Chapter Seventeen: Is it a blessing in disguise?

  Chen Yi let out a sigh of relief. He too could not have imagined that the outcome would be like this, and his heart was filled with gratitude towards the exceptionally handsome young man in front of him.

  "A bunch of useless trash!" Just as Chen Yi was about to go forward and thank him, he heard the white-clothed youth mutter a low rebuke.

  "Thank you, young master, for lending a hand!" Chen Yi stepped forward and bowed, knowing that the other party was scolding the group of people with the surname Wu. He was also speculating about the identity of this young and handsome young master.

  What kind of person would be a group of people with the surname Wu who are cousins? Unfortunately, due to tension, the white-clothed youth didn't quite hear the conversation between him and those few Wu family members clearly. There were also many onlookers around, his emotions hadn't fully calmed down yet, and his reasoning ability had weakened as well.

  The young man in white hurriedly returned the courtesy with his hands, "Young Master Chen is too polite, I didn't lend a hand to help, I just came over to watch the excitement, no need to thank me!"

  "If it weren't for the young master's arrival, those people wouldn't have left yet. Of course, I must thank the young master for his assistance!" Chen Yi naturally knew that this young master was not an ordinary person. Those people had some regard for his identity, and there were also aunts, maternal aunts, and paternal grandmothers, a whole bunch of people involved, with very complicated relationships. He hadn't been able to guess what kind of person he might be yet, so he could only maintain the respect that he should have.

  "Haha, don't say those polite words anymore, hurry up and take your companion back home. Someone has already reported to the authorities, and they might arrive soon. It'll be troublesome if you're taken to the yamen! Those few people are not ones you can afford to offend right now!" The white-clothed youth said, bowing to Chen Yi again, "I'm also leaving, we'll meet again in the future! Chen Gongzi's martial arts skills are quite good, and his scholarship is even better. I will definitely come to visit and ask for guidance in the future! Farewell!"

  Chen Yi originally wanted to ask for his name, but seeing the white-clothed youth bowing and leaving, he could only return the courtesy: "Young master, slow down... we'll meet again!"

  Just now, the white-clothed young man's words "learn more and be better" Chen Yi heard clearly, he understood another layer of meaning from this sentence, it turned out that this white-clothed gentleman was also at Drunken Immortal Building just now, witnessed his poetry composition process, and heard that poem "Youthful Journey"? Otherwise, he wouldn't have said so.

  A young man in white clothes stopped at a distance, and a large horse-drawn carriage passed by. Chen Yi's gaze followed the person, and when he turned his head, he saw someone leaning against the door of the carriage, lifting the curtain to look over here. However, it was too far away, and because the light inside the carriage was relatively dim, he couldn't see what the person looked like or what was inside the carriage.

  The people in the carriage noticed Chen Yi's gaze and immediately pulled down the curtains. The white-clothed youth got on the horse cart, and the curtains remained lowered. Chen Yi's line of sight was blocked, but he didn't withdraw his gaze.

  "Ziying, let's hurry up, or else we might really get into trouble again!" Ningqing pleaded, tugging on Chenyi's hand.

  "Alright, let's go back!" Chen Yi nodded, turned around with an apologetic smile, pulled Ning Qing's hand and quickly walked away.

  At this time, the wide carriage also slowly started and headed east.

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  Inside the carriage, the white-clad youth who had just stood up to help Chen Yi was talking to another youth who looked very similar to him, wearing a fitted white shirt and trousers, with a masculine attire, but with a slender figure.

  "Brother, did you see them fighting? Was it a fierce fight?" The slender "young man" leaned on the arm of the white-clothed young man and asked curiously. This was precisely the person who had stood up for Chen Yi in the Drunken Immortal Building to argue on his behalf.

  As the brother's paternity was questioned by a curious onlooker, he sneered and said: "I saw it all, the whole process. I didn't expect those two treasures to be so useless. With so many people going to cause trouble, they still couldn't handle one person and were subdued. What a waste!"

  After hearing his brother's words, the people in the Drunken Immortal Building who were taking Chen Yi's side asked curiously: "Brother, is that young master Chen really so formidable? He dares to fight with so many people and even has the upper hand?" Before waiting for their own brother to answer, they laughed and said: "Brother, he has such good writing skills and extraordinary martial arts, isn't he exactly the kind of talent Aunt wants to recruit? You can recommend him to Aunt!"

  "This person's literary and martial skills should be outstanding, and he looks exceptional too. His demeanor is extraordinary, Aunt will definitely like him and give him important responsibilities! But it's strange, why haven't I ever heard of this person's name before, or seen him? White-clothed youth furrowed his brow, "Could it be that he really is from Jiangnan Dao, Yue State, and just arrived in Chang'an?"

  "Brother, didn't I just ask you to investigate? Did you ask them who they are? I really think that... that Chen young master looks familiar, as if I've seen him somewhere before!" The younger one looked a bit disappointed.

  "No!" The young man in white shook his head, "I told them to leave immediately. If they get into trouble with the authorities later, it'll be too late to ask questions then! But don't worry, we'll definitely meet him again and can ask more questions next time. Today's situation isn't suitable for asking these questions, I'm sure they've left by now! But... how did you find that person familiar?"

  "I don't know either, I just feel like I've seen her before, but I couldn't remember where! Ah, brother, you said... the pretty little girl beside Chen Gongzi, who is she? Is she a maid or his mistress?"

