Lady, escort the emperor! 43

Chapter 43: A Scheduled Fight 【Requesting Monthly Tickets】

June 29, 2024

Chapter 43: A Scheduled Fight 【Requesting Monthly Tickets】

The second generation of the Song family mostly held official positions in the court, and the third generation of males, except for Song Yu, all served in the military. They didn’t usually live at home. Therefore, the matriarch chose to hold a family banquet on a rest day. Li Nuo heard from Song Mu Er that the Song family held such banquets every month.

For a large family like the Song family, frequently holding family banquets was meaningful. It helped strengthen family bonds and foster a sense of belonging.

Children raised in such an environment, even married daughters, wouldn’t feel like outsiders.

Like his wife.

Like Aunt Song Zhen.

At the matriarch’s birthday banquet last time, Li Nuo had been fussed over by Aunt Song Zhen for a long time, being poked and prodded here and there. Today, noticing her eyes still lingering on him, he felt uncomfortable.

The beautiful woman stared at Li Nuo’s face and couldn’t help but say, “Tsk tsk… You’re the spitting image of your father when he was young.”

A man walked over and said with a smile, “Sister, it’s been almost twenty years, your two children are even married, and you’re still thinking about Li Xuanying? If your husband finds out, he’ll be jealous again…”

“There are plenty of women in Chang’an who pine for Li Xuanying. If I can’t have him, can’t I at least dream about it?” The beautiful woman rolled her eyes at him. “Song Hao, are you itching for a beating? Should I loosen your muscles for you?”

“No, no, no…” The man waved his hands repeatedly, walked to Li Nuo’s side, examined him closely, and said, “Honestly, the resemblance is uncanny. If you and Jia Ren weren’t already betrothed, I don’t know how many noble ladies would be vying for you…”

Li Nuo didn’t know what to say to his elders’ joking, so he simply bowed to the man, saying, “Greetings, Fourth Uncle.”

This man was the matriarch’s fourth son and the father of Song Mu Er and Song Ning Er.

Song Hao smiled, patted Li Nuo on the shoulder lightly, and said, “Not only do you look alike, you’re both equally intelligent. Mu Er keeps saying she doesn’t understand what Mr. Chen is talking about, but as soon as you explain, she understands…”

“Of course, it depends on whose son he is,” Song Zhen looked at Li Nuo, couldn’t help but touch his face again, and said regretfully, “If I had married your father back then, you would be my son. Oh well…”

Scientifically speaking, if Aunt Song Zhen had married his father, Li Nuo wouldn’t exist.

However, from her words, Li Nuo sensed a hint of gossip.

His father must have been very popular with women when he was young.

Otherwise, people wouldn’t still be thinking about him twenty years later.

Aunt Song Zhen seemed to be looking at him, but her eyes were actually filled with the image of his father in his youth.

“Li Nuo gege (older brother), let’s go play jianzi (shuttlecock kicking)!”

Li Nuo felt uncomfortable under her gaze. Thankfully, Song Mu Er came to the rescue. Song Zhen’s gaze shifted away, and she waved her hand, saying, “Alright, alright, go play with Mu Er…”

Li Nuo didn’t play jianzi with Song Mu Er. His shuttlecock kicking skills were worse than the Song family’s maids, and he wouldn’t waste his life expectancy on it.

At his suggestion, they ended up playing Gomoku (five-in-a-row).

Li Nuo only understood the basic rules of Go, and wasn’t very good at it. Since Song Mu Er didn’t know how to play Go either, Li Nuo taught her the simpler Gomoku. While playing, Li Nuo suddenly remembered something and said, “Sweet potato, sweet potato, I’m a potato!”

The girl opposite him was studying her move, without raising her head, she said, “You want to eat sweet potato? I’ll have the kitchen make some for you later…”

Li Nuo was speechless. “Ning Er, stop pretending to be your sister…”

As the twin sister, Song Ning Er had a particular fondness for impersonating her sister and did so tirelessly.

But how could one person trip in the same place three times?

Song Ning Er finally realized something and raised her head, coldly snorted, “Why is she the older sister? She was only born a little earlier than me! If Mother had given birth to me first, I would be the older sister…”

Exposed by Li Nuo, the embarrassed and enraged Song Ning Er messed up the game board and ran away.

An identical figure walked in from outside, seeing this, immediately asked Li Nuo, “Did Song Ning Er impersonate me again?”

Li Nuo nodded.

Song Mu Er raised her head proudly, “It’s a good thing I’m smart, making you use a code each time. Otherwise, I would have been fooled again!”

Li Nuo didn’t want their sisterly relationship to become so strained, so he said, “Sisters shouldn’t always act like enemies. You’re the older sister, you can give in to her a little.”

