Chapter 286 Drive Away

Feng Lianhua was completely unaware of Xu Laosi's plans. She assumed that he was dissatisfied with her new home and didn't say anything for the time being. She was just thinking about persuading her son to move to a bigger house.

The couple walked around the house, inside and out, and then ordered the two servants around in circles.

One minute they'd make them go to a fancy restaurant to buy them delicious food, the next they'd make them boil water to serve them while they washed up, and then they'd make them kneel on the floor to wipe it.

If he was even slightly dissatisfied, he would loudly berate the two servants and threaten to sell them and buy two more diligent and capable slaves to serve him.

What does it mean for a petty person to gain power? This is it.

If someone who knows the couple well saw their current mean-spirited faces, they would probably be shocked out of their wits.

In the evening, when Xu Huaining returned home, he saw the two of them sitting comfortably in chairs, legs crossed, having someone massage their shoulders and legs.

Xu Huaining was completely unprepared for their arrival and stood frozen at the door, not coming in.

Feng Lianhua was the first to spot him, and immediately put on her shoes and greeted him with a beaming smile: "Huaining, Huaining, you're back!"

Not to be outdone, Xu Laosi also ran out quickly, his face full of pride and self-satisfaction: "Good son, you've become a high-ranking official. All my hard work over the years has paid off!"

Upon hearing the word "hard work," Xu Huaining suddenly laughed for some reason, a laugh tinged with irony.

Seeing this, the couple assumed he was just happy to see them, and their smiles brightened even more.

Immediately afterwards, the couple surrounded Xu Huaining and began to complain all at once:

“Huaining, your second uncle and your aunt are scoundrels. They spent a fortune to charter a boat to come to the capital, but they refused to take us with them. If you run into them one day, you must teach them a lesson.”

"Your teacher looks down on us, so he bought us boat tickets and arranged for a guard to escort us here. This guard is completely incompetent; he didn't even know the pirates had boarded the boat, which led to all our money being stolen."

"These two servants are dull-witted and have no sense of propriety. It's better to sell them off as soon as possible and replace them with some clever ones. Now that our parents are old, they also need maids to serve them. Please take the time to pick out a few good ones."

"..."

Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua felt that they had worked hard and made great contributions, and now that their suffering was over, it was time to enjoy their newfound happiness. So they naturally started making arrangements.

Upon hearing the last note, the last trace of a smile vanished from Xu Huaining's face.

The couple received no response, so they looked up at their son in bewilderment and saw his cold face, which immediately made them a little unhappy.

Old Xu, adopting the airs of a father, scolded, "Huaining, what's with that expression? It was one thing that you didn't come back to our hometown to bring us here to enjoy our retirement, but now that we've come looking for you, you're giving us the cold shoulder?"

Seeing this, Feng Lianhua felt a chill in her heart and cautiously tugged at her son's sleeve: "Huaining, are you... are you having some kind of trouble?"

She had noticed before that her son didn't seem to care much about their filial piety, and after being in the capital for more than half a year, he hadn't said a word to them.

If they weren't worried that he would abandon them and stay in the capital to live a comfortable life, they wouldn't have risked traveling thousands of miles from their hometown to come here.

Xu Huaining took a deep breath, waved for the two servants to leave, and closed the door before coldly speaking to the couple:

“Living in the capital is not easy. I am just a low-ranking official of the seventh rank, and my annual salary is less than fifty taels. I cannot provide a good life for my parents here. Once you have rested, I will arrange for you to return to Qingzhou.”

Old Xu's eyes widened in disbelief: "You...you want to kick us out? You won't take care of us in our old age?"

Feng Lianhua was filled with anxiety and uncertainty. She never expected that she would be sent back to her hometown by her son so soon after finding him.

If they go back, won't they be laughed at to death by the villagers?

Xu Huaining patiently explained, "It's not that I want to drive you away, it's that I can't afford to support you in the capital. As long as you go back to your hometown, I will send someone to deliver money to you every year, so that you won't be destitute in your old age."

The capital city was not a place for them to stay. Now that he was secretly working for Princess Shanmin, losing his official position was a minor matter, but the extermination of his entire clan was a major one. He could not let these two people stay.

Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua wouldn't listen to a word they heard; all they could think about was that their son, whom they had raised with such care, disliked them and was unwilling to support them in their old age.

"Good, good, you're such a good son I raised!"

Xu Laosi was filled with anger and, more than anything, heartbroken.

"We're both sons, but that cursed loner personally arranged for his father and his wife's grandparents to come to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury, while you want to send us back to our hometown! If I had known you were heartless, why would I have bothered scheming against you more than twenty years ago!"

If he hadn't schemed against his third brother's family back then, perhaps he would be enjoying a life of luxury in the capital today, thanks to Xu Jinnian, instead of having to put up with his own son's attitude.

Xu Jinnian wasn't here and didn't hear Xu Laosi's thoughts, otherwise he would have mercilessly retorted: "You're overthinking it."

The family of three had a big argument and parted on bad terms.

Just as Zhang Zhaodi finished making a bamboo horse, an invitation was delivered to Sheng An.

She opened it and saw that it was an invitation from the Duke of Chengen's mansion, inviting Xu Jinnian, the newly appointed third-ranked scholar, to attend the spring banquet held by the Duke of Chengen's mansion five days later.

Sheng An asked Xu Jinnian in bewilderment, "We have no dealings with the Duke of Chengen's mansion, so why would they suddenly invite you to the Spring Banquet?"

Xu Jinnian's eyes were deep. He took the invitation, glanced at it, and slowly closed it: "I don't know either. I'll go to the Marquis of Yongyi's residence to ask Song Er later."

Sheng An was somewhat uneasy and urged, "Let's go now."

Xu Jinnian sighed and patted her head: "Okay, I'll change my clothes and go."

Half a day passed before he returned, and it was almost noon.

Sheng An asked impatiently, "Have you found out?"

Xu Jinnian nodded and explained with a smile:

“The Chengen Duke’s Mansion holds a Spring Banquet every year. In years when there is a major examination, they will send out invitations to invite the newly appointed top three scholars to the banquet. This year is no exception.”

Upon hearing this, Sheng An felt relieved: "So that's how it is."

Seeing her relaxed expression, Xu Jinnian also breathed a sigh of relief.

What he didn't mention was that the Wei family of the Duke of Chengen's mansion was the maternal family of Princess Pingyuan, and the mother and daughter would attend the spring banquet every year.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. After having breakfast, Xu Jinnian rode his horse to the Marquis of Yongyi's residence and then went to the Duke of Chengen's residence with Song Zhihang.

Coincidentally, the two not only encountered the newly crowned runner-up at the entrance, but also Xu Huaining.

Song Zhihang made no attempt to hide his surprise and quietly asked Xu Jinnian, "Why is he here?"

Xu Jinnian concealed the deep thought in his eyes: "I don't know."

Song Zhihang stroked his chin, looked at Xu Huaining, then at Xu Jinnian, his gaze lingering on their strikingly similar faces.

As if struck by a sudden realization, a knowing glint flashed in his eyes, and his gaze toward Xu Huaining turned strange.

Unaware of what was happening, Xu Huaining stepped forward and greeted him, "Brother Song."

After a moment's hesitation, he cautiously whispered to Xu Jinnian, "Jinnian."

Xu Jinnian ignored him, dismounted, handed the horse to a servant of the Duke's mansion, and walked inside with Song Zhihang.

Xu Huaining clenched his fists, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.