Chapter 76: This Really Is a Misunderstanding

Chapter 76: What a Misunderstanding It truly was a misunderstanding.

Clearly, the very same reason could not be applied a second time within the empty Qingxing Garden.

Especially not at this moment.

One person sat within the pavilion, another stood in the rain.

Xiao Wan'er clutched her hands to her chest, tightening the large robe draped over her shoulders, her delicate face a picture of surprise.

She had not seen Chen Yi arrive from the Four Directions Pavilion; she had assumed he had been standing there, watching her for quite some time.

Chen Yi, however, smiled calmly, though his hair was plastered to his face by the rain, his expression unchanged.

Still, one might say the atmosphere between them was not quite... harmonious?

Perhaps.

After a long while.

Xiao Wan'er's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she finally found her voice: "Y-you... you really can't sleep, and you dare to come here and... and sneak a look..."

Xiao Jinghong had only just left the mansion yesterday, yet here was Xiao Wan'er's younger sister, sneaking over like this.

If someone had seen them, how could she explain it?

"Sneak a look?"

Chen Yi knew she had misunderstood.

At the same time, he realized Xiao Wan'er had not noticed his visit to the Four Directions Pavilion.

A good sign, perhaps.

Chen Yi glanced around, saw no one nearby, and walked boldly into the pavilion.

Xiao Wan'er instinctively stepped back, her eyes widening with some alarm, her lips parting but no words coming out.

Chen Yi dried the rain from his face on his sleeve, revealing a smile: "Oh, Mistress, you're still awake so late, still worried about those medicinal herbs?"

Xiao Wan'er, who had expected him to do something, blinked in surprise. Seeing he did not approach closer, however, a sense of relief settled in her chest.

She turned her head slightly, trying not to show her nervousness, "Yes, yes, those herbs are indeed quite urgent."

Yet her voice trembled slightly, a tremor that escaped Chen Yi's notice.

After a moment's thought.

Chen Yi sat on the other side of the table, which stood between them, and smiled: "Since we're both unable to sleep, perhaps we should discuss matters concerning the pharmacy."

"Why, when the medicinal supplies are scarce, do you source them from the distant Beizhou rather than seeking them closer?"

Xiao Wan'er cast a glance at him, paused for a moment, then replied: "Master Qing's connections are cheaper than those in Jingzhou—by nearly a third—and the quality is better."

Cheaper, better quality, a good deal?

Chen Yi felt a twinge of suspicion.

There was no other reason, simply because those medicinal supplies were sourced through Xiao Qing's connections.

A hidden guard, lurking within Hou Fu's mansion—how could such a person be of any use to the Xiao family?

Not that it was certain. There was another possibility—the task assigned to Xiao Qing himself might have been to earn merit for the Xiao family.

"If those medicinal supplies prove problematic, what consequences might follow?"

Xiao Wan'er's earlier anxiety resurfaced, her attention drifting away from Chen Yi, her voice dropping to a whisper: "All the silver reserves from the first half of the year have been exhausted."

Half a year's profits, roughly two hundred and thousand taels of silver—not a small sum.

Chen Yi nodded knowingly: "Are there any other repercussions?"

Xiao Wan'er met his gaze, her eyes flashing with irritation, as if to say, "That's not all."

Chen Yi read her expression, smiled: "If the mansion is in need of funds, I'll think of some way."

Though he had no intention of actually paying a thousand taels per character for a decree, ten taels per character would do, wouldn't it?

Xiao Wan'er met his eyes, then his smile, and a crimson spread across her cheeks: "Y-you have some plan?"

She seemed to realize her words were improper, and quickly shook her head: "When you first took over the pharmacy, you were supposed to manage it according to regulations, without resorting to underhanded methods."

After all, he had entered the Xiao household as a son-in-law, and naturally wouldn't know how to generate such wealth through normal channels.

Chen Yi didn't press further about the source of the money, but asked a few more questions regarding the pharmacy.

Xiao Wan'er detailed every aspect meticulously, her demeanor no longer the anxious, flustered state she had worn before, returning to her usual gentle composure.

Seeing her calm again, Chen Yi glanced at the rain, which was beginning to ease, and said: "The time is getting late; I should return."

