Chiu Chiu has been put in solitary confinement yet again.

Inside the house, Fatty Tuantuan was sulking with his back to everyone, while outside, Yun Jinglan and the skinny little monkey were staring at each other.

Yun Jinglan blinked her sore eyes and silently looked away, thinking to herself that the monkey's eyes were really big.

"You said your sister insisted on bringing this back?"

"Um."

Su Xiucheng was helpless. How could he, as the fourth brother who had no status in the family, decide what his younger sister wanted to do?

"It's just a monkey. If you like it, you can keep it. Besides, it's the monkey that saved Qiuqiu's life, unlike ordinary little monkeys outside."

Yun Jinglan naturally knew that the little monkey was different from the monkeys outside, but other girls kept cats and dogs, and Qiuqiu had a monkey hanging on her shoulder when she went out... It all seemed very strange!

"Chi~"

The little monkey, covered in wounds, keenly sensed that its mistress didn't seem to like it much, and shrank back weakly to minimize its presence. Seeing Yun Jinglan looking over, it instinctively cupped its hands in a gesture of obsequiousness.

"Sigh... Never mind. It's not like we can't afford to raise him at home. Qiuyue, arrange for someone to take care of the little monkey and heal his injuries."

If you're going to raise one, raise it properly.

The little monkey, quite intelligently, bowed to Yun Jinglan. Yun Jinglan chuckled softly and pointed at it with her finger: "It really is quite clever. I'll have Qiuqiu give it a name later; it'll be a way of recognizing its master."

The little monkey scratched its head, wanting to pounce on Yun Jinglan, but then looked at its paws and withdrew them. Its fluffy little head tilted, and it chirped, "Chirp chirp~"

"This obedience is somewhat similar to that of Chuchu."

Su Xiucheng didn't dare to make a sound. What part of Qiuqiu's body could possibly be related to the word "well-behaved"? She was the most disobedient person in the whole family!

Kneel down!

"Thump!"

"I didn't mention you."

The little monkey looked left and right, and seeing no danger, it stood up again. It crouched down and watched Yun Jinglan warily until Qiu Yue came forward to shoo it away, at which point it moved to another spot to sit.

Qiuyue found it amusing and waved her embroidered handkerchief to tease it: "It really is a monkey with a lot of intelligence, but this poor little thing's intelligence was probably developed through being beaten. Luckily, it met our young lady, so it won't have to live such a hard life anymore."

"Yes, monkeys have a kind of intelligence, but humans don't. They're still standing there."

Yun Jinglan's eyes were icy cold, which sent a chill down Su Xiucheng's spine. He knelt down in front of her with a thud, "Mother, your son was wrong."

"What's wrong?"

He tentatively asked, "Shouldn't we have taken Chiu Chiu out?"

"wrong!"

Yun Jinglan wasn't angry that he secretly took Qiuqiu out; if Qiuqiu didn't want to, no one could take her away. Perhaps the little one had instigated it too.

With the autumn imperial examinations approaching, he showed absolutely no sense of urgency. Of her several children, this fourth one was the most troublesome for her. He wasn't stupid, but he wasn't particularly bright either.

"Don't you feel any sense of crisis at all?"

Su Xiucheng honestly shook his head; he couldn't tell even a single lie like that.

"Mother, your son is stupid and has no talent for studying. I'm too lazy to practice martial arts. I'm neither good at literature nor martial arts. To be honest, your son doesn't even know what he's good for."

Su Xiucheng stared intently into his mother's eyes as she recounted his situation.

If he were to slack off normally, I could scold him for being unambitious, but he completes his homework on time and hasn't done anything out of line in class. Yun Jinglan no longer has the drive she had a few years ago and now adopts a more relaxed, Buddhist-like approach to raising her child.

"So, is there anything you like to do?"

Su Xiucheng's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed again. Yun Jinglan knew he must have something he liked.

It's good for people to have ideals.

Yun Jinglan encouraged him to speak up boldly.

"People are happy when they have dreams and strive to achieve them. Look at Chiu Chiu, she dreams of being a little salted fish, and isn't she happy now?"

Su Xiuchang agreed wholeheartedly, and with his mother's encouraging gaze in his eyes, he decided to take a bold step!

"Mom, look, even Qiuqiu can keep monkeys as pets. What do you think about me keeping two bamboo vipers at home? Those things are poisonous! And brown-tailed scorpions, centipedes... Mom, what do you think?"

Yun Jinglan's face darkened as she tried to quell her anger. The child was her own; killing him would be her loss.

But I feel like I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't beat her up.

How can you afford to lose money like this!

Seeing that things were not going well, Qiu Yue picked up the little monkey and left, while the silly child Su Xiucheng was still waiting for his mother's answer.

Unfortunately, he still doesn't know what awaits him...

"Get inside and kneel down with me!"

Keeping snakes and scorpions?

I'm not even going to keep him anymore tomorrow!

Su Xiucheng stood dejectedly next to Qiuqiu, kneeling while Qiuqiu lay down.

"I really envy your leisurely life."

Chiu Chiu lay on her back on the bed. It was called solitary confinement, but it was really just a change of scenery to continue sleeping. They even thoughtfully wrapped a blanket around her to prevent her from falling off.

Upon hearing her fourth brother's sorrowful tone, Qiuqiu rolled over and lay on the bed, furtively observing his expression from below.

“ge?”

How can I tell him that all roads lead to the capital, and that having quirky hobbies is perfectly acceptable?

Chiu Chiu didn't know how to express her thoughts, so she could only try to make funny faces at her fourth brother to make him laugh.

Since she already has an older brother who's into human body parts, it doesn't seem like a big deal to have a fourth brother who's into poisons.

Chirp chirped and made faces, sticking out its tongue repeatedly, "Gurgle gurgle~ Hey! Pfft!"

The saliva bubbles burst open, but instead of making Su Xiucheng laugh, it made her laugh uncontrollably.

Su Xiucheng covered Qiuqiu's face with his hand and chuckled softly, "So ugly."

Chiu Chiu: "?"

You're so toxic, so toxic, so incredibly toxic!

Chiu Chiu flew into a rage and pounced on her wicked fourth brother, wanting to give him a good beating. But before she could straighten up, Su Xiucheng pulled her into his arms. "Chiu Chiu, what do you think about me taking a different route?"

"Huh?"

Chiu Chiu froze, not understanding what "taking another route" meant. She had a bad feeling…

Su Xiucheng, who wanted to hear his sister's thoughts for guidance, was secretly delighted when he didn't hear them. Silence is the best silence!

"Chirp, you're the best baby in the world!"

Su Xiucheng kissed her three times in excitement, his mind now unwavering in his determination to do what he wanted. He ran out without even putting on his shoes.

"I know what I need to do!"

"I see!"

Chiu Chiu wiped the drool off her face in disgust, her expression blank. What did Fourth Brother find out?

My brother is so weird!

Su Xiucheng ran all the way to his mother's room, bursting in without even saying hello. "Mom! I know what I have to do!"

Su Junyao slowly withdrew his outstretched hand, looking speechlessly at his youngest son who was howling at the door: "I think you should do something now so I won't beat you up."

Having too many children is not good; it means you won't even have the chance to be close to your wife.

Yun Jinglan moved to a spot further away from the father and son. "Tell me," she said, "whether you want a tiger or a lion."