Xu Rong entered the side room, sat for a while, and after calming down, he stopped idle and started tidying up the mess he had previously thrown away.
Xiao Xin looked at them for a while, and then he also started tidying up his books.
Hongliu, who had already started chatting with the soldiers, wanted to come and help, but Xiao Xin shook his head and told him to continue resting. He scratched his head and then left.
The two of them then quietly went about their own business.
It must be said that doing some housework is very helpful in calming one's mind. After tidying up all the books that the soldiers had carelessly thrown down, his mood improved considerably.
He sat down in the chair next to Xu Rong. Xu Rong had also finished tidying up and was doing the accounts when she looked up and smiled at him: "Xiao Bao, are you done with your work?"
Xiao Xin exploded: "What the hell are you yelling about?"
"Otherwise, how should I address you?" Xu Rong asked with a smile.
Since he stopped letting her call him Second Young Master, it has indeed become a problem that troubles her a bit. If she calls him by his given name, then strictly speaking, he shouldn't even have the surname "Xiao" anymore, so calling him that is also not right.
Most of the time, she simply had to omit the details and get straight to the point.
Xiao Xin was speechless: "...Then you can't call me that."
After a while, he said, his ears turning red.
"Okay. So what should I call you?" Xu Rong asked him.
Xiao Xin paused for a moment: "The master just gave me a courtesy name, Xuancheng. Xuan means the profound silence of the heavenly way and the meaning of tranquility, and Cheng means faith."
At the age of twenty, a man is given a courtesy name. He also passed the provincial examination with top honors, which means he has already stepped into the officialdom. He will have to attend many more formal social occasions. Therefore, Mr. Su carefully considered for several days and chose a courtesy name for him so that he could go out and socialize.
Before he could use it or tell anyone, something happened, forcing him to flee.
"Xuan, Cheng?" Xu Rong thought it over in his mind and thought it sounded quite nice. It was indeed the work of a great Confucian scholar. So he said, "Then I'll call you that from now on?"
Xiao Xin: "Hmm."
He responded, and the heat behind his ears gradually subsided.
Xu Rong buried herself in calculations for a while. After suffering such a hardship, it was impossible to avoid any losses. Fortunately, after finishing the calculations, she found that the losses were still within an acceptable range, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Xin neither did accounting nor read books; he just sat next to her, looking bored and somewhat lost in thought.
This was a rare occurrence for him. Xu Rong looked up again and found that he hadn't even changed his posture. Although she wasn't good at it, she still offered a perfunctory piece of advice: "Don't overthink it. He's your father anyway. Whether you acknowledge him or not, he can't escape. Just let nature take its course."
"I didn't—" Xiao Xin blurted out, but before he could finish, he met Xu Rong's eyes. It was a look he knew all too well. No matter how agitated or irritable he was, from the beginning until now, she had never been impatient with him. Like a clear spring, she silently soothed all his negative emotions.
"I never thought he was like this," Xiao Xin changed his tune and told the truth.
"How about it? Unreliable, immature, and unsteady?" Xu Rong chimed in.
Xiao Xin remained silent.
That doesn't seem like it's that bad.
“His temperament is too different from the Marquis’s,” Xu Rong said with some understanding. “You’re not used to it.”
Lord Xiao was a typical feudal patriarch, and he would never use the word "treasure" to describe his life. Xiao Xin, having come from such a cold and strict family relationship, inevitably found it difficult to adapt to someone like Lin Ding.
Xiao Xin remained silent for a while, then sighed sullenly.
Xu Rong was amused by him: "Don't worry, Er—well, Xuan Cheng, since you don't know what to do, let the general make the decision. He'll talk to you about it sooner or later."
"—You old bastard! I'll kill him!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than a furious curse came from the direction of the main house.
Xu Rong was startled: "What's wrong?"
She put down the ledger and went outside. She realized that the sound was coming from the side room, so she went over there.
Xiao Xin hesitated for a moment, then followed behind her.
