Xu Lingyin's fury

Damn Xu Erlang, there must be something wrong with him, otherwise my second uncle, who loves me so much, wouldn't let me drink this rubbish. Xu Qi'an put down the bowl, wiped away the tears that came out of his mouth, and looked at Xu Xinnian with a smile on his face but cursing in his heart.

It's all my brother's fault. If he hadn't given me that terrible idea and insisted that I bring the green tangerines back for Lingyin to eat, I, Xu Xinnian, would never have shot myself in the foot. Xu Xinnian frowned inwardly and cursed his brother a hundred times in his heart.

The two brothers lowered their heads and ate their food to fill their stomachs, which were churning with acid.

"Look, the two brothers suddenly perked up, and they're eating with great relish." Second Uncle Xu added insult to injury, laughing heartily.

Neither Xu Qi'an nor Xu Xinnian paid any attention to this seemingly honest but actually cunning middle-aged man.

Once the urge to vomit was suppressed by the food, Xu Xinnian slowly exhaled and slowed down his eating.

"Cijiu, brother, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Given that his friendship with his younger brother was on the verge of collapse, Xu Qi'an spoke very politely.

"What's up."

Xu Xinnian, much like his mother, proudly raised his chin. As if remembering something, he added, "I won't do anything unreasonable."

For example, where is the eldest brother's Diaochan?

Xu Qi'an had long forgotten about this little matter, because Fuxiang was very satisfied with his waist strength, so Xu Bai Piao was very confident in his abilities and gradually put this sudden idea out of his mind.

"You've read through history books, do you know that Emperor Yuanjing once deposed his empress?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"Hey!" Xu Pingzhi tapped the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks, making a crisp sound, and admonished, "Even at home, you must still address Your Majesty respectfully. Make it a habit, lest you blurt it out in public and cause trouble."

Yuanjing was a reign title.

Using the emperor's reign title to refer to him is extremely disrespectful, just as many people in the martial arts world like to refer to Wei Yuan as Wei Qingyi.

"Emperor Yuanjing deposed the empress, I know. It was said to have caused quite a stir at the time," Xu Erlang said.

"Hey, you..." Second Uncle Xu looked at his son.

But his nephew and son tacitly ignored him and continued their conversation.

Why was the empress deposed?

"I don't know, it's not written in the historical records, but it caused quite a stir at the time. The entire court was filled with officials who were willing to die for their principles, and censors and secretaries were jumping around, practically wanting to piss and defecate on Emperor Yuanjing's head to showcase their literary reputation." Xu Xinnian picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and said while eating:

"In the end, he was forced to return home after his deathbed remonstrance. Although he was not deposed, the empress was banished to the cold palace and did not emerge until the fourteenth year of the Yuanjing era."

Normally, the emperor's every word and action, and his demeanor in court, would be recorded by historians.

Regarding Emperor Yuanjing's pursuit of Daoism, in the first few years, the historians recorded. "The emperor pursued Daoism and neglected state affairs!"

Emperor Yuanjing was furious upon reading it and demanded that the historians revise it. The historians refused to yield, even at the cost of being censored (404). However, after three were flogged and one dismissed, the historians humiliatingly knelt down and changed it to:

The emperor cultivated Daoism, yet he did not neglect state affairs.

However, years later, when later generations revisit this history, Emperor Yuanjing will most likely be exposed as the original emperor, or even vilified.

"So how were you released later?"

Xu Qi'an was too embarrassed to press Huaiqing for details, after all, it was a painful experience for Huaiqing's parents. But then again, which parents haven't gone through a divorce?

"That year, Wei Yuan defeated the northern barbarians and returned in triumph. Emperor Yuanjing granted a general amnesty, and also pardoned the empress," Xu Xinnian said.

I was wondering why the year 13 of Yuanjing sounded so familiar; it turns out it was the year Wei Yuan rose to fame and became known throughout the land. I apologize, Duke Wei, I didn't mean to be disrespectful.

