The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 174 It’s better to be at home

It was already afternoon when Li Jingxiao left the palace.

Wearing the royal robes of the Duke of Qilin, he exuded a subtle sense of oppression.

Some of the imperial guards who had seen bloodshed could tell at a glance that this man had truly slaughtered his way across the grasslands, leaving corpses strewn everywhere; otherwise, his aura wouldn't be so intense.

As soon as Li Jingxiao stepped out, he saw Jia Heng with a dozen servants, eagerly waiting outside the palace.

Upon seeing his master, accompanied by Xia Shouzhong, Changshun, and four eunuchs, he walked out of the palace.

His face immediately lit up with joy, and he hurriedly came forward to greet him.

He knelt down with a thud and shouted, "We, your humble servants, congratulate you on your victorious return, sir!"

Li Jingxiao laughed heartily, cupped his hands in greeting to Xia Shouzhong, and said, "Please wait a moment, sir. After I've taken care of the household chores, I'd like to invite you over for a drink."

Xia Shouzhong nodded with a smile, "Your Excellency has been away from home for so long, you really should rest for a few days."

"We await your invitation, sir, and will certainly drink until we drop."

Li Jingxiao laughed heartily, and casually slipped a two-thousand-tael silver note into Xia Shouzhong's sleeve.

The eunuch watched Li Jingxiao board the Chasing Wind, then secretly glanced at the silver notes, and his face immediately lit up with joy.

It seems the Duke still cherishes old friendships; even after achieving success, he hasn't forgotten his old friend.

Two thousand taels of silver is quite a lot; it can buy 200 acres of land outside the capital.

Even the best paddy fields can be bought for 140 or 150 mu.

In the original novel, Xia Shouzhong and Dai Quan went to the Jia family to beg for money, taking two or three thousand taels of silver with them.

It's clear that by then, the Jia family had already foreshadowed something bad was about to happen.

Unfortunately, the Jia family were a bunch of fools who thought that paying money would solve everything.

Little did they know that the fact that someone dared to come to their door demanding so much silver meant that the palace was very dissatisfied with the Jia family.

Furthermore, Yuan Chun was made a virtuous concubine, and her family thought that they could continue to enjoy wealth and honor by relying on Yuan Chun.

Little did they know that during Yuan-chun's visit home, she had already hinted that the Jia family must not be extravagant and wasteful, and must be careful in their words and deeds.
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He rode his horse all the way home and saw Qin Zhong and Jia Baoyu standing outside the gate, eagerly waiting.

Upon seeing the cavalry approaching, the sharp-eyed servant immediately shouted loudly.

Several maids, who were hiding behind the side door, rushed inside excitedly when they heard, "Master is back."

When Li Jingxiao dismounted at the gate of his house, servants had already opened the middle gate.

Qin Zhong and Jia Baoyu, the two brothers-in-law, went out to greet them in place of Ke Qing and Yuan Chun.

They all cupped their hands and said, "Welcome back home safely, brother-in-law."

Then the two brothers said a lot of festive things, and Li Jingxiao knew immediately that their sisters must have taught them to say those things.

He dismounted, helped his two brothers-in-law up, and looked them over.

It had been more than half a year since they last met, and both boys had grown taller.

Moreover, Qin Zhong had gotten a little tanned, which meant that he hadn't been slacking off while I was away and had been diligently practicing martial arts.

As for the exquisitely handsome Jia Baoyu, Li Jingxiao had long since given up hope of having him practice martial arts.

As long as this kid behaves himself, there's nothing wrong with him staying at home and hanging out with pretty maids.

I chatted with my two brothers-in-law for a while and gave them a few small gifts, which made them thank me with big smiles on their faces.

Only then did he lead the two of them through the gate.

Keqing and Yuanchun, dressed in their finest attire, were accompanied by the three sisters, Jingxi, Jingyue, and Jingrong.

Baozhu, Ruizhu, Baoqin, You Erjie, You Sanjie, and many maids and old women knelt down and bowed, saying, "Welcome back home, Master."

Li Jingxiao looked at his two beautiful wives, laughed heartily, stepped forward, grabbed their hands and helped them up, but then held onto their hands tightly.

Keqing and Yuanchun blushed even more, but they were actually very happy inside.

The fact that the master behaved this way upon his return shows just how much he missed his two sisters.

It would be strange if the daughter-in-law wasn't happy.

Li Jingxiao nodded to Baozhu, Ruizhu, and Baoqin, then looked at the older You Erjie and You Sanjie.

Regardless of whether they had served Li Jingxiao before, the women looked at him with shyness in their eyes.

That night, Li Jingxiao naturally had a very enjoyable and busy time.

He first busied himself in Keqing's room, then went to Yuanchun's place and worked there for half the night.

He didn't calm down until after midnight, and then fell fast asleep, embracing Yuan Chun and Bao Qin.

The next morning, Li Jingxiao was woken up by his biological clock. He glanced at his wife, who was nestled in his arms, and couldn't help but kiss Yuan Chun's forehead tenderly.

