Fei Pin Ying Qiang

Chapter 22- Getting Along

Qi Yunruo soaked his feet within his inner chamber. The house was still and quiet. After Liusu brought the basin of dirty water outside, he climbed into bed. Prepared to fall asleep. Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps. In long, brisk strides, Lulan approached. “Young Master mustn’t sleep yet. His Highness will arrive soon.”

He sat there in a daze. Liusu stood outside, her expression darkening as soon as she heard those words.

During the afternoon, some low-ranking servant girls had called Liusu over to Winter Plum Courtyard. Back then, she had not felt happy about seeing Liubai and the others. In fact, she had been laden with anxiety en route. Once she had arrived, they interrogated her about the circumstances between the prince and Qi Yunruo. About how they had gotten along. Yet Liusu had nothing to say. The prince seldom came to Lakeside View House, and even when he had he would only come chat with Third Young Master. The most the prince had done was drink a cup of tea before leaving. As such, Liusu had no idea why the prince suddenly favored her master for two nights.

“…It’s late,” said Qi Yunruo, sitting up from bed. He poked his head out from the curtains to get a better look. “I should just stay in bed.”

Thinking Li Chen would stay the night, Qi Yunruo waited for a while. After Li Chen had returned, he made a few instructions in the main chamber, but Qi Yunruo could not hear them clearly.

He waited until Li Chen had bathed and dressed in his sleeping clothes. When Li Chen had finally stepped foot in the chamber, Qi Yunruo said, “You’re here.”

He had wrapped himself generously in the covers, leaning against the pillows stacked behind him. Said covers hung by his shoulders, exposing part of his white inner garment. His hair was tied low and fell upon one side of his chest. Li Chen smiled. “You sleep early.”

Qi Yunruo moved to make room for Li Chen. The space where Li Chen now sat felt warm to the touch. “Does your honored self feel it’s too early?” asked Qi Yunruo. “I can accompany you for a chat.”

Li Chen waved his hand to dismiss the servants. “Mm.”

He held one of Qi Yunruo’s hands in his own, gazing upon it. White and delicate, with long, elegant fingers. As Qi Yunruo lay down on his side, not a word escaped his lips. He wasn’t that tired and still had some energy. He stared at Li Chen’s hand. Felt the light calluses on his palm. It gave Qi Yunruo the impression that Li Chen had a lot of strength, capable of shooting arrows, riding horses, and whipping said horses to go faster. He was caught in a trance, before lightly saying, “During my youth, I would play with the boys outside. But since I could not beat them in a fight, I wanted to take a teacher in martial arts.”

Li Chen smiled. “Then what happened after?”

“After that… I don’t remember. Anyway, I didn’t get to learn.”

In fact, it was Count Ziyang who opposed him learning the Qi family’s generations of martial arts.

The moment the sons of the Qi family knew how to walk, they would pick up the saber, spear, sword, halberd, battle axe, hook, and pitchfork, a large assortment of weapons.

Having a lowly bastard son, one born outside the estate, Count Ziyang feared Qi Yunruo would tarnish the reputation of his household.

Li Chen said, “When I was six or seven years old, no matter how cold or hot the weather was, I would wake up early in the morning to hold squats. At the beginning, my legs would hurt at night to the point of not being able to fall asleep. But I endured year after year.”

The sons of the Qi family were all tall and large in built. The one who looked the most delicate was Qi Yunshan, yet his body was still stalwart. After a period of thought, Qi Yunruo also broke into a smile. “Men should naturally be large and tall.”