"puff!"
Although Xu Yunbo had changed his bad habits, he was still the same old rascal when he got home. This sneer was louder than the previous chuckle. Li Shiyue, standing to the right of Old Madam Xu, immediately saw Xiangzhi's flushed cheeks and the panic in her eyes.
She glanced at Xu Yunbo, who was still covering his mouth and chuckling to himself, then turned to look at Old Madam Xu and smiled slightly: "Last night, Grandmother was saying that my cousins are getting old and when they will be able to let you hold your great-grandchildren. Well, there is one right here in front of you soon."
Madam Xu naturally hoped that her great-grandchild would not be born to a concubine, but rather to her legitimate granddaughter-in-law. Li Shiyue's words were also to save face for the fourth branch of the family, and not simply to help a concubine out of an awkward situation.
Xu Lingzi sat to the left of Old Madam Xu, covering her mouth and chuckling: "Third Aunt is more anxious than Grandmother. While Third Brother is at home, she has been looking at quite a few women in the capital."
Just as Xu Yunbo was about to say something, Old Madam Xu patted her granddaughter's hand: "You, don't make fun of your third brother. I'm already very satisfied with how he is now."
His gaze fell on the two people still kneeling: "Get up, stop kneeling."
Without rushing to speak, and seeing that the two were standing firmly, Granny Chang came out carrying a wooden box. She said, "Although you are a concubine in Sanlang's courtyard, and were originally meant to be a maidservant, things have now come to a satisfactory conclusion. This gold hairpin looks rather plain, and it matches your clothes. You should serve your master and mistress well in the future."
It was no secret that Zhou had been anxiously looking for a wife for Xu Yunyao these past few days.
Upon seeing the person, Madam Xu did not intend to keep her, but only left Xu Yunyao and her brother behind, letting her go back on her own.
Xiangzhi looked at the young men and women filling the room, and finally at Li Shiyue sitting happily in front of Old Madam Xu. Even though she was unwilling, she could only follow Lianchun out.
After leaving Qingji Hall, the group went to Xu Yunci's courtyard and sat in the main hall talking.
As soon as Li Shiyue and Xu Lingzi sat down, Xu Lingqing followed with a smile. The three of them sat on one side, not too close to their husband.
Xu Yunbo said with regret, "I've been back for so long, and I haven't even seen my brother-in-law yet."
Everyone's smiling eyes were on Xu Lingzi, making her blush. But Xu Yunbo didn't seem to notice and kept asking, "Good sister, you're getting married soon. I'm your brother too. Is it appropriate for you not to have met my future brother-in-law?"
"If you say that again, I'm ignoring you." Xu Lingzi turned her body away from him.
Having been rebuffed, Xu Yunbo turned his gaze to Li Shiyue, but did not move too close. He winked at Xu Lingzi, who was sitting with her back to him, across the round table.
"My cousin is like the moon in the sky. Please have a kind heart and tell your cousin who this Guo Shaoqing really is."
"Hey!"
Before Li Shiyue could answer, Xu Yunci stood up, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and led him outside: "Just got back, sparred with your brother a couple of times, let me see if you've been slacking off."
Xu Yunbo's eyes lit up when he heard this. He patted his chest and forgot about what he had just asked: "Come on then. Second brother, I'm not trying to scare you. In the military camp, apart from General Cheng, no one is my match now."
There's a truth to that statement. General Cheng was indeed someone he couldn't defeat, but others couldn't be said to be completely unable to defeat him either. Sometimes, it's a matter of skill versus brute force, and sometimes victory or defeat is possible.
Xu Yunci, dressed in a narrow-sleeved robe, raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Alright."
The people inside the room quickly got up and walked to the corridor. Xu Yunbo had already made a move and was heading straight for Xu Yunci's shoulder, but Xu Yunci easily dodged it and grabbed Xu Yunbo's forearm instead.
The force must have been considerable, causing Xu Yunbo to grimace in pain. However, he quickly turned around, took the opportunity to rub his forearm, and hurriedly reached out to catch Xu Yunci's fist.
The two went back and forth, and for a time it was impossible to determine a winner.
Xu Yunxu said with some emotion, "Third brother is really good. He didn't last this long last time."
Xie Yizhi feigned ignorance, then leaned closer to Xu Yunxu, touching his chin: "These two look about the same, so who's more capable?"
“Naturally, it’s my second brother. My second brother is always capable of anything.” Xu Yunyao raised his chin, as if he were the one gesturing to Xu Yunbo.
Xie Yizhi smiled, then suddenly turned to look at Li Shiyue beside him, tilting his head thoughtfully, and asked with a smile, "Yan Yan, who do you think will win?"
Startled by being suddenly called out, Li Shiyue snapped out of her reverie. This was the first time she had ever seen the young men take action. Their movements were so fast that she couldn't even see their entire figures, only vaguely making out blurry shapes before they changed positions.
"Cousin, I think the Crown Prince might be more capable."
Xie Yizhi thought she guessed based on Xu Yunxu's words, but in fact Li Shiyue simply felt that Xu Yunci would not lose.
Sure enough, Xu Yunbo soon became exhausted and was kicked in the chest by Xu Yunci. Xu Yunci controlled the force of the kick, which only made Xu Yunbo take a few steps back and almost crash into the stone table behind him.
"Stop, stop, stop, I give up."
Xu Yunbo rubbed his chest. This kick was much lighter than General Cheng's, and he could still bear it. He just wanted to drink some water.
Xu Yunci looked pleased and walked up to him: "Not bad, even better than last time, but you still need to practice."
"If I were under General Cheng's command, how could I possibly be any worse? I would truly be letting down my brother's good intentions." Xu Yunbo took the warm water handed to him by the servant, and the moisture in his throat even relieved the numbness and pain in his chest.
Back inside, Xu Yunci walked to Li Shiyue's side: "Should we go and see how Chang Shun and the others are preparing? Your birthday is in three days."
Li Shiyue smiled and said, "I'll go take another look in a bit. There are some things I need to show my aunt."
Xu Yunci nodded, not surprised by Li Shiyue's words: "Okay, I'll go with you to see it later, and then we'll go to pay our respects to Mother, so that Grandmother can feel more at ease."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Yunbo stepped forward, holding up three fingers, and said solemnly, "I promise that I will be the first to not allow anyone to offend my cousin Yan Yan in the future."
"Come on, you've probably forgotten why you went to the western suburban military camp." Xu Yunyao sneered, stepping forward to put his three fingers down, but he dodged.
Xu Yunbo held up the three fingers and walked to Li Shiyue's side: "I have reformed now. My cousin Yan Yan is such a beautiful girl, how dangerous is she? Even at home, I have to protect her well. I can't let any scheming man get close to her."
As he spoke, he subconsciously looked at Xu Yunci. Seeing no displeasure in his eyes, he raised his finger and went to Xu Yunci's side, slightly ingratiatingly saying, "Second brother is right about one thing. I am also an older brother, and I must protect my younger sister."
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