Xu Bangning made a big circle around Taihu Lake and finally returned to Jinling City in a hurry so that he would not miss the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner tonight.

This made Lady Zheng, the wife of the Duke, extremely happy. She invited her travel-tired son to sit down at the table, held his hand and asked him about his life.

The young master was able to gain power thanks to his mother, who had a concubine who was promoted to the position of the emperor. He took out a string of giant clam bracelets in ivory white and brown and yellow from his sleeve, which made Zheng very happy.

Duke of Wei Xu Pengju will be seventy next year, and he dotes on his youngest son. He put on a stern face and pretended to be angry and said, "I thought you were enjoying yourself in Huating and even forgot about the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Father has wronged his son." Xu Bangning finally got rid of his mother and clapped his hands. Then he saw two servants carrying in a blood coral that was more than four feet tall.

"It's been delayed until today just because I was waiting for this thing to arrive."

"Wow, corals this big are rare." Xu Pengju stepped forward to look at the coral with even branches and bright red color, and immediately praised it, saying, "The quality is also excellent."

"Father can now surpass Lingbi Hou, right?" Xu Bangning said with a smile.

Before leaving, his mother told him that his father was in a bad mood recently.

Because when Xu Pengju was a guest at Lingbi Hou's house, he saw a coral that was more than three feet tall. After returning home, he asked people to search the warehouse, but they couldn't find a comparable one.

The dignified 'Xu Bancheng' was actually suppressed by someone. How could the old master tolerate this?

But corals are produced overseas, and you can’t buy them even if you have money. You can only wait for an opportunity and try your luck. Who knows when you will be able to come across them?

He was almost seventy years old, his lust had faded, but his desire for wealth had become more intense. He wanted it but couldn't get it, so he lost his appetite and felt like he was sick.

"Haha, you are so thoughtful." Xu Pengju couldn't help but smile. This gift from his youngest son really touched his heart.

Moreover, the old man has a bad habit. After praising his younger son, he must step on his older son.

He glanced at Xu Bangrui who was sitting silently beside him and snorted, "You can't even tell that I'm unhappy. You don't even take me, your father, seriously."

"My father is right." Xu Bangrui lowered his head and looked submissive, with an expression of accepting everything.

Xu Bangrui's wife, Li, was furious. She thought to herself, "The last time you saw your eldest son was on the Dragon Boat Festival. He can't even see you, so how can he take you seriously?"

Besides, you only thought about your youngest son, but didn't notice that your eldest grandson was also absent from the reunion dinner. Is this how a grandfather should be?!

Just as she was about to open her mouth to refute, Xu Bangrui quietly stepped on the instep of her foot. She then turned her head away without saying a word.

After scolding his eldest son, Xu Pengju allowed the meal to be left, and the family happily celebrated the Reunion Festival.

Of course, Xu Bangrui and his wife are not included.

Naturally, the couple was scolded by the old man again, who thought they were affecting the family's mood for the holiday.

The more Zheng saw that the couple suffered a setback, the more she wanted to provoke them.

When they were half drunk, she deliberately put on a stern face and loudly scolded Xu Bangning, "This time you must concentrate and not go out again, otherwise Jiang Jijiu will beat you with a stick, and you are not allowed to cry to your father!"

Xu Bangning looked bitter at first, but then he was overjoyed and stood up and said, "Father, the imprisonment is settled!"

"It was originally a simple matter, but I spent all this time and effort because of all the trouble you caused me last year." Xu Pengju's eyes could not leave the coral.

"It's all the fault of that kid named Zhao!" Xu Bangning snorted, not looking like he was fleeing from Huating in a panic all the way.

After returning to Jinling City, the young master will no longer be afraid of that kid named Zhao!

"Don't mess with that kid." Xu Pengju said leisurely, "If he ruins your business again, no matter how many corals you give me, I won't clean up your mess."

"Hehe, then I will find a better treasure for my father." Xu Bangning's heart trembled when he heard it, and he smiled mischievously.

"Hahaha!" The old man laughed out loud. It was obvious that this warning was just talk.

Xu Bangrui standing by finally couldn't hold it anymore and lowered his head dejectedly.

Li couldn't help it, she stood up and said, "My daughter-in-law is not feeling well," and left the table.

"What a spoiler." The old master snorted and said to Xu Bangrui in a cold voice: "You useless wimp, is this how you teach your wife? Get out and teach her a lesson!"

"Yes, father." Xu Bangrui lowered his head, stood up, and left the hall on cotton.

I hadn't walked far when I heard the shrill laughter behind me again.

~~

After getting married, Xu Bangrui moved out of the Duke's Mansion and lived in the Xu family's small villa next to Fenghuangtai.

He followed Li back home and entered the inner bedroom, where he saw his wife, still wearing her makeup, lying on the bed crying.

Xu Bangrui felt sad. He went over and patted his wife on the back, sighing, "Following me has made you suffer."

"Are you his biological child? How come he treats one of his sons as a treasure while the other as grass?!" Li sobbed.

"My father has looked down on me for a long time." Xu Bangrui sighed, "After Zheng got the imperial edict, Xu Bangning became the legitimate son. How can I compete with him?"

"Is this matter settled?" In fact, this is what makes Li most frustrated.

"In fact, it has been decided long ago. Letting Xu Bangning go to the Imperial College is just to make him more legitimate." Xu Bangrui stood up, put his hands behind his back, looked at the bright moon outside the window, and said with tears in his eyes:

"How could the title of Duke be passed on to a son like me who is not well-received?"

"Then why did you send Xiaozhi to Kunshan? It would be better for him to stay with us and live our life behind closed doors as a family." Mrs. Li complained, "I haven't seen my son for almost two months."

"Don't let anyone call my son back." Xu Bangrui took a deep breath, calmed down and said, "I found a different path for him. Then Zhao Hao can protect his disciples, and my son won't have to be like me, living in fear and cowardice all his life, living... worse than death."

"If you can't protect your son, how can a man named Zhao Hao protect him?" Li sat up and looked at her husband with red and swollen eyes.

"He can." Xu Bangrui nodded without hesitation and said, "I have been observing him for a long time since he asked Xu Bangning to come and apologize last year."

He lowered his voice, his eyes sparkling as he said, "I have never seen such a brilliant young genius. He has infinite energy and can easily do many seemingly impossible things."

"Ah..." Mrs. Li was stunned. She didn't expect her husband to have such a high opinion of the boy surnamed Zhao.

"He just likes to hide behind the scenes. Plus, he is young, so he is always ignored intentionally or unintentionally." Xu Bangrui's face showed hope, and he spoke word by word:

"I have a feeling that letting Xiaozhi go to Kunshan will be the best decision I have ever made."

In fact, he hadn't said half a sentence yet - 'If Xiao Zhi can convince Zhao Hao to help, I might still have a chance to turn the tables.'

But he thought about it carefully recently and realized that it made no sense for Zhao Hao to wade into this muddy water. With Mr. Zhao's extraordinary intelligence, it would be better for him not to daydream like this...

p.s. I’m back. Thank you all for your patience. Here are three updates in a row.