[{"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-49":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},2307827,4510,"Chapter 49: Hua Lan Selects Maids","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-49",49,"\u003Cp>“Grandmother, it’s freezing cold—unless the governor’s eldest daughter took the initiative to host, I wouldn’t go at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Lan handed her cloak to Fang Mama, set down her hand warmer, and walked to her grandmother’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Sheng reached out and touched Hua Lan’s clothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How is it? Is the white cotton fleece warm enough?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Lan nodded vigorously, her eyes shining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grandmother, it’s wonderfully warm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Several sisters from Yangzhou asked what’s inside—it’s so warm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did you tell them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehe, Grandmother, I said it was a novel gift sent by relatives from Bianjing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It really made me look good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You, you’re something else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The grandmother and granddaughter laughed together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On ordinary days, Hua Lan was never the type to draw attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old lady would teach her to understand the purpose behind these gatherings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some were merely idle amusement among noble daughters,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>where they competed to outshine one another,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and show off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But gatherings with intent might be a noble daughter’s attempt to craft a certain image.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Lan naturally needed to temper her brilliance and keep low, to give face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qige,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qinshuang listened to her maid Xue Niang’s words, her face darkening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She slammed her teacup onto the table, anger mounting in her eyes,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That old woman—my Mo’er is also the Master’s daughter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why would such rare treasures be given only to Hua Lan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Back then she stubbornly cut ties with the Hou Fu, and now she’s clinging to them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Lady, watch your tongue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mo Lan, nearby, was carefully copying calligraphy; hearing her mother’s words, she looked puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What exactly did the folks from Youyang send? Did you find out?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Niang shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Lady, the maids in Shou’an Hall are famously tight-lipped—we couldn’t find out anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We only guessed when we saw Great Master Xu carrying something inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the eldest miss mentioned a few things at the governor’s daughter’s gathering.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qige glanced at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was once a daughter of an official household in Bianjing—I know very few things I haven’t heard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They say it’s white cotton fleece.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qinshuang looked bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Morning,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bianjing,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quyuanjie,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yongyi Hou Fu—Xu Zaijing mustered immense willpower to drag himself out of his warm bedding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dressed, Qingyun brought hot water from the stove; after washing his face, Xu Zaijing and Qingyun headed to the riding ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky was still dark; lanterns glowed faintly in the stable. The horses snorted white plumes as they ate from their troughs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing looked up at the high moon, exhaling a soft white breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since arriving in this world, what he loved most to gaze upon was the bright moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second only to that were blue skies and white clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were the two things most like those of his past life on Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a youth educated under compulsory schooling, seeing the moon naturally brought to mind one line:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When did the bright moon appear? I raise my cup and ask the blue heavens.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the air—during mornings, after rain, after snow—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>tasted exactly as it had in his past life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over these years, Xu Zaijing had quietly tested his strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a boy under ten, his power was astonishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He maintained such disciplined physical and martial training\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>partly to strengthen his body and boost immunity,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but also to acquire means of self-defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Killing techniques are always steady, precise, and brutal—striking vital points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steady, precise, brutal—these demands help Xu Zaijing better control his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With astonishing, enduring strength and exceptional control, he could effortlessly extinguish life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing remembered a line from a film in his past life:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Having a sword and not using it is entirely different from having no sword at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he walked across the riding ground, Qingyun behind him asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, what shall we practice today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sword and shield.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qingyun, four or five years older than Xu Zaijing, had begun to grow tall; fortunately, the Hou Fu’s meals were good, and he hadn’t grown thin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their sparring was like an adult fighting a child in the Great Xu Dynasty’s terms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Xu Zaijing warmed up, Qingyun brought over the sword-and-shield set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Qingyun’s face showed caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once during practice, his young master hadn’t held back—he used only three-tenths of his strength,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>yet Qingyun, holding his shield, felt as if a horse had slammed into him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shield shattered, and he flew over two zhang away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though straw piles cushioned the fall,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qingyun’s throat turned sweet, his chest and back ached from the impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, his leather armor blocked the shield shards,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>or else he’d have lain in the clinic for who knew how long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since then, practice had shifted: Qingyun shot arrows