Compared to subjects like physics, mathematics, or politics, medical knowledge is actually quite interesting.
Especially since Chen Yi knew very well what a teenager in puberty was interested in, he carefully picked out the parts of the medical books he had copied over the past few days that had a certain "flair," and explained them to Gong Qingyun in a way that progressed from simple to profound.
To his surprise, the kid really listened. He grew interested in the human body's meridians and acupuncture points, and he also began to develop an interest in the peculiar effects various medicines had on the human body.
Once the initial interest was sparked, Chen Yi seized upon it daily by using the physical traits of one or two girls Gong Qingyun cared about most, along with the relevant medicinal effects, as hooks. He made it a rule that Gong Qingyun had to finish copying his books and learning the basic knowledge of a single meridian before he would explain the real "meat" of the subject.
Although Gong Qingyun found the early studying painful, with this carrot dangling in front of him, his progress was remarkably pleasing.
However, it was not entirely a good thing that Gong Qingyun stopped hunting and developed this new hobby.
"Little Chen, they all say there are big sisters in Zuichun Pavilion who are understanding and willing to share their bodily anatomy. You always say learning theory alone is boring and needs to be combined with practice. How about we go and put it into practice?"
One day, while deeply engrossed in his studies, Gong Qingyun dismissed the attending maid, leaned in close, and whispered to Chen Yi.
Chen Yi was startled.
Zuichun Pavilion was a brothel. The Gong Family's family rule strictly forbade breaking one's virginity before entering the Force-Entering stage; losing too much vital essence and Qi and Blood in one's youth would severely impair the accumulation rate of Qi and Blood.
If Gong Qingyun really lost his virginity prematurely because of Chen Yi's instruction, Old Master Gong would definitely not let Chen Yi off the hook.
"Young Master, we absolutely cannot go to a brothel. With the family rules in place, if we get caught, your legs will be broken and my head will roll. Besides, brothel women carry many diseases. If you cannot control your own Qi and Blood before entering the Force-Entering stage, losing your virginity makes it easy for their pathogens to counter-invade you. At best, you'll suffer from incontinence; at worst, you'll have to have that thing cut off!"
Cut off?
"Then forget it... I'd better wait until I reach the Force-Entering stage before looking for a nice girl from a good family..."
Chen Yi explained the severity of the situation to Gong Qingyun, which managed to curb the young man's sudden surge of youthful passion.
"Entering the Force-Entering stage—when will I ever reach the Force-Entering stage?"
Over the past few days, whenever Gong Qingyun pestered Chen Yi to finish studying the medical texts, he always muttered this under his breath.
Chen Yi felt a secret thrill. Since the young master knew to strive for progress, he, as the study companion, deserved some credit. He just needed to find an opportunity to let the old master know about the results, and then he could bring up the request to improve their meals—there was likely a lot of potential there.
These days, Chen Yi had been suffering from a lack of nutritious food, limiting his Stance Skill practice to four times a day, not daring to overdraw his body's potential.
However, people always encounter cold water when they are feeling most triumphant.
Just on the tenth day after Chen Yi began guiding Gong Qingyun in his medical studies, in the middle of the night, Chen Yi had just finished an extra session of the Stance Skill and was preparing to go to sleep when he heard the main gate being banged open with two loud thumps:
"I am a guard of the Gong Family! By order of the Old Master, I am here to apprehend the wicked servant Chen Yi. The rest of you stay put and do not make a sound!"
Chen Yi was hauled straight up from his bed by two brawny men, their sour sweat filling his nose. In his panic, Chen Yi only had time to grab a ragged padded jacket and throw it over his shoulders; on a winter night in Liaodong, dressing too lightly could freeze a person to death.
Back in the room after Chen Yi left, the other servants on the shared platform bed whispered among themselves:
"Chen Yi couldn't help showing off. Right after parading his learning in front of the old master and getting taught martial arts, he goes and commits a crime. Look at this setup—they're bound to beat him half to death, aren't they?"
"Exactly. He never looks at his own beanpole physique. Learning martial arts is for the masters, not something a lowly servant like him should be dreaming about."
"Well, he's a young lord from Snow Country who ran into hard times, completely different from us born-and-bred dirtbags."
