"This is my younger brother Li Xueming, and this is his son Li Wenshan. My younger brother was transferred from Taiyuan to serve as the magistrate of Hengshan County, and he passed through Jiangning Prefecture on his way here. It has been over a decade since I last saw my younger brother, its truly...” Just then, Li Cao was about to kneel down and beg for forgiveness.

  "It doesnt matter." The young master waved his hand indifferently, looking at Li Wenshan and then at Li Wensong. "The Li familys sons are indeed all handsome and have good manners."

  Mr. Li was already dizzy and his head was swelling with the overwhelming pressure in the room, sweat seeping from his temples, his ears buzzing, and he even forgot to say a few polite words for his son.

  Li Wenshan was young and ignorant, hearing a young gentleman boast about his good looks and elegant demeanor, he blushed, raised his hand and scratched his head.

  The young master looked at him with a pursed smile, took a few steps to Li Wenshans side, pinched the new long shirt on Li Wenshans body, and exclaimed in surprise, "This new clothes of yours, this pattern... is it the tribute from Jiangnan Weaving Workshop twenty years ago? Is it popular in Taiyuan Prefecture to make clothes with old fabrics from twenty years ago?"

  Li Wenshan was stunned. He could actually identify the fabric pattern as a tribute from twenty years ago! This is too incredible!

  "Yes! Right! Youre absolutely right! I mean, this is indeed the fabric from twenty years ago. This was made from my fathers old clothes. How did you recognize that this is the fabric from twenty years ago? I mean... uh... what Im saying is... how cant I tell the difference between this piece of fabric and his? Wheres the difference?" Li Wen Shan held up his own clothes, pointing at the indigo-clad youth.

  The young masters eyebrows rose, and he looked up and down at Li Wenshan as if he had discovered a treasure.

  The youth in indigo clothes had a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips as he gazed intently at Xiao Gus pale face, yet his words were directed at Li Wen Shan: "You wouldnt understand, of course - theres profound meaning here! Only Xiao Gu would grasp the profundity."

  The young man in white standing behind the young master smiled and shook his head.

  Lu Shuai covered his face with a folding fan, forcing back a smile. Li Chuos nephew was quite the clever fellow! Gu Liu Lang teased him about his outdated and worn-out clothes, but didnt expect to get punched by him!

  Li Chuos expression seemed casual, but in fact all his attention was on the young master. Seeing that he was clearly interested in Li Wenshan and not unhappy, he secretly let out a sigh of relief. With a worried look on his face, he said to the young master: "This nephew of mine is... a simple-minded person, Sixth Brother, please be more considerate." The last sentence, Li Chuo turned to Gu Liu Lang.

  "Its just a small matter for kids, why bother with them?" Mr. Gu waved his hand at Li Chao dismissively, "Let them make a fuss! We dont need to intervene! Nothing big will come out of it."

  "Well go to the backyard to drink tea and enjoy the flowers, without disturbing you discussing important matters." The young master put away his folding fan and stood up.

  Everyone stood up and sent him off, the young master walked in front of Li Wenshan, took a slight pause, nodded his head and smiled: "You come too, lets have some fun together, whats the point of being with these old men?"

  Li Chuo hastily pushed Li Wenshan, who had a silly expression on his face, and then pulled his son Li Wensong aside to whisper: "Take good care of your younger brother!"

  "General Li, dont worry, this nephew of yours is so capable, why bother to take care of him?" The young man in white clothes walking at the back said with a tone that was hard to tell whether it was joking or serious as he passed by General Li.

  ………………

  In the back hall, Li Xia sat close to Mrs. Yan, chatting and laughing as they talked about family matters. Just then, a young servant in embroidered clothes rushed in like a shooting star, dashing straight up to Mrs. Yans face, whispering two sentences in her ear. Mrs. Yan immediately stood up and headed outside: "Fourth sister, keep an eye on the younger siblings while they play, Ill go take a look at the kitchen."

  Li Xias heart skipped a beat, what happened? What could make Big Aunt so nervous? The tension in Big Aunt was filled with joy, that is... something good came to the door?

  The great aunt has been gone for nearly two hours before she came back, Li Xia quietly observed her expression, although covered up, but the joy on her face was still very clear, it seemed that this good thing was still going smoothly.

  Mrs. Yan sat back and seemed a bit distracted, her gaze at Li Xia and Li Wenlan had an inexplicable flavor, after a while, Mrs. Yan smiled: "Auntie is also confused, such good weather, the peony in the garden is so good, how can you keep them cooped up in the house all the time? Seventh sister, take sixth brother and ninth sister to stroll around the garden, fourth sister, come with me to the warehouse to pick a few pieces of fabric, and bring it back for ninth sister to make clothes."

  As the crowd left the main hall, Li Xia glanced around quietly, and a series of doubts rose in her mind. Why did Eldest Matron let Seventh Young Miss, who was about the same age as Sixth Brother, take them for a stroll in the garden with only a few small maidservants, without even a single older servant? When had Eldest Matron become so careless and neglectful?

  As soon as he left the main hall, Li Wenlan let out a long sigh of relief. Just now, his sister was talking to his aunt, saying something about how great it was that Auntie treated them so well, and how interesting it was in Beijing... When did Father or Mother ever say such things? It was all nonsense, but his sister nodded along, and he couldnt not nod along either - he had promised her after all!

  Im finally done listening to my sisters nonsense. My sister told a lot of lies today, I wonder if I should tell Dad about it when I get home?

  "Sixth Brother is coming this way!" Li Xias shout pulled Li Wenlan back from her reverie, and he walked onto another path. Li Wenlan quickly turned around and ran back, the three little kids walking and looking around, not having gone far when they heard someone calling them, "Seventh Sister? How did you all end up here? Hurry back! Quick! Go back!"

  "Fourth brother!" The seventh girl wasnt afraid of her fourth brother, Li Wen Songs words were like the wind in her ear, and she didnt even count as a response. The seventh girl lifted up her skirt and ran forward two steps, then turned around and ran back, "Ninth sister come quick! Let fourth brother take us to fly kites!"

  Behind Li Wensong, the young masters in the pavilion were excitedly watching Li Wensong hastily waving his hands and feet to drive people away, as well as three little girls with powdered faces who ignored his driving and ran towards him, jumping and skipping.

  Three people rushed to Li Wensongs side in one breath. Li Xia was about to catch her breath when she raised her eyes and saw the smiling young master staring at her, shocked beyond measure, her legs softened and she fell forward.

  Before Li Wenshan could call out, the indigo-clad youth closest to Li Xia stepped forward, reached out and grabbed her. Li Xia looked up, about to thank him, when the indigo-clad youths face entered her line of sight. Li Xia took a deep breath in reverse, and sat down on the indigo-clad youths feet with a thud. This time, not only were her legs weak, but they had also gone limp.

  "Asha! Asha, are you okay?" Li Wenshan rushed forward and hugged his sister, his face pale with fright.

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