Xun Shichou's study was very antique, and it was clear from the objects inside that they had been moved from the mountains.

There were many handwritten books on the bookshelf. Luckily, they used to live in the mountains. If someone with ulterior motives had seen so many ancient books, it would probably have brought trouble to the family.

Although the Xun family children did not go to school, they were learning in their own way. The only problem was that they used traditional Chinese characters. In general, the Xun family was a forgotten existence in this society. Apart from procreation, they lived their lives at their own pace.

We are still in a sensitive period. Now that the Xun family has moved out and integrated into society, many things must be done in accordance with the rules of this society.

As Xu Xinning perused these precious ancient books, she discovered that many of them were the types of books she had liked in her previous life, indicating that she had a significant influence on them.

The study was filled with Xun Shichou's own works, and his technique was already very mature, not at all like the work of a nine-year-old child.

Xu Xinning remembered that An Yi used to enjoy writing and painting, and at that time he was actually quite accomplished.

At that time, the Crown Prince said that it was a waste of An Yi's talents to be a secret guard.

The bodyguards were all orphans, living alone and always in the shadows.

An Yi was rescued by Xu Xinning in the snow when she was a child. He was originally from a noble family, but his family was framed and all of them died. An Yi was the only one who was rescued by a servant.

An Yi was only seven years old at that time.

A seven-year-old boy from a wealthy family, who had never known how cruel life could be, was all alone and penniless, which shows how difficult his life was.

Xu Xinning was only three years old at the time. For some reason, she was very playful that day and sneaked out to play in the snow with a few followers.

At that time, his father was not yet the emperor; he was just a prince who was dispensable and often bullied.

Because of this, Xu Xinning wasn't very reserved.

When Xu Xinning dug An Yi out of the snow, she was stunned, still thinking that not only plants could grow on the ground, but children could also grow there.

This discovery excited her greatly, and she immediately brought him home.

That night, he suddenly developed a high fever and almost died, but luckily there was a skilled doctor in the family who saved his life.

After waking up, he learned that Xu Xinning had saved him. Considering his family background, he volunteered to become Xu Xinning's bodyguard.

An Yi was taken away the next day.

He was like a passerby, leaving no trace in Xu Xinning's young heart.

When they met again, Xu Xinning was already thirteen years old.

If her father hadn't told her about what happened ten years ago, she would have long forgotten that she had once saved such a person.

From now on, An Yi will be Xu Xin Ning's shadow. Wherever Xu Xin Ning is, An Yi will definitely be there, even in places that are unseen.

An Yi was Xu Xinning's first true bodyguard. All the other bodyguards were chosen by An Yi. There were a total of eighteen bodyguards who came to Xu Xinning's side, and they were all managed by An Yi.

When her father became emperor, the first thing Xu Xinning asked him to do was to exonerate the An family.

And so, the case, which had remained unsolved for more than a decade, was finally brought to light.

Afterwards, Xu Xinning remembered that her elder brother, the Crown Prince, had consulted An Yi, asking if he would be willing to go to his side and assist him now that his identity had been restored.

An Yi rejected the offer without even considering it.

His life was saved by the princess, and his family's vengeance was avenged by her. He could never repay her kindness in his lifetime, so he would protect her in his own way.

Xu Xinning's thoughts drifted far away through Xun Shichou's words.

Xun Shichou and Mu Jingheng did not disturb her.

When Xu Xinning's thoughts returned, she saw a dozen pictures of herbs. Xu Xinning smiled and affectionately patted Xun Shichou's head.

Mu Jingheng tried to touch Xun Shichou's head, but Xun Shichou quickly dodged and glared at Mu Jingheng with displeasure.

Mu Jingheng smiled and deliberately reached out to touch her.

Xun Shichou impatiently dodged.

Mu Jingheng then teased him relentlessly.

The two, one big and one small, started teasing each other and then began to compete. The two of them had more and more fun fighting in the backyard.

Men's friendships always seem to come out of nowhere. Xu Xinning found that after the fight, the two seemed to have endless things to talk about.

The Xun family had a large number of members, and they all rushed out at mealtimes.

Aside from the Xu family, the women and children of the Xun family do not sit at the table. Of course, there are exceptions, namely Xun Shichou and Xu Xialian.

This also shows Xun Shichou and Xu Xialian's status in the Xun family.

The meal consisted of several meat dishes, and the elderly couple from the second branch of the Xu family, along with Xu Dongmei, stared wide-eyed at the sight. Before everyone had even sat down, the three of them devoured the food like starving ghosts.

Despite their good manners, everyone was stunned to see these three people like this.

The second branch of the Xu family had indeed not had such a good meal in a long time.

When Xiang Wanqin was alive, she cooked all the meals at home. Although there wasn't anything fancy, the food was still quite palatable.

After Xiang Wanqin moved out, there was no one left to serve in the house. The second wife had no choice but to keep the house clean, but the food still had to be eaten.

It's been almost twenty years since the second wife took care of the household. Before she married, there was Xu Xialian, and after Xu Xialian got married, her daughter-in-law took over.

Having not cooked for so long, I almost burned the kitchen down on the first day I suddenly had to cook.

It truly proves the saying that it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality!

After eating such terrible food for so long, which was worse than pig swill, I was suddenly faced with so much delicious food and couldn't help but lose my composure.

Old Master Xu glared at the second son's father, wanting to sweep him away with a broom.

Grandma Xu was shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered.

In Old Mrs. Xu's heart, the second wife was always a person who couldn't be presented in public. When she was young, she would snatch food whenever there was something good to eat, not to mention that she was even more shameless now that she was old.

But the most puzzling one is Xu Dongmei. Logically speaking, her husband's family is not poor, so they shouldn't be starving like this, right?

Who knew that Xu Dongmei's philosophy was that what you eat is what you own. With so much delicious food, why not hurry up and eat it instead of waiting for someone else to give it to you?

This is simply impossible.

Xiang Wanqin and her two children were always kept by Old Madam Xu's side, for fear that the second wife and Xu Dongmei would say or do something inappropriate.

Actually, when the second wife and Xu Dongmei saw Xiang Wanqin and her two children at the dinner table, they did have some plans to make fun of her. However, when they saw the dishes on the table, their attention was completely drawn to them, and they devoured them. They had no other thoughts left.

Xiang Wanqin ate absentmindedly during the meal. If it weren't for Old Madam Xu and Yang Chunqin constantly putting food on her plate, she probably wouldn't have been able to eat much.

The two children were fine; after all, they were young and surrounded by so many other children. They enjoyed their meal and, once they were full, went out to play with the other children.