[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-am-the-xu-family-s-son":3,"chapter-i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-27":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Am the Xu Family's Son",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2307805,4510,"Chapter 27: Golden Fish","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-27",27,"\u003Cp>Gu Tingye led Xu Zaijing through the palace garden, wandering aimlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They occasionally saw palace guards stationed at various points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet these palace guards stood with clear discipline—neither intrusive nor negligent, yet always ready to spot anomalies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing stopped by a pond, they heard several boys in the midst of voice change talking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In places like Yuzhou, you can only produce peasant songs—crude, lowbrow nonsense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Agriculture is vital. Don’t you know the people live by food?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m telling you, how dare you talk back? You want a beating?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, Zhao Huan is also a royal clansman. If you lay hands on him, it might…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My father said his old man is a coward who won’t defend him. Go on, hit him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby palace soldiers had seen the royal clansmen fighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet they acted as if they saw nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing walked over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They saw a boy surrounded by five others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene stirred some unpleasant memory in Gu Tingye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped forward and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, picking on one with five? What kind of hero are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My father is the Prince of Yong. Who the hell are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prince of Yong?” Gu Tingye’s tone hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Xu Zaijing shouted loudly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How dare you! Royal clansmen are refined gentlemen. How could you be such bullies?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing’s words left the five boys speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph, what do you two want? If you’ve got nothing to say, get lost.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re five against one—that’s not heroism. If you’ve got guts, let go of him. We three will take on your five!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The five boys were mostly teenagers—equivalent to middle schoolers in modern times, the most rebellious age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy called Yuzhou was likely the future Crown Prince from the original storyline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, he was just a lowly collateral branch clansman, standing like a lackey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was only one or two years older than Gu Tingye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the battle was five “middle schoolers” versus three “elementary schoolers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Tingye rolled up his sleeves, eager to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leader among the five—the Prince of Yong’s son—glanced at the odds, then lifted his chin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His men shoved the boy named Zhao Huan toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Zhao Huan approached, Xu Zaijing whispered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll count one, two, three—we turn and run.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Tingye sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You coward!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gu Tingye, are you stupid? They’re taller and bigger than us. We run, and we split them up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Zhao Huan, Xu Zaijing continued: “Once we split them, I can knock one down fastest. What about you, Gu Tingye?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see their steps are shaky—they’ve got no real skill. I can take one down too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I work the fields with my father. I can run.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One, two, three!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pfft, you bullies, brainless fools. Only idiots fight you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Tingye mocked them loudly, then turned and ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing: “Tsk tsk tsk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Paired with his head-shaking gesture, his disdain stirred more hatred than Gu Tingye’s insults.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Huan patted his own backside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All three bolted off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Catch them! I’ll make them regret this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, they chased each other to a fork in the path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye each sprinted down a different branch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they quickly stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The five from the Prince of Yong’s household hadn’t split up as expected—they all charged after Zhao Huan’s escape route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last one running was the Prince of Yong’s heir.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smirked at Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye on either side:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think I’m stupid? You two performed so well for His Majesty—I wouldn’t split my men!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He laughed triumphantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his smile vanished quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He realized his four men had all followed his order to chase Zhao Huan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He, unable to keep up, had fallen behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing exchanged a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They sprinted toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Prince of Yong’s four men returned with Zhao Huan,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>they found their heir already “captured.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You idiots!! You’re all head and no ass! I—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heir fell silent—he realized he’d just called himself “ass.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ve got your commander. Exchange him for your prince,” Gu Tingye said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t you hear? Let him go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four men understood their heir’s intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once they released him, they’d say something else entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now he was in Xu Zaijing’s grasp—powerless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Zhao Huan was released. He took a few steps, rubbing his shoulders repeatedly, as if beaten hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened? Did they hit you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing. Just a few punches.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Tingye wanted to avenge this boy he’d known barely half an hour, but Xu Zaijing silenced him with a look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After we release him, we head to the banquet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing shoved the Prince of Yong’s heir hard, and all three turned and ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three of you chase them! One stays to guard me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three ahead scrambled, panting, to pursue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as they rounded a garden rock corner, Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye ambushed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye had trained since childhood—though young, they were far superior to these noble youths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three front-runners each took a painful but non-injurious punch to the stomach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They collapsed, clutching their bellies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two struck once and bolted away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they didn’t head toward the banquet hall—they took a wide detour and returned to the garden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two brothers, splitting and reuniting—excellent tactics.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the praise, Gu Tingye beamed with pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on. Let’s go see the stupid fish in the pond.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three strolled slowly to a rock beside the garden pond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, fat red and gold fish swam carefree in the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Tingye picked up a few pebbles and tossed them in. The fish didn’t flee—they swam over eagerly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Definitely stupid fish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuzhou was a remote place, and Zhao Huan’s father was obsessed with farming—he had no interest in ornamental ponds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Huan, at his age, had never seen such fat, foolish fish before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too bad we’ve no net or spear. Otherwise, we’d haul them all in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? You’ve got a good grasp of idioms.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s that? I learned it from my eldest brother. His calligraphy’s beautiful! Why are you staring at me like that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing suddenly raised a finger to his lips, signaling silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He peered sideways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where are they! Catch them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing turned and ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The five men dashed after Xu Zaijing in a line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Xu Zaijing looped around a wide circuit and returned to the pond, he was already sweating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced from beside the rock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Huan was pulling a pastry from the banquet out of his pocket, crushing it, and tossing it into the pond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Gu Tingye say\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hurry, throw more.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Gu Tingye had already taken off his robe and used it as a net to scoop fish, threading them on branches from the garden and lining them up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a eunuch’s shrill voice called out\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where did this little monkey come from, daring to trouble the imperial garden’s fish?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1164,"2026-06-20T10:32:38.675Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0cdb045a4a661786d528e7fb5e2c0473ca6fc79587ab5ad7b0755bb00a8100ac","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-28","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-26",790,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-am-the-xu-family-s-son-cover.jpg"]