While Pei Yan was sitting absent-mindedly in the meeting room, Pei Tong had already walked to the compartment where she lived.

Before he even entered the gate of the courtyard, he heard a burst of giggles.

Pei Tong, his younger brother Pei Fei, his second uncle Pei Xuan, and his younger cousin Pei Hong lived in this courtyard.

His second uncle and third uncle were two completely different types of people. If his third uncle was the sun of summer, then his second uncle was the sun of winter. When his grandfather passed away, his second uncle not only did not argue with his third uncle, but also maintained the friendship between the brothers. Even their eldest son received a lot of care from his second uncle, otherwise he and his younger brother would have had a much harder life than they do now.

From the sound he knew it was probably the eight-year-old Pei Hong playing with the servants in the yard.

Pei Tong felt a little irritated.

When his father died, Pei Fei was just twelve years old. He was still a child who knew nothing about the world, but he already knew that they had lost their father. He was sensible enough to comfort his mother who had been crying all night, and to study hard and help him with his work.

The innocence of the past is gone.

Thinking of this, his eyes became slightly moist.

But thinking of his third uncle's attitude towards them, an orphan and a widow, he sneered in his heart, put on a smiling face, and then pushed the door and walked in.

"Young Master!" Several servants who played with Pei Hong immediately came forward to greet him when they saw him, and Pei Hong also happily called him "Young Master".

Pei Tong smiled gently and touched Pei Hong's head, saying, "Why are you still playing in the yard at this time? Where is your wet nurse? Are you sweating? Be careful not to catch a cold. We are in the mountains here, and it will be difficult to find a doctor if you catch a cold." The last sentence was directed at the servants who were playing with Pei Hong.

Several servants bowed their heads in awe and agreed in unison.

The scene that was full of laughter and joy just now suddenly became solemn and dull.

Pei Hong's face flushed red, and she was about to say something with her lips twitching. Second Elder Pei Xuan came out of the hall with a half-read book in his hand, smiling and said, "Ah-Tong is back! Don't be angry, I agreed to let Ah-Hong play for a while. I'll be watching in the hall, nothing will happen."

Pei Tong smiled embarrassedly and said, "I was reckless!"

"It's okay! It's okay!" Pei Xuan laughed, patted Pei Tong on the shoulder, and said, "You are the eldest brother, and this is exactly what you should do. Your father also managed me in the same way."

As soon as he finished speaking, both of them looked slightly gloomy.

After a while, Pei Xuan sighed softly and said, "Don't think too much. Your third uncle is arrogant and doesn't want to explain to others, but he definitely has no bad intentions. He is the head of the family and can't just take care of us. He has to look at the overall situation. You are his nephew, so you should understand and support him."

"I know!" Pei Tong whispered, his mood was obviously very low, "So even if my uncle wrote to ask me, I didn't say anything." After saying that, he seemed to remember something, suddenly cheered up, smiled brightly at Pei Xuan, and said loudly, "When God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make his heart and mind suffer and his muscles and bones work hard. Second uncle, don't worry, I won't be defeated by this little hardship. I will study hard, and like my father, I will pass the imperial examination and be appointed as an official."

"Yeah!" Pei Xuan smiled at him encouragingly, but if you look closely, you will find that his smile is a little stiff. Unfortunately, Pei Tong is also insincere at the moment, with a lot on his mind, how can he observe Pei Xuan carefully? He only heard Pei Xuan say to him, "Where did you go? Why did you come back so late?"

Pei Tong smiled and said, "Master Gu came over and asked me to come over to talk for a while, so I came back late."

Pei Xuan was very happy to hear this and said, "Master Gu is very good in both his knowledge and his character. Since you have the opportunity, you should ask him for more advice." At this point, he pondered for a moment and said, "I have a fine Duanyan here. I'll have someone bring it to you and you can give it to Master Gu. He is your eldest brother-in-law and you will have to deal with him in the future. The more courtesy, the less blame. We should take the initiative so that he can feel more at ease when his sister marries us."

His second uncle is such an honest man!

Pei Tong couldn't help but laugh softly and said, "Second Uncle, no wonder others say that you value Second Aunt. It seems that I will have to learn more from you in the future."

Pei Xuan smiled and patted Pei Tong on the back, saying, "You little brat, you dare to tease your uncle? Go write me 10,000 big characters later!"

Pei Tong smiled and begged for mercy: "I won't dare to do it again!"

The uncle and nephew chatted and laughed for a while, then Pei Xuan carried his son, who was sweating profusely from playing, back to the house. Pei Tong also returned to the west side room behind the main house where he and his brother lived.

But before he could push the door, it creaked open, revealing Pei Fei's childish yet handsome face.

"Brother, you're back!" he said happily, "I've been listening to the noise outside. If you don't come back, I'll go look for you."

Pei Tong hugged his brother affectionately, who had just reached his shoulders, and said, "I'm back now, haven't I? Have you finished your homework? Why don't you go out to play with Ah Hong?"

Pei Fei welcomed his brother into the house and signaled his personal servant to fetch water for Pei Tong to change clothes. He muttered in a low voice: "I don't like playing with Ah Hong. He knows nothing and I have to give in to him!"

Pei Tong's hand holding the handkerchief froze for a moment, then he smiled nonchalantly and said, "Then you should stay in the room and do your homework. For a man, study is the most important thing."

Pei Fei nodded in approval.

Pei Tong washed up again, changed her clothes, and told her brother to stay indoors: "I'm going to pay my respects to mother."

Because Pei You and the abbot of Zhaoming Temple were friends outside the secular world, Mrs. Pei was treated differently by the abbot of Zhaoming Temple. She did not live in the west meditation room with her son, nor did she live in the east meditation room with Mr. Pei. Instead, she lived in a quiet room vacated by the abbot of Zhaoming Temple, which was not far from here.

This is also the reason why Yu Tang has not seen Mrs. Pei for several days.

Pei Fei heard this and said happily: "I want to go too."

Pei Tong did not stop him and took his brother to his mother's residence.

Mrs. Pei was copying Buddhist scriptures under the lamp. When she saw her two sons coming over, she put down her pen with a smile, accepted their greetings, and asked them, "Why are you two here so late? Is there anything important?"

Pei Tong smiled and shook her head, but the corner of her eye accidentally glanced at her mother's temples and found a flash of silver light.

He suddenly forgot to answer his mother.

If he saw correctly, his mother...had some white hair on her head.

His nose felt sore.

My mother is not even forty years old!

If my father were still alive and my mother was treated like a treasure by my father, how could she have white hair?

He murmured, "Mother, I went to see Gu Chaoyang today."

Mrs. Pei glanced at her eldest son, hinting that he should not say these things in front of Pei Fei.

Pei Tong obediently stopped talking and chatted with her mother and brother for a while. When the eldest wife found an excuse to send Pei Fei to get them some snacks, she frowned and said, "Gu Chaoyang came to Lin'an? What did he want to see you about?"

"He said that his third uncle told him that his father left a will before he died..." Pei Tong told the eldest wife about the meeting between the two.

The eldest wife immediately jumped up and slammed the table, saying, "Pei Yan, you are talking bullshit! Although I was not by your father's bedside when he passed away, I have heard everything about his last moments clearly. He didn't have time to say a word... He didn't have time to say a word..." As she spoke, she recalled the scene of that day and couldn't help crying sadly, "Your father must have been so unwilling! You weren't by his side, your brother wasn't by his side, and I wasn't by his side..."

Pei Tong asked a question that had always puzzled him: "When my father passed away, I happened to be in the academy. Ah Fei was sent by my grandfather to deliver something to my third uncle. Why were you not by my father's side? Although my father died of an acute illness, he should have felt uncomfortable before his death. If he felt uncomfortable, shouldn't he have gone to my mother? Why did he go to my grandfather instead?"

Even at this time, there was one question he didn't dare to ask.

His grandfather was the head of the clan and would not leave Lin'an. His father had just been promoted to the position of Minister of Works and was about to enter the cabinet. When his grandfather was in high spirits, he suddenly came to Beijing without even knowing about his third uncle. Moreover, after his father's death, his grandfather did not send his father's coffin south. He could understand that it was unlucky for the eldest son to bury the younger generation, but his grandfather moved into the temple the day after his father's death, and ordered his third uncle to carry the coffin south and his second uncle to return to his hometown for the funeral. His grandfather returned to Lin'an alone, just as he had come.

In the past, he just felt that his grandfather had to die in old age, and he couldn't bear it, and he couldn't bear to look at his father's coffin, but now, it seems that there is something strange everywhere.

Especially his third uncle, who actually said that it was his father's last wish that he should study at home for ten years before taking the imperial examination.

If that's the case, why didn't he tell the family members when his mother wanted to send him back to his grandfather's house to study?

Pei Tong felt as if a huge rock was pressing on her chest, and she stared at her mother with burning eyes.

The eldest wife was stunned for a long time before she came back to her senses. There was a little panic in her eyes, and she stammered, "Yes, yes! Your father was not feeling well, why didn't he come to me but to your grandfather? Your father has been promoted and may become the highest-ranking person in the Pei family. Your father and I are very happy. But when your grandfather came, he was not happy at all. He must have felt that your father was disobedient and broke the rules of the ancestors. If your father is no longer the eldest son, the Pei family will either have to re-elect the eldest son of the clan, or they will have to choose your second uncle or your eldest son. One of your three uncles was chosen to inherit the family business. But your second uncle couldn't do that, he was timid and didn't have any ideas; your third uncle was having a good fight with Jiang Hua at the time, a small seventh-rank official could actually overthrow the third-rank official, everyone said your third uncle had a bright future, he would surpass your father in the future, and his career was limitless. But your grandfather let your third uncle take leave without saying a word, and carried the coffin south... Besides, your father didn't have no sons, right? What about you two sons? If your grandfather wanted to favor your third uncle, he should have let him stay in the capital..."