When the two reached the door, they saw Lin Ding sitting imposingly, with two fake Miao people lying at his feet. The rags had been removed from their mouths, but their limbs were still bound, though now in a reverse binding position. Xu Rong looked them over but couldn't figure out how they were bound; he just felt that the position must be very painful.
Although Lin Ding was in a fit of rage, his senses were also sharp. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, and the murderous glint in his eyes made Xu Rong suddenly realize that he and Xiao Xin were indeed father and son.
The two of them look very similar when they're angry.
However, Xiao Xin was making things difficult for himself, while Lin Ding looked as if he was about to snap the necks of the two fake seedlings at any moment.
This is completely different from how it was done in front of Wei.
At this moment, he truly resembled a ruthless general who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Unfortunately, this posture didn't last a second. When he saw Xiao Xin, his expression softened completely: "Xiao Bao, did I scare you? It was all that old bastard Xiao Yuanhong's doing. I was just angry and couldn't hold back."
Xiao Xin was too lazy to correct him, and simply moved his lips: "What do you mean?"
“These two,” Lin Ding glanced sideways, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes, “were sent by Xiao Yuanhong. They followed you in Huguang, but didn’t make a move until they entered Guizhou, far from the emperor’s reach, before finally showing up and attacking you.”
This was something he had just learned through torture. The two knights were originally servants of the Xiao family, kept on the estate, and were sent out to do shady things. They were sent out on the third day after Xiao Xin, Xu Rong, and Lady Wei escaped from the capital.
Xu Rong was surprised—well, she wasn't surprised at all.
It's perfectly normal for Lord Xiao to do what he did.
Although they had already approached them in Huguang, they did not act immediately. Instead, they waited a while, then disguised themselves as Miao people. This way, after silencing them, they could eliminate any future troubles to the greatest extent possible. Beneath their meticulous planning lay a determination to kill them.
They showed no mercy whatsoever.
Xiao Xin swayed slightly.
Xu Rong squeezed his wrist comfortingly, but he instinctively grabbed it back as if looking for support.
"Xiao Bao, don't be sad," Lin Ding murmured, then chickened out again, unsure of what to say.
"I'm fine," Xiao Xin said, his voice choked after a long while.
Without destruction, there can be no construction. At this moment, he truly accepted that the two sides had become adversaries.
Irreconcilable, and without any illusions.
Xu Rong let him hold her hand, but turned her gaze to the two knights and asked, "How was the Marquis's residence when you left? Has word of the Second Young Master's affair spread?"
Because she needed to speak with the knight, she used the Xiao family's address to make it easier for them to understand.
The two knights looked pained and remained silent.
Xu Rong smiled and said, "We've already confessed everything we shouldn't have, so why bother with these trivial matters? Even if you don't say anything, we'll find out when we return to the capital. It's better to say it now and avoid suffering any immediate losses."
One of the knights hesitated for a moment before speaking: "When we were summoned to the manor, we didn't see any changes in the manor, nor did we hear anyone say anything about the second young master."
Lord Xiao then chose to handle the matter discreetly.
It seems that Lord Xiao has not completely lost his mind. He still knows that if this matter really spreads, Xiao Xin will be disgraced and he will lose face.
It's true that this world is harsh on women, but men are also subject to certain constraints in some ways—if word got out that he was cuckolded and raised someone else's son for twenty years, that joke would be enough to circulate in the capital for twenty years.
"What about the Marquis of Ji'an's residence? Has the Marquis said anything about what he intends to do to my family?"
The knight tried to shake his head—but his bound position was too contorted to move, so he could only say, "The Marquis didn't mention it, so I don't know. I've said everything I need to say, please, General, release us."
Lin Ding spat, "You can't even hold on for this long? You two cowards dare to come out and do the hunting job!"
The knight had nothing to say and could only plead.
Lin Ding ignored them, resigned to punishing them for a while longer.
Xu Rong asked him, "General, what about the confessions you obtained? Let them sign them first."
"..." Lin Ding slowly lowered his arm. "I... I forgot to write it."
The truth is, I simply couldn't write it, and I never even thought of writing it.
Xu Rong turned to Xiao Xin, wanting him to let go so she could get paper and pen to write. Xiao Xin understood, but said, "I'll write."
