Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Huaining Marquis Sun Weifan has been sneezing all the time lately for some reason.

He thought he had caught a cold, so he went to find a doctor, who took his pulse and examined him. The doctor said he was in good health, so the Marquis of Huaining sent the doctor away.

No money was given.

The Huaining Marquis' Mansion was deserted. Apart from a gatekeeper and a cook, there were only Sun Dasheng and his son. In the words of Sun Weifan, the Huaining Marquis' Mansion did not keep idle people.

Actually it’s because I have no money.

Sun Dasheng's mother died early, and Sun Weifan never remarried, so the not-so-small mansion was empty, without even flowers, plants or trees.

However, Sun Weifan didn't care at all. He designated most of the space in the mansion as a martial arts training ground.

They practiced with sticks in the front yard and with swords in the back yard. The swords, spears, sticks and weapons were the flowers, plants and trees in the mansion of Marquis Huaining.

He was tall and sturdy, holding a stick in his hand, and was dancing vigorously in the open space. He seemed to feel a little hot, so he threw his clothes aside, revealing his strong muscles.

It just seems that because of frequent drinking, the belly is a little big, a typical fat-wrapped muscle.

"Dad, let me play boxing with you?" Sun Dasheng walked over and said with a chuckle.

"Are you sure?" Sun Weifan put down the stick in his hand, feeling a little expectant and confused.

What he practiced were not fancy moves, but killing skills passed down from his ancestors. Even in sparring, accidental injuries were unavoidable.

Although Sun Dasheng was beaten by Sun Weifan since he was a child and was relatively resistant to beatings, he could at least hold back when beating others, which was not necessarily the case in a fight.

Ever since Sun Dasheng dislocated his arm in a sparring match with his father last time, he has never sparred with his father again.

At the beginning, in order to pass on his martial arts, Sun Weifan forced Sun Dasheng to practice with him. But later, Sun Weifan gradually realized that he did not like socializing and he had no chance to display his martial arts after practicing it all his life.

From then on, Sun Weifan allowed Sun Dasheng, Xu Wenyuan and other young masters to make trouble all day long. Although he did not gain any fame, at least he had a friend. Unlike him, he had nothing but martial arts.

"Well, I'm afraid that you'd be bored practicing martial arts alone, so I came here to cheer you up." Sun Dasheng said as he took off his clothes.

"Hahaha! Okay, okay! Come, let daddy see what you can do." Sun Weifan laughed, and his two iron fists clenched with a crackling sound.

It is certainly more helpful to practice with someone than to fight against the air alone. Although the opponent is a bit weak, he is his son.

Sun Dasheng grinned and went on the court with a huff.

The sound of fists colliding was heard on the field. After a quarter of an hour, Sun Dasheng was wailing from being beaten by his father. In the past, Sun Dasheng would have called for a stop by this time.

But today he was unusually tough. Even though his whole body was sore from being hammered by his father, he still gritted his teeth and endured it.

"It's so satisfying! It's so satisfying! My son has made progress. Come on!" Sun Weifan became more and more excited as he beat him, and occasionally he laughed heartily. He hadn't felt so happy in a long time.

Another half a quarter of an hour passed, and Sun Dasheng was lying on the field gasping for breath, unable to get up.

Sun Weifan was very satisfied with his son's performance, but just felt it was a little strange.

Is it really because you are afraid that he will be depressed?

However, this thought only lasted for a second in Sun Weifan's mind. Sun Weifan picked up the water scoop and drank a lot.

"Someone just came from the palace and delivered an invitation, saying that His Majesty is going to hold a family dinner, and specifically stated that children can be brought along.

Dad was worried about having to pay the membership fee, so he originally wanted to not bring you along, but Dad is having a good time today, so come with me to the banquet tomorrow, and I'll let you broaden your horizons."

Hearing this, Sun Dasheng, who had been beaten badly, finally smiled. He got beaten just for this family dinner.

……

At almost the same time, in the mansion of Duke Dingguo, Xu Wenyuan dismissed the two crying beautiful boys who he had raised for a long time in front of his family, and took out a copy of Zizhi Tongjian and read it very seriously.

Xu Wenyuan's raising of rabbits has always been disliked by Duke Dingguo Xu Yunzhen. He believes that raising rabbits will dampen his son's fighting spirit, although he also raises rabbits himself.

It's just like your smoking dad doesn't want you to smoke too.

After dismissing the beautiful boy, Xu Wenyuan felt empty inside, but when he thought about the great things he was going to do with his brothers in the Second Sons Group, he felt much better. Everything is lost, and playing with things will ruin your ambition. Xu Wenyuan, you can't go on like this.

Xu Wenyuan glanced at his father Xu Yunzhen out of the corner of his eye, then picked up a copy of Zizhi Tongjian and began to read it "seriously". Xu Yunzhen frowned.

Xu Wende, the eldest son of Duke Dingguo, flipped through the accounts and said to Xu Yunzhen:

"Dad, I heard from mom that His Majesty has sent invitations to all the nobles and relatives and will hold a family dinner tomorrow."

"Well, the nobles of our dynasty have shared weal and woe with the emperors of all previous dynasties. The previous emperor held it once a year, but Your Majesty has not held one in five years. It's become alienated."

There seemed to be quite a bit of resentment in Xu Yunzhen's words. The Xu family had two Dukes of England. In terms of merit and reputation, they were one of the few in the entire capital who could surpass the Duke of England.

Our ancestor, Xu Da, King of Zhongshan, was ranked first among the six founding kings and was also a relative of Emperor Wen. It can be said that the blood of the Xu family is also in the body of the current emperor.

This is also the reason why Xu Yunzhen is dissatisfied with the emperor. The current emperor treats the Xu family no differently than he treats other nobles.

"Your Majesty is frugal. The current situation is difficult, so perhaps he doesn't want to be extravagant." Xu Wende said.

"Oh, if frugality can rule a country, then Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han would be incompetent rulers. He should manage his court, and we should manage our families. Why think so much?"

"Dad, what you said is right. But Dad, what has upset my second brother?" Xu Wende glanced at Xu Wenyuan who was studying seriously, and asked in confusion.

"Who knows? He came back excitedly last night and kept telling me he would change his ways. Who knows if that's true or not?"

Xu Yunzhen was also full of doubts, but looking at Xu Wenyuan's serious expression, he didn't seem to be faking it. He even sent away the rabbits he raised. At the beginning, this kid spent a lot of money just to buy those two rabbits.

"Dad, whether it's true or not, it's always a good thing for my second brother to be ambitious. I heard from my mother that His Majesty specifically stated that he could bring his children to the family banquet this time. Why not bring my second brother along? It can also be regarded as a kind of encouragement for him to mend his ways."

As soon as Xu Wende finished speaking, Xu Wenyuan's ears perked up and his eyes rolled around not far away.

"You're not going?"

"The accounts of two of our shops don't match. I've already made an appointment with the shopkeepers to meet tomorrow to recalculate the accounts, so I won't go." Xu Wende was still flipping through the accounts while speaking, as if those account books were more attractive than the emperor's family banquet.

"Yeah, that's right, business is more important, let Wenyuan go for you.

But your Majesty's family banquet is very stingy, not necessarily as sumptuous as the food in our house, so it's not very interesting."

The corners of Xu Wenyuan's mouth curled up.

……