Chapter 127: The Xue Father and Son

Thinking about the anomalies between Xue Jiaoyue and Xue Wanying, Xue Fanzhi left the Old Madam's room under a pretext and called Honglian and Hongxia over. "The eldest sister is back. Go and find out where she is!"

Xue Wanying had never regarded her as a sister, and she would no longer treat her as an eldest sister.

Hongxia lowered her voice and said, "This servant has already inquired. She is in Master's courtyard, seeing Master, and also Madam He—Madam He came today as well!"

Madam He had come too? Her former husband's children were reaching adulthood, yet the ex-wife actually showed up to grace the occasion. Did she feel that being divorced was not shameful enough?

Xue Fanzhi nodded, then looked at Hongxia with a smile and said, "Not bad, when did you find that out?"

Without even needing instructions, this girl already knew what should and should not be inquired about. She had a promising future.

Hongxia smiled shyly and said, "This servant has been keeping an eye on it all along!"

Honglian seemed to understand why her mistress favored Hongxia more. Pouting, she said, "This servant has news too. The eldest young master and the second young master are back, and they just arrived in time!"

Her two brothers were finally home, especially the second brother. She hadn't seen him in a long time.

"Where are eldest brother and second brother now?"

Honglian glanced at Hongxia, and Hongxia nodded, saying, "They are also in Master's courtyard!"

Xue Yang!

The smile on Xue Fanzhi's face slowly faded.

……………………

Xue Yang wanted to get out of bed, but Madam Jin cried and stopped him, "The Master must go to see Madam He! I won't allow it, I won't let you go. That Madam He has already been divorced by the Master, what right does she have to come to the Master's courtyard? Does she have no sense of propriety?"

Xue Yang's face darkened as he said, "Stop talking nonsense. Yingniang is Madam He's daughter. Now that Yingniang is back, shouldn't Madam He come to see her? Yingniang and I are completely innocent. If you make a scene like this, what will others think of Madam He? Don't go causing trouble for her!"

Madam Jin aggrievedly said, "Then Yingniang could have gone to the back alley to see Madam He. If Madam He truly has no designs on the Master, why didn't she wait where she lives, but instead deliberately disregarded propriety and rushed to the Master's courtyard to see Yingniang?"

Although Madam He had been divorced, Xue Yang had always financially supported her. The courtyard Madam He lived in belonged to the Xue family and had been arranged by Xue Yang.

Xue Yang glared and said, "Yingniang is the legitimate daughter of the Xue family. How could she go to a place like the back alley!"

Xue Yang himself could go there, so why couldn't Xue Wanying?

Madam Jin wanted to say more, but Xue Yang glared at her and warned, "If you keep pestering and talking nonsense about Yingniang, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Xue Wanying was truly Xue Yang's favorite in his heart.

Not daring to bring up Xue Wanying anymore, Madam Jin pouted and asked, "Then is the Master still going to see Madam He?"

Xue Yang turned back and roared, "Are you still spouting nonsense? Do you expect me to lie in bed for the rest of my life? I merely heard that the eldest and second sons are back, and I don't want them to see their father lying uselessly in bed!"

Xue Jingren had clearly already seen him.

Madam Jin opened her mouth, but Xue Yang suddenly pointed a finger at her and said, "Is it because I've been treating you a bit better lately that you're starting to push your luck?"

Frightened, Madam Jin sat back down on the bed and clamped her mouth shut.

Xue Yang hummed in satisfaction, turned around, and walked out.

As soon as Xue Yang left, the maidservants in his room came in to tidy up. One of them glanced at Madam Jin a couple of times. Furious, Madam Jin snapped, "What are you looking at? Even if I get scolded, it's not something you wretches can look down upon. Let me tell you, my brother is right here in the Xue family, so don't think I'm easy to bully!"

The wealthy merchant Jin Buhuan was currently a guest at the Xue family, which was why the Master had been treating his wife much better lately.

