[{"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-90":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},2307868,4510,"Chapter 90","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-90",90,"\u003Cp>This embroidery, simply hanging on the wall, was already pleasing to the eye—clearly done with care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Anmei’s admiring gaze, Pingmei handed the embroidery to Qingxia, who carefully put it away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That evening, the Xu family finished their meal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the main hall of Sun Shi’s courtyard, only Pingmei remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi sat on the bed, while Pingmei sat on the embroidery stool beside it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi looked at her daughter, as if in the blink of an eye she had grown so tall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wuwu was born, Pingmei was still a little girl with unkempt hair; now she had blossomed into a graceful, beautiful young woman, soon to marry into the Ningyuan Marquis House.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pingmei met her mother’s tender gaze, felt her mother’s hand, and gently rubbed her cheek against it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mother, why did you keep me here alone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi smiled and beckoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Zhu walked over carrying a delicate little wooden box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi placed the wooden box in Pingmei’s hands and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Inside is a gift from your aunt in Yangzhou; in her letter she said, marrying into a marquis house is not like marrying into an ordinary family—you need more silver to safeguard yourself. Also, your sister-in-law has added a gift: a sugarcane field in the south.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pingmei opened the box and found two land deeds and a thousand-ounce silver note.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mother, isn’t this too much?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ping’er, this is her heartfelt wish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her daughter silent, Sun Shi spoke with solemn gravity:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ping’er, do you know why I deeply admire your aunt?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mother, Auntie received an honorific archway for raising her late husband’s concubine-born son to become a jinshi—of course she’s admirable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi shook her head. “That came later. What I admire about her is this: she was born a noble daughter of the marquis house, married to a third-place imperial scholar, endured successive tragedies, yet held fast to her original heart—never letting her resilience be crushed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Pingmei’s puzzled eyes, Sun Shi smiled as she recalled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At the time, I was about your age. I heard from your grandmother that the only daughter of the Yongyi Marquis had lost her husband. Your father’s grandparents had already arranged a good match for her—but she refused to remarry and stayed with the Sheng family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mother, why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t understand then, but now I admire her: her husband died, her legitimate son passed away young, and she had only a concubine-born son—was there anyone in the Sheng second branch older or higher than your aunt?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“None, Mother! You mean, in the Sheng household, your aunt was the highest authority—she called the shots. But if she remarried, she’d be dependent on her new husband?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi gave her daughter an approving look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly, Ping’er. If your aunt remarried, how could she know the new husband was a good man? Or that he wasn’t after her fortune? Her life would again be in someone else’s hands.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’d suffered enough being controlled by others—how could she willingly jump into that again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, Mother, why do you say your aunt had a touch of resilience?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi stroked her daughter’s hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your aunt endured tragedy after tragedy after marriage, yet still strove to do her best—she raised Hongge to become a jinshi and married him to the legitimate daughter of a noble family. And she never lost her kindness. Didn’t she take in a lonely girl from the Lin family and raise her carefully? Unfortunately—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pingmei said: “Was that the Sheng family’s concubine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Back then in Bianjing, your aunt was famed as a heavenly beauty—reckless, free-spirited, unbound by convention. Who in Bianjing didn’t envy her? But in old age, she became the most rule-abiding person of all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi kept one thought unspoken: from one extreme to another—how much skin had to be peeled, how many bones broken in the grinding?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi continued speaking to her eldest daughter:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your aunt lived a life of luxury in her youth; after marriage, the fall was immense—her legitimate son was murdered—but she never sank into despair, never cursed fate, never turned bitter or cruel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s resilience. No matter how hard it got, she never gave up moving forward. Your aunt is living with resilience.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pingmei, still young, looked at her mother with a hint of confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ping’er, no marriage is perfect. Though Yu’er seems good now, his household has four or five branches—none of them easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you marry into the Gu family, your White aunt will watch over you—but she’s not your real mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the future holds, no one can say! But no matter what happens, never give up, never wallow in self-pity—do you understand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your father’s career is going well, and your younger siblings’ futures are promising too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Gu household, don’t be reckless—but don’t let anyone mistreat you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wuwu has arranged four women with children for you, all trained in martial arts since childhood alongside their fathers or brothers. Their children are now raised in our home—they’ll accompany you to the Gu household and protect you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pingmei had long carried a gloomy bubble in her heart over Qingzhi’s fate—but her mother’s words and her younger brother’s preparations burst it instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling her family truly cared for her, Pingmei pouted: “Mother, I don’t want to marry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Shi laughed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Foolish girl—with a husband like Yu’er, who holds a title, can read, and is so handsome—you say you don’t want to marry?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I—I—I’ll serve my parents till they’re old.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then you’ll drive me to despair.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As mother and daughter talked, Xu Minghua returned, and Pingmei went back to her own courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the gate of Qiongzhi Pavilion stood four women—nimble, sturdy, and strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Pingmei approach, they bowed respectfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing’s courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room held dishes sent by the kitchen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His elder and second brothers sat beside him, along with his cousin Zhu Qinghu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a thank-you feast, honoring their cousin for the effort of finding the four women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Xu Zaijing and his brothers first met them, they saw women with rough hands, simple natures, and deep family loyalty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most had children raised in the Xu household, or fathers\u002Fbrothers serving in the military.