My Wife Is A Sword Immortal

Jingzhe season, spring thunder wakes a hundred bugs, a spring rain, all things come to life.

Early in the morning, the light rain continued.

Zhao Rong strolled leisurely along the secluded walkways of Duke Mansion with an oil-paper umbrella in hand.

Rain strikes the banana leaves, swallows carry red clay.

He slightly turned his gaze, his thoughts drifting.

Lingfei had left.

After the birthday banquet of the old dowager yesterday.

Accompanying her were Qian'er and two other attendants.

A tall elderly man and a swordsman.

Zhao Rong knew them both.

The former had originally been a steward in the fourth section of the estate, known to everyone as Uncle Kun, who later followed Lingfei to handle miscellaneous affairs.

The sword-carrying man had an interesting name, surname Li, given name Bai, Li Bai.

Zhao Rong used to call him Xiao Bai. He and his own mother were both servants in the fourth wing, heard to have originally come to the Tranquility Duke Mansion with Lingfei's mother.

Yesterday, as soon as Zhao Rong had hurried to the main hall of the mansion, the old dowager had called him over. At that time, Lingfei was also there, only turned sideways listening to Qian'er speaking, not looking at him.

The old dowager asked if he was willing to take over some of the estate's businesses in Qianjing, then paused and smilingly said that if he found it hectic, he could instead be a leisurely schoolteacher at the Zhao family academy.

Zhao Rong apologetically declined on the grounds of filial piety, saying he wanted to visit his hometown, as he and his mother had been away for many years, and he did not know whether his father was well.

After all, both parties already knew the score, it was better to just be frank.

Two interesting events occurred during the birthday banquet that followed.

Midway through the banquet, a group of seven arrived, all strikingly handsome men and beautiful women.

All seven wore the same style of clothes, but the six following were dressed in white, while the one leading wore purple.

The man in purple stood out dazzlingly with a handsome face and a spirited demeanor, wore a square scarf on his head, held a folding fan in his hand, and wore beautiful jade and a sachet on his belt.

Smiling, the man declared to the old dowager that he was representing Purple Energy Pavilion to offer birthday greetings to the old lady, and also to celebrate Lingfei's birthday, bringing two significant gifts prepared personally by the Pavilion Master.

At that moment, Zhao Rong, who was sitting eating pastries, was a bit stunned—wasn't Purple Energy Pavilion the most powerful amongst the mountain immortals in the surrounding countries? The Tranquility Duke Mansion had such significance?

Also, today was Lingfei's birthday? Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but look towards Qian'er, who was consistently fetching him snacks.

All three of you share the same day?

The young girl blinked and coughed lightly, then suddenly, as if to change the subject, she raised her clever chin, her face full of pride as she told Zhao Rong, "Miss and I are now Residence Students of the Taiching Four Mansions, especially Miss, who entered Tranquility Mansion at sixteen. The Pavilion Master of Purple Energy Pavilion has always been eager for Miss and her to return to Purple Energy Pavilion after graduating from the Taiching Four Mansions..."

After exchanging pleasantries with the old dowager for a while, the man in purple raised his eyes and surveyed his surroundings.

His gaze swept over Zhao Rong and many other guests without pausing, then stopped only on Lingfei and Qian'er. His handsome face slowly beamed with a warm smile as he tenderly called out "Sister Lingfei, Sister Qian'er."

Lingfei replied with a flat voice, "Brother Ye," while Qian'er turned her head away, ignoring him, and even muttered "toad" under her breath.

The man in purple still smiled warmly, but his handsome face showed a mix of about three parts helplessness to seven parts doting.

At the time, Zhao Rong, while still eating his pastries, watched Brother Ye's performance with interest, feeling that today had truly been eye-opening.

Suddenly, from outside the mansion, a cry of "Imperial edict has arrived" came.

Following this, a large group of outsiders entered, though most halted outside the main hall, with only the leading eunuch in a python robe stepping into the banquet hall.

In a high-pitched and delicate voice, he announced the Emperor of Chu's decree and bestowed a plethora of birthday gifts on Zhao Mansion.

At the time, Zhao Rong hadn't understood a single name of the gifts listed, as the eunuch's intonation was too peculiar.

Then, all the guests in the hall were busy kneeling to receive the decree, but not all.