It turns out that in the year Wei Yuan first showed his talent, on his way to Yunzhou, Number Four once said that in the 13th year of Yuanjing, after the autumn harvest, Wei Yuan was appointed to lead the army north in a time of crisis, and defeated the cavalry of the northern barbarians in just one and a half months.

No wonder Huaiqing became Wei Yuan's disciple; it turns out the Empress had received a favor from Wei Yuan. Xu Qi'an suddenly realized.

Although the reason for the empress's deposition was not fully understood, it wasn't a complete loss.

At least the famous detective Xu Baipiao could deduce from this that even if the Empress made a mistake, it wasn't a serious one; otherwise, Emperor Yuanjing wouldn't have taken the opportunity to pardon her.

"Ningyan, if you have time after dinner, go answer Lingyin."

The aunt seemed to have a grudge against her unlucky nephew, but when it came to ordering him around, she was utterly ruthless.

There are only two or three books available for early childhood education, not enough to last a whole day. In addition, children are naturally mischievous, and confining them to the classroom for an entire day may not be beneficial.

Therefore, it usually ends a quarter of an hour after noon (12:15 pm).

"Why don't you go to Cijiu?" Xu Qi'an declined.

"I need to read in the study this Cijiu year." Auntie said displeased, "I ask you to do something, and you keep making excuses."

Xu Qi'an glanced at her sideways. "Auntie, give me back all the silk."

Auntie forced a bright smile, "Oh, Ningyan, we're family, no need for formalities. Come on, eat, eat. Auntie will get you a piece of chicken."

Ever since Xu Qi'an got promoted and made a fortune, and even bought a new house, his aunt has lost her confidence in front of him and can no longer speak with conviction.

After asking for the address, Xu Qi'an said, "Lingyue, come with me. I can show you two sisters around the inner city and help you buy some jewelry or something."

Upon hearing this, the aunt said, "Ningyan, why don't I come along too?"

"You're just trying to rip me off, aren't you?" Xu Qi'an scrutinized his aunt's beautiful face with a questioning look. "Fine, but I won't buy the jewelry."

That brat is so stingy. His aunt said sternly, "He's not going."

"Second Uncle, look! Auntie is just trying to take advantage of me. It's a pity I haven't even gotten married yet. I need to save money to get married," Xu Qi'an immediately complained.

Second Uncle Xu said helplessly, "Didn't I just give you fifty taels?"

"How dare you mention those fifty taels!" Auntie slammed her hand on the table in anger. "Where did you get so much money? It was all given to you by someone!"

Xu Qi'an understood. No wonder his second uncle was in a bad mood today; it turned out his aunt had confiscated his secret stash of money. But he couldn't take it out on him.

He complained inwardly.

Qingyun Hall.

The name Qingyun Hall has two meanings. One is to signify a meteoric rise to prominence. The other is to capitalize on the popularity of Clear Cloud Mountain outside the capital.

The private school was run by an elderly scholar named Li Bingyi, who was fifty years old and whose eyesight was beginning to fail. It was precisely because of this that he condescended to teach young children their first lessons.

Tuition is very expensive, and it's due every three months.

Mr. Li Bingyi had a rule: if there was a scholar in the family, the tuition fee would be reduced by half; if there was an official in the family, the tuition fee would be reduced by another half.

Of course, this applies only to civil officials, excluding military officers.

With this rule, Mr. Li Bingyi transformed Qingyuntang into an "elite primary school." Those wealthy families who were not short of money found this rule interesting, highlighting their own sense of superiority. In addition, Mr. Li Bingyi was indeed very good at teaching.

Therefore, wealthy families who didn't have time to provide early education for their children were willing to send their young children to Qingyuntang.

A month or two ago, Mr. Li Bingyi encountered his lifelong adversary, the most difficult student he had ever taught.

"Xu Lingyin, stand up!"

On the lectern, Mr. Li grabbed a bamboo stick and banged it against the table.

More than twenty children sat in the hall. In the east corner, a little girl with her hair in a bun stood up obediently.

