Volume 3: Heavenly Tribulation Chapter 104: Means
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Jianna appeared on time in class, and Chen Jianchen didn't feel surprised at all; however, what made Jianna feel surprised was that Chen Jianchen didn't mention the ink-grinding task he had assigned yesterday, as if he had forgotten it and directly started teaching new characters... Jianna secretly let out a sigh of relief. She had run out of the study in a huff yesterday, gone to the back hill to clear her mind, and sat quietly for a long time before dispelling the gloom in her heart. However, when she returned home, she still hadn't let go of her resentment and hadn't listened to Chen Jianchen's suggestion to learn ink-grinding from Xiang'er. If Chen Jianchen forced her to grind ink again today, the result would probably be a repeat of yesterday's events.
Chen Jianchen understood the situation and knew that he couldn't rush things, so he didn't mention yesterday's ink-grinding incident and instead calmly began teaching new characters.
Jianna was memorizing new words, but at the same time, she found Chen Jianchen becoming increasingly strange and unpredictable. His behavior was completely different from that of her previous teachers, especially with a sword hidden in his soul!
This is no trivial matter.
Jiona was willing to lower her head and sit in class to learn, for a large part because she wanted to figure out Chen Jianchen's true nature...
The day before yesterday, Huangfu asked his daughter indirectly why she was willing to listen obediently, while Jiaona directly asked about Chen Jianchen's background.
Huangfu did not hide anything and directly told the whole story. However, after listening to it, Jiaona felt even more bewildered: Chen Jianchen's experiences had no connection with the sword hidden in his soul...
From this, Joana was convinced that Chen Jianchen had definitely hidden something from Father... She even suspected that Chen Jianchen had ulterior motives and deliberately disguised himself as Mr. to come to the villa.
Then would Chen Jianchen already know their true identities as father and daughter?
"Great loyalty is similar to great treachery?"
The little fox spirit suddenly thought of a more fitting adjective and vividly imagined it, after continuous improvement and supplementation, the final result was: Chen Jianchen came to the village with ulterior motives...
From young to old, Jiona was often taught by her father that the secular world is vast and complicated, people's hearts are like ghosts, cunning and unpredictable... Therefore, in order to survive in this world, one must read books and understand reason, so as to distinguish between true and false, right and wrong; seeing that his daughter refused to study, he even gave a death order, not allowing her to leave the village within a radius of one mile, let alone enter the city.
So up until today, apart from running to the back mountain every day, Jiona basically doesn't have any other social activities.
Huang Pu has great wisdom and is good at management, but the way he disciplines his daughter is really not appropriate, which instead triggers Jiaona's rebellious psychology and makes her even less interested in learning.
Jianna didn't like studying, but she remembered her father's words "people's hearts are like ghosts" very clearly and applied them to Chen Jianchen's head, because this young man had many suspicious points on him.
Foxes are naturally suspicious...
Jiona hasn't reported her plan to Father yet, she just plans to understand more and grasp more before taking action, best if she can catch someone in the act... And following Chen Jianchen's class is undoubtedly a good way to gain understanding.
Her mind, Chen Jianchen naturally had no way of knowing, but he also understood that to truly make Jiao Na a "three-good student" was by no means an easy task, nor could it be settled in just three or two days, nor would it work with just one sword to break through the opponent's small magic. It required subtle and imperceptible changes, like the spring breeze and autumn rain.
Today's class ended smoothly again.
Back in the east wing, Chen Jianchen went to call Lu Xiyue to pack her things and let her return to Jiangzhou with Wang Fu, which had been said early on, and Lu Xiyue did not object.
Because Wang Fu had to set out early tomorrow, and the route was different, Chen Jianchen had to send Lu Xiyue and his servants to Suzhou City today, check into an inn, and meet up with Wang Fu and others.
Lu Xi packed lightly and quickly finished packing, then followed Chen Jianchen out to bid farewell to Huangfu and thank him for his hospitality.
"Dad, I'm going into town with Mr. and Miss Xiao!"
Jiona suddenly ran out and said excitedly that she had been chatting with Lusi for a few days and they had become friends.
Huangfu Yiwai immediately scowled and said: "No way, who knows what kind of trouble you'll stir up once you go out?"
Jiāo Nà pouted and coquettishly said: "Daddy, just let me go. At most, I guarantee that as a daughter, I will listen to Mr.'s words and won't cause any trouble."
As for Suzhou City, Jiona had long been yearning for it. If she hadn't been restrained by her father, she would have gone to take a look at the real flower world and see what it was like.
"This..."
Huangfu Yuanwai looked at Chen Jianchen, but he wanted to consult his opinion first and throw the decision-making power to him.
Chen Jianchen glanced at the expectant Yonna and said, "Let's let Huangfu Xiaotong follow us into the city, it's also good for her to get familiar with the outside world."
He agreed. Huangfu Yiwai had no more opinions and cupped his hands, saying: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Liu Xian. After my daughter enters the city, if there's anything improper, it will be up to you to instruct her."
He again exhorted Joanna for several sentences.
She was overjoyed at being able to go into town and play, and agreed to everything without any objections.
They sat in the carriage of the Huangfu family and entered Suzhou City with a rumbling sound.
As he saw them off, Huangfu Duo's face suddenly turned somewhat gloomy, and he muttered to himself: "That guy from the south has been making too much trouble lately, things are getting bigger and bigger... I'm afraid it won't be easy to clean up, if we alert the monks of the Shaolin Temple, that would be bad... Hmm, looks like we need to take action..."
