Chapter 251: The Old Nursemaid Restrained Herself [Many thanks for everyone's support

Xu Xu Zaijing hurriedly shouted, "Brother Qingyun, help her up!"

Brother Qingyun and Chu Zhan rushed forward, intending to lift this old nursemaid,

but the old nursemaid forcefully broke free from Brother Qingyun's grip, still insisting on kowtowing to Xu Xu Zaijing to express her gratitude.

"Wu~~~"

The old nursemaid struggled with all her might, crying out loudly as she fought, "Thank you, benefactor! Ah!!"

That final "Ah" had already turned into a sob.

"Thank you, benefactor!"

"Ah! Ah!"

The old nursemaid's voice erupted into loud wailing, filled with immense regret, relief after escaping disaster, and boundless remorse.

Dressed in a manner that should have been dignified, the old nursemaid now cried like a shrew from the marketplace, her face smeared with tears and snot.

The small child in Xu Xu Zaijing's arms looked up at the man holding him, eyes full of curiosity,

then was immediately drawn away by the old nursemaid's crying.

Xu Xu Zaijing set the young child down, and the child hurriedly moved to the side.

The old nursemaid had long lost her earlier ferocity; now she felt nothing but weakness in her hands and feet.

With a face full of shame, the child spoke in a low voice:

"Cui Cui Mama, I was wrong; I shouldn't have disobeyed you."

Hearing this, the old nursemaid frowned and shook her head, saying with deep emotion:

"My dear boy! If it weren't for this Young Master here, alas!!!"

After this bout of wailing and bitter weeping, the old nursemaid had clearly relieved some of her emotional burden, but she was unable to stand up.

She could only pull the young child into her embrace, burying her head against his chest to cry.

The young child, however, looked toward the young man covering his face nearby, and something not belonging to his age appeared in his eyes.

Xu Xu Zaijing was soon surrounded by the crowd from Hou Fu,

Xu Zaizhang's face filled with worry, tear tracks dried by the surrounding heat still visible on his cheeks.

Seeing Xu Xu Zaijing's disheveled state, Xu Zaizhang embraced his younger brother tightly before saying:

"Just wait for Mother to scold you when you get back!"

The commoners and nobles of Bianjing who had been watching were startled by the old nursemaid's actions,

and only now did they snap out of the previous scene, causing praises to rise loudly from all sides:

"Good!"

"Bravo! Truly a loyal heart and righteous courage!"

"Thanks to the young master stepping forward!"

"This Young Master shows great righteousness!"

"Brave and resourceful!"

"Which family does this Young Master belong to?"

In the crowd, Hearing Shu Bo, upon hearing these words, shouted loudly and proudly:

"This is from our Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Xu family of Hou Fu!"

Among the crowd were commoners of Bianjing who had come to mourn family members killed in battle.

Xu Xu Zaijing's actions had been witnessed by most people; looking at the brothers embracing,

several exceptionally sturdy young men, who looked at a glance to be martial practitioners, exchanged glances.

The leader among them said:

"The descendants of Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Xu family show such fearlessness in danger and self-sacrifice to save others! With such loyal hearts and righteous courage, we might go enlist under Marquis Marquis Yongyi in the north!"

The other few exchanged looks and nodded.

A passerby nearby said, "You gentlemen have sharp eyes; previously, when Marquis Marquis Yongyi was in the Tianwu Army, he was one of the few Commandants who could issue full pay."

Hearing this, the expressions on these men's faces showed even greater eagerness to try.

After the crowd finished cheering for Xu Xu Zaijing, their attention turned to the old nursemaid who had bitten someone.

At this moment, several stewards and maidservants had gathered around the old nursemaid and, under her orders, dragged away the young man who was still wailing.

Gu Gu Tingyu also approached with the young men of the Duke of Britain's family,

accompanied by Gu Gu Tingye, whose hair had been singed; he had also wanted to rescue people earlier but had been forced back by the heat waves.

Zhang Zhang Sanlang of the Zhang family, Zhang Zhang Fangsong, asked:

"Are you from the Lu family of the Duke of Lianguo?"

