The next morning, Li Yaonan woke up from the bed and found a furry head in her arms. She chuckled and carefully pulled her arms out from under her husband.
After washing up, Li Yaonan went to exercise for half an hour. He had been busy in the past few months and had not put in much effort. He felt that his bones had become stiff.
After sweating profusely, she returned to the main courtyard. Her husband had already gotten up and was playing with the child. Little Xuer could not only speak in ah-ah language, but also roll over. Lin Yixuan knew that her husband had gone to the practice room, so she asked someone to prepare hot water and clothes in advance so that Li Yaonan could wash and dress as soon as he came back.
This feeling of being cared for in every possible way is really great.
After taking a comfortable bath, Li Yaonan felt refreshed. Except for being a little thinner, he had regained his former handsome appearance.
Slowly stepping into the main room, on the two-meter-wide bed, the young husband was teasing the child with a rattle. Little Xuer listened to the sound, and his little mouth kept making gurgling sounds excitedly. His little hands were waving in front of him, trying to catch something but failing, and he was very anxious.
Li Yaonan stepped forward and sat casually on the bed. He looked at the two people in front of him, and an indulgent smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.
"You're back." Lin Yixuan turned around, her bright eyes flashed, and she put the rattle in his hand.
Li Yaonan was stunned and felt a little uncomfortable, but before he could react, Xiao Xuer couldn't find anything, and began to look around with a pout, and it seemed that she was about to cry.
Li Yaonan hurriedly picked up the rattle and fiddled with it. Xiao Xuer's eyes were immediately attracted to it. His little hands began to grab things and had a lot of fun. It only took a cup of tea for Li Yaonan to go from being unfamiliar to laughing so hard that he fell forward and backward. Suddenly, he realized that amusing children is something that only becomes easier with practice.
Not long after, breakfast was ready. Lin Yixuan handed the child to the wet nurse, and the two went to the dining room.
"Drink more soup." Lin Yixuan took the bowl to help him serve soup, and put some meat in it. Feeling satisfied, he started to eat by himself.
Li Yaonan felt warm in his heart and said softly, "Don't worry about me in the future, and eat more yourself."
Lin Yixuan smiled faintly and did not say whether he agreed or not. Although Shuang'er's rules at home were not as strict as those of girls, she was brought up according to the rules of a girl. Taking good care of her husband was what she should do. Moreover, invading her husband's life bit by bit, making her husband get used to him and fall in love with him was her original purpose. Lin Yixuan did not feel it was hard.
After dinner, the two were not idle. Seeing that the weather was getting colder, even though the climate in Yangzhou was warmer than that in the capital, it was still chilly now, with fallen leaves everywhere. If they did not set off for the capital, they were afraid that the road would be difficult. Every December, or even worse, at the end of November, there would be heavy snow in the capital. They adults did not care, but Xiao Xu'er was only three months old. If anything went wrong, it would be too late to regret.
The couple discussed it and finally decided to take the water route, as a boat cabin would be more comfortable than a cramped carriage.
Lin Yixuan had already packed everything up. Now he had some things to take care of at home, so he could set off after finishing them.
The husband and wife acted separately. Li Yaonan went to the Zhang family that day, first to congratulate his third cousin on passing the imperial examination, second to say goodbye, and third to treat guests. Passing the imperial examination was not a small matter, so he would have to hold a banquet to celebrate before leaving. People from the old clan would definitely come as well. Thinking about it this way, there were really a lot of things to do.
Lin Yixuan first reported the good news to the clan, and then sent people to the dock to find a boat. Because he wanted to bring Xiao Xuer with him, the boat he was taking had to be not only comfortable, but also large and fast. Lin Yixuan put forward a lot of conditions, and even if the price was not a problem, it would be troublesome to find one.
While they were very busy here, on the other side, some people were also preparing to go to the capital.
Coincidentally, that family was none other than Mrs. Li, Ma Yulian and Li Yaozong.
As for Li Taian, he was busy at the government office and couldn't leave. He was even happier that his mother and wife were not at home, so he finally had the chance to bring the woman he kept outside into the house.
Not to mention the secret joy in Li Taian's heart, the relationship between Ma Yulian and the old lady, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, took a sharp turn for the worse since the old lady fell ill. Ma Yulian took advantage of the old lady's serious illness and seized all her power. Not only that, she also took a lot of the old lady's private property.
The old lady was very angry, but she was powerless and became even sicker. It was not until her beloved Li Yaozong took the child examination that her health improved. However, her relationship with Ma Yulian became irreconcilable.
When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were fighting each other, Li Yaozong failed the exam and did not pass the examination to become a scholar. How could this be possible? Ma Yulian was shocked at the time. She knew her son's knowledge. Even the teacher praised him and said that he would have no problem in this examination. How could he fail
Ma Yulian was very worried.
The old lady's mouth was bubbling with anxiety, and the fight between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was temporarily suspended.
When Li Yaozong came back and told the story in an exaggerated way, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law immediately shared a common hatred for the enemy. Their hatred became even stronger and they hated the little beast to the core.
