Ms. Lu felt very wronged as she spoke. “I know you don’t like Yue’er. After all, she’s not your child… But I’ve already said that I’m willing to change her family name so that she’ll be the Xie family’s daughter fully. However, you didn’t say anything about it. Is my daughter terrible? She’s well-versed in the four arts as well. It’s just that she’s not as pretty as Qiao’er. Nonetheless, she’s outstanding compared to the people in the Imperial City!”
Ms. Lu felt wronged.
Her eyes were red.
Xie Niushan liked her because she was secretly a coquettish woman.
Now that she was sobbing, Xie Niushan panicked. “Why are you crying? When did I say that girl isn’t good? Aren’t I treating her well at home? There are many talents in the Gulan Academy. I guarantee that it can make her a talented girl in the future!”
“Who cares if she becomes a talented girl or not? What I care about is whether you accept her as a part of the family!” Ms. Lu stomped her foot and turned around to leave.
She seemed sad and angry.
That was Xie Niushan’s weakness. If not for the fact that he had an errand to run, he would have rushed to her side by now.
Xie Qiao, who was in the carriage, said, “The coachman knows the way to the Royal Academy. I can go on my own.”
“It was hard to marry a good wife. I spent quite an effort to marry her. Now that she’s angry, won’t I be at a loss?” mumbled Xie Niushan.
However, he got onto the carriage the next moment. He would comfort his wife when he got home after dealing with business.
Indeed, Ms. Lu wanted Xie Niushan to comfort her. She had thrown tantrums privately before, and Xie Niushan would always go her way.
She knew that men should not be spoiled. Throwing an appropriate tantrum was beneficial for a husband and wife.
Now that Xie Niushan left, she was upset.
“Apart from sending me to the academy, is there anything else that Father has to do today?” Xie Qiao asked in the carriage.
“It’s my day off today. I’ll only show my face at the academy. You’ll have to rely on your own for the rest. After that, I’ll go to the gambling den to drink.” Xie Niushan suddenly asked as soon as he was done speaking, “Oh yeah! I haven’t asked if you can read the primer?”
Before Xie Qiao could reply, Xie Niushan frowned. “I saw you using fancy words in the letters you wrote me in the past. They were obviously not written by a child, but I didn’t check with you! Don’t tell me the old Taoist master didn’t teach you to read at all? At the academy, even if you can’t memorize a book, you would need to be able to read!”
Otherwise, they would not take her in no matter how much money they could pay!
“Don’t worry, Father. I can get by,” Xie Qiao said causally.
Xie Niushan felt rather guilty upon hearing her say that she could get by.
“Please behave yourself. The three fools at home are well known in the Imperial City. If you do something embarrassing, I’ll lose my very last shred of dignity,” Xie Niushan mumbled.
Although he said that, in reality, he did not have high hopes for Xie Qiao.
“Well known?” Xie Qiao was rather surprised, “What do you mean?”
Xie Niushan said, feeling embarrassed, “Your Eldest Brother already looks like that, yet he fell in love with a talented lady. He even stalked her, scaring that lady. He already couldn’t find a wife, and it’s completely impossible now.”
Xie Qiao was shocked.
‘How can it be?’
“Your brother and sister…” Xie Niushan scratched his head in concern. “Let’s not talk about them!”
“Please tell me slowly,” Xie Qiao said immediately.
Xie Niushan sighed. “Your brother. Pinghuai… He’s shameless. He’s so young, but he went to a brothel and got thrown out. They said he’s still so young, his set of teeth has yet to grow fully, yet he wanted to have sex with ladies. They asked him to leave and that he should drink from a milk bottle!”