Xu Di's mother had taken a liking to the Li family's daughter, and he found it unbelievable that a little girl who was not even ten years old would be engaged to him.

But many people are like this. Xu Di felt he couldn't escape the common practice. He trusted his mother's judgment. Since his mother said the Li family girl was a good girl, there must be a reason why she was good. Xu Di got engaged to the Li family girl without much thought. Later, his mother personally taught the girl, training her according to the standards of a Xu family daughter-in-law, striving to train her future wife to be able to take on important responsibilities as soon as she took office.

Before they knew it, six or seven years had passed since their engagement. Although Xu Di was not yet twenty, after considering various factors, he decided to get married. Thinking that he was about to get married, he was actually quite excited.

Xu Di was thinking about what else to send to his wife. Over the years, he had worn a lot of clothes and shoes made by his wife, and he had also sent a lot of jewelry and fabrics that girls liked to Hexi.

Thinking of the book "Illustrated Gazetteer of the Nine Provinces" that he had just finished reading, Xu Di went back and wrote a letter. He then sent the book and the letter to the escort agency along with Zhang Zhaoci's annual gifts.

The young master was hurriedly brought back from outside and went directly to the old lady's courtyard. No one in the manor knew what the old lady said to the young master. From that day on, the young master stayed at home, claiming to be ill and refusing to see any guests.

When Xu Di heard that the Crown Prince was closing his doors to visitors, he felt that this was probably the best strategy the Crown Prince could take at this stage. The Crown Prince knew his own temperament and personality. Since he had already revealed some clues under the probing of those with ulterior motives, he simply decided not to go out. After the New Year, he would find an excuse to stay at the estate in the suburbs and not return. He would say that he was going to the south to handle some matters of the manor. In any case, the Crown Prince did not hold any official position at present. He did not need to attend court or report for duty. He was a free man.

When the Marquis learned of his son's actions, he could only shake his head and sigh. This was the only method his son could come up with. The method was ineffective, but it worked. Several invitations were sent to the son from outside the manor, but they were all turned away by the gatekeeper. As time went on, no one thought about finding a breakthrough through the son anymore.

Actually, this was somewhat like burying one's head in the sand, but the young master really had no other tricks up his sleeve. The old lady told him all the secrets of the manor and carefully analyzed the current predicament the manor was facing. If any of these things were not handled properly, the manor would fall into an abyss of no return.

The young prince had lived in a comfortable environment since childhood. In his nearly forty years of life, the darkest time was when he was forced by his uncle to take the imperial examination. But now, he was truly facing life and death. Most importantly, he was also the breakthrough point for those with ulterior motives. That night, when the young prince returned to his own courtyard from the old lady's courtyard in a daze, his face was very pale. Ning Shi was so frightened that she quickly helped him up. With Ning Shi's help, the young prince drank two cups of hot tea before he calmed down.

The couple closed the door, and the young master told Ning Shi what the old lady had just told him. Ning Shi was shocked and frightened when she heard it, and whispered, "Young master, these things in our mansion are things that could cause a huge uproar and get involved with the royal family."

The prince said, "Yinlan, this matter ends with you. Do not reveal it to anyone else. The princes are not making any moves on the surface, but they are constantly making small moves in secret. If any prince gets hold of something, our manor will be doomed."

The old lady didn't mention Zhang Yuyuan's matter, but only talked about Aunt Zhu's matter. The Marquis's mansion had plenty of money, and in many people's eyes, they were like fat sheep on a chopping board, and they could be slaughtered if things went wrong.

Ning said, "I was wondering why my third brother looked like his uncle. Turns out he's my nephew. Young Master, is Mother aware of this?"

The prince said, "Grandmother repeatedly instructed that Mother must not know. Although Sister Shao has no official status in the royal family, judging from the Emperor's and the elders of the Xiao family, she is the bloodline left by the late Crown Prince. Since we are fine, Sister Shao is fine too. If Mother finds out, this matter will be impossible to cover up. You should also be careful and make sure Mother doesn't find out."

Ning nodded repeatedly, saying, "So that's why Grandmother takes such good care of my third brother's family. There's such a reason behind it all."

The prince said, "Now that I think about it, my brain really isn't up to par. Starting tomorrow, I will stay home and pretend to be sick, shut myself in and study hard. My third brother studied hard for the imperial examinations at home, and later in Ganzhou he risked his life for his future. Yinlan, I feel that I can't continue like this any longer."

Ning Shi was surprised that a man nearing forty years old would suddenly become so ambitious. Since the young master had such a drive, she naturally couldn't stop him. She said, "Alright, whatever the young master wants is fine. Just tell me what you need or what you need, and I'll prepare it for you."

The Crown Prince said, "Move the books from my study to this room. I will start reading from tomorrow. I also need to get on the schoolwork of the children. They can't learn anything without hard work. Without good skills, they will only be bullied by others. As for my third brother's children, we don't need to talk about Di'er. I heard that Bai'er is studying literature and martial arts with his cousins ​​at his uncle's house. The children's schoolwork needs to be started from a young age."