The Marquis Mansion’s Elite Class

The Old Marquis was not upset when his brush was taken away. He was already used to it and simply reached for a new one from the brush holder. Raising his head, he said, “You’re overthinking it. In Great Chu, even if a married woman divorces, she will face a lot of criticism. Moreover, Zhao’er isn’t here, so neither divorce nor separation is possible. She won’t leave.”

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‍Old Marquis’s confident tone annoyed the Old Marchioness, who pushed his shoulder and complained, “You always have an excuse, don’t you? Is it only fair for men to divorce or separate, but not for us women?”

The Old Marquis stumbled from the push and exclaimed, “A gentleman uses words, not hands. You’re being unreasonable. This is just how society is—it has nothing to do with me. Can’t I even speak the truth anymore? Besides, weren’t you on my side earlier? That’s why Wan’er won’t leave.”

The Old Marchioness: “…” Fair point.

After a moment of thought, she asked, “Then tell me, when can we hand over the entire Marquis Manor to her?”

The Old Marquis looked surprised. “You’ve already decided? No more observation? You have two daughters-in-law, you know.”

The Old Marchioness smiled. “I’ve observed enough. I think Wan’er can do better than me. She’s perfect to take over my role.”

“Then go and tell her. If you don’t say it, how will she know what you’re thinking?” the Old Marquis said. “Based on what you’ve said today, I think Wan’er will at most use the Marquis Manor’s funds for meals outside. Otherwise, she’ll continue managing things as usual, just like your stewards.”

The Old Marchioness: “…”

She really didn’t want to hear the word “steward” anymore.

She had married in a daughter-in-law, not hired a steward…

The Old Marchioness pondered and said, “Then I’ll go and tell Steward Liu to start teaching Wan’er how to manage accounts.”

As she was about to leave, the Old Marquis grabbed her arm and advised, “Don’t act so impulsively. Wan’er is busy teaching your two precious grandsons right now. When would she have time to learn account management from Steward Liu? Are you trying to exhaust her?”

The Old Marchioness: “…”

This old man, why does every word he says have to be so unpleasant?

The elderly couple continued their argument, bickering back and forth.

Xu Wan had no idea what they were discussing. When Cui Zhi came to report, she couldn’t help but laugh and remarked, “It’s not so bad, is it? A little noise and quarreling, as long as it doesn’t harm their relationship, is more interesting than a dull life.”

“True,” Cui Zhi agreed.

Just as the two were about to head to Auntie Hong’s courtyard, they saw Zong Wenxiu coming out of the yard. Xu Wan was about to greet him when she noticed the boy seemed deep in thought and didn’t notice them.

Meanwhile, the Little Demon King appeared out of nowhere, standing beside Xu Wan and shouting at Zong Wenxiu, “Brother, where are you going?”

Zong Wenxiu didn’t hear him and kept walking.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Huh?” The Little Demon King was curious and wanted to follow.

Xu Wan grabbed him and said, “What are you ‘huh’-ing about? Are you planning to follow him again? Give Wenxiu some privacy, will you?”

The Little Demon King retorted angrily, “None of your business. I just like playing with my brother.”

Xu Wan commented, “You clingy little thing.”

The Little Demon King bared his teeth at her like a fierce little animal and blurted, “You’re the clingy one, always sticking to me. Can’t you go bother someone else?”

Xu Wan shuddered and warned, “Don’t say such creepy things. Me, clingy? Yuck…”

The Little Demon King: “!!”

This wretched woman, how dare she look down on me!

But Zong Jincheng’s attention was still on Zong Wenxiu. He struggled to break free from Xu Wan’s grip.

Xu Wan held him firmly while lecturing, “Instead of wasting your energy, why don’t you think about what Wenxiu is pondering, where he’s going, and whether he even wants to see you?”

The Little Demon King pushed her with all his might, gritting his teeth and saying, “Of course my brother wants to see me the most. He probably just forgot to call me when he left. Let go of me! How dare you, in broad daylight, harass a young gentleman like this!”

Xu Wan: “…”

This little rascal is getting better at talking nonsense.

Xu Wan tightened her grip, one hand on his shoulder and the other on his big head, scolding, “What nonsense are you spouting? Is that how you use the word ‘harass’? How can you even show your face in public with such poor manners? Come with me to see Auntie Hong.”

“I’m not going! I want to play with my brother!”

“Your brother doesn’t want to play with you. Come on.”

“No, I won’t go!”

“Yes, you will!”

“I won’t!”

“You will!”

“…”

Xu Wan dragged the Little Demon King all the way to Auntie Hong’s courtyard. Cui Zhi, quick-witted as ever, closed the gate behind them with a loud thud.

Zong Jincheng: “…”

What’s going on?

Are these two women teaming up with Auntie Hong to give me a secret beating?

The Little Demon King thought about the difference in strength between him and Xu Wan and immediately screamed at the top of his lungs, “Help! Save me! Xu Wan is trying to kill me! Grandfather! Grandmother! Save me!!!”

The little rascal’s cries were so piercing that birds from nearby courtyards were startled and flew away in a flurry.

The Old Marquis, being a military man, had excellent hearing. Even from a distance, he could hear the commotion. He quickly stood up and said, “Jincheng is calling for help. Let’s go check!”

“What? What? I didn’t hear anything!” The Old Marchioness was also panicked, recalling that Xu Wan had once asked for a team of guards to protect Jincheng. She immediately assumed assassins had arrived.

The elderly couple hurried to the courtyard, and the Old Marquis heard another cry: “Xu Wan, what are you doing? Help! Save me…”

The Old Marquis paused, his steps halting.

“Why are you stopping?” the Old Marchioness asked anxiously, unable to hear anything.

The Old Marquis sighed. “I misheard. It’s just Wan’er disciplining Jincheng.”

The Old Marchioness: “…”

“You scared me to death.”

Auntie Hong, having heard that Xu Wan had arrived, came out to greet her. She was met with the lively sight of the mother and son in a heated tussle—a little rascal pretending to cry for help and a seemingly delicate but strong woman pinning him down. The scene was both lively and amusing.

“What’s going on here?” Auntie Hong asked, unable to hold back her laughter.

Though she rarely left her courtyard, Zong Wenxiu had told her plenty of amusing stories about the antics between this mother and son. She just hadn’t expected their quarrels to spill into her own yard.

Xu Wan, still holding down the Little Demon King, smiled and said, “I wanted to ask for your help with something.”

The Little Demon King gnashed his teeth and shouted, “I knew it! You’re trying to get her to help you beat me! Forget it! She’s my brother’s mother, and my brother loves me the most. She won’t help you!”

Zong Jincheng wasn’t entirely sure whether Auntie Hong would side with him, but he decided to say it anyway, hoping to dissuade her from helping Xu Wan.

“Beat him?” Auntie Hong was surprised.

The one-sided situation didn’t seem to require any intervention.

Xu Wan continued with a smile, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. I wanted to ask if you could come to the main study hall to teach the two boys some manners. I’ve already discussed this with my mother-in-law, and she said I should talk to you about it.”

“Teach them manners?” Auntie Hong glanced at the struggling boy, his hair disheveled, calling his stepmother by her full name, and bickering with her daily. The only thing about him that resembled manners was his appearance.

She swallowed hard and said, “That might be a bit challenging.”