Chapter 1325: Cultivation, Birthday Gift

On New Year's Eve, Zhou Chen accompanied Shi Yi and went shopping on Yuchu Street. He bought a lot of delicious food for Shi Yi.

Although Shi Yi is a noble daughter of the Yang family, she is not arrogant or overbearing at all, nor does she dislike these roadside snacks. When she sees something she likes and wants to eat, as long as Zhou Chen buys it for her, she will act like a little mouse. I ate it in small bites with a squeaking sound.

So in the end I ate too much and walked slowly.

Today's curfew time in Xizhou is the second watch, which is around ten o'clock. Zhou Chen and Shi Yi wandered on the street for more than an hour. After seeing the vendors and pedestrians slowly dispersing, they slowly left for the palace.

On the way back, Shi Yi was very happy, his steps became lighter again, and his eyes looking at Zhou Chen were even more intimate.

In the past, when he was in the palace, Zhou Chen would mostly act majestic and solemn, but when he was teaching her, he would be gentle and patient. However, this was the first time that he was so pampered like today, so she was very happy.

Shi Yi suddenly pulled Zhou Chen's clothes gently, and when Zhou Chen looked over, she made a few gestures.

‘Master, thank you. ’

Zhou Chen didn't control it anymore this time and patted her head gently: "As long as you are happy."

Shi Yi nodded vigorously to express that he was very happy.

"Go back, everyone is still waiting for us to stay together with you. This year is your first Spring Festival in Xizhou. If we all stay together, the coming year will be even better."

Zhou Chen and Shi Yi returned to the palace. The ten disciples and Xie Chong, as well as Xie Chong's adopted son Xie Chen, were still in the hall, but some of them were already confused.

The appearance of Zhou Chen made everyone cheer up again. This era naturally does not have a countdown like modern times, but there are watchers. With the arrival of the third watch, it means the beginning of a new year.

The period after the New Year is a rare leisure time. There are no major rebellions or battles in Beichen, so naturally there is no need for the Nanchen royal army to dispatch.

It is rare for everyone in the Nanchen Palace to enjoy such a peaceful time. Although they are best at fighting, it does not mean that they like fighting. Fighting is not as comfortable as living an ordinary life in the Palace.

It has been two months since he came to this world, and Zhou Chen has already developed Yangzhou Man's internal strength. Because he is naturally talented, and Yangzhou Man has practiced it more than once, he has improved quickly after practicing again.

Of course, this is compared to other worlds, but in fact, compared to the real world of low martial arts, his cultivation speed is still relatively slow.

However, there is no such thing as internal strength in this world. He can develop internal strength, and coupled with his own physical fitness, it is no exaggeration to say that his current combat power is definitely at the pinnacle of this world, especially Yangzhou Man's internal strength. For him, it was a great boost and greatly improved his combat effectiveness.

The timing of teaching is not that there are classes every day. Zhou Chen normally attends two days and has one day off. This day happened to be the time for rest, so Zhou Chen did not leave his yard and practiced hard in his bedroom.

Shi Yi is a studious person. Although she doesn't have to go to class today, she still came to Zhou Chen's study. First, she cleaned the study by herself. Then she picked up the books that Zhou Chen usually read and started reading them seriously.

While she was reading seriously, suddenly there was a burst of laughter outside the study, and then someone walked into the study. Before the person arrived, the sound was heard.

"If you don't want to come to Pingqin County with me, you must be hiding a beautiful person in your house?"

King Ping Qin walked in, jokingly walking into the study, but when he saw that the person sitting there was not King Xiao Nanchen, but a girl, he was immediately confused and looked at Shi Yi with a confused face. .

Shi Yi also turned her head and looked at King Ping Qin with curiosity. She came in without any warning. She guessed that he must be a friend of her master, so she quickly stood up, walked to King Ping Qin and gave him a salute.

When King Ping Qin saw him, he followed suit and returned the courtesy immediately, then asked with a teasing look on his face.

"You are Zhou Shengchen's little princess?"

