Chapter 46

After leaving the Zhou family, Xu Hao went to the Mu Family Manor. The Marquis of Qian's wife and Mu Ningsnow, along with her brother, had already returned to the capital for the New Year. There were few people at the manor, so he paid his respects to the teacher and Zhao Hesong, giving each of them a gift.

As he was about to leave, Zhao Hesong informed him that the teacher would soon be leaving the Mu Family. The reason was no secret; he was disheartened by Mu Ang's lack of progress. Upon hearing this, Xu Hao considered whether he should help Zhou Peng, but thinking of Mu Ang, he decided against it, not wanting to get angry and fall ill.

On the second day of the first lunar month, he returned to his mother's family. His parents and elder sister and younger sister had already gone to the Xiao family to visit their relatives and elders early in the morning. Seeing that it was getting late, he urged the coachman to speed up and return to Xiao Family Village.

The snow had long stopped, and the road was muddy from the trampling of passersby. After half an hour, the carriage, now dirty, entered the village entrance. Just then, a man walked up, standing in the middle of the road with his hands on his hips, shouting, "Who's in the carriage? Move out of the way quickly."

Xu Hao, hearing the voice, frowned and ordered, "Clear the way."

The coachman, Old Jia, immediately jumped down from the carriage, deliberately lowering his head and flicking the long whip in his hand, slowly guiding the carriage to avoid the road. The man, not recognizing whose carriage it was, strutted away arrogantly.

This man was named Jiang Song, nearly fifty years old. It was said that he was a distant relative of the old matriarch, though the relationship was tenuous. Due to the large number of deaths caused by war, even distant relatives were considered precious, and the old matriarch cherished this connection.

Jiang Song's father, while alive, was a learned scholar. The old matriarch had invited him to teach at the Xu family school, but unfortunately, he never managed to produce a scholar before his death.

When the state was first established, the court placed great importance on talent. Jiang Song, due to his father's reputation, was appointed as a scholar, essentially receiving a prestigious title out of the blue. Jiang Song was well aware of his own abilities and, after several attempts at the imperial exams, decided to stop.

Later, he inherited his father's position. Although his learning was far inferior to his father's, his luck was excellent. At that time, Xu Hao's mother had just married into the Xu family, and over a dozen Xiao clan children came to study. The number of students around the Xu family increased, and the school's reputation grew. Students from nearby villages and counties came to study, and every year, many child scholars and a few scholars emerged, with several students even passing the imperial exams and becoming officials. Xu Hao's third uncle was one of them.

As more parents sent gifts and money, Jiang Song used the money to lend at high interest rates and engage in the trade of scarce goods, a practice known as "lending at high interest." He was solely focused on making quick money, boasting when he made a profit and taking out his frustrations on the students when he lost money.

Moreover, he was naturally fond of taking advantage of others. He would deliberately plant trees near the wall, and when the branches grew over into the neighbor's yard, he would push down the wall and encroach on the neighbor's property. He also tried to expand his family's burial ground by encroaching on others' land. Due to his status as a scholar and his connection to the Xu family, the villagers did not confront him.

However, the lack of confrontation only fueled Jiang Song's arrogance. As he grew older, he became even more unscrupulous, even demanding a gift of twenty to thirty taels of silver from students who passed the scholar exams.

One of the reasons Xu Hao stopped attending school was his disgust with Jiang Song's character. In fact, in recent years, not only had he stopped, but the Xiao clan children had also stopped coming, and most families in the village preferred to send their children to other private schools. The Xu family school had become increasingly chaotic, with only a dozen or so mischievous children remaining.

After all, Xu Hao had once been Jiang Song's student, so he instructed the coachman to avoid him. He had heard that Jiang Song, due to the meager stipend, had recently been too lazy to go to the school. It was time to have a serious talk with the old matriarch about Jiang Song's character and consider replacing the teacher to prevent him from misleading students.

In the past, his relationship with his grandmother was distant, so he couldn't say much. Now, things were different. However, Jiang Song was a more unscrupulous person than a ruffian, and his status as a scholar protected him. He couldn't afford to anger him and have him come to cause trouble. He needed a good plan. Yes, the Mu family was in need of a teacher. He could send Jiang Song there to oppose Mu Ang, a case of "fighting poison with poison."

Xu Hao's eyes lit up. He couldn't handle this matter personally, so he immediately instructed Lai Bao to find Feng Quan, a warm-hearted person, to handle it the next day. Feng Quan had significant influence with the Marquise of Qian, so the chances of success were high.

Upon arriving at the Xiao family, the servants at the gate immediately surrounded him, loudly greeting him. Xu Hao, who had little influence in his own family, was a first-class guest here.

Xu Hao poked his head out of the carriage and smiled, "Everyone, I have red envelopes for you."