Lingfei, dressed in green, stood still, merely bending slightly to support the old dowager, who was trembling slightly in her gratitude.

Those from Purple Energy Pavilion displayed no reaction, each wearing faces either indifferent or mocking.

As for Zhao Rong, he fundamentally lacked any concept of hierarchical respect, so why would he kneel? Moreover, with so many others not kneeling and him not being the only one, he continued to sit there nonchalantly, with Qian'er, who also stood immovably by his side.

Brethren Ye leisurely commented, "It seems that even after becoming the Emperor of Chu, Brother Xiang still has Sister Lingfei on his mind."

As the words fell, Brethren Ye suddenly turned his head, gazing at Zhao Rong with a warm smile.

At that moment, Zhao Rong calmly put down the pastry in his hand, pulled a handkerchief from his embrace, wiped his mouth, then lifted the corners of his mouth and looked up to meet his gaze.

Like to pose, right?

However, unexpectedly, Qian'er suddenly snatched the white handkerchief from his hand, hurriedly tucked it away, then looked up at him with a slightly red face and a peculiar expression in her eyes.

At the same time, Zhao Rong also felt... a devouring gaze. Following the sensation, he saw Lingfei, who previously remained cool and aloof, not deigning to look at him directly, now staring at him with a flushed face...

Thinking about the incident yesterday, Zhao Rong still felt somewhat embarrassed.

He stretched out a hand to catch some raindrops falling from the eaves. The rain was cool, waking him from the sleepiness of the early morning.

Later, in a voice soft as a mosquito, Qian'er told Zhao Rong, it was a joyous handkerchief.

He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Who knew a handkerchief could also be used for that purpose? I am still too naive...

When he first saw it on the marriage bed the next day, he thought it was for wiping sweat.

Speaking of which, who would embroider two fat ducks on a joyous handkerchief, ah, it should be ducks, right?

Yet, every time he thought about how Brethren Ye hadn't figured out the "signals" exchanged between him and Lingfei before he left, his smile began to stiffen, and he felt quite delighted.

Brethren Ye, can't play the part any longer, can you?

Zhao Rong left the Tranquility Duke Mansion. The rain was sparse and gradually stopped.

He folded the paper umbrella and left Changan Street for the Confucius Temple.

He hadn't been here for many days and had already gained two rivals in love, one disciple in Purple Energy Pavilion clothes and the current Emperor of Chu.

Ah, being the husband of Lingfei is indeed too risky.

Zhao Rong laughed self-deprecatingly.

Today, he planned to visit the Imperial College to see his mentors, especially his own revered Teacher Fang Shiru.

Teacher Fang Shiru was not from Great Chu. Teacher Fang said his hometown was a Great Dynasty that revered Confucianism exclusively. He had failed the imperial examinations three times, and afterwards, he traveled far and came to Great Chu.

Teacher Fang once taught at the Zhao family school, and he was also Zhao Rong's childhood tutor.

The late Emperor of Chu had, under the promotion of the current State Preceptor, established Confucianism as the national study. That State Preceptor was a Great Scholar, said to come from one of the seventy-two Confucian academies, and he founded the Imperial College to recruit Confucian Scholars and nurture Confucian talents.

Thus, Teacher Fang went to the Imperial College and served as a professor there.

Later, when Zhao Rong was fourteen, under the recommendation of Teacher Fang, he entered the Imperial College to study.

After the rain stopped, the Confucius Temple started to bustle.

On the streets, the pedestrians were like a woven tapestry.

Porters and laborers hurried by, and vendors along the street hawked their goods, showing the myriad states of human life.

Zhao Rong, with keen interest, observed the bustling street scenes; this might be considered his first outing since coming to this world.

Following the route in his memory, he quickly spotted the grand gate of the Imperial College — the Gate of Gathering Wisdom.

The architecture of the Imperial College faced south and was vast and expansive, stretching for ten miles, an unprecedented grandeur.

Zhao Rong stepped through the Gate of Gathering Wisdom, passing under the Glazed Tile Arch. On the way, acquaintances stopped him to inquire about his marital status, and inevitably, some laughter followed.

It seemed that the information had spread among all his peers.

Zhao Rong, unperturbed, remained indifferent.

After saying his farewells, he continued towards the direction of the Imperial Academy.