Quietly releasing the soundly sleeping Yuan Chun and Bao Qin, he got up and went outside the bedroom.

Hearing the commotion, Sister You Er and Sister You San hurriedly carried their toiletries into the hall, their faces slightly flushed.

Li Jingxiao had long harbored feelings for the two sisters. Although he was mindful that they were not yet of legal age to consummate their marriage, it did not stop him from taking advantage of them verbally.

Second Sister You has a gentle personality, while Third Sister You is outgoing and feisty, but they are the same in front of Li Jingxiao.

While her face flushed with embarrassment, she secretly longed to serve Li Jingxiao.

After dawdling for a while, he finally washed up and got dressed, and accompanied Li Jingxiao to the martial arts hall.

After warming up his hands and feet, Li Jingxiao didn't rush to practice martial arts. Instead, he watched as Sister You Er and Sister You San performed a set of Zhenwu Changquan (a style of Chinese martial arts).

After reading it, Li Jingxiao nodded in satisfaction.

It seems that the two sisters have been working very hard on their martial arts training during the six months I was away from home.

After watching the two sisters practice boxing for a while, Li Jingxiao had an idea and personally stepped into the ring, teaching You Erjie the correct techniques.

Before long, Sister You's heart was racing and her face was flushed even more, completely forgetting what Li Jingxiao had said.

Finally, her legs gave way and she collapsed into Li Jingxiao's arms.

Seeing this, Sister You San couldn't help but purse her lips, wishing she could take her place.

Just as she was thinking that she would follow her second sister's example, she heard the maids outside the martial arts arena suddenly shout in unison, "Greetings to the three young ladies."

Sister You was startled and hurriedly got out of Li Jingxiao's arms. Her face flushed, she straightened her slightly disheveled clothes and hair and stood obediently to the side with Sister You.

Li Jingxiao smiled and shook his head, but didn't say anything.

Even if You Erjie and You Sanjie become official concubines in the future, they still have to pay their respects to the three Jingxi sisters first.

No matter how much a concubine is favored, in the end, she is still just a servant.

An unfavored concubine is actually worse off than a servant.

Therefore, all concubines would try their best to please the master and would take advantage of their youth and favor to make as much money as possible.

However, although concubines had a low status, they were usually not implicated if the master committed a crime.

If someone runs away with the money they've accumulated over the years, the government won't necessarily try to bring them back.

Before long, Jingxi, Jingyue, and Jingrong, accompanied by their maids, walked briskly and cheerfully into the training ground.

Seeing his older brother practicing boxing, his face lit up with joy.

Jing Rong rushed forward and grabbed Li Jingxiao's sleeve.

He shouted loudly, "Big brother, I miss you so much."

Li Jingxiao could easily sense Jingrong's affection for him, and a bright smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

He affectionately picked up his little sister and kissed her on the head.

"Big brother misses you and your eldest and second sisters too." Seeing that her eldest brother still liked her as much as before, Jingrong chuckled, wrapped her arms around Li Jingxiao's neck, and whispered with her little face on his shoulder.

“My brother has been gone for so long and hasn’t come back yet. I can only see you in my dreams.”

Lee Kyung-hyo couldn't help but laugh. If the younger sister is too young, sometimes it really feels like raising a daughter.

He bent down and kissed his little sister on the head again, "Okay, okay, next time I'll try not to go far away."

This finally brought a smile to the little girl's face. She nestled happily in Li Jingxiao's arms, muttering about what she had done in the past six months and how many words she had written.

Li Jingxiao showed no impatience. He sat down with his little sister in his arms, then waved to Jingxi and Jingyue, signaling the two sisters to sit next to him.

While dealing with Jing Rong, he didn't forget to ask about Jing Xi and Jing Yue's situation over the past six months.

Jingxi and Jingyue were overjoyed and excited to see Li Jingxiao return safely.

Looking at his little sister nestled in his older brother's arms, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful that he had already grown up.

Otherwise, like her younger sister, she would still be a little baby and wouldn't want to get down from her older brother's arms.

Li Jingxiao had no idea what the two girls were thinking, and chatted with the three of them for a long time with a smile.

Then a maid brought Qin Zhong and Jia Baoyu over.

Upon seeing Li Jingxiao sitting in the high seat, chatting and laughing with Jingrong, Jingxi, and Jingyue.

Qin Zhong hurriedly bowed, and Jia Baoyu also bowed respectfully to Li Jingxiao.

In terms of etiquette, Jia Baoyu was quite considerate.

Li Jingxiao smiled and waved his hand, signaling the two to stand up.

The boy walked straight to Jingxi and Jingyue, who had already stood up and were slightly curtsying to Baoyu and Qin Zhong in greeting.

She said with a smile, "Good morning, sisters. Are you practicing swordsmanship or boxing today?"

Jingxi and Jingyue blushed slightly and glared at Jia Baoyu in embarrassment and annoyance.

I usually think that this kid is still young, so it's not a big deal for him to get close to me.

But my older brother is back, and I'm acting so close to him in front of him. If he misunderstands, that would be terrible.

