"Ask Uncle Wu?" Xu Sijie looked embarrassed. "But if we investigate the past without Father's knowledge, I'm afraid Uncle Wu won't help us!"

In his impression, Uncle Wu treated him very coldly. He was not sure that Uncle Wu would definitely help them. However, Uncle Wu was very kind to Fourth Brother. Maybe if Fourth Brother asked, it would be different...

While thinking, Xu Sizhun smiled and said, "Of course we can't ask directly. We have to find an excuse! Let's say we occasionally heard that Liu Huifang and Liu Kui are father and son, and let Uncle Wu talk about what happened back then!" The more he talked, the more he felt that his idea was feasible, "Uncle Wu likes to tell people these anecdotes the most. When the time comes, we will ask carefully and we will definitely find out something!" After that, he pulled Xu Sijie to the Fifth Madam, "You're right to listen to me!"

Xu Sijie hesitated for a moment and followed Xu Sizhun.

Xu Lingkuan is not at home.

"What do you want to do with him?" Madam Wu asked the maid to bring the newly-released persimmons and oranges to treat them. "He can only go home in the early afternoon."

They were somewhat disappointed.

"We heard that we have a niece, and our third uncle wants to invite the Deyin troupe to perform in the party. Let's ask our fifth uncle what operas they sing?" Xu Sizun exchanged a few words with the fifth lady, then stood up and said goodbye.

Passing by the back door of the main house, two little maids with their heads shaved were sitting on the steps playing cat's tangle.

"How about we go sit in mother's room for a while?" Xu Sizhun said, "We can go to Fifth Aunt's place at the beginning of the day."

Xu Sijie, however, felt a little homesick.

He looked at the green branches sticking out from behind the pink wall, and suddenly the smiling eyes of Shiyi Niang appeared in his mind. He seemed to hear Shiyi Niang's gentle voice faintly, "Jie Ge'er, slow down"...

Xu Sijie's eyes became a little dim.

He shook his head gently and said bitterly, "Let's go back to the house and wait!" He walked through the back door of the main house with his shoulders drooping.

The two maids stood up and shouted, "Fourth Young Master, Fifth Young Master!"

Xu Sijie was absent-minded and unaware.

Xu Sizhun smiled and nodded at them, then quickly caught up with Xu Sijie.

"I think you don't need to take this matter to heart." These days, Xu Sizhun had seen all of Xu Sijie's pain and struggle, and his pity for his younger brother was even greater than before. "In the eyes of the world, you are the fifth young master of the Yongping Marquis's Mansion. If your father doesn't pursue it, and your mother doesn't pursue it, who else has the right to pursue it? What others say is just gossip..."

"I know." Xu Sijie interrupted Xu Sizhun and said dejectedly, "But I feel uneasy... The better you treat me, the more uneasy I feel..."

When Xu Sizhun heard this, his face changed, he suddenly stopped and stood there in a daze.

Suddenly there was one less person beside him, and Xu Sijie turned around and asked, "What's wrong..." But what caught his eyes was Xu Sizhun's slightly blue face.

What happened? Did he interrupt his brother rudely and made him angry? Or did he say something that made his brother unhappy?

The thought flashed through his mind, and Xu Sijie immediately denied his guess.

Fourth brother is not such a stingy person. On the contrary, he has always been suspicious since he doubted his identity...

"Fourth brother!" He pulled Xu Sizhun's sleeve shyly.

Xu Sizhun was shocked as if struck by lightning, and he grabbed Xu Sijie's hand and ran to the outer courtyard.

"Fourth brother!" Xu Sijie was stunned.

"Don't say anything." Xu Sizhun shouted, with beads of sweat on his forehead, "Let's go back to Danbozhai quickly."

His strange behavior made Xu Sijie dare not ask more questions, so he followed him and trotted back to Danbo Zhai.

Xu Sizhun ignored the maids and wives who were bowing to him, called out to Wang Shu loudly, then whispered a few words to Wang Shu in his ear and closed the door with a "click".

"Fourth brother, what's wrong with you?" Xu Sijie asked curiously.

"It's okay, it's okay!" Xu Sizhun thought of his own idea, his eyes a little panicked, "Let's stay in the house for a while." Then he found a book and handed it to Xu Sijie, "Or, you can read a book!" But he walked around the room, looking very anxious.

In this situation, Xu Sijie couldn't bear to watch. After asking several times, Xu Sizhun just told him to wait. He could only hold his chin and watch Xu Sizhun circling around in the room.

After about an incense stick of time, Wang Shu came knocking on the door.

Xu Sizhun left Xu Sijie behind and ran away.

After a while, he turned back.

Xu Sijie stood up immediately: "What, what happened..." He had a bad feeling.

"Fifth brother," Xu Sizun's lips trembled a little, "even we can find out... Daddy was fighting in the northwest at that time... How could Daddy not know... Daddy is the Marquis of Yongping, who can let him suffer... And after so many years, no one has pursued it... It must have been voluntary... It is said that Fifth Uncle also sponsored an opera troupe and learned to sing opera from others... Afterwards, all those who knew about the Liu family's past could not be found..."

He just suddenly remembered that when he was a child, his grandmother got angry because his fifth uncle hired a troupe. The top performer in the troupe seemed to be surnamed Liu. He asked Wang Shu to ask the elderly in the family to confirm that the top performer was Liu Huifang.

Xu Sizhun's voice was trembling and his words were incoherent, but Xu Sijie could understand him.

