Chapter 4
The Transformed Li Wan

Just as Li Xuan was reminiscing about his experiences over the past decade, a figure flashed past in front of him, a graceful and dignified silhouette, radiating an air of tranquility and detachment, appearing before him with a faint smile.

She stood there, exuding a sense of detachment from the world.

“Big Sister, it’s been a while.”

“You seem to be doing alright in the Jia residence, not too badly treated.”

Li Xuan instantly recognized her - it was his elder sister, Li Wan! She had barely changed, except for a more ethereal aura.

As for her heart being described as "like dead wood and ashes," there was no trace of that on her.

Back then, when Li Wan was to be married to Jia Zhu, Li Xuan tried to stop it.

Though young and his words carried little weight, he managed to delay the wedding for some time.

By the day of the wedding, Jia Zhu was already bedridden.

He didn’t even survive until Li Wan arrived, leaving her a widow right from the start.

Knowing the truth, Li Shou Zhong naturally couldn't take Li Wan back, but he was deeply resentful of the Jia family.

He no longer had any thoughts of switching from martial arts to academics for the Jia family.

(Reference: Cai Yong, Cai Yan, Wei Family)

“Yes, I’m doing well,” Li Wan recovered from her daze and led him towards the nearby warm pavilion, “Just can’t believe how much you’ve grown up in the blink of an eye.”

“How’s everyone back home? Was the journey smooth?”

“Everyone’s fine. Big Uncle’s health cultivation is becoming more refined, even Big Aunt has started taking it seriously. They’ve been giving me a mixed doubles training, no rest for the wicked.”

“Your analogy…”

Li Wan couldn't help but chuckle at his words.

The warm pavilion was just a short distance from the gate, so they reached it quickly.

Once they settled down, Li Wan continued, "Although the Matriarch believes I was the one who jinxed Jia Zhu, Sister, I listened to you and didn’t bother with her."

"Except for when she was bullying Jia Zhu’s concubine and maids, I sent my own dowry maid, Xiu Yun, back home. Otherwise, I treated everything as a play, focusing solely on my cultivation and health practices."

"Over the years, it has actually yielded quite good results."

Seeing her radiant and youthful aura, Li Xuan nodded.

His elder sister wasn’t lying. If not, she wouldn’t be in this state.

However, upon hearing about Wang's bullying of those women, Li Xuan frowned and said, "A family that cultivates virtue will be blessed with abundance."

The unspoken implication was the other half of the saying - a family that accumulates evil will inevitably face consequences.

“One of the maids got pregnant without even realizing it, almost resulting in a double death.”

“Even though she was saved later, the maid died in childbirth.”

“As for the child, due to the Matriarch’s actions, he was born with a deficiency. He’s currently under my care, studying diligently. His name is Jia Lan. I’ll have him meet you, your uncle, later.”

Li Wan cautiously glanced at Li Xuan.

She didn’t know why, but she felt a little scared of Li Xuan’s resolute character, something he’d had since childhood.

A concubine's son placed under the name of the main wife became the main wife's son.

Not only would the address need to be changed, but the resources and connections would be different as well.

For example, Jia Lan initially had no connection to Li Xuan, but now that he called Li Wan mother and Li Xuan uncle, he was treated as their own blood.

Li Xuan frowned thoughtfully, hesitant, "Big Sister, could this be a scheme of Wang's?"

“Maybe she knows about this child and intentionally did this, knowing your nature, so that the child would be under your name.”

“If she wants the child to study properly, the Jia family has no resources. They’d need to bring in scholars and laureates from the ancestral home in Jinling.”

Scoring well doesn’t necessarily mean teaching well.

Teaching well doesn’t necessarily mean being dedicated or teaching for the good of the child.

If they could find a talented scholar, it would be fine, but a talented and capable scholar who could teach, would never look down upon a martial arts family like the Jia’s.

Even if the Jia family managed to find one, who could guarantee that the scholar wouldn’t deliberately teach the Jia child wrongly?

“Impossible.”

Li Wan thought for a moment before shaking her head, “Based on my interactions with the Matriarch these past few years, she may have some back-alley tricks."

"But she doesn’t have the capability for this kind of blatant scheme.”

To put it simply, Wang just doesn’t have that kind of brainpower!

After finishing her explanation, Li Wan, despite being the elder sister, felt like she had completed a major task and sighed with relief.

Now she finally had the chance to examine Li Xuan properly.

At eleven or twelve years old, he seemed like a young man in the prime of his life, with a bit of childishness still lingering on his face, otherwise, he was clearly a charming, young gentleman.

His features were refined, his appearance dignified, his ears were long and his eyes shone bright...

Wait a minute, what did Lin Sister say the righteous knight looked like?

“Xuan brother, a Miss Lin came to the Jia residence today.”

“She said that she encountered water bandits on her journey and was rescued by a righteous knight who shot thirteen arrows, killing thirteen bandits, and helping the government troops secure victory.”

“Could this righteous knight be you?”

Li Xuan removed the zither case from his back and opened it.

Inside, there was a bow and arrow, a golden-thread broadsword, and an eight-sided Han sword.

“Big Sister, have you forgotten why I came to the capital?”

Remembering how his uncle had been a thousand-household commander of the Northern Guard of the Imperial Guard, and how he was only searching for a friend in the Imperial Guard's Sixth Division in the Fourth Prince's Mansion when he became embroiled in the assassination attempt against the Fourth Prince, Li Wan’s expression immediately turned serious.

He died fighting for the Fourth Prince.

“Xuan brother, you’re the only one left in your line, if you can avoid trouble, avoid it. You should never take unnecessary risks,” she said sternly.

“There are water patrol officers on the canal, why do you have to risk your life?”

“Father wrote in his letter to give you the courtesy name Wei Jin, precisely because he was afraid you’d act recklessly because of your skills and something would happen to you.”

Xuan, meaning profound and far-reaching.

The name "Wei Jin" went against this, intending to constantly remind him not to act recklessly despite his skills, but to always remain cautious and careful.