The Marquis picked up the wine pot, took a small sip, sighed, and said, "Di-ge'er, you are no ordinary child. Your grandfather knows that you have shown that you are different from other children since you were very young. In the past few years, you have been training with your father in the Northwest. It can be said that your growth is unmatched by many children of noble families in the capital."
Xu Di smiled and said, "Grandfather, Grandfather, we're family, no need for such praise."
The Marquis smiled and said, "I really like that you speak your mind directly and know how to be tactful in your speech. Di'er, your grandfather feels extremely honored to have a grandson like you."
Xu Di said, "Grandfather, look at you, you've only had one sip of wine, and you're already tipsy? Weren't we talking about my eldest uncle? Why are you keeping blaming me?"
The Marquis sighed and said, "Your uncle is just too young and lacked experience. He's kind-hearted and easily misled by those with ulterior motives. But luckily, he has loving grandparents and a wise and open-minded wife. There's nothing to trouble him with. Your grandmother and aunt have people following him. Even if someone wants to use him, they'll have to see if your grandmother and aunt are willing."
Xu Di frowned upon hearing this and said, "Grandfather, this is not a good way to handle things. It's like they're plotting against us without our knowledge. We still need to let Uncle know about the current crisis in our Marquis's mansion and make him stay away from certain people."
The Marquis said, "Although your uncle is the heir of the household, he is not very capable, and he is not very decisive. If he finds out about some things, it will only harm him."
Xu Di said, "Grandfather, I know what you're afraid of, but some problems can't be avoided just by avoiding them. I think you and Grandmother should have a good talk with Uncle. At the very least, Uncle needs to know the precarious situation our Marquis's Mansion is in right now. Any one of the things we've been hiding could become a target for many people to attack us. Moreover, if something happens to Yuyuan, we won't be able to explain ourselves no matter how hard we try. We'll probably have no other way out but to atone with our deaths."
Upon hearing Xu Di's words, the Marquis paused, his hand gripping the wine cup. He looked up at Xu Di intently. Seeing the Marquis's gaze, Xu Di said, "Grandfather, I'm telling you the truth. Whether it's the matter of Yuyuan, Aunt Zhu, or even Aunt Shao, tell me, which one of them isn't something that could cause a huge scandal? There are no secrets in this world. If our family is really targeted by someone with ulterior motives, with so many people involved, who knows what kind of fate awaits us?"
Xu Di possessed the memories of the original owner's later twenty years, so he naturally knew that the Marquis's mansion had indeed been taken advantage of by Consort Zhu. After the incident involving Xu Rao and her family of three, the old lady couldn't bear the blow and suffered a stroke, becoming paralyzed and unable to speak. As for the Marquis, he was framed by Consort Zhu's men and lost his title. The Marquis's mansion declined rapidly. A few years after the old lady's passing, the Marquis followed her. Xu Di believed that the Marquis was assassinated. Unfortunately, at that time, many things in the Marquis's mansion were in chaos. As a child of a deceased illegitimate son who was not valued in the family, and an orphan living in the Marquis's mansion with his younger sister, Xu Di didn't even have the right to know many things.
Xu Di had thought about those things carefully, but unfortunately he couldn't recall many. At that time, Xu Di was unable to continue his studies because he had a limp. His family didn't arrange for him to do anything, so he could only live on the meager monthly allowance from the household, struggling to make ends meet. He was over thirty years old and still hadn't found a wife.
Based on current events, Xu Di felt that the Marquis's family wasn't solely harmed by Consort Zhu; there must have been others involved. Unfortunately, Xu Di was unaware of their involvement. The motive was likely the Marquis's immense wealth. Consort Zhu harmed Xu Rao's family because Xu Rao passed the imperial examination and because of his appearance. As Xu Rao grew older, he increasingly resembled Wu's younger brother, who had been studying in the south for many years and hadn't visited the capital. If the two stood together, no one would believe they weren't related.
This is the most important factor. The Xu family of the Marquis's Mansion is Xu Shao's maternal family. If her maternal family falls, it will not benefit Xu Shao. For Xu Shao's sake, Aunt Zhu also hopes that the Xu family will prosper. Unfortunately, because Xu Rao's appearance, temperament, and even talent are exactly the same as the third-ranked scholar of the Wu family back then, Aunt Zhu had no choice but to kill Xu Rao.
Now, Aunt Zhu is gone, and the Xu family is favored by the Emperor, especially Xu Rao. Although he is only a fifth-rank Assistant Magistrate, he has only been in officialdom for a few years. There are only a limited number of officials with rank and real power in the entire country. It is not easy to stand out among these people, make achievements, and gain the Emperor's favor. But Xu Rao did it. He started from Hexi, from a small county magistrate, risking his life to build a small county into a solid bulwark of the Great Liang in just a few years. This is an extremely difficult thing to do.
On the surface, all people saw was Xu Rao's promotion, but in secret, the princes, and even their supporters, knew that they had shed blood and sweat in the construction of Hexi County. Because of this, whether it was the Marquis, the Old Madam, or even Xu Di, everyone was doing their jobs with trepidation and had to pay attention to the movements of others. But now, someone wanted to use the Heir Apparent as a breakthrough point to break through the Xu family.
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