Nightwatcher

# 7. The Younger Sister Is Too Beautiful

"Ningyan?", Xu Pingzhi was stunned.

Li Ru still had tears hanging in her face, and the joyful look in her face froze.

"Two days ago, Xu Qi'an clamoured to see the Governor in the prison, saying that there was an important clue to report. Thus, the governor solved the case. According to the law, merit can atone for crime, So you'll naturally be fine.", The official said.

"Yes, Is that so...", Xu Pingzhi stammered. He had taken up and raised Xu Qi'an since he was as small as a kitten. Didn't he know what his nephew was like?

Xu Pingzhi suspected the official was lying, but he had no evidence.

The rascal nephew... Li Ru's face turned pale.

Didn't their son rely on his connections to save the family? How could the unlucky nephew have done it? Wasn't he in prison?

Alongside a lot of confusion, Xu Pingzhi led his wife and daughters out of the back door of the prison and saw Xu Qi'an, who was pulling his crow nest hair with anxiety waiting for them.

Watching his nephew, He felt his previous doubts insignificant. The martial artist was filled with warmth and his eyes were red, and he strode forward. He wanted to hug his nephew, but couldn’t let appearances down, and so just patted his nephew's shoulder hard, " Ningyan, good child."

That small pat almost killed Xu Qi’an then and there.

"Second Uncle, You are at the pinnacle of Refining Qi. We aren't at the same grade at all." Xu Qi'an said those words naturally, as if they weren't unfamiliar to him at all.

He was surprised at his familiarity, and at the same time looked over Xu Second Uncle's shoulder and looked at the three women behind him.

Hey, aunt, You never looked this worse for wear before... that idea emerged uncontrollably.

The mood of gloating over misfortune didn't last long, as Xu Qi'an was attracted by the beauty of his younger sister.[^1]

She was wearing a loose prison uniform, her scattered hair hung over her classic delicate melon seed face and her tall white nose. At first glance, she looked like a mixed race beauty.

She was at her most beautiful and innocent years, and the combination had a charm that made people unable to look away from her.

Fuck, I actually have such a beautiful and refined sister. Xu Qi'an was shocked.

The original Xu Qi'an's impression of his sister's appearance was very vague, probably due to him not paying much attention. And he probably hated the house and family due to his aunt.

He wasn't very friendly to his cousins.

Perceiving her brother's fiery eyes, Xu Lingyue timidly shouted "Big Brother", and lowered her head timidly.

"Big Brother!", A shrill sound suddenly appeared.

Xu Lingyin was five years old, so small, as she ran over, stopping with great force in front of Xu Qi'an and looked at him with her head up.

Xu Qi'an waved his hand, "I don't have any candy for you, I just got out of prison myself."

It was worth mentioning that the original owner didn't like his cousins, but he treated this little sister pretty well, because her appearance was not similar to her mother.

"What is a prison?"

"The place where you slept these days."

"What about the other brother, did he bring any candy?"

"He didn't come."

"Oh!", the child wasn't disappointed. The other brother in her mouth was Xu Xinnian from the same parents, but she still didn't know the difference between a cousin and a sibling.

The young girl wasn't very clever, She was a stupid child, probably inherited from her mother… that was what the original owner thought.

Finally, he looked at his aunt Li Ru, who had always been arrogant in front of Xu Qi'an and probably never expected that she would need to humbly thank her unlucky nephew once in her lifetime.

The beautiful woman turned her head stiffly and said reluctantly, "Thank you a lot, Ningyan…"

At the same time, a vague memory appeared in Xu Qi'an's mind.

When the original owner was rushed to the courtyard next to Xu's house by his aunt, he was angry and swore, " I, Xu Qi'an will surely succeed in the future, don't regret it!"

It felt embarrassing to think about it now, Isn't this an aunt version of *Don't bully the young and poor*.

Now viewing the relationship of the original owner and his aunt from a third person perspective, Xu Qi'an knew that this woman was not entirely to blame.

Xu Qi'an practiced martial arts, eating more than one hundred taels of silver each year, and this was equivalent to the savings of an ordinary diligent family for 20 to 30 years.

It wasn't surprising that his aunt had resentment, so Xu Qi'an said sincerely," Auntie, don't rush to thank me. You can say it when we get home for dinner."