His face became like Xu Sizhun's, with a faint bluish color.

The two brothers looked at the same time towards where the fifth lady lived.

How is that possible?

No?

How could I be my fifth uncle's son?

No?

If he is not my father's son, he should be adopted by Aunt Tong. How could he be the son of my fifth uncle?

He thought of the gentleness in his father's eyes when he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and the relief his father felt when he saw that he could write small characters... He thought of the man who ignored him when the house was full of joy during the holidays, and the man who was indifferent to him when they met by chance on the street...

"Is it a mistake?" Xu Sijie tightly grasped Xu Sizhun's arm, "Ask Wang Shu to ask again. It must be a mistake! It must be a mistake..."

Xu Sizhun did not speak, but looked at him quietly, his eyes full of sympathy.

It's like there's a fire burning in my heart.

Xu Sijie's eyes were red, he pushed open the lattice door and stumbled out: "I want to ask, I want to ask..."

The little maidservant couldn't avoid it and was knocked to the ground by Xu Sijie, but his pace became faster.

Oh no!

If he does this, it will definitely become known to everyone.

If his father asked, how should he answer?

"Fifth brother!" Xu Sizun's face changed drastically. He didn't dare to hesitate for a moment and immediately chased after him, shouting to Wang Shu who was guarding the door: "Quickly stop the fifth young master!"

Wang Shu answered loudly "Yes" and chased after him.

Xu Sizhun did not rest either, and chased after him breathlessly, "Fifth brother, wait for me!"

The clever Huo Qing looked at it and followed.

The footstones under his feet were neat and square, the black lotus-stone foundation pillars were quiet and solemn, the towering green trees were peaceful and calm... those scenes that once made him feel beautiful were so strange at this moment.

Tears blurred Xu Sijie's vision.

He wanted to go and ask... Fourth Brother must have made a mistake, he wanted to go and ask himself...

Someone grabbed his arm.

He struggled hard and left the man behind.

"Fifth Young Master!" Wang Shu didn't expect Xu Sijie to break free from him. He was stunned for a moment, and soon caught up with Xu Sijie who was running around like a headless fly. This time he learned his lesson, pounced on Xu Sijie from behind, and hugged him across the waist.

Xu Sijie was like a fish that had been caught. No matter how he moved or jumped, he couldn't get free.

"Let me go, let me go!" Xu Sijie yelled, his neck thick and red, "You lied to me, you lied to me..."

There were maids passing by and standing in the distance pointing and talking.

Xu Sizhun, who took the opportunity to catch up, had pale lips and gasped as he grabbed Xu Sijie's hand: "Do you want to make this known to the whole family? What will mother do then? Will she help you make amends or help you plead with grandmother?"

Xu Sijie's body froze and he stood there in a daze.

The fifth brother respects my mother the most.

Xu Sizhun breathed a sigh of relief: "Drag him back! Don't let others laugh at him!"

Huo Qing hurried forward to help Wang Shu carry Xu Sijie back to Danbo Zhai.

Biluo came out: "What happened?" She looked nervous.

"My fifth brother and I had an argument." Xu Sizhun panted, "Let everyone leave. Anyone who dares to say anything nonsense will be sold to a human trafficker immediately!"

He was always kind to others, but his stern tone frightened Biluo as well as the maids who had been watching the fun. Without waiting for Biluo's orders, no one was left in the yard.

Xu Sizhun closed the door.

"Fifth brother, don't be like this!" He looked at Xu Sijie's wide-open eyes and felt very sad. "Maybe we made a mistake. Isn't Fifth Uncle not back yet? We will go and ask him when the time comes..." He comforted Xu Sijie insincerely.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Xu Sijie smiled a smile uglier than crying when he heard it. "Please help me find out. Please help me find out. It must be a mistake."

He regrets so much!

Why did he go looking for the woman who gave birth to him?

He would rather be adopted by the Xu family.

In this way, he will always be the son of Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang!

"I'll go ask as soon as Uncle Wu comes back!" Xu Sizhun tried to comfort him, "Don't worry, I'll definitely find out for you!"

Xu Sijie suddenly became afraid.

He thought of the woman who would hold him in her arms and cherish him, make delicious cakes for him, listen to his piercing flute playing, hold his hand and send him to the gate of the courtyard and watch him go to school, accompany him to trace the red under the lamp, check his homework, and build a workshop for him...

If Uncle Five says “yes”…what should he do?

Xu Sizhun clenched his hands tightly, pressing his nails into his palms, feeling heartbroken.

"No, no, no." He was sweating profusely. "Don't ask. Don't ask anyone..." He then said, "You'd better go and ask for me..." He said this for a while and then that for a while, seeming a little incoherent, and his conflicted fear of gain and loss was clearly revealed.

Xu Sizhun felt sad when he thought about the times when they went to school together, studied together, played Cuju together, and jumped the Hundred Rope together.

"Fifth brother," he looked at Xu Sizun steadily, "no matter who your biological father is, or who your biological mother is, you are now the fifth young master of the Xu family. Your kindness to me is genuine, and my friendship for you is genuine. You are my, Xu Sizun's, younger brother!"

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Weakly, please give me a pink vote!

PS: My writing state is not very good. I have been deleting and reducing, and I don't want to post a chapter casually, so I have delayed the time. I originally wanted to add an update, but in this state, it is probably difficult to write it. I am very anxious when I think about the many updates I still owe. ~~~~(_