“This is my good-for-nothing son, Wan Mingji.”

“That’s really something, I didn’t recognize him at first. Mingji went on a study tour for a year, and he’s changed a lot,” Xie Yuan said politely, though he was quite surprised inside.

Xie Yuan chatted with Li Yun for a bit, while Xie Qiaoyu sneaked a glance at Wan Mingji, his eyes burning with interest. Xie Weixia was also momentarily amazed, but when her gaze fell on the rundown Wan Mansion, she pursed her lips and lost interest.

“Mingji, come over and greet your Uncle Xie,” Li Yun called out to him.

“Hello, Uncle Xie.” Wan Mingji had noticed Xie Yuan and his group from afar. Hearing Li Yun’s words, he stepped forward to greet them.

Every move he made was full of ease and grace.

Xie Qiaoyu, seeing Wan Mingji up close, restrained his gaze but still couldn’t help looking at his… face. His eyes wandered over Wan Mingji’s slender waist and long legs in mourning clothes, feeling quite delighted.

“Yes, Uncle Xie, I will definitely study hard,” Wan Mingji said, feeling a bit awkward as he spoke to Xie Yuan. He couldn’t quite shake the feeling that someone was watching him.

When Wan Mingji first arrived, he couldn’t even recognize all the characters. The original owner was illiterate, but after a year of hard work, he finally managed to piece together the missing parts of his knowledge, though his handwriting was still atrocious, like a dog’s scrawl.

“Exactly, study hard for the next three years, and aim to achieve some academic success in the exams,” Xie Yuan advised earnestly.

“Uncle Xie is absolutely right, I will work hard.”

The more Xie Qiaoyu looked at Wan Mingji, the more satisfied he was with his face and figure, like a mother-in-law looking at a son-in-law, no, like a young man looking at a future husband, his eyes filled with his image, unable to contain it.

Such a handsome man, Xie Qiaoyu thought to himself to be reserved. Besides, Wan Mingji’s reputation was so bad, and his family had already become paupers. Would marrying him lead to a good life?

The more Xie Qiaoyu thought about it, the more conflicted he became. There was no such thing as perfection in this world, truly a dilemma.

“Mingji, take the two young masters to the backyard for a stroll.”

“Yes, Mother.” Wan Mingji, relieved to leave the main hall, walked with more confidence. He didn’t like staying inside.

“This way, please. There’s tea prepared in the garden, you can have some,” Wan Mingji said, following the rules.

Xie Weixia, who always maintained a good facade outside, thanked him gently, “Wan Gongzi is very considerate.”

“Wan Gongzi, are the flowers here going to be moved?” Xie Qiaoyu noticed signs of digging in the garden and used it as an excuse to talk to Wan Mingji.

“This was Mother’s idea.”

Standing face to face with Wan Mingji, Xie Qiaoyu had a shy smile on his lips, speaking softly with his head lowered.

Wan Mingji glanced at Xie Qiaoyu, noticing that he hadn’t applied such thick powder today, finally daring to look at him directly. He looked quite good and seemed attentive.

After escorting them to the garden, Wan Mingji had to go back to entertain the other guests, so he bid farewell to Xie Qiaoyu and Xie Weixia, “I need to go entertain the guests outside. If you need anything, you can find me or my mother.”

Xie Qiaoyu: “Wan Gongzi, please go ahead.”

Wan Mingji didn’t have the air of a playboy at all, he was well-mannered, quite different from the rumors. But there was one thing… he still stood too far away from him.

Even though they were talking face to face, the distance between Wan Mingji and him was clearly beyond that of strangers, even further!

“Now that he’s gone, Xie Qiaoyu, you don’t have to pretend to be gentle in front of Wan Gongzi anymore,” Xie Weixia sat on one side, sarcastically remarked.

Xie Weixia was feeling irritated. He didn’t want to stay in the Wan Mansion at all. Wei Bowen had recently returned and after writing him a letter, he was going to shut himself in to study. He still hoped Wei Bowen would propose.

“Second brother, I’ve always been gentle, didn’t you know?” Xie Qiaoyu disgusted Xie Weixia once more, not wanting to stay with him, and left the garden to wander around.

He noticed that although the Wan Mansion’s courtyard was rundown, it was well-arranged. The rockery and flowers here were beautiful. After looking around for a while, he knew Xie Yuan would soon take them back, as Xie Yuan still wanted to sever ties with the Wan Mansion. Feeling tired, he sat on a stone stool, noticing a wooden slingshot on another stone stool.

He didn’t want to touch it, just resting, thinking about asking the kitchen to make some rose lotus root powder to eat when he got back. He heard footsteps, and a young man approached, “Qiaoyu, I knew you’d be here too.”

Xue Xuan happily greeted his friend, “You’re hiding out here.”

Naturally, the two had endless things to talk about. Xie Qiaoyu gave up his seat to Xue Xuan, taking the slingshot in his hand and sitting on another stone stool. In case the slingshot’s owner showed up, he would talk to them himself, not involving Xue Xuan.

“It must be some servant who left it here,” Xue Xuan said, “If it were a young master, who would use this plain wooden slingshot without any pattern?”

“Let’s not talk about irrelevant things. I didn’t want to come, but my father decided to, so I just came to have some fun. But do you know what happened?” Xue Xuan leaned in mysteriously to Xie Qiaoyu.

