Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 82 Brothers in Suffering
"Ah Xuan, good morning, eh? We're not in school, and there's no teacher watching over us. Why are you still practicing that crap?"

As the sun rose, Gao Jingming got up and rubbed his eyes. He saw Chen Xuan in the yard and greeted him. After seeing his actions clearly, he was stunned and even woke up from his sleep.

Chen Xuan turned around and said with a smile: "Good morning, Master. I have nothing to do when I get up early, so I might as well stretch my muscles."

"Yes, Xuan Ge'er said the same thing yesterday morning," Xiao Cai, who was holding the water for washing her face, interrupted.

Gao Jingming curled his lips and washed his face, saying that he was bored.

Chen Xuan noticed that Gao Jingming was not only full of energy but also able to move freely after a night. So after Gao Jingming washed his face, he asked in surprise, "Master, are you okay? Have you recovered from the injury from your accidental fall?"

Hearing this, Gao Jingming seemed to instinctively recall his tragic experience. His face froze for a moment, then he realized that he was indeed fine. He said happily, "Hey, I'm really fine now. I can jump and dance. Haha, it feels so good."

Seeing him jumping around in the attic, Xiao Cai and the others were also happy and couldn't help saying, "Young Master is really okay now, that's great. The medicine Sister Qinghe brought is really good, but he still needs to apply some medicine to avoid leaving any hidden injuries."

Gao Jingming realized something after the activity. He patted his chest and winked at Chen Xuan, who was still practicing the Qigong below, and said, "How about it, Xuan? I told you it was a good thing. Hehe, look, I'm fine after one night."

Chen Xuan: “…”

I was really envious and gave Gao Jingming a thumbs up, meaning that the young master was right. But didn’t he even tell Xiao Cai and the others about his dragon horn pendant?
He really only told himself this. Could it be that he was taught a lesson? Mrs. Gao was really good at teaching her son, but it was a pity that she didn't know the details.

If Gao Jingming knew Chen Xuan's thoughts, he would definitely cry without tears and say, "Well, I'll keep my mouth shut. I knelt all night for it."

It was unknown whether it was because he was happy to have recovered, or he wanted to verify the efficacy of the dragon horn pendant, or perhaps it was because of the pressure of unfinished homework, Gao Jingming said to Chen Xuan: "Xuan, hurry up, eat something when you are done, and come up to accompany me to study and do homework."

"Okay, young master, I'll be right there," Chen Xuan replied, thinking to himself that you still remember your homework. You have to leave for school tomorrow, so you should still be in time.

On the garden walkway outside the courtyard, Steward He was walking with Eunuch Li. As someone who came to the palace to report the news, it was a rare opportunity for him to come here, so naturally he had to take a stroll around the Gao family and report back. If the prince or princess asked about the situation here and he didn't know anything, it would be a dereliction of duty. When doing things in the palace, the master may not ask, but you cannot be ignorant.

Noticing that Eunuch Li was looking towards the courtyard where Gao Jingming was, Steward He smiled and explained, "Eunuch, that's the young master's residence. Do you want to go over and take a look?"

"No, Butler He, the prince's brother-in-law had a discussion with the same table yesterday. He got up at the crack of dawn and is diligent and studious. I won't go over to disturb him. If the princess knew about this, she would definitely be pleased," Eunuch Li shook his head and smiled.

Butler He didn't insist. He looked at the other side with a strange look in his eyes, but smiled and said, "Young Master has always been so hardworking."

In fact, what he said was a bit insincere. Gao Jingming was not like this before. Although he did not fall behind in his studies, he often slept in and was not that active. He would not talk about studying after finishing the homework assigned by the teacher.

Now he actually took the initiative to mention his reading homework, which was very natural and different from usual.

"Could it be because of Chen Xuan? Could it be that having a good book boy really be a spur to success? The letter that Mr. Yushan had Xiao Cai and the others secretly send back said that Chen Xuan was very active in his studies, quietly observing him practicing calligraphy every day until lights out, and that the young master was also learning and improving. If that's the case, we must pay more attention to Chen Xuan. Promoting the young master's progress is more important than anything else. Madam also knows about this, so I guess I have to find a chance to mention it so that Madam will pay attention to it as well."

Eunuch Li, unaware of the situation, clapped his hands in approval and said, "Your young master is very motivated and will definitely live up to the princess's high expectations in the future. If the prince and princess ask about it after they return, we will be able to explain it to them."

"Then I'll have to trouble you to say a few nice words," said Butler He with a bow.

Eunuch Li shook his head and said, "Tell the truth, why would you say such nice things?"

"I spoke out of turn, please don't blame me, eunuch," Butler He bowed again. It would be a good thing if Gao Jingming could gain a good impression in the palace. Although Miss Gao was the concubine of Prince Qing, a daughter who is married is like spilled water. In the end, she has to work hard to gain more attention.

The two stayed for a while before heading to the next place. There were still many places they hadn't visited, such as Miss Gao's several girls' places, which they also wanted to see. As a eunuch, he didn't need to avoid suspicion. If he was asked about it, it would be embarrassing if he couldn't answer, although that was not too important.

Before leaving, Eunuch Li took another look at Gao Jingming's courtyard and saw Chen Xuan who was practicing the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises. He knew that Chen Xuan was Gao Jingming's servant and thought it was interesting.

Of course, Eunuch Li knew about the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises. Even all the scholars in Panorama Kingdom who had received a little formal education knew about it. However, after the court promoted it for decades, he had never seen anyone take it seriously, including the many royal children he had met, including princes, princesses, and daughters of the royal family. No one took it seriously.

He actually saw Chen Xuan practicing seriously in private, and he couldn't help but take a second look.

