Qin Heng was baffled: "I've memorized all the books I was supposed to memorize today, and even my cousin Siyuan said I've been performing exceptionally well lately."
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Jijiu interrupted him: "Don't think you're something special just because you wrote a limerick on the field. Siyuan praised you for your quick wit and said that you've made some progress these days by working with the professor on the poetry collection, but what is that? Just a little bit of progress, and you're already getting cocky? Someone's already biting your ass from the bench?"
Qin Heng was unconvinced and blurted out, "Brother Xu invited me to play football together. I'll play for a while today, and I have to go back to school tomorrow. What's the big deal? My second brother-in-law also said that Brother Xu is knowledgeable, witty and humorous. He didn't study much, but he can still get the appreciation of important people by playing football well."
"Listen to this, listen to this!"
The finger pointing at Qin Heng by the Imperial Libationer trembled slightly.
Cui panicked as well.
"Son, when did you meet this Brother Xu? Is he a decent person?"
"How can he not be a respectable person?" Qin Heng said, "He's from the Xu family, the maternal family of Master Gu's deceased wife. The Xu family also has titles, but they have too many sons to accommodate so many jobs, so he went out to make a living on his own. Now that his sister is a favored concubine of the Prince of Jin's mansion, he's risen in status as well. Because he's good at football, he played at the Prince of Qi's mansion and even went to the palace to appear before the Emperor. The Emperor praised him for his football skills. Although he doesn't hold an official position, I'm afraid that in the future, those who become officials will still be counting on him to put in a good word for them with the Emperor and princes, to pull some strings."
These words were spoken fluently.
It seems you've listened to a lot of it and taken it to heart.
Qin Jijiu snorted and said, "It's shameful that you even noticed this kind of person relying on nepotism to become a hanger-on. I would be ashamed to death if I were in his shoes."
Qin Heng was also furious and said, "Your son-in-law, whom you value so much, also thinks highly of him. If my second brother-in-law hadn't told me, how would I know these things?"
Cui punched him with her hand: "How dare you talk to your father like that? Look at you, you've only known that Xu guy for a short time, and you've already disobeyed your parents for him."
Qin Heng quickly begged for mercy: "Mom, it hurts so much, can you be gentler?"
Ultimately, she loved her son more, so Madam Cui stopped.
Qin Jijiu angrily threw a piece of paper at him.
“It was written by your eldest sister, take a look for yourself.”
Qin Heng was puzzled, but he still took it and looked at it. After reading it, his expression changed drastically, and he said, "How could this be?"
"What do you think they're after by getting close to you?"
Qin Jijiu sneered, "The Xu family has long been in decline. There are so many people in the Xu family, but they only have a title. Now they are the last generation, and even if they have a title, they don't have much in stipend. What kind of business haven't they done in the marketplace? In their eyes, someone like you is nothing more than a little lamb. Even if you are offered to them, they would probably complain that there is not enough meat."
Qin Heng remained silent for a long time, clearly deeply affected.
Qin Jijiu ignored him.
After a long pause, Qin Heng said quietly, "Then I really should go and talk to him to see what he's up to. If he really has bad intentions, I'll be on guard. If I find anything wrong with him, I'll just inform my cousin Siyuan and my second brother-in-law in advance. Anyway, I'm still a primary school student, and my studies aren't too heavy. Besides, even if I study hard for twenty years, I might not be able to pass the imperial examination."
Qin Jijiu was speechless.
Cui asked, "Are you sure you can do it?"
No man is incapable.
Qin Heng puffed out his chest.
“What’s wrong with me? Gu Baozhu isn’t much older than me, and she was so brave in polo that day. The women of the Yelü clan are so strong and fierce, but she almost got trampled by a horse and didn’t embarrass the Marquis of Dingbei. I’m a man, after all. They’re bullying me because I’m young, but little do they know that heroes have emerged from among the young since ancient times.”
Qin Jijiu slammed his hand on the table. “This is outrageous! What are you doing meddling in the affairs of the adults? Don’t tell anyone about these things. I will give your second sister and brother-in-law some pointers.”
Qin Heng said quietly, "You're my father, and you've read so many books. Don't they say that it's easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark? If I don't deal with Xu Tang for no reason, he'll definitely guess that we're on guard. Like my older sister said, with all the businesses he runs, he can find many people to work for him. If one plan fails, he'll come up with another. Do you know what kind of scheme he'll use to harm people? Cousin Siyuan's future can't be ruined in the slightest. Didn't Father always say that our Qin family has only produced such a scholarly seed in this generation?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Jijiu was speechless and waved his hand, saying, "Go play football first."
After he left, Cui asked worriedly, "Why did you let him go?"
“There’s no danger in playing a game today, and he knows what he’s doing, so let him go. What he said earlier makes sense. Qin Heng is helping Siyuan, and Siyuan will remember this favor in the future. Besides…”
After a moment's hesitation, Qin Jijiu said, "Your second son-in-law is truly disgraceful, to actually set his sights on such a person. I'm afraid he'll turn out to be a shameless scoundrel in the future?"
He looked down on Lin Ziqi even more.
Madam Cui retorted angrily, "I know you only have eyes for your eldest son-in-law. You look down on your second son-in-law because he's poor and stingy. When he goes to help out at the Marquis's mansion, you accuse him of being sycophantic and opportunistic. When he treats the Xu family kindly because they're related by marriage, you say he'll be shameless in the future."
"An unreasonable woman."
Qin Jijiu got up angrily and walked out.
Still not satisfied, Cui raised her voice behind him and said, "You should know that this son-in-law was chosen by you and your eldest daughter first."
Qin Jijiu stiffened for a moment, then strode away.
Enraged, Cui sat on the footstool, pounding her knees and crying out, "What a terrible thing! They had to snatch such a poor, worthless man. I feel ashamed!"
Despite his poverty, his eldest son-in-law, Lin Ziqi, held Xu Tang in high esteem.
He said to Qin Wan, "Brother Xu has exceptional insight and will surely amount to something great in the future. Sixth Master Gu underestimates the Xu family and is willing to fall out with them for a little money. He will definitely regret it in the future."
"How can tens of thousands of taels of silver be called a pittance?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Wan couldn't help but retort.
Lin Ziqi frowned: "How come you're as obsessed with money as Master Gu? We're all related by marriage, helping each other is the right thing to do. The Gu family has been wealthy for so many years, what are tens of thousands of taels of silver to them? To make such a fuss with the Xu family over such a small amount of money, is this looking down on poor relatives?"
At this point, Qin Wan realized that Lin Ziqi was merely using a metaphor to prevent her from scolding his beloved cousin and his loving mother for ransacking her room while she was at her parents' home.
He then sneered, "As the saying goes, it's not poverty that's scary, but a lack of ambition. I suppose that saying doesn't apply to someone like Brother Xu."
Lin Ziqi's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
Qin Wan then added sarcastically, "I think my husband must be a generous person to say such things. My father said that Heng-ge'er is probably not going to amount to anything in the future. Now that you, my brother-in-law, have made it big, don't be stingy with Heng-ge'er."
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