Auntie: Hmph, the little bastard had some conscience after all

Auntie was angry, her beautiful face covered in frost, and she was beyond soothing.

Second Uncle Xu's scalp tingled. "Ningyan, wouldn't it have been better to put your silver toward household expenses? Did you have to buy these flashy, impractical things?"

He planned to diss his nephew to win back his wife's approval and quell her anger.

Xu Lingyue said mildly, "It's not as if the family lacks food or clothing. Even the rice Father eats includes some from Eldest Brother's salary."

Second Uncle Xu was so choked by his daughter's words that he couldn't reply, so he changed the subject again. "Ningyan, where did you get the silver?"

Xu Qi'an said, "I noticed that the jewelry Sister wore was too cheap, so I kept it in mind. I scrimped on food and clothing and saved some silver. Besides, the Treasure Artifact Pavilion had a game where you could get half off by guessing character riddles."

He couldn't very well say he'd gotten the jewelry for free. He didn't want to die a social death like Xu Cijiu.

Xu Lingyue's hand trembled slightly as she held her bowl. Her heart softened until it seemed ready to melt, and she gazed at Xu Qi'an with shimmering eyes.

In this family, only Eldest Brother held her close to his heart. Her father and Second Brother had never thought there was anything wrong with her wearing cheap jewelry.

A young lady had her appearance to think of, too.

"Eldest Brother, does it look good?" She put the gold dangling hairpin in her hair. Candlelight shone on her delicate, pointed, melon-seed-shaped face. Her features were exquisite, her eyes dark, bright, and full of life, and she was a vivid beauty.

Auntie was even more sour with jealousy.

Xu Qi'an was sour too. He glanced at Xu Erlang to his left. His little brother wore a dark blue robe, his glossy black hair tied up with a green jade hairpin. With red lips and white teeth, he was incomparably handsome.

Then he glanced at his sister, who shone brilliantly with the gold dangling hairpin in her hair, and at Auntie, a voluptuous beauty.

Everyone in the family had a face kissed by an angel, and I'm the only ordinary one?

Then he saw the little tot, whose features closely resembled Second Uncle Xu's and made her look like an honest little blockhead, and he stopped feeling sour.

"Here, Lingyin, have some meat." Xu Qi'an picked up a piece of fatty meat for her, then gave Xu Lingyue a chopstickful of lean meat.

"Eldest Brother is so good to me."

"Eldest Brother likes you best."

"Then why didn't you save me just now?" The little tot remembered how Eldest Brother had not only failed to save her, but had laughed loudly at her.

"Only by enduring the bitterest hardships can you stand above others. Only by suffering can you become a peerless expert."

"Then can you become peerless without suffering?"

"Yes, in your dreams."

When they were nearly done eating, Auntie said mildly, "After the new year, Ningyan will be twenty, won't he?"

"Oh, Auntie, you actually remember how old I am." Xu Qi'an sounded very surprised.

Auntie ignored him haughtily and turned to Second Uncle Xu. "Husband, we ought to arrange a marriage for Ningyan."

Xu Lingyue and Xu Xinnian raised their heads at the same time and stared at their mother.

Xu Qi'an himself was the slowest to react. He was stunned for several seconds before he understood, and then he could hardly believe it.

My wretched aunt actually cares about her nephew's marriage? Is the sun going to rise in the west tomorrow?

After all, taking a wife was a grand affair. The three documents, six rites, and bridal sedan carried by eight men all cost silver.

Auntie glanced at her wretched nephew and continued, "I think Lü'e would be a good match. She grew up in the household from childhood, and she and Ningyan are childhood sweethearts."

And it wouldn't cost much, either. Auntie really is still Auntie.

The pretty Lü'e let out an "Ah!" Her cheeks flushed crimson, and she looked somewhat at a loss.

Love had come too fast, like a tornado, leaving her dazed in its wake.

Inside, she felt shy and embarrassed, but also a tiny trace of joy.

Xu Lingyue glanced at the senior maid, who seemed to pale beside her, and felt somewhat unhappy. "Mother, don't take it upon yourself to decide. Let Eldest Brother discuss his marriage with Father."

What she meant was, Mother, don't you know where you stand in Eldest Brother's heart?

Auntie still bore a grudge against her daughter for taking the hairpin and scolded her. "Ningyan and Lü'e are a talented man and a beautiful woman, and they know each other inside and out. What right does a younger sister have to object?"

Xu Lingyue turned her head away, aggrieved.

No, no, saying we know each other inside and out is going too far. We haven't reached that point yet. Xu Qi'an was just about to voice his opinion when his little brother spoke up beside him.

Xu Xinnian said, "Mother thinks that if Lü'e marries Eldest Brother, she can save the bride price and have a reason to make him move out."

A direct hit.

Auntie said angrily, "You child, you've never known how to speak properly."

Second Uncle Xu had the final word. "All right, all right. You don't need to worry about this. Ningyan won't go near women until he enters the Qi Refining Realm."

Disappointment filled Lü'e's face, and she lowered her head.

Apart from the madam she had served since childhood, the whole family seemed opposed to her marrying Dalang.

After dinner, Second Uncle Xu made a trip to the Imperial Saber Guard, then discussed the next day's arrangements with his nephew and son in the study.

When he returned to his room, he saw his wife sitting on the edge of the bed, looking furious.

"Is there any need to be angry even now?" Second Uncle Xu said helplessly.

