Chapter Thirteen: I Haven't Been the Kid Boss for Many Years

The benefits of being engaged to the daughter of Duke Xing’s household soon became apparent.

The matriarch of the Chen family ordered the rear right garden, Fanghua Garden, to be specially prepared for Xia Wanwan and Chen Yi, and arranged for two maids to attend to their daily needs.

Moreover, their monthly allowance was increased from one gold coin to five—a fivefold increase.

Consequently, the status of Fanghua Garden was elevated nearly to the same level as that of Zhou Wanyi and her son.

At first, Chen Yi was delighted—not because of the improved food and clothing, but because his birth mother was being treated generously by the Chen family, a true case of a child elevating the status of his mother.

His daily efforts in “being obedient and well-behaved,” studying and practicing calligraphy, were not in vain.

However, as more and more people came to visit, Chen Yi gradually understood the saying, “Old ginger is hotter than young ginger.”

This was not a reward for them at all.

Clearly, the old madam of the Chen family anticipated that his engagement to Lin Xueru would inevitably make Xia Wanwan’s name well-known throughout the capital.

Those shrewd wives of dukes, marquises, and nobles, even if they no longer considered their children betrothed to him, did not mind associating more with Xia Wanwan.

However, these ladies would often bring along several children of similar age to Chen Yi.

Under the pretext that the adults could converse among themselves while the children interacted and had playmates.

Xia Wanwan had initially wanted to refuse, but after some thought, she chose to adapt to this change.

Chen Yi guessed her reasoning: since they had accepted the “benefits” from the Chen family, she felt it improper to decline.

“One courtyard and some allowances—can that really be called a benefit?”

“Ah, Mother is simply too kind-hearted.”

“If this were the previous life, she’d probably have to go through all sorts of toxic friendships before learning to refuse.”

With no alternative, since his birth mother was like this, Chen Yi had no choice but to step up!

“Today’s lesson is the ‘Ten Thousand Character Classic.’ Master Li, please begin the class.”

Indeed, seeing that he could not avoid it, Chen Yi devised a sly plan.

As long as those noble ladies dared to bring their children here, he would dare to bring them all to class.

After all, he had no intention of becoming a play leader for a group of half-grown kids...

Let’s see who will give up first!

“Brother Yi, can we skip class today?”

The child speaking wore a sour expression, his chubby little face squished together, his eyes barely visible.

He was Wang Yongnian, the third son of Marquis Taishan Wang Xidu, his stature and facial features all embodying a pronounced roundness.

“Yeah, Brother Yi, I want to watch Mr. Ding practice swordsmanship,” Chen Yuan, seeing someone speak out in resistance, chimed in.

Chen Yi shot him a glare. “Big brother, don’t call me that.”

“Second brother...”

“No use! Whether you call me brother or brother, it’s useless!”

Chen Yi made up his mind to give them a taste of a “joyful childhood” early on and signaled the master to begin.

“The universe was chaotic, heaven and earth first separated, there were clear and turbid airs...”

Wang Yongnian was on the verge of tears, mumbling a few words as if saying, ‘Brother Yi is too much,’ ‘I’m never coming again.’

Of course, some children didn’t want to attend the lesson, while others listened with great interest.

For example, Lin Xueru, who was betrothed to Chen Yi, sat solemnly nearby, her delicate face carved from pink jade, full of concentration.

Also present were the children of the Northern Prince Du Qing: the heir Du Yanqing and Princess Du Yan.

Lin Xueru was a given.

Since the two families had arranged the engagement, the relations between Duke Xing’s household and Marquis Wu’an’s household had grown closer by the day.

Madam Lin had brought Lin Xueru to visit, seeking to build rapport with Xia Wanwan, which was only natural.

But the Northern Prince, who was Marquis Wu’an’s direct superior, sending his youngest son and daughter—this puzzled Chen Yi somewhat.

