Chapter 2

The saying goes that the day's plan is made in the morning, but for Xu Hao, who had already gotten used to a nightlife, he felt very unaccustomed when he first arrived. How could there be much entertainment in this era? At night, there was nothing but reading books, playing chess, or chatting idly with the maids. The problem was that Xu Hao had nothing in common with them, the books were too dry, and there was often no opponent for chess. Bored, he had no choice but to obediently go to bed, and over time, he got used to it.

The air in the early morning was incredibly fresh, a stark contrast to the future. Under the wisteria trellis, Xu Hao stood up and took nine deep breaths, feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

Glancing at his sister who was still diligently practicing her music, he estimated that it wouldn't be long before her "demonic music" would be perfected. Xu Hao quickly turned and headed towards the martial arts hall in the outer residence. On the way, he met a few servants, but they didn't show much respect or affection towards him.

Xu Hao, however, maintained a smile. The interpersonal relationships in the large house were complex, even more so than in the companies of the future. Every word and action had to be carefully considered, or even the slightest hint of trouble would spread and become known to everyone.

The Xu family's martial arts hall was quite large, about the size of four quadrangle courtyards combined, almost equivalent to a football field.

In the center of the hall were two rows of weapon racks, filled with various wooden weapons. No one dared to place real weapons there. Xu Hao had some complaints about this; what was the point of practicing martial arts without real weapons?

On one side was an archery hall with several bows and arrows, and on the other side was a spacious horse-riding field. At that moment, a few servants were chasing after Xu Wen, the eldest son, who was proudly riding a fine horse. Two instructors in green martial attire were standing to the side, chatting.

"Third Brother, come over and take a look," Xu Wen, who was eighteen years old, called out as soon as he saw Xu Hao walk in alone.

Xu Hao smiled and shook his head, stopping in his tracks. Xu Wen, seeing this, galloped over gracefully, with the servants cheering and chasing after him. One of the youngest servants, who was the smallest, stuck out his tongue at Xu Hao and then quickly ran to stand behind him, hands hanging down.

Facing the panting, chestnut-colored horse, Xu Hao's head tilted back slightly, unaccustomed to the height. He smiled and asked, "Where did you get it?"

"From Second Grandfather," Xu Wen said proudly, riding the horse and holding a leather whip in one hand while stroking the horse's neck with the other. "The Doyan Guard presented a hundred fine horses, and the Emperor rewarded Second Grandfather with five. Since he saw that I was good at martial arts, he rewarded me with one."

"Indeed, a fine horse for a hero. With this fine steed, Big Brother will surely become even more formidable," Xu Hao said, admiring it and complimenting him with a smile.

"Third Brother, I like what you said," Xu Wen said, delighted, his face beaming. "Now that I have it, the other horse, Tashue, is just being kept. If you want to ride it, feel free, but let me know in advance."

Xu Hao thought for a moment and politely declined with a smile, "My Little Green is just fine. I appreciate your offer, Big Brother."

Xu Wen sneered, "Your Little Green is old and ugly, and can't even go ten miles. It's a shame you still treat it like a treasure. Well, Second Brother keeps pestering me for Tashue. Since you don't want it, I'll just give it to him."

Xu Hao nodded indifferently, watching his dashing and handsome cousin Xu Wen, who then shouted and galloped off with a few servants.

"The Young Master talks so nicely, but he clearly doesn't want to give the horse to you. He's just trying to curry favor, how boring," the servant who stayed behind muttered disdainfully. He was about thirteen or fourteen years old, with an ordinary appearance but very lively eyes.

The servant's name was Lai Bao. His parents were servants who came with Xu Hao's mother, Xiao Shi, as part of her dowry, making him a genuine house-born servant. He had been Xu Hao's servant and book boy since childhood.

Xu Hao's mother, Xiao Shi, came from the famous Xiao family in Nanjing. After the hundred years of turmoil and war under the Yuan Mongols, the Xiao family was far from its former glory, but it was still one of the major families in the area.

When the Xu family first arrived, Old Lady Xu had intended to form alliances with the local major families and chose a daughter from the Xiao family. She had hoped that the Xiao family's daughter would be well-educated and well-mannered, but upon entering the household, the daughter gave the second son a hard time and soon had him under her control. This greatly disappointed Old Lady Xu, who had high hopes for her second son.

At that time, the Xiao family had already fallen from its former status, and the dowry included only two households of servants. However, this was still enough to rival the Xu family, which was not a major household. Therefore, Old Lady Xu could only temporarily tolerate her strong-willed daughter-in-law.

Now, with the passage of time, although the Xiao family was slowly recovering, how could it compare to the prestigious Xu family, the first family of merit? Old Lady Xu's authority was unchallenged, and among her three daughters-in-law, the most fiery-tempered Xiao Shi could only obediently submit to her.

Xu Hao pretended not to hear Lai Bao's complaints and watched as Xu Wen was escorted out of the martial arts hall by the servants. The two instructors then disappeared, leaving the place empty except for him and Lai Bao.

Xu Hao slowly did some exercises and asked casually, "Has anything happened at home recently? Tell me about it."

Lai Bao thought for a moment and said enviously, "Wen Ge got a fine horse, and the Old Lady rewarded him with five taels of silver. Ji Ge, feeling jealous, publicly vowed to pass the Imperial Academy exams, and the Old Lady, pleased, rewarded him with two taels of silver to encourage him. Young Master, not to be rude, but you should try to show yourself more often in front of the Old Lady, get some rewards, and bring some glory to Lord and Lady and us servants."

Xu Hao didn't respond, continuing to jog slowly around the empty field. Lai Bao panted and followed behind, saying, "Others may not know, but I know that you, Young Master, have changed. You are much more composed than before, but, but."

"But what?" Xu Hao asked with a smile.

"But," Lai Bao gritted his teeth and said, "But you are too composed, like an old man. Young Master, at your age, you should have a fighting spirit. You should strive and show yourself when it's time. Look at the First and Third Branches, and then look at our Second Branch. Everyone says our Second Branch is full of old and tired people."

"I think it's fine," Xu Hao said, not stopping or turning his head.

"I, I can't go on," Lai Bao, who had run ten laps, finally stopped, bending over and panting heavily. Although he had some complaints about the Young Master's attitude, he was secretly impressed by the Young Master's stamina.

Xu Hao spent the entire morning exercising. By noon, Qiuxiang couldn't help but come out to look for him.

Qiuxiang was a house-born servant from another branch, theoretically supposed to be betrothed to Lai Bao, but Lai Bao didn't look up to the young girl Qiuxiang, and naturally, Qiuxiang, as a personal maid, didn't look up to Lai Bao either.

Ignoring each other, Qiuxiang fanned Xu Hao while saying, "You've been gone all morning, and Lady has asked for you several times. I didn't dare to hide it, but since you were practicing martial arts and not being dragged into mischief by Lai Bao, Lady didn't say anything."

"Um," Xu Hao felt very comfortable as the sweat on his body was fanned away.

Qiuxiang continued excitedly, "The Old Lady sent someone to pass a message, saying that the whole family will go to the temple to burn incense and pray to the Buddha in the next few days."

Lai Bao couldn't help but ask, "Why? What's the reason for this sudden act of piety?"

Qiuxiang shook her head, "I don't know. It seems there's some good news. When I came, I saw the Third Branch's Cuinyue, who looked very happy."

Lai Bao clapped his hands and said, "That's it. Yesterday, I saw Third Master return from outside, and everyone around him was smiling. It must be related to this."

"Oh," Xu Hao nodded, looking up at the blue sky, "It seems there's good news. Uncle is about to take office."

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