Just like that, under Xiao Yuanshi’s coaxing, the old Xiao family decided to follow them back to the general’s manor.

Xiao Yuanshi revealed a refined smile to the people who were watching the show.

He portrayed himself as a confucian general.

“Just now, there was a small conflict at home. I apologise for letting all of you witness this embarrassment.”

The obvious meaning was that there wasn’t any big problem with my family, so don’t spread it around.

The others also smiled.

On the surface, they didn’t say anything, but in their hearts, they didn’t think so.

It was rare to have such a lively scene in the entire capital.

Of course, they had to go home and share it with their friends and relatives.

Before Old Lady Xiao left, she even pulled her new friend, the old lady next door, to say a few words.

She deliberately emphasised that she was going to invite that old lady to go to the textile shop tomorrow.

Shi Qingluo said that when they came to the capital, they should try their best not to be locked up in the general’s manor.

They had to make some friends who shared the same interests or had similar statuses.

The old lady staying opposite them was also from the village and had a lot in common with her.

Moreover, this old lady was warm-hearted.

If his second son, that beast, wanted to restrict her from going out, she would definitely help to spread the word.

When Xiao Yuanshi heard this, he was extremely frustrated, but he could not utter his thoughts to stop her.

That old lady sympathised with his mother and felt that her daughter-in-law was too unfilial.

Her son did not seem to be reliable either.

She held Old Lady Xiao’s hand and said, “Alright, let’s go for a stroll tomorrow. If you have any matters, you can let your daughters-in-law or grandsons come and call me.”

It was rare for her to meet someone who also came from a village that she could chat with.

She did not wish Old Lady Xiao to return to the village.

Old Lady Xiao smiled and said, “Alright!”

After saying that, she followed Xiao Yuanshi and Old Lady Xiao back to the general’s manor.

As soon as they sat down, before Xiao Yuanshi could say anything, Old Lady Xiao pulled him and started crying.

“My son, I also didn’t want to go out and make a scene today and let everyone know about it. But your wife and her younger brother are really bullying us too much.”

After that, she exaggerated and recounted how Ge Chunyi did not respect her and beat up her eldest son and the others.

Ge Chunyi could not help but retort, “You guys slapped my sister. Clearly, y’all bullied her.”

Old Lady Xiao looked at him with her triangular eyes and said to Xiao Yuanshi, “Look, I only said one sentence and he already started to talk back.

“I’m the mother who gave birth to you and raised you. Who does he think he is?

“He’s living in the general’s manor as a young master.

“You even helped to send him to an academy to hone his martial arts.

“If he can be so arrogant and disrespectful to your mother now, will he still acknowledge you as his brother-in-law when he becomes successful in the future?

“Some people are ingrates.

“Don’t sway through pillow talk and end up not knowing what your family name is.”

Shi Qingluo said that she couldn’t keep causing trouble.

She also had to sow discord between these bastards at the right moment.

The more Old Lady Xiao thought about it, the more it made sense.

Thus, she took the opportunity to kick-start it.

She continued crying, “I admitted that because you are the second son, I neglected you a little in the past. However, I have fed you well since you were young. When you went to the military camp, I was so worried that I couldn’t sleep.”

Old Master Xiao added, “That’s right. During the few months you left, we couldn’t sleep day and night. Your mother would often wake up and fear that something might happen to you.”

These words were partially true.

They were indeed worried, but not that exaggerated.

When Xiao Yuanshi heard the two of them, he frowned.

He was also a little upset. Although he was ignored back then, his parents did not treat him too harshly.

They were only dissatisfied with him for insisting on marrying Mdm Kong, so they treated Mdm Kong harshly.

Of course, his heart did not soften much because of this.

He still remembered how these people embarrassed him.

He raised his head and looked at Ge Chunyi, whose face was filled with anger and her hands tightly clenched into fists.

His brows furrowed even deeper to express his slight dissatisfaction.

No matter what, they were his parents and brothers.

He could do whatever he wanted, but it wasn’t his brother-in-law’s turn to act arrogantly at home.

Moreover, if his brother-in-law didn’t meddle in other people’s business today and beat up Mdm Wu, his eldest brother and others, his mother wouldn’t have gone crazy and run to the entrance of the general’s manor to make a fuss.

He had thought that her brother-in-law was a good man who would be an excellent assistant in the future if he nurtured him well.

However, the more he looked at him, the more immature he was.

Ever since he came to the capital and became famous for equestrian archery in school, he had become more and more arrogant.

This reminded Xiao Yuanshi that he still had an elegant and mature son in the village.

He sighed with pity in his heart.

“Mother, don’t be angry. I will scold him.

“But you have to think from my perspective too. Don’t go out and cause trouble.”

He said earnestly, “This is causing me great embarrassment. If it affects my reputation, your reputation would also be affected.”

First, he had to coax these people for a period of time.

Then, he would think of a way to lure his nephews to gamble and send them back.

Old Lady Xiao looked extremely aggrieved. “That’s because your wife and brother-in-law bullied me. I couldn’t hold it in.

“In the future, as long as they don’t provoke me, I’ll try my best to hold it in.

She spat in her heart. As expected, this beast was still siding with that vixen and little beast.

Xiao Yuanshi’s heart was tired and still had to coax them again.

He wanted them to voluntarily withdraw the case from the capital magistrate’s yamen.

When the old lady heard this, she was furious. “No, our family’s things have all been stolen. We should let the officials investigate.”

She turned around and advised, “Don’t be stupid. Those are imperial gifts. If they were really lost, would you still be able to keep your position as a general?”

Xiao Yuanshi was speechless.

You already know about this, but you still went to make a report?

How could he be so unlucky to have such a foolish and self-righteous next-of-kin.

“Mother, there’s a misunderstanding here. Those gold and things were given by the emperor, so I asked someone to put them somewhere else. I didn’t update you about it.”

“So, you can ask my eldest brother and the rest to withdraw the case.

“If it gets out of hand, it’ll be a disgrace to our family.”

Because there were no outsiders at home, the old lady couldn’t help it.

She raised her hand and slapped Xiao Yuanshi’s face. “You unfilial bastard. You moved the money and valuables away. Who are you guarding against?

“You crawled out of my stomach, bastard. You’re actually guarding against your mother. You’re waiting to be struck by lightning.”

She was cursing from the bottom of her heart.

The other Xiao family members were also furious.

As expected, this bastard was also involved in this matter.

Xiao Yuanshi was stunned by this slap.

This was also the first time Old Lady Xiao slapped him, especially in front of his petite wife and brother-in-law.

“Mother, you know yourselves well what y’all are thinking in your minds. The general’s manor is not a place for you to behave atrociously.”

He was furious. “From now on, never go out. Be obedient and stay in the general’s manor. There will be plenty of good food and drinks for all of you.”

Old Lady Xiao became furious too. She raised her hand and patted the table.

“What? You still want to confine us?”

“You bastard, I’m telling you, no way.

“I made an appointment with the old lady across the street to go shopping tomorrow.”

She threatened him instead. “If you don’t let me go out and she comes over on her own accord, I’ll say that you abused your mother and locked me in the woodshed.

“You never give me food and don’t allow me to go out.”

That Shi Qingluo was really a god.

She actually foresaw that this bastard would find an excuse to confine them.

Fortunately, they listened to her advice and found a way out before the commotion started. Otherwise, they would be in trouble.