Li Ru was in the midst of dissing her nephew when the housekeeper announced the return of her husband. "If he's back, he's back. Am I supposed to stand at the gates and welcome him?"
The housekeeper nearly tripped over his feet when he entered the inner courtyard. "My lady, I saw blood on Lady Lingyin's body and Lady Lingyue looked as if she's been crying. The lords also seem upset. The eldest is also not back. Something must've happened."
A loud crashing noise was heard as something crashed from a great height. The commotion was followed by concerned voices. "My lady…"
"Get out of my way!" Li Ru lifted her dress and rushed to the front hall.
An anxiety-filled Li Ru burst into the front hall with tears pooling in her eyes. She was met with the sight of her husband carrying her unconscious youngest daughter—the tears threatened to spill down her face.
Xu Pingzhi spoke about the most salient point, "She's fine, she's just sleeping." He handed the girl over to his wife. "Bring her back to her room."
Li Ru hugged her youngest daughter. Then, her eyes roamed across her eldest daughter's figure. Once she was sure there were no injuries, she let out a sigh of relief but stayed her ground. "What happened?"
Tears started to fall from Xu Lingyue's eyes.
Xu Pingzhi huffed. He told his wife the whole story.
Li Ru scowled when she heard about the harassment by the evil nobleman. Hearing that Xu Lingyin was nearly trampled by the nobleman's horse, she tightened her grip around her youngest daughter.
The news about Xu Qian getting injured to save her daughters stunned her.
When they got to the part where he was brought to the Ministry of Justice, Li Ru clutched her husband's hand. Her face was pale as she stuttered, "Ningyan… He… He…"
Xu Pingzhi patted her hand and said reassuringly, "He's alright. He's out of jail and the case is considered closed for now."
Then, Xu Pingzhi continued saying, "If it weren't for Ningyan, Lingyue and Lingyin would have taken from us. I know he's a bit hot-headed but he has always been good to the family. If it were anyone else, do you think they'll step in and save our daughter?
"Ever since we took him in, you never liked him. You felt his martial arts lessons cost too much, that he was a burden to the family. You said he always talks back and never listens to you. But did you ever think about how it feels like to be him? To spend twenty years living under another person's roof. Do you think he enjoys it? He's bound to be sensitive.
"Women are shallow-minded. Pretty words are just words. Actions are what counts. Lingyue was bullied and Ningyan immediately rushed to her defense. We're lucky nothing bad happened. Will you really be fine if Ningyan never comes back?"
Her father's words touched Xu Lingyue and another round of tears came flowing down her face. She decided she would spend the rest of her life repaying her brother's kindness.
"I…" Li Ru sniffled and lowered her head in shame.
The sight of his stern mother crumbling in shame and regret made Xu Xinnian's heart ached.
Despite all the bad names his mother threw at Xu Qian—gold-eater, unlucky bastard—his brother still had a spot in her heart.
After all, they had lived together for almost 20 years.
Xu Pingzhi glanced at his son and sighed. "If your son were there instead, he'd probably be kidnapped by the nobleman."
'That was uncalled for,' Xu Xinnian thought.
…
After handing Xu Lingyin over to the maidservants and comforting Xu Lingyue, Li Ru returned to her part of the manor with a heavy heart.
She glanced at the maidservants who were rushing the winter clothing. "Lu Er, reduce one piece from the lord and Little Nian's wardrobe. When Ningyan returns, take his measurements.
Lu Er was surprised to hear those words. "Have you changed your mind, my lady?"
Li Ru let out a huff. "Am I that cruel of an aunt in your mind?"
All the maidservants had a collective thought. 'Yes, you are…'
…
Xu Qian left the Observatory and hailed a carriage. It took two hours to return to the Xu manor.
He heated up some water for a bath. While checking his body, he found the injury at his waist to be almost healed.
He rubbed some golden salve onto the injury and went back to his room. Inside, he rubbed the inkstone and proceeded to write down a few hundred characters of chemistry knowledge. As part of his usual routine, he began writing in his diary.
'16 November is a memorable day. I have finally decided to give up my dreams of being an ordinary, boring rich man. I need authority and power. I came up with some plans to achieve this:
'1. Change my discipline and join Confucianism. If I can please the two Confucian elders, I believe they will fully support my decision. It'll be better than stumbling blindly in my own discipline. Others who cross over the use poetry to play dumb where I'm using poetry to barter. Clearly, I'm in a class above.
'2. Work hard to get Lady Caiwei into my bed. With the support of the Principal Imperial Astronomer, I won't have to break my back to enjoy a good life.
'3. Sell the magic item I received to open my Heaven's Gate.
