Women Wearing Men: The Growth Path of the Bastards of the Aristocratic Family

Chapter 396 Cousin Shu Chang
Xu Chengyu was so happy that he finally met his daughter's family, who had been separated for three years, and couldn't help but talk to them for a while at the city gate.

At this time, a lean young man came out, approached Xu Chengyu and said, "Uncle, all the things in the house have been sorted out, and you can move in at any time."

"Ah, that's right, I was so busy talking that I forgot that Yun Ji Shuhua and the others are tired from the long journey and have to go back to rest quickly."

Xu Chengyu slapped his forehead when he heard this, then remembered something, pulled the man in front of him, and introduced to Gu Yunji: "This is my brother's son, Xu Shuchang."

Gu Yunji had heard of Xu Shuchang, and unlike Xu Zhenzhi, in terms of blood, this was Xu Shuhua's real cousin.Xu Chengyu only had one younger brother and no other siblings. Both his younger brother and his wife were in poor health and died of illness very early, leaving only Xu Shuchang as a son.

Gu Yunji smiled and stretched out his hand to him: "It turns out to be cousin Shuchang. I heard Shuhua and the teacher talking about you a long time ago. It's just a pity that I haven't seen you before. I finally saw you today."

Xu Shuchang is very thin, but his eyes are very bright, with a glimmer of light.Seeing Gu Yunji reaching out to him, he seemed a little embarrassed and shrank for a few times before holding his hand back.

The moment their palms held each other, Gu Yunji felt a slightly hard, slightly tingling touch. He glanced at Xu Shuchang inadvertently, and sure enough he saw thin calluses on Xu Shuchang's thumb and index finger.

When he raised his eyes again, he saw that Xu Shuchang's eyes were wandering and never focused on the real point. At a glance, it was clear that he was a person with many thoughts and difficulty in concentrating.

Gu Yunji's heart sank slightly, he said nothing and calmly retracted his hand.

The others did not notice anything strange. After a brief exchange of greetings with Xu Shuchang, Xu Chengyu took Gu Yunji and his family into the city and went to the prefecture's official residence that had been packed up in advance.

I have to say that it is good to have people in the local area. The official residence is neatly tidied and fully furnished. Even the bed in the bedroom is made.Most of the servants are old people who have worked for the Xu family in Shaoxing for many years. Several of them are familiar to Xu Shuhua, and they know how to arrange the work themselves, so she doesn't need to worry about them at all.

After all, the magistrate is two levels higher than the magistrate, and the official residence is much more luxurious. The space is spacious and the layout is exquisite and reasonable. It is more than enough for Gu Yunji and his family to live in.

Xu Chengyu knew that they were tired after traveling for more than two months on the road, so it did not take up much of their time. After a few simple instructions, he took Xu Shuchang back to the Xu family mansion, preparing to wait until they had enough rest to return the next day. come over.

Taking office this time was much easier than when he first arrived in Xuzhou Prefecture three years ago. Everything was tidied up. In the evening, after taking a bath, Gu Yunji lay comfortably on the bed, very comfortable.

Thinking of Xu Shuchang he saw during the day, Gu Yunji always felt a little strange, and pretended to mention it to Xu Shuhua accidentally: "Cousin Shuchang... doesn't feel 30 years old? Has he always stayed in Shaoxing Mansion? Now in What do you do for a living?"

Xu Shuhua had just come out of the shower, sat aside and wiped his hair, and replied casually: "Cousin Shuchang is a few years younger than my brother. He should have just turned thirty this year. It's not like he stayed in Shaoxing all the time. In the early years, he was with our family. We’ve been living together for a few years.”

"My uncle and aunt died early, when he was only seven or eight years old. My father felt that as an uncle, he should take up the responsibility of educating his nephew after the death of his younger brother, so he brought him to the capital."

"My uncle and aunt are just a son like my cousin. In order to help him succeed and comfort his younger brother and his wife's spirit in heaven, my father is very strict with my cousin. However, my cousin has a naughty temperament and is most playful. If he does not do well in his homework, he will be punished. Dad punished me, and over time, his fear of my father became greater than his respect, and he had to hide away on weekdays." "The stricter my father controls my cousin, the more my cousin can't stand it, and he plays games behind his back. The crazier he became, the more his father felt sorry for his dead uncle when he saw him, and punished his cousin even more severely. This continued day after day, making the cousin feel a lot of resentment. But because he was separated by a layer, everything he said felt pale. Powerless, the uncle and nephew gradually became separated."

Speaking of this, Xu Shuhua sighed and continued: "A few years later, my mother passed away. My father was so sad that he could no longer take care of his cousin. But my cousin had long longed for freedom. One day, I took the opportunity to propose that I go back to my hometown in Shaoxing to prepare for the imperial examination. My father couldn't stop me, so I let him go, and he has been staying in Shaoxing since then."

Xu Chengyu became the chief minister of the cabinet, and also became the headmaster of Luxi Academy. He was full of talents, and he raised a pair of children with outstanding conduct and talents.Such a person who is good at education has failed in the training of his nephew. This Xu Shuchang's temper may not be ordinary.

Gu Yunji frowned slightly when he heard this, and then asked: "What happens after that? How about cousin Shuchang's imperial examination? Did he get any merit?"

Xu Shuhua was also worried when he talked about this: "My father stares at him every day, and he can't continue to study. How can he learn anything if he returns to the unsupervised Shaoxing Mansion? The elders in the clan only provide him with food and clothing. I don’t care so much about my studies. My cousin failed in the exams many times, and it wasn’t until his weak years that he came back as a scholar.”

The Xu family is a scholarly family in the south of the Yangtze River and has the best educational resources. As a direct descendant of the family, he only passed the scholar examination at the age of 20. This is not a lack of brains, but a complete lack of focus on studying. Didn't bother studying at all.

Xu Chengyu has a proud temperament and cherishes feathers very much. He chooses his disciples carefully. No matter whether they are his disciples or his own children, no one is ordinary.His biological nephew turned out to be so incompetent. Gu Yunji felt heartbroken just thinking about it.

"Then... where's the teacher? Just don't care?"

"How can I control it? I was spanked when I was a child. You can't do it again when you grow up, right?" Xu Shuhua smiled bitterly, "After I went to Luxi Academy, my father asked my cousin to study there several times, but my cousin didn't want to be beaten again. Discipline, refuse every time, and refuse to say anything.”

"After all, he is the only son left by his uncle. Dad doesn't want to make the relationship too tense. If he really can't control it, forget it. Since you can't ask for a future, let's ask for safety and health. Therefore, dad has not been very demanding on his cousin these years. As long as my cousin lives smoothly and happily in his studies, dad will be satisfied."

"However, my cousin is restless and has no definite ideas. In the past two years, he said that he would go to the Yamen to be an official, and then said that he wanted to manage the fields and Zhuangzi. Some time ago, he was talking about doing business. I don't know whether he is there or not. What are you thinking, I don’t understand…”

As soon as the conversation started, he couldn't stop. Xu Shuhua chattered, turned around and wiped his hair intently.

After listening to Xu Shuhua's narration, Gu Yunji recalled the scene when he saw Xu Shuchang in the daytime, and his brows furrowed little by little.

His heart moved slightly, Xu Shuhua realized something, turned around, and saw that Gu Yunji's face was not very good, and said: "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly so interested in cousin Shuchang?"

Gu Yunji looked into her eyes, hesitated for a while, and finally decided to express his doubts: "I think...cousin Shuchang may be addicted to gambling."

(End of this chapter)