Chapter 23: Lao Jiu is delighted this time

  After the siege of Xiajin was lifted, Xu Wei and other local soldiers stayed in the county to assist with post-war affairs. Zhang Shuye held a banquet especially for Xu's brothers to celebrate their victory, and then repeatedly invited Xu Wei to discuss border affairs over several days, valuing him more and more. Before leading his army back to Jinan, he also instructed Xu Wei not to be arrogant or impatient, but to wait quietly for opportunities. When the county magistrate of Xiajin learned that Xu Wei had been praised by Zhang Shuye during their meeting, he was very pleased and looked up to Xu Wei with admiration, frequently sending him subtle signals. Both openly and secretly, he expressed his willingness to help Xu Wei advance his career.

  Before long, it was July and Xu Wei led a group of militiamen back to Xujiazhuang. The county magistrate allocated 500 taels of silver to comfort the militiamen who died in battle in the village, to console the wounded, and personally wrote the "Martial Village" plaque to show his appreciation. He rewarded Xu Wei with 50 taels, but Xu put them all into the relief fund.

  On the seventh of July, Qixi Festival, Xu Wei had been tired for several days and slept very soundly. It wasn't until that strange old woman's loud call that he got out of bed. While washing up, he heard Zhang San's wife mention that his elder sister and brother-in-law had brought their nephew back to her mother's home. After finishing his toilette, he came to the side hall and before entering the door, he already heard a woman's bright laughter. Upon entering, apart from Old Master and Fourth Sister, there were also three "strangers" - a man, a woman, and a young child.

  As soon as he stepped into the side hall, the little boy jumped in front of him and called out sweetly: "Young uncle!" The child was extremely lovable, plump like a ball of meat, with bright eyes that sparkled as they moved. Xu Wei reached into his pocket to find not even half a tael of silver, if only he had left some behind, it wouldn't have been so embarrassing.

  "Ah, my second brother has finally gotten out of bed." The young woman stood up and laughed loudly, with a heroic air that was not inferior to that of a man. She was the eldest daughter of Xu Taigong, Xu Wei's own sister, whose name was Xiuping. This sister of his was about thirty years old, plump and beautiful, with a gentle smile on her face, and a pair of phoenix-like eyes that sparkled with amusement.

  Upon hearing this, Xu Wangshi immediately retorted to her elder sister-in-law: "Nowadays, Ninth Brother is quite capable. The other day, Zhang Zhi-fu of Jinan led his troops back and made a special visit to our village, showing great esteem for Ninth Brother. He even said that he wants Ninth Brother to go to Jinan and grant him an eighth-rank official title."

  Xu Xiuping stepped forward, glaring at Xu Wei and said: "Then why don't you go? You're not young anymore, but you still don't know how to focus. A man's ambition is in the world outside, what kind of achievement is it to stay at home all day? Your fourth brother has already been appointed as a seventh-rank official, can't you even feel a bit anxious?" She fired off her questions like a string of pearls, not giving Xu Wei any chance to respond.

  Xu Tai Gong seems to be in a good mood, and his body has also improved. He rarely showed a smile: "Lao Jiu, your three sisters are all on this mouth, don't bother with her. First get married, then establish a career, look, the grandsons are already so big..." Probably all parents in the world are the same, their greatest wish is to wait for their grandchildren.

  Xu Xiuping, upon hearing this, became even more spirited and stepped forward to lecture Xu Wei, pointing at his forehead: "You, you're really not letting people off easy. Your sister has already matched you with several girls from good families in Zhending, so why don't we just have you get married this year?"

  What can Xu Wei say with such a sharp-tongued sister? He simply didn't speak, just smiled foolishly. On the other side, the two sisters-in-law were discussing Xu Wei's marriage. One said that when the Xu family marries off their youngest son, they cannot be careless and must find someone who is knowledgeable, gentle, wise, and skilled in domestic work, as well as being proficient in needlework and female virtues. The other said no, our old nine (Xu Wei) is a mischievous devil, we need to marry him off to a heroic daughter of a military family, only then can she control him.

  Xu Wei stood there like a wooden stake, letting the two of them arrange things. The little meatball clung to his younger uncle's thigh from head to toe, shaking nonstop. Old Master Xu was also delighted to enjoy family harmony, smiling without speaking.

  Finally unable to bear it, Xu Wei bitterly smiled and said: "Let's just eat first, I still have things to attend to."

  "Hey, look at you, what can you do that's decent?" Although Xu Xiuping said this with her mouth, her hands had already moved to distribute bowls and chopsticks, scoop porridge and serve dishes, moving quickly and efficiently.

  Xu Wei found that his brother-in-law, from start to finish, did not utter a word and had no expression on his face. At first, he thought this man was accompanying his wife back to her parents' home and felt very constrained in front of his father-in-law. But at the dinner table, when everyone was laughing and smiling, he still had a deadpan expression. Even when Old Master Xu personally served him food, he didn't make a sound. Xu Wei had something on his mind and didn't bother to pay attention to him.

  It's already July, and there are only three months left before the Jurchen-led Jin army invades the Song Dynasty. If he can't do something within these three months, history will unfold as it originally did, and the Jingkang Incident will occur next year. But what can he accomplish in just three months? Currently, he has fewer than a hundred men at his disposal, plus some wounded soldiers. Moreover, he is still an ordinary person, although after the village militiamen fled in disarray, he naturally became their leader. In the language of his time, that would make him the head of a village defense squad.

  Difficult, difficult, difficult, Xu Wei buried his head and ate his meal, thinking about this, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

  "What's wrong?" Xu Xiuping picked up a pair of chopsticks and put some vegetables in his bowl, asking with concern.