Shi Yi was immediately frightened and waved her hands in panic, but she couldn't speak at all. King Ping Qin was a big boss and didn't understand what she meant by waving her hands. He thought she was telling him to keep a low profile.

So he said with a clear face: "I understand, I understand, I understand what you mean. As soon as you wave your hand, I understand."

Jian Shiyi thought that King Ping Qin really understood what she meant, and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but unexpectedly King Ping Qin spoke again.

"I know that Zhou Shengchen can't tell the matchmaker that he is marrying you. You said that boy is the same. He has to swear a poisonous oath, which will be very troublesome."

Immediately afterwards, he turned around and told the two men who were following him with a serious face: "You two, don't tell anyone about what you saw today, do you hear me?"

"yes."

As soon as he turned around, King Ping Qin returned to his smiling face. His face changed very quickly, and he asked Shi Yi with a smile.

"Should I call you sister-in-law? Well, I should call you sister-in-law. How should you be called in your palace?"

Shi Yi anxiously moved her hands, trying to explain, but she couldn't speak, and King Ping Qin didn't understand sign language. She was so anxious that she broke out in sweat.

She gestured to King Ping Qin to go outside and ask, but King Ping Qin thought she was going to drive him away, which made him very depressed. He kept explaining that he was a big boss and had not read many books. If there was anything It's rude and I told her not to mind.

As he was talking, he actually apologized, but Shiyi didn't dare to accept it, so he hurriedly returned the gift, and the two of them bowed to each other.

When Zhou Chen came over, he happened to see this scene and was also very speechless.

He heard from his subordinates that King Pingqin had brought people to the palace. Thinking of the misunderstanding in the plot, he rushed over as soon as possible, but he didn't expect that he was still a step late.

One is a rough man who can't read the eyes and can say anything, and the other can't speak, so it's normal for misunderstandings to happen.

The two people who were bowing to each other also saw Zhou Chen, and King Pingqin stood up immediately.

"Okay, Zhou Shengchen, you are good, secretly hiding a little princess in the palace..."

Looking at Shiyi who was so anxious that he only knew to wave his hands, Zhou Chen smiled slightly and interrupted King Pingqin's words.

"She is my apprentice."

"Apprentice?"

King Pingqin's eyes widened immediately, he looked at Zhou Chen, then looked at Jin Shiyi, who was very embarrassed.

King Pingqin reacted and asked Zhou Chen in surprise: "Did Jin's family send her here?"

Seeing Zhou Chen nod, he apologized: "I didn't know, I'm sorry, sister-in-law."

The word "sister-in-law" came out of his mouth, which scared Jin Shiyi again, and he looked at Zhou Chen cautiously.

Zhou Chen was also speechless, he knew that King Pingqin didn't mean it, he was just like that.

"Eleven, you go down first, I'll talk to my brother."

Jin Shiyi bowed and left the study.

"Brother, I'm so sorry. I didn't know this was the case, but why didn't your disciple Miss Yi explain it to me? It made me so embarrassed."

"Eleven has aphasia and can't speak."

"Ah?"

Ping Qin Wang's face suddenly changed. He remembered that Yi Shiyi was very anxious just now, but didn't speak, and could only make gestures. Then he understood the reason.

"Is that so? Oh, it's all my fault, it's all my fault, but it's also true. This little girl looks pretty and quiet, how could she have aphasia?"

Ping Qin Wang was born in the grass, brave and martial, but he really didn't have anything in his mind. He always wanted to find a cultured and cultured princess.

Over the years, he has looked for many daughters of aristocratic families, but no aristocratic family married their daughters to him, or he didn't like those who were willing to marry, so he was a few years older than Zhou Chen, but still didn't have a princess.

"Brother, how come you have time to come to Xizhou today?"

"My dear brother, I am not here alone this time. I have brought many people with me. They..."

The King of Pingqin brought the elders and folks of Pingqin County to the palace to thank the Nanchen King's army for saving Pingqin County. They also brought many local specialties.

Zhou Chen let the King of Pingqin and others stay in the palace for two days. Two days later, the King of Pingqin left Xizhou with his people. When he came, he brought a lot of things. When he left, Zhou Chen also stuffed them with a lot of local specialties of Xizhou.

