Republic of China Era: Entering the Dao through Divine Strike

Chapter 127 A Large and Prosperous Family

"Second brother, will our family live in such a big courtyard from now on?"

Xiaoyue skipped and hopped, tugging at Li Xin's clothes.

She was so happy that she would run to the left and then to the right, her little face flushed, she had officially started to gain weight.

Compared to the day she awakened her innate wisdom, the little girl is much prettier now.

"Yes, it was originally the residence of a high-ranking official, a third-rank official in the capital."

"Wow!"

Xiaoyue always provides ample emotional support, much better than her older brother.

At this moment, she opened her mouth wide, her eyes shining with immense joy.

In this era, whether you were educated or not, whether you lived in the city or the countryside, as long as you had some connection with officials, you immediately became more important.

Although Xiaoyue is still young, this idea has already formed in her mind.

"Then our little darling will live in the main room from now on."

Li Xin picked up the little girl and placed her on his shoulder.

"Second brother, get down, let me down."

Xiaoyue first hugged Li Xin's head happily, as if afraid he would fall off.

She quickly realized that this time was different from usual; many of her peers were watching her with envy.

They all stared with bright, sparkling eyes, wishing they could take their place.

Li Xin put her down, and then heard the little girl say shyly, "No, I'd rather not. Xiaoyue lives in the west wing. She can play with Sister Xiaowan and Lihua."

If the eldest brother in the main house isn't going to stay there, then I won't go either.

My older brother said that Sister Feiyan and Sister Hongxiu sometimes stay there, and he has nowhere to stand.

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"Oh, Xiaoyue, you've been making fun of me as soon as I arrived."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Feiyan immediately pressed her advantage.

He snatched Xiaoyue and picked her up, tickling her under her arms for a while.

The little girl was so itchy that she writhed and twisted like a snake.

The silvery laughter of "giggle giggle" echoed in the courtyard.

Zhuang Hongxiu smiled gently beside her.

He chimed in, "Xiaoyue, how could your older brother say such a thing? He blushed even without saying a word, and only wants to stay in the front yard with Yang Fan and the others. Are you deliberately making fun of me?"

"No, no, no, Sister Hongxiu, we are the best of friends in the world, how could I make fun of you?"

"Look, Pear Blossom and the others are shy. I'll go talk to them. We'll need to choose a room later."

"Alright, as you wish."

Zhuang Hongxiu is now the housekeeper at this house.

She spoiled Xiaoyue rotten, treating her like a little princess in the family.

If it were someone else, Li Xin would worry that he might spoil her, but Xiao Yue really wouldn't.

The girl is very sensible.

Despite her sometimes childlike words, Li Xin knew that his younger sister was very mature and knew everything.

Such a tiny little thing.

She even knew to quietly leave to play while Zhuang Hongxiu was washing her feet.

A six or seven-year-old girl, yet she worries like an old woman.

It's practically a spirit!

"Unexpectedly, after all the twists and turns, the courtyard of [Tianxing Pavilion] has ended up in our home again."

No, from now on this place should be renamed "Li Garden," so our family can be considered to have prospered.

Zhuang Hongxiu said with a smile, "Fortunately, the young master held back a bit that day and didn't smash the courtyard."

Otherwise, it would be such a pity to have these exquisite carvings and openwork, as well as all the flowers in the garden, destroyed.

"How beautiful! I never expected that such a domineering crab to have such ingenuity in decorating its dwelling so elegantly."

Cheng Feiyan was also amazed.

She was supposed to go home today, as her internal injuries have completely healed.

She had no excuse and kept her elderly father at home.

But isn't this Li Xin moving house?

Unable to sleep early in the morning, I came over early to help with the arrangements.

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Then I saw the huge three-courtyard house, and admired the exquisite design that changed with every step.

She had to admit, she was a little jealous.

"That Miss Zhang is really generous."

"Indeed, Miss Yourong found her match quite early on. I wonder what connections she used?"

Li Xin nodded in agreement.

All the procedures can be completed within a few days.

The original owners of the courtyard were people with whom I had a grudge.

It goes without saying that the master and servant put a lot of thought into it.

"My junior brother's fame is growing. I foresee that before long, the world will only know his name and won't even know my father's."

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"Why do you need such a big reputation? A tall tree catches the wind and attracts unwanted attention."

Look at [Crab Horse], he was famous, but now that's all in the past.

"Pah! Pah! Junior brother, how can you talk like that? How can you curse yourself like that? Actually, what I meant to say is that you should be careful of your eldest uncle."

"Uncle Yin?"

Li Xin turned his head and saw the worry in Cheng Feiyan's eyes.

"I understand. The hatred for killing his disciple cannot be offset by the affection of being from the same school."

From now on, Master will no longer be the person he fears most, but me.

Never underestimate the power of an old master who has spent many years in the palace and is known as the "Imperial Tutor".

If he were to target me, almost half of the military officers and guards would rally in support.

But I don't want to be an official.

Li Xin shook his head, indicating that he didn't care.

Cheng Feiyan may have thought that she became the top martial arts scholar with the ambition of achieving great success and rising to a high position.

Even the eldest brother, Xiaoyue, and Zhuang Hongxiu thought so.

If you're not going to become an official, why did you take the imperial examination to become a martial arts champion?

Isn't that just being too full and having nothing better to do?