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, they weren’t chosen at random—they’d been carefully selected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the four cousins ate together in Xu Zaijing’s courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cousin, I heard your wedding is nearly settled?” Xu Zaijing asked Zhu Qinghu with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qinghu, who had never blushed even under the spy assassins of Baigao, now frowned, embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where did you hear that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaiwan glanced at his younger brother; Xu Zaihang picked up his wine cup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course we heard it from Auntie.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard she’s from a scholarly family?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You—you all pry into everything!” Zhu Qinghu grumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three Xu brothers laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re all men—what’s there to be shy about? Auntie said we’ve met her?” Xu Zaijing asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes—the woman who came to our house to massage Mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, the three Xu brothers fell into thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second brother Xu Zaihang suddenly remembered, his face stunned:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait—Cousin, that woman is about Auntie’s age! How could she be a girl? She’s not even young!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing said: “Think again, Second Brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eldest brother Xu Zaiwan slapped his younger brother’s shoulder: “The woman beside her—you said she could read!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh! Oh! Now I remember! She was quiet, but how could a scholar’s daughter end up working for Auntie?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second Brother, you don’t know—her family lives inside Wansheng Gate Street, not far from our maternal grandparents’ home. Several aunts have already checked everything out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qinghu looked at Xu Zaijing—he didn’t know much himself, only met the girl once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When his mother told him he had a match, he’d slipped out under the excuse of military duties and barely listened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing watched his cousin, deliberately pausing—until eldest brother Xu Zaiwan said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao Wu, stop teasing—just tell us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing raised his wine cup, silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qinghu picked up the wine jug and filled his cup dutifully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Her father spent the entire family fortune on imperial exams; her mother fell ill, so they sold all their land to pay for treatment, keeping only their city house.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A few years ago, both parents passed away, leaving behind two younger brothers and a sister. Poor thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qinghu said nothing, holding his cup, his face heavy with thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing picked up the wine jug and refilled his cousin’s cup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To support her brothers and sister, she learned massage techniques from a female physician and entered private households to earn silver.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aunts have thoroughly checked with neighbors—they heard others proposed to her, but when they learned she had two brothers and a sister, all proposals vanished.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qinghu raised his cup, drank with the three cousins, then picked up chopsticks and stayed silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, second brother Xu Zaihang said: “Her background—wouldn’t it be better for you to marry a regular scholar’s legitimate daughter? You’d still be taking care of her siblings.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second Brother, you’re right—though her family owns a house in Bianjing, it must pass to her brothers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But according to the aunts, she never neglected her brothers’ studies—even in hardship, she made sure they attended the city’s private academies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cousin?” Xu Zaijing asked, watching Zhu Qinghu, who was staring blankly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s nothing. Since Mother has decided, then it’s certainly good.” He remembered those eyes—few could bear his gaze, for he had seen too much life and death—but this girl was somehow different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Changing the subject, the four cousin brothers began discussing how to make things difficult for the Gu family at Pingmei’s wedding in a few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing also mentioned the news he’d received from Gu Tingyu: Gu Tingyang’s servant had been beaten half to death, and Gu Tingyang himself had been whipped by his own father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Shi had also told the fourth and fifth branches: once the Gu and Xu families were married, if they dared cause trouble, the first branch would cut off their silver and food allowances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the weather turned cool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corn harvest at the Xu family estate was bountiful; they selected dozens of the largest, fullest ears and sent them to Hou Fu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hou Fu wedding procession had also halted at the main gate of the Xu residence on Quyuanjie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Firecrackers were set off,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the musicians’ flutes and drums created a lively din.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not far from the gate, soldiers from the Tianwu Army maintained order, while Hou Fu servants scattered silver coins and food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the Gu family’s young men, only Gu Tingye and the youngest of the fifth branch, Gu Tingdi, were permitted to attend the wedding, along with several young men from Bianjing who had taken the imperial exams with Gu Tingyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the gate, Xu Zaijing did not dismount—otherwise, Gu Tingyu could never have entered the Xu household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the front hall, the eldest sister was bidding farewell to their parents; with two older brothers present, Xu Zaijing did not join the crowd. He stood quietly at the gate of Qiongzhi Pavilion, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything in the courtyard had already been packed onto carts, ready to be transported to the Gu household, leaving only a few items too heavy to move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The courtyard now felt empty and cold; the swing swayed slightly in the breeze, as if their eldest sister were still resting upon it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cat in his arms lifted its head, glanced curiously at Xu Zaijing, then meowed—as if asking why no one was left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing stroked the cat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young master. The eldest lady is about to enter the sedan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qingcao, standing behind her young master, also felt a quiet melancholy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her close friend, Qingzhi, was already outside the gate, holding the bridal trousseau beside the wedding sedan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing walked with Qingyun and Qingcao toward the main gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the eldest brother, Xu Zai Zheng, was carrying their younger sister onto the sedan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zaijing watched the sedan depart, while the second brother, Zai Zhang, already had a reddening nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the sedan, Pingmei set down her round fan and, through the red gauze curtain, saw her brother standing at the gate, watching her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had felt nothing until now—but suddenly her nose stung; she quickly took several deep breaths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The musicians played.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wedding procession began to move, but the onlookers of Bianjing suddenly noticed something new, pointing and whispering among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2083,"2026-06-20T10:32:38.675Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","23d2505df38bf7f0bd3cea1863f5b88b9e332c10c76af11d1fed47ec93ac8bb9","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-91","i-am-the-xu-family-s-son-chapter-89",790,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-am-the-xu-family-s-son-cover.jpg"]