There aren't many pure people in this world, but Jiang Sheng is one of them.
Compared to her eldest brother's melancholy, loneliness, and doubt, she only cared about whether her fifth brother was intact and whether he was alive.
For her, it didn't matter if Fifth Brother really ran away and abandoned them.
"As long as I'm healthy, I'm fine anywhere." The little girl looked relieved. "As long as I'm well-fed and warmly dressed, that's enough."
From beginning to end, she was always worried that her frail fifth brother wouldn't be doing well.
Wen Zhiyun, standing beside him, nodded in agreement, her watery eyes filled with relief.
Fang Heng and Zheng Ruqian, however, grasped the key point and gathered around him with serious expressions.
Inside the imperial city, the sheer volume of information was so overwhelming that they unconsciously held their breath.
“I was too confused and didn’t understand things as well as my younger siblings,” Xu Mo said with a wry smile. “I had already become suspicious during the palace examination and rushed to identify him when he was being conferred his title. But Xiao Wu didn’t recognize me and was extremely cold. At first, I was angry and disappointed, but then I realized that he must have had something to suffer in silence.”
He both protected his elder brother and distanced himself from the situation.
This indicates that his situation is not good, and also shows that the palace is full of spies.
"Now that Xiao Wu is in trouble, I, as the eldest brother, cannot stand idly by." Xu Mo clenched his fist. "Second brother, third brother, what do you think?"
Honestly, having raised his younger siblings for five or six years, he would often help make decisions and offer advice, but he would only offer suggestions and would not overstep his bounds.
They are siblings, but also independent individuals with their own thoughts.
Respect begins with small things.
"Of course I'll help. You're the eldest brother, and I'm the second eldest." Zheng Ruqian shouted. "But eldest brother, you've talked for so long, but you haven't gotten to the key point. What exactly is Xiao Wu doing in the capital?"
If I'm not going to become a eunuch, am I going to become a palace maid?
Jiang Sheng and Wen Zhiyun nodded at the same time, clearly also very curious.
Only Fang Heng remained expressionless, contemplating the most improbable possibility.
“Of course it’s…the prince.” Xu Mo smiled wryly.
All the younger siblings' faces changed, and the surrounding environment seemed to distort in disbelief. Their minds were foggy, and they vaguely thought that they were having a strange dream because they missed Xiao Wu so much.
How could that be?
Fang Heng and Jiang Sheng's backgrounds were already shocking enough, but who knew Xiao Wu was even more amazing.
The thought of someone of such high status having to eat cornbread and pickled vegetables with them, sleep in a shared dormitory, and wear an ill-fitting gray coat seemed unrealistic.
"Could it be... a mistake?" For the first time, Zheng Ruqian did not have the idea of collusion between officials and businessmen.
“There’s no mistake.” Xu Mo was absolutely certain. “He is Xiao Wu, our younger brother whom we’ve lived with for five years.”
In today's world, where the average lifespan is fifty years, five years accounts for one-tenth of a lifetime.
Needless to say, the years they relied on each other for survival were intertwined, and their tacit understanding of plotting and laughing together was deeply ingrained.
“No wonder Xiao Wu sometimes seems kind and doesn’t care about the dazzling fireworks,” Fang Heng murmured. “He doesn’t care about money or power.”
When Zheng Ruqian was poor, he would vow to become rich and work hard to make money.
Despite his downfall, Xu Mo strives to improve himself and become a pillar of support for his younger siblings.
Only the long banquet is spontaneous and natural, never caring about poverty or wealth, and never fearing coercion from powerful forces.
It turns out that he himself had once stood at the top.
“Xiao Wu actually hid this from me. He clearly said that brothers would tell each other everything.” Wen Zhiyun’s tears welled up again. “He broke his promise. He lied to me.”
The person who repeatedly warned everyone not to hide secrets turned out to be the one who hid them the deepest and the biggest of all.
No wonder Xu Mo was angry and dejected, and no wonder Wen Zhiyun was in tears.
Only Jiang Sheng raised her head blankly, "Fifth Brother didn't leave for no reason. He said he didn't like the capital city, and that he loved freedom."
He didn't say the last sentence—he went back for our sake.
But it was enough to break Xu Mo's heart.
The refined and elegant young man slammed his fist on the table. "It must be because of this top scholar title that Xiao Wu went against the First Prince. If I had known this would happen, I would rather not have become a Hanlin Compiler and have just been an ordinary second-class scholar."
All the glory and success he enjoyed came at the cost of his younger brother.
How could he possibly bear this?
"Brother," Zheng Ruqian reached out to stop him, "there's no use saying all this now, let's think about what to do."
Now that things have come to this, wallowing in grief is the choice of a fool.
Xu Mo was very clever. He immediately told the story of how the Fang family forced him to donate money at the ceremony, and said, "My classmate mentioned that the Fifth Prince has nothing of value and his maternal clan is in dire straits and has no support. We cannot let the Fifth Prince embarrass himself at the Spring Festival banquet."
All those words can be summed up in two words: "give money".
Zheng Ruqian took full responsibility, saying, "Second brother has nothing else to offer but a little money. He can send meat to third brother and donate money to fifth brother."
According to the standards of the Second Prince and the Third Princess, it would be ten thousand taels.
That is... ten thousand taels.
Someone gasped in shock, their legs trembling.
“The income from Fengjing and Anshui County over the past two years, plus the money from selling lychees last year, should be enough,” Zheng Ruqian said through gritted teeth. “I’ll do anything for my fifth brother.”
“Yes, anything is fine.” Fang Heng also stepped forward.
What does it matter whether they are from noble families or princes? Their intimacy, which they met in Anshui County and relied on each other for many years, is far beyond what their social status can confine them to.
“Xiao Wu lied to me, and I will settle the score with him.” Wen Zhiyun wiped away her tears. “But my younger brother is in trouble, and as his older brother, I can’t just ignore him. I can use all the income from my clinic.”
They seem to be very wealthy, with no worries about food or clothing.
But they didn't have that much money; they still needed to scrape together 10,000 taels.
Fortunately, we were able to collect them all.
Zheng Ruqian breathed a sigh of relief, finally arriving at the most crucial moment, "Who will deliver the money to Xiao Wu, big brother? You?"
Xu Mo shook his head.
Their brothers were all of ordinary status; a sixth-rank scholar was not enough in Fengjing. The children of qualified noble families were not familiar with Xiao Wu. After considering all the options, only the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, who was far away from home, was the most suitable.
All eyes were on Jiang Sheng's face. She belatedly realized what was happening and exclaimed, "What?!"
The brothers nodded in unison, their brows furrowed with worry.
This is just like when they plotted against Sun Yu in Anshui County. They needed their sister to get close to Qiao Yuhe, but they were also afraid that their sister would be hurt. Their hearts were conflicted, filled with unease, anxiety, and helplessness.
"Okay." She didn't hesitate and turned to look at the door. "Father, is it alright?"
The four brothers' gazes shifted again, landing on the burly and upright general.
Jiang Sheng needs the Jiang family's help to enter the capital, but she has not received a proper education as a legitimate daughter, and her scheming and skills are slightly inferior to those of her peers.
It's not impossible that the Jiang family might try to stop their eldest daughter from being taken advantage of.
Jiang Sheng was even prepared to act coquettishly and cling to him.
Until Jiang Jizu revealed a helpless smile, "Do you kids think that just because I'm old I have to be stubborn and inflexible, and that I have to abandon everything for safety?"
Don't forget, every middle-aged person started out full of passion and enthusiasm.
Everyone has been young before.
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