"Jin'er!" Eleventh Lady was surprised and delighted. It was the first time she heard her son "speak". She pointed at the toy in Xu Sizhun's hand and said, "Is it fun?"

Jing'er clenched his little fists and looked intently with his dark eyes open.

"Mother, mother," Xu Sizhun also became happy, "Sixth brother likes the chickens pecking at rice!"

"Yeah!" Eleventh Lady nodded with a smile.

Xu Sizhun pulled the string excitedly.

The chick kept pecking at the rice trough.

But after a moment, Jing'er's attention was diverted - his eyes fell on Xu Siyu.

Eleventh Lady pointed at Xu Siyu and said, "That's second brother!" Her voice was soft and seemed very intimate.

Xu Siyu couldn't help but walk over.

He looked at Jing'er's rosy little face and stretched out his hand to hold Jing'er's chubby little hand, but he pulled his hand back halfway.

For such a simple matter, Eleventh Lady didn't know why Xu Siyu was so anxious.

Or, what happened to him!

Eleventh Lady has no intention of bearing the bitterness of the past, she hopes that all children will be kind to each other.

She thought for a moment, then handed Jing'er to Xu Siyu: "Do you want to hug him?"

Xu Siyu looked at Shiyi Niang in surprise, and then his gaze slowly fell on Jing'er who was staring at him intently: "Let me hold you?" He widened his eyes, his tone full of uncertainty, and his expression revealed a bit of childishness.

Am I thinking about the problem too complicatedly?

After all, Xu Siyu was only a thirteen-year-old boy, and this society advocated "gentlemen stay away from the kitchen", let alone holding a child.

Eleventh Lady laughed: "I don't think you know how to hug me!" As she spoke, she held up Jing'er's head and let him rest on her shoulder. Her expression also became as gentle and peaceful as the spring breeze.

Xu Siyu's heart trembled slightly, and the stern and somewhat annoyed voice deep in his memory echoed in his ears: "Don't let Yu'er get close to Zhun'er. Who knows where he has been? Be careful not to bring in dust and dirt and pollute this place. Zhun'er is a legitimate son, a precious child. He is not some random cat or dog. If you lose him, you can just raise another one..."

As if by some strange coincidence, he suddenly stretched out his hand: "How do you hold me?"

Seeing that Xu Siyu's expression was a little confused, Eleventh Lady hesitated.

But in Sister Zhen's eyes, her second brother just looked a little weird.

It’s because his mother wanted him to hold his sixth brother but his second brother didn’t know how to do it!

She pondered and walked over with a smile: "Second brother, I'll tell you how to hold sixth brother!" Then she went to hold Jin Ge'er.

I was right next to him, and Jing'er was wearing a thick jacket and trousers.

Eleventh Lady smiled and gave the child to Zhen Jie'er.

Zhen Jieer demonstrated to Xu Siyu: "Second brother, look, this is how you should hold him! Especially his head, you must support him, Sixth brother's neck is still weak!"

"Oh!" Xu Siyu took Jing'er awkwardly.

The little brother dressed in pink and jade, wearing a bright red Hangzhou silk jacket, lay in his arms, head heavy, body soft, changing the posture of his body according to the way he held him... Lying in his arms with a calm expression, waving his hands happily... Not worried, not afraid... Trusting that he wouldn't hurt him... His heart suddenly became bitter, with moisture swirling in his eyes...

He lowered his head and blinked, trying to make his world clear again, but Jing'er in his arms burst into tears.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Xu Siyu no longer cared about anything and looked at Shiyi Niang and Zhen Jie'er for help, with a panicked look on his face.

Seeing Xu Siyu's somewhat embarrassed look, Zhen Jie'er thought of the first time she held Brother Jin... She was about to step forward to help Xu Siyu, but Shiyi Niang said, "It's okay, it's okay!" As she spoke, she was about to step forward to pick up the child, "He doesn't like others to hold him horizontally like this, he wants to hold him vertically!"

Xu Siyu did not hand the child to Shiyi Niang, but instead imitated the way Shiyi Niang held the child just now and held Jin Ge'er upright: "Is this how I should hold him?"

Eleventh Lady was a little surprised. She raised her eyelids and looked at Xu Siyu carefully. Seeing that his expression was gentle and calm, she felt relieved. She smiled and said "hmm", then gently patted Jing'er on the back.

Jing'er stopped crying immediately.

Xu Siyu let out a long sigh, and felt relaxed.

Eleventh Lady asked the maid to wring out a warm handkerchief and help wipe Jing'er's face. While applying grease to him, she sighed, "He has such a bad temper. What will happen to him when he grows up?"

"Sixth brother is still young!" Xu Siyu carefully held up Jin Ge'er's head and said defensively, "When he grows up, reads books, and understands the truth, he will understand."

"By the time he goes to school, it may be too late!" Eleventh Lady smiled casually and did not want to tell Xu Siyu the importance of early education for children - because even if she told her, Xu Siyu might not understand it, and might even think she was incredible.

When Zhen Jieer saw Xu Siyu holding Jing'er motionlessly, she hurried forward to instruct him: "You have to carry him around... If you don't move like this, he will start crying again!"

Xu Siyu said "Oh" and walked around the room holding Jing'er.

