Chapter 21: Pantsing Is For...

In the blink of an eye, it's been over ten days since Chen Yi and Lin Xueru were kidnapped.

The Duke Wu'an Mansion seems to have returned to the tranquility of the past.

But Chen Yi knew very well that many changes had taken place inside and outside the mansion during the time he was recuperating.

The night they were brought back to the mansion, Xia Wanwan cried over him for a long time, fainting several times.

Later, she was only able to fall into an exhausted sleep after the Old Lady ordered the maids to feed her a sedative.

Yet, when she woke up the next day, Xia Wanwan was still consumed by guilt and self-blame, which took him a long time to console.

In fact, Chen Yi had never blamed his biological mother from the beginning to the end.

Even when he was one year old at the first birthday grab, Xia Wanwan fed him the Gluttony Pill, as well as the West Continent poisonous mango she got from Zhou Wanyi.

He had always been clear that with Xia Wanwan's background and her kind and gentle nature, she was definitely no match for those people.

Not letting her know about the poisoning was actually a way to protect her.

As for those people—Chen Yi would take care of them himself!

Meanwhile, a person in the mansion who underwent quite some change was Zhou Wanyi.

The gossipers said that the pregnant wife of the house suddenly started practicing Buddhism.

Not only did she set up a quiet room in the right wing, but she also invited a Buddhist statue from Dakong Temple, spending all day with her big belly, observing a vegetarian diet and chanting Buddha's name.

This made Chen Yi quite confused.

He didn't know what Zhou Wanyi intended to achieve with this sudden enlightenment.

A sudden awakening and turning back in repentance?

Hopefully not.

I'm already thinking about how to kill you with a single sword!

This sudden act by Zhou Wanyi was really unexpected to Chen Yi. It was only because his current strength was too weak and he was not prepared to take action; otherwise, he would have killed her long ago to force the truth out of her.

Lastly, a very inconspicuous change took place inside the mansion, or more precisely, within the Fanghua Garden where Chen Yi resided.

For some reason, Xia Wanwan actually cleared out a room in the garden just for Lin Xueru.

Every three or five days, Zhu Yu would bring Lin Xueru to stay for one day.

What made Chen Yi speechless was the fact that the very traditional and rule-abiding Chen Family actually turned a blind eye to this.

So much so that every time Lin Xueru came over, she would stay by his side like a little wife, bustling about serving tea and water.

Hmm, she even learned how to cut fruit.

It seemed like she had grown up overnight…

Overall, Chen Yi's recuperation, due to the depletion of energy from the three swords that night and the force from heaven and earth he wielded afterward, was not too bad.

As for the changes outside the mansion, there were many!

It was discovered that the Mad Old Man who kidnapped them was named Feng Shan.

Feng as in sealing, Shan as in meditation.

It was said that he was the Inheritor of a small sect in the Martial World, acting alone and eccentrically.

When in a good mood, he would rob merchants, but if displeased, he would slaughter the entire families of the rich gentry. He had been on the government's wanted list for a long time.

After that night, two Vice Directors from the Night Watch Department tracked him for a long time and have yet to find any trace of the Mad Old Man.

Chen Yi felt incredibly relieved upon learning this.

Lucky for him, the Mad Old Man didn't want to kill him that night, or else his seventh-day commemoration of death would have passed.

At the same time, he was most concerned about the two kidnappers who died at his hand—they were concluded to have been killed by a nameless Swordsman who did good deeds.

This made him relax.

As long as he and Lin Xueru kept silent, no one would suspect him.

But because of this matter, the court was quite noisy for a few days.

The supreme Emperor Wei was furious and ordered a thorough investigation.

The Kyoto Prefecture even heightened security in all aspects.

Not only were Black Armor Guards added to the patrols, but the court also specially decreed the conscription of retired soldiers from Beixiong Pass to form neighborhood guards.

This not only plugged the mouths of the various Dukes, Marquises, and nobility, but also made the old soldiers feel grateful and indebted.

Unspoken yet clear, Emperor Wei truly was a cunning person.

Additionally, there were many other miscellaneous events outside the mansion.

