prefecture. It is named ’The Confluence of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity.’”

The nearly ten-foot-long turtle shell had three figures with distinct expressions intricately carved into its back in openwork. One held a peach, another a gold ingot, and the third a sign with the character for Fortune.

The inside of the shell was filled with some kind of crystal-clear, resin-like substance.

One glance was enough to tell it was priceless and not something that could be carved overnight. It must have been a magnificent gift that Xiao Jinghong had prepared months, or even a year or two, in advance.

After examining it, Chen Yi closed the box again.

After a moment’s thought, he instructed Xiaodie to find the mounting artisan from before and ask about the progress on his birthday calligraphy piece.

’It’s been ten days already,’ he thought. ’Even if they were inlaying it with gold and jade, it should be done by now.’

Then, Chen Yi took Xiao Wuge back to the pavilion, pulled out his fishing rod, and began the great undertaking of his daily fishing.

He refused to believe he couldn’t catch a single fish in this pond. ’Am I just cursed or something?’

Watching his retreating figure, Yan Hong was slightly taken aback. He turned to Wang Lixing beside him and asked in a low voice:

”Has the Young Master-in-law always been like this?”

Wang Lixing didn’t answer immediately, gesturing for them to speak outside.

Once outside the Spring Lotus Garden, they met up with Ge the Third and the others. Wang Lixing scanned the group. ”Where’s Brother Si?”

Ge the Third replied, ”Brother Si said he had to go back for something. I reckon he should be back soon.”

Wang Lixing frowned slightly but quickly composed himself and turned to Yan Hong.

”The Young Master-in-law has been much more settled recently. At first, he just stayed in his room all day, reading books and copying the family rules.”

”After the Eldest Miss allowed him in the garden, he just fished and drank tea all day, occasionally practicing calligraphy or reading. It wasn’t until the Second Miss’s letter arrived that he was permitted to leave the mansion.”

Mentioning the two times Chen Yi had left the mansion, Wang Lixing’s expression became a little unnatural. The rest of the story was hard to bring up.

The first time, he went to South City Yanhua Lane and took the Young Master with him, which earned him a punishment from the Second Master.

The second time was even stranger. He said he was going to watch the Third Place Scholar’s parade.

But it turned out he was trying to help Li Huai’gu and Lady Yun. He actually pretended to be a villain kidnapping a young woman and was almost hauled off by the Punishment Hall for a beating.

After hearing the story, Yan Hong said thoughtfully, ”The Young Master-in-law seems to have changed a lot compared to before.”

”Oh?” Wang Lixing thought for a moment. ”I’d forgotten. You were the one assigned to escort him after he first arrived in Shu State.”

Yan Hong nodded, a hint of emotion on his face. ”That time he tried to escape the wedding... it almost got me killed.”

Wang Lixing looked at him sympathetically. ”When we heard he’d fled the wedding, Brother Si and I were on guard duty inside the mansion. We certainly didn’t see that coming.”

Yan Hong gave a bitter smile. ”It was strange, now that I think about it. The wedding procession had just set out from Fengchun Building in the North City. We hadn’t gone far before we ran into another wedding party. In all the confusion of yielding the road, the Young Master-in-law just... disappeared.”

”Luckily, the Second Miss led us to find him later, allowing us to redeem ourselves. Otherwise, me and the other brothers would have all lost our heads.”

Wang Lixing clapped him on the shoulder and offered a few words of comfort before asking, ”Did the Second Miss find anything during her inspection of the Three Towns?”

Yan Hong glanced at him and shook his head. ”Nothing for now.”

Seeing how secretive he was being, Wang Lixing didn’t press further. Matters concerning military affairs were often confidential.

Getting a ”nothing happened” was enough.

...

「The front courtyard of the Xiao Mansion.」

Liu Si’er was in full armor. His helmet was buckled tight and the neck guard was pulled low, obscuring half his face.

He calmly walked to the gatehouse on the right side of the main entrance and knocked on the door of the innermost room.

Without waiting for the person inside to speak, he tossed in a strip of yellowed wax paper and said in a low voice, ”Desperate times call for desperate measures. Don’t blame me for breaking the rules.”

”This is the last one for a while. The Second Miss is about to return to the mansion.”

After speaking, Liu Si’er reached in, grabbed a ladle hanging inside the door, and said loudly, ”Many thanks!” as he walked back the way he came.

Inside the room, Uncle Gui watched him leave with a deadpan expression. Only then did he open the secret message in his hand and glance at it.

He then found an opera libretto, used it as a cipher to rewrite the secret message, destroyed the one Liu Si’er had given him, and got up to leave the Xiao Mansion at a leisurely pace.