Xiao Wan'er adjusted the hem of her robe, looked at him, and softly said: "Go to bed early, and in the future, try not to be out so late at night."

Chen Yi frowned, then said: "In truth, tonight it was only..."

After a pause, he didn't continue.

It was difficult to explain such things away. Just the fact that he had climbed over the wall in the middle of the night to reach Qingxing Garden was hard to justify.

Yet there was one matter he could attempt to explain.

"Tonight was indeed my fault, but those poems I wrote earlier..."

The mention of "poems" made Xiao Wan'er's face flush crimson, and she interrupted: "That poem has already been destroyed. From now on, you... you and I, we should both refrain from mentioning it again."

Even in the dim light, Chen Yi could still see her pale, delicate face flush from white to red, all the way down to the collar of her robe. "Mistress, in fact, I..."

"Don't say another word. Go rest early."

Before he could finish, Xiao Wan'er, her face still red, clasped her hands to her chest, and hurried out of the pavilion, through the pouring rain, into the wooden house.

Looking at her retreating figure and the door closing hastily behind her, Chen Yi couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

How could he bring up those poems now? Xiao Wan'er was even more agitated than when she first saw him!

Though if she had already destroyed them, perhaps it could be considered as if nothing had happened.

Chen Yi glanced at the wooden house, which still had no lights on inside, and had no choice but to return to Chunhe Garden.

In the chamber.

Xiao Wan'er crouched by the window, watching him walk away, cross the low wall, then gently touching her slightly warm face, she muttered softly: "How could you climb over the wall in the middle of the night?"

Thinking of it, Xiao Wan'er pulled the curtain closed, returned to her bed, and from beneath the dressing table drawer pulled out a silk box.

After examining it for a moment.

She wore a bitter expression, then carefully closed the silk box, her previously calm heart now rippling with turmoil.

I simply couldn't bear to let such a good poem go to waste...

...

Chen Yi remained utterly composed.

Returning to the chamber, he shed his black robes, fetched a towel to wipe his body clean, and donned fresh, light clothing. Only then did he feel a measure of relief.

“Thank goodness Shen Huaotang wasn’t here—if she’d caught sight of me, tonight might’ve ended badly.”

Xiao Wanyue’s words… hmm… she wouldn’t dare speak of it.

Thinking this, Chen Yi made his way to the study, where he meticulously copied the secret letter onto paper.

He then retrieved the cipher manual he’d obtained from Liu Sier, decoding it line by line.

After a moment, he furrowed his brow. “No? Not these?”

Whether it was the Huangmei opera *The East Elder’s Journey*, or the quyi collection *Eternal Joy*, or other such volumes—none could decipher the letter.

“Has the hidden guard changed the cipher manual?”

Chen Yi’s deduction was, at best, a reasonable guess.

Yet something about it felt odd.

Earlier, when Liu Sier and the elder uncle had exchanged intelligence, they’d deliberately avoided each other. And Xiao Dongchen had hidden the letter within his own residence.

Such a method of transmission reeked of underhanded dealings.

Pondering this, Chen Yi rubbed his temples. “If only Pei Menglu were here.”

Though that girl was somewhat reckless, she could prove useful in determining whether the letter had been dispatched by the elder uncle—or by another agent of the hidden guard.

With so few clues, the letter remained their sole hope.

After some deliberation, Chen Yi suddenly recalled the time he’d accompanied Xiao Honinghong to the Four Directions Hall for a gift exchange, when they’d briefly sat in the study.

He carefully reconstructed the scene.

In his mind’s eye, the study’s layout emerged: the desk, the writing implements, the scrolls and books, the calligraphy sheets—all distinct and clear.

Without hesitation, he jotted down the titles of the volumes onto cypress paper, then began sifting through them.

“The cipher manual should be a common volume, one unlikely to raise suspicion.”

“Opera scripts and leisurely tales might suit Liu Sier’s standing, but for someone in the fourth rank of central ministers, they’d seem out of place.”

Thus, it was likely a classic of history or philosophy, or perhaps a popular collection of poems or biographies.

As long as it wasn’t a rare or specially bound tome, Chen Yi’s study should contain it.

He searched for an hour, until the witching hour passed.

At last, he paused.

“Found it!”

(The chapter ended.)