The Duke House's Ideal Daughter-in-law
Chapter 57
Although they are the same age, Xu Moxiu’s thinking is much deeper than Zhao Huanxi’s.
Although his sister said that she and Zhao Huanxi would divorce in three years, three years is neither long nor short. In case something happens during this time that prevents them from divorcing, Zhao Huanxi will be his Jiefu for life.
If the divorce does happen, and there are no conflicts of interest between Zhao Huanxi and him, plus with considering how the two families’ relationship cannot be severed due to the connection between Guogong Yé and his late father, then Zhao Huanxi’s impression towards him better be positive than negative.
Thinking of this, he tried hard to suppress his prejudice, and with a gentle expression, he responded, “Jiefu.”
Zhao Huanxi pulled him towards the mansion, saying, “I’ve been looking forward to your arrival for a long time. Yesterday after school, I went to the Lan Lake and caught a crucian carp (鲫鱼-jiyu) and a carp (鲤鱼-liyu). Your Jiejie kept the carp (liyu) and said she would make sweet and sour carp for you today.”
Seeing him chattering away while pulling him towards the residence as if he were going to take him straight to see his sister, Xu Moxiu asked, “Is Guogong Yé in the residence?”
When visiting someone’s home, it is natural to first pay respects to the elders.
Zhao Huanxi stopped and said, “Zufu hasn’t returned yet, and Zumu is in the Buddha Hall and it’s inconvenient to greet her. Why don’t we go and see my mother?”
“Is Bofu also not here?” Xu Moxiu asked.
Zhao Huanxi: “……” He never paid attention to whether his father was present or not.
Having become relatives by marriage, Xu Moxiu naturally had heard about favoritism of the First Branch’s Da Yé of Guogong Residence. However, such partiality was a family matter, and as an outsider, he should still go and pay his respects when visiting the residence.
“I think it’s better to pay respects to your father first, and then to your mother,” Xu Moxiu said.
“Or maybe we shouldn’t go at all,” Zhao Huanxi said, looking conflicted.
“Why?”
“I’m afraid he’ll hit you.”
Xu Moxiu was surprised, “Why would he hit me?”
Zhao Huanxi said, “He doesn’t like me. Every time he sees me, he either hits me or scolds me. If you appear with me, you might be the one he’s angry with.”
Xu Moxiu thought he was exaggerating, “It shouldn’t be that bad.”
Zhao Huanxi became anxious, “It is that bad! Even your Jiejie can be the target of his anger, let alone you?”
Xu Moxiu’s eyebrows furrowed, his expression darkening. “What did you say?”
Seeing his expression, Zhao Huanxi realized he had said something wrong and stammered. Xu Moxiu pressed on, “Did he hit or scold my Jiejie?”
Zhao Huanxi, seeing Xu Moxiu’s stern expression and realizing he couldn’t lie, murmured a low “en.”
“Hah!” Xu Moxiu sneered, feeling both absurd and angry. He wanted to scold Zhao Huanxi, but then he thought, facing his father, there was really little he could do, especially as someone young and without accomplishments.
“When did this happen?” Xu Moxiu asked Zhao Huanxi coldly, after composing himself.
“Over a month ago. At that time, your Jiejie and I both fell into the lake. My mother rushed to help, but she was pushed down by my father. Later, Zufu came. They said Zufu hit my father and sent Du Yiniang, whom my father dotes on, to a lower manor, and my two shu brothers were confined for a month for being unfilial and unbrotherly,” Zhao Huanxi said honestly.
Upon hearing that Guogong Yé vented his anger on behalf of Xu Nian’an, Xu Moxiu felt slightly relieved and said to Zhao Huanxi, “Lead the way. As long as he is in the residence, I will always pay my respects.”
Zhao Huanxi was still worried, “But what if…”
“I’m not his son. If he dares to touch me, I will fight back.” Xu Moxiu glanced at Zhao Huanxi and then walked ahead quickly.
