The butler was shocked. “Young… Young Master?” No way, did Young Master send Master’s armor to the Xiao Manor?
“Didn’t the armor fall into the hands of the Nanzhao envoy? How did Young Master get it?” The butler asked in confusion.
“I don’t know.” Xiao Zhenting carefully stroked the armor, his eyes filled with the kindness of a father. “But he must have taken a lot of effort.”
The butler’s eyes heated up. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time his young master had given his master something. He had seen how his master had silently protected his young master all these years. However, his young master was still unwilling to accept his master. Other than feeling sad for his master, he could not help but feel a little discouraged. However, his master did not let them say anything. He thought that this would continue on.
“Boohoo, Master…” The butler cried excitedly.
Xiao Zhenting patted his shoulder and returned to the room in a good mood.
“Young Master.” Shadow Thirteen entered the study of the Qingfeng Courtyard.
There was a blank memorial in front of Yan Jiuchao. He was impatient to write the memorial and casually opened it. “You’re back?”
“The armor has been sent to the Xiao Manor. The butler accepted it,” Shadow Thirteen said. He did not personally appear, but he had been standing in the dark and observing. After confirming that the armor had been personally handed over to the officials of the Xiao Manor, he left in peace.
Yan Jiuchao nodded casually.
Shadow Thirteen could not figure out his thoughts. He did not understand if his Young Master was finally willing to accept his stepfather or if he purely did not want to owe Xiao Zhenting. However, no matter what, the armor was back and the envoy from Nanzhao had left. The current crisis had been resolved.
… .
Yu Wan was tortured that night and only recovered after a few days. On the fourth day, she woke up early and was finally refreshed. The little fat brats stayed in Lotus Flower Village, and Yan Jiuchao went to court. The men were not around, so she went to the orchard since she had nothing to do.
She brought along Fu Ling, Tao’er, and Li’er, leaving Ban Xia and Zi Su in the Qingfeng Courtyard. The back room that had caught fire earlier had basically been completed, and there was still some cleaning work left. The two of them were much more efficient than Tao’er and the two maidservants.
The cherries were gone, and the watermelons were ripe. Yu Wan picked a few and sent them to Yu Song.
Ever since Yu Wan told Yu Song that Aunt’s heart ached so much when she heard that he had lost weight that she cried, Yu Song did not dare to let himself lose weight anymore. Every meal, he would force himself to eat half a bowl more. Even so, he did not gain weight. It could be seen that studying was really tiring.
“Second Brother.” Outside the directorate, Yu Wan saw Yu Song in a long robe.
Yu Song’s body became more and more scholarly. The previous few times, she would occasionally think of him fishing in the countryside, but now, she felt that it was a long time ago.
“The weather is hot. Didn’t I tell you not to come?” Yu Song pulled Yu Wan’s hand and walked to a shady spot. Occasionally, a student would pass by and look over curiously. Yu Song didn’t like his sister being sized up by unfamiliar men. He turned around and blocked his sister with his tall body.
Yu Wan was amused by his actions. She did not mind the gazes of passersby, but she felt quite warm in her heart when he protected her so carefully.
Yu Wan said, “How is it hot? I don’t have to work in the fields. It’s so cool to ride the wind all the way here in the carriage.”
These words were half true and half false. The carriage was as hot as a small steamer. No matter how strong the wind was, it was useless. However, compared to working in the fields, the current days were indeed much more comfortable.
Yu Song stopped being polite with his sister and asked her how she was doing. Yu Wan answered them one by one. Yu Song had not become an official in the court, so he did not care much about the envoys. However, he cared about the princess of Xiongnu who had once come looking for his third uncle.
“She didn’t cause any more trouble, right?”
“No, she married obediently.”
They had been married for many days before Second Brother finally reacted. As expected, he didn’t care about anything else and only focused on reading sage books. At the thought of this, Yu Wan could not help but laugh.
This heartless smile inadvertently fell into the eyes of Zhao Heng, who was passing by. Zhao Heng frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Student Liu, who was traveling with him, asked.
“Nothing,” Zhao Heng said, but in his heart, he was thinking that he was just a cousin. Why did this woman come every few days? And he happened to bump into her so many times. Could it be that… this woman had yet to give up on him? On the surface, she was visiting Yu Song, but she was actually here to spy on him?
She was already married, how could she still be so shameless?!
“Hey, is that Yu Song?” Student Liu craned his neck to look for a long time. When he turned around, he saw Zhao Heng leave angrily.
Student Liu was confused. Alright, that kid was quite annoying.
Yu Wan’s vision was blocked by Yu Song, so she didn’t notice Zhao Heng’s appearance at all. Yu Song’s back was facing the door, so he didn’t know either. However, the two of them mentioned Zhao Heng in their conversation.
“Zhao Heng is going to take the exam in the fall of August.” Although Yu Song hated Zhao Heng, he had to admit that Zhao Heng had a high chance of becoming a scholar. At this moment, Yu Song finally began to regret not studying obediently when he was young. If he had entered the academy eight to ten years earlier, he might have been able to enter the examination hall with Zhao Heng. Who knew who would have been able to become a scholar?
Yu Wan thought of Xiao Ziyue. With Zhao Heng’s current status, he was definitely not worthy of the Xiao Manor’s daughter. However, what if he won the imperial examination or was lucky enough to get a spot on the Golden Ranking List? That way, the Xiao family would have no reason to object to this marriage.