Li Ru immediately widened her Orchid eyes and glared at her unlucky nephew.

Xu Pingzhi felt goosebumps, so said solemnly, "Lets go home first!"

...

Xu Xinnian, carrying a hip flask, staggered to the Xu house. He had lived here for 19 years. But now the door was sealed and the building looked desolate.

Xu Xinnian kicked the door open, stepped over the railing and walked a few steps in. Then he turned back and closed the door.

Suicide was not a glorious thing, and a scholar like him should have some decentness, so the attention of the government could not be attracted.

He wanted some face.

He walked from the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard, the path like a life.

He was literate at the age of three, memorized poems at the age of five, and was already familiar with the works of the enlightened at the age of ten. He entered the White Deer Academy at the age of fourteen and became a *Juren*[^2] at the age of eighteen.

It's not too much to say that he was a talent.

It could be said that his proud character was shaped by his intelligence and his extensive knowledge.

He had always been proud in front of his family, He was promising, handsome and the pillar of the Xu family in the future.

As a seven-foot man , He was willing to die vigorously rather than living in humiliation.

Thinking of this, Xu Xinnian drank from the flask in his hand and smashed it to the ground.

With the drunken feeling, He rushed into the room, rubbed his ink, picked up his pen, and wrote the best farewell poem in his life.

Xu Xinnian laughed three times and grabbed the calligraphy paper to get out of the door. He then took out the prepared hemp rope and hung it on the ginkgo tree in the inner courtyard.

He was surprised that he was facing death, but he wasn't scared of it anymore. He only felt a joy he had never felt before.

He suddenly understood those unruly crazy Confucianists, Who were famous in the world due to their fearlessness.

If you're not afraid of death anymore, There is nothing in the world worth fearing.

...

The capital was prosperous, being known as the best city in the world.

Xu Qi'an slowly walked through the lively ancient city, with carriages like running water and horses like dragons. There were shops in both sides of the street, and banners were violently inspired by the wind.

A poem couldn't help but pop in his head.

*The smoke and willow painted bridge,

the wind curtain and the green curtain,

are scattered by 100,000 people.*

In fact, the capital was more prosperous than Qiantang from the poem. From the *Geographical Records of the Great Feng*, "In the early years of Yuanjing, the population of the capital was more than 1.96 million."

It is now the 36th year of Yuanjing.

The population of the capital should have exceeded 2 million.

The Xu Family compound had three entrances and exits, and raised seven or eight servants, but now the servants had been repatriated and the gate was locked when the residents went to the building.

Auntie looked at the plaque on the door with mixed feelings, "I don't know how Xinnian is, He must be very worried for us. This child said he would save us before we went to prison." She said while walking in.

"The house prices in the capital were expensive, and the three-entrance compound had cost 5000 taels of silver. The down payment was 30%, which was 1,500 taels of silver… Bah, why do I still think about housing prices in another world?", Xu Qi'an thought.

Xu Pingzhi said relievedly, "Xinnian has read the classics and is calm and reliable. He must be still running for us at this time. When he comes back, give him a surprise."

Oops… Xu Qi'an's expression changed, he knew that Xu Xinnian was going to make a mistake.

In the eyes of the second uncle and aunt, Xu Second Brother was determined, calm , steady and reliable, and was a tough scholar.

"Hahahaha, I, Xinnian, Am a happy person in life and a happy ghost in death"

"Xu Xinnian, talented, but Heaven is unfair"

“*If the heavens birthed not I, Xu Xinnian, then the Great Feng forever, will be in night that never ends…*”

The scholar standing on the chair under the ginkgo tree suddenly took off his hair crown and discarded it, shaking his head vigorously, letting his hair hang loose.

Behaving wildly, he put his head into the noose, only then seeing his family with stiff expressions and dull eyes.

*I, Xu Xinnian plead once for a burst of freedom… I, Xu Xinnian, so talented that Heaven was did me injustice… If the heavens birthed not I, Xu Xinnian, then the Great Feng forever, will be in night that never ends…* Looking at his family that came home early, he felt that he was one step too late.

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[^1]: Before you ask, no, there is no incest

[^2]: Someone who had passed the the imperial civil service exams