Jia Baoyu was glared at by Jingxi and Jingyue, and felt inexplicably puzzled until he saw Jingxi and Jingyue looking at Li Jingxiao with somewhat flustered expressions.

He then gave an awkward smile.

Li Jingxiao waved his hand helplessly, knowing that this was just how the kid was by nature.

Fortunately, Jia Baoyu was still a child at this time, so there was no need to argue with him.

Of course, this would be true if someone was in their seventies or eighties.

Either they're genuinely stupid.

Or they simply don't care about etiquette at all.

However, this was not the Jia family's residence, and Li Jingxiao frowned as he thought of this.

He looked at Jia Baoyu and asked, "Have you been reading or practicing martial arts lately?"

Jia Baoyu's heart tightened; this brother-in-law was a god of war descended to earth.

I overheard a servant in the manor whispering to me that my brother-in-law had slaughtered so many Tatars on the grasslands that their corpses littered the ground.

Some say it's at least 30,000, if not 50,000.

Some say the number was at least 100,000, otherwise the Tatars wouldn't have retreated from Datong and Xuanfu so quickly.

They even abandoned most of their provisions and supplies in order to return to the front lines as quickly as possible, lest their brother-in-law wipe out the tribes on the grasslands.

Upon thinking of this, Jia Baoyu immediately became obedient.

This kid is actually very smart, but he's also a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong.

Without Grandmother Jia's protection, how could she dare to act foolish or throw a tantrum in front of Li Jingxiao?

He replied honestly, "I have studied the first ten chapters of the Analects. My sister even tested me on them a few days ago."

As for martial arts training, the eldest mistress of the East Courtyard said that her younger brother was still young and needed to build a solid foundation first, so he only practiced Zhenwu Long Fist.

Li Jingxiao looked at Jingxi, who quickly nodded. "Brother, sister-in-law is indeed worried that Master Bao, Brother Zhong, and Rong'er are too young and that practicing too much might hurt their health."

When Jia Baoyu heard Jingxi address him as "Second Master Bao" but Qin Zhong as "Brother Zhong," he couldn't help but feel somewhat dissatisfied.

Li Jingxiao wanted to teach Jia Baoyu a lesson and make him behave.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Baoyu, in the fifth chapter of the Analects, 'Gongye Chang,' it says that Zigong asked, 'What do you think of me, Ci?'"

Jia Baoyu, with a bitter face, thought for a moment before answering, "The Master said, 'You are a vessel.' He asked, 'What kind of vessel?' He replied, 'A sacrificial vessel.'"

Li Jingxiao nodded and then asked, "Do you know the meaning of these words?"

Jia Baoyu hurriedly answered, and Li Jingxiao, seeing that he truly understood, asked again, "Since you understand the meaning behind these words..."

So you want to become a talent for the country in the future?
Or is he a hermit who longs for the mountains and rivers?
Or perhaps be content to be a wealthy man?

Jia Baoyu scratched his head, saying he was extremely unwilling to become an official.

But if one were to become a hermit, although one could indulge in the beauty of nature, without a beautiful wife and concubines by one's side, it wouldn't seem very interesting.

So after thinking about it, it seems that being a contented wealthy man is the only way to live a truly carefree life.

But if I say that, it seems like I lack ambition and would make my older sister lose face for no reason.

After thinking it over and over, he finally replied, "Brother-in-law, this is too difficult. I'm still young. I'll ask you for help when I'm older."

Li Jingxiao burst into laughter; this kid was indeed quite clever.

Taking advantage of the fact that he is still a child, no one will blame him for acting like a scoundrel.

Seeing this, Jia Baoyu knew he had passed the test and couldn't help but laugh.

Little did they know, Jingxi and Jingyue were extremely dissatisfied with his answer.

Even though your older brother has given you so much advice, you still don't know what you want to do in the future.

They're utterly hopeless.

Qin Zhong thought to himself that he would definitely follow in his brother-in-law's footsteps in protecting the country and its people, and fighting against the Tatars and Oirats in the north, so as not to be a worthy man.

Li Jingxiao then asked Jia Baoyu about his brother-in-law Jia Zhu's studies.

Jia Baoyu knew a lot about Jia Zhu, and he quickly began to tell him everything.

Li Jingxiao nodded secretly. After Jia Zhu's serious illness, he probably had a change of heart, and his studies actually improved.

However, although the Ning and Rong families had lived in the capital for over a hundred years, their ancestral home was actually Jinling.

No matter how high a position your father holds in the capital, you must take the imperial examination in your hometown.

Moreover, the higher the official rank and the greater the power, the more this rule must be followed.

Otherwise, it would be handing over a handle to political enemies.

The Jia family still has a large mansion in Jinling, and the Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue families are known as the four great families of Jinling.

This naturally indicates that the Jia family's ancestral home was in Jinling.

Jia Zhu naturally had to return to Jinling to take the provincial examination in early August.

Moreover, to avoid heatstroke in the hot weather, they took a boat early in May and traveled back to Nanjing via the canal.

According to the timeline, the provincial examination had already been completed by this point.

(End of this chapter)