For example, on Lantern Festival, ten Oirans were selected after a contest, Lin Xueru's second brother Lin Jixin composed a highly popular poem, and so on.

Mostly trivial matters that concerned the common folk.

Anyway, Chen Yi had no interest in the appearances and names of those Oirans.

After all, once he grows up, even the most sought-after Oiran will become withered flowers.

Having recuperated for quite a while, Chen Yi finally felt his strength returning, so he sat in the garden soaking up the sun, guarded by his protectors.

Now, without Lin Xueru's presence, he actually felt a bit unaccustomed.

"The little girl is sweet and lovely, much more sensible than the eldest."

Just as he was thinking this, he heard Chen Yuan's voice from outside.

"Second brother, hey hey, second brother, did I hear you've been sick?"

Chen Yuan trotted over, looking somewhat more robust than when Chen Yi last saw him ten days ago, like a young calf.

"Has big brother completed the Foundation Establishment evaluation?"

Chen Yi gestured for the guards around him to step back a bit, not feeling at all like the gesture was befitting of a privileged young master.

"I've finished, finally finished!"

Chen Yuan came running over, looking him up and down, and only when he saw his limbs intact did he breathe a sigh of relief, and then began to complain.

"Second brother, you have no idea, the last few days Uncle gave me two different medicinal soups."

"The heat was higher, the itching and pain even more unbearable, almost tortured me into ruin."

Chen Yi smiled, knowing his brother's temperament well enough to know he wasn't exaggerating.

"Then your evaluation results must be very good, otherwise Uncle wouldn't have done this."

A change in medicinal soup naturally meant a higher grade and better effects.

Only those with exceptional natural talent would undergo such a change.

"Exemplary!"

Chen Yuan sat beside him, lifting his head with a proud and coquettish expression: "Uncle also said that exemplary isn't my limit but rather the limit of the grade, telling me to work hard at the Martial Arts Arena in the future."

"Then big brother really has to make an effort," Chen Yi teased, "otherwise Uncle will show no mercy."

At the same time, a strange feeling quietly emerged in his heart.

If the eldest brother's Foundation Establishment evaluation is so high, why does it say on the record that he will only be Sixth Grade Realm by the age of thirty?

How odd.

"I know..."

Chen Yuan slumped into his chair, letting out a sigh like a little adult: "I didn't understand before what the teacher meant by 'Tall trees in the forest are the first to be blown down by the wind'."

"Now I understand, I am that tree, about to be ravaged by Uncle's wicked wind..."

"Don't say that in front of Uncle."

"Hey hey, second brother, you'll have to help me when the time comes..."

Listening to Chen Yuan's endless talk, Chen Yi sighed inwardly.

All the signs so far indicate that with his growing age and increase in cultivation, Zhou Wanyi and the Zhou Family are becoming less and less able to tolerate his existence.

First poisoning, then kidnapping and murderous pressure.

What's next?

Will they send someone to assassinate him next?

Chen Yi wasn't afraid of being assassinated, he just felt it was a pity.

Pity that such matters would put him and Chen Yuan on opposite sides.

"Big brother, I have a question."

"Second brother," Chen Yuan looked cautious, "I've just completed the Foundation Establishment evaluation, and I've already forgotten the contents of the books."

"I'm not asking you to recite literature." Chen Yi couldn't help but feel both amused and exasperated.

"Then ask away."

"If, and I mean if, the person closest to you wanted to harm you, like your nanny wanted to drive you out of the Marquis Mansion, what would you do to her?"

"The nanny harms me?"

Chen Yuan's small face twisted with conflict, then as if he thought of something, he chuckled and said:

"I would pull down her trousers!"

"???"

Chen Yi, caught off guard while waiting for an answer, cautiously asked, "And after that?"

"Of course, I'd smack her backside with a rattan cane, just like what my great-grandfather used to do to me. People who make mistakes must be punished, right?"

Chen Yi: "..."

Thankfully, it wasn't what he had imagined, otherwise asking him to do that to...

Stop!

Dismiss, clear, don't think!