"Hehe, once they break his legs this time, he'll be just like the rest of us. No matter how arrogant he acts, isn't he just a homeless dog of a fallen state?"
These servants, who shared a room with Chen Yi, had long been resentful of how he toiled early and late to serve the young master. Everyone was just a bottom-feeder trying to scrape by; why did he have to make everyone else look bad by trying so hard? Seeing Chen Yi get into trouble now, they naturally took pleasure in his misfortune.
Ahead, being shoved and pushed along the way to the front hall, the cold wind was piercing. If Chen Yi hadn't been practicing the Fist Stance over the last few days to get his Qi and Blood circulating, he surely would have fallen sick from the cold. Yet, rack his brains as he might, he had no idea what crime he had committed.
"Big brothers, what did I do?"
"Cut the crap! You'll know when you get there!"
Dazed, Chen Yi was pushed into the front hall. Before he could even steady himself and get a clear look at the situation, he felt the backs of his knees kicked twice and dropped heavily to his knees on the floor. He still had his cotton jacket only haphazardly draped over him.
Ignoring the pain, Chen Yi glanced slightly to the left, and his heart instantly sank.
The person kneeling on the left was none other than Young Master Gong Qingyun.
To the right sat a small stool, upon which a young girl sat pretending to wipe away tears. Chen Yi recognized her—she was Caiyun, one of the young master's personal maids.
"Yun'er, are you certain this brat incited you?"
On the dais, Old Master Gong asked in a chilling tone.
"Yes." Gong Qingyun glanced at Chen Yi and nodded.
"Guards, break Chen Yi's legs, then throw him out to feed the wolves!"
Without another word, Old Master Gong immediately handed down his verdict.
"Wait! I have something to say!"
Chen Yi thrust out a hand and shouted.
His mind was completely blank. He had no idea what crime he had committed, yet he was about to have his legs broken upon arrival. He had to raise his hand to plead his case immediately; otherwise, it would truly be too late.
In the household of a landlord in this era, the head of the family had absolute authority over the servants he bought. Even if he beat one to death, no official would come to ask questions.
"Oh? What do you have to say? Do you feel you've been wronged?"
Old Master Gong's gaze was ice-cold.
"I'm not saying I'm wronged. I just want to die knowing the truth—at least I need to know what crime I committed."
Chen Yi raised his head, withstanding the pressure to look straight at Old Master Gong.
"Hmph! Inciting the young master to molest a maidservant—if Zhuiyue hadn't run to the mistress in time to report it, a moment later the young master's virginity would have been lost! Do you know this violates the third rule of our Gong Family code: Gong Family descendants who have not entered the Force-Entering stage must retain their purity!"
"Father, my virginity wasn't lost. I just wanted to discuss human anatomy with Caiyun..." Gong Qingyun whispered in defense from the side.
Chen Yi understood everything now. The young master had forcibly dragged Caiyun into discussing academics at night, but another personal maid, Zhuiyue, had gone to report it.
And judging by Caiyun's expression—faking tears while not looking particularly sad or frightened—Chen Yi realized that as the young master's personal maid, losing her chastity to him was only a matter of time. If it happened sooner, she might even secure the status of a concubine. Therefore, when she was dragged into the room and stripped by the young master, not only did she not resist, she even felt a glimmer of anticipation.
It was just that there were two personal maids. Caiyun had been pulled inside, while Zhuiyue discovered the problem instantly and went to report it.
Chen Yi spent a fraction of a second processing all these twists and turns, then weighed his current predicament and how to resolve it.
Given Chen Yi's current status and martial strength, resistance was out of the question. Forget about Old Master Gong, who had reached the Xiantian level; even a random guard could beat him to death.
"Master, I believe the young master did nothing wrong. His original intention was not to violate the family rules, but rather a practical exercise during the young master's study of medical science."
Flashing through several possibilities in his mind, Chen Yi ultimately chose to shift the key to resolving the issue back to the young master.
When all was said and done, Chen Yi served the young master; their fortunes were bound together. Now that his pig-headed teammate of a young master had failed to hold his own, Chen Yi had to find a way to smooth things over for him.
Otherwise, no matter how he explained his innocence, punishment was inevitable.
Old Master Gong Quanhui only looked at results; he would not listen to the explanations of a mere servant.