  "What's with the concern all of a sudden? Judging from that girl's attire, she should be some kind of maid or something, but seeing Master Chen always protecting her, it doesn't seem like... Neither of them brought any attendants, really can't figure out what kind of people they are..." The white-clothed youth pondered for a moment, as if suddenly realizing something, straightened his back and asked the person leaning on his arm: "I'm curious, why did you ask this? Don't tell me you've taken a liking to her?"

  "It's not like that, I'm just curious... " The person being questioned snorted and changed the subject, "Brother, do you think our cousins will go looking for trouble with Chen Gongzi again? Will they tell our uncles about this?"

  "I'll tell Aunt first, and I believe that once they know about it, they won't dare to cause trouble again. If they have any shame, they won't go around spreading such embarrassing things everywhere. Don't worry!"

  "Uh-huh, I know..."

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  Not mentioning the couple who were gossiping in the horse carriage all along, Chen Yi and Ning Qing's side was also continuing to make a ruckus.

  The two of them quickly escaped from the place and returned directly to the inn.

  At the moment when Chen Yi closed the door of his room, he finally put down the hand that had been suspended in mid-air.

  "Qing Er, I'm really sorry today. I originally wanted to take you to see what Hu Ji wine tavern is all about, but we encountered such an unpleasant thing. Not only did it spoil the fun, but also made you frightened and worried. I'm really sorry!" Chen Yi pulled Ning Qing back to the guest house, preparing to check if he was injured, and said with a face full of apology: "Fortunately, there was that unknown young master who helped us, otherwise we wouldn't know how to get back. We might not even be able to eat a meal without getting into trouble! Today I really shouldn't have been so arrogant!"

  "Hey, it's okay, I'm not afraid, you don't have to worry either, I won't tell Master about this! Let me help you treat your injuries first!" Ning Qing said with a smile. Her frightened heart had calmed down, although she was still scared in her heart, but returning to the inn and being alone with Chen Yi made her feel quite safe. Today, Chen Yi's performance, whether it was his stunning poetry recital at the tavern or his bold and heroic demeanor when facing the thugs, had earned her great admiration. Such a man was truly exceptional, exceling in both literature and martial arts, with a strong and fearless personality.

  Such a man is admired and also makes one's heart beat fast!

  Chen Yi had just been beaten by someone and was very worried, as soon as she entered the room she wanted to check his injuries.

  "Ah, let's not tell Sun Daochang about this, or he'll scold us!" Chen Yi smiled and released Ning Qing's hand. "I'm fine, they didn't hurt me, no need to make a fuss! Are you hungry? I'll go instruct the waiter to have them bring wine and dishes to our room, how does that sound?"

  "I'm not hungry now!" Ning Qing shook his head and grabbed Chen Yi's hand again, "I just saw that scoundrel kick you, let me see if you're hurt!" The spot where Chen Yi was kicked still had a mud stain, which made Ning Qing think of checking if Chen Yi was injured.

  "It's really nothing!" Chen Yi smiled and refused, but he also felt the pain. The place where he was kicked by his opponent was originally aching, and being pulled by Ning Qing made it even more painful, and he couldn't help but grimace.

  He made this subtle movement, and Ning Qing saw it. She was no longer gentle, immediately pulled up Chen Yi's sleeve to take a look, and actually saw a big bruise. "Ziying, you see such a big bruise, and you still say nothing's wrong? I'll apply medicine for you right away, don't move your hand!" Ning Qing had a very pitiful expression, with tears rolling out of the corners of her eyes, but she didn't have time to wipe them away, and immediately went to get the wound-healing medicine!

  Ning Qing quickly fetched the medicine and carefully applied it to Chen Yi. For some reason, as she was applying the medicine, the little girl's tears kept flowing more and more, and finally she started sobbing. "Ziying, you were hurt protecting me... look at how badly you're injured... I don't know what to do... today was lucky because of you, otherwise..."

  Chen Yi's heart was filled with a wave of tenderness, and he knew that Ning Qing had cried because she saw the bruise on his arm. As he watched the little girl carefully apply medicine to his wound, he naturally reached out to wipe away Ning Qing's tears and comforted her gently: "It's okay, Qing'er, it's just a kick from a bad person, nothing serious, no bones broken! Last time you were hurt worse than this! Today I'll take you out to play, of course, I have to protect you well, or else I'll be spanked and scolded by Master Sun!"

  Chen Yi wanted to make a joke and tease Ning Qing into laughing!

  As expected, Ning Qing burst into laughter after hearing this joke, but there were still tears hanging on her face. She felt very embarrassed and quickly hid behind him to wipe away her tears. Lowering her head, she said in a soft voice: "Ziying, last time you got hurt I took care of you, this time you're hurt again, I'll take even better care of you!"

  "It turns out that getting injured can get Qing'er's care, then I'd better get injured a few more times in the future..."

  "You're so annoying! Always teasing people!"

  Looking at Ning Qing's shy and charming appearance, a thought suddenly emerged in Chen Yi's mind - would this incident turn out to be a blessing in disguise? Of course, when he had this thought, the image of that super handsome white-clothed young master he met near Xishi today also floated into his mind.

  Wouldn't it be that this unexpected encounter with that person would change one's fate? And also gain good fortune from misfortune?