The cafeteria must be packed with people right now, and we can't bring people to the cafeteria, it's too crowded. "Wood, Wen Liu's dean, teacher, and classmates are all arranged to eat in the courtyard."
"Let them take good care of us. Hua Hua and I will go over later." With Prefect Xiao here, they can't leave. They originally wanted to thank the headmaster of the academy, but they can only do so later.
"Okay, sister-in-law." Village Chief Lin then jogged off to take care of the matter.
"Prefect Xiao, Young Master Xiao, this way please!" An Shuyi said, then looked at the two in surprise, "Prefect Xiao, you and Prefect Xiao actually have the same surname, and you even know each other, could you be brothers?"
She only just realized that Prefect Xiao and Xiao Yubai actually shared the same surname and were even together. She wouldn't believe she didn't know them.
Upon hearing her say this, Prefect Xiao waved his hands repeatedly, "I wouldn't dare. It was just a coincidence that I met Young Master Xiao. We met by chance and happened to run into each other on the way here. When I asked, I found out that you came from Madam An's village, so we came together."
He dared not call Young Master Xiao brothers. Looking at the beautiful Madam An in front of him, he never imagined that one day, two ordinary women would have their current status. A third-rank lady, and only ten years.
He has been in the position of prefect for ten years, but nothing has changed. Since his father-in-law passed away six years ago, he has not had much contact with his brother-in-law and others. With no one above him, he can only stay here.
An Shuyi saw that he was so excited and his expression was a little strange. She had just asked a question, why was he so excited? And so what if he called Xiao Yubai his brother? It wasn't like he was going to get his head killed.
behead?
Could this Xiao Yubai be some kind of royal relative? But the emperor has no uncles or elders above him; they're all dead. And there are three princes, all staying in their own fiefdoms. They've all met him; he's not Xiao Yubai.
Perhaps she guessed wrong. Maybe Prefect Xiao looked down on him because of his low status, so he didn't want to be on friendly terms with him. However, Xiao Yubai's identity is very suspicious. Find some time to have someone investigate him.
After arriving at the courtyard, Xia Hua went to make tea, and An Shuyi accompanied the two of them.
"Prefect Xiao, why didn't you bring your wife and daughter today?"
"There are many things to do at the manor, so my wife will stay home to manage things, and my daughter will stay with her mother. She'll come again next time." Actually, his daughter wanted to come along, saying she especially liked Peach Blossom Village, but he disagreed and told her to stay home and learn accounting.
My son is now married. Three years ago, he took the imperial examination, but he failed the provincial examination, let alone the palace examination.
An Shuyi nodded, "I'll go see what the prefect is like another day. To be honest, I've never seen the prefect's residence before."
Today is a big day in the village, so it's not appropriate to ask Wenfan about it. We can only wait for another opportunity to visit him.
Upon hearing this, and recalling Madam An's inquiry about her daughter, Prefect Xiao knew that she must want to discuss her daughter's marriage. He nodded and said, "Then I will certainly welcome Lady An with open arms."
He knew that Madam An's sixth son was the top scholar in this year's imperial examination. He was still unmarried and was only eighteen years old. He was considered young and promising, and three years older than his daughter, which was a suitable age.
He had met that young man before. He was good-looking and had a dignified appearance. As a top scholar, his future achievements would not be low. Moreover, with Madam An and Madam Xia by his side, his path would surely be smoother.
He knew before that Madam An and Madam Xia were formidable, but he never expected them to be even more so. It was a pity that he had never been able to have any connection with them. If his daughter could marry Madam An's son this time, that would be wonderful.
Xiao Yubai sat to one side, listening to their conversation without interrupting. He simply watched quietly. When Xia Hua came in, she saw Shushu and Prefect Xiao chatting happily.
"Prefect Xiao, please have some tea. Young Master Xiao, please have some tea." She placed the tea in front of them and sat down as well. It was inconvenient not having servants; she had to make the tea herself.
"Thank you very much, Lady Xia!" said Prefect Xiao.
"You can just call us Madam Xia. I'm not used to hearing 'Shuren'," Xia Hua said directly.
Looking at this old fellow, he must be in trouble. But thinking about the commotion in the village today, I instantly understood. It seems he's starting to get anxious too. That's good, though; only anxious people can be in control.
Just as they were talking, footsteps came from outside. It seemed there were quite a few people. The group looked towards the door and were surprised to see the academy's dean, who was actually the old dean's son, Cheng Yumo.
They had met a few times in the past ten years because of Wen Liu and others. He is now forty-two years old, but he still looks the same as when he was twenty.
"Dean Cheng, why did you come all the way here? We were planning to go and thank you later," An Shuyi said, stepping forward a few paces.
Looking at the wooden figure behind her, she wondered why he had brought the person here instead of settling them in another courtyard. She didn't want to entertain so many people; it was exhausting. She glanced back at Hua Hua, who had a haughty demeanor. Waaah, she was unhappy.
Village Chief Lin, who was being glared at, was also helpless. He didn't want to come either, but Dean Cheng insisted on coming, and he couldn't stop him.
“If it’s not Lady Shuren who should go, then I should be the one to go.” Cheng Yumo finished speaking, turned her head, and nodded. “Greetings, Prefect.”
"You're too polite, Dean." Prefect Xiao nodded in agreement.
"Everyone, please sit down. Changmu, have someone bring over two tables. Lunch will be served here today," An Shuyi instructed.
Fortunately, their house was big enough to fit three tables, so all of them, plus the teachers from the academy, could sit down.
Village Chief Lin was wondering who his sister-in-law was calling, but after being nudged by the long fish behind him, he realized that his sister-in-law was calling him. He often heard his sister-in-law call him "wooden head," and he had forgotten what his own name was.
"Sister-in-law, I'm going right now." Then she went out with Changyu and called Wenming and the others over. They brought over two tables and chairs from the house next door.
Zhao and the others also brought out melon seeds and fruit. The clan chief was leading people to worship their ancestors, so the meal would be a while longer.
"Have some sunflower seeds and fruit, all from our village," An Shuyi said before sitting down, picking up her cup, and enthusiastically showing off her tea. She explained that all it takes to turn a socially awkward person into a socially adept one is a cool and aloof best friend.
"Dean Cheng, Wen Liu and the others have achieved what they have today thanks to you and the teachers of the academy. We will have Wen Liu and the others toast you properly later."
Cheng Yumo shook her head, "I wouldn't dare. Their current achievements are all due to their hard work. The academy and the teachers are only responsible for teaching. Even with teachers, they couldn't have achieved this without their efforts."
"We still need you guys. After all, without a good teacher, they can't do it on their own." An Shuyi said, pinching Xia Hua. "You're so stubborn. At least say something. It's so awkward."
Xia Hua, exasperated by her pinching, could only stand up. "Wen Zhu, go and see how the clan leader and the others are doing with their ancestral worship." Hurry up and eat; if you don't eat soon, Shu Shu will start nagging you.
She didn't know what to say. Shushu had already expressed his gratitude, so what could she say? He wasn't her son.
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