He fetched paper and pen, sat down at the table, and coldly ordered the two knights to give their confessions again.
The two knights had initially been unable to withstand the torture, but upon seeing that they were to be documented as evidence, they hesitated again. Lin Ding stood up and threatened, "If you confess, at least you can return to the capital alive. If you don't confess, I'll chop you up right now and bury you under the trees as fertilizer."
Under the shadow of death, the two knights finally spoke hesitantly, while Xiao Xin, without raising his head, continued writing rapidly.
After writing it down, have them sign and affix their fingerprints.
Neither of them could read, so they could only cut their fingers, be held down, and dejectedly leave their fingerprints.
Later, at Xu Rong's suggestion, Lin Ding released them and reverted to the original method of binding them like rice dumplings—he needed to keep two alive to return to the capital to sue Lord Xiao, and if they were tortured to death now, there would be less strong evidence.
After this, it was getting dark. The prefect was very hospitable and promptly sent someone to deliver fresh food. After everyone had eaten, they rested.
A minor incident occurred the next morning.
Lin Dingwu had a habit of practicing martial arts in the morning, a habit he had maintained for many years. This morning, the snow had stopped, and he was practicing his boxing under the camphor tree, full of energy. He first saw Xiao Xin come out of the house to wash up. He glanced at him, and the more he looked, the softer his heart became; even the force of his punches softened.
His son!
Look at that face, so fair; those eyebrows and eyes, so handsome; that nose, so straight and prominent—
Then, he saw Xu Rong come out of another room.
Xu Rong usually doesn't get up this early, but after being chased yesterday and moved to a new place, she couldn't sleep well. She woke up just as the snow light mixed with the daylight shone on the window paper.
I woke up and got up.
Lin Ding: "...?"
He was full of questions, and after Xiao Xin poured out the water for washing his face, he couldn't help but follow him: "Xiao Bao, why are you sleeping in a separate room from your wife?"
"..." Xiao Xin was stunned for a moment. He found it difficult to explain the question, nor did he want to, so he said stiffly, "It's nothing."
On the way, they had been staying in separate rooms for men and women to make it easier to look after each other and pass messages. But now that they were in a safe place, they could stay in separate rooms. So he and Xu Rong naturally followed their habit from when they were in the Marquis's mansion, staying in separate rooms, but talking together during the day.
“How can this be nothing?” Lin Ding said worriedly. “Is it because you’re no longer the Marquis’s son, and your wife is looking down on you?”
He recalled, "Yesterday I felt that your wife seemed quite capable. She was always the one who spoke up and even made arrangements for me. When you're at home, is she the one who makes the decisions?"
Xiao Xin pursed his lips: "No."
“Why are you being so stubborn in front of your father? He won’t laugh at you,” Lin Ding comforted him. “But you can’t do this. You’re a man, and you should uphold your authority as a husband. If you let your wife do whatever she wants, and you don’t go into the room unless she tells you to, is that how a real man acts?”
Xiao Xin didn't want to listen to his nonsense and turned to leave. Lin Ding, who rarely mustered up the courage to chat with him, grabbed him in a hurry: "You're right to listen to your father. As a man, you can't be concerned about saving face, understand?"
Xiao Xin: "..."
He slowed his pace.
Lin Ding breathed a sigh of relief and shared his secret with him: "When you encounter someone as formidable as her, you have to soften your stance. If she won't let you into her room, you have to beg her."
Xu Rong, who was half-squatting and rinsing her mouth not far away, was speechless.
At this distance, she can hear me, okay?
She slowly stood up. Xiao Xin noticed her movement and looked over. His eyes were hesitant and conflicted. After a while, he asked in a low voice, "...Will it work?"
Lin Ding was very excited and said confidently, "It works!"
Xiao Xin: "..."
Why are you shouting so loudly!
Lin Ding had his back to Xu Rong, but Xu Rong was facing him directly and could clearly see the surprise in Xu Rong's eyes. Embarrassed, Xu Rong abandoned Lin Ding and turned to leave.
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