However, he thought that what was interesting was not Chen Xuan's practice of the calming and health-preserving exercise itself, but his concentration, as if he was immersed in it.

He was so focused on such a useless thing. If he had continued like this, he would have achieved something in the future. Unfortunately, he has become a servant and his ceiling is almost stuck. No matter how great his achievements are in the future, they will only be icing on the cake for the Gao family. His efforts cannot match his birth background. Isn't this interesting enough?

In this world, many people's fates are predetermined from birth, and Eunuch Li has seen too much. Eunuch Li himself possesses impressive martial arts skills, otherwise he wouldn't have been so exhausted after traveling thousands of miles to announce the good news. He believes that the Qi-Calming and Health-Preserving Qigong is useless beyond physical fitness. This isn't just his personal opinion; it's the same for everyone who practices it. Furthermore, the original intention of martial arts masters and scholars compiling this set of "gongfa" was simply to strengthen the young. After all, no matter how diligently someone practices, the best they can achieve is a decent body, and no one cares.

After going to another place with Butler He, Eunuch Li just watched and observed, not making any comments easily. He watched and remembered everything silently. If he was asked after returning, he would report the truth without adding any exaggeration.

He also saw Miss Gao's other brothers and sisters. He was neither close to them nor repulsive. At most, they nodded and smiled. But he could see that those brothers and sisters of Miss Gao were obviously trying to show activeness in front of him under the instructions of their elders. It was clumsy but not funny. It was all for the children.

Chen Xuan and the others naturally didn't know that they were being secretly observed, so they just did what they had to do.

After practicing the "gongfa" as usual, Chen Xuan filled his stomach and went to accompany Gao Jingming to study and do homework. It's amazing that after nearly two hours, Gao Jingming didn't even look tired and finished the original few days' homework directly.

This made Gao Jingming very excited. He touched his chest from time to time and whispered to Chen Xuan, "With this thing, I can finish my homework quickly in the future. Wouldn't that give me more time to play?"

Chen Xuan really wanted to say something to him, you are like cheating, just to save time for playing?
Naturally, he didn't say anything like that, and there was no need for him to say more. If Mr. Yushan knew, as his master, he would naturally make arrangements for Gao Jingming. Want to play? Sure, finish the arrangements first. Anyway, the study time is probably shorter, but you learn more.

Gao Jingming didn't look very tired, and neither did Chen Xuan. Part of the reason was that they were not far from each other, so he benefited from the dragon horn pendant to some extent. The main reason was that his physical condition had improved after practicing the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises.

No matter how good the external force is, it can never be better than what you have within yourself. A temporary shortcut means nothing. As time goes by, the effect of external force is ultimately limited and it is impossible to grow endlessly.

Unless external forces update...

"Haha, I finished several days' homework in one day. I'll show off to Linzi and the others tomorrow," said Gao Jingming proudly after finishing his homework.

This was the most the kid could do, and Chen Xuan was not surprised.

While he was cleaning up the mess, Qingyu came outside the yard and asked Gao Jingming to go to Madam Gao's place for lunch, saying that he should keep Eunuch Li and the others company as they were about to set off to report.

Chen Xuan was not qualified to accompany them, so he asked someone to send some food to the courtyard. However, he didn't know that after Gao Jingming went there, he was praised by Mrs. Gao, who said that my son had studied for several hours in a row and must continue to do so in the future.

Gao Jingming was almost devastated when those words came out. He was just punished the day before yesterday, so being praised was certainly a good thing, but if he continued to study like this for several hours every day in the future, wouldn't that cost him his life?
I guess this is what happens when happiness turns to sorrow. He didn't feel happy for long.

After the meal, Eunuch Li and his men set off for home. Naturally, the Gao family also saw them off, but they only saw them off to the door. Mrs. Gao didn't even go out of the door. It was already a great honor for her to greet them outside the door.

As they watched Eunuch Li and his men leave, no one noticed the slight worry in Mrs. Gao's eyes. She asked Eunuch Li to take a thick letter back to her daughter, hoping that her experience could help her daughter to some extent.

If Gao Jingming wasn't still young and the elementary school stage wasn't crucial, and she wasn't worried about leaving her for a long time, Mrs. Gao would have wanted to take care of her daughter herself for a while...

Not long after Eunuch Li and his companions left, guests gradually came to visit the Gao family. They first handed in visiting cards, and then brought valuable gifts. They all heard the news and came to congratulate. Since they could not go to the palace to congratulate in person, it was necessary for them to come to the Gao family.

With this wave of gifts, the Gao family will probably be overwhelmed with gifts.

The guests did not stay long and left tactfully after their visit. After all, as a woman, Mrs. Gao was not in a position to meet male guests, and most of the guests were men, so it was a matter of attitude, and most of them were received by Butler He.

Among the guests coming and going, several families with whom Gao Jingming had a good relationship were no exception. So in the afternoon, the Five Tigers of Yang County gathered in Gao Jingming's courtyard.

When Gao Jingming saw his friends, he immediately glared at them and asked, "Linzi, Lingfeng, what happened to you? Why are you so badly injured?"

Zhou Lin's left hand was bandaged like a dumpling, while Deng Lingfeng was supported by servants with medicine on his buttocks.

When they mentioned this, they wanted to cry, but they couldn't cry anymore and said, "Don't mention it. I was beaten when I got home. I was almost beaten to death. It was all because of that day..."

Hearing about their experience, Gao Jingming's expression froze. Thinking of his own tragic experience, he felt sympathetic and terrified.

Seeing them complaining, Chen Xuan next to them almost burst out laughing. Wow, these brothers are in the same boat. Only Tian Xueyu and Luo Taiyun were more well-behaved and escaped the disaster.

……

(End of this chapter)