But it is precisely because they think this way that the martial arts champion must take the exam.

For thousands of years, the idea that becoming an official is equivalent to success and power has been ingrained in everyone's mind.

For ordinary people, how powerful or strong is a person?

They can't understand it, nor can they distinguish it clearly.

Even if you are praised a thousand or ten thousand times, it is not as good as a title or honor.

In this era, one may dislike the filth and corruption in officialdom, but one cannot deny it.

Those with official titles are of a higher status than those without.

Officials are considered superior to ordinary people.

Even if they wished they could kill those corrupt officials.

On the surface, those people still had to obediently kneel and kowtow.

That's just the current situation.

Therefore, although Li Xin did not want to become an official—

It's possible to obtain official rank and honors, and to gild oneself with a layer of gold leaf.

It plays a crucial role in acquiring credibility.

It will have a far-reaching impact.

Not only in this era, but even more than a hundred years after his previous life, Li Xin would sometimes read some official histories, unofficial histories, and anecdotes, and see that so-and-so was highly skilled in martial arts and famous throughout the world.

Then, many people below argued that the number one expert at that time should not have been him, but the martial arts champion.

Otherwise, why wasn't he the top martial arts champion, but someone else?

That's nationally certified; how can it be the same as what people boast about?

Then, a group of people below agreed.

They wouldn't care; some people simply didn't have the chance to take the imperial examinations, not because they lacked ability.

Just like the Chinese national football team, can you play well just because you're good at it?

In this land, you're more powerful than the US. If you don't get a chance, you're just a short, insignificant barbecue vendor.

They would just take it for granted that if he wasn't the most powerful martial artist in the world, how could he possibly become the top martial arts champion?

Even though this martial arts champion has never fought anyone in public, his reputation remains undiminished.

This shows that even after the passage of time, fame and fortune still hold great weight in the hearts of many people.

People curse corrupt officials, and they despise military men who curry favor with the powerful and wealthy to obtain official positions, calling them lackeys.

But no one would look down on a prestigious academic achievement.

As for himself, he only sought fame and fortune, not officialdom.

It means to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm.

It will not tarnish its reputation.

Therefore, it is completely unnecessary for Senior Sister Feiyan to worry that she will be targeted and that this will affect her future career.

How can something that didn't exist originally be affected?

However, it's best not to reveal these secret thoughts to her too clearly.

It's not easy to explain.

"Senior sister, do you think we should reserve a room in the main building? It would be more convenient for us to practice together in the future."

Li Xin changed the subject.

"Ah, what did you say, junior brother? It was windy just now. I still need to go check on Father and see if his injuries have healed."

Cheng Feiyan's face flushed slightly, and she gave Li Xin a disdainful look.

He dashed through the hanging flower gate and disappeared from sight.

Zhuang Hongxiu covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

Seeing Li Xin looking over, she quickly took a step back and said in a panic, "Living next door is actually quite nice, and it won't bother anyone."

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She positioned herself very correctly, as a personal maid.

No matter what her status is in the young master's heart, she can't live with him.

Otherwise, it would affect the young master's reputation.

"Alright, Hongxiu, we have some more precious medicinal herbs this time. Please take inventory and put them into the warehouse."

Call Xiaowan along to help organize the batch of auxiliary medicines transported by the Zhang family; the Da Yang Yuan Tang (a traditional Chinese medicine formula) cannot be discontinued.

"I understand."

Zhuang Hongxiu nodded quickly, then thought for a moment and said, "Young Master, our family currently has 150,000 taels of silver, as well as some precious jade and pearls. Now, we've also received a lot of valuable medicinal herbs."

"Do you think we should hire some people to look after it?"

"That's true. We've got these little ones in the house, and they're all quite young now."

Even if one starts practicing martial arts to build a foundation, it will take a long time to develop combat power.

If I'm not home and a thief breaks in, it would indeed be very dangerous.

Li Xin believed that once his reputation spread...

Under normal circumstances, a renowned master with a family, a career, a reputation, and a status would not come to their own yard to cause trouble.

However, those ignorant and poorly informed outlaw warriors...

He might be instigated by someone to sneak into the mansion and commit another heist.

These kinds of people are just like the ones the Zhang family encountered recently—

They may be arrogant, or they may simply not know how powerful a grandmaster is.

They had no fear.

There will never be a shortage of such people, no matter the time.

In the past, when I was barefoot, I naturally didn't need to worry about these things.

But now, I can be considered to be wearing shoes myself.

Maids and servants must be arranged, and guards and servants must also be fully equipped.

"Let me ask my master—he knows many people, and see if he can introduce me to some virtuous but down-on-their-luck fellow practitioners."

We'll invite them in person; we're not afraid of spending more money.

You know what, Senior Sister Feiyan really does need to be brought home to oversee things.

It wasn't just about practicing push hands to hone one's strength; it was also because her identity made things incredibly convenient.

She was his senior, possessing both status and ability.

He could keep people in check, control the situation, and, more importantly, teach the apprentices in the mansion.

It's a win-win situation.

"I wonder if Master is willing to let his precious daughter leave home?"

Zhuang Hongxiu laughed: "What's there to be reluctant about?"

"Young master, please invite Master Cheng over as well to show our respect."

Li Xin turned his head in astonishment, thinking to himself, "You're ruthless! You wiped out the whole nest!"

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