Putting aside the previous scramble to arrange the engagement.

This third wife of Du Qing had lowered her posture to the extreme, almost saying, “Should the in-laws have any requests, please speak freely.”

Such an attitude caused even Xia Wanwan, who wasn’t deeply familiar with the capital noble families, to harbor some doubts.

Chen Yi thought more deeply.

He did not believe that such a significant engagement could have been made without communication with Chen Taiping.

Yet, in the end, his father had chosen Duke Xing...

It was hard not to suspect some hidden intrigue.

But he lacked the means to understand court affairs; otherwise, cross-checking information might have allowed him to speculate.

...

While Chen Yi taught the children, the four ladies on the other side changed their conversation topic.

“Sister Wanwan, how did you manage to make Yi so obedient and well-behaved?” The wife of Marquis Taishan asked sincerely, pointing at her son Wang Yongnian. “I really worry that when he grows up, he’ll lag behind too much.”

“It’s not that I shirk teaching him; it’s just Yi has been very obedient since he started speaking—I don’t know what to do.”

Xia Wanwan looked at Chen Yi in class, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

Though she was still unaccustomed to all these changes, she understood that the root cause was having such a good son.

This filled her with heartfelt pride.

“Miss Wang, don’t make things difficult for Wanwan.”

Madam Du said bluntly, “Every child has their blessings. Otherwise, when Marquis Wu’an went north the other day, why was it only Yi who caught the Emperor’s eye?”

“That’s true. I hope when they grow up, Yongnian will remember their camaraderie as classmates.”

Compared to these two, Madam Duke Xing was more low-key, but the more she looked at Chen Yi, the more she liked him.

“By the way, you’ve all heard about the opening of the Tai Xu Dao Sect, right?”

Upon hearing Madam Du’s words, Xia Wanwan’s expression shifted slightly. “Sister, are you planning to send the heir there?”

“To be honest, the prince does have that intention.”

Madam Du was not exceptionally beautiful, with a refined oval face; her phoenix hairpin was slanted and tucked into a bun at the back of her head. Her demeanor was not that of a noble lady but rather free and easy.

“As far as I know, many in the capital have this plan. Not to mention others, even the County Magistrate Tong wishes to send his son.”

“Besides, after the Emperor’s recent decree, every military family that has received favor hopes to have their descendants admitted to Mount Tai Xu.”

“Yes, my husband also hopes several children can be accepted, but unfortunately, Yongnian’s talent may be insufficient,” Madam Wang said with some worry.

“Since the foundation assessment hasn’t started, it’s hard to say. Maybe your Yongnian will be rated excellent and succeed in entering Mount Tai Xu.”

Listening to the sisters’ conversation, Xia Wanwan learned more about the Tai Xu Dao Sect.

She had originally planned to let Chen Yi try, and now hearing so many were interested, she was even more determined.

“We’ll see about that later...”

She wondered what these ladies, who rarely went out, found to talk about.

Whenever they visited Fanghua Garden, they almost always left close to evening.

Hence, they dined at the marquisate at noon, and naturally, the children accompanied them.

However, Chen Yi had his own special snack—Westland mangoes.

“Brother Yi, can I have one?” Princess Du Yan looked at him pleadingly.

Chen Yi smiled and refused.

Just kidding—only because he was immune to the effects of the soft-bone powder did he keep eating them.

If he let Du Yan eat one and it harmed her health, that would be a big problem.

“Cheapskate!” Du Yan pouted.

The others, especially Wang Yongnian, who also wanted to try, saw the refusal and politely refrained from asking.

Chen Yi paid no attention to their childish desires and continued eating the mango.

However, after finishing, he noticed that the familiar light barrier did not appear, causing him to be somewhat alarmed.

No prompt on the panel?

Chen Yi summoned the panel for a look.

Upon confirming there was no notification about an increase in counterattack points, he frowned slightly.

My poisonous mangoes—they’re gone?