[{"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-43":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},2307821,4510,"Chapter 43: The Flying Ball","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-43",43,"\u003Cp>That day, Marquis Xiangyang celebrated his birthday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The daughters of Marquis Fu'an arrived early at Xingguo Lane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as she stepped down from the carriage, Second Lady Wei spotted Han Fifth Lady at the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were of similar age and had once been classmates at the same girls’ academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second Lady Wei quickened her steps and approached Han Fifth Lady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister, why did you arrive so early?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Fifth Lady: “Sister, you’re not late either. I’ve long heard that Marquis Xiangyang’s mansion is vast and luxurious—today I see it’s truly worthy of its reputation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look, there’s that old maid from the Qin family. The one just walking out is her sister-in-law.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That sister-in-law of hers is famously stingy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second Lady Wei: “Hahaha, you’ve heard too? She once tried to arrange a match with our Fifth Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She couldn’t even scrape together a dowry—who would have her? I’d say she’s lucky to marry some poor scholar or merchant’s son.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second Lady Wei: “Look at her clothes—that style was fashionable three years ago.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even our top maids dress better than she does.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How dare she show her face? She’s shaming our noble families.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on, let’s go inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Second Lady stepped out of her carriage, her expression unchanged as she watched her sister-in-law ignore her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside her, the maid Xiang cast a quick glance around and whispered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miss, the Xu family hasn’t arrived yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Second Lady entered the bustling Marquis Xiangyang’s mansion and saw nothing but noblewomen dressed in lavish silks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking to the mansion’s garden, the maid Xiang asked a servant for a cup of tea, letting her mistress sip slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, she took the empty teacup and moved to fetch fresh tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a maid from Marquis Xiangyang’s household approached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw Qin Second Lady, who stood with her back turned, admiring the flowers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the woman’s plain attire and lack of hairpins or ornaments,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>she didn’t think twice and called out:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miss, could you help me carry this chest? Miss?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Second Lady turned around, her face filled with confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid Xiang stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miss, please open your eyes and look properly—don’t call out randomly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Marquis’s maid froze, realizing from Qin Second Lady’s bearing that she had made a mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hastily covered her face and bowed low:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forgive me, noble guest, forgive me! I’ve been overwhelmed with work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She then lifted the chest with effort and hurried away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miss, let’s move to a spot farther out. I know Miss Xu Pingmei and Miss Xu Anmei—they’ve arrived, and their Third Young Master should be here too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mistress and maid walked through the garden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From afar, noblewomen occasionally glanced over, then covered their mouths to whisper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid Xiang’s face had flushed red, but Qin Second Lady remained calm, even returning their glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some noblewomen caught in idle gossip paused when they saw the original subject watching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this courtyard of gold and jade, Qin Second Lady was indeed plainly dressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The groups of women playing touhu, chuiwan, or kicking shuttlecocks had no interest in the mistress and maid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After waiting a while, as Qin Second Lady gazed absentmindedly at the clouds, the maid Xiang tugged her sleeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Second Lady looked over: five women—four adults and one child—were walking toward them, followed by seven or eight maids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Farther off, five boys of varying heights headed toward the men’s quarters, each accompanied by their own young servants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too far away to distinguish, Qin Second Lady couldn’t tell which was her acquaintance’s nephew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newcomers were Bai Shi and Sun Shi, with the girl being Gu Tingyi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Tingyu, Gu Tingye, and the three Xu brothers had arrived together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Shi and Sun Shi had few friends in the Jingcheng noble circles—Bai Shi came from merchant stock, and Sun Shi was an adopted marquis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the current Marquis Xiangyang was also adopted, his talented heirs, favored by the Emperor, were clearly different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the connection of Sun Shi’s maternal grandmother, Xu Zaijing and his brothers, as junior relatives, came to pay their birthday respects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing noticed the Marquis Xiangyang had grown unfamiliar with the distant branches of his family from Qingcheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the old steward who whispered an explanation into the Marquis’s ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Marquis nodded, his gaze gradually clearing as he sorted out the relationship between Xu Zaijing and his household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All fine children! Fine children from the Gu family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Gu Tingyu and his brothers were more closely related by blood, they had already paid their respects ahead of the Xu family and now stood behind the old Marquis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside the Marquis Xiangyang stood a little boy, three or four years old, mimicking the posture of Gu Tingye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was Qi Heng, the son of Princess Pingning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After paying respects, the younger boys—Gu Tingye, Xu Zaijing, and others—left the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The older ones—Gu Tingyu, Xu Zaiduan, and the rest—remained inside, listening as senior ministers and the Marquis discussed state affairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the sons of pure-stream aristocratic families, generations of court officials, enjoyed comparable treatment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing stepped into the courtyard, where the men’s quarters featured not only touhu and chuiwan, but also open grounds where men played cuju.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the open field where cuju was being played, shouts rang out:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good shot!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Xian has excellent skill!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The praise was clearly heartfelt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind them, the young Qi Heng followed the group out of the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A slightly older personal servant trailed behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the cuju players, a boy about Gu Tingye’s age, spotted Qi Heng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the group approached, a flash of malice crossed his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kicked the cuju ball hard—straight toward Qi Heng’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ball, wrapped in cowhide, would at most dishevel his braid or scrape his skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But such a sudden blow would surely startle a child Qi Heng’s age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A frail child might even be frightened into illness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If carelessly tended, who knew what consequences might follow?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ball was about to strike Qi Heng—the boy’s eyes gleamed with amusement and vengeful satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pam!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hand struck the cuju ball clean out of the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qingyun, accustomed to tracking arrows aimed at Xu Zaijing’s target, could clearly see the flight of each shaft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when wind deflected arrows low, he could block them with his shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This cuju ball, flying at such speed, was slow to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the sound, Xu Zaijing and the others turned around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind them, the young Qi Heng widened his eyes, clearly startled by Qingyun’s display.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The little Qi Heng had not yet processed what had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, Buwei rushed forward to shield his young master, his eyes filled with gratitude as he addressed Qingyun:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, brother—for stepping in. I’ll report this to Princess. Thank you, brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then looked back at the cuju players, still trembling with relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qingyun noticed Xu Zaijing watching him and politely nodded to Buwei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy who had fetched the cuju ball, lacking subtlety, glared at Qingyun and shouted:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, you servant—bring me back the ball.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please kind readers point out any errors~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1200,"2026-06-20T10:32:38.675Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","7837991d5a83cd78a1e9ecac0a3b32f0749daf80b75372a5a502a48635317b59","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-44","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-42",790,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-am-the-xu-family-s-son-cover.jpg"]