An hour later, a carrier pigeon flew out of a tailor’s shop in the East Market.

A day later, the pigeon landed at a residence in the small city of Guangyuan in northern Shu State.

Before the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a hawk, several times larger than the pigeon, took flight from the residence, soaring straight up into the clouds.

「Two more days passed.」

In a series of flights and rests, the hawk crossed thousands of miles, flying from Shu State to the Capital Prefecture.

The majestic Capital Prefecture was like a passing cloud in its eyes as it flew swiftly north toward the Imperial City, landing on the roof of a five-story cloud-tower named ”Fengyue Building,” just south of the Imperial City.

It was clearly not its first visit. After landing, it began pecking at the insects and snakes in a food box, gobbling them down voraciously.

Soon, a man in a black robe with a plain white mask that exposed only his eyes hurried over.

He untied the message tube from the hawk’s leg and hurried downstairs. He pushed open a mahogany door, ignoring another masked person sitting quietly at a desk inside, and went straight to a bookshelf on the side to find a book of capital opera songs.

After carefully checking and decrypting the message, ensuring there were no omissions, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then handed the deciphered text to a red-robed figure who had been waiting outside the door.

”My Lord, a message from Shu State. Grade: B-plus.”

”Wait here.”

The person in the red robe also wore a mask, but his had more markings than the black-robed man’s, resembling tiger stripes.

Holding the decrypted letter, he went to the deepest part of the third floor and gently knocked twice on a wooden door with a grille.

”Pavilion Master, a letter from Shu State.”

There was no sound from within, but he didn’t speak again. He remained in a slight bow, as still as a wooden doll.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a slightly hoarse voice came from inside. ”Come in.”

The red-robed man bowed once more, gently pushed the door open, closed it, and then knelt on the floor without raising his head.

It was an extremely spacious room, open from north to south. Sunlight and a gentle breeze passed through the windows, casting light on the golden-red floor and illuminating everything within.

Yet the room was empty save for a single desk, a chair, and a figure sitting before it.

He wore plain white robes, so loose they made his back and shoulders seem broad. On his face was a mask with black markings on a white background. The character for ”King” was clearly visible on the forehead—the distinct pattern of a White Tiger’s head.

”Read it.”

The red-robed man gently unfolded the paper in his hand. ”Xiao Jinghong will soon return to Shu State to celebrate Duke Dingyuan’s birthday. The cup gifted to Duke Dingyuan by the Holy Emperor is broken. The Fledgling has made contact with the Third Place Scholar, Li Huai’gu.”

After finishing, he folded the paper and prostrated himself once more.

The white-robed figure at the desk stared at a piece of paper. On the far right were the words *Song of the Water Melody: Zhiqing Marquis Xiao*. In the bottom left corner, the signature was striking: *The twenty-first year of the Anhe reign, Chen Qingzhou congratulates Duke Dingyuan on his sixtieth birthday.*

Staring at it, the white-robed figure asked softly, ”Have you found out who helped the Fledgling escape the wedding?”

The red-robed man paused. ”No word yet. The Hawk only reported that it was a setup.”

The white-robed figure grunted in acknowledgment and said unhurriedly, ”It’s nothing more than a few of those prominent Noble Families in Shu State who don’t want to see the Xiao Family rise again.”

”Are you suggesting the Liu Family, Pavilion Master?”

”It doesn’t matter who. Send a message to the Hawk. Give the Fledgling a little more bait. It’s time he had a taste of power.”

”Also, have someone report to the palace and ask if the Holy Emperor has any intention of bestowing another Seven-Colored Glazed Cup upon the Old Marquis as a birthday gift.”

”Yes.”

The red-robed man dared not say more. He bowed, backed out of the room, closed the door, and only then straightened up and hurried away.

「After a long moment.」

The white-robed figure lifted the sheet of Yunsong Paper and scanned it carefully.

”The strokes are forceful enough to penetrate the paper, yet they flow with the heart. The Mental Realm is vast and distant... Excellent calligraphy. Truly excellent.”

But after his two declarations of ”excellent,” he sighed. ”A pity the ambition and hatred between the lines are gone.”

Having said that, he held the Yunsong Paper between his fingers and gave it two gentle shakes.

The entire sheet of Yunsong Paper instantly disintegrated into fine dust, which then drifted out the window on a breeze that came from nowhere.

The white-robed figure rubbed his fingers together. A faint ripple disturbed his otherwise placid eyes as he muttered to himself:

”I’ve suppressed you for five years. Don’t you hate me?”