The maidservants all withdrew their gazes. Although they secretly mocked Madam Jin's incompetence, none of them wanted to invite unnecessary trouble...

When Xue Yang walked into the outer room, Xue Jingren and his brother happened to be walking in.

The two brothers paid their respects to Xue Yang.

Xue Yang nodded and said, "Good. Your Aunt He has come over, the two of you go and pay your respects!"

Xue Jingxiao nodded unbothered, while Xue Jingren raised his head and asked, "You mean Madam He who lives in the back alley?"

With a dark face, Xue Yang scolded, "What Madam He of the back alley? That is your elder. How can you have so little manners!"

Shouldn't manners be reserved for the appropriate person?

Xue Jingren sneered and said, "This child does not know how Madam He has suddenly become an elder to whom I must properly pay respects. I haven't even seen my own maternal uncle yet, and you expect me to go see Madam He, who is unrelated to us by blood? Furthermore, to do so in Father's courtyard—is this appropriate? Why is Madam He even allowed to enter Father's courtyard?"

"Your eldest sister has returned. Is it wrong for Madam He to come see your eldest sister?" Xue Yang retorted. "Didn't your Aunt He make chestnut cake for you when you were little? Did you not eat it? How can you be so ungrateful after eating it?"

Madam He had only made pastries for them once, and that was meant for the eldest sister; they had just gotten them as an afterthought, partly to anger their mother. At that time, he was only four years old and understood nothing at all.

Yet just because of a single pastry, he was expected to pay respects to his father's cast-off wife?

Their maternal uncle had explicitly said he wanted to see them, yet they hadn't even gone to see him.

With an extremely firm attitude, Xue Jingren said, "In short, this child will not go see Madam He. Father should also not forget that you have already divorced Madam He, and Mother is your wife! My words end here, and this child takes his leave!"

Trembling with anger, Xue Yang shouted at Xue Jingren's retreating back, "Little beast, you get back here! Who do you think you're talking to?!"

Xue Jingren did not turn back. Xue Yang turned around, drew his sword, and made to chase after him. Xue Jingxiao hurriedly called out, "Father, son will go bring eldest brother back. Please restrain your anger, please calm down!"

Xue Jingxiao intercepted Xue Jingren at the entrance of Xue Yang's courtyard and said, "Eldest brother, how could you speak to Father like that just now? That is our father! How could you be so disrespectful?"

Frowning, Xue Jingren looked at his younger brother and asked, "Do you really think it was right for us to skip paying respects to our maternal uncle and instead pay respects to Father's cast-off wife? That is our real maternal uncle! Don't forget how many gifts Uncle has sent you over the years, and how much he dotes on you!"

Unconvinced, Xue Jingxiao replied, "We were just doing it on the way. No matter what, she is eldest sister's mother, which makes her our elder!"

"You know very well she is eldest sister's mother, not yours. Is it appropriate for her to still be coming to Father's courtyard now?"

"This is Father's decision!" Xue Jingxiao frowned. "Father is our father; no matter how dissatisfied eldest brother is, you cannot defy him. Is that how Second Great-uncle usually taught you?"

Xue Jingxiao had spent year-round by Xue Yang's side, whereas Xue Jingren had spent more time with Xue Qiu.

Seeing that Xue Jingxiao was stubborn and unyielding, Xue Jingren felt deeply disappointed. On the way to fetch his younger brother this time, he had already sensed that his brother lacked the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

He said, "If you have nothing to do, go see Little Eight. Today is the day she comes of age, and you haven't given her a gift yet!"

At the mention of Xue Fanzhi, Xue Jingren's face darkened completely. He said, "Little Seven wrote to me detailing everything that happened between her and Little Eight. Little Eight slandered Little Seven just to protect her own reputation, and even Grandmother favored Little Eight. Now that she's grown capable and full of schemes, what does she need a brother like me for? If I don't give her a gift, plenty of others will; I don't need to suck up to her!"