"Why not confine them to their homes? They can still read and practice calligraphy, calming their restlessness. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Li Shiyue sighed softly, seemingly helpless: "If this leads to family discipline, I'm afraid I'll become a fierce and ruthless figure in the eyes of my brothers and sisters."

Today she wore a short jacket with a blue-green pattern and a silver-white skirt. Her hair was styled with only a jade hairpin, making her look elegant and unique.

"My grandmother said she wanted to host a welcome dinner for me tonight, but it would be better to start tomorrow. I think my cousin has realized her mistake."

At this moment, Madam Xu was overjoyed by being coaxed, and she felt that Li Shiyue was far too sensible compared to Xu Lingwan.

Xu Lingwan injured someone today and even bruised Li Shiyue's face, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to ask for family discipline. But since Li Shiyue had already brought it up, even though Old Madam Xu disliked the second branch of the family, she still gave her this small favor.

"Wait until tonight, and let Shi Niang apologize to you properly. Don't hold back, just accept it obediently."

"yes."

The moon hung above the willow branches, its crescent hidden behind a dark cloud, much like a shy maiden afraid to show her face. Night fell, yet no stars were to be seen.

After dinner, Shousong Hall was even more lively than during the day. The mistress of the fourth branch, along with her daughters, arrived at Shousong Hall early. Before they could finish speaking, the curtain was lifted, and two handsome young men walked in.

Xu Yunci walked ahead, his figure the most upright, his face handsome. After paying his respects, he stepped forward and saw Li Shiyue beside Old Madam Xu. A rare smile appeared on his lips: "I wonder what my cousin said that made Grandmother so happy."

"My cousin is mistaken. It was my fourth aunt who was making fun of me, and my maternal grandmother was laughing at me."

These words sounded somewhat childish, but Li Shiyue smiled without showing any anger, and gently tugged at Old Madam Xu's sleeve with one hand.

After dinner, Old Madam Xu wanted to play some leaf cards, and Zhou Shi hurriedly pulled Li Shiyue along, coaxing her to try it out. However, Old Madam Xu and Zhou Shi conspired to trick her, and she lost several rounds in a row. In the end, it was Yang Shi who told her the rules of leaf cards, and only then did Li Shiyue understand them.

Li Shiyue stood up and called out to another young man who had entered.

Qi Lang, Xu Yunxu, is Xu Yunci's half-brother and the youngest son of the Yang family. Unlike his brother's aloofness, he exudes a gentle and refined aura in every gesture.

Li Shiyue didn't have a deep impression of him, only knowing that in her previous life, Qilang followed Xu Yunci and eventually became an official in the court. He was only one month older than her, and in her previous life, her maternal grandmother chose a husband for her, and Xu Yunxu was the first choice.

Seeing the doubt in Old Madam Xu's eyes, Xu Yunxu glanced at his elder brother and said, "Third brother is on duty tonight and can't come back. He sent someone to ask his cousin not to be offended and to come and apologize another day."

Li Shiyue felt as if her chest was being gripped tightly by two hands. She was all too familiar with the Sanlang that Xu Yunxu had mentioned!

She was the culprit who deceived her in her past life, the one who led her innocent body into a den of wolves. She lowered her eyes, concealing the hatred in them.

"Where are Shiro and Goro?"

Fourth son Xu Yunbo and fifth son Xu Yunyao are the legitimate sons of the third and fourth wives, respectively. The former is a playful and dissolute young man, while the latter is impulsive.

"After Si Lang and Wu Lang, their father in the front yard asked his two younger brothers about their studies."

As soon as Xu Yunci finished speaking, he paused slightly and his deep gaze fell on Xu Lingwan, who was hiding behind Liu Shi: "I heard that Shi Niang caused trouble today."

The atmosphere was quiet. For a moment, everyone's gaze turned to Xu Lingwan, who kept backing away, and then they all looked at the mark on Li Shiyue's forehead.

When she entered the manor during the day, there weren't many stray hairs on her sides, but now she realized that there were more stray hairs on her sides, as if she wanted to cover up the red scars.

Xu Lingwan was spoiled and arrogant, and the person in the family who feared her the most was Xu Yunci. She hid behind Madam Liu, too guilty to look up: "Second brother, I already know I was wrong."

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but when she raised her hand to meet Xu Yunci's deep gaze, she lowered her head in fear and burrowed into Liu Shi's arms.

"Your cousin is lenient with you because you are young. But if you hurt someone, you should be punished according to family rules. Since you have shown remorse, you will be confined to your quarters for a month and forced to copy books."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Lingwan, nestled in Liu's arms, breathed a sigh of relief. Xu Yunci then added softly, "I'll see for myself."

After saying that, Xu Lingwan's face fell completely, and she hugged Liu Shi's waist, reluctantly agreeing.

"knew."

The responsibility of disciplining the younger siblings should have fallen to Xu Lingyu, the eldest sister, but two years ago, Xu Lingyu married the Crown Prince, and the right to discipline the younger siblings fell into the hands of Xu Yunci.

Old Madam Xu didn't interrupt, and no one else dared to interfere with Xu Yunci's discipline of her younger siblings. Only after Xu Yunci had finished dealing with the situation did she say, "It's still early, you sisters go out and play."

Holding Li Shiyue's hand, he waved to the woman beside Yang and handed her over, saying, "Go."

South of Shousong Hall is a small garden, where several young women walked together.

As soon as she stepped out of Shousong Hall, Xu Lingwan stopped pretending and glared at Li Shiyue as if she had done something to wrong her.

“It’s just a pebble, and you’re perfectly fine, yet you still complain to your grandmother.”

Li Shiyue raised an eyebrow, her gaze passing over Xu Lingwan to the others who had already walked away, and said in a calm tone: "They're so conspicuous, everyone would see them even if I didn't say anything."

Xu Lingwan knew this perfectly well, and she also noticed the stray hairs on Li Shiyue's forehead. But so what? They still couldn't be hidden; she was truly useless.

She's simple-minded; you can read her thoughts just by looking at her face.

So, you can hurt someone and still have the nerve to be right?

The thought of Xu Yunci personally inspecting the slingshot filled Xu Lingwan with resentment. She subconsciously reached for her sleeve again, but forgot that the slingshot had already been taken away.

"What, are you going to throw stones at me again?"

Xu Lingwan, her thoughts exposed, bit her lip and said resentfully, "Mind your own business! If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have been punished by my second brother. The Xu family is not a place for you!"

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