Auntie was angry, her beautiful face covered in frost and unappeasable.

Uncle Xu complained, "Ning Yan, it would be much better if you had money to support the family instead of buying these flashy but useless things."

He planned to diss his nephew and gain his wife's approval to ease her anger.

Xu Lingyue said lightly, "We don't lack food and clothing at home. Besides, big brother's salary is included in father's meals."

Uncle Xu was choked by his daughter's words and changed the subject again. "Where did you get the money, Ning Yan?"

Xu Qian replied, "I thought my sister's jewelry was too cheap-looking, so I remembered it and saved some money by living frugally. I also played half-priced riddle games at Treasure Pavilion..."

He couldn't say that the jewelry was obtained for free, or he would end up like Xu Cijiu, socially dead.

Xu Lingyue's hand holding the bowl trembled slightly, and her heart softened. She gazed at Xu Qian with watery, bright eyes.

In this family, only big brother cared about her. Father and second brother never thought there was anything wrong with her wearing cheap jewelry.

Appearance is important for women.

"Big brother, do I look good?" She inserted the golden hairpin into her hair, and the candlelight reflected her delicate and beautiful face, with bright eyes and a sweet fragrance.

Auntie became even more sour.

Xu Qian also felt sour. He looked at Xu Erlang on his left, who was wearing a dark blue robe, had beautiful long black hair tied up with a green jade hairpin, and had red lips and white teeth, handsome and unparalleled.

Then he looked at his sister, who was shining with the golden hairpin, and his plump and beautiful auntie. Everyone in the family was kissed by angels, but why was he so ordinary?

When he saw the little bean sprout with facial features resembling Uncle Xu, he no longer felt sour.

"Here, Lingyue, eat some fatty meat." Xu Qian picked up a piece of fatty meat for her and a piece of lean meat for Xu Lingyue.

"Big brother is so kind."

"Big brother thinks you're the prettiest."

"Then why didn't big brother save me earlier?" The little bean sprout remembered that big brother not only didn't save her, but also laughed at her loudly.

"Only by enduring hardships can one become invincible. Only by suffering can one become the strongest in the world."

"Is there anyone who can become invincible without suffering?"

"Yes, in dreams."

...

When they finished eating, Auntie said lightly, "After the New Year, Ning Yan will be twenty years old."

"Hey, Auntie still remembers my age." Xu Qian said in surprise.

Auntie ignored him arrogantly and turned to Uncle Xu. "Master, we need to find a marriage for Ning Yan."

Xu Lingyue and Xu Xinnian both raised their heads and stared at their mother.

Xu Qian was the slowest to react and was incredulous. Did unlucky Auntie really care about his marriage? Would the sun rise from the west tomorrow?

Marriage was a very solemn matter. The Three Letters and Six Gifts and the Eight Lifts of the Bridal Sedan all required money.Aunt took a glance at her unlucky nephew and continued, "I think Lü E is a good match. She grew up in the mansion and has known Ning Yan since childhood."

And it won't cost anything... Aunt is really Aunt...

The charming Lü E let out a cry and blushed, feeling a bit at a loss.

Love that comes too quickly is like a tornado, leaving her dazed.

In her heart, she felt both shy and embarrassed, as well as a hint of joy.

Xu Lingyue looked at the dull and lifeless maidservant in front of her and felt unhappy. "Mother, don't make decisions for Big Brother's marriage. Let him discuss it with Second Uncle."

The implication was, do you not know your position in Big Brother's heart?

Aunt was jealous of her daughter and scolded, "Ning Yan and Lü E are both talented and beautiful. They know each other well. How can you, his sister, oppose it?"

Xu Qi'an was just about to express his opinion when he heard his little brother next to him speak up.

Xu Xinnian said, "Mother thinks that if Lü E marries Big Brother, it will save us from paying the bride price and give Big Brother a reason to move out."

One hit.

Aunt was angry. "You child, you never knew how to speak since you were young."

Xu's Second Uncle concluded, "Alright, you don't need to worry about this. If he doesn't enter the Qi-refining stage, Ning Yan won't get close to women."

Lü E looked disappointed, hanging her head.

Except for the lady she had served since childhood, it seemed that the whole family was against her marrying Big Brother.

...

After finishing dinner, Xu's Second Uncle went to the Imperial Guard, then went to the study to discuss tomorrow's matters with his nephew and son.

Returning to his room, he saw his wife sitting on the bed, looking angry.

"Do you have to be so angry, still?" Xu's Second Uncle said helplessly.

Aunt turned her head and stared with beautiful eyes. "That brat of yours has no conscience. When I took him from your hands, he was still as small as a kitten. Who raised him to be this big?"

