Seeing that they were talking lively and in a good mood, Xu Lanyin excused herself and told Aunt Yang and Aunt Qian to prepare some dishes. It was already getting late, so she asked Ding Gu to go to the restaurant and bring back a few large dishes. She also had some fine wine sent by the Fujian government.

At dinner, it was still the two little men, Xu Lanting and Zhao Xingchen, who accompanied the two big men, Minhu and Chai Jun.

Xu Lanting first gestured with his little hand, saying, "Brother Chai, Brother Min, please, please."

Zhao Xingchen also said, "Please."

Then, Zhao Xingchen picked up his small wooden spoon and began to eat. His small wooden spoon was specially made, with a longer handle than spoons of today and a curved shape, making it easy to hold and use. He first scooped a mouthful of vegetable into his mouth, then lowered his head to take a mouthful of rice. He accidentally dropped a fried quail egg on the table, but picked it up with his left hand and ate it.

If he wanted to eat a dish that was a little far away, he would point it and the waiter would help him put it in his bowl.

Chai Jun felt a little sad again. His son was not even four years old, but he could eat by himself.

He praised, "Little Star is so capable, he can even eat by himself."

Xu Lanting said, "Brother Chai, you don't know that Xiao Xingxing stayed in the beggars' den for a long time. If he didn't eat by himself, would the beggars still feed him? Xiao Xingxing not only eats by himself, but he eats faster than Jiajia and I. We can't even compete with him."

Zhao Xingchen pouted and said, "You have to grab it quickly and swallow it quickly, or they'll pick their mouths." He used his fingers to demonstrate the action of picking his mouth.

Zhao Xingchen didn't remember many things in the beggars' den, but he still remembered some of the scenes of being beaten and scalded, and having food taken from his mouth by the hungry little beggars.

Chai Jun's eyes were hot and he couldn't eat anymore. He either watched Zhao Xingchen eat or helped him pick up the dishes he liked.

His behavior made Xu Lanting alert again.

Seeing Xu Lanting's sinister look, in order to prevent him from getting suspicious, Chai Jun had to pick up some more food for Xu Lanting.

After the meal, not only Chai Jun was reluctant to leave, but Min Hu was also reluctant to leave. They listened to Min Jia teaching Zhao Xingchen to read with comic books.

Three children sat in a row on small stools, one teaching diligently, one learning diligently, and one commenting. For better lighting, Zhao Qi stood behind them, holding a sheep-horn lantern.

Min Jia's pronunciation was unclear, so Zhao Xingchen corrected her, "Sister Jia, we just said it this afternoon, and you're mispronouncing it again. It's 'niang', not 'liang'."

"Sister Jia mispronounced it again. It's 'seven', not 'chicken'."

"You pronounced it wrong too. It's 'chicken', not 'seven'."

"You all pronounced it wrong. It's 'eat'. Come, repeat after me, eat..."

The two studious babies followed and read aloud.

"chicken."

"seven."

…

Seeing how eager and diligent they were, Minhu and Chai Jun were delighted. In their own family, even family members were calculating, but in this family, they were not related by blood, yet they loved each other so much... Moreover, their daughter (son) was incredibly intelligent.

Chai Jun was happy to see his son, and Xu Lanyin whispered to him about Minhu Gu Wangchen, who was the one who reported the case and was also involved.

Minhu whispered, "Gu Wangchen has only recently entered the officialdom and holds a low position. On the surface, he has no connection with the Second and Third Princes. However, his wife's family seems to have some ties to the Third Prince. The Emperor has shown mercy and not included the Su family in the Third Prince's faction, but it will still be somewhat implicated."

Gu Wangchen actually pulled himself out, but the Su family got stuck in...

This is completely contrary to the book. After this, many developments will not overlap with the plot in the book.

Chai Jun smiled at Min Hu again and said, "Lord Min is young and promising, and is highly appreciated by the Emperor. Lord Xiao is in poor health, and some of his previous actions have greatly displeased the Emperor. If nothing unexpected happens, Lord Min will be promoted again. Not only in this dynasty, but even since the founding of our dynasty, Brother Min is the first person to become a third-rank civil official at the age of 26."

Minhu waved his hand and smiled, "Master Chai, it's too early to say that."

Xu Lanyin understood that after this case was over, Min Hu would likely be promoted to a third-rank official, a judicial inspector. He was truly young and promising. He smiled and said, "Then I would like to congratulate Lord Min in advance."

Minhu smiled and waved his hand again.

At the beginning of the Xu hour, Minhu and Chai Jun had to get up and leave no matter how reluctant they were.

When I arrived at the yard, the rain had stopped after a few days. The stars in the sky were densely packed, as if they had been cooped up indoors for a long time and had suddenly come out.

The stars are bright, illuminating the courtyard.

Minhu smiled at Xu Lanyin and said, "I just got back and I still have a lot of official business to attend to at the government office. I won't be taking Jiaer back for the time being."

Xu Lanyin nodded, while Min Jia laughed heartily. Zhao Xingchen, who was also afraid that Sister Jia would come home, jumped for joy upon hearing this.

Chai Jun clasped his fists towards Xu Lanyin and said, "Miss Xu, I'll have to trouble you for a while. I'll go back and sort out some things so that my family can have a peaceful and clean time."

After saying that, he bowed again, and Xu Lanyin returned the greeting by kneeling.

Under the starlight, the girl with graceful eyebrows and eyes was as beautiful as a painting, and her figure was as graceful as a flower. For some reason, another face flashed before Chai Jun's eyes: it was his second aunt Chai Qingyan in his memory.

So similar!

Chai Jun blinked. The girl in front of him was tall and her eyes were full of calm confidence. She was completely different from the petite and timid second aunt.

He thought he must be hallucinating because he was too shocked.

Chai Jun walked up to the three children again and said to Xu Lanting first, "I know you are a good uncle. You must continue to be good to Xiao Xingxing and Jiaer in the future."

Xu Lanting nodded and said, "I am the elder and have always been very caring towards them."

Chai Jun smiled and said to Min Jia, "You are a good sister. You must continue to be a good sister."

Min Jia felt that what Uncle Chai said was not entirely correct, so he corrected him, "It's not continue, it's forever."

Chai Jun nodded, then leaned over and said to Zhao Xingchen, "You are the youngest in this family. You must listen to your aunt and get along well with your uncle and sister Jia."

Zhao Xingchen was happy. Now he thought Uncle Chai was very kind. He said, "I have always done this."

Chai Jun smiled, his eyes glistening. He reached out and touched Zhao Xingchen's little tufts of hair, his chubby face, his little nose, and his chubby little mouth.

He felt his tears welling up, so he quickly stood up and walked out of the hanging flower gate. Min Hu followed him out.

Zhao Xingchen wondered, "Aunt, why did I see Uncle Chai crying? He's such a grown man, how shameful."

Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Why didn't I see it? You must have seen it wrong."

Zhao Xingchen said "Oh" and then said, "Uncle Chai is very nice. If he comes to visit us next time, I won't call him a 'beggar'."

The children went to bed.

Under candlelight, Xu Lanyin opened the brocade box Chai Jun had given her. Inside were a pair of crystal-clear white jade bracelets, two peacock hairpins inlaid with precious stones, and at the bottom were several silver bills. Xu Lanyin took them out and counted them; they totaled six thousand taels.