Supported by the maidservants, the old nursemaid stood up, nodded, and said, "Greetings, Third Young Master."

Zhang Zhang Fangsong glanced at the old nursemaid and said, "No wonder you are so formidable; what exactly happened?"

Hearing this question, the old nursemaid suddenly became angry again and said:

"That rotten-hearted, bad seed! He brought our Zong-ge'er here to the Daoist temple to play hide-and-seek!"

"He told the young master to hide within this mountain of paper money!"

"He even deceived us, claiming that Zong-ge'er had run outside the Daoist temple!"

"But in reality!!! He actually wanted this fire—"

As she spoke, supported by the maidservants, the old nursemaid rushed a few steps toward that young man and kicked him viciously.

Gu Gu Tingyu, standing nearby, looked at the young man pinned to the ground with a face full of blood, shook his head, and his eyes were filled with contempt.

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at Cao Si Lang of the Zhang family, whose eyes showed clear understanding, and asked, "Are your two families very close?"

Cao Si Lang of the Zhang family, Zhang Zhang Fangling, nodded: "Fairly close; our ancestors were relatives."

Feeling the smell of char on his body, Xu Xu Zaijing said, "Tell me about it?"

Gu Gu Tingye tugged at his own hair, his eyes full of thirst for knowledge as he stood aside.

Zhang Zhang Fangling spoke between the two of them: "You can also find out that the Duke of Lianguo's family has three sons; the eldest branch struggles to produce heirs, the second branch has only this one son by a concubine, and the third branch is Prince Consort Lu, which you should know."

Xu Xu Zaijing nodded; he had heard rumors long ago that Prince Consort Lu's household boasted six golden flowers.

"Originally, this boy was to be adopted into the eldest branch, but unfortunately, before that, the Wu Da Da Niangzi of the Lu family's eldest branch fell ill and died, and after the eldest branch took a new wife, they had a legitimate son."

"Now that the eldest son of the Duke of Lianguo has passed away, this new wife, the Da Da Niangzi, is living her days guarding this heir of the main line. So..."

Gu Gu Tingye said, "If this little doll dies, then the one who was bitten becomes the Lu family's only shoot?"

Zhang Zhang Fangling neither affirmed nor denied it.

With only this single male descendant left in the Lu family, all they needed was a plausible reason for the one who was bitten to be adopted into the eldest branch, become the legitimate son, and smoothly inherit the title.

Gu Gu Tingye said, "This little doll is far too easy to deceive."

Seeing several peers nearby shaking their heads, Gu Gu Tingye said, "Am I wrong?"

Xu Xu Zaijing said, "The Duke of Lianguo is advanced in years, and this little doll has lost his father; if the one who was bitten treats the doll slightly better, he will be regarded as his closest person."

Having said this, Xu Xu Zaijing cast a hateful glance at the man on the ground,

If there hadn't been so many people, he would actually have liked to throw this man who had done the biting onto the mountain of paper money.

To think he could be cruel enough to burn to death a child so young, who trusted him so completely.

Hearing Xu Xu Zaijing's words, the Lu family boy held in the old nurse's arms lowered his head.

Gu Gu Tingye, standing aside, nodded after listening: "This old nurse certainly has a fierce temperament."

Zhang Zhang Fangling said with some self-satisfaction:

"Naturally so; the Old Lady of the Duke of Lianguo's maiden surname is Tao, and she once commanded a female army no smaller than the women warriors of the Bai Gao tribal strongholds; as it happens, my maternal grandfather's family also has old ties with the Tao family."

"That the old nurse did not use the hairpin from her bun already counts as restraint."

Xu Xu Zaijing said, "I think the old nurse was so overcome with anger that she forgot."

Zhang Zhang Fangling stalled for a moment, then nodded.

While everyone was talking, the mountain of paper money within the Daoist courtyard continued to burn.

