The fake daughter of a fallen ghost is reborn

As the sky gradually darkened, a full moon slowly rose, and the lights of the Xue Mansion appeared even more brilliant against the backdrop of the night sky.

The most important thing about the Mid-Autumn Festival is to enjoy the moon. The banquet is held in the main courtyard. When you look up, you can see the moon, which is like a jade plate hanging in the sky. In this scene, drinking under the moon is an elegant thing.

Everyone from the Xue residence took their seats, with Xue Zhentong and Fu Ling and his wife sitting at the head of the table.

Today the couple are dressed very formally and it can be seen that they are in a good mood.

Xue Zhentong's black robe was embroidered with gold thread, and the fabric was wide and stiff, which made his broad figure look somewhat majestic.

Fu Ling also wore a light purple brocade skirt embroidered with golden chrysanthemums. She wore a phoenix hairpin with a pearl in her hair, a jade lotus in her temples, and a string of bodhi beads as white as mutton-fat jade around her wrists.

She was dressed in her usual elegant manner, and compared with Aunt Rong who was wearing a crabapple-colored dress, she looked even more dignified and elegant, with the demeanor of a mistress of the house.

Although the banquet had not officially begun, everyone had already taken their seats.

Fu Ling and Xue Zhentong were talking when Aunt Rong interrupted them: "Master, I heard from the people downstairs that Ting Liu's carriage will be here soon."

Fu Ling was quite dissatisfied: "Erlang is really showing off now. As a junior, he has to make the whole family wait for him."

Aunt Rong dealt with Fu Ling's criticism with ease: "She said that she was delayed a little by official business today, so she came a little late. If the young master can successfully pass the imperial examination next year, Madam will surely understand Ting Liu's difficulties."

In such quarrels between women, Xue Tingliu's presence always ensures that Aunt Rong is invincible.

Fu Ling's face darkened after being choked. She glanced at her own son Xue Tingsheng who was sitting not far away. She almost lost control and made the Bodhi beads in her hand creak.

Xue Zhiyi was sitting very close to Fu Ling and could clearly hear their occasional arguments.

She was happy to see the conflict between Aunt Rong and Fu Ling. The more they fought to the death, the less trouble she would have.

Xue Zhiyi was in a very good mood today. She had her hair in a pair of buns and wore osmanthus flowers in her hair. Pearl tassels hung down and swayed gently with her every smile and every move. A pair of jade rabbits were embroidered on the jade-colored vest over her red brocade jacket, which made her look more lively and agile.

She glanced at his nominal brother Xue Tingsheng. Xue Tingsheng looked about the same as Fu Ling. Both had a pair of extremely calm eyes and seemed to have a very good temper. Although his academic performance was not as good as Xue Tingliu, he was already a juren at this age. His qualifications were not bad. If he had not been suppressed by Xue Tingliu, he would have been an exceptionally outstanding person.

Xue Zhiyi chuckled softly. Actually, he and his brother were not very close. Perhaps it was because there was a big age gap between them. Xue Tingsheng always liked to talk about the words of the wise men and saints since he was a child. Xue Zhiyi just found it boring. As time went by, they could no longer play together.

But there was one thing Xue Zhiyi knew: her brother was not as kind and honest as he seemed. She had seen everything about his true nature in her previous life and knew it all clearly.

At this moment, a servant came to report: "The second young master is back! The second young master is back!"

Aunt Rong was so happy that the corners of her mouth almost reached her ears.

Xue Zhentong was also extremely excited about his son's return. He stood up in a hurry, not noticing that Fu Ling's face beside him was becoming increasingly gloomy.

Xue Tingliu was tall and graceful. It was not known whether he had no time to change his clothes or he was deliberately trying to poke Fu Ling's eyes, but he had not changed out of the dark crimson official robe embroidered with clouds and geese.

It must be said that he was born with excellent looks, almost inheriting all the advantages of Xue Zhentong and Aunt Rong. His face was as clear as autumn water, and his eyes were as deep as the sea. However, countless calculations were hidden in the sea, and it was difficult to detect the hidden scheming contained in it. It seemed that he was always looking at the world around him, calculating every possible plan.

For some reason, Xue Tingliu met Xue Zhiyi's eyes as soon as he walked into the yard. Those eyes were so sharp that it seemed that they could penetrate people's hearts with just one glance.

But this glance only lasted for a moment, and almost no one noticed the eye contact. Only Xue Zhiyi silently clenched his fingers.

She knew that Xue Tingliu was not an easy person to deal with, and could even be said to be one of the few smart people in the entire Xue family.

After Xue Tingliu withdrew his gaze, he turned his attention to Xue Zhentong and Aunt Rong.

Pulling him, Aunt Rong exclaimed: "My son!"

Before Aunt Rong could make a move, Xue Tingliu bowed and said politely, "Father and Mother, I am back late. I hope you will punish me."

Although he was talking about father and mother, he never took Fu Ling, his stepmother, seriously from beginning to end. Instead, he welcomed the warm gaze of Aunt Rong.

"My son...you have lost weight!"

"After all, my son is a new official, so he has to run around."

Xue Zhentong patted his shoulder and said, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"

They were having a great time, as if the three of them were a family of three.

Xue Zhiyi observed the expressions of Fu Ling and Xue Tingsheng, which were dark and unwilling, and it was really exciting.

"Okay, stop standing here. Now that you're back, please take your seats."

Fu Ling's voice temporarily put an end to the warmth between the three of them.

Now that Xue Tingliu has arrived, the banquet can begin.

A meal of seven meat dishes and seven vegetable dishes, plus three desserts, was placed on the table in front of Xue Zhiyi. She just ate silently while listening to Xue Zhentong and Xue Tingliu, father and son, discussing official business.

As he spoke, he reminded Xue Tingsheng from time to time: "Tingsheng, you must study hard and strive to pass the imperial examination next year. Then you can become an official next year so that you can support your brother."

Xue Tingsheng's eyelashes moved, and he raised his glass: "Father is right."

Here, Xue Zhiyi noticed that Xue Hanshu's table was empty, as she did not come tonight.

Thinking of this, Xue Zhiyi couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth, and even the snacks tasted sweet.

Xue Hanshu didn't come, so what was she doing?

Sure enough, she was not the only one who noticed this problem. Aunt Rong sighed at an inappropriate time.

"Why is Si Niang not here tonight? Won't the master send someone to ask about her?"

As his biological mother's unfavored illegitimate daughter, Xue Zhentong didn't care whether Xue Hanshu attended the event or not.

Only Aunt Chun, who was also sitting in the corner, stood up and replied weakly, "Master, Shu'er is not feeling well today, so she is resting in the courtyard. Shu'er cannot accompany you, so I will apologize to you on her behalf."

Fu Ling, who was already in a bad mood, felt a little unlucky after hearing this, but she always maintained a kind and virtuous image, so she pretended to be concerned and asked, "Are you sick and have you asked a doctor to take a look?"

Aunt Chun said respectfully, "It's just some cold, it's nothing serious, Madam Lao is worried about it."

So, whether Xue Hanshu was sick or not, whether she was present or not, this topic, which no one cared about, was just ignored.

Just then, somehow, the topic came up of Xue Panrou.

Xue Tingliu said, "My son met Zhao Sanlang a few days ago. Zhao Sanlang and I are close friends. We were classmates in the academy. I think there is some misunderstanding between him and Rou'er. I have explained it to him. Zhao Sanlang also said that he would come to visit us again in a few days. Father, what do you think..."

This hint was already very obvious, and the meaning was simply to let Xue Panrou come back earlier so that the marriage between the Xue and Zhao families could still be possible.