Chapter 8: Master Kongjing and Gu Tiangang_2
Even Xia Wanwan couldn't help but laugh, quickly stopping Zhou Wanyi.
"Yuan Er is still young, he can't stand being hit."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Wanyi put down her hand, unable to resist looking towards Chen Yi and sighing, "If only Yuan Er could be as smart as Yi Er."
"Sister, don't worry, Yuan Er will be better when he gets older."
"Hopefully..."
After leaving Dakong Temple, Chen Yi followed the two ladies of the Marquis Mansion first to Baohua Street, where he saw the prosperity of the Kyoto Prefecture.
Then they went to East Market, where he experienced the spending power of the ladies of the Marquis Mansion.
All kinds of shops, selling ready-made clothes, rouge, powder, jewelry and so on, were shopped at in one go.
Although Chen Yi was not clear about the purchasing power of money, it was not difficult to see from Xiao Wanwan's and Zhou Wanyi's non-blinking expressions that this amount of money was nothing for the Marquis Mansion.
Unfortunately, after the shopping trip, they had to return to the Mansion, and they would miss the liveliest lantern fair.
However, having witnessed the birth of a Buddha's son, as well as the shouting match between two big shots across the void, Chen Yi was quite satisfied.
More importantly, he discovered the second source of Rebellion Points - being attacked could also earn him Rebellion Points rewards!
At the same time, he speculated that only attacks that could bring about some kind of change to him would count.
Like the Golden Buddha Name, which affects his mind and changes his beliefs and so on.
He figured that after a few more experiences, he would be able to figure out all the ways to acquire Rebellion Points.
After returning to the right wing of the Marquis Mansion, Chen Yi couldn't wait to open his panel and look at it.
[Name: Chen Yi]
[Age: 31]
[Cultivation: None]
[Talent: Late Bloomer - The older the bone age, the faster the cultivation speed]
[Sword Dao: Beginner - Solid foundation, the beginning of Sword Qi]
[Rebellion Points: 55/100]
Chen Yi looked at the numbers on the panel and smirked.
Now, he had ways to increase the speed of acquiring Rebellion Points.
Otherwise, it would feel rather lowly to actively create various enemies to plot against him.
...
...
After the Lantern Festival passed, the Kyoto Prefecture gradually warmed up from the cold winter.
The garden in Duke Wuan Mansion regained its vitality, the pond thawed, and the sounds of flowers, birds, fish, and insects were incessant.
None of this affected Chen Yi, who still attended classes daily.
However, the curriculum had been expanded from previous readings and literacy, etiquette, and intelligence, to include Martial Arts practice.
It was not that he was being taught Martial Arts, but a coach from the Martial Arts Arena was brought in to demonstrate several sets of swordsmanship for him every day.
According to what Xia Wanwan found from Duke Wuan, it was like "a clumsy bird flying first," letting Yi Er increase his experience in Martial Arts, which might be useful.
She got this odd rationale from who knows where, but Chen Taiping who was mad about his wife, directly agreed.
This made things harder for Chen Yi.
Not because the coach's Martial Arts cultivation was too low, but because the swordsmanship he demonstrated was just difficult to asses in Chen Yi's eyes.
It was as strange and imperfectly beautiful as what he had previously seen in the Martial Arts Arena.
It's difficult to describe that kind of pain with words, only that anyone with a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder would find it hard to bear.
Having no other choice, he simply imagined himself in the role of a "Master," and viewed the swordsmanship as if he was examining his disciples.
At the same time, he mentally practiced more standardized swordsmanship.
And after watching for a few more days, he switched perspectives, trying to figure out how to counter each movement.
Like playing a game of chess with oneself, he both held the black and white pieces.
Besides classes, Chen Yi spent more time trying to gather information inside and outside the Marquis Mansion.
For inside information, he would eavesdrop on those gossips in secret.
However, there wasn't much substantial content, like the Second Master teaching a few collateral members in the Martial Arts Arena, the Old Lady casting a golden Buddha for worship, or a maid from a certain courtyard making a mistake and being expelled from the Marquis Mansion.
Outside events were much more lively.
According to a servant named Yang Xi, since the Great Void Buddha Child's manifestation, more people worshiped Buddha.
Not only Old Madam Chen, but other members from the Marquis and State Duke Mansions also burned incense and worshiped Buddha, almost forming a certain trend.
This, however, caused the noses of the Grand Void Sect to flare up with anger, and there was even a rumor that Gu Tiangang intended to open a Mountain Gate in the Capital City to take in disciples.
The news wasn't confirmed yet, but the courtyard of the Grand Void Sect in Capital City was overwhelmed by nobility.