“F-fight back?” Right, he’s not his son, naturally he can fight him back. Thinking about this, he really wished he wasn’t his son!
As soon as this thought came to mind, Zhao Huanxi felt deeply ashamed and guilty. He looked around nervously, and when he saw that no one was paying attention to him, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to catch up with his Xiao Jiuzi who was leading the way ahead.
The two arrived at a small courtyard called Yilan Pavilion. This place used to be shared by Zhao Mingkun and Concubine Du. After Concubine Du was sent away, Zhao Mingkun had nowhere else to go, so he lived here alone.
The Pozi who was guarding the door was surprised to see Zhao Huanxi, as over the years, he had never come to see Zhao Mingkun.
“San Nainai’s younger brother is visiting the residence. Go and see if Dad is available to meet him,” Zhao Huanxi nervously instructed the Pozi.
The old woman hurried off and returned shortly, saying, “San Yé, Xu Gongzi, Laoyé requests your presence.”
The two entered the courtyard and saw maids and servants shuttling back and forth with trays, seemingly preparing for dinner.
When they arrived at the main hall, Zhao Huanxi looked up and saw that besides Zhao Mingkun, there were Zhao Huanchao and Zhao Huanyang along with their families present.
The two bowed to Zhao Mingkun upon entering, but Zhao Mingkun didn’t even look at Zhao Huanxi. Instead, he only introduced Zhao Huanchao and Zhao Huanyang to Xu Moxiu.
After they were introduced, Zhao Mingkun asked Xu Moxiu, “What made you think of coming to the residence today?” Xu Moxiu, who had entered Canglan Academy at a young age, was destined for success. Zhao Mingkun was happy to befriend such a young man. Even if his incompetent eldest legitimate son didn’t need this connection in the future, perhaps one of his two shu sons would.
Xu Moxiu politely replied, “In response to Bofu, I didn’t come to the residence to play. I was invited by Huanxi to help him resolve some academic questions he encountered.”
Upon hearing this, both Zhao Huanchao and Zhao Huanyang looked at Zhao Huanxi. Qin Shi gently pushed Zhao Yujie’s shoulder, and when he looked up, she signaled to him with her eyes.
Zhao Mingkun looked at his legitimate son and sneered, “You don’t need to flatter him. What kind of person he is, you think I don’t know?”
Zhao Huanxi bowed his head in silence.
At this moment, Zhao Yujie suddenly said, “I heard that Xu Shushu is studying at Canglan Academy. He must be very knowledgeable, right? Zufu, Sun’er has fallen behind in my studies this past month, and I also want someone as knowledgeable as Xu Shushu to teach and guide me.”
Qin Shi quickly hit him and scolded him in a low voice, “Stop fooling around. Xu Shushu is here for your Xiao Shushu.”
Zhao Yujie turned around stubbornly and said loudly, “Whether Xu Shushu teaches one person or two people, it’s still teaching. I won’t cause any trouble. What’s wrong with that? Xiao Shushu, let me learn with you from Xu Shushu, alright?”
Zhao Huanxi looked up at Zhao Yujie, the ten-year-old child looking at him with innocence and expectation.
“I want to consult him on some questions from ‘The Great Learning’, ‘The Doctrine of the Mean’, and ‘The Book of Documents’. Have you studied these?” Zhao Huanxi asked.
Zhao Yujie was surprised that Zhao Huanxi would refuse him in front of his grandfather and stood there in a daze for a moment.
“Beast! You’re much older than Jie’er. So what if you’ve studied more? How dare you show off like this? Have you no shame?” Zhao Mingkun, disregarding Xu Moxiu’s presence, pointed at Zhao Huanxi and cursed.
Zhao Yujie promptly burst into tears.
Zhao Huanxi withdrew his gaze from Zhao Yujie and remained silent.
Seeing this, Zhao Mingkun was furious and was about to scold him again, but Xu Moxiu intervened, “Zhao Bofu, your grandson is still young. In my opinion, it’s not urgent for him to study the Four Books and Five Classics. It’s better for him to learn filial piety and other virtues from his parents first, such as the Five Constants, and especially,” he paused deliberately, emphasizing his words, “filial piety and fraternal love.”
