Xu Xi stumbled and nearly fell in front of the gates of the Changchun Marquis Estate.

Hearing the anxious call from behind, he turned his head and saw Xu Fang running out, panting.

At this moment, Xu Xi froze.

He had never seen his eldest sister in such a disheveled and distraught state.

In his impression, his sister had always been dignified and courteous, like all young ladies who had received strict instruction.

He had even felt somewhat disgusted by her like this.

“Eldest brother, where are you going?” Xu Fang caught up to him. Because she had run so urgently, loose strands of hair hung down over her forehead.

The old woman behind quickly caught up and grasped Xu Fang’s arm: “Eldest miss, it’s cold outside. Please go inside and rest.”

The old woman appeared respectful, but she applied full force with her hands.

Xu Fang couldn’t move and called out: “Let me say a few words to eldest brother, then I’ll return to my room.”

Neighbors from all around and passing pedestrians cast curious looks their way.

The old woman’s voice grew louder: “Eldest miss, the eldest young master has already been expelled from the family by the marquis. From now on, he is no longer a person of our marquis estate. Please don’t make the marquis angry—hurry back to your room.”

What? The eldest young master of the Changchun Marquis Estate had been expelled from the family?

The onlookers immediately pricked up their ears, momentarily thinking they had heard wrong.

Not long ago, those thugs had just made a scene at the door with the eldest young master of the Changchun Marquis Estate. How long had Young Master Xu been inside before being expelled from the family?

Even though the Xu clan head lived in the alley behind the Changchun Marquis Estate, opening the ancestral hall and removing a name from the clan register couldn’t happen this quickly, could it?

Xu Fang, a delicate young woman, couldn’t compare in strength to the burly old woman and was soon forcibly dragged back.

Even as she was pushed through the side door, she still twisted her head to look anxiously at Xu Xi.

Xu Xi saw this, and his originally numb expression turned to anger. He rushed over and roared: “Let go of my eldest sister!”

The steward came out with several servants, and the side door was directly closed.

Xu Xi glared fiercely at the steward: “Open the door! I want to see my eldest sister!”

The steward smiled without warmth: “Please don’t make things difficult for this humble one, eldest young master. The marquis has said that from now on, you are not permitted to step foot in the marquis estate.”

Xu Xi grew even angrier: “You’re just a servant—how dare you speak to me this way?”

The steward’s lips curved with a disdainful smile: “The eldest young master is still confused. Though this humble one is a servant, I am a servant of the marquis estate—no longer your servant.”

Xu Xi’s fury faltered. He stared at the steward, at a loss for words.

From a young master of a marquis household to a stray dog without a home—how could one immediately adapt to such a change in status?

More and more people stopped to watch the excitement. Even with snowflakes still falling, it couldn’t block people’s enthusiasm for gossip.

The steward cupped his hands outward and announced loudly: “Let the neighbors know—Xu the eldest is unruly and incorrigible, addicted to gambling. To prevent the family from being harmed by him, today the marquis has painfully expelled him from the family. From now on, he has nothing to do with the marquis estate.”

Upon these words, the crowd was shocked yet also felt it was within reason.

This eldest young master of the Changchun Marquis Estate had been good-for-nothing since childhood. Causing trouble was a daily occurrence. Now he had actually taken to gambling, losing five thousand taels of silver in one go. If this continued, wouldn’t he bring disaster to the entire family?

For the sake of the family, driving such a wastrel son out of the household was perfectly normal.

Xu Xi listened to the steward’s ruthless words and subconsciously looked at those watching the excitement. What he saw were faces full of indifference.

Among those people were the old uncle who had given him candied hawthorn when he snuck out to play as a child, and the old auntie who had given him a handkerchief to press against his wounds when he returned from fights.

And now, these people looked at him with indifference, believing his expulsion from the family was perfectly justified.

A profound sadness rose from his heart, suppressing his full chest of anger.

Xu Xi slowly straightened his back and walked outward step by step. When he reached the people watching the excitement, they silently parted to make way.

The steward stood with the servants beside the stone lions outside the main gate, coldly watching that dejected figure gradually recede into the distance, his eyes full of amusement.

The eldest young master was completely finished. With the madam in a good mood, how could rewards be lacking?

A clamor of voices approached.

“Make way, make way.”

The onlookers, hearing the shouts, subconsciously moved to both sides. Seeing a team of bailiffs walking over, their eyes immediately brightened.

They had thought the excitement was over—how were bailiffs now appearing on the scene?

A team of bailiffs wearing the uniforms of the Five City Military Commission came to the gates of the Changchun Marquis Estate. The lead bailiff cupped his hands toward the steward: “May I ask if the marquis is present?”

“Does the officer have business?” The steward felt puzzled. His eyes swept over the people the bailiffs had brought, and his expression changed slightly.

Those several were people from the marquis estate!

Sweeping his gaze over the several thugs who had come to cause trouble, the steward’s heart sank even further: Not good—something has happened!

As Yang Shi’s confidant, of course he knew about the madam’s arrangements after she had taken out five thousand taels of silver to send off the thugs.

The madam had instructed him to quietly send people to follow the thugs and find an opportunity to rob back the five thousand taels of banknotes.

These men were specifically selected from among the household guards for their good martial skills. How had they become entangled with people from the Five City Military Commission?

The lead bailiff pointed at those men: “While on patrol, we discovered these men committing robbery. After interrogation, we learned they are servants of the marquis estate.”

Robbery?

Upon these words, the crowd immediately erupted in commotion.

The steward’s face darkened: “Officer, please don’t jest. How could people from our marquis estate commit robbery?”

The security for this area around the Changchun Marquis Estate was managed by the Western City Military Commission.

The steward thought to himself: Did the people from the Western City Military Commission have problems with their brains, troubling the marquis estate over a few thugs?

How could the lead bailiff not guess what the steward was thinking? Yet he could only smile bitterly to himself.

They didn’t want to either—they were being coerced by Miss Luo!

Of course they wouldn’t antagonize the Changchun Marquis Estate over a few thugs, but to avoid offending Miss Luo, they could only bite the bullet and come. Who told Miss Luo to be the precious pearl in Grand Marshal Luo’s palm?

Grand Marshal Luo had entered prison and then come out. It was said that Eunuch Zhou had personally brought rewards to the Grand Marshal’s estate to visit, showing the Emperor’s favor toward Grand Marshal Luo.

Cannot afford to offend, absolutely cannot afford to offend!

The lead bailiff used his peripheral vision to quietly sweep a glance at the people watching the excitement.

In the crowd, a young lady in a blue cloak was smiling as she looked at him.

The lead bailiff couldn’t help but shudder.

This young lady had dared to slap the young princess of the Pingnan Prince’s estate even while Grand Marshal Luo was in prison. If they couldn’t satisfy her today, what good outcome would they have?

The lead bailiff pointed at the several thugs with bruised and swollen faces: “These men are the victims.”

The onlookers looked closely—hey, weren’t these the thugs who had come to collect the debt not long ago?

There was no mistaking them. That thug with triangular eyes was so ugly.

The triangular-eyed man, noticing he had become the focus of everyone’s gaze, immediately shouted loudly: “The marquis estate certainly calculated precisely! You repaid your eldest young master’s gambling debt with the front foot, then sent people to follow and rob us with the back foot. What kind of conduct is this? When we arrived just now, we even heard that Young Master Xu had been expelled from the family. Tsk tsk, it’s clearly a case of a rotten beam making crooked rafters—birds of a feather flock together. Young Master Xu’s expulsion is unjust!”

“Silence! You thugs, if you continue to spout nonsense, don’t blame the marquis estate for being impolite!”

A youth’s cold voice rang out: “They are not spouting nonsense.”