Traveling to Daliang Kingdom starts from falling into the water

Xiaohe had forgotten how many days it had been since she last saw Baoya. She had indeed learned properly from the female teacher; even her way of acting cute was different from before.

"Don't rush to steal my third sister. No matter how close she is to you, she's still my third sister. Are you saying you don't want to sit at the same table as me when we're seven years apart?"

Without the female teacher present, Gu Baoya gave Xiaohe a quick glare, "How long has it been since you last wore open-crotch pants? You've become so pedantic from studying."

Zhou Banxia and Gu Wenxuan exchanged a glance upon seeing this.

Gu Wenxuan shook his head and smiled. That's why he said that sons are still the best. No matter how many people covet a son, it's the daughter-in-law who will come into the family.

Unlike my younger sister, who will get married sooner or later, if she marries far away, she won't even know if she'll be bullied right under her nose. But if she marries closer?
It's not that marrying Xiaohe is impossible, it's just that they're too close.

In the near future, if these two little ones quarrel after they get married, the younger brother-in-law, who is also the younger brother-in-law, will have a headache and will definitely be caught in the middle.

"...Just learn by imitation, there's no need to be an expert in everything, otherwise it'll be too tiring. Look how much my third sister dotes on you, she puts all the best food on your plate."

"Hmph, are you jealous?" Gu Baoya raised her chin smugly and winked at Xiaohe, "Look, look, my second brother is even putting food on your plate."

My second sister-in-law spent a lot of money hiring a tutor; if I don't learn some real skills, I'll be missing out big time. And you, how's that thing you mentioned last time going?"

"Hehe, I'm watching it."

Ok?
What does this mean?
Do you two have a secret in common?
Gu Wenxuan turned his head and said, "You little brat, I've taught you the difference between boys and girls for nothing! Your little mouth is almost touching my sister's face!"
"I see—"

"We'll talk about it later; the soup hasn't been served yet."

Why are you pulling me?
Zhou Banxia was speechless.

You should mind your own business!
Even without looking at your sister, they understood what it meant that the soup hadn't been served yet. Naturally, there were still maids coming and going, so they paid attention.

They are young but not ignorant; how could they not know their place?

Zhou Banxia was quite at ease with the upbringing of her two younger brothers, and didn't care when Xiaohe had any contact with any other girls besides Bao Ya.

Even when interacting with Bao Ya, he would avoid being around elders or family members if there were none present. If he couldn't avoid it, he would have his page and maidservant stay to the side.

Her brother understands perfectly well. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has a bunch of awful elders and relatives. How could he be so naive?

Da Jiang understood early on that the prerequisite for him to marry a wife was that she could not disrespect her parents, and secondly, she absolutely could not be someone who was easily swayed by others.

If the big river is like this, then the little river can't possibly be love-struck. The fact that it seems like the little guy and Bao Ya are childhood sweethearts probably means that he thinks he's helping his third sister coax her younger sister.

It has nothing to do with romantic feelings or whether she will mature in matters of the heart sooner or later; her two brothers are not romantics at all.

Of course, Bao Ya is also very perceptive. At such a young age, she already has a sense of self-protection, doesn't show off her talents, and has high emotional intelligence. She's quite good at playing the fool to outsmart others.

These two children won't do anything reckless. Just protect them and help them grow up healthy. Whether they are destined to be husband and wife depends on their own thoughts.

After meal.

Gu Wenxuan quickly took his brother-in-law to the study, and Bao Ya also accompanied her nephew. Zhou Banxia simply took Mai Dong to tidy up the things in the trunk first.

Her uncle sent Xuanzi books, review materials, and graded homework, which had already been moved into the small study.

Unlike fabrics and embroidery threads, which cannot be directly registered and stored, but rather selected one or two and placed separately as needed, these items are still displayed in the warm pavilion.

The master and servant were busy in the warm room, which had long since been extinguished. Ma Shan returned from her parents' home much earlier than Zhou Banxia had guessed.

It wasn't even completely dark yet, and her parents and in-laws hadn't even returned, but the couple had already gone to the west courtyard, each carrying one of their sons.

Moreover, without her having to go out to greet him, Gu Erlang already knew that Gu Wenxuan and Xiaohe were in the small study, and carried Xiao Changsuo from the west corridor to the west wing room.

Ma Shan didn't even say a word to the father and son the entire time. She just carried Xiao Cheng Suo and took a shortcut through the courtyard towards the main house. Why are they back so early? Could something have gone wrong? Are the couple acting like they're minding their own business and coming back early?
"Sister-in-law, I'm here." Zhou Banxia waved to the open window, then suddenly remembered, "The child is still awake, it's okay to be a little loud."

Even without her reminder, Ma Shan could tell from her shout that Yuan Ge'er was either fast asleep or not sleepy yet.

Yuan Ge'er is a very easy child to take care of. Once he falls asleep, he won't wake up even if there's thunder. He rarely cries when he's woken up. He's very easy to take care of.

Despite thinking this, Ma Shan didn't raise her voice to reply. Holding her son, she couldn't easily wave back. Fortunately, they weren't far apart.

"I'm so angry today."

Taking two steps at a time, Ma Shan didn't go into the hall. Instead, she carried her son from the porch to the window of the warm pavilion and spoke quietly.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Banxia was so excited upon hearing this that she almost jumped out of the window. "Who bullied you? Did your older brother say something that made you misunderstand?"

"Not your older brother."

Thankfully, the problem doesn't involve your brother-in-law, otherwise it would be difficult to choose sides. It would involve your maternal family, no, your aunt who came to visit early this morning.

“You know my aunt came early this morning. That’s why I haven’t invited her over yet, right? She’s different from my other aunt. I’m afraid she’ll complain about being poor.”

It really is your aunt.

I understand, everyone has a terrible relative.

"What's that? I just didn't have the heart to tell you that my aunt seems kind and gentle, but secretly she can't stand seeing my mother doing well—"

Ma Shan smiled wryly, "No. My aunt's family is doing alright. Although they can't compare to my maternal aunt's family, they still have enough to eat and wear. My maternal grandfather has found good families for his daughters."

Although my maternal grandfather was very particular about the bride price, he was also afraid that his daughter would not be able to make a living after marrying into her husband's family and would become a burden on her own family. Therefore, he always chose sons-in-law who came from well-off families and had skills.

I was thinking that even if my aunt wasn't afraid of losing face, I didn't expect her to care about her reputation as much as my other aunt, but in front of your older brother, she should at least maintain some decorum.

Ok?
Is she trying to plead poverty with her nephew-in-law?
"It's alright, everyone has times when they're short on money, my brother won't take it to heart." After saying that, Zhou Banxia quickly invited Ma Shan in first.

Ma Shan also saw the maid pacing not far away, unsure whether to go forward or retreat. It was inconvenient to talk here, and she couldn't say anything polite.

I was so angry I lost my mind.

Turn around.

Enter the hall.

Bao Ya?

"Sister-in-law, let me carry you."

Ma Shan was overjoyed and quickly handed her youngest son to her sister-in-law, asking, "What are you doing here? Oh right, Mom hasn't come back yet. Has she eaten?"

"I ate it, I ate it."

Gu Baoya knew that her eldest sister-in-law was in a hurry to complain to her second sister-in-law about her family, so she didn't care about being impolite. She picked up her nephew and turned to leave.

"where are you going?"

She is so difficult.

Is it appropriate for her, as the sister-in-law, to listen to her sister-in-law's family affairs? (End of Chapter)