"You always get angry at me. Why raise him if you're just going to feed him to the rats?"

As she was complaining, she suddenly saw her husband take out a wooden box from his pocket and hand it to her. The box was engraved with the words "Treasure Pavilion."

Her rosy lips opened in surprise and she looked at her husband in disbelief.

"Ning Yan asked me to give it to you," Xu's Second Uncle said helplessly. "Since neither of you is willing to back down, he didn't want to give it to you himself. That's why he didn't take it out at the table just now."

Aunt anxiously opened the box to reveal a gold hairpin that was heavier and more exquisitely crafted than her daughter's.

She held it in her hand and took small steps to the bronze mirror, sitting at the dressing table and putting it on.

An oval face would make a woman look dignified, especially after becoming a wife.

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A melon seed face, on the other hand, would be charming, but once she became a wife, she would be beautiful.

Aunt belonged to the latter.She happily stared at herself in the bronze mirror, humming lightly: "That little bastard still has some conscience."

Uncle Xu stood by the window on the other side of the room, solemnly gazing at the quiet courtyard outside, with a standard long sword of the Imperial Guards by his side.

...

The night passed without incident, and Uncle Xu and Xu Qi'an, who had been sleepless all night, were relieved.

Early in the morning, Xu Lingyue still wore a single garment, pushed open the window, and stretched her beautiful 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 over and do your hair."

"I know... you're so annoying."

Uncle Xu left the house at dawn, gathering the Imperial Guards under his command. Xu Qi'an went out to rent a carriage, while Xu Erlang stayed at home to command the servants to pack their luggage.

Around noon, two carriages and dozens of riders left the city gate and headed northwest towards the Yunlu Academy.

The carriage was not fast, and it took two hours to reach the foot of Qingyun Mountain.

The three men of the Xu family breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

"Are we being too cautious?" Uncle Xu frowned.

Xu Erlang, who was good at military strategy, said slowly, "If the people who followed Big Brother yesterday were really from the Zhou family, then they have missed two of the best opportunities to strike."

"But it's also possible that in the eyes of Zhou Shizhong, we are just ants that can be crushed at any time, and he is not in a hurry to deal with us. He has bigger troubles to deal with."

Underestimating the enemy is a major taboo in military strategy, but the premise is that the two sides are evenly matched or not so disparate.

Compared with the Zhou family, the Xu family is indeed not strong enough.

"But there is one thing we must face, and that is if we don't get rid of Zhou Shizhong, we are doomed to die." Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

Xiaodouding's happy laughter interrupted their conversation. She poked her head out of the curtain and excitedly looked at the scenery outside the city.

Xu Lingyin always thought that she was here to play.

Xu Qi'an found her annoying and pointed to the outline of the Yunlu Academy in the distance, saying, "Do you know what that place is?"

"I don't know, big brother." Xu Lingyin giggled, her round face like an apple.

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

The word "academy" made Xu Lingyin alert, and she looked at her big brother.

Xu Qi'an nodded, "We're going to send you to study there, and you're not allowed to come back home in the future."

The smile on Xu Lingyin's little face disappeared little by little, and she stared at her big brother in a daze.

She silently retreated into the carriage, and a few seconds later, there was a loud crying sound from inside.

"Mom, I don't want to go to the academy, I don't want to study, waaah..."

"You're making too much noise, your big brother is lying to you."

"Why is big brother lying to me?"

"Because he's a bastard."

So Xu Qi'an's mood became cheerful.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, they climbed the steps and visited Zhang Shen, but they were greeted by the great scholar Li Mubai."Where is our teacher?" Xu Cijiu asked.

"He's in seclusion," Li Mubai glanced at Xu Qi'an and replied calmly. "I have arranged the courtyard."

Xu Cijiu bowed in gratitude and asked, "May my younger sister study in the academy during her enlightenment stage?"

This request was not unreasonable. If it were Xu Lingyue who wanted to study, the academy would definitely refuse. However, Xu Lingyin was only five years old, and in this era, scholars did not exclude enlightening young children, even advocating for it.

It was just that ordinary families could not afford to send their children to study.

Li Mubai nodded in agreement.

...

Two days passed in a hurry. On this morning, Xu Cijiu, who was busy socializing with his classmates, Xu Ershu, who was gathering information, and Xu Qi'an, who had not visited the theater for three consecutive days, gathered in the study.

Lü E had already accompanied them to the Yunlu Academy. None of these three gentlemen wanted to do the menial tasks like making tea.

They compiled the information they had collected for the first time and planned to formulate a plan to deal with Zhou Li.