Jing'er just lay obediently on his shoulder and didn't move.

When Xu Sizhun saw this, he pulled Shiyi Niang's sleeve and raised his head and said, "Mother, I want to hug my sixth brother too!"

Seeing this, Xu Sijie followed suit: "Mother, I want to hug my sixth brother too!"

Eleventh Lady looked at the two half-grown children, one with a bean sprout-like body and the other with thin arms and legs, and said with a smile: "When you are as old as your second brother, you can hold your sixth brother!"

Both children lowered their heads in disappointment.

A little maidservant reported through the curtain: "The Marquis is back!"

The people in the room were stunned. The curtain had been lifted high and Xu Lingyi strode in.

Eleventh Lady and Zhen Jie'er knelt and saluted, Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie bowed, all of them were shorter than him. Only Xu Siyu was holding Jin Ge'er. It was so sudden that it was not right to salute, nor was it right not to salute, which seemed particularly abrupt. Xu Lingyi was even more surprised to see Xu Siyu coming back, still holding Jin Ge'er. But he quickly suppressed his emotions and said with a serious expression: "You're back!"

Mother Gu hurried forward and hugged Jing'er.

Xu Siyu bowed respectfully to his father.

Xu Lingyi nodded, and the little maid helped him wash his face, change his clothes, and sit on the big kang by the window.

Eleventh Lady took the tea from the maid, placed it in front of him, and stood aside.

Zhen Jie'er stood next to her mother, and several boys stood side by side in front of the kang. Mother Gu stood next to Zhen Jie'er, holding Jing'er.

Xu Lingyi took a sip of tea slowly, then said leisurely: "What books have you read in Luoye Mountain these days?" There was a solemn look on his face.

Xu Siyu said respectfully, "According to Mr. Jiang's instructions, I reread the Analects and the Great Learning, and am now reading the Doctrine of the Mean."

Xu Lingyi nodded slightly and asked Xu Sizhun, "How are you doing with the homework Mr. Zhao assigned?"

Compared to Xu Siyu, Xu Sizhun was a little nervous: "Most of it is done. There are still a hundred pieces of big characters left to write." As if afraid of Xu Lingyi's blame, he said hurriedly, "However, the teacher will not be back until after the Lantern Festival, and there is still more than half a month. I will definitely finish it by then." He added, "And the teacher stipulated that we practice playing the flute for half an hour every day. My fifth brother and I practice every day and have never been lazy."

When Xu Sijie saw his brother mentioned him, he nodded quickly.

Xu Lingyi was very dissatisfied with Xu Sizhun's answer.

If you finish it, it's done. If you don't finish it, it's not done. It's an attitude problem to defend yourself for not finishing something.

He frowned slightly.

Eleventh Lady, who had been observing Xu Lingyi's expression, coughed softly when she saw this.

Xu Lingyi thought of what Eleventh Lady said to Xu Sizhun: "Some people can learn after one teaching, while some people need to be taught several times before they can learn. If we as parents cannot have more patience and spend more time with our children, who will be willing to tolerate them?" His brows slowly relaxed again.

"Just listen to Mr. Zhao. Don't play around when you're with your brother. You have to finish your homework before Mr. Zhao comes back."

Xu Sizhun felt relieved and his body was no longer as stiff as before.

He responded in a low voice, with a hint of joy in his tone.

Xu Lingyi tried hard not to frown again.

It's not a compliment, so why is he so satisfied with this?

Thinking of this, he felt depressed and turned his gaze to his youngest son.

Jing'er was staring at him.

Big eyes, clear and pure like mountain spring water.

His expression softened a bit, and he asked, "How is Jing-ge today?"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "He slept from morning till noon. Madam Gu was afraid that he would stop breastfeeding, so she carried him around the house. Who knew he wouldn't sleep anymore. He's been playing till now!"

Xu Lingyi listened and his expression relaxed a little.

Mother Gu hurriedly took the child over.

Xu Siyu and Xu Sizhun saw their always strict father gently hold their little brother in his arms, and stretched out his index finger to touch Jing'er's clenched fist. Jing'er immediately opened his hand and held his father's index finger tightly in his palm.

There was a hint of smile on Xu Lingyi's brows.

"You're in such good spirits?" he asked Shiyi Niang, "What have you been playing since noon? You didn't even take a nap?"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "My brothers and sisters are all here, so he should join in the fun!"

Xu Lingyi's smile deepened, and he lowered his head to talk to Jing'er: "Our Jing'er still knows how to join in the fun!"

Jing'er yawned at him.

Xu Lingyi smiled and handed the child to Mother Gu: "Looks sleepy."

Mother Gu hurriedly carried Jing'er to the warm room.

The smile on Xu Lingyi's face gradually faded.

"The New Year is coming soon. People are coming and going at home, but we can't fall behind in our studies." As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Siyu, his gaze lingering on his dusty boots for a moment, and said, "Since you're back, there's no need to rush. Go back and wash up, then go pay your respects to your grandmother." After speaking, he looked at Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie, "It's getting late, you should go back to your rooms! Your second brother will be back today, and we'll all go to your grandmother's house for dinner later."

The three sons bowed and replied "yes", then tiptoed back.

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PS: The update will be a bit late, so please get up tomorrow morning and read it!

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