She had no intention of staying to watch the show; whatever happened to Qi Huaiyu afterward was none of her business.

Xin Jiuwei made an excuse that she had something to do at home and left with Xin Yunzhou.

Some people, eager for drama, exclaimed, "Hey, why did Miss Xin leave like that? Brother Qi is still here."

Qi Huaiyu smiled and said, "It's alright. With Jiuwei not here, we can have a good chat."

“Exactly.” Young Master Xie crossed his legs. “What’s so special about Miss Xin? She’s not even a fraction as good as Miss Xue.”

Xue Yingxue smiled modestly, "How could Yingxue compare herself to a noble lady?"

So everyone started praising Xue Yingxue, and Xin Jiuwei, who had already left her seat, was inevitably compared to and belittled.

Qi Huaiyu did not stop them, and the group of people on the painted boat ate, drank, and chatted until it got dark.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill and were about to leave, Qi Huaiyu was stopped by the manager of the pleasure boat.

"Young Master Qi, here is today's account."

Qi Huaiyu didn't even look at it, and waved his hand, "Put it on the tab and send it to the Xin residence."

The steward looked troubled. "Well, Miss Xin instructed us before she left that today's bill would not be settled by the Xin family."

Qi Huaiyu's face immediately turned ugly, and he forced a smile and said, "Then put it on my tab."

"I'm sorry, Young Master Qi," the manager said, "Our shop has never had the precedent of charging you a balance, so today we can only settle the payment in cash."

Seeing that Qi Huaiyu remained silent, he kindly suggested, "Could we get married to another young master?"

The group of people who were about to leave heard their conversation. "Brother Qi, what's wrong?"

Qi Huaiyu had already made a boast, and if he lets others make the deal now, even if they don't say anything on the surface, they will still have something to laugh at him in the future.

He was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to bite the bullet and call Xunmo, "Go to my house and get some silver notes."

Xunmo obeyed and went, but in his heart he thought, "Can a small courtyard really be considered a house?"

Qi Huaiyu had been living and eating at the Xin residence, and these silver notes were all saved up by him through various opportunities. They seemed quite a lot, but to cover the expenses of these young masters today, they had practically skinned him alive.

But he couldn't show it on his face. He gritted his teeth and paid the bill, his heart practically bleeding.

Xin Jiuwei tricked me again!

Meanwhile, Xin Jiuwei had no time to pay attention to Qi Huaiyu.

She managed to pull Xin Yunzhou out of today's turmoil, and now, as the two siblings sat in the carriage on their way back, a belated anger rose in their hearts.

"Brother, didn't I tell you not to change your treasures so easily? You'll cause trouble without even realizing it!"

Xin Yunzhou also felt guilty and said stubbornly, "It's all Qi Huaiyu's fault. He praised this thing to the skies but didn't mention its origin."

"This is what happens when you never read!" Xin Jiuwei said angrily. "If you had read a few more articles and been more careful, would you have fallen for his tricks?"

“What does this have to do with reading?” Xin Yunzhou said. “Qi Huaiyu’s heart is blacker than ink, how was I supposed to know I would be fooled?”

Xin Jiuwei was furious. She knew her brother was stubborn, but sometimes he was just too stupid!

"Then you should at least listen to me! You clearly promised me that day, but it turns out you were just going through the motions!"

Seeing that her face was red with anger, Xin Yunzhou could only quickly soften his tone, "Good sister, don't be angry, I promise I won't dare to do it again."

In truth, Xin Jiuwei was more anxious than anything else. Her father would be returning home in a few days, and she would have to put in a lot of effort to undermine his trust in Qi Huaiyu. She also couldn't keep an eye on Xin Yunzhou all the time. If her brother continued to disobey her, how could she avoid the fate of her past life?

Xin Jiuwei closed her eyes and sighed helplessly.

Xin Yunzhou didn't dare to breathe loudly, thinking about how to shamelessly make his sister laugh.

Xin Jiuwei knew that her brother wasn't a bad person at heart; he was just as naive as she used to be.

He is a passionate person and needs proper guidance, such as that great Confucian scholar from a previous life.

Judging by the time, it should be time for the other party to come to Yingzhou.

Thinking of this, Xin Jiuwei opened her eyes and stared at Xin Yunzhou.

"Sister, don't look at me like that." Xin Yunzhou shrank back. "It's kind of scary."

Xin Jiuwei sighed again, "Brother, do you know Mr. Ye Qingzheng?"

Xin Yunzhou was, after all, still somewhat of a scholar. "This, I... I recognize it, don't I?"

"Although Mr. Ye is now dressed in plain clothes, he has countless students, and many important officials in the court were once his students," Xin Jiuwei said slowly. "Mr. Ye's ancestral home is in Yingzhou, and he has some connection with our Xin family."

"My father had heard that Mr. Ye wanted to return to Yingzhou to spend his later years in peace, so he personally sent someone to pick him up. He will arrive soon."

Seeing Xin Yunzhou's lack of interest, Xin Jiuwei not only sped up her speech.

“Brother, Mr. Ye is getting old. Do you know how much effort Father went through to persuade him to take Xin’s son as his student?”

"Being able to learn from the teacher, even for only two or three days, would be a miracle cure for you."

Xin Jiuwei looked at Qi Huaiyu earnestly, "Brother, don't you want to grow up quickly and take on the responsibility of our Xin family?"

Xin Yunzhou murmured, "My father said I'm useless, what can I shoulder?"

“Can’t you have some backbone and make your father look at you with new eyes?” Xin Jiuwei said. “If you are so disheartened, not only your father, but I will also look down on you.”

“That gentleman is a great Confucian scholar of our time, and he would never think highly of me.” Xin Yunzhou still looked dejected.

Xin Jiuwei sighed helplessly, "A great scholar is a great scholar, how could he hold prejudices like ordinary people? Can't you let him see your strengths?"

Xin Yunzhou laughed: "I didn't even know I had any advantages."

Xin Jiuwei was almost amused by his nonchalant attitude, and could only say, "When you were little, you protected me, weren't you like a great hero? If you continue to be so self-destructive, what will happen to the Xin family? What will happen to me? Could it be..."

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