The rickety wooden door was forcibly kicked open, and two strong black figures rushed into the courtyard, reaching out to seize An Jun.
Their purpose was very clear - not to hurt Xu Mo, not to touch Qi Huai, only to take the "knife-wielding man."
It was obvious they wanted to silence him.
Xu Mo's hand that was holding the sheet of paper suddenly tightened as he quickly took two steps back.
Since Fang Heng had trained several servants, the siblings had rarely encountered such danger. Although they were looked down upon everywhere in the prosperous capital, there were few who dared to make such underhanded moves.
But this time it concerned the fraud in the imperial examination, so he didn't dare leak the news and thus couldn't bring Jiang San and Jiang Si along for protection.
Fortunately, Xu Mo was never the kind of person to act without certainty. Facing the oncoming black-clad men, he glanced at Qi Huai.
As the legitimate son of the Minister of Rites, and one of the most outstanding younger members of the Qi family, Qi Huai had never been a weak young master without any skills.
Or rather, the young masters of the capital city more or less all knew some martial arts.
Qi Huai lifted his leg and kicked one of the men in black, then flipped up the tattered clothes to wrap around the other black-clad man's head, barely managing to pull An Jun back.
Qi Yue was no weakling either. He let out a sharp cry and flew up to kick, landing only one hit.
The two men in black shook off the rags on them, realizing they couldn't achieve a quick victory. They slowly assumed a fighting stance.
"Robbing people in broad daylight, who sent you? Do you still have any regard for the law?" Qi Huai yelled, sheltering the other three behind him.
"Brother, I've learned some skills too, I can help you." Qi Yue clenched his fists.
If the foot that had kicked the man in black earlier wasn't still trembling, he would have sounded more convincing.
"That's enough, I'm here." Qi Huai said helplessly, "You protect XuBrother well, and Brother An too."
The sixteen-year-old lad leapt over and tangled with the two men in black, exchanging blow after blow.
But in the end, he was just one against two. Even though he struggled hard, Qi Huai was still entangled by one of the men.
The other's eyes were cold as he closed in on An Jun.
Although nervous, Xu Mo still instinctively shielded An Jun behind him - he must not let anything happen to An Jun no matter what.
Remembering his brother's instructions, Qi Yue gritted his teeth and stood in front of the two, "If you have any business, come at me, don't hurt them."
Then the man in black threw a punch.
The frail and slender little brother of the Qi family was flung into the corner, crying out in pain.
As he cried, he also cursed, "You hit so hard, my brother won't let you off! My brother will beat you to death! My brother will avenge me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Huai took a punch to the gut and grimaced in pain, "...Don't keep talking."
Who was going to avenge whom?
Qi Yue covered his mouth with one hand, his fair little face flushed red with anger, and his eyes gradually grew wet.
By now, the man in black had closed in on Xu Mo.
One was a tall and sturdy black-clad assassin, the other was a slender and frail but upright scholar. They looked straight at each other, neither afraid of the other, neither willing to back down.
"Xu Brother, let me go. They want me, they won't hurt you." An Jun said indifferently.
Xu Mo shook his head.
Since he had found An Jun and persuaded him to help with the fraud in the imperial exam, he could not hand An Jun over.
This move would not only chill An Jun's heart, but also keep him up at night, tossing and turning restlessly.
"Brother An, since we have promised to share the same fate, Xu will not hand you over to save my own life." Xu Mo said in a deep voice, "Have no fear. Even if we die today, we shall die together."
After speaking, he grabbed the sheet of paper in his hand and threw it at the man's face.
Qi Huai could hardly bear to watch.
Qi Yue turned his head away, unable to witness it.
Over the past few days, the Qi brothers had come to know that Xu Mo was a true scholar through and through. His literary talent was outstanding, his temperament noble and aloof. Although he could not be called sickly, he was still quite far from being agile and robust.
Even Qi Yue, who had some basic martial arts skills, had to suffer against the men in black. Xu Mo, who knew nothing, would surely be injured, perhaps even crippled.
Just thinking of Top Scholar Xu limping with one foot, the Qi brothers felt even more unbearable.
Even An Jun behind them covered one eye with his hand.
But in just that split second, they heard a "huh ha" sound, something flew onto the wall, then fell to the ground, shaking the hearts of everyone present.
Qi Yue covered his face with both hands, trembling as he peeked out between his fingers. He had expected to see Xu Mo lying in a pool of blood, unable to get up. But instead, Xu Mo was still standing in his original spot, straight-backed, his appearance as refined as ever.
It was the same as his usual jade-like posture, yet also a little different.
The Xu Mo the Qi brothers were used to seeing was gentle and refined, modest and kind, but always taut, always calm, always composed.
Yet the Xu Mo before them now had a faint smile, was warm instead of cold, relaxed instead of stiff, and carried a hint of helplessness.
He looked towards the doorway and gently asked, "How did you all get here?"
Qi Yue also looked over.
The wooden door that had been kicked open earlier was now lying on the ground. In the empty space stood two children about ten years old, staring indignantly at Xu Mo.
"Big brother!" Jiang Sheng said with hands on her hips, "If we hadn't shown up here, if Third Brother and Fourth Brother hadn't reacted quickly, were you not planning to take the provincial exam this February? Were you going to miss this year? Were you going to abandon your younger siblings?"
Jiang San and Jiang Si stood smugly on the side.
Xu Mo's expression grew even more helpless.
The slender youth took two or three steps towards his sister, bent down to meet Jiang Sheng's round eyes and round face, "Alright, alright, it's big brother's mistake. Big brother won't do it again next time. Sister won't be mad anymore, okay?"
That was a quick admission of wrongdoing!
Jiang Sheng's anger instantly deflated. She didn't know whether to keep venting or swallow it back down.
Chang Yan gave a light cough. "If we hadn't caught big brother, he wouldn't have admitted he was wrong, would he?"
Someone was adding fuel to the fire!
Xu Mo twisted his head and glared at his fifth younger brother. "Little Five, have you forgotten this tactic was the one you helped me come up with?"
So this is what's called 'same boat, same fate' between brothers!
Jiang Sheng stared with wide eyes, looking left and right. She suddenly realized she had been a silly little girl.
Big brother did things without telling her, Fifth Brother gave suggestions without telling her, yet she had been worrying and fretting every day. It turned out they knew everything anyway.
This was too much!
The little girl bared her lower teeth over the upper, the corners of her mouth pouting downward in grievance. "Bad big brother, bad Fifth Brother, I'm telling Auntie on you! I won't speak to you again!"
She huffed angrily and stormed out of the courtyard, standing against the outer wall.
Unfamiliar with this place, and big brother having just encountered danger, Jiang Sheng didn't dare run far. But staying in the yard was awkward too, so she resorted to a punishment stand outside.
Jiang San was worried at first and peeked out, but soon started holding back laughter.
The corners of Xu Mo's mouth also turned up. His little sister was just too adorable, he couldn't help but laugh heartily.
Until Qi Huai coughed lightly beside him.
Xu Mo snapped back to his senses and quickly made introductions. "This is Young Master Qi from the Minister of Rites' household, this is Young Master Qi's younger brother, this is Brother An, and this is my fifth younger brother."
"As for that chubby little girl outside, she's my sister."