'The first idea brings back memories of my high school days, I don't think I'm cut out for studying. Also, I'm almost twenty, a bit late for a discipline change.
'The second idea means I'll have to give up other women. No trips to the playhouse. I think the sacrifice is too much.
'The third idea… Well, entering the Qi rank will not protect me from the Assistant Minister of Revenue. Without relevant connections, it'll be tough to walk down the path of a martial artist. Look at uncle, he's been stuck at maximum Qi state for nearly ten years.
'For now, I'll just hold on tight to my connections in the Imperial Astronomers and the White Deer Academy. I have a feeling the case of the missing tax money is not over yet.'
…
As evening came, Xu Qian jumped over the wall separating his residence and the Xu manor. It was dinnertime and he spotted Xu Lingyin in the courtyard. She was throwing punches in the air and grunting as she did so.
The little girl was dressed in a brown outfit that made her look like a glutinous rice dumpling. Her hair was tied up into a childish bun.
Xu Qian lightly tipped her balance. "What are you doing?"
The little girl lost her footing and fell.
Xu Lingyin crawled back up and planted her hands on her waist—her round tummy bulged under the tight robe. "I'm practicing martial arts." Unhappy with her brother's sneak attack, she called out, "Are you challenging me?"
After this morning's incident, the five-year-old must be traumatized. Hence, why she was practicing martial arts.
"Why yes, I am," Xu Qian said.
"Father said, people have to fight till their last breath, martial artists too. It's called dif…dig…"
"Dignity?"
"Yes!" Xu Lingyin nodded earnestly. Then, she squinted her eyes at her brother. "I challenge you to a fight!"
Her stubby legs went into motion as she charged at Xu Qian with fists hurling.
Xu Qian held her back with one hand on her head. Xu Lingyin continued shouting, limbs flailing hysterically to no avail.
Her face was scrunched up.
Bored with her shenanigans, Xu Qian said diplomatically, "I'll give you a drumstick if you surrender."
"Sure." Xu Lingyin stopped her thrashing and smiled.
"Where's your dignity?"
"What's dignity?"
"Smart."
Xu Qian held Xu Lingyin's hand and entered the hall. Soon, the dishes were served. The table was filled with an abundance of food as if it was a festive dinner.
The maidservants intentionally placed the best dishes before Xu Qian. He could not resist taking a look at his aunt's expression. She was in a dark-colored, floral-patterned dress. Her delicate countenance and long eyelashes made doe eyes stand out—she was a woman in full bloom.
Her demeanor was arrogant as ever, as if Xu Qian's actions were insignificant.
However, the maidservants would never spoil him without the lady's prior approval.
Xu Lingyue took small bites of her food as she gathered the courage to speak up, "Brother, Mother told the servants to make your winter clothes. Later, I will take your measurements. I… I wish to make one for you."
Xu Lingyue was dazzling. She had changed into a dress with lotus flowers embroidery, a yellow shawl with cloud patterns draped over her shoulders. She was only 16 years old but the outfit and her exquisite facial features made her look timeless.
Her brother's silence made Xu Lingyue shy. She lowered her head and mumbled, "Is… Is that okay?"
'Sisters of this period can make clothes for their brother, amazing. Unlike my cousin in my past life.' Xu Qian nodded and said, "Thank you."
A smile broke out on Xu Lingyue's face and she exchanged a glance with her mother.
Xu Qian turned away. "Uncle, brother, let's retire to the study when we're done with dinner. There's something I want to discuss."
…
Lu Er served the men their cups of tea before leaving the study.
Xu Qian took a sip of tea. He found himself missing the MSG-laden food from the future.
"What do you think of the incident this afternoon?" Xu Qian broached the topic.
Xu Pingzhi was confused. 'Isn't it over?'
Xu Xinnian frowned. "You mean to say Nobleman Zhou will try to exact revenge?"
It was unlikely the son of the Assistant Minister of Revenue would gracefully accept a defeat by a low-level official.
Xu Pingzhi waved away the notion. "No. The White Deer Academy elders and the Imperial Astronomers showed up in force today. I don't think the Zhou boy would dare to find trouble with you again."
His line of thinking was rational.
There were plenty of commoners for the nobleman to pick on but he chose the Xu family. When the imperial courts and politics were involved, one was advised to tread with caution.
It was something one heard growing up and the advice was echoed even in the county courts. Xu Qian remembered his father telling him to watch out for the high-ranking officials.
Xu Xinnian shook his head. "Brother must have his reasons for asking us this."
He turned to Xu Qian.
Xu Qian took a breath and said, "Today, I received news about the missing tax money case from the Imperial Astronomers. The mastermind behind the crime is Assistant Minister Zhou."