The fact that Xu Huaijiang and his son had sought refuge under the Prince of Yan was naturally not kept from Old Madam Xu.
"What goes around comes around. They chose their own path, so they should walk it themselves. Don't get yourself into trouble."
Madam Xu's expression was unreadable, but her eyes betrayed her deep disappointment. Over the years, even though her second son was the illegitimate son she disliked the most, she had never mistreated him.
Compared to those legitimate mothers who mistreat their illegitimate sons, she has already done very well. Now, however, she doesn't want these children to be tied down by the second son's family or get involved in their troubles.
Xu Yunci nodded, glancing at Xie Yizhi out of the corner of his eye. Xie Yizhi looked at Xu Yunci with a half-smile, seemingly guessing Xu Yunci's intentions, but he did not look away.
Xu Yunci's gaze was deep. He withdrew his gaze and said nothing more. After the New Year, he would continue to probe further. If the Xie family's motives were impure, Xie Yizhi could not stay in the Duke's Mansion.
After all, the Xu family is now tied to Chonghua Palace. If Xie Yizhi is here on orders from the Xie family to do something, the Duke's mansion will be in great danger. He can't afford to gamble, and he doesn't have the extraordinary ability to guarantee that he can protect his entire family, including his elder sister in the palace.
Neither Xu Huaiting nor Wei Shi spoke first. From the New Year's greetings to the meal, they sat silently, with Xu Yunbo occasionally engaging in conversation.
After picking up their soup bowls, no one spoke again, and the atmosphere became quiet.
The three daughters-in-law accompanied Madam Xu to play cards, while Duke Rongguo took his two younger brothers to the front yard. The other young men did not follow and instead went to play in the snow outside Shousong Hall.
The sky is azure today, with clouds clustered together, white as snow on the ground. The weather is cold; the snow, after a heavy snowfall, has not melted at all. After the servants cleared a path, the snow on both sides was as neatly cut as if it had been sliced.
Li Shiyue came out carrying a hand warmer. She wasn't very interested in the leaf cards, but she couldn't sit still because of the laughter outside. As soon as she came out, she saw Xu Yunbo and Xu Yunyao holding each other down, as if they were about to knock each other down.
Li Shiyue's eyes lit up, looking on with curiosity: "What are you doing?"
Xu Lingzi smiled when she saw her come out: "Wrestling, Third Brother and Fourth Brother are going to have a contest to see who can win."
Falling in the snow?
Li Shiyue looked over and saw that the unswept snow crust was as high as a person's ankle, which had now been trampled into a flat area by several young men.
Xu Yunbo and Xu Yunyao were still entangled with each other, holding on tightly and unwilling to let go, wary of the other suddenly making a move, and also needing to pay attention to any openings the other might reveal, in order to succeed in one fell swoop.
Li Shiyue glanced over and saw Xu Yunci with his arms crossed, holding a snowball the size of his palm in his hand. His fingertips were red from being stuck in the snow for a long time.
But he didn't realize it, holding the snowball tightly in his hand, and even met Li Shiyue's gaze with composure.
"Bang!"
Xu Yunyao's back touched the ground first. He licked his back teeth, looked at Xu Yunbo's outstretched hand, and grasped it for support: "Third brother is indeed different from before."
The group looked on with undisguised surprise, especially Xu Yunbo, who jumped up high and exclaimed, "That's a really impressive way to address someone as 'Third Brother'!"
If it were the Xu Yunbo of the past, with his dissolute behavior, Xu Yunyao would never have dared to call him "brother." But today is different; he is completely convinced.
Several young men stood in the snow, each holding a snowball of varying sizes. Suddenly, something flew from under Li Shiyue's feet. By the time she reacted, the snowball had already hit the stone path at her feet, bounced onto her skirt, and left water stains from the melting snow. In the cold outside, the snowballs didn't seem to dry easily.
"Oh no, my skirt!" Xu Lingzi tugged at her skirt and looked at the culprit.
Seeing everyone looking over, Xie Yizhi raised an eyebrow and met Xu Yunci's gaze. He pretended not to understand the deeper meaning in Xu Yunci's eyes, jumped out of the snow, and came over with a smile: "Snowy weather, huh? I've never seen it before. I guess Yan Yan didn't see it either when she was in Yunzhong County."
"It snows in Yunzhong County, but it doesn't stay, so you can't see it." Li Shiyue didn't look at the hem of her skirt, but watched Xie Yizhi walk over.
However, before Xie Yizhi could reach her, Xu Lingzi had already walked over first: "I think Cousin Xie wants to see the power of a snowball fight. Since it's your first time in the capital, let Second Brother and the others play with you. Yan Yan and I won't get involved; it's better to watch from the sidelines."
"Alright."
Xu Yunci spoke first, before Xie Yizhi could speak. He didn't look at Xie Yizhi, but walked out of the snow and past Xie Yizhi to Li Shiyue's side.
Ignoring the stares of others, she reached out and touched the hand warmer in Li Shiyue's hand: "It's still quite warm. When you go to the corridor with Fifth Sister later, it might get on you. Otherwise, like last year when you had a cold and didn't want to take your medicine, I'll force it down your throat."
The tone changed a bit too quickly, and Li Shiyue's eyes widened. She also forgot that Xu Yunci's hand was on the hand warmer in her hand, and their fingertips were touching.
"Cousin, you should be worried about yourself. Don't get beaten up and end up needing medicine."
She also lost her temper, but to Xu Yunci, it sounded like a kitten scratching an itch in his heart, like a child being affectionate, and had no intimidating power whatsoever.
He smiled slightly, deliberately raised an eyebrow, and withdrew his hand. Li Shiyue glanced at him, took Xu Lingzi's hand, ignored the others, and leaned against the "beauty railing" under the corridor. Only then did Xu Yunci turn around.
He had his back to Li Shiyue at this moment, but Xie Yizhi and the other two, including Xu Yunbo, could see Xu Yunci's expression clearly. Compared to before, his expression now was hard to describe, but he seemed very serious, even though there was a smile on his lips.
Xu Yunbo and the other two looked at each other. Only Xu Yunxu, who knew something, picked his nose and dared not say anything.
“I’ll fight with you. Yan Yan can’t get cold. Let her watch over her.”
Xie Yizhi had somehow made a snowball again and deliberately looked past Xu Yunci in front of him, trying to see the people behind him, but Xu Yunci blocked his view.
"I don't necessarily have to fight with Yan Yan, it would seem like I'm bullying her."
The smile on his lips was quite obvious. He turned to look at the three people on the other side, pointed at them, and then pointed at himself and Xu Yunci: "Why don't you fight yourselves? But I'll still try it out, Cousin Prince."
Even with his slow reaction time, Xu Yunbo, honed by his military training, quickly grasped the situation. Looking at his elder brother, whose position allowed him to see Li Shiyue in the corridor, he noticed that although his mother hadn't looked up, she could still hear their conversation.
He seemed to understand something, and glanced at his two younger brothers behind him. The three of them looked bewildered and panicked.
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