"What did you say, sir?"
The servant standing by the side saw the old master's lips move slightly, but couldn't hear any sound coming out.
"Hmm, I'm saying that I need to go out for a trip, and I might not be back tonight. When Xiaoxiao and the others return, tell them for me."
"Oh!"
That servant respectfully replied, "Master often doesn't come home at night, it's normal, isn't it?"
"Ah, Ah Fu, there might be thunder and lightning tonight, mind the doors and windows."
Huangfu Yanwai instructed one more thing before leaving.
Thunder and lightning? In the middle of winter?
That Ah Fu was taken aback: Master, did you say something wrong...
The horse carriage moved slowly, Lu Xi and Jiao Na sat inside the carriage, while Chen Jianchen sat in front, holding onto the carriage handle, leaning his body against the side of the carriage, sitting steadily.
The wheels creaked monotonously, and the clear laughter of girls occasionally came from behind. Chen Jianchen simply took out a book he had been carrying with him.
Sitting in a car, studying hard, as if no one is around.
The groom couldn't help but secretly admire him, thinking that scholars are indeed extraordinary, able to read anywhere and anytime, no wonder they can pass the imperial examination and become officials.
Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!
Suddenly from behind came a hurried horseshoe sound and a rough shout: "Official business, bystanders scatter!"
Chen Jianchen turned his head and saw that behind him, the official road was filled with flying dust, and three fine horses were galloping swiftly towards him, startling the pedestrians on the road who scrambled to get out of the way.
The coachman seemed to have encountered such a thing for the first time, and he skillfully swung his whip, pulling the carriage over to the side of the road to prevent the horses from being frightened and running wildly.
Tap tap tap!
Behind them, twelve horseshoes trampled the ground in succession and quickly surpassed them. There were only three knights, two of whom wore official uniforms, while one was wearing ordinary hemp clothing.
"Ah, so it's Zhang Huaiyuan of Li Da Guanren."
The cart driver had sharp eyes and recognized the person.
Chen Jianchen's heart skipped a beat as he asked: "Ma Liu, the Li Da Guanren you mentioned, is it Li Yifeng, the Li Da Guanren from Xiguan?"
The groom Ma Liu laughed and said: "Isn't it him? Apart from him in Suzhou, where else can you find a second Li Da Guanren?"
"Hmm, what do you know?"
Ma Liu hurriedly drove the horse carriage back on the road, and upon meeting Chen Jianchen, he asked him questions. Ma Liu started talking non-stop: "To answer your question, Chen Gongzi, this is what happened. A few days ago, in the south-facing valley of Dongshan Mountain, a huge snake suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The snake was enormous! If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn't believe how big it was. It was over 100 feet long, its head was as big as a winnowing basket, its eyes were like bronze bells, and its body could wrap around the mountain peak. I don't know how frightening that is..."
Chen Jianchen was speechless with laughter, and Ma Liu obviously had also been misled by rumors, having never seen the true face of the Green Snake. But this is a characteristic of folk rumors, nothing to be surprised about. After one thing has passed through more than three people's mouths, even sparrows can become phoenixes. He didn't interrupt or distinguish, just listening to the carman continue speaking.
"This huge snake, I heard before that it was a damned snake charmer who released it into the mountains. Who knows what reason, after several years it became so enormous, able to eat people and swallow elephants. Many people say that as long as this snake eats 9,999 people, it will shed its tail and transform into a dragon..."
This rumor is even more unreliable.
Chen Jianchen was uncertain whether this world had dragons or not, but he could confirm that the Green Snake ate humans. It was just a means of absorbing essence and blood to increase its cultivation, still far from becoming a dragon.
A huge snake is harming people, and the villagers are in a state of panic. Every day, the village elder leads the villagers to protest in front of the government office, but even the government soldiers dare not go up the mountain to kill the snake. In desperation, the government puts up a notice offering a reward: whoever can hunt down the huge snake will receive ten gold ingots... Alas, such a high reward is unprecedented, unfortunately, our family doesn't have the ability, and we can only stand by and watch.
During that time, there were a few brave hunters who went to take down the billboard and kill the snake on the mountain, but in the end, they all got swallowed by the giant snake. As a result, no one dared to volunteer again. The reward is high, but you need to have your life to get it... But yesterday, when I was driving for Master, I heard that Mr. Li sent someone to take down the billboard. At that time, I didn't believe it, but today it seems likely to be true. Just now, I was with two officials, and they were indeed Zhang Hu from Mr. Li's place...
Chen Jianchen couldn't help but ask: "Does Officer Li know martial arts?"
Ma Liu Dao said: "No way, he's a scholar, how can he practice martial arts?"
"How could he go and take down the billboard to kill the snake?"
"Heh heh, it should be sent to kill. Li Da's family is wealthy and powerful, with a generous and open-minded son who loves to make friends with heroes from all over the world, I don't know how many guests are being supported in his household."
So that's it, Chen Jianchen suddenly understood that Li Yifeng's move would not be for the reward, but to borrow this to earn fame and reputation. If he succeeded in killing the big snake, the people of Suzhou would naturally be grateful to him. This had a very good influence on Li Yifeng's future career.
Good move...
Chen Jianchen's eyes flashed with a hint of playful color.
At this time, Suzhou City arrived.
