"After Elder Ming arrived, his son retired from the Dingyuan Army to help manage the estate."
"Previously, they were the ones who registered and collected the land rent, which the Third Steward and his men would then come to collect."
Chen Yi smiled and nodded, asking, "The other gentlemen must also be veterans of the Dingyuan Army, I presume?"
"Yes, Elder Fang and the others are too, but they were assigned here by my grandfather in recent years..."
While they chatted and laughed, the group finished lunch. After a short rest, Kang Ming approached and asked,
"Miss, which places would you like to see? I can lead the way."
Xiao Wan’er didn’t refuse. She had Shen Huatang bring a map and pointed to several circled locations on it.
"We’ll go see all of these places."
After looking, Kang Ming hesitated. "Miss, the roads outside of town are narrow. I’m afraid a carriage won’t be able to pass."
Xiao Wan’er smiled. "It’s no problem, we can walk."
"Absolutely not! Someone of your stature..."
After much persuasion, it was only when Shen Huatang spoke up that Xiao Wan’er finally agreed to go on horseback.
Chen Yi benefited as well, getting to ride there on horseback with Xiao Wan’er.
Before long, Liu Si’er came over leading two horses. He stopped a slightly shorter horse next to Xiao Wan’er and led the other one over to Chen Yi.
"Sir, this one is spirited. You should be careful."
Chen Yi grunted in acknowledgment, took the reins, and vaulted onto the horse with a smile.
"I’ve practiced riding before in Jiangnan Prefecture. No matter how spirited..."
He hadn’t even finished speaking when the black steed beneath him suddenly reared, almost throwing him off.
"Ngh—"
The steed let out a long neigh.
Chen Yi instinctively moved to bring it under control, but a glimpse of Liu Si’er out of the corner of his eye gave him pause. Instead, he just yelled and gripped the reins tighter.
Xiao Wan’er saw this, her eyes widening in alarm as she cried out, "Be careful!"
At that moment, Shen Huatang leaped into action without hesitation, flying up and stomping on the horse’s head.
THUD!
Instantly, the black horse that was about to bolt dropped to its knees, its head pinned to the ground by Shen Huatang’s foot.
As the horse went down, Chen Yi tumbled to the side, ending up in an undignified heap on the ground.
Xiao Wan’er didn’t think twice, rushing over to check on him, her expression anxious as she asked,
"Are, are you okay?"
Chen Yi clambered to his feet, covered in dust. He rubbed the side of his face, grimacing in pain. "I’m, I’m fine."
To make the act more convincing, he discreetly gave himself a couple of bruises, and half of his face swelled up before their very eyes.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Wan’er’s delicate brows knitted together for the first time. She whirled around to face Liu Si’er.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Liu Si’er immediately dropped to his knees. "Please forgive me, Miss. I was careless and caused Sir to be injured. I await your punishment."
"You..."
Before Xiao Wan’er could finish, Chen Yi waved his hand with a smile. "It’s just a scratch. Nothing serious."
Seeing that Xiao Wan’er was still glaring at Liu Si’er, Chen Yi gently tugged her sleeve and continued, "Wan’er, there’s no need to punish Liu Si’er. It was my own fault for being careless."
Xiao Wan’er glanced back at him, her beautiful eyes reflecting his swollen face. She hesitated, then nodded.
"Elder Ming, do you have any liniment? Please bring some over."
"Yes, I’ll go get it right away."
Chen Yi naturally didn’t refuse. His gaze fell upon the black horse, a faint glint flashing in his eyes.
He then discovered what was wrong with the horse—a Silver Needle was embedded deep in its rump, reaching the bone.
Upon seeing this,
Chen Yi glanced at the sweating Liu Si’er out of the corner of his eye and inwardly scoffed.
’What a... clumsy test.’
He had already learned from Lou Yuxue that the Hidden Guard planned to test him to see if he possessed any skill in Martial Arts.
He’d thought Lou Yuxue would handle it personally, but who would have thought that woman would delegate the task to Liu Si’er.
If Chen Yi hadn’t been on his guard just now, he might have exposed his body’s abnormal strength.
After all, he had tempered his body to a solid foundation back when he was at the Ninth Grade, possessing the Power of Three Symbols.
By now, his physical strength had progressed even further, reaching the Power of Four Symbols.
He could have easily subdued that black horse with his physical power alone.