Her features were plain and ordinary; her round face resembled a steamed bun, and her eyes were bright and expressive.

"Recite the Three Character Classic once," Mr. Li instructed calmly, sitting cross-legged.

"At birth, people are inherently good, and their natures are similar."

The girl got stuck here.

Old Mr. Li, used to this, remained calm, pinching his brow and sighing, "Why is it that after half a month, you still only know these three sentences?"

This kind of stupid kid isn't worth getting angry at.

Xu Lingyin said sweetly, "My dad says, 'One trick is all you need to succeed.'"

Is the saying "one trick is enough to get by" applicable here? Old Mr. Li paused for a moment, then remembered that the child's father was a crude and uncouth martial artist, and his anger subsided.

"You read aloud every day, and you have no problem recognizing characters, so why can't you memorize them when it comes to memorizing them? As the sage said, 'Investigate things to attain knowledge.' Have you ever reflected on this?"

Xu Lingyin asked, puzzled, "The teacher only taught three sentences."

The room erupted in laughter.

Mr. Li waved his hand wearily, "Sit down."

In this child's family, only his second brother is a scholar, and a student at the Cloud Deer Academy. It's truly baffling what kind of environment and education could produce two children with such vastly different backgrounds.

Mr. Li glanced at the drain; it was lunchtime. He coughed and said, "You have a 15-minute mealtime. Remember, no talking while you eat."

After saying this, he left the school, went around to the backyard, and had lunch.

The children were suddenly relieved and started laughing and joking, taking out food from their little cloth bags.

Xu Lingyin's lunch today was exceptionally lavish, featuring crystal dumplings, plum blossom-scented cakes, fish balls, and several exquisite pastries from Cassia Moon Tower.

She eats two to three times the amount of food other children receive.

Xu Lingyin arranged the food in the cloth bag with great ceremony, swallowed hard, and thought about it all morning.

No one in the entire school had a more sumptuous or expensive meal than Xu Lingyin. Of course, there was a reason why Xu Lingyin's lunch was so lavish.

Yesterday was the day for Xu Dalang Dalang's funeral. The Xu Residence purchased a large amount of top-quality ingredients in preparation for a grand funeral.

Who knew that Xu Dalang would return, and after entertaining the Xu clan, there was still plenty of delicious food left.

"I'll take your food."

A chubby boy walked up to Xu Lingyin's desk and looked down at her arrogantly.

The chubby boy is the king of the kids in school. He's the tallest and strongest, a year older than Xu Lingyin, and seven years old this year.

Not only was he the tallest and strongest, but he also came from the most prestigious family. His parents were not particularly remarkable, but his great-uncle was a Principal Fifth Rank official in the Ministry of Personnel.

The Ministry of Personnel is recognized as the head of the Six Ministries, and the Personnel Selection Office is responsible for personnel appointments. Among the four departments of the Ministry of Personnel, only the Examination Office can rival the Personnel Selection Office.

"No!"

Xu Lingyin protected the food, glaring fiercely.

"You want to get beaten up again?" The chubby boy's eyes widened.

He was the one who snatched Xu Lingyin's bracelet. The little girl initially refused to give it up, but he pushed her to the ground, hit her a couple of times, and then forcibly took it from her.

This silly girl didn't cry or make a fuss, as if losing the bracelet wasn't a big deal.

When the chubby boy got home, he lied to his mother and said that he had found the bracelet. His mother was very happy because the bracelet had been pawned for eight taels of silver.

Later, the silly girl's mother came to the school to argue, but because Xu Lingyin did not identify her, the fierce mother was turned away by the teacher.

So the chubby boy knew that it was okay to steal his "classmate's" bracelet; he would get money and wouldn't be punished by the adults.

For the first few days, he kept staring at Xu Lingyin's wrist, but after that incident, she stopped wearing bracelets.

This silly girl is easy to bully, but she wasn't worth bullying before. This time is different. The chubby boy recognized the pastries from Cassia Moon Tower at a glance. He had eaten at Cassia Moon Tower before and found them to be very delicious.