  Xu Wangshi added another spoonful and asked in the same way: "What's troubling you?"

  Xu Wei raised his head, looking at his sister-in-law and sister, as well as the old man staring at him, and the meatball kneeling on the stool eating with relish. His heart was filled with mixed emotions. However, he couldn't mention the distress in his heart to anyone at the table, so he smiled calmly: "It's nothing, I just hope that next year we can still eat together happily."

  The two women obviously misunderstood, and Xiu Ping scolded: "What nonsense are you talking about? Our Xu family has rules, we will never divide the house, even if you get married, your father will still drive you out and let you start your own business."

  Xu Wei was speechless, Xu Xiuping saw the situation and thought she had spoken too heavily, so she comforted him like a child: "Alright, alright, silly brother, if Father doesn't want you in the future, you can come to your sister's house..."

  She had only spoken halfway when her husband suddenly slammed the bowl on the table, spilling porridge and dishes everywhere. The atmosphere in the hall froze instantly, and Xu Tai Gong's face sank as he also put down his bowl and chopsticks.

  "Who are you putting on airs with? Who in the Xu family has offended you?" Xu Tai Gong asked, pulling out his identity as the old man of Mount Tai. The other party did not respond, and even spat out the food from their mouth onto the ground, with a very arrogant attitude.

  Xu Taigong was furious! He slapped the table and stood up! Loudly roaring: "What do you take the Xu family for!"

  Xu Xiuping was extremely embarrassed by this sudden change, and tears were already welling up in her phoenix eyes. But with one side being her elderly father and the other being her husband, she could only reach out to grab her husband's sleeve, without saying a word, but he suddenly pushed it open! The child who had been too afraid to make a sound at this point let out a loud wail. Xu Wangshi quickly took the child in her arms to comfort him, and as a woman, she ultimately didn't have the right to speak up, so she could only anxiously watch everyone else.

  Tai Gong was so angry that his beard and hair were all standing on end, and he could hardly stand upright. Xu Wei was worried that he would get sick, so he got up to support him, saying to Xu Xiu-ping: "You help him back to the house, I'll take care of things here."

  Xu Xiuping dare not? Since ancient times, it has been a tradition that when a woman is bullied by her husband, her brothers from her natal family will definitely come out to confront and seek justice. Her younger brother was raised by her, with a temper like a bear awakened from hibernation, three words would not be in harmony, and he would slap her with his palm. Moreover, this little rascal has learned nothing else, but his martial arts skills are not inferior to those of the fourth brother, and her husband is weak, one punch would knock him out, how could he still pretend to be unaware?

  Seeing his daughter in a difficult situation, Mr. Xu spoke up: "Xiuping, help me back to my room, and leave this to Old Ninth!" The old man was actually angry, so he let the second fool of the Xu family teach this blind thing a lesson! Moreover, he knew that Xu Wei's behavior had changed greatly from before.

  "Hmph, don't try to pull this on me! Don't think that just because you're from the Xu family, a family of military officials, I'll be intimidated by you! Ever since she married into our Fan family, not a single day has passed without her making my parents happy. She's always been so careless and sloppy, it's embarrassing. Every day, she's thinking about her natal family, and before she came back, she was begging me to ask my father to find a job for your family's Ninth Uncle. And now that she's back, look at the hypocritical and pretentious way you Xu people are acting... Hmph, as if you're afraid of losing face, you're making such a big fuss! What nonsense!"

  As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall was shocked!

  Xu Taigong stared at Xu Xiuping fiercely, seeing his daughter lower her head and remain silent, knowing that this matter was true. Suddenly, the hatred, anger, and regret in his heart were all tangled up. If only he had put aside his pride and lowered his head to ask for help and pull some strings to change Jiu'er's birth year and secure him a government position, things wouldn't have ended up like this...

  Originally, the Song Dynasty had a system called "Yinbu". It stipulated that officials of the fifth rank and above, during specific periods such as the emperor's ascension to the throne, the coronation of the empress, the establishment of the crown prince, and retirement, could have their descendants, relatives, or even protégés take office. However, there was one condition: those who received Yinbu had to be at least 15 years old. When Xu Taigong was forced to retire, his son Xu Wei was not yet 15 years old, and his colleagues suggested that he pull some strings, falsely claiming that his young son was already 15, so that he could secure a minor official position for him. But Xu Taigong had always been upright and honest, and with his stubborn temperament, he refused to do so. This is why Xu Wei, who was almost at the age of majority, remained an ordinary commoner until now...

  The atmosphere in the house was so awkward that even if Xu Taigong got angry again, he couldn't explode. Xu Xiuping bowed her head and sobbed, Xu Wangshi was gloomy and speechless, and the little nephew was so scared that he forgot to cry. That rascal brother-in-law saw that the Xu family was in the wrong and became even more arrogant, just as he was about to scold them severely, suddenly the sound of gongs, drums, and suona came from outside the mansion, getting louder and closer!

  Before he could figure out what was going on, Yang Yan's loud voice rang out in the courtyard: "Ninth Brother! Ninth Brother! Come out quickly! The Magistrate of the Prefecture and the County Magistrate have both arrived! This time you will bring glory to your ancestors!"

  "It's really great! Congratulations to Tai Gong! Congratulations to the young master! Our Xu family village has produced another imperial official!"

  "Jiulang has been promising since he was young! I said it early on, he was born to be rich and noble, isn't that the case now?"

  Outside was a hubbub of congratulatory voices, but inside the house everyone was shrouded in mystery, what's going on?