[{"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-48":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},2307826,4510,"Chapter 48: Elder Sister, Little Lady [Thank You to Our Readers!]","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-48",48,"\u003Cp>Sheng Hong was still at the yamen handling affairs in Yangzhou and not at home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheng Wei, led by the household servants, arrived at the back courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside Shou’an Hall,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young servant beside him took off his heavy fur cloak and stood respectfully by the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid at the door lifted the curtain for Sheng Wei, and a wave of warm air surged out from inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheng Wei stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because snow was falling, the sky was dim,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the room was even darker, yet remarkably warm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a glance, the Second Aunt, Madam Sheng, sat at the head of the room, gazing at him with gentle eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside the old lady was a girl of tender years; Sheng Wei knew this was his cousin’s eldest daughter, Hua Lan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Lan was Sheng Hong’s first child, inheriting Wang Shi’s complexion and bearing, yet inheriting Sheng Hong’s finer features.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had both beauty and grace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With guidance from this Marquis’s only daughter, the girl carried the air of a noble lady at first glance, her eyes bright with delight as she looked at Sheng Wei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His studious nephew Chang Bai was not here—he must be at the academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shi, Sheng Hong’s principal wife, sat below the old lady, holding a five- or six-year-old girl, Ru Lan, whose eyes sparkled with energy,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>fixed on Sheng Wei with eager anticipation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ru Lan was still too young to judge her looks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the girl beside Hua Lan had striking features, her clothing and ornaments no less fine than Hua Lan’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because she was young, her gaze toward Sheng Wei held a similar hopeful light as Ru Lan’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only boy in the room, Chang Feng, like Ru Lan, had bright eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shortest and youngest was a girl of two or three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the room was dim, Sheng Wei noticed her at once—her skin seemed whiter than Hua Lan’s, even though Hua Lan was pampered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The little girl stood quietly beside them, her eyes blank with innocence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nephew greets Aunt and Sister-in-law.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shi rose slightly in return for Sheng Wei’s bow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Sheng cast a look at the First Lady, her expression unreadable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, beginning with Hua Lan, the children bowed or curtsied to Sheng Wei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Greetings, Great Uncle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good, good children.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Sheng smiled at Sheng Wei and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wei-ge, you’ve had a long journey—sit down. Suqin!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid, Fang Mama, brought Sheng Wei a cup of hot tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How is your mother?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She is well, Aunt. But every winter, her old injuries from youth trouble her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your mother suffered greatly. She’s reluctant to use fine things. When you return to Youyang, bring her a century-old ginseng root to restore her strength.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Aunt understands Mother best.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We must not wait until we need something to maintain ties with old relatives,” said Madam Sheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheng Wei could not write every detail in letters to Madam Sheng—that was not the way of a man who stood on his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old lady glanced at the bundle before Sheng Wei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First Lady, Wei-ge has brought gifts for the children—take them and show the children.” Madam Sheng instructed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shi rose and bowed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hua, stay.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Grandmother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mo Lan, Chang Feng, Ru Lan—the younger ones rushed out of Shou’an Hall,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>eager to see what their uncle had brought them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last girl took a few steps before being picked up by one of the old lady’s maids and carried after them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wei-ge, forgive us—my daughter-in-law has worries on her mind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheng Wei bowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need to apologize—the children are still young.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His sister-in-law came from a line of scholar-officials; her father had been a towering figure in the bureaucracy and was enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple after death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she had been raised in the countryside for over ten years, away from her parents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She never learned their cunning or tactics, and her blunt nature fell right into the trap set by her husband’s concubine, losing her control of the household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Add to that her husband’s favoritism toward the concubine, and this sister-in-law had become a laughingstock among Yangzhou’s noble ladies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of Madam Sheng, Sheng Wei always followed her stance toward the Sheng children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In past years, because Madam Sheng disliked Lin Qin, Sheng Wei never prepared gifts for her two children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The First Lady was delighted by this, always smiling at Sheng Wei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these past two years, as Sheng Hong’s official career improved, Madam Sheng gradually withdrew behind the scenes, and power within the household quietly shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after Madam Sheng mentioned it did Sheng Wei begin preparing gifts again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Sheng Wei spoke with the old lady, Hua Lan did not sit idle—she occasionally poured tea for Sheng Wei, helping Fang Mama.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though her eyes did not dart about, she listened intently to the elders’ words, her expression thoughtful, absorbing their wisdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking of some business progress, Sheng Wei paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aunt, this is a rare gift from the Marquis’s First Lady, meant for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened the wrapped animal hide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Lan saw a cluster of pure white, fluffy fibers, similar to poplar fluff but far denser and whiter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Sheng’s expression remained calm—no surprise, no disgust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Marquis’s First Lady said this came from the Bai family’s sea ships. In ancient times, it was called bai die. Xu Sanlang loved it and planted much of it in the Marquis’s estate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Bai family? Recently, they’ve been quite helpful to your cousin. It was the Sun family who arranged the visit to the Bai patriarch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, the old lady sipped her tea, her eyes distant, perhaps recalling her own youth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. The Marquis’s First Lady said the bai die fibers, once processed, are warm yet light. Since you’ve grown older, she specifically asked me to bring ten catties for you to make a padded jacket to keep warm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good, good. We must not waste such kindness. Hua, take this and put it away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Lan walked to the table and lifted the unfamiliar white fluff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheng Wei spoke with the old lady for a while longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the sky darkened, Sheng Hong returned home, and the two cousins exchanged pleasantries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several days passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheng Wei departed early for Youyang, carrying the New Year gifts Madam Sheng had prepared for his sister-in-law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sheng residence’s side courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room was cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman dressed in mourning attire sat by the window, meticulously embroidering a picture,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>each breath sending out a wisp of white vapor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A twelve- or thirteen-year-old maid stood beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Lady, your embroidery is truly superb—I’ve never seen anyone better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheng Hong’s concubine, Wei Shuyi, smiled at her maid and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve never seen my mother’s work. When my father studied, our family survived on the embroidery my mother made.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she spoke, Wei Xiao Niang’s smile faded. She glanced at her daughter, asleep in bed, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning back, she said: “Xiaodie, go buy some expensive silk thread for me—I’ll need it for this embroidery.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Little Lady.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before leaving, Xiaodie secretly placed a large lump of charcoal into the brazier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Xiao Niang, absorbed in her embroidery, seemed not to notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Xiaodie reached the Sheng residence’s gate, the family’s carriage was just entering. Xiaodie stood respectfully to the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the household’s masters used carriages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either the First Lady, Wang Shi, or the favored concubine in charge of the household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Cui Chan standing beside the carriage, Xiaodie knew this was almost certainly Hua Lan, the Sheng family’s eldest daughter, returning home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether from a Yangzhou noblewomen’s poetry gathering or a snow-viewing party.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the carriage passed, Xiaodie registered her reason for leaving at the gatehouse, then walked toward the silk thread shop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shou’an Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Sheng smiled at Hua Lan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hua, were you pleased with the poetry gathering?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there are typos, kindly readers, please point them out. If anything is awkward, please let us know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sorry, I misset the scheduled posting time for the two chapters at midnight; I just corrected it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please vote!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please tip!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please support!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1360,"2026-06-20T10:32:38.675Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3974e31e0fc5ba2567cdaf455ab6c6144c167d954458a3ad31de18c5599250d0","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-49","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-47",790,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-am-the-xu-family-s-son-cover.jpg"]