This is called giving and taking!

At night, in the study, Zhou Chen sat at the desk reading a book, and Shiyi poured tea for Zhou Chen.

There was no entertainment in the palace. The brothers and sisters all had their own things to do. Shiyi was the closest to Zhou Chen, so whenever he had time, he would either go to the library or come to the study to serve tea and water to Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen also liked this smart and sensible little girl, so he never stopped her and doted on her. Watching her change day by day, he always felt like he was nurturing her.

It was completely dark, and it had been a long time since the first update. Shi Yi might be tired, so she leaned against Zhou Chen, supported her head with her hands on the table and fell asleep.

The sleeping Shi Yi's little head was still nodding, and she smiled from time to time, looking really cute and innocent.

Suddenly, she couldn't hold on, her body shook, and her head almost hit the table. Zhou Chen was quick and held her head.

Shi Yi didn't show any signs of waking up. After Zhou Chen held her head, she fell down and finally leaned on Zhou Chen's legs, hugging his legs and continued to sleep.

"Hehe."

Zhou Chen smiled slightly, and didn't wake her up, but let her sleep on his legs.

After a while, he saw that Shiyi was asleep, so he picked up the fox fur blanket next to him, wrapped Shiyi's body, gently picked her up, and walked out of the study.

Shiyi is only fourteen years old this year, and her body has not fully grown, so she is very light, and Zhou Chen picked her up effortlessly.

When Cheng Xi in the courtyard saw that her girl was brought back by Zhou Chen, she was shocked and looked terrified.

"Your Highness."

Zhou Chen glanced at Shiyi and threw a look over, and Cheng Xi dared not speak immediately.

She has lived in the palace for more than two months. Although everyone in the palace said that the little King Nanchen was gentle, she was afraid. Every time Zhou Chen looked at her, she felt panic in her heart.

Zhou Chen carried Shiyi into the room and put her on the bed.

"Your Highness, this fox fur?"

"It's from my study. I'll give it to Eleven from now on. Let her have a good rest. I'm leaving first."

The next morning, Zhou Chen was waiting for Shiyi to come to class in the piano room, but it was already past the time and she hadn't come yet. He was puzzled because Shiyi was never late for class.

But he thought about it and understood the reason. It must be the same as in the plot, because she fell asleep in his study and felt that she had broken the rules and etiquette, so she was probably reflecting on her mistakes behind closed doors.

Zhou Chen smiled helplessly. He had been in the palace for quite a while and had changed a lot, but it seemed that there were still many things that he hadn't changed.

This was normal. After all, it was a habit that he had developed over the past decade. It was not so easy to change.

So he went to Shi Yi's yard. As soon as he entered the yard, Cheng Xi came to greet him.

"Your Highness."

"Where's Eleven? Why didn't you go to class today?"

Cheng Xi said truthfully: "Because of last night's impoliteness, the girl is confined to reflect on her mistakes."

"Confined to reflect on her mistakes? I know."

As he said that, he walked towards Shi Yi's room. Cheng Xi opened his mouth and wanted to call her, but he didn't dare to speak in the end.

Zhou Chen walked into the room and saw Shi Yi writing on the terrace by the pool behind the room, so he walked over.

Shi Yi was copying the book seriously, stroke by stroke.

"I heard from Cheng Xi that you are reflecting on your mistakes behind closed doors. Is it because of what happened last night?"

Shi Yi immediately bowed and then said in sign language: "Master, Shi Yi knows I was wrong."

Zhou Chen said with a gentle look: "Master forgives you."

Hearing this, Shi Yi felt a little happy, but still replied with a firm expression: "Although Master has forgiven me, I can't let my guard down. I need to review more and keep it in mind."

Looking at Shi Yi in front of him, Zhou Chen felt a little emotional. The thinking of the ancients is very different from that of modern people. Perhaps in the eyes of many modern people, things that are not a big deal are big things in their eyes.

You can say that the ancients were stubborn, but this may be the way of life of the ancients. After all, people in different eras have different ideas, and we cannot judge the practices of the ancients with modern thinking.

