You Promised to Be an Idle Son-in-Law, How Could You Become a Land Immortal?-Chapter 85 - 86: Always Face It With a Smile

「The next day.」

Xiaodie woke up early. As usual, she got dressed and began bustling about Spring Lotus Garden.

Fetching water, cleaning, preparing breakfast.

Having woken up later than Chen Yi a few times before, she was now determined to always rise earlier than the Young Master.

And for the past few days, she had succeeded.

Every day, Xiaodie would finish her chores, then go attend to Chen Yi as he woke. After he ate, she would see him off to Jishi Medicine Hall.

Just this simple routine was enough to make her happy for the entire day.

It had to be said, she was just that kind of simple-hearted maid.

By the time she finished everything, the sky was just beginning to brighten with the first light of dawn.

Xiaodie gazed at the freshly cleaned study and living room. On the large square table, she had laid out fried dough sticks, congee, and a few small pastries and side dishes.

A sweet, innocent smile graced her young face.

’Time to go wake the Young Master and help him dress.’

But the thought had barely crossed her mind when she heard footsteps outside. Chen Yi, already neatly dressed in a long robe, walked in.

He glanced at the breakfast on the table, praised Xiaodie with a smile for being so thoughtful, and then sat down, picked up a fried dough stick, and popped it into his mouth.

Xiaodie stared at him, stunned. The smile on her face froze, and the light in her eyes seemed to dim.

’Oh no, the Young Master woke up early again today.’

Chen Yi didn’t notice her odd reaction. He finished a fried dough stick, took a sip of congee, and said, "Xiaodie, next time, remember to have the kitchen pickle some more snow cabbage. It goes perfectly with rice congee."

Xiaodie mumbled an "oh" and asked dejectedly, "Young Master, what time did you wake up today?"

Chen Yi thought for a moment, then answered casually, "Probably a little before three in the morning."

Xiaodie puffed out her cheeks, secretly resolving to start waking up at a quarter past one tomorrow. No, half past one... Actually, maybe a quarter past two would be better.

It wasn’t that she wanted to sleep in, but if she got up too early, she’d have nothing to do all day after the Young Master left.

’And how could a competent maid ever be idle?’

Chen Yi, of course, had no idea what was going through her mind. He quickly finished his meal, let out a satisfied sigh, and headed for the study.

He didn’t forget to add, "When Wuge gets up, I’ll take him to Jiaxing Garden for breakfast."

Xiaodie agreed out of habit, then glanced at the large amount of leftover breakfast and asked hesitantly, "Young Master, what about all this...?"

Chen Yi glanced back, pointed at her, and then entered the study with a smile.

A moment later, it dawned on Xiaodie. She pointed to herself. "Me?"

But she was only one person. How could she possibly finish two bowls of congee, four fried dough sticks, plus the eggs and pastries?

Never mind the trivial worries swirling in Xiaodie’s head.

Having reached the study, Chen Yi sat down at his desk, ground some ink, and began to write with his brush.

However, unlike usual, his mind wasn’t on his calligraphy. He was preoccupied, mulling over several things.

For instance, who had ordered the "Sword Madman," Liu Lang, and the Illusory Sound Sect to hijack that shipment of medicinal herbs.

He considered the Xiao Family’s probable internal reaction to the loss of the herbs, as well as the response from the outside world once the news got out.

Then there was the matter of the medicine halls’ future operations, and how Jishi Medicine Hall, the one he was in charge of, should respond.

He considered these scattered thoughts one by one.

A rough picture began to form in Chen Yi’s mind, giving him a small measure of confidence.

But some questions remained unclear.

’This seems connected to the Mutual Market,’ he thought. ’With the herbs gone, the second half of the year is going to be difficult for the Xiao Family.’

’On top of that, they need to build the Mutual Market with the Mountain Race. The family’s funds probably won’t be enough, which might even affect the allowances for each branch of the family.’

’So... is it the Hidden Guard?’

But he quickly dismissed the idea. ’Too hasty.’

If the Hidden Guard was that desperate to topple the Xiao Family, they wouldn’t have sent a "fledgling" like him for the job.

After all, without years of preparation and planning, it would be impossible for a son-in-law who married into the family to gain control of the Xiao Family.

If Chen Yi were a leader of the Hidden Guard tasked with dealing with a Noble Family like the Xiaos—who had operated in Shu State for two hundred years—without causing too much of a stir, he would have to exercise restraint. He couldn’t be too hasty or apply too much pressure.

The best method would be to make major gains while conceding minor points.

Otherwise, if everything went against them, the Xiao Family would inevitably be forced into taking desperate measures.

’But if it’s not the Hidden Guard, who could it be?’

His train of thought hit a dead end there.

Chen Yi looked down at the sheet of Yunsong Paper before him, covered in his sloppy, artless calligraphy, and thought to himself:

’There must be more to come. I don’t need to rush.’