The old lady's heart and stomach began to ache. Thinking of her huge sum of money and the fake goods that she had smashed to pieces, the hatred in her heart reached its peak, like a flood that broke through the dam, roaring and clamoring at her non-stop.
Those fake goods not only caused the Li family to lose an adult, but also made them suffer several losses. They could only swallow their anger. How could they not take revenge for such a great hatred
Ma Yulian was equally angry. She had long since taken the old lady's things for herself. Now that she had lost so much, how could she not be resentful? Most importantly, she had made her son lose face in the capital, mistaking fake goods for treasures and sending counterfeit goods to the Shangshu Mansion, where he was laughed at. Ma Yulian felt a great pain in her heart when she thought of her son being looked down upon.
Li Yaozong put all the blame on Li Yaonan. If a person tells a lie a thousand times, even he himself will believe it. This is the situation Li Yaozong is in now. The more he talks, the more he feels that the reason why he failed the imperial examination must be Li Yaonan's fault. If Li Yaonan had not hit him again and again, how could he be so worried and fail in the end.
Before the old lady and Ma Yulian could think of a countermeasure, a letter came from the clan, clearly rebuking them, saying that Ma Yulian's promotion from a concubine was not legitimate and that if she dared to cause trouble for Li Yaonan, the legitimate branch of the sixth house, again, the clan would be rude and divorce her as a troublemaker. They also rebuked the old lady for being an unvirtuous wife and causing Mr. Li to have no illegitimate children and a small family. However, considering her old age, the clan would be lenient with her and told her to remember to observe the virtues of a woman, otherwise she could go to the family temple to pray for old Mr. Li.
Ma Yulian and the old lady were so angry that their eyes turned black. However, no matter how angry and hateful they were, they could do nothing. They didn't expect that the clan would stand up for the little beast.
Ma Yulian was filled with resentment. If she had known this would happen, she should not have let them leave, let alone let that little beast be adopted. Even though he had the title of his parents, Li Yaonan still let her torture him at will. It was too late to say anything now.
The clan hasn't said such tough words for many years, which made them forget the existence of the clan. After all, the Li Mansion and their hometown in Suzhou are not separated. If the clan leader really uses clan law to oppress others, they can only obey. It's just that the clan is bullying too much. The old man has been dead for more than ten years, but he can still be brought up to make trouble. It really means that there is no one in the Li Mansion.
The old lady sent someone to inquire and found out that two more scholars had passed the imperial examination in the family. She was quite disdainful because her eldest grandson was a juren, which was better than a hundred scholars. But when the old lady heard that some people in the family went to the Imperial Academy and some went to Mingwei Academy, she immediately became uneasy and decided to take her beloved daughter to the capital.
As for Li Yaonan, she couldn't take care of him now. Not to mention the pressure from the clan ahead, the old lady was at a loss as to where Li Yaonan was. She couldn't even find him, let alone take revenge. Anyway, there would always be opportunities in the future, so she was not in a hurry.
The most important thing at the moment is her grandson's future. Seeing that Zong'er was disappointed because he failed the imperial examination, she had to find a way to plan for her grandson. She heard that there were many high-ranking officials in the capital, and he had the help of his eldest brother and the support of the Shangshu Mansion. The old lady made up her mind to take Zong'er to the capital, even if it was just to see the prosperity of the capital and make friends with more princes and nobles.
Ma Yulian's heart moved, and she naturally didn't want to be left behind. She was Li Yaozu's biological mother, so it was even more legitimate for her to visit her son.
Therefore, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law reconciled again and discussed the trip to Beijing. They set off in mid-October, a few days earlier than Li Yaonan.
As for Li Yaonan, after arriving at Zhang's house, he first went to pay his respects to his uncle and the lady-in-waiting. Then he informed them of the trip to Beijing and the banquet at the Li residence, and asked them to be sure to attend.
Master Zhang twirled his beard. He had heard about this from his third son, so he was not surprised at this moment. However, Madam Zhang's eyes turned red and she kept saying that she was heartbroken.
Li Yaonan was speechless and could only wait until she had cried enough, and then he carefully asked his uncle to help him choose a name.
Master Zhang was stunned for a moment, and felt ashamed. His nephew had passed the imperial examination, but he had not yet chosen a name. How careless they were! After thinking hard for a long time, the uncle said, "Donglin, so call him Donglin. Dong means noble, and Lin means arrival. I hope you will have a smooth career in the future."
Donglin, Li Yaonan seemed to be thinking about something. He repeated the name and bowed to Master Zhang carefully: "Thank you, Uncle."
Master Zhang nodded slightly, and nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, you can go down, Xiao Sanzi is also waiting anxiously, you brothers should get together well, I'm afraid you will have a rare opportunity when you go to the capital."
Li Yaonan smiled and said yes. When he was about to go out the door, Master Zhang called him again: "Before you go to Beijing, remember to send the storybook over."
"Yes!" Li Yaonan answered respectfully, feeling amused in his heart. The older Mr. Zhang gets, the more childish his temper becomes. It is true that the old are always the young, and this is really a wise saying!