When the words “filial piety and fraternal love” were mentioned, Zhao Mingkun, Zhao Huanchao, and Zhao Huanyang all changed their expressions.
Guogong Yé had ordered them to be confined to the courtyard, regardless of whether they were on duty or going to school. For someone like Zhao Huanchao, who held a public position, he just said that he was ill and needed to recuperate at home.
However, there are no walls in the world that are not ventilated, especially with Yin Furen around.
So after the lifting of the confinement, when Zhao Huanchao returned to the Central Army Commander Office, he received quite a bit of overt and covert ridicule and taunting from his colleagues. Now, being openly mocked by an outsider like Xu Moxiu, it was not surprising that his expression changed.
Xu Moxiu, however, paid no attention to their expressions. After speaking, he bowed to Zhao Mingkun and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go and greet Furen now. Farewell.”
As the two left the main hall and approached the courtyard gate, they heard the sound of a teacup hitting the ground from inside.
“Sorry, have met you laugh,” Zhao Huanxi whispered after they left Yilan Pavilion.
Xu Moxiu glanced at him and said, “I’m just an outsider, it doesn’t bother me. But you should think about it carefully. With such a biased and self-serving father, what will you use to protect your mother and my Jiejie after your Zufu passes away?”
Zhao Huanxi was stunned.
Xu Moxiu continued, “I’ll be frank. If at that time you still have no ability to protect yourself like you do now, I will come to take my Jiejie home. I won’t let her suffer with you.”
Zhao Huanxi had no response and silently took Xu Moxiu to greet his mother.
Yin Furen was very happy to see Xu Moxiu. After a few words, she asked Zhao Huanxi to take him to Yifang Garden for a meal.
Xu Nian’an had originally planned to have dinner at Yin Furen’s place, but Yin Furen was concerned that her presence would make the young people uncomfortable, so she insisted on them having dinner at Yifang Garden.
As the two walked towards Zhilan Garden, Xu Moxiu noticed that Zhao Huanxi was not in high spirits, fearing that when they arrived at Yifang Garden, his sister would again think he had scolded Zhao Huanxi, so he took the initiative to ask, “Are you adapting well to the Imperial Academy?”
Zhao Huanxi, seeing his concern, perked up and said, “It’s going well. I’ve made a few friends, and no one bullies me now.”
“Are your friends not doing well academically?”
“Well, they are all favored at home, so they don’t study hard or worry about their future.”
“True, it’s rare to see a legitimate eldest son like you in such a plight.”
Zhao Huanxi: “…..”
Xu Moxiu: “…..”
Clearing his throat, Xu Moxiu asked again, “Are there no students doing well academically in the Imperial Academy?”
Zhao Huanxi replied, “There are. The tribute students who got in based on their own abilities have good academic performance. But they stick together and don’t interact much with us who entered through connections.”
“If you have any questions in the future, you can write to me,” Xu Moxiu said.
Zhao Huanxi was slightly happier at this, nodding, “En!”
Xu Moxiu thought for a moment and still felt uneasy. He asked Zhao Huanxi, “Apart from your father, has my Jiejie been bullied by anyone else in the residence?”
Zhao Huanxi opened his mouth, then closed it again.
“Tell me,” Xu Moxiu urged when he saw Zhao Huanxi hesitating to speak, knowing that there was something going on.
Zhao Huanxi looked at him in distress. “But your Jiejie asked me not to talk nonsense in front of you.”
“If you tell the truth, it’s not nonsense,” Xu Moxiu said.
Zhao Huanxi thought about it seriously and suddenly realized, “You’re right.” He then recounted to Xu Moxiu the conflict between Zhao Shuxian and Xu Nian’an, adding at the end: “The Fifth Branch’s Tangmei is your good friend Lu Gongzi’s fiancée.”
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