Chapter 333 Reputation

Xu Sangui and others came to the capital specifically to collect the bodies of Xu Huaining and his son. The day before their execution, they brought food to visit the father and son in the death row.

The father and son never expected that the clan chief would arrange for someone to travel thousands of miles to the capital to bring their ashes back to their ancestral home.

Xu Huaining didn't show anything, but Xu Laosi burst into tears, crying even more bitterly than when his parents died.

If given the chance to do it all over again, he would never let his hands be stained with blood, nor would he scheme against anyone for his own selfish gain.

No matter how much he regrets it, there's no going back.

The next day, the father and son were taken to Caishikou along with other death row inmates.

Countless rotten vegetable leaves were thrown at him. Looking at the onlookers and listening to their accusations and scorn, Xu Huaining showed no emotion.

Xu Laosi, completely disregarding their past relationship, cursed him with the most vicious language imaginable:

"God is blind, letting me get a piece of trash like you who will bring disaster to the whole family! You are the jinx, anyone who gets close to you will have bad luck for eight lifetimes!"

If I had known you would get me killed, I should have strangled you back then, and I wouldn't be in this mess today!

"If there's an afterlife, I'll never want you as my son! When you get to the underworld, tell the King of Hell clearly that you don't want to be reborn as my son again. I can't afford it!"

Xu Huaining did not react at all, turning a deaf ear to Xu Laosi's curses.

He looked up at the sun hanging in the sky and vaguely remembered the day he passed the imperial examination; the sunlight was just as warm and dazzling then.

Unfortunately, a fake is still a fake.

If he hadn't been blinded by jealousy back then, hadn't taken shortcuts to climb up to Princess Shanmin, and hadn't cheated in the imperial examinations, would he still have had the chance to have a bright and promising future?

At noon, just as the guillotine fell, Xu Huaining closed his eyes, a relieved smile appearing on his lips…

Xu Sangui and his group arrived in a hurry and left in a hurry as well.

Before leaving, Sheng An asked Li Tian to buy them some durable food and gifts.

These things were insignificant to her, but very precious to Xu Sangui and the other two, who kept praising the couple all the way.

When they returned to the village, the three of them praised the couple repeatedly in front of the entire village.

They didn't keep the money they saved; they gave it all to the clan school to buy school supplies for the children.

Before the clan chief could send someone to the city to buy them, Shuqi followed Sheng'an's instructions and delivered a batch of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, enough for twenty or thirty children in the clan school to use for a quarter of the year.

The clan chief accepted the gift with tears in his eyes, thanked Shuqi profusely, and earnestly invited him to stay for dinner.

Shuqi politely declined, saying, "These were done at the behest of the master and mistress. As long as the younger generation of the clan makes progress, they will not have failed the master and mistress's good intentions."

The clan chief repeatedly agreed: "I will certainly urge the younger generation in the clan to take your elders as their role models."

After that, the clan chief became even stricter in disciplining the clan members, forbidding anyone from doing anything that would damage their reputation, and the overall atmosphere in Xujiaba improved.

This is exactly what Sheng'an wanted to see.

She was not short of money, and the clan chief was sensible, so he didn't mind spending a little money to gain a good reputation.

However, some families who were related to Xujiaba, upon learning that the Xu clan school was free to attend and that writing materials were provided free of charge, wanted to enroll their children in the school to learn to read and write.

These people didn't think their children were geniuses who could achieve the same success as Xu Jinnian and bring glory to their ancestors. They just wanted their children to learn a few words and find a job in the city to support their families, which was much easier and more lucrative than farming in the fields.

The clan chief refused such an obviously opportunistic act without hesitation, even when his own nephew came to him for help, he was unceremoniously driven away.

What a joke! He didn't open the Xu clan school, nor did he buy the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. How could he have the audacity to let people take advantage of the clan?

If he dares to open this door, I'm afraid that before next year, the most promising and precious child in the clan will cancel the support for the clan school.

Seeing his firm stance, the other clan elders were reluctant to give their relatives special treatment and drove away the relatives who came to ask for favors.

As Xu Jinnian had predicted, the little dumpling crawled all over the place for a while, and then one bright afternoon, she woke up and stood up shakily, leaning against the wall.

At the time, Sheng An was taking a nap and did not hear the noise her daughter made.

She was jolted awake by a tearing pain in her scalp, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was her chubby daughter's smiling face, revealing a few tiny teeth.

At first, Sheng An didn't react. Before she could even sit up, a chubby little foot stepped on her face.

"Stinky!"

Sheng An cried out, grabbing the little dumpling's chubby feet with one hand and protecting her small body with the other, excitedly hugging her tightly in her arms: "You really learned to stand up by yourself, you are such a good daughter of your mother!"

The little dumpling seemed to sense its mother's joy, nestled in her soft, fragrant arms, giggling and then uttering a clear yet indistinct word: "Ang—"

Sheng An was overjoyed, cupping her chubby daughter's face in her hands: "Zhuozhuo is calling for her mother, isn't she? Isn't she?"

The little dumpling opened its mouth again, looked at her, and made a "hoo" sound.

Now Sheng An was completely certain that the chubby girl was calling for her mother.

It's just that the pronunciation of "娘" is difficult for chubby girls nowadays, which is why it has become the strange "昂".

Sheng An couldn't wait to let everyone know that her daughter could call out, so she dressed her up and carried her to the three elders to share the good news.

At this point, the three elderly people, whose combined age was nearly two hundred, were no longer calm and began to vie with each other to call out to the little dumpling.

Unfortunately, the little dumpling can only bark, and can't say a single word about grandpa, great-grandpa, or great-grandma.

The three elderly people were not disappointed and began to guide her to stand up.

This new skill was not difficult for Naituanzi. With their careful help, she stood up again, shakily, which drew cheers from everyone, who praised Naituanzi highly.

When Xu Jinnian returned home in the evening, he witnessed his daughter's growth and hugged the little dumpling, kissing her again and again: "My daughter is so amazing!"

As Sheng An watched this heartwarming scene, a tenderness she herself was unaware of welled up in her eyes.

The next day, Xu Jinnian went to the Hanlin Academy as usual, while Sheng An took Zhuozhuo to the Marquis of Yongyi's residence to attend the flower viewing banquet.

The Marquis of Yongyi's residence is a low-key family and rarely holds such banquets in previous years.

The last time it was held was five years ago.

At that time, the Crown Prince's wife had just married into the family, and the Lady of the Marquis, in the name of her daughter-in-law, prepared a flower-viewing banquet to show her satisfaction and respect for this daughter-in-law.

The purpose of this flower viewing banquet is the same as the last one, but this time the guest is Tan Qingrou, who just got married before the new year.

The invitation that Sheng An received was personally delivered by Tan Qingrou.