Madam Ma sighed and said, "What could Mother possibly mean? We owed Xu Di a great debt of gratitude back then. His family asked us to help send them to their home in the capital. If we didn't do our best to help, wouldn't that be ungrateful?"

The boy, who was in his early teens, was Ma Pingting's younger brother, Ma Junchi. Although he was young, he was already helping his mother with the affairs of the gang.

Ma Junchi thought for a moment and said, “Mother, although you have always said that you do not associate with officials in the court, Xu Di is no longer a commoner. It is impossible for us not to associate with him. In that case, I want to take some people to Linqing, meet up with my sister, and then escort the Xu family to the capital together.”

After hearing his words, Madam Ma sighed and said, "Chi'er, your father and I never expected that Xu Di would be a member of a marquis's family, let alone that he would become the top scholar in the imperial examination. Our family owes him a huge favor. I really had no other choice but to break the rules of the gang and get involved in these matters."

Seeing her son looking at her intently, Madam Ma pulled him to sit down and slowly analyzed, "Chi'er, Xu Di is now an official of the imperial court, and he comes from a marquis's family. Think carefully, why would he send a child to the marquis's family in the capital at such a young age? Moreover, he was attacked several times along the way. Do you think those who attacked him were ordinary people?"

Ma Junchi frowned and pondered for a long time, then sighed and said, "Mother, neither you nor Father wanted our gang to get involved in the court's struggles. In fact, ever since Xu Di saved you and Father, we have inevitably been involved."