He needed to see what happened next to verify his suspicions, to find out who was behind this and what their objective was.

After all, there was still time.

With that thought, Chen Yi unhurriedly tidied his desk, putting the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone back in order.

He crumpled the sheet of Yunsong Paper with his sloppy calligraphy into a ball and tossed it into the wastebasket.

If someone saw verses like "Slay a man in ten steps, travel a thousand miles without a trace," they would surely misinterpret his intentions.

A short while later, Xiao Wuge was awake, washed, and dressed. Chen Yi then led him to Jiaxing Garden.

"Brother-in-law, aren’t you going to the Medicine Hall today?"

For the past few days, Chen Yi had already left the residence by the time Xiao Wuge woke up, so the boy couldn’t even find him when he wanted to go out with him.

Chen Yi casually replied that he was taking a day off, his gaze fixed on Jiaxing Garden ahead.

Wuge’s spirits immediately fell.

He’d had his own little reason for asking, of course.

He had only gotten a brief, whirlwind tour of the Medicine Hall yesterday, and his excitement and curiosity were still fresh. He had been hoping to go again today.

A moment later, the two arrived at Jiaxing Garden.

Xiao Wan’er must have been up for a while. She stood before the main building, dressed in a festive red cloak, smiling as she gave instructions to two maids.

"...when the herbs are put into storage, be meticulous. Make sure to categorize and log them properly in the records."

"Huatang isn’t good with numbers, so the two of you should help her. Oh, and Xiaodie, you can call on her for help as well."

Her gentle voice echoed through the courtyard.

Chen Yi heard her clearly and didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.

Setting aside the question of Xiaodie’s math skills, it was obvious Xiao Wan’er hadn’t yet received the news that the herbs had been stolen.

He figured the messenger from outside the city hadn’t entered yet, but that the news would arrive very soon.

And then there was Shen Huatang...

Last night, he had only seen Liu Lang and the Illusory Sound Sect slaughter the men from the Escort Agency. He didn’t know if Shen Huatang had also been killed.

’I hope she’s alright,’ he thought.

Otherwise, seeing Xiao Wan’er in such high spirits, he knew the shock of going from such great joy to profound grief would be more than she could bear.

As if hearing their footsteps, Xiao Wan’er turned. A smile touched her pale face, but it was for Xiao Wuge.

"You’re here so early. You haven’t eaten, have you?"

Xiao Wuge nodded, even tattling a little. "Brother-in-law ate all the breakfast himself."

Chen Yi knew this was Xiaodie’s "doing," so he couldn’t very well tell the truth. He just offered an explanation, "I was practicing my Pile Skill this morning."

The smile on Xiao Wan’er’s face widened for just an instant before she instructed a maid to prepare breakfast.

After the maid had gone, she asked, "You didn’t go to the Medicine Hall today?"

Just last night, she had been pleased that Chen Yi was finally getting accustomed to life at the Medicine Hall. Seeing him slacking off today, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Chen Yi repeated the reason he’d given Xiao Wuge. "Just taking a day off. As for tomorrow... we’ll see."

Fortunately, he didn’t know what she was thinking, or he certainly would have washed his hands of the whole affair.

He, of all people, knew how anxious the young mistress was about that shipment of herbs.

If he hadn’t been worried that Xiao Wan’er wouldn’t be able to handle the news of the robbery, he never would have made a point of bringing Wuge along.

Xiao Wan’er nodded as if in understanding and said reassuringly, "You’re new to the business. You can’t be too hasty."

"Especially at a Medicine Hall. There are countless types of herbs, and the clientele is complicated. It took even Accountant Liu two years to get everything in order."

"And the physicians and apprentices—remember not to be too harsh with them. They are old retainers who have been with our Xiao Family for many years..."

Perhaps because she was in a good mood, or perhaps because the conversation had gotten off to a good start, Xiao Wan’er spoke to Chen Yi more than she usually did, offering him advice.

Most of it was about how to manage the Medicine Hall—what to pay attention to and what attitude to take with different people.

As for how Chen Yi felt... he couldn’t quite find the right words to describe it.

Still, at least there was a smile on Xiao Wan’er’s face. He took some small comfort in that.

But he knew it wouldn’t last past noon.

Just as the siblings were eating breakfast, the sound of relatively light footsteps came from outside.

Chen Yi froze. He recognized those footsteps.

A small mercy in a great misfortune: Shen Huatang wasn’t dead.

Immediately after, Shen Huatang’s voice called out, "Young Mistress..."

Xiao Wan’er looked toward the door, her smile faltering. A terrible premonition bloomed in her heart.

Just then, Shen Huatang appeared at the door, her blue clothes stained with blood. She lowered her head and said, her voice full of self-reproach and hesitation:

"The herbs... they’ve been stolen."