The chubby boy would eat whatever she wanted, and all the children in the school were afraid of him; no one dared to disobey him.

"Get away!"

Xu Lingyin roared, her eyes wide and teeth bared, like a little animal guarding its food.

The chubby boy was stunned, seemingly not expecting this easily bullied, clumsy girl to suddenly become tough and even dare to yell at him.

He was enraged.

"You're asking for it."

He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and with all his might, slammed them twice into Xu Lingyin's head—two dull thuds.

Xu Lingyin clutched her head in anguish.

The chubby boy gave her a hard shove, knocking her to the ground. He then snatched the pastries from the box into his arms with satisfaction, beaming with pride.

"If you had known better, you wouldn't have suffered so much. Do you have any more of these good things at home? If so, bring them over tomorrow."

He strode back to his seat with a proud and imposing air.

The children watching this scene were somewhat envious, thinking that if they had joined in earlier, they would be getting something delicious right now.

Xu Lingyin was gripped by an unprecedented rage in the six years of her life.

She silently got up, without saying a word, and walked with her head down to Mr. Li's podium, picking up the hard and heavy bamboo stick.

"She's going to hit you with the master's bamboo cane."

Behind the chubby boy, a child leaned on his shoulder, offering a reminder.

The chubby boy looked up and saw the little girl who had been bullied but hadn't uttered a sound. He raised the bamboo stick high, and a loud, resounding shout burst from his small chest, "Yay!"

Snap!

The bamboo stick struck the chubby boy's head with such force that it snapped in two.

The chubby boy's eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness. He fell backward, a pastry still in his mouth.

The force of the bamboo strips rebounding from Xu Lingyin's small hands made the tiger's mouth (the area between the thumb and index finger) turn bright red.

The children in the school were stunned, some were scared, and some were at a loss. But some clever children ran to the backyard to find Mr. Li.

Mr. Li was having dinner with his wife, with two maids standing by their side.

"Sir, sir, that stupid girl killed someone!" A boy ran in, panting, shouting with all his might.

Li Bingyi, a scholar with a calm demeanor, frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

"You silly girl, you beat that fat boy to death! Use your bamboo stick!" the boy said smugly, pointing outside.

"I'll go take a look." Mr. Li put down his chopsticks, got up, and led the boy back to the school.

After passing through the inner courtyard and entering the main hall, Mr. Li saw a group of children surrounding the chubby boy, who was lying sprawled on the ground, his condition unknown.

He was immediately startled and went to the inner courtyard to call his wife to help take care of the little fat boy. He didn't have time to deal with Xu Lingyin and sent his servants to the nearest clinic to fetch a doctor.

Fortunately, the school was in a good location, and the clinic was not far away, so the doctor arrived quickly.

The doctor came over, examined the patient, and said with a grave expression, "There's no danger to his life, but he'll need to rest in bed for several days."

Mr. Li felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders.

"How did this child get injured?" the doctor asked.

"Children playing together"

"How could someone hit a child so hard while they were playing?"

Mr. Li could no longer contain his anger. He grabbed Xu Lingyin by the back of her collar, dragged her over, and shouted, "Xu Lingyin, why did you maliciously hurt your classmate?"

Xu Lingyin shouted, "He stole my food!"

Mr. Li became even angrier. "You almost beat someone to death over this?"

Xu Lingyin stubbornly said, "He stole my food."

This stubborn and foolish girl infuriated Mr. Li, and he was about to scold her when a shout came from outside:

"Where is my young master? Who bullied my young master?"

Two strong servants rushed in.

P. S.: I think interspersing everyday life scenes within the main storyline improves the reading experience. No matter how well-written a case is, once it exceeds five or six chapters, readers will experience aesthetic fatigue. Therefore, incorporating everyday life scenes makes the plot more engaging, more relaxing, and provides a better reading experience. Yes, this is a theory that has been affirmed by experts.

However, even everyday content has its drawbacks; while it offers easy reading, it can feel a bit superficial.

This chapter was written in a rush, so there might be a few typos.