klisemfg Chapter 464 The Desire of an Old Man in His Twilight Years
Chapter 464 The Desire of an Old Man in His Twilight Years
Mei-yi was so angry her liver hurt.
“She doesn’t only have you as her son. Xu Yizhi also has a father. It’s not your place as the eldest uncle to step forward.”
As she spoke, she got out of bed and locked the door, saying, "Stay put."
Xu Zhengci was pulled back to bed by her, and the couple climbed onto the window.
And outside.
Grandma Xu naturally couldn't go out either.
"While everyone's awake, I'll get straight to the point: from now on, no one is allowed to cause trouble for Xu Yiyi and her siblings, including you!"
Grandpa Xu stared at Xu Yizhi and said.
"Anyone who wants to try can do so, but they must think carefully about whether they can bear the consequences."
Upon hearing this, Xu Mingzai's heart sank.
After Grandpa Xu returned to his house, the people in the courtyard were silent for a moment, then immediately dispersed.
Grandma Xu held her grandson tightly and refused to let go, so Xu Ming simply dragged Ru Lan back into the house.
"How about you sleep with Grandma tonight?" Grandma Xu coaxed softly.
Unfortunately, Xu Yizhi had just been yelled at by Grandpa Xu several times, and he had already chickened out tonight.
He absolutely refused to go inside.
In the end, Grandma Xu could only take her grandson into the house where Xu Jiaojiao had lived before her marriage.
"What's wrong with your father? He's acting so strangely tonight. Didn't he always treat Xu Yiyi and her siblings like strangers before?" Meiyi asked thoughtfully.
Xu Zhengci said with relief, "Father has finally come to his senses. Yi Yi and the others are our family. Even if we break blood, our bones are still connected. How could we just abandon them?"
His tone was full of joy.
Meiyi couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard this. Looking at her husband's silly expression, she was immediately annoyed.
I wanted to say something, but I felt that nothing I said would make a difference.
So, I threw off the covers and lay back down on the bed.
On the other side, Xu Ming, who was extremely asexual, sat on the bed with a gloomy face.
"What do you think Father means?" Rulan also felt something was wrong.
Xu Ming sneered, "What else could it mean? It's just that Xu Yiyi and her siblings have caught his eye."
He's known this since he was a child.
This father doesn't care about anyone—his brothers and his mother too.
I never took them seriously.
Now, however, they treat Xu Yiyi and her siblings differently, which immediately makes him wary.
"No way! Xu Yiyi has been like a completely different person ever since Xu Yinli died. Her attitude towards Father is terrible."
Xu Ming took off his coat: "Why is it impossible?"
In the stillness of the night, the flickering candlelight reflected on the window paper of the second room, casting the silhouettes of the two people inside into varying lengths.
Rulan was taking her hair out of place in front of the mirror, and her slightly furrowed brows were reflected in the bronze mirror.
She had only pulled the silver hairpin halfway when her hand stopped in mid-air.
"So, you think Father is treating this little girl Xu Yiyi differently?" She turned to look at Xu Mingzai.
Xu Ming, dressed in his undergarments, leaned against the bed and didn't even lift his eyelids when he heard this.
The candlelight flickered on his face.
His voice was low, but every word was clear, "Think about it carefully. Xu Yiyi is so stubborn and strong-willed now. Once she's made up her mind, nothing can change it. Who does she resemble?"
Ru Lan was stunned.
Yes, he does resemble Grandpa Xu somewhat.
"But she is, after all, a young woman..."
"What's wrong with the young lady?"
Xu Ming chuckled softly, a laugh tinged with an indescribable meaning: "She's only thirteen now, and she's managed the Wufu Restaurant in town on her own, making it famous far and wide. She's also on good terms with the Commandant of the Zhechong Prefecture and the County Magistrate."
He paused, his gaze drifting to the deep night outside the window: "If you were Father, and you saw Xu Yiyi, the Xu Yiyi who seemed least likely to amount to anything, inheriting that spirit you were most proud of, and doing so well, wouldn't you feel... proud?"
He spoke the last two words very softly, yet they struck Rulan's heart like a heavy hammer.
Not to mention that Xu Er'er has now become a disciple of the Medicine King, and San Chuan's teacher was the previous Imperial Academy Doctor. Si Hai and Wu Yuan are still young and cannot see anything yet.
Judging from Xu Yiyi's arrangements, these children's future is definitely not bad.
If these children were his, he'd probably be laughing in his sleep.
"If that's the case, will Father leave everything to Xu Yiyi and her siblings?" Rulan lifted the quilt and lay down.
"It's not impossible."
……
"That won't do! What will we do if we give them all?"
Rulan immediately became anxious. She and her husband usually acted humble and subservient, like grandsons, all for the sake of Grandpa Xu's things.
Rulan gasped sharply, as if she had just figured out the key to this, her voice trembling with urgency.
"Now that you mention it... we both know Father's temperament best! If he really takes a liking to someone, he'd give his heart and soul! Now, if he thinks that girl Xu Yiyi is like him and so capable, then..."
She didn't dare finish her sentence, her hands clenching tightly.
Xu Mingzai's face grew even more somber in the candlelight.
He dared to say that he was absolutely the one who knew his father best.