Auntie turned and glared at him with her beautiful eyes. "That little brat of yours has no conscience at all. When I first took him from your hands, he was only as big as a kitten. Who was it that raised him?

"All he knows how to do is make me angry, make me angry! Why did I bother raising him? I might as well have fed him to the rats."

As she muttered on, she suddenly saw her husband take a wooden box from his robe and hand it to her. The words "Treasure Artifact Pavilion" were carved on its surface.

Her rosy little mouth opened and closed as she looked at her husband in bewilderment and surprise.

"Ningyan asked me to give it to you," Second Uncle Xu said helplessly. "Neither of you is willing to back down and admit defeat, and he was too embarrassed to give it to you himself. That's why he didn't bring it out at the table."

Auntie eagerly opened the box. Inside was a gold dangling hairpin, heavier than her daughter's and more finely crafted.

She held it in her hand like a treasure and hurried in tiny steps to the bronze mirror. Sitting at the dressing table, she put it in her hair.

An oval face gave a woman a dignified appearance, especially after she became a matron.

A woman with a melon-seed-shaped face was charming and pretty, but once she became a matron, she was a striking beauty.

Auntie belonged to the latter.

She gazed delightedly at herself in the bronze mirror and gave a little hum. "That little bastard does have some conscience after all."

Second Uncle Xu stood by the window on the other side of the room, gazing solemnly at the silent courtyard outside, the Imperial Saber Guard's standard-issue long saber beside him.

The night passed without incident, and Second Uncle Xu and Xu Qi'an, who had stayed awake all night, breathed sighs of relief.

When Xu Lingyue woke early in the morning, she wore her single layer of clothing as usual, opened the window, and stretched her lovely young figure in the cool air.

"Miss, what are you looking at by the window?"

"Nothing."

After a while.

"Miss, are you waiting for something?"

"No."

"Miss, come and get dressed."

"I know. You're so annoying."

Second Uncle Xu left home at daybreak to gather the Imperial Saber Guards under his command. Xu Qi'an went out to hire carriages, while Xu Erlang stayed home to direct the servants as they packed the luggage.

Around noon, two carriages and several dozen mounted riders left the city gates and headed northwest, where Cloud Deer Academy was located.

The carriages did not travel quickly, and it took two hours to reach the foot of Clear Cloud Mountain.

The three men of the Xu Household all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Were we seeing enemy soldiers in every blade of grass and tree?" Second Uncle Xu frowned.

Xu Erlang, who was well versed in military strategy, said slowly, "If the people who followed Eldest Brother yesterday really were from the Zhou household, then they've already missed their two best chances to strike.

"But it's also possible that, in Vice Minister Zhou's eyes, we're merely ants he can crush whenever he likes, so he's in no hurry to deal with us. He has bigger troubles to contend with."

Underestimating the enemy was a grave mistake in warfare, but that assumed the two sides were evenly matched, or at least not so vastly different in strength.

Compared with the Zhou household, the Xu Household truly was no match.

"But there's one thing we have to face: if Vice Minister Zhou isn't eliminated, we'll certainly die," Xu Qi'an said gravely.

The little tot's happy laughter interrupted their conversation. She poked her head through the curtain and excitedly took in the countryside scenery.

Xu Lingyin had thought all along that she had come out to have fun.

Xu Qi'an found her annoying. Pointing at the distant outline of Cloud Deer Academy's buildings, he said, "Do you know what that place is?"

"No, Eldest Brother." Xu Lingyin giggled, her round face like an apple.

"That's Second Brother's academy," Xu Qi'an said.

The word "academy" put Xu Lingyin on her guard. She looked at Eldest Brother.

Xu Qi'an nodded. "We're going to send you there to study, and you won't be allowed to come home anymore."

The smile gradually vanished from Xu Lingyin's little face, and she stared blankly at Eldest Brother.

She silently withdrew into the carriage. A few seconds later, the sound of wailing came from inside.

"Mother, I don't want to go to the academy! I don't want to study! Waaaah!"

"You're so noisy. Your eldest brother was lying to you."

"Why did Eldest Brother lie to me?"

"Because he's a bastard."

And just like that, Xu Qi'an's mood improved.

After arriving at the foot of the mountain, they climbed the steps. Xu Qi'an and Xu Cijiu went to visit Zhang Shen, but the one who received them was the great scholar Li Mubai.

"Where is my teacher?" Xu Cijiu asked.

"He's in seclusion." Li Mubai glanced at Xu Qi'an without betraying any emotion. "I've already had someone prepare a courtyard for you."

Xu Cijiu cupped his hands in thanks, then added, "My younger sister is at the age to begin her education. Would you allow her to study at the academy for a while, sir?"

The request was not excessive. If Xu Lingyue wanted to study, the academy would certainly refuse, but Xu Lingyin was a five-year-old child. In this era, scholars did not object to teaching young children the basics; they even encouraged it.

It was simply that children from ordinary families could not afford an education.

Li Mubai nodded his agreement.

Two days passed in a hurry. On this morning, Xu Cijiu, who had been busy socializing with his classmates, Second Uncle Xu, who had been gathering news, and Xu Qi'an, who had gone three days without listening to songs at the pleasure quarters, gathered in the study.

Lü'e had gone along to Cloud Deer Academy, and none of the three grown men was willing to serve tea or pour water.

For the first time, they pooled the information each had gathered, intending to devise a plan to deal with Zhou Li.