Xu Wan remained composed. When she first married into the family, the matriarch had already prepared over twenty sets of everyday clothes for her, not to mention the specially tailored outfits for banquets, meticulously hand-embroidered by countless seamstresses.
Though she had never experienced such luxury before, she had seen it on TV—wealthy matrons casually ordering, "Wrap up everything except these few."
The matriarch seemed to be of that caliber.
As the younger but higher-ranking sister-in-law, Xu Wan took on the responsibility and whispered to her, "The clothes are already made. Let's just accept them and not disappoint our mother-in-law's kindness."
Baili Weihong was momentarily stunned but then nodded in agreement.
Her late mother had once taught her that excessive refusal could hurt others' feelings.
Thus, she obediently followed Xu Wan's lead and said, "Thank you, Mother-in-law."
The matriarch beamed with joy. "Good, good. From now on, I'll take my two beautiful daughters-in-law wherever I go. What a delightful sight!"
Xu Wan chimed in at the right moment, "And your two handsome grandsons too."
Ever since she realized that Zong Jincheng no longer sold his fine clothes for money, she had Steward Liu gradually return his luxurious garments to him.
As for Zong Wenxiu, who was accustomed to the hardships of the slums, he often wore simple hemp clothes even after returning, which led to subtle disdain from others. Noticing this, Xu Wan immediately instructed Steward Liu to have several new outfits tailored for him, ensuring he dressed as handsomely as Jincheng every day.
The compliment struck a chord with the matriarch, who quickly noticed that her elder daughter-in-law had not been controlling the children's attire. This reignited her desire to shop to new heights.
She exclaimed cheerfully, "Oh, my two precious grandsons need new clothes too! I'll have someone make them right away."
Previously, she had held back out of respect for Xu Wan's parenting, but what grandparent wouldn't want to shower their grandchildren with gifts?
The old lady hurried off in high spirits, leaving everyone amused and exasperated.
Xu Wan patted her sister-in-law's shoulder and reassured her, "You'll get used to it."
Baili Weihong smiled faintly. "Mother-in-law is wonderful. She’s always so happy."
In life, there are many important things, but happiness is the rarest and most sought-after.
It was the second day of the break. Zong Jincheng, accustomed to intense studying, suddenly found himself with two days of free time and felt completely out of sorts.
He had wanted to play with his brother, but Zong Wenxiu wasn’t at the manor.
This was the second time.
His brother had forgotten to take him out again.
"What is my brother even doing?" Zong Jincheng asked.
Shunzi shook his head like a rattle drum. He spent every day following the little master and had no time to keep track of where Zong Wenxiu went. He was already stretched thin!
Zong Jincheng then turned to ask Buyan.
Buyan: "..."
Young master, I may be skilled in martial arts, but I don’t have the ability to see everything.
Seeing Buyan also shake his head, Zong Jincheng couldn’t hold back any longer. He dashed out the door.
Shunzi and Buyan hurried after him.
Though he claimed to be searching, Zong Jincheng had no real direction. He wandered aimlessly through the bustling streets, where vendors' cries filled the air. However, having grown used to living without money, he plugged his ears and pushed through.
He wasn’t on the main street.
Next, he went to Qingbo Academy, but his brother wasn’t in the Child Prodigy Class either. All he saw was Qin Ye, his classmate, sitting with his head down, reading.
Still as cold and annoying as ever.
"Tch." Zong Jincheng rolled his eyes, unusually refraining from picking a fight with Qin Ye. He turned and walked out, muttering, "Where on earth is my brother?"
Zong Wenxiu had no relatives in the area, so the places he could go were limited, yet Zong Jincheng couldn’t find him anywhere.
Suddenly, Zong Jincheng’s eyes lit up as he remembered another place.
"He must have gone to see Jing Zhe!"
Jing Zhe was a boy from the slums whom he and Zong Wenxiu had helped. He was their mutual friend, so his brother must have gone to play with him!
Confident, Zong Jincheng rushed over, only to be disappointed again.
Jing Zhe said, "Brother Wenxiu isn’t here."
Zong Jincheng deflated. He felt his brother had a secret—he must have made a new friend and was hiding it from him.
The little boy tilted his head, wondering, "Did he go see Qin Shi?"
Qin Shi was studying at Hanlin North Academy now, wasn’t he? With that thought, he considered heading there to find Qin Shi.
But Jing Zhe added, "My sister said she saw Brother Wenxiu here yesterday, but he wasn’t here to see us."
"Huh? Then who was he here to see?" Zong Jincheng scratched his head, puzzled. Did his brother have other friends here?
Well, it made sense. His brother had lived here for nine and a half years, so he must have other friends he hadn’t mentioned.
Zong Jincheng thought for a moment and said, "Then I’ll go home and wait for him. I’ll come see you all another day."
Jing Zhe smiled. "Alright."
Zong Jincheng waited until evening.
Finally, Zong Wenxiu returned, looking weary from his journey. As he approached the Marquis Manor, he saw the guards at the gates and his little brother sitting on the doorstep, his small face smudged with dust, his big eyes sparkling as he looked up and exclaimed, "Brother, you’re finally back!"
Zong Wenxiu paused, then quickly stepped forward and pulled him up. "Why are you waiting here? The wind is strongest at the gate. Aren’t you cold?"
"Not at all. The breeze is actually quite refreshing. Brother, where did you go? I looked everywhere but couldn’t find you."
Zong Wenxiu vaguely replied, "I went out to meet a few people and take care of some business."
"What business? Why didn’t I know about it? You’ve gone out two days in a row without me. Do you not care about me anymore?"
"Of course not. You’re so well-behaved and thoughtful. You’re my favorite."
"Haha, I knew it!"
As they walked into the manor, Zong Wenxiu took a damp towel from the basin stand and wiped his brother’s face.
Zong Jincheng had been running around all day, his face covered in dust, but he hadn’t bothered to clean up. Instead, he waited at the gate for his brother, even reciting *The Doctrine of the Mean* while he waited.
Zong Jincheng said, "Brother, today I went to the main street, the Child Prodigy Class, and the slums, but I couldn’t find you. If Jing Zhe hadn’t mentioned you visited another friend yesterday, I would’ve gone to Qin Shi’s place to look for you."
Zong Wenxiu paused while wiping his face and asked, "Why did you go to so many places to find me? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to play with you, but you’ve ignored me for two days." Zong Jincheng hesitated, then tentatively asked, "Are you meeting your friend again tomorrow? Can I come with you?"
Zong Wenxiu smiled and shook his head. "I’ve already met them. I probably won’t go again."
"What’s going on…" Zong Jincheng grew more confused and eventually upset. He pouted and said, "Secrets, secrets again. You and Xu Wan always talk in secret right in front of me, ignoring me, hiding from me, and never telling me anything."