Song Mu Er snorted, “She always tries to take everything from me…”

However, Li Nuo gege was right. She was the older sister, and older sisters should act like older sisters. She wasn’t as petty as Song Ning Er. After a difficult internal struggle, she looked up at Li Nuo and said, “Li Nuo gege can tutor Song Ning Er and play with her, but you must promise that besides Jia Ren jie jie (older sister), you’ll always be best friends with me!”

Faced with Song Mu Er’s naive request, Li Nuo helplessly said, “Okay.”

“Pinky swear!”

“Pinky swear.”

After making an agreement with Song Mu Er, they played Gomoku for a while before it was time for lunch.

The lunch was held in the same hall as the matriarch’s birthday banquet. A long wooden table was set up, extending almost from the back of the hall to the entrance.

The Song Mu Er sisters sat next to their parents.

Li Nuo and Song Jia Ren, being the youngest in terms of seniority, sat at the back of the long table. Li Nuo sat at one end of the table, opposite him was Song Yu.

Song Yu glanced at Li Nuo and Song Jia Ren, then quickly looked away.

Although Jia Ren had beaten him up a lot as a child, she was still his sister, and he hoped she could be happy.

He had always resented his most excellent sister marrying a fool.

Therefore, he had always disliked Li Nuo, looking for trouble whenever he could.

Now that he wasn’t a fool anymore, Song Yu found him more tolerable. Even though he had suffered losses at his hands, as long as his sister was happy, it was fine.

Song Qian, sitting next to Song Jia Ren, was already in a bad mood. When she looked up, she noticed that one of Song Yu’s eyes was bruised and asked, “Xiao Yu (Little Yu), what happened to your eye?”

Song Yu quickly lowered his head and said, “Nothing, I accidentally bumped it.”

Song Qian frowned, “Accidentally bumped it… Show me how you accidentally bumped it again.”

Song Yu remained silent, head bowed.

Song Qian asked with a stern face, “Who did it?”

At this time, a young man sitting next to Song Yu said, “It was those two Zhou brothers. They two against one, so Yu ge (older brother Yu) lost.”

Li Nuo had already met the Song family’s relatives last time. The young man who spoke was named Du Jin, the youngest son of Aunt Song Zhen.

Song Qian put down her chopsticks and said angrily, “Unbelievable! Do the Zhous think our Song family has no one? Song Jin, are you just going to watch your brother get bullied by outsiders?”

In this branch of the Song family, Song Qian was the eldest sister. Being called out by her older sister, before Song Jin could say anything, Song Yu said, “Eldest Sister, don’t worry about this. I’ve already issued a challenge to the Zhous and made arrangements with my friends. Tomorrow, we’ll teach them a lesson in the small woods behind the academy…”

Song Qian asked, “Are your friends reliable? When I get back to the Chen family, I’ll tell my husband to let Chen Yu and the others go with you to back you up…”

Song Yu confidently said, “Wang Hua just broke through to the Inner Breath Realm. Dealing with the Zhou Yu and Zhou Tao’s useless lackeys, one against ten wouldn’t be a problem. Tomorrow, I’ll definitely get my revenge!”

Li Nuo, who had been quietly eating, looked up at them.

He wasn’t a Song family member and had no blood relation with Song Yu. It didn’t make him as indignant as Song Qian when Song Yu got beaten up.

He only knew that Song Yu and another group had planned a group fight for tomorrow.

Da Xia Law stipulated: For unarmed brawling, forty lashes; for assaulting with weapons, sixty strokes of the bastinado; for knocking out teeth, damaging ears or nose, blinding an eye, or breaking hands or fingers, one year of hard labor; for knocking out two or more teeth, two or more fingers, or shaving one’s head, one and a half years of hard labor; for breaking a person’s limb or blinding an eye, three years of hard labor; for three or more people ganging up to injure someone, the punishment is increased by one level; for five or more people, increased by two levels; and for ten or more people, increased by three levels…

With his current understanding of the Treasured Tome, the stronger the criminal and the higher their status, the more life expectancy is added to the sentence.

Legalists practicing their arts found it easier to improve their cultivation by judging princes and nobles than commoners.

Song Yu and the Zhous had invited quite a few people to the fight tomorrow, including martial arts experts.

If he could take down all of them in one fell swoop, wouldn’t that be great?

Just thinking about this made Li Nuo uncontrollably happy.

Song Yu, while planning the fight, inadvertently glanced at Li Nuo across from him and found that the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch with a smile. It seemed like he was laughing at him being beaten. Filled with shame and anger, he put down his chopsticks and asked, “What are you laughing at?”

Li Nuo waved his hands repeatedly. “Nothing, I just suddenly thought of something happy…”

(End of Chapter)

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