"The old man thanks you on behalf of the children, Brother Hao. It's been a while since you've come, and you've grown taller and stronger," the old steward, Xiao Er, said with a smile, hugging Xu Hao, who then jumped down from the carriage.

Everyone smiled and called out their thanks, their voices filled with warmth. Lai Bao took out a large bag of red envelopes he had prepared, each containing two taels of silver wrapped in red paper, and distributed them one by one.

The Xiao clan was a well-known scholarly family in Nanjing, and in recent years, it had quickly recovered, producing over twenty scholars, half of whom had become officials.

However, the entire officialdom was in a state of continuous turmoil, from the Empty Seal Case to the Guo Huan Case, and the Hu Weiyong Case, all of which involved many people. No official in the southern provinces could serve a full term. The Xiao clan's officials were either executed, exiled, or dismissed, leaving only one or two still in office.

Xu Hao's two maternal uncles, one was flayed, and the other died of illness on the way to exile, causing his grandfather to die of anger. On his deathbed, he left a will forbidding the Xiao clan's children from entering the officialdom.

Xu Hao's grandmother, though physically robust, lived alone in a small courtyard due to the deaths of her sons and did not involve herself in external affairs. The clan left behind a group of widows with children. Fortunately, the early Ming dynasty had a relatively open social climate, and those without children could remarry without criticism.

The Xiao clan was a prominent local clan, and it was not immune to the various messy affairs within the family. Xu Hao had heard many secrets about the clan from his mother, which made him less inclined to visit.

The current clan leader was his third great-uncle, Xiao Shengde. The main household of the Xiao family was his younger uncle, Xiao Yu, and his wife, who had four children. Additionally, two widowed sisters-in-law were raising several nieces and nephews, living a hard life.

At that moment, the entire family was dining with Xu Qingtang and his wife in the flower hall. With Xu Hao's arrival, the three aunts' eyes immediately lit up.

Xiao Shi, the matriarch, knew the reason. In the past, she had intended to strengthen the family ties by having her son marry a Xiao clan niece. Now, this idea had changed, and she planned to give her son a concubine instead.

People aim high, and water flows low. It was not fair to criticize Xiao Shi for being materialistic as a mother. Therefore, she did not insist that Xu Hao come, but he came on his own.

Facing a dozen or so cousins, young people change quickly, and Xu Hao had trouble recognizing them. He only remembered his most beautiful cousin, Xiao Yuying, from his eldest aunt's family, and his most understanding cousin, Xiao Yushi, from his second aunt's family.

The three aunts took turns calling him over, disregarding his age, and hugged him affectionately as they did when he was a child. Xu Hao smiled bitterly, enduring the kisses and caresses from the elders before finally managing to break free.

His youngest aunt, smiling, let go of him and teased, "You're not as mischievous as you were when you were little. Now that you're older, you've become more handsome and shy, like a shy young lady. Compared to your brothers, you're a world apart. Hao'er, I ask you, haven't you come for a while? Have you forgotten who loves you the most?"

This question immediately made the cousins at the table feel very unhappy. Xu Hao smiled and said, "I was sick recently and had to rest at home after recovering. Later, to focus on my studies, I moved to the manor and then became a study companion at the Marquis of Qian's house, so I haven't had time to come."

"Why did you go to be a study companion at someone else's house?" His youngest aunt frowned, pointing at the cousins, and then took Xu Hao's hand. "Your sixth great-uncle has returned. He is a respected scholar and has opened a clan school. He is much better than that scoundrel teacher at your place. Why don't you come and study here? You'll have your own brothers to look after you. Come to Aunt's house for lunch at noon, and I'll give you a monthly allowance. If you don't want to go home, I'll prepare a room for you."

Xu Hao politely declined, "I can't leave there for now. Let's talk about it later."

His youngest aunt, unable to hide her disappointment, said, "Alright, Aunt will wait for your news. As soon as I receive your letter, I'll send someone to fetch you."

The other two aunts also chimed in, and it took some effort for Xu Hao to escape the elders' attention. He didn't want to mix with the cousins who were hostile and jealous, so he went to the girls' table on his own.

His eldest aunt, watching his figure, smiled lightly, "This child is still the same as when he was little, always preferring to be with girls."

Xiao Shi laughed, "What can we do? Which of our children didn't grow up surrounded by girls? Now, he has seven or eight maidservants attending to him, and the old matriarch still thinks it's not enough and plans to double the number. I'm worried sick about it."

"This shows that the Xu family is even more prosperous. It's a good thing," his second aunt praised.

His eldest aunt, envious, thought of her own situation and the few old servants around her and her children. In contrast, the number of servants in the third couple's courtyard was increasing. If her husband hadn't died tragically, she thought, her eyes immediately reddening.

At that moment, Xu Hao suddenly shouted, "Cousin Yushi, would you like to come to my house as a guest? Cousin Yuying, you come too."