The Marquis of Changle’s practice of selling concubines to earn silver earned him the disdain of almost every high-ranking official and nobleman in the capital. Many even refused to associate with him, feeling his actions were an insult to refined sensibilities.
The Marquis was well aware of this, but as he possessed both a fief and a noble title, he wasn’t the least bit afraid of being the subject of gossip.
Both men and women avoided the Marquis of Changle like the plague.
As his only wife, Rong Susu was also marginalized by the noble ladies. Whenever banquets were held, she was rarely invited; much of this, however, was born out of pure jealousy.
Cheng Ruyi liked this family very much; living with them was exceptionally comfortable. Having always advocated for strength above all else, she disliked scheming and intrigue the most.
Following the heavy rain the other night, it continued to drizzle in the capital for several days.
Cheng Ruyi stayed in the manor every day. Aside from learning medicine from the old physician who had returned to the estate, she spent her time quietly using her wood-element energy to nourish the manor’s fruit trees. In just three days, the trees began to look exceptionally vibrant.
At the same time, she didn’t overlook the vegetables in the garden or the acre of pasture grass cultivated near the stables.
The entire Marquis of Changle’s manor was brimming with vitality.
Perhaps because it had been raining, the change wasn’t too obvious yet, but once the sun came out after the rain, everyone in the manor would realize the benefits of the trees having been nourished by her wood-element energy.
In the Main Hall of the Main Courtyard
Cheng Ruyi sat eating a peach while watching several family members play “Fight the Landlord.” Before long, Cheng Yu lost again. Including this round, he had lost six times in a row. Unhappy, Cheng Yu approached her with a long face and looked at her expectantly.
“Sister, Dad is bullying me! Go get Cousin to avenge me!”
Cheng Ruyi was stunned: “…” What did he mean, get Cousin Rong Mo to avenge him?
Ever since the deck of cards was finished and brought back, her father hadn’t gone out to carouse at all. He spent all day playing “Fight the Landlord” with such intensity that she was already tired of watching.
Strangely enough, it was as if her father had found a new toy. He played all day and all night; now, even the servants in the manor knew how to play.
And her mother hadn’t even tried to stop him. Sigh.
Nearby, the Marquis, who had just spent several rounds crushing his son, laughed triumphantly.
“Son, you really aren’t suited to be the ‘Landlord.’ Next time, let your father be the Landlord for a change.”
Cheng Yu remained stubborn: “I want to be the Landlord! The Landlord gets heaps of silver.”
Rong Susu, who had been sipping tea and watching the drama, had a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. That’s a powerful reason, she thought.
Cheng Ruyi was speechless. It was just a game; did winning or losing matter that much? However, since her little brother rarely acted spoiled with her, she could only nod and agree: “Alright, alright, Little Yu. I’ll go find Cousin Rong Mo to help you. But I can’t guarantee he’ll actually come.”
Cheng Yu finally smiled happily, tossed a defiant look at his father, and excitedly went back to the game.
Within moments, he was obsessed again.
Clearly, calling for Cousin Rong Mo to “seek revenge” had just been a momentary outburst of frustration.
Cheng Ruyi shook her head. Since she wanted to consult Cousin Rong Mo on some matters anyway, she took a bite of her peach, brought Moxiang along, and slowly walked toward the Bamboo Garden under an oil-paper umbrella. Ever since she learned that Cousin Rong Mo knew martial arts that night, she had developed an interest in practicing herself.
When Rong Mo heard she wanted to learn, he didn’t say much and simply gave her a diagram of the human body’s meridians.
Ahem. After getting the diagram, Cheng Ruyi realized she couldn’t understand it at all. She nearly broke down in tears. She wanted to ask him for help, but ever since his legs had recovered, he always seemed very busy. She didn’t even know if she would see him this time.
Upon arriving at the Bamboo Garden, Cheng Ruyi left Moxiang outside and entered, familiar with the way.
As it happened, Rong Mo hadn’t gone out today. He was sitting by the window frame alone, staring blankly at the bamboo forest shrouded in rain and mist. Hearing the familiar footsteps behind him, Rong Mo turned his head. Looking at her exquisite and beautiful face, his mood brightened slightly, and his lips curved into a smile: “You’ve come.”
“Cousin, Little Yu wants you to help him play ‘Fight the Landlord.’ Will you go?” Cheng Ruyi asked with a smile.
Rong Mo refused.
Cheng Ruyi wasn’t surprised at all. In her eyes, Cousin Rong Mo was a very cool and aloof person.
“Cousin, I’ve looked at the meridian diagram you gave me. I don’t understand most of it, and I don’t know where those acupuncture points are located,” Cheng Ruyi admitted somewhat sheepishly. Whether in her past life or this one, she had never been to school and relied entirely on self-study.
Esoteric things like martial arts and acupuncture points were completely beyond her. The meridian diagram looked like a jumbled mess of clouds; if she hadn’t learned a bit about meridians from the old physician, the diagram would have been like a book written in a foreign tongue. This chapter is updated first at novelping . com.
At the thought of this, Cheng Ruyi wanted to cry. “Learning martial arts is so difficult!”
Rong Mo looked up at her as she complained and asked in a calm tone, “You already possess a body of monstrous strength; do you still need to learn martial arts?”
In his view, his cousin already had the ability to protect herself. Whether she practiced martial arts or not didn’t matter; with her supernatural strength, even a high-level martial artist could fall at her hands if they weren’t careful.
Cheng Ruyi froze for a moment. True! She already had her superpower. Her body, modified by her energy, would only grow stronger and more resilient. Why bother learning unfamiliar martial arts?
“Cousin is right. I already have the ability to protect myself; there’s no need to struggle with a martial art I don’t understand.” After saying this, Cheng Ruyi let out a sigh of relief. The pressure that had built up over the last few days vanished instantly, and she felt light again.
She suddenly felt that her obsession with learning martial arts was quite silly.
It was just like what her “Eldest Sister” used to say: Picking up a sesame seed only to lose the watermelon.
Rong Mo looked at her radiant face, a faint smile flashing in the depths of his eyes.
“I heard from Aunt that you’re going to attend the Lotus Viewing Poetry Party in two days.”
Hearing him mention the poetry party, Cheng Ruyi was momentarily dazed. Then she remembered—good heavens, she had completely forgotten that Cheng Qingyao had sent her an invitation.
“Oh, right, right!” Cheng Ruyi gave a dry laugh.
Seeing her guilty expression, Rong Mo sighed silently in his heart. He stood up directly from his wheelchair and went into the inner room. A moment later, he returned with a jade casket and handed it to her.
“What’s this?” Cheng Ruyi opened the casket curiously and saw a set of exquisitely carved, extraordinarily magnificent jewelry inside.
“A thank-you gift,” Rong Mo said plainly.
He didn’t tell her that he had specifically commissioned this set of jewelry for her from the Treasure Pavilion. He only used the “thank-you gift” as an excuse to place it in her hands.
Cheng Ruyi didn’t have much of a concept of jewelry—she didn’t like wearing a bunch of things on her head anyway. Seeing this exquisite set that other noble daughters would scramble for, her first reaction was: This set must be worth a lot of money.
“Oh, then I won’t be formal with you.”
Since it was a thank-you gift from Cousin Rong Mo, Cheng Ruyi accepted it with a clear conscience and a happy heart, thinking that if she ever ran out of money, she could sell it for some spending silver.
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