It was said that many brought carts of gifts and lined up outside the gate, waiting, and some went to inquire at the sacred land of the Grand Void Mountain Gate.
The most outrageous rumor was that the supreme ruler of the court also wished for several Princes to join the Path of the Grand Void.
This really made the Capital City lively for quite a while.
However, Chen Yi also confirmed that the Grand Void Sect did indeed intend to take in a few disciples in Capital City.
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But they wouldn't let them stay in Kyoto Prefecture, instead, they were to head to the Grand Void Mountain Sacred Land to cultivate.
Of course, these were not the words of Yang Xi, but rather those privately spoken by his father, Chen Taiping.
The original words were: "The Grand Void Sect plans to guide interested parties to the Sacred Land during the Mid-Autumn Festival of next year, anyone who passes the test can be accepted into Grand Void Mountain."
"The requirement is that the child must be under five years of age, and their Foundation Establishment assessment must not be too poor."
"If Yuan Er and Yi Er can be accepted into the Path of the Grand Void, their future achievements in Martial Arts will be even higher."
Regarding this, Chen Yi was unclear about Zhou Wanyi's thoughts, but Xia Wanwan was obviously taking it to heart.
She immediately swapped out the literacy books she had given him, from Confucian to Taoist scriptures.
Such as "Ten Great Taoist Paths," "Brief Explanation of Taoist Scriptures," "Ten Taoist Immortals"...
Uh, the last one was brought from outside the mansion by Yang Xi during a shopping trip, but it also greatly widened Chen Yi's horizons.
On those scrolls, there were all sorts of immortals with an ethereal aura and utterly exceptional demeanors.
He wonders how the person who printed this book is doing now and hopes they aren't being hunted by the Taoist community, right?
Chen Yi is still waiting for them to release the sequel.
In this tranquil manner, three months passed, and a significant event occurred in the mansion.
A great joyous occasion—Zhou Wanyi was with child!
It's unknown whether she made a vow when she visited the Dakong Temple to offer incense, but coincidentally, just before Chen Taiping went north to defend the frontiers, she became pregnant.
Originally, Chen Yi did not take it seriously, but after Zhou Wanyi became pregnant, he was the first to suffer misfortune.
Whoever suggested to Chen Taiping that they couldn't let the eldest son Chen Yuan be naughty and upset the pregnancy was beyond him.
Then, his father took it to heart and specifically consulted with Xia Wanwan, deciding to let Chen Yuan stay with him.
Not just to live together but to study the same curriculum!
This decision left Chen Yi utterly speechless.
He couldn't imagine how eventful his days would be after Chen Yuan arrived in the right-wing room—
"Second Brother, hehe, Second Brother."
Seeing Chen Yuan running over with a book in his arms, Chen Yi rolled his eyes inwardly.
Ever since the eldest brother learned to count from one to ten, he had added the word "Second" in front of "Brother."
"How do you read this character?"
Chen Yi looked at where he was pointing, at the character "笨" (stupid).
"Stupid."
"Stupid?"
Chen Yuan tilted his little head, pondered for a while: "Second Brother, why do you and mother call me stupid?"
Chen Yi: "..."
Your mother is not wrong.
Of course, he just thought so in his mind, but still, patiently explained it to him.
It's quite strange, really.
Perhaps because he held a grudge from the naming ceremony at the start, Chen Yi did not feel much dislike towards his somewhat slow-witted elder brother, at least currently, he wouldn't take out his frustrations on Zhou Wanyi on Chen Yuan.
"Oh, it turns out I'm this character."
"No, you got it wrong! You're not this character, you're Chen Yuan, my elder brother Chen Yuan!"
Chen Yi's little face grew serious for a rare moment.
"In the future, if anyone calls you 'stupid', you can't let them get away with it!"
"Then," Chen Yuan nodded in confusion, then asked: "What if mother calls me that?"
"You can't."
"Then I understand, next time mother calls me 'stupid', I'll call her a bald donkey."
Chen Yi laughed, imagining the consequence of little Chen Yuan saying that; probably that big momma would beat him half to death.
"You can't do that either, just tell her I said it."
"Okay, I'll tell mother that Second Brother won't let anyone call me stupid."
"That's right..."
What the two children didn't realize was that their conversation was being overheard by Chen Taiping and the two madams outside the door.
"These two little rascals get along pretty well," whispered Chen Taiping with a chuckle.
Seeing that Zhou Wanyi did not speak, Xia Wanwan added: "Yuan Er is pure-hearted, Yi Er is a smart little imp, all the sirs like them very much."
"That's true, whose progeny do you think they are."
"Dear..."
"Alright, alright, my mistake, I shouldn't have been so vulgar."
In the night, however, Zhou Wanyi was looking at Chen Yi with a complex expression, silent.
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