Time Travel: Did My Sister-in-Law Get Slapped in the Face Today?

"The bright moon shines through the square window, orderly and disciplined; a long rod casts a short fish, flexible and adaptable—excellent, excellent!"

Master Cen praised it repeatedly, saying, "Have you seen this couplet before?"

In his previous life, Li Lan was also a young man who loved literature and art, so he had indeed read some ancient couplet collections and seen couplets that were very similar to those created by Master Cen, so he was able to respond directly.

But he certainly couldn't say that, so he said, "This student had some thoughts on the matter and answered haphazardly. I hope you will forgive me, Master!"

"I sensed something... I understand!"

Master Cen intended this couplet to teach Lin Ruoshi about etiquette and manners, but Li Lan's response displayed a spirit of forbearance and resolute courage...

As a son-in-law living with his wife's family, does Li Lan harbor great ambitions? Is that why he comforts himself with the phrase "able to bend and stretch"?

Suddenly recalling the events of the previous night, Li Lan's handling of the secret service had already spread throughout the capital, proving that Li Lan was no pushover. Master Cen nodded in encouragement:

"Study hard, pass the imperial examinations as soon as possible, and fulfill General Lin's wish!"

Li Lan nodded in agreement.

"Lin Ruoshi, look at Li Lan. His skills far surpass yours. You should learn more from him!"

Turning his head, Master Cen couldn't help but criticize Lin Ruoshi seriously.

Lin Ruoshi was completely bewildered. What the hell was going on...? Wasn't Li Lan a slacker who couldn't pass the exams even after several years of trying?

He actually won over Master Cen's heart in one fell swoop!

He thought that if they all failed together, Li Lan could share Master Cen's anger, but unexpectedly, Li Lan stepped forward. In this way, he only looks more pathetic!

He felt inexplicably abandoned, and his panic intensified.

"Yes, Master,"

He had no choice but to lower his head.

Master Cen continued his lecture, this time focusing on poetry. Li Lan listened to some of it as well. Although they were from different worlds, the aesthetic standards, rules, and tones of poetry were surprisingly consistent.

"Well, I'll give you another task for today. Write a poem about the bright moon, and I'll check it when I come tomorrow."

Master Cen assigned the "homework" and then glared at Lin Ruoshi: "If you still can't answer it by tomorrow, I'll have no choice but to report it to the General of the State!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ruoshi panicked.

He hasn't even fully grasped those rules about tonal patterns (level and oblique tones), so why is he being asked to write poetry?

Isn't this a bit too outrageous?

And Master Cen is going to complain to his parents? At that point, it'll be a miracle if he doesn't lose a leg!

Just then, Li Lanque walked over, smiled slightly, and said, "Do you want to avoid being scolded tomorrow?"

Lin Ruoshi retorted angrily, "Whether I get scolded or not is none of your business. Get lost! Do you really think that just because you married my sister, you can be my brother-in-law..."

Li Lan shrugged and said, "Originally, I was going to give you a poem about the bright moon, but since you're not interested, then forget it..."

He turned and left.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ruoshi was taken aback for a moment, and then he hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Li Lan's hand.

"Ok?"

Li Lan turned around.

"Brother Li Lan, no problem, no problem. Can you really help me write a poem about the bright moon?"

Lin Ruoshi seemed to have grasped at a straw, his attitude completely changed, and he laughed, "As long as you give me the poem, I'll give you whatever you want, gold, silver..."

Li Lan smiled and said, "No need."

"Just buy me a drink."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ruoshi immediately exclaimed with boundless enthusiasm, "What's so difficult about that! Brother Li, let's go, I'll treat you to Zuiyue Tower and Chunfeng Tower in the city, we won't leave until we're drunk..."

Li Lan chuckled. Zuiyue Tower and Chunfeng Tower were both famous brothels. It seemed that the rumors about Lin Ruoshi were true; he was indeed a playboy.

“I just got married to your sister. What kind of behavior is it to go to those places? Have someone bring wine and we can drink it here at home.”

Lin Ruoshi said, "Okay!"

