Li Shiyan had long prepared himself, knowing that the Marquis of Kangding would certainly scold him. He just hadn’t expected him to be waiting directly in his room!

Facing the overwhelming torrent of reproaches from above his head, he learned from past experiences to remain silent, waiting for the old man to finish scolding and calm down on his own.

“If it weren’t for the fact that you were at General Su’s manor, and Minister Zhu greatly respects General Su, do you think my old face could have been preserved today?”

“…” “Don’t think I don’t know what schemes you’re plotting in your heart. It’s actually General Su helping you. With you being like this, discussing scholarly matters? I’d sooner believe a sow could climb a tree than believe you would strive for improvement.” The Marquis of Kangding was, after all, his own father. Though he seemed muddle-headed, his heart was actually clear as a mirror.

Li Shiyan raised his head and said, “Father, is this how you talk about your own son?”

“I gave birth to you, so why can’t I criticize you?”

“But today I really did go to find Ziluo to discuss scholarly matters. If you don’t trust me, you can’t possibly distrust him, right? Could it be that Ziluo would dare to collude with me?”

“This…” The Marquis thought it over and realized it was true!

General Su was an upright person who naturally wouldn’t lie to help this stinking brat make excuses.

He waved his hand dismissively and said, “Fine, fortunately Minister Zhu said nothing today. Otherwise, how could I face him in court in the future?”

Li Shiyan knelt on the ground lazily, completely improper!

Seeing that his father’s anger had mostly subsided, he asked, “Father, are you really planning to make me marry Minister Zhu’s daughter?”

“What? You don’t want to marry her?”

“I’m still young, I haven’t… had enough fun yet!” He lowered his head, his voice getting smaller and smaller, like a mosquito’s bite.

Looking utterly aggrieved!

Hearing this, the Marquis of Kangding shouted angrily: “Young? Look at everyone else in the capital who’s your age—they’ve all already married, had several children. Only you, this worthless thing, cause me trouble every day. Now all you know is to play—play, play, play. Sooner or later, you’ll play away the entire marquis manor.”

“It’s not that serious!”

“How is it not that serious? Right now you’re just waiting to inherit your old man’s title to live off of. Do you think that once you inherit it in the future, you’ll be free and easy? Let me tell you—no!” The Marquis of Kangding stood up, pointing at his head and saying, “The title isn’t your money tree, nor is it your shield from the wind. If in the future you make even the slightest mistake, in others’ eyes it will be a tremendous error, and the Emperor won’t spare you either! He might even take your head. If you don’t strive for improvement now, who will protect you after I die? Now I’ve gone through great difficulty to find you such a good marriage match with Minister Zhu’s family, which can help you in the future! But if you ruin this marriage arrangement, I’ll cut you down with one stroke myself.”

A blatant threat!

Li Shiyan had been threatened countless times since childhood. His ears had already developed calluses from hearing it. He treated it as going in the left ear and out the right, not taking it to heart at all.

Anyway, he would eat what he should eat, drink what he should drink, sleep when he should sleep—not missing a single thing, that was the way.

Of course, now wasn’t the time for him to be stubborn. When it was time to yield, he still had to yield.

He said weakly, as if he hadn’t eaten: “Yes, your son understands. I definitely won’t cause trouble for you, Father, and will definitely marry properly and obediently.”

“Good that you understand.”

“Father’s teachings are correct.”

Seeing him like this, the Marquis stopped venting his anger further. His expression changed, becoming slightly gentler as he said: “Today, Minister Zhu’s daughter came to the manor. That child is very sensible, looks clean and proper—truly the daughter of a prominent family. Moreover, she’s well-educated, reasonable, and understanding. Knowing you didn’t come, not only did she not get angry, but she very sensibly said it was fine. But ultimately we were negligent, so in a few days you should personally go to Minister Zhu’s manor for a formal visit, which will also serve as an apology.”

What?

Li Shiyan was astonished: “A formal visit? So Father, you’ve already decided?”

“Yes, it’s set for three days from now. After all, we can’t delay too long. Your marriage must be settled quickly, lest you cause some trouble and waste all our efforts!”

“Father, I…”

“Shut up. It’s already decided. You have no say in the matter. In any case, these next few days you’ll behave and stay properly at the manor. If you dare go out again, I’ll break your legs.” After the Marquis finished speaking, he looked toward the doorway and called out, “Xiao Luzi, come in.”

Xiao Luzi, who had been kneeling outside, heard the summons and quickly got up and ran in. With a “thud,” he knelt on the ground again: “Master, this humble one is here.”

The Marquis said, “These next few days you won’t be attending to the Young Master. Go help in the kitchen.”

“Ah?”

“If it weren’t for you helping the Young Master at every turn, the Young Master wouldn’t have had opportunities to leave the manor. If I still let you stay with the Young Master, I’m afraid he’ll become completely lawless.”

Li Shiyan quickly said, “Father, if you send Xiao Luzi away, who will attend to me?”

“There are so many servants and maids in the manor—are you worried there won’t be anyone to serve you?”

“But…”

“If you ‘but’ again, I’ll lock you in here and have you eat, drink, and relieve yourself all in this room.”

Good grief!

Even a vicious tiger doesn’t eat its cubs!

Li Shiyan truly felt the meaning of this saying.

Unfortunately, he still had to rely on his old father for his meals. If he spoke of backbone at this moment, he would definitely be the one to suffer, so he could only lower his head.

“Yes, your son understands.”

The Marquis cast another imperceptible glance at him before sweeping away with his wide sleeves!

Li Shiyan rubbed his knees and got up from the ground, frowning as he kicked Xiao Luzi’s shoulder: “You’re really useless.”

Xiao Luzi sat on the ground: “Young Master, you can’t blame me for this!”

“Now it’s good—can’t go anywhere. If I don’t blame you, should I blame myself instead?”

“This humble one… didn’t mean that.”

Li Shiyan sat down in the spot where his father had just been sitting, his face extremely unpleasant. Forced to this point, he was also at his wit’s end. Staring at Xiao Luzi, he said, “Forget it, forget it. Hurry up and get me some medicine.”

“Medicine?” Xiao Luzi got up and asked, “What medicine does the Young Master need?”

“My arm was pierced by Ziluo’s silver needle. It hurts terribly. Go get me… just get some pain-relieving medicine.” He removed his outer garment, which was stained with blood, then removed his inner clothes one by one, revealing that robust arm where the spot pierced by the silver needle was caked with blood.

The pinhole-sized wound had bled a lot, and the area around the wound had also turned purple.

Xiao Luzi took one look and was frightened: “Young Master, could Master Su’s silver needle be poisoned?”

“If it were poisoned, would I still be able to come back alive?”

“Then what is this?”

“Ziluo’s things have always been such that no poison is worse than poison. I reckon I’ll be in pain for several days. Hurry and find me pain-relieving medicine. Fortunately, I can rest for these next few days anyway.”

“Yes, this humble one will go right away.” Xiao Luzi swiftly went to fetch the medicine.