at Xu Zaijing from a distance, using adult-level strength,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>or threw short spears, flying daggers, flying axes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing trained to quickly discern the direction of force and deflect it with minimal effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they trained vigorously, Xu Zaijing’s ear twitched—he rolled instantly to dodge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, that’s not fair!” Xu Zaijing cried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stable hand nearby shook his head disinterestedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ambush failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His disciple, even against his own healthy self in his prime, had crushed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hoped Yongyi Marquis Xu Minghua wouldn’t suddenly decide to spar with his son,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>or else he’d be utterly humiliated by his own child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing had broken a light sweat; Qingyun was panting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After training, they left the riding ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kitchen hearth at the Hou Fu connected to an adjacent room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flue ran beneath the room’s floor, so the room was very warm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside stood a bathtub; Xu Zaijing washed himself, then Qingyun washed nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, Xu Zaijing’s family ate breakfast,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>preparing to join his two older brothers in the courtyard’s study hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a gatekeeper’s boy arrived at the courtyard gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady, a matchmaker’s old woman is at the gate—says she was referred by Wu Da Niangzi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Show her to the outer courtyard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Si Hour (before 11 a.m.),\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing and his two brothers returned from the study hall to the inner courtyard for lunch,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>where Sun Da Niangzi’s courtyard now held eight or nine girls of varying ages, all standing solemnly in the yard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The household servant said these girls had just been purchased from the broker’s office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Broker’s offices were like modern intermediaries; most of the girls they tricked or abducted ended up sold to brothels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those with clear origins who could be traced,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>such as those whose families had suffered disasters and could no longer afford to feed them,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>were sent to the households of noble officials, signed into contracts, and received monthly stipends from their masters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few years ago, the Xu family had declined and earned little income,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>so only Sun Shi had four senior maidservants,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>back when the Yongyi Marquis House was at its peak, how many maids did that legitimate daughter have in her courtyard?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roughly over fifty, according to the old servants of the Marquis House.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other four of Xu Zai’s siblings,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>except for the youngest, Xu Zaijing,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>each had only one personal maid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past two or three years, the Xu family’s finances had improved,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and as Xu Zaijing grew older, Sun Shi had finally arranged to buy him a personal attendant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other four children also needed servants for cleaning, laundry, and future dowry attendants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raising them from childhood was always better than buying them outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing’s young servant, Qingyun, was already fifteen or sixteen,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but some matters were still more convenient handled by a female attendant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The broker’s matron introduced by Wu Dangzi was experienced in this trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the steward of the Yongchang Marquis House, this was another marquis household,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the girls brought over had all been trained and came from clean backgrounds,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>including five or six girls aged seven or eight with beautiful features.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, twenty were brought; the Xu family kept nine,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>three of whom had beautiful features.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi looked at her three sons,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>lifted her chin:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These are the new servants in our household. Duan Ge, you’re the eldest—choose first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Zhu, have them raise their heads.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Lady Sun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing naturally did not object to this practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because under the productive conditions of this era,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>any natural disaster or human calamity meant ruin for an ordinary family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without disaster, simply having one more child could make survival impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Xiao Niang’s family had only one member seriously ill, yet they still sold themselves to save their father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the poor, selling oneself into service was a path to survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Xu Zaijing’s older siblings had chosen, two of the three beautiful girls remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, his siblings were yielding to Xu Zaijing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing stood before the courtyard, gazing at the young maids below, feeling uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m selecting company subordinates, company subordinates,” Xu Zaijing thought to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, new hires always panic when they overfocus on the numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s been several chapters since I proofread my own work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most silent readers come quietly, vote quietly, support quietly; if they dislike it, they leave quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m wrong! I apologize!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The data I’ve seen these past few days feels alarming. Thank you all readers for your tips and support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ll add one extra chapter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Keep storing drafts!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m muttering to myself—I won’t make it to this third round of recommendations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mo Lan’s tone: I want to go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1576,"2026-06-20T10:32:38.675Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","7906916c262e3a04bd2d95e679eae31871c89b835d9470184540513ed95060f0","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-50","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-48",790,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-am-the-xu-family-s-son-cover.jpg"]