Seeing that the few of them had finished speaking, Gu Gu Tingyu walked over; looking at Xu Xu Zaijing with words on the tip of his tongue but unable to speak them, he ultimately brushed the dust from Xu Xu Zaijing's shoulder.

The scene just now of raging fire pouring down had simply terrified everyone else; Gu Gu Tingyu had nearly thought Xu Xu Zaijing would not make it out and had been preparing to rush over to save him.

After a while,

Everyone calmed their spirits and, led by the elders, kowtowed to complete this Dharma assembly.

To one side, Zhang Zhang Sanlang had already sent servants to escort the Lu family members out of the Daoist courtyard; as they exited,

The Chai family's carriage was parked by the roadside at the courtyard gate.

A steward from the Chai family brought offerings dedicated to the Chai family servants who had died in battle into the Daoist courtyard.

At this time, the Daoist courtyard had returned to tranquility, and the various families' carriages within the courtyard began taking on passengers, preparing to depart from this place.

The Chai family steward handed the items to the Daoist Priest of the temple, who used a long bamboo pole to deliver the items into the burning mountain of paper money.

The Chai family steward knelt prostrate before it, feeling the heat wave as he spoke the words that ought to be spoken.

Outside the temple,

From within the Chai family carriage, commoners could occasionally be heard talking as they passed this spot.

Hearing words like 'Xu family', 'Marquis Marquis Yongyi', 'saving people', and 'Gu family',

Lady Chai lifted the carriage curtain and said to the serving woman beside the carriage:

"Ask them."

After the serving woman nodded, she politely stopped two commoners traveling together and questioned them in detail.

Inside the carriage, listening to the two commoners' words saying that the Xu family people were still behind,

Chai Chai Zhengzheng, somewhat worried, lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to look outside.

Meanwhile, the two people beside the carriage had already begun discussing with the Chai family serving woman whether Xu Xu Zaijing was merely brave and fond of fighting or truly loyal and righteous,

You mention saving people at Shenbao Temple, and she mentions crippling someone at Pan Tower.

The serving woman presented half a string of cash for tea money to each of the two, spoke flattering words, and escorted them away.

After a while,

Lady Chai's personal serving woman said, "My Lady, the Xu family people are approaching."

On the carriage, the curtain was gently lifted a corner,

Xu Xu Zaijing, his clothes covered in scorch marks, was sitting in the Xu family carriage, comforting Chu Zhan, who had been used as a laundry mallet and was soaked through.

As they passed the Chai family carriage, the serving woman and guards by the vehicle bowed in salute; Xu Xu Zaijing and Xu Xu Zaizhang hurriedly nodded in return,

Not long after they had gone, several robust young men blocked the Xu family's few carriages,

Just as Chai Chai Zhengzheng thought the Xu family was in trouble, she saw those few young men clasp their fists in salute, say a few words, and then follow behind the Xu family carriages.

Returning to Quyuanjie,

The two brothers first went to the ancestral hall,

Where millet stalks were tied to the legs of the table in the ancestral hall, the tabletop was covered with chinaberry leaves, and broomcorn millet rice was placed upon the chinaberry leaves,

Of course, these were not purchased but were grown or gathered by the Xu family themselves.

Only after kowtowing did one go to change clothes while the other went to Sun Shi's courtyard.

Xu Zaizhang recounted the events at the Daoist courtyard, avoiding the heavy and emphasizing the light, not daring to mention that Xu Xu Zaijing had nearly been buried by the pouring pile of fire,

Saying only that he had saved the heir of a ducal mansion.

After exchanging a glance, Sun Shi and her two daughters-in-law began instructing the Hou Fu to prepare tea and all other matters for receiving guests.

Sure enough, in the afternoon,

The Old Lady of the Duke of You Lian's household invited the Lady of the Duke of Ying, and together they arrived at Quyuanjie.

In Sun Shi's courtyard,

The Old Lady of the Duke of You Lian's household held Sun Shi's hand and said, "Wu Da Da Niangzi! This old woman asks for nothing else; I only wish for Zong-ge'er to acknowledge this elder sworn brother!"

(End of Chapter)