Stubborn and autocratic; loving someone to the point of wanting them to live, hating someone to the point of wanting them to die.
Once he decides that Xu Yiyi resembles him, it goes without saying what that old man's yearning for "inheritance" will drive him to do.
"No, absolutely not!"
Rulan sat up abruptly and grabbed Xu Mingzai's arm: "Our Yizhi is Mother's most beloved child. How can we let a girl who will marry out of the family sooner or later take over this family business? Husband, we have to think of something, we absolutely have to think of something!"
Annoyed by her shaking, Xu Ming abruptly shook off her hand and hissed, "What's the rush! Am I not worried?"
The two chattered on and on, while next to them, Grandpa Xu casually puffed on his pipe.
It's as if he's not the one being discussed right now.
"The most important thing right now is to make Yizhi stand out in front of Father and win his favor!"
Rulan said hurriedly, her eyes suddenly lighting up, "That's it! A private school! Father definitely values scholars the most. Look at that boy in Xu Jiaojiao's family, he only gets a few words of praise from Father occasionally because he can recite a few lines of pretentious poetry, right? Our Yizhi is not bad either, he's just a bit playful... Why don't we send Yizhi to a private school in town? He can find a good teacher, settle down, and if he can pass the imperial examinations in the future, Father will be very happy!"
The more she talked about it, the more she felt the plan was feasible, and she looked at Xu Ming with eager eyes.
Xu Ming frowned, lost in thought and remained silent.
Sending Xu Yizhi to a private school was certainly a way to please the old man, but what about his son... Thinking of how his son couldn't sit still, he was already nine years old, and compared to Sanchuan, who was a year younger, he seemed like a fool.
The thought of this gave him a headache.
Sending them to a private school might cost money, but yield no results and only make them a laughingstock.
But right now, is there a better way?
"What are you thinking about? Did you hear what I said?" Rulan patted Xu Mingzai's arm.
Rulan was somewhat dissatisfied with Xu Mingzai's silence.
He clicked his tongue: "Do you think Yizhi's brain can understand it? Not to mention making him as smart as Sanchuan, even if he only has some of Sihai's cleverness, I would sell everything I own to send him to a private school."
If it weren't for his father's bad son, Xu Yizhi wouldn't be so stupid if he were even remotely similar to him.
"Oh dear! Why do you only boost others' morale and diminish our own?" Rulan was displeased upon hearing this.
"Why not? Yizhi is very smart. He was just too young before, too playful, and hadn't figured things out yet. He also hadn't met a good teacher to guide him. As long as he studies hard, he won't be any worse than Xu Sanchuan."
Rulan has an inexplicable confidence in her son.
The more she talked, the more convinced she became. She leaned forward and said, "My brother, my good-for-nothing brother, wasn't he a blockhead before? But then my parents worried that he would be in danger at sea every day when he grew up. After discussing it, they gritted their teeth and scraped together the money to send him to study under Scholar Zhao on East Street. Look at him now, he can write and do math, and he's managing the accounts in the shop. What does this show? It shows that a good teacher is important!"
She grabbed Xu Mingzai's sleeve, her eyes burning: "If you're going to give something, you have to give the best! Tomorrow you go and find out what's best for Yizhi to become Zhao Xiucai's apprentice. With his guidance, our Yizhi will surely be enlightened!"
As Xu Ming listened to Ru Lan's unrealistic words, a nameless anger rose in his heart.
How could he not know what kind of person his brother-in-law was? He was over thirty years old and could only fiddle with an abacus a few times. He spent his days wandering around idly, yet in her mouth, this became proof of Zhao Xiucai's excellent teaching.
Moreover, Zhao Xiucai is known for his strictness and rigidity, and his tuition fees are high. If Xu Yizhi is sent there, he probably won't be able to endure it for more than three days and will be crying and begging to come back.
I'm afraid that the money will be wasted in vain.
Xu Ming looked Ru Lan up and down. The two had had difficulty conceiving and had only had one child over the years.
I was thinking to myself, should I try harder while I can still have a child?
But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he saw Rulan's stubborn expression, as if to say, "My son is the smartest person in the world, but he just hasn't shown it yet." So he swallowed the words back down.
Arguing with her about this is a complete waste of breath.
If he has another one, and it turns out to be another idiot, he might as well not live at all.
As I thought about it, a deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside me.
He irritably shook off Rulan's hand, his tone becoming perfunctory: "Alright, alright, I know! Zhao Xiucai, right? I've got it. We'll talk about this tomorrow, go to sleep!"
After saying that, without waiting for Rulan to speak again, he blew out the candle by the bedside, pulled the quilt over his shoulder, climbed into bed, turned his back to her, and closed his eyes.
The room was plunged into darkness instantly.
Rulan was still immersed in the wonderful fantasy that her son was about to become a disciple of a great master when Xu Ming's sudden coldness choked her. She opened her mouth, but in the end, she just lay down sullenly.
But she still muttered under her breath, unwilling to give up: "...You'd better remember this, Zhao the scholar on East Street, don't go to the wrong place..."
Beside him, Xu Ming's breathing quickly became heavy and drawn out; it was unclear whether he was truly asleep or pretending.