"Eleven, I know what you mean, but the palace is different from your family. Here, you don't have to worry so much. I may not be able to let you be free all the time in other places, but in the palace, I hope you can let go of yourself. Here, you don't need to restrain yourself."

Shi Yi hesitated, but was finally persuaded by Zhou Chen. She walked out of the yard with Zhou Chen and went to the piano room to learn the piano.

Zhou Chen's life in the palace was also very simple. He got up in the morning to practice, and then began to teach Shi Yi to learn. He would go to the military camp to review and train every three or five days, and usually deal with some military affairs, so his life was simple, but also very fulfilling.

If you want to say who has been with him the longest in the palace, it is undoubtedly Shi Yi. They study in the morning and afternoon, and often read in Zhou Chen's study or in the library at night.

Occasionally, Zhou Chen would quietly take Shi Yi to play on the streets in the city, so for Shi Yi, life in Nanchen Palace is much happier than when she was at the family.

Zhou Chen not only taught Shi Yi the music of this period, but also taught her many classic music scores of later generations. He said that they were all composed by himself, which made Shi Yi admire him even more.

The colors of spring are rich, from light green leaves to colorful flowers, all kinds of colors sway gently in the spring breeze, adding a touch of gorgeous colors to the earth.

Beside the pond, Shi Yi played the music very attentively, and Zhou Chen sat aside to listen.

When the song ended, Shi Yi looked at Zhou Chen with expectation.

Zhou Chen smiled and praised: "Very good, you have mastered this song very well, and you have made great progress."

After receiving Zhou Chen's praise, Shi Yi was like a child who got a candied haws, and she was very happy.

For her, getting Zhou Chen's praise was happier than doing anything else.

"Your piano skills have improved a lot. Starting tomorrow, you will learn less piano. I have added a new lesson for you."

"What?" Shi Yi asked curiously.

"Arithmetic."

"Arithmetic?"

Shi Yi was very surprised. She didn't expect Zhou Chen to teach her this.

Zhou Chen explained: "Don't underestimate arithmetic. It is actually very important. If you learn arithmetic well, you can handle many things in the future. At least, you can easily handle account books and the like."

Shi Yi smiled at Zhou Chen. She was just curious for a while. In fact, no matter what Zhou Chen taught her, she would learn it very seriously, even if it was for Zhou Chen to praise her.

The longer Zhou Chen spent with Shi Yi, the more he felt that he had cultivated it.

During this period, he could feel that Shi Yi was becoming more and more dependent on him, and he liked to get along with Shi Yi the most in the palace.

As time passed day by day, Shi Yi learned more and more, and he respected Zhou Chen more and more.

There has been no war for a long time, and the palace is very relaxed. If you can always live in such a relaxed way, who would want to fight to death on the battlefield?

On this day, Zhou Chen went out and when he came back, he found that many strangers had come to the palace. After entering the palace, he found out that some of these people came from Zhongzhou, some from Qinghe, and some from other places, all of whom came to give birthday gifts to Shi Yi.

Zhou Chen looked at the gifts placed everywhere in the hall with a calm expression. This was a big scene, but it was nothing to him.

He just glanced at it lightly, and then went to find Shi Yi.

Shi Yi was painting lotus by the pond at this time. Just after she finished painting, she saw Zhou Chen coming and immediately saluted Zhou Chen with a happy face.

Zhou Chen waved his hand, walked to her side, and looked at the lotus painting on the table.

"Well, the painting is getting better and better. Among all your paintings, the lotus painting is the best."

Shi Yi was even happier to get Zhou Chen's praise. She was best at painting lotus and she liked it most.

"The palace and Shi Yi sent you so many birthday gifts. Don't you want to take a look?"

Shi Yi did not hide her feelings in front of Zhou Chen, and shook her head, indicating that she was not interested. Compared with looking at the gifts, she preferred to draw lotus here.

Zhou Chen smiled slightly and said, "I also prepared a birthday gift for you. Do you want to see it?"

Shi Yi was very surprised when she heard it, and nodded hurriedly, with expectation and desire in her eyes and face.