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"Hey! You brat, do you even have any sense of reason? I brought the food, and I saw you were starving, so I shared half with you, and you tried to take it all? And you dare say it was yours to begin with?"

"That's food made by Xiaojiu. I can easily find out with a simple inquiry. What Xiaojiu makes is mine. Who dares to mess with me—" He arrogantly raised his head, "I'll make sure they die a horrible death."

"... Little, Xiaojiu?" How could this little beggar know Xiaojiu?

"You call him 'Xiaojiu'? Call him Eldest Young Master Zhu!"

"..." He calls his own younger brother "Eldest Young Master Zhu"? "Young Master Pig" is more appropriate!

Wait, wait... something's off about that tone. It reminds her of someone—ah, it's the Young Master! His favorite thing to say to His Your Majesty— "You call me 'Little Eight' too?" That tone... it sounds so sad to the older sister! What is this wretched beggar going to do to the Zhu Household's only Incense?!

"Eighth Brother, what are you doing here?"

Speak of the devil, and he appears! Zhu Xiaojiu, carrying a large food box, walks towards the two facing off. He blinks, first looking at his older sister, who is holding a food box in one hand and an abacus in the other, her face full of a pitiful, whimpering expression. Then he looks at the boy with a cold, determined gaze, holding an abacus in one hand and pulling him aside to protect him behind his back.

"Xiaojiu, come here. This person is acting suspiciously. He even stole your food box and food. He's extremely greedy. Don't go near him."

"You're the one who's accusing me first! My food box was made by Xiaojiu herself. Why would I steal food?" With her hands on her hips, she was about to unleash a shrewish tirade.

With a cold snort, the brat arrogantly raised his head and spoke haughtily, "Xiaojiu cooks for you? What a joke. Don't try to argue with me. Wearing Eastern Academy Scholar Robe, you shamelessly steal. I'll report this to the Six-Ministry Review, and then you'll be released."

"I did it."

"Did you hear that? Xiaojiu also said you stole— Xiaojiu?" The words he heard were not what he expected, and he frowned in confusion.

Zhu Xiaojiu raised an eyebrow, watching him with amusement. "I made it for him. Is that not allowed?"

"..." The little beggar glared at him, clearly annoyed, but she could only angrily pull off the large abacus that was hanging around her neck, put it back on her back, and casually sit down on the grass without saying another word.

"Hey, old man. I made your favorite Spicy Fried Eggs today, aren't you going to eat them?" As if she was used to his irritability, Zhu Xiaojiu was too lazy to pay attention to him. She took out the food box and opened the lid. The dishes inside were exactly the same as those in Zhu Bafu's food box, only the quantity was five times greater.

The aroma wafting over was so enticing that the guy, who had been sitting on the floor sulking, finally couldn't resist moving a few steps closer to the food box. However, he still couldn't hold back his pride and scolded him, "Who is this person? Why are you cooking for him?"

"Her..." Zhu Xiaojiu looked his older sister up and down, dressed in a smart scholar's Confucian Robe, and heard her coughing as she gave him a coded signal. He smiled knowingly. "My brother."

"Brother? You have an older brother?"

"Yes, she's not very good at taking care of herself, so I'm the one who takes care of her, this burden."

"Hey! Xiaojiu, how can you talk to your own brother like that? I mean... who is this brat? He's so rude to his older brother!" Realizing she was still pretending to be a man, she quickly withdrew her hands-on-hips, shrewish rant, pointed at herself with a thumbs up, and patted her chest roughly.

"Whoever gave me this." After saying that, Xiaojiu took out the seal hanging around his neck. The word "household" engraved on it made Zhu Bafu exclaim.

"The Minister of Revenue?" That cunning official who even dared to tell the emperor to Iron Abacus up his Clothing before buying them— the Minister of Revenue, over Nian Youyu?

He wasn't a worldly-wise, cynical, and sleazy middle-aged man with triangular eyes, but rather this—a beggar boy of about ten years old?

And the only Incense in the Zhu Household was the most important person to him?!

"Zhu Xiaojiu! Explain yourself! What... what's going on?!"

Pulling his younger brother into a corner, Zhu Bafu gasped, "How do you know him, and even have his Ministry of Revenue Seal?"

Compared to her older sister's nervous appearance, Zhu Xiaojiu remained calm. "I've run into him here before. He was always eating cornbread. I thought he was a beggar, so I would occasionally give him some food."

"Give me a meal? You want to beg for food for the dignified Minister of Revenue?"

"Aren't you one? With his appearance, it wouldn't be surprising if he were a beggar." Pointing to Nian Youyu, who was sitting by the artificial rock, wolfing down his food, Zhu Xiaojiu couldn't help but chuckle. "At first, I only gave him leftovers, but later, he probably got a taste of the sweetness, and now he waits for me to feed him here every day. After feeding him for a while, even the cats and dogs have developed some affection for him, so I simply bring him some food."

"You mean a little bit? It's five times more than my portion, okay?!"

"He's a man, he's still growing. You—no matter how much you eat, you won't grow any taller, right?" Zhu Xiaojiu glanced at him sideways.

"Then what about the Seal?"

"Seal?" Looking at the small stone seal around his neck, "I'm feeding him for nothing, of course I need to offer something as collateral. He's stingy and penniless, doesn't even have a copper coin on him, and his abacus is too big and troublesome to carry. I've searched all over my body, and this looks pretty valuable, so I'll use it as collateral. When he becomes a high-ranking official in the future, this will be his token, understand?"

"You just say you're going to deposit it, and he actually agreed to let you take it?"

He said, "If you like it, you can give it to me."

"..."

That's the crux of the problem, isn't it? These two little brats are secretly exchanging these things, completely unaware of their seriousness. His Your Majesty has clearly set his sights on these Seal.