Chapter 157: Young Master Li Xiang

Passing by, Xue Zuo’s face darkened, and he quickly stepped forward to correct him, "It's Great Uncle-in-law."
"Father," Xue Mingrui saluted.
Seeing this, Jiang Lan also joined in the salutation, "Great Uncle."
"Mhm," Xue Zuo nodded, then looked at Wu Zhe, "Is my brother-in-law heading to mother's place?"
Wondering if she was overthinking, Jiang Lan felt that Great Uncle’s pronunciation of the word "brother-in-law" was exceptionally clear.
Wu Zhe’s gaze shifted to Xue Zuo, and without uttering a single word, he walked straight past.
Jiang Lan was pulled away to another spot by Xue Mingrui, "Let me tell you, running into just one of them is fine, but if you see both, the best of the thirty-six stratagems is to slip away."
Xue Mingrui was just about to pull Jiang Lan away to escape, but unfortunately, before they had taken a few steps, they were called back by Xue Zuo from behind.
"Where are you going? Get to work! Guests are arriving one after another; Third Brother and Fourth Brother are both up front greeting them, the two of you aren't getting out of this."
"Aren't we heading right over?" Xue Mingrui muttered under his breath.
"Ruofu, what did you say?" Xue Zuo’s tone was gloomy; one could tell at a glance that he had just been bullied mercilessly by the Prince of Qinghe.
"Nothing, Father, you heard wrong. We're going right now," Xue Mingrui said, cupping his hands in salute.
Jiang Lan was still somewhat bewildered by the current situation. Seeing Xue Mingrui cup his hands, she was just about to do the same when Xue Mingrui tugged at her clothes and pulled her outward.
"Phew, close call. We need to hurry, otherwise all the good chores will be snatched away by Third and Fourth," Xue Mingrui said while straightening his clothes as he walked.
"What? Are there good and bad chores even for welcoming guests?" Jiang Lan was baffled by Xue Mingrui's words. Back on Mount Wu, whenever there were banquets or grand events, her mother personally supervised them, Qi Qi helped out on the side, Ah Yan acted as the public face, and as for her—she just needed to stay far away.
Ever since she didn't know when, those deities and spirits would look at her as if they had seen a ghost whenever a banquet was held at home. The very first news leaked would be her whereabouts and how many years she was expected not to return~~ otherwise, truly no one in the Six Realms would be bold enough to come.
Ugh, ugh, ugh, so she really didn't understand the twists and turns behind all this.
"There are plenty of twists and turns to this. You better start learning. Cousin Jiang Lan, aren't you reaching the age of capping soon? Given your family's situation and the lack of a female head of the household, you'll be handling everything inside and out all by yourself. Even if you invite elders from the clan to help out, it wouldn't be proper for them to overstep and handle certain matters for you. You might as well learn beforehand."
Jiang Lan nodded, then corrected him, "In the Jiang family genealogy, my seniority is actually quite high. Most of them are my cousin-nephews' wives and cousin-grandsons' wives."
"..." Xue Mingrui hadn't anticipated this outcome and shook his head, "That makes it even more so. It would be even less appropriate for your cousin-nephews' wives and cousin-grandsons' wives to overstep you, their elder. By then, won't you be worked to death or exhaustion?"
Jiang Lan nodded, "Indeed, I should learn."
"A child worth teaching," Xue Mingrui nodded, "Let's go. Today, we'll first learn how to receive and interact with people in Jiankang City."
When Jiang Lan and the others arrived at the main gate, some familiar households were already vaguely arriving.
Standing right at the entrance was a middle-aged man who looked very much like Great Uncle Xue Zuo, along with two young gentlemen greeting the guests.
"Fourth Uncle, Third Brother, Fourth Brother."
"Fourth Uncle, Third Cousin, Fourth Cousin," Jiang Lan also greeted them in unison.
"Second Brother, Cousin Lan," Xue Mingfang and Xue Mingshi, the two brothers, returned the greeting as well.
The Fourth Master of the Fourth Branch glanced over and nodded, "You're here, then start helping out. Don't just stand around."
Fourth Master Xue wasn't surprised at all that Xue Mingrui had brought Jiang Lan along, and he very familiarly put the younger generation to work—Jiang Lan naturally being no exception.
Xue Mingfang was the eldest son of the Second Branch and ranked third among the brothers. Influenