"Father."
Xu Tianze and Xu Shiping stopped and waited for Xu Jixue to come forward and greet their father together. They stopped playing around.
Xu Li nodded, looked at his three sons with satisfaction, and took them to sit under the osmanthus tree.
"Ze'er, I've been feeling bored at home lately. Why don't you go out for a walk?" Xu Li sat down and touched Xu Tianze's head.
His third son has been unhappy ever since the engagement letter was exchanged between the girl from the Jiang family and the boy from the Song family. In addition, the conflicts have been increasing in recent days, so he hasn't gone out for a long time.
He saw all of this, but in the friendship between the three, there was one person who was destined to be different from the other two. It was a pity that this person was his son.
As for the series of problems arising from this kind of friendship, only the parties involved can think clearly about them. After all, outsiders are only auxiliary and cannot solve them directly, so he will not interfere too much.
At best, it was just that he saw that his son was too bored and sad, so he wanted him to go out for a walk.
"I understand, son." Xu Tianze nodded. He naturally knew what his father was referring to and understood his father's concern.
It's just that he really doesn't want to confront them directly. Instead of going to someone's house and accidentally meeting this or that person, it's better to just stay at home and relax. He's at home, so he won't meet them again, right?
After all, he has been quite unlucky recently. He often runs into Jiang Xue or Song Yu, and he might meet them two or three times a day.
Then there were conflicts again and again. Why bother? He might as well wait until Jiang Xue and Song Yu got married before going out for a walk. This would avoid misunderstandings and sad things. It was so annoying to see them.
As soon as Xu Li saw his youngest son's expression, he knew that he didn't listen. Feeling helpless, he turned his gaze to his youngest son again.
Xu Shiping was just watching the show, but when he saw this look, he had a bad feeling and immediately asked his brother to block the knife.
"Xiao Ze, are you still in contact with the Third Prince?" Xu Shiping gave Xu Tianze a look that asked him to help, and then he opened his mouth and used his ultimate move.
When Xu Shiping said this, everyone around him frowned. Xu Tianze's mouth and eyelids twitched, and he glared at his second brother fiercely.
Seeing his second brother's flattering look, he curled his lips directly. Seeing that his father and eldest brother were waiting for his reply, he said weakly: "Yes, His Highness the Third Prince and I are just good friends. We never talk about government affairs when we are together in private."
"Whether to talk or not is not up to you and the Third Prince, but up to those who have ulterior motives." Xu Li snorted coldly and knocked on the table.
The Xu family has always been cautious. Although they have always been favored by the emperor, they never dare to show off too much. When the two elders make friends, they will also be more careful and not interact too much with people from the royal family.
But his heartless and simple-minded youngest son was so careless as to fool around with the third prince, even though the third prince had never been the favored one and was an unpopular candidate for the throne.
But they can't just contact each other so carelessly. His Xu family has always been powerful and royalist, loyal only to the emperor. If they get their butts wrong, they will lose their heads.
"You have close contacts with the royal family and are putting your life in the hands of others." Xu Li slammed the table with anger on his face.
"Father, Xiaoze knows his limits." Xu Jixue shook his head, patted his two younger brothers gently, and comforted his father directly.
In fact, everyone understands the truth. My third brother is a little simple and has been raised to be naive, but this does not mean that he is really stupid.
If a child raised by a noble family can still be a fool, it can only mean that there are secrets in the harem or that the elders are too doting on him. Neither of these points is true in the Xu family.
Therefore, whether it was Xu Li, Xu Jixue, or Xu Shiping, they all knew that Xu Tianze had his own sense of propriety deep down in his heart, but time was running out and his father had lost his composure.
After hearing his eldest son's reminder, Xu Li realized that he had lost his composure a little. After a long pause, he said to his youngest son, "Ze'er, remember, what the royal family needs is not friendship, but profit and value, or even life itself."
When Xu Li said the last two words, his voice was very low, as if it contained grief, guilt, and a hint of regret.
After hearing what their father said, the three Xu brothers fell silent. Xu Shiping stopped making funny expressions to Xu Tianze and looked solemn.
"There are no blood relatives in the royal family, so as a minister, you may have a chance to regret it." Xu Shiping tightly grasped the teacup in his hand, and the water in the cup was even rippling.
"As a subject, you must be loyal to the emperor. If you are in this position, you must be worthy of the people of the world." Xu Li felt a little disappointed, but still forced a smile to look at his second son, with relief in his eyes.
It seemed that his decision did not affect the judgment of his descendants. They knew how to refute and directly seek opportunities for survival.
"Isn't that blind loyalty?" Xu Tianze felt that there was something wrong with his father's words and refuted him directly. He didn't want his father and brother to be blindly loyal.
If that happened, his Xu family would be at the mercy of the palace's oppressors.
"What about the people of the world?" Xu Li was not angry because of his son's questioning. He just smiled and nodded, and then continued to ask.
The way he asked this question was as if he was asking his child, or as if he was asking himself.
What about the common people? The common people are so innocent. Corrupt officials, wealthy local gentry, gangs and bandits, no matter which one, are all standing above the common people to exploit them.
On the day when the three sons of the Xu family started their education, Xu Li personally taught them to think about the people. The first word they learned was "common people".
Now that Xu Li asked this, the three sons of the Xu family fell silent. Their father never asked them to be loyal to the emperor until death, but they must have a bottom line, morals, and consider the people.
Xu Li also practiced this himself, which earned him the respect of the people and the admiration and adoration of scholars.
As a minister, you should not be blindly loyal to the emperor, but should work for the benefit of the people. This is the truth and principle that everyone in the Xu family practices and adheres to.
"Ze'er, I heard that a new pastry shop has opened in Shangjing City recently. I have already told Qingyuan. Let him take you there." Xu Jixue interrupted his brother's thoughts, then patted his shoulder with a smile, and signaled Qingyuan to take his master away.
"Remember to buy more, I want to eat too." Xu Shiping pushed Xu Tianze from the side and made a funny expression on his face again.
"You wish!" Xu Tianze's eyes lit up when he heard what his eldest brother said. Seeing his father nodded in agreement, he made a face at his second brother and ran out.
Facing the wind, he heard his eldest brother ask his father: "Father, do you regret it?"
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