Chapter 36 The Road Ahead
Xu Yiyan fell silent immediately.
What kind of person deserves praise from others?
He should be like his brother-in-law, a good prince who serves the country and its people.
He should be like his father, a good general who fought bloody battles to protect his country.
At the very least, he should be like Wei Jingchen, a gentle, refined, and exceptionally intelligent young man.
Instead of someone like myself, who is seven feet tall but only knows how to embroider and carve wood in the backyard.
He remained silent, his face filled with shame.
"Stop dawdling like that. We're not like Wu Lianzhen, we're family."
"Say what you mean. What's wrong with embroidery? Which garment worn by nobles wasn't made by someone with exceptional embroidery skills?"
Xu Yinan was already unreliable, and seeing his younger brother's conflicted look, he slapped Xu Yiyan directly.
"Ouch! Second brother, don't hit so hard!"
"Hey, I'm not as strong as your older brother. It's time for you to grow up."
"Look, Xu Yiyuan is already buried, and you're still acting like a baby with your second brother!"
Xu Yinan spoke without controlling his volume, in a very loud and careless manner, which startled Xu Qingyi.
She quickly grabbed her younger brother and whispered a scolding, "Shh! Anan, don't talk so loudly, it'll only cause trouble!"
"Oh dear, I got carried away. My fault, my fault!"
Xu Yinan chuckled; he always speaks faster than he thinks.
"In the past, when you offended people in the capital, they would forgive you because you were the son of a general and your brother-in-law was a prince."
I wouldn't dare do anything to you, I'd only talk badly about you behind your back. But things are different now. If you continue like this, you'll easily get into trouble!
Xu Qingyi tried to persuade her younger brother with earnest words, but every time she finished speaking, Xu Yinan would immediately apologize and then forget about it.
Seeing her mother's worried expression, Yun Zhao gently hugged her arm.
"Mom, don't be angry. Next time Uncle talks nonsense, Zhao Zhao will teach him a lesson!"
After saying that, Yun Zhao picked up his little fist and shook it, with an expression that said, "I'm very powerful."
This immediately made the adults burst into laughter.
After eating and drinking his fill, Yun Zhao took some clean gauze from the car and began chiseling medicinal herbs, doing something unknown.
"What is Zhao Zhao doing?"
Xu Yifei craned his neck to look.
"I'm getting medicine for my eldest uncle!"
Yun Zhao answered without looking up.
"Sigh, Zhao Zhao is so good to her uncle; she even knows how to treat his wounds!"
Xu Yifei shook the scrapes on his hand. Due to limited resources, Lu Xun only gave him some basic treatment.
"Don't worry, Uncle. Zhaozhao is very capable. She'll take care of your injuries!"
Yun Zhao huffed and puffed as she chiseled the medicinal herbs, and everyone just thought it was a child playing around, laughing and praising her.
The officials nearby, seeing this, smiled and shook their heads.
"It's really strange. In the past, exiled prisoners were always crying and whining. Unlike these people, they're eating and drinking like mad. You'd think it was a bonfire party!"
"Crying? You mean that one over there? Hahahaha!"
The official pointed to Old Madam Xu in the room next door.
She was tied up there, the cloth had been removed from her mouth, but she was completely dazed and lifeless.
Wu Lianzhen, standing nearby, was holding her son and weeping silently.
"Tsk, you know what, this general's family is not as good as my family! That old woman, where is the demeanor of a general's wife?"
Luo Hao chuckled as he listened to their teasing, which drew the attention of the others.
They then remembered that Luo Hao used to be in the military.
"Brother Hao, you used to be in the army, right? Do you know any secrets about the General's Mansion?"
The crowd immediately surrounded Luo Hao and asked him curiously.
"This General Who Protects the Nation is indeed a remarkable figure. He is a master of military campaigns, and no one in the army dares to disobey him!"
His first wife came from a noble family, and their loving story was widely circulated in the military.
Unfortunately, when his first wife gave birth, the general was away on a military campaign, and for some reason...
The woman was perfectly healthy, but suddenly she suffered a difficult childbirth and severe bleeding, and died on the spot.
The general was heartbroken and didn't want to remarry, but in the vast general's mansion, only a little old woman remained.
There were also four children who had not yet grown up, so the old lady made the decision to bring them from a collateral branch of the family in their hometown.
They chose a hardworking woman to marry as their second wife, but do you really think that just because you've risen to a higher social status, you'll truly become a phoenix?
A mocking smile appeared on Luo Hao's face.
He also wanted to become a high-ranking official, but he also knew what it meant to be unworthy of one's position.
Madam Xu is simply unworthy of her position.
"Tsk, a country woman becoming the wife of a great general, and she's still not satisfied?"
"Oh dear, so this old woman deliberately spoiled her sons?"
The officials immediately found something to amuse themselves and began to talk about it with great interest.
"Otherwise, who do you think would specifically teach a general's son to embroider?"
Luo Hao could see it clearly, and so could the nobles in the capital.
However, due to the prestige of the Prince of Jin and the Grand General, no one dared to speak openly.
"No wonder, the eldest of the three sons in the general's mansion must be in his twenties, right?"
"Not even a legal wife, tsk tsk, it seems the son of the general's first wife is destined to have no heir!"
They are happy when the wealthy and powerful suffer misfortune.
Now that the Xu family is in dire straits, these officials are not hiding anything from each other, and everyone can hear what they are saying.
Yun Zhao glanced at his three uncles, each of whom had a hint of anger on their faces.
They may not be able to see it when they are young, but as they grow older, they will naturally understand.
The stepmother's pampering of them was not love, but a deliberate attempt to harm them.
His biological father was far away in the southwest. When he occasionally returned home and discovered something was wrong, he dragged him to the military camp.
But the military camp was so busy that the lawlessness intensified, so the only option was to send people back to the capital.
The silence that followed made the atmosphere somewhat heavy.
Wei Jingchen glanced at Yun Zhao, then looked at the three Xu brothers.
"Those are all in the past. The road ahead is still up to each of us to walk. Don't you agree?"
Wei Jingchen truly lived up to his reputation as a prized disciple of the Imperial Academy. He spoke without naming names, yet his words were thought-provoking.
Yun Zhao spoke up at the right moment: "Third Uncle, come here quickly, how do we assemble this?"
"They're here!"
Xu Yiyan took a deep breath, gave Wei Jingchen a grateful smile, and then went to Yun Zhao's side.
The quiet atmosphere became lively again, and everyone put the matter out of their minds.
Although it was in a cowshed, they set up several fires.
Xu Yiyan then pulled up a tarpaulin to block the wind at the vent, which raised the temperature considerably.
It was even warmer than the rooms where Luo Qing and the others lived on the east side.
That night, the Yun family, the three Xu brothers, and the Wei family all had an unprecedentedly good night's sleep.
The officials felt a chill in the air and eventually couldn't stand it any longer, so they went outside and set up tents.
The officers felt uncomfortable seeing the prisoners sleeping more comfortably than they did.
"Boss, why don't we go find that good-for-nothing Xu and get one for us too? His looks so warm!"
"If you put it that way, you might as well just rob their cowshed."
The official immediately picked up the gong and went over.
As someone approached, Lu Xun and Lu Li quickly woke up, their eyes snapping open and startling the officials.
"what?"
Lu Li frowned and asked.
"All of you, get up! How can a prisoner sleep more comfortably than an officer? Get up now!"
The officers mustered their courage and shouted loudly.
This woke everyone up.
"What are you doing?"
"Get up quickly, we'll sleep here tonight!"
"What?"
Everyone witnessed the arrogance and unreasonableness of the officials, and the hot-tempered Xu Yifei directly retorted.
"Why should I?"
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