Orondai looks so annoying, he deserves a beating.

Tong Ruita couldn't hold back any longer, so she stood up, lifted him off his seat, and clenched her fists, ready to punch him.

"Stop it! You've already hit me once, that's enough. Hitting me again is really going too far!" Orondai shouted hurriedly with his eyes closed.

He didn't even have the will to resist, since he couldn't beat them anyway.

Tong Ruita let go of his hand and pulled him back to his original position.

"I won't hit you. I just wanted to tell you that you should spend some time with your uncle in the hot springs, or take a bath together," Tong Ruita said.

"Huh? What are you going to do? It's not a good look for two grown men to be so naked in front of each other," Orondai said, scratching his head, embarrassed.

Tong Ruita looked at him as if he were an idiot: "My older brother is right, we can't play with idiots, or I'll become even sillier."

"Pah, Tong Xiaoba, you've gone too far!" Orondai shouted, referring to Tong Ruita's birth order.

Tong Ruita wasn't intimidated by him: "I'm just showing you how many injuries your uncle has suffered. How many times he almost lost his life on the battlefield. If it weren't for good luck, you would have lost your father long ago. Children without fathers are the most pitiful. Look at you, you can't even support the family. The Tong family will be ruined in your hands. You can eat and drink well, but your son may only be able to eat pickled vegetables and drink porridge in the future."

If he hadn't known that Tong Ruita meant no harm and was only trying to help him, Orondai's explosive temper would have exploded again.

"I won't talk about my father anymore. I haven't had a good argument with him for over a month. We're always getting along well when we meet. Don't have too high expectations. I don't cause trouble now, and Yuanbao even wrote to praise me as a good older brother," Orondai said proudly.

He had been longing for his little sister for over a decade, but he had never seen her since she was a child, which broke his heart.

Tong Ruita bit into a piece of lamb leg, as if she were biting off a piece of meat from Orondai's body.

"Xiao Yan embroidered purses for me, have you ever done that? Xiao Yan made pastries for me, have you ever done that? I took Xiao Yan horseback riding, tree climbing, and picking dates from the neighbor's house, have you ever done that? You've never done any of those things, you've never even heard her call you 'brother.' Do you think I would envy you?" Tong Ruita said angrily.

Orondai raised his head and grinned slyly: "You're just jealous. Otherwise, why would there be such a sour smell in this tavern? Let's not talk about the past. I'll make Yuanbao like me, his older brother, even more in the future. So what if he's bullying others? I'll make sure Yuanbao can bully others with my help too."

Tong Ruita pouted and ignored him.

"Hey, what's with that pout? Don't you believe me? I'm Tong Guogang's son. My brother is so capable, how could I be any less?" Orondai almost brought up Fahai as an excuse.

If it weren't for his deep-seated hatred for his half-brother Fahai, he wouldn't have brought up the fact that Fahai passed the imperial examination at a young age.

It is well known that the Manchu people's literary talent was inferior to that of the Han people, a fact deeply ingrained in the minds of people from all walks of life, both Manchu and Han.

Everyone tacitly agreed that the imperial examination system was a domain dominated by the Han people.

If even one Manchu managed to pass the imperial examination and become a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), they would be so proud of it that they would announce it to the whole world with great fanfare.

Moreover, Fahai is a nobleman's son, still young, and with a promising future.

Orondai's thoughts were written all over his face, and Tong Ruita could tell at a glance what he wanted to say.

“Your brother is your brother, not you. Just like my older brother is very resourceful, while I am brave but reckless. It’s normal for brothers in a family to each have their own strengths. Some are good and bad. You’re over thirty years old, and your son is about the same age as me. How dare you say that?” Tong Ruita spoke too bluntly, and Orondai felt that he could no longer be friends with him.

"Let's talk about what kind of girl you're looking for. Before, Yuanbao'er was your sister, so it was easier for you to find a wife from a good family. Now that Yuanbao'er has been taken back by my family, you only have an empty viscount title, making it difficult for those noble families to take a liking to you." These words of Orondai were spoken by Tong Guogang and his wife, and then reached his ears.

Tong Ruita chewed on the meat and thought it tasted really good. He wondered if he could pack it up and take it back for his father, mother, older brother, and sister-in-law to try.

“Eldest cousin, don’t think about it. I’m different from you. I don’t care about the status of my wife. Actually, I don’t care whether I marry a wife or have children. At worst, I can adopt one from my eldest brother or from other relatives. I have a fiery temper and I always fight to the death on the battlefield. If I really delay a good family’s daughter, I’ll feel bad,” Tong Ruita said.

Orondai gave Tong Ruita a thumbs up: "I admire you, brother. But don't let your third uncle and aunt hear what you just said, or they'll definitely beat you to a pulp."

Tong Ruita said, "I'm not stupid, I won't tell everyone everything."

"Am I not an outsider?" Orondai asked excitedly.

Tong Ruita remained silent for a moment before honestly replying, "Big cousin, if you tell my father, they won't believe you. They'll just think you're making up these false accusations to get revenge for the time I beat you up."

"You!" Orondai stared wide-eyed, speechless. This kid was just too damn annoying.

He's far from being useless; he's quite petty and cunning.

Tong Ruita chuckled, "Big cousin, I told my mother and sister-in-law before that the wife they choose should be generous and decent, from a good family, and preferably someone who can help Xiao Yan. They know what's going on, so they won't believe what you say."

Every time Tong Ruita mentions Tong Wanyan, Orondai loses his strength.

What could he say, that his third uncle's family doted on his younger sister too much?

"So now that you know Yuanbao can rely on our family, you don't care about family background anymore?" Orondai asked.

Tong Ruita turned his head to look out the window. Suddenly, he put down the wine bottle in his hand, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, and carefully wiped his cheeks.

"Big cousin, do I still look presentable now?" Tong Ruita asked solemnly.

Orondai looked him up and down: "Not bad, a dignified young man."

"I've found my wife." Tong Ruita stared blankly out the window and chuckled sheepishly.

Before Orondai could react, he got up and ran downstairs.

Orondai curiously peeked outside. There were only two or three passersby, all of them grown men, and no young women.

He said to the waiter waiting at the door, "Put it all on my tab. If there's any wine I haven't drunk, save it for me so I can drink it next time."

The waiter replied briskly, "Hey, take care, Uncle Tong."

There was only one path leading downstairs from the tavern; there were no back doors or anything like that.

Orondai hurried downstairs, just about to go out to find Tong Ruita to keep an eye on things and prevent the silly boy from being fooled by someone with ulterior motives.

Unexpectedly, I ran into Tong Ruita with a silly grin on her face at the door.

That laugh was genuinely foolish; it wasn't a malicious slander born of resentment.