“Know what?” Xie Qiaoyu lowered his voice, looking secretive.

“Young Master Xie is here too, the one named Xie Jiuling.” Xie Jiuling was the dream lover of both young men and women in Ningjiang County.

“He’s here too?” Xie Qiaoyu was taken aback. He remembered Xie Jiuling had no connection with the Wan Mansion.

“He’s here for that wastrel of the Wan family.”

Xie Qiaoyu couldn’t connect Wan Mingji and Xie Jiuling. The two were like night and day, one a playboy, the other a refined gentleman, completely unrelated.

“And a bunch of playboys dragged the Wan family’s wastrel away. Who knows what will happen? In the past, they lived well on the Wan family’s face, but now that the Wan family is down and out, it’s going to be tough,” Xue Xuan had seen these playboys beat others black and blue, and had a bad impression of them.

“Fighting, slapping faces?” Xie Qiaoyu was good at catching the main point.

“Specially slapping faces, making people embarrassed.”

Xie Qiaoyu sighed, “What a pity.”

Xue Xuan was the legitimate son at home, but he liked making friends and got along best with Xie Qiaoyu. In the warm spring sun, the two chatted away, and time flew by.

They were about to leave when they heard a commotion before they even left the stone stools. Xie Qiaoyu immediately perked up, standing up and peeking around the rockery to watch the excitement, his dark eyes round and lively.

“Wan Mingji, today we honored you by coming to your house, but what kind of tea is this? It’s so bitter, ptooey ptooey ptooey,” Young Master Qian spat tea leaves everywhere, looking disgusted, “If your family doesn’t have good tea, I can give you some. After all, we’re still brothers, aren’t we?”

It really was Wan Mingji! Xie Qiaoyu got nervous.

“Wan brother, why aren’t you speaking, are you mute?” Zhu Jiu laughed too, his face jiggling with fat, “Tsk tsk tsk, Young Master Wan now looks down on us brothers, looking all proper and dignified.”

Laughter erupted around them.

Wan Mingji: “Are you done talking?”

His brows and eyes no longer held the silent gentleness of a gentleman, instead, they carried a rebellious air, as if this was his true nature. He spoke politely, but with a mocking tone, “Please roll away smoothly.”

Qian Yi was so angry he almost fell over, “Still acting arrogant in front of us, you brat, do you want to die? Beat him!!!”

Zhu Jiu also pointed at Wan Mingji, “Beat him to death!”

The remaining playboys, not provoked, also raised their hands, signaling the servants to go up and beat Wan Mingji.

Xie Qiaoyu covered his eyes, peeking through his fingers, “I can’t bear to watch.”

“Me neither,” Xue Xuan covered his eyes and pulled his head back.

Wan Mingji used a grappling technique to take one person down. He fought a group alone without falling behind, each punch carrying force, his toes lightly tapping as he kicked someone away, his movements fluid and graceful, a visual feast.

Who would be so direct to start a fight? Wan Mingji, however, was decisive. The Da Qi Dynasty valued civil officials, and there weren’t many who knew martial arts.

Xie Qiaoyu’s eyes sparkled, “Wow!”

Even better than the martial artists on stage.

“Wan Mingji, you, you over there, don’t come any closer,” Qian Yi screamed.

“Whatever you say goes, huh?” Wan Mingji stepped forward and punched him in the eye, “I always conquer with virtue.”

A panda eye suddenly appeared on Qian Yi’s left eye socket, making him see stars, the pain unbearable.

Zhu Jiu, the leader of the playboys, trembled, “Wan brother, let’s talk this over, this little money is a token of my goodwill.”

Zhu Jiu pulled out a silver note.

Wan Mingji continued to approach, Zhu Jiu’s eyes flickered, gritting his teeth, he pulled out a stack of silver notes, and Wan Mingji immediately smiled, “Old Zhu, my good brother.”

Zhu Jiu forced a smile.

The crowd was frightened by Wan Mingji’s face-changing act, some playboys willing to pay to avoid disaster. They hadn’t expected Wan Mingji to be so skilled in martial arts, not wanting to provoke this demon.

“Wan brother, a small token of respect.”

“Wan brother, money for tea.”

“Come visit often,” Wan Mingji unhesitatingly pocketed the money given by the playboys, then looked at Qian Yi, extending his hand.

Qian Yi: “…” I got beaten and still have to pay.

Is there no justice in this world?!

Qian Yi reluctantly pulled out his pocket money, unwilling to give it to Wan Mingji, but Wan Mingji snatched it with a swift motion, “Hand it over.”

The playboys walked in with swagger, but left dejected, some even carried out horizontally.

Behind the rockery, Xue Xuan’s legs trembled, Wan Mingji was terrifying.

Xie Qiaoyu was a bit scared too, Wan Mingji was too good at fighting. What if he turned violent at home? But he looked so… domineering.

Besides, it was they who provoked Wan Mingji and got beaten, how was it Wan Mingji’s fault?

Xie Qiaoyu noticed blood on his hands, probably injured from fighting so many people. He said nothing and left, likely to clean himself up.

In his mind, Xie Qiaoyu immediately imagined a young man enduring humiliation, and couldn’t help but say, “Wan Gongzi is so pitiful.”

Xue Xuan: “…”

He suspected something was wrong with his ears.

“What did you say?”

“Don’t you think Wan Gongzi is pitiful?”

“……”

Oh my heavens!