……

Shortly after.

"This wine is no good, it's terrible!"

Li Lan and Lin Ruoshi had a banquet set up. As soon as the wine was served, Li Lan took a sip but shook his head. Lin Ruoshi had the servants replace the wine with better wine, but Li Lan was still not satisfied.

"Brother Li, this wine isn't good enough? This is ten-year-old Xinghua Village wine!" Lin Ruoshi said.

"This wine is not even as good as the nuptial wine your sister and I drank last night..."

Lin Ruoshi suddenly realized and said, "That's Qingyun Wine, a gift from the palace! There are only three jars in the mansion... all in my father's wine cellar."

He looked somewhat embarrassed.

Qingyun Brew!

Li Lan noted down the name and said, "Ah, good wine goes well with good poetry. As the saying goes, one should enjoy poetry and wine while one is young, for poetry will not come without the right time for wine..."

He sighed, and Lin Ruoshi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Wait for me!"

He left in person, and soon returned carrying a large jar of wine, saying, "Brother Li, you must write me a good poem. To get this wine, I lied and said my mother wanted some, and that's why Old Tie gave it to me..."

Tie Lao is the steward of the Lin family. Although he is the steward, he is said to be a sworn brother of Lin Zheng and holds a very high position!

This silly boy is really a pain in the neck...

Li Lan poured out the wine, took a big gulp, and sure enough, his spirituality increased instantly!

"listen!"

Li Lan smiled slightly, "The first line is, 'Last year on the Lantern Festival, the flower market was as bright as day!'"

Lin Ruoshi hurriedly took out a piece of paper and wrote it down.

"The moon rises above the willow tips, and we made our rendezvous after dusk. On this Lantern Festival, the moon and lanterns are still the same. But the person from last year is gone, and tears wet my spring robe sleeves."

Li Lan remembered countless poems about the bright moon, but most of them were irrelevant to Lin Ruoshi, this纨绔子弟 (spoiled brat). If he were given a poem like "Quiet Night Thoughts," Master Cen would surely think that Lin Ruoshi had someone else write it or that it was plagiarized, since the context didn't fit.

There was only this one song, which sounded like a love song about parting. Lin Ruoshi was a brothel patron, so it fit his character somewhat.

"Is this poem good?"

But Lin Ruoshi hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Won't I get scolded again?"

Li Lan: “…”

This guy is such a blockhead, a real academic failure. He can't even tell the difference between good and bad poetry.

"If you are scolded, take it out on me. But if Master Cen presses you for details, remember to answer like this..."

Lin Ruoshi was truly a terrible student, so Li Lan had to give him some more instructions.

"it is good!"

Lin Ruoshi took a deep breath and decided to memorize the poem tonight!

Li Lan drank wine continuously, eventually emptying a whole jar of wine, but his spirituality only accumulated to 110 points!

He couldn't help but frown; this was still not enough to cultivate the True Dragon Technique!

……

"Master, the Third Young Master asked me to get a jar of Qingyun Wine to drink with his son-in-law."

In the study, the steward Tie Poshan reported to Lin Zheng.

Lin Zheng was writing something when he suddenly stopped: "Oh? Someone as arrogant as him would actually be willing to drink with Li Lan?"

Tie Poshan said, "Today at the school, the young master composed a couplet very well. The third young master invited the young master to drink in order to deal with Master Cen's difficult question."

Lin Zheng was slightly surprised upon hearing this. "So, Li Lan is also quite outstanding in terms of talent and learning?"

Tie Poshan said, "The young master also wrote a poem for the third young master, but I am illiterate and do not know whether it is good or bad."

Lin Zheng said, "If we're going to drink, why do we need to use the Qingyun Wine bestowed by His Majesty?"

"The son-in-law said that the nuptial wine he and the young lady drank last night was this."

Lin Zheng paused for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head, saying, "He's heartbroken and drowning his sorrows in alcohol."

As a father, he naturally knew how proud and arrogant his daughter was. Although he successfully escorted her to the bridal chamber last night, Li Lan probably wouldn't be able to touch a single hair on her head. In fact, Li Lan might even suffer some hardship!

Thinking of this, he sighed. Marrying into the Lin family was, in a sense, indeed somewhat unfair to Li Lan, and he had suffered.

“Master, there have been more and more spies around the mansion lately... Some of them are of unknown origin and seem to have ill intentions.”

Lin Zheng was very worried and wanted to say something, but suddenly waved his hand: "Tell Ruoxue tomorrow that I will be going to war in three days. She needs to know about all the big and small things in the manor so that she can make the arrangements."

Tie Poshan understood that Lin Zheng wanted to cultivate Lin Ruoxue's ability to handle matters large and small, so he bowed and said, "Yes."

……

The next day.

"I see."

After hearing Tie Poshan's report, Lin Ruobing felt a little flustered. Although she could act exactly like her sister, she was far less composed in the face of such a situation.

"What does Mr. Tie think we should do?"

Tie Poshan smiled and said, "This subordinate does not know."

Lin Ruobing pondered for a long time before saying, "First, send a few capable subordinates to protect my mother and my younger brother closely."

Tie Poshan nodded and reminded him, "Where is the son-in-law?"

"he?"

Lin Ruobing subconsciously ignored him among her family members, but when Old Tie mentioned it, she remembered Li Lan being poisoned, and nodded, saying, "Who would be the best person to protect him?"

"According to the rules, after a son-in-law enters the household, he should be assigned a personal maid. This is the best way to keep his identity a secret."

Tie Poshan offered some guidance from the sidelines.

Protection cannot be done openly; it must be done in a way that outsiders cannot detect, otherwise it is meaningless.

"Should we also assign him a maid?"

Lin Ruobing grew increasingly impatient. After hesitating for a moment, she said to a maid beside her, "Yueran, you can go now."

Yue Ran was originally her sister Lin Ruoxue's personal maid, but in recent years, with Lin Ruoxue away, Yue Ran has been free.

Yue Ran's martial arts skills are very high!

Moreover, her presence with Lin Ruobing also puts Lin Ruobing in a somewhat constrained position. After all, Yue Ran is too familiar with Lin Ruoxue, and if Lin Ruobing is not careful, there is still a possibility that she could be discovered.

Yue Ran, dressed in a white dress, was a maid with exceptional beauty. Her pretty face flushed slightly, and she gently gritted her teeth, saying, "Miss... are you going to give me to the young master as a reward?"

Those who serve the son-in-law are usually maids who share his room.

Not only do they have to take care of his daily needs, but when necessary, they also have to provide for his sexual gratification...

Last night, Li Lan's reputation soared after his dealings with the Secret Service, which changed Yue Ran's opinion of him somewhat. However, given his past reputation for frequenting brothels and being a womanizer, as well as his lack of martial arts skills, Yue Ran's impression of Li Lan remains largely negative.

"You just need to protect him. If he dares to overstep his bounds, break his legs!"

Lin Ruobing said coldly!

"As ordered."

Yue Ran breathed a sigh of relief before leaving.

Not long after, Tie Lao led Yue Ran to Li Lan.

"Young master, Miss was worried that you would be without anyone to serve you, so she specially asked me to send Yue Ran over. She will be in charge of serving you from now on."

After giving his introduction, Mr. Tie turned and left.

Li Lan glanced at Yue Ran, and her eyes immediately lit up.

When Yue Ran saw Li Lan's gaze, she couldn't help but feel slightly displeased. She said coldly, "Young Master, things haven't been peaceful outside lately. Miss asked me to protect you."

That means, I'm a bodyguard, not a maidservant, don't get the wrong idea!

"So...you know martial arts?"

Li Lan was even happier.

Yue Ran said, "I know a little bit about it."

"Could you teach me?"

Li Lan spoke directly.

The True Dragon Technique consumes too much spiritual energy; he couldn't master it even after exhausting all his spiritual energy. Therefore, he wanted to find other martial arts techniques to explore.

Yue Ran was surprised, and a hint of disdain appeared in her eyes.

You think you can practice martial arts?

……