Golden Branch

"It's A-Lin and A-Lang!"

Lou Yu curled the corners of his lips, showing a standard elder brother smile.

He said softly, "Why did you come to the Dali Temple? Are you looking for me? Or is there something else?"

As twins, Lou Lin and Lou Lang look somewhat similar.

A teenager of about eleven or twelve years old, with fair skin and three-dimensional facial features.

She has the high nose and deep eyes of a northern noble, as well as the graceful and elegant appearance of a southern beauty.

But they are still young and have not fully grown up yet, so they cannot compare with the unparalleled handsome Lou Yu.

However, both of them have excellent temperaments and look like spoiled children from wealthy families.

As a male, Lou Lin is also the eldest son of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion. Although he looks young and immature, he already has the bearing of the heir of the Duke's Mansion.

Lou Lang is a girl, and more importantly, a younger sister, and is the darling of everyone in the Anguo Mansion.

She was raised to be particularly noble and pampered.

The two were born from the same womb and their age difference is less than half an hour, but Lou Lin is more stable and behaves like an older brother.

When facing Lou Yu, Lou Lin was mostly calm and composed, with only a hint of admiration and respect occasionally flashing in his eyes.

Lou Lang is more naive and straightforward, and is very close to and dependent on his elder brother Lou Yu.

Hearing Lou Yu speaking to them like a gentle and tolerant elder brother, Lou Lang hurriedly said, "Brother, we're here to see you!"

Lou Lin nodded slightly, indicating that she agreed with her sister's answer.

Lou Yu continued to maintain a gentle facade, his voice becoming softer and softer: "Oh? Did your uncle give you any instructions? Or is there something going on in the mansion?"

"Brother, it's not about Yeye, nor about matters in the mansion, but——"

Lou Lang was indeed naive. She only saw Lou Yu's smile and didn't hear the alienation in his words at all.

As the heir to the Duke's Mansion, Lou Lin did have some feelings, but he was also lost in Lou Yu's disguised behavior as an elder brother.

The key point is that Lou Lin needs Lou Yu's help. Even if it is just false brotherly harmony and sibling affection, he will try his best to maintain it.

"Brother, this isn't the place to talk. Let's find a quiet place and tell you everything in detail, okay?"

Lou Lin interrupted Lou Lang and said in a deep voice.

He has the air of a grown-up, but he is young, and both his personality and behavior are immature.

His little tricks were totally insignificant to Lou Yu.

Lou Yu did not point it out and continued to act as his tolerant and generous elder brother.

Lou Yu glanced around with his lively fox eyes and said, "Okay! Follow me."

The gentle elder brother patiently took his younger siblings out of the Dali Temple.

Officials from the Dali Temple and minor clerks coming and going all witnessed this scene of "deep brotherly love."

"Lou Shaoqing truly has the demeanor of an ancient gentleman, abiding by the rules and valuing friendship."

"...What's the big deal? They are blood brothers after all."

"How can they be brothers? Lou Shaoqing has already been adopted. They are just cousins."

The Dali Temple is a place that pays the most attention to laws. According to the "Yu Law Commentary" that Dayu is currently revising, adoption means severing the original blood relationship and establishing a new relationship protected by law.

This is not just the law of Dayu, but the etiquette and laws that have lasted for one or two thousand years.

Adoption is not just about one person or one family, but involves clan relations at the entire social level.

Once it is easily broken, the impact will be huge and far-reaching, and the consequences will be serious.

"Even if the child is adopted, the bloodline cannot be severed!"

"Lou Shaoqing has no barriers. He is very friendly to his younger brother and sister-in-law."

“…” Lou Yu is kind to everyone, so how can he be “friendly”?

Everyone watched quietly and discussed among themselves.

Lou Yu didn't care about all this and he did whatever performance he was supposed to do.

The Lou family and the Anguo Mansion were just insignificant to him.

After leaving the government office and finding a quiet alley, Lou Yu paused and said softly, "Tell me, what's the matter? Are you still in trouble? Do you need my help?"

His eyes were gentle, with the calmness and tolerance of an older brother who was like a father.

It seemed that as long as his brother and sister-in-law asked, he would help them with all his strength.

"Brother, I am already twelve years old this year. All the heirs of the Lou family have joined the army since they were twelve."

Lou Lin spoke first, his eyes determined: "I want to go to the military for training!"

It’s a pity that the Lou family handed over the military power, and the Lou family army that had been passed down for two hundred years no longer existed.

As the heir of the Lou family, Lou Lin started practicing martial arts since he was a child.

In his heart, he also set the title of Grand General as his goal.

He wanted to be like the ancestors of the Lou family and become a brave general commanding thousands of troops on the battlefield.

However, with the decline of the Anguo Mansion, the Lou family no longer had a military camp for Lou Lin to train.

A few days ago, the army set out to conquer the West. Lou Lin stood on a high platform and watched the army leave in a mighty procession. He felt both envious and lost.

If the Lou family army was still there, even if he could not join the Western Expedition Army, he should still have a chance to gain experience.

Unfortunately, no if.

The Lou family has a reputation for military merit, but they are far away from the army.

Fortunately, the Lou family did not completely fall into ruin, and they still had Lou Yu.

Lou Yu was a civil official on the surface, but in the past two or three years, he compiled history, edited clan records, and participated in the revision of laws, becoming the most outstanding newcomer among the civil officials.

However, Lou Lin always remembered that his elder brother, who came from the Helou family, a family of military honors, grew up on horseback and started wrestling with his father in the military camp at the age of three.

He switched from martial arts to literature at the age of seven, but he never gave up martial arts.

At the age of fifteen, with the help of a Fang Tian Ji handed down from the ancestors of the Lou family, he intimidated several powerful generals of General Lou, led an army of 100,000, attacked the Turks directly, and went deep into the grassland.

...The world may forget the glorious military achievements, but the men of the Lou family will never forget them.

Even though Lou Yu has now become a rising star in the civil service, a gentle gentleman admired by the world, he still possesses tremendous power.

Lou Lin was very sure that with his eldest brother's influence and ability, it might be difficult for him to directly control the military power, but it would be absolutely easy to arrange for one or two young men from the clan to go to the military camp for training.

Lou Lin didn't want to use the back door to become a special person with connections.

He just wanted Lou Yu to give him a chance so that he could compete fairly with other young men.

Lou Yu could sweep away thousands of troops with a single halberd, and Lou Lin had also been studying Lou family martial arts since childhood. Even though he was not as good as his elder brother, he dared to compete with his peers.

"Alin, do you want to go to the military camp for training?"

After hearing what Lou Lin said, Lou Yu's gentle eyes fell on his biological brother who had the same father and mother.

When he first saw the twins, Lou Yu thought they came for the Dugu family.

Because of her mother's family and her brother's family, Dugu caused a lot of trouble to the Anguo Mansion.

Not to mention anything else, the annual salary of the two nephews alone adds up to 10,000 strings of cash.

Ten thousand guan!

This is a huge amount of wealth that ordinary people cannot accumulate in their entire lives.

Even for some wealthy families, ten thousand strings of cash is by no means a small sum.

The Duke of Anguo's Mansion has to pay for the two cousins ​​for more than a year.

Based on their qualifications, it would take at least three to five years to achieve success in their studies.

In addition to tuition, they also have other expenses.

Food, clothing and other expenses are just a small amount of money. They entered the Lishan Academy not only to study, but more to make friends with the powerful and influential.

And if you want to interact with the men and women of this class, it will definitely cost a huge amount of money.

Drinking tea, drinking wine, attending banquets, playing football...which one of these doesn't require money?

This is a bottomless pit.

In other words, the Duke of Anguo's Mansion is rich enough to rival a country. The Lou family has accumulated wealth for hundreds of years, and Lou Jin has accumulated wealth from fighting for many years, so it can be consumed in this way.

But, even if they are rich, they are all surnamed Lou. How can they give too much advantage to people with other surnames?

As the eldest son of the Duke of Anguo and the future heir of the Lou family, every penny that Dugu spent on her natal family and her brother's family originally belonged to Lou Lin.

It’s okay that Lou Lin is an adult, his character and knowledge are relatively mature.

But he is not. He is eleven years old in age and twelve in lunar age, still a half-grown child.

At this age, it is easy to be influenced by the outside world.

All kinds of rumors and malicious provocations could make Lou Lin feel resentful, and then -

It just so happens that the one who is paying homage to her parents' family is her own mother, and her father is one of the most wife-doting maniacs in Beijing.

Never mind that it was just a small amount of silver. Dugu estimated that even if she gave half of the Duke's Mansion to her mother's family or her brother-in-law's family, Lou Jin would not say anything.

With parents like this, it is easy to feel a sense of crisis if you just put yourself in Lou Lin's shoes.

Lou Yu thought that Lou Lin came to him to complain and asked him, his elder brother, to help him go to the Duke of Anguo's Mansion to persuade his parents.

did not expect--

"I underestimated Lou Lin! Although he is young, he is very smart!"

Lou Yu pondered secretly, and just from this one incident, he could make a judgment:

Lou Lin lived up to his status as the heir to the Lou family.

He did not focus on the small profits in the inner house, but understood what was really important.

It is not the specific, quantifiable amount of money, but the status and career.

He entered the military camp for training and returned to the army as a son of the Lou family.

Even if he started as a small soldier, relying on the military tactics and martial arts passed down by the Lou family and the connections scattered in the army, Lou Lin would be able to grow up in three to five years.

By then, the remaining power of the Lou family army will have faded, and when the saint goes out to fight again, he will most likely reuse Lou Lin, who has "stood out" in the army.

After going to the battlefield and making military achievements, he also has his elder brother Lou Yu as a backing in the court. Lou Lin will surely grow into the new generation of general of the Lou family!

People who are smart and know what they want can soar to great heights if given a chance.

Like Wang Heng, Lou Yu attached great importance to the cultivation of talents.

They are also ancient indigenous people, and deep down they trust clans, blood ties, etc.

One's own people are far more reliable than outsiders. This is not just a blood bond, but also the restrictions of etiquette and law.

The Nine Clans Elimination Game is based on the family tree.

They are of the same clan and ancestry, and they share the same prosperity and adversity. They are naturally allies of interests and are far more reliable than outsiders.

If Lou Lin was mediocre or even a fool, Lou Yu would naturally ignore him.

However, Lou Lin is smart and clear-headed, which makes him worthy of Lou Yu's investment.

Moreover, Lou Yu's reputation as a gentleman also requires the right tools...