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

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: I’m Soft-Hearted After All

The whole affair was a ridiculous farce.

Once everyone had calmed down, no one said another word about Chen Yi.

In their minds, he already had a rock-bottom reputation—a rarity not just in the Xiao Family, but across the entire Shu State.

Verbally confronting a powerful general was exactly the sort of thing they expected from him.

Even Second Master Xiao Wang, a man known for his strict enforcement of family rules, was powerless against this live-in son-in-law after learning of Xiao Jinghong’s stance.

So what could anyone else do?

Li Changqing, on the other hand, was a different story.

After that brief exchange, it wasn’t hard for the crowd to discern his intentions.

Because of this, the First and Second Branches of the Xiao Family, as well as the more distant relatives and honored guests, all started looking at Li Changqing strangely.

This sort of thing would have been more acceptable before Xiao Jinghong was married. It could have been called ”deep-seated affection.”

But now that Xiao Jinghong was married, for Li Changqing to still harbor such feelings—and to reveal them so publicly—was a gross breach of decorum.

Even if he hadn’t said it outright... it was still improper.

However, whatever the guests thought, they kept it to themselves.

Over by the side, the Old Duke, Zhang Xuan, led Sun Fu over to Chen Yi’s side and struck up a conversation.

”I said some rather unflattering things about your father earlier. You’re not still holding a grudge against me, are you?”

Chen Yi shook his head and replied with a smile, ”Your Grace, I don’t remember a thing.”

Zhang Xuan laughed. Pointing a finger at Chen Yi, he turned to Sun Fu and said, ”Did you see that, Changming? This kid is exactly like you were in your youth.”

Sun Fu ignored him, sizing up Chen Yi instead. ”That poem you composed earlier was quite good.”

”You flatter me, sir.”

’I know my own limits. My understanding of poetic meter is rudimentary at best, and the verses are merely coherent. The only reason the poem is good is because I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. It’s not worthy of such praise.’

Before Sun Fu could speak, the Old Duke cut in, ”It’s no overpraise at all. I’m quite fond of it.”

”If Old Xiao hadn’t disagreed, I would have gladly paid ’a thousand gold pieces per word’ for that poem.”

Chen Yi paused, his expression turning serious. ”Your Grace, are you serious?”

’The poem has over a hundred characters... that’s more than a hundred thousand taels of gold...’

He suddenly felt a bit hungry. ’I could really go for some meat.’

The Old Duke studied him for a few moments, then said with a laugh, ”My birthday is coming up soon. If you’re interested, I have plenty of money to spare.”

Sun Fu’s face darkened. ”Qingzhou, since ancient times, scholars have been expected to prioritize learning. Tainting yourself with the stench of money will corrupt your art.”

He truly thought Chen Yi had potential.

’If a literary man uses his talent to sell his work for money—and for such a huge sum at that—it would surely attract widespread criticism once word got out.’

’His reputation would be tarnished for life.’

Chen Yi thought for a moment. ”I stand corrected, sir.”

’There’s really no need to sell poems. Otherwise, there would surely be many more people like the Old Duke in the future.’

’What a hassle.’

Sun Fu nodded with a smile. ”That’s the spirit.”

The Old Duke, however, used his superior height and build to throw an arm around Sun Fu’s neck, roaring, ”You old coot, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

”Let go! You—have you no sense of decorum...?”

Seeing this scene unfold, Pang Xuan, standing behind the crowd, wore an ugly expression.

The three Garrison Commanders were of equal status and similar strength. In Shu State, they were known as the ”Three Prodigies.”

Now that one of the prodigies had made a fool of himself, the other two had naturally lost face as well.

”Changqing, what did you promise the two of us before we came?”

”I told you not to let your emotions get the better of you, but you refused to listen.”

”And look what happened. You’ve made a scene, and that live-in son-in-law is completely unaffected. And you?”

Beside him, the brawny man added, ”Just wait for General Jinghong’s punishment.”

Li Changqing was speechless. After a long moment, he gave a bitter smile and nodded. ”My apologies, Brother Pang. I was indeed reckless this time.”

”I never expected him to be so silver-tongued.”

Pang Xuan turned his head to look at him. ”Is that what you think?”

Seeing his confusion, Pang Xuan shook his head slightly. ”Have you forgotten the Military Strategy the Old Marquis taught us?”

”Before any great battle, one must first scout the enemy. Only then can you find their weakness and strike a fatal blow.”

Li Changqing was stunned. ”What does this have to do with Military Strategy?”

The brawny man beside him rumbled, ”What Brother Xuan means is, you knew nothing about the Young Master-in-law, yet you still went and provoked him. It was a bit stupid.”

Li Changqing’s face darkened as he glared at him. ”Ma Kui, you son of a...”

The brawny man named Ma Kui slapped him on the back. ”Don’t curse. You can’t beat me in a fight.”

Seeing this, Pang Xuan shook his head. ”Changqing, his words are crude, but he’s not wrong. You truly did something foolish this time.”

”Today is the Old Marquis’s birthday. To put it mildly, causing such a ruckus is disrespectful to the Marquis.”

”I didn’t...”

Before Li Changqing could finish, Pang Xuan cut him off. ”To put it seriously, it wouldn’t be excessive for General Jinghong to punish you by military law.”

Li Changqing knew he was right, but what was done was done. He could only sigh and say, ”I’ll go find Jinghong later to explain.”

Pang Xuan’s tone was grave. ”That’s *General* Jinghong. Changqing, don’t forget your station.”

”...”

It wasn’t until nearly nine in the morning that the Old Marquis and the others returned.

He swept his gaze across the crowd, his slightly cloudy eyes pausing for a moment on Chen Yi and Li Changqing before he spoke:

”I’ve kept you all waiting. Please follow me to the central courtyard to be seated.”

With that, he took Xiao Wuge’s hand and led the way without another word.

Xiao Wan’er gave Shen Huatang a few instructions, then hurried after the Old Marquis.

Just as the crowd was about to follow, they saw Xiao Jinghong walk up to Pang Xuan and his two companions. Her tone was cold as she said:

”Return to the barracks and receive one hundred lashes with the military rod.”

It was obvious who she was speaking to.

Li Changqing fell silent for a moment, then bowed deeply. ”This subordinate general will obey General Jinghong’s command!”

”If there is a next time, you will be dealt with by military law.”

”Yes, General!”

Seeing this, a flicker of warmth spread through Chen Yi’s heart.

’At least there is one person in this world who stands by my side—my wife, Xiao Jinghong.’

It couldn’t help but remind him of the words he’d vaguely heard on the day he first arrived in this world:

”Since he is now my husband, all matters concerning him are for me to decide.”

Recalling it now, those words fit the Xiao Jinghong of this moment perfectly.

Just then, Xiao Jinghong turned to him, a faint smile gracing her lightly powdered face.

”Husband, you will greet the guests with me shortly.”

Chen Yi smiled and nodded. After bidding farewell to the Old Duke and Sir Sun Fu, he fell into step beside Xiao Jinghong.

Only after the two of them had walked away side-by-side did the rest of the crowd begin to follow.

The Old Duke and Sun Fu exchanged a look, both finding it rather curious. Neither had expected the Xiao Family’s Jinghong to value Chen Yi so highly.

”I wasn’t wrong before. With Jinghong’s help, Old Xiao’s fortune is still holding up.”

”And this Chen Yi’s fortune is quite good as well.”

Seeing that almost everyone had left, Pang Xuan clapped Li Changqing on the shoulder and sighed. ”Let’s go. A hundred lashes is better than losing your head.”

Ma Kui nodded, his square face turning solemn. ”The Old Marquis must have heard, too.”

Li Changqing remained silent, following the two of them toward the central courtyard, his mind still replaying the scene from moments ago.

’On what grounds does *he* deserve to be so highly valued by Jinghong?’

...

Chen Yi was wondering the same thing.

’Though, I think I have a rough idea of what Xiao Jinghong is thinking.’

’Our relationship right now is completely platonic. We treat each other with mutual respect, like honored guests. So, presenting a united front as husband and wife to outsiders is perfectly reasonable.’

As if sensing his thoughts, Xiao Jinghong said calmly, ”Husband, don’t overthink it.”

Chen Yi simply nodded with the same gentle smile. ”My lady, the way you were giving orders just now was very... stylish.”

”Stylish?”

Xiao Jinghong didn’t understand the word.

Although she found it strange, she knew he was praising her, and she felt a little flustered.

Chen Yi glanced at her, finding her expression amusing.

Xiao Jinghong noticed his gaze and quickened her pace. ”It is nine o’clock. The guests will be arriving.”

It had to be said, she looked for all the world like she was fleeing in a panic.

Chen Yi watched her retreating back with a smile. He didn’t say any more teasing words, afraid his wife might actually fly into a rage out of embarrassment.

’My current physique could never withstand a Punch from a Fourth Grade expert.’

But inexplicably, the feeling of being an outsider had faded considerably, replaced by a budding sense of belonging.

Chen Yi recalled his earlier thought—if his wife ever tried to force him to do something, he would just run away.

’Looking at it now, as long as those things aren’t too unreasonable, I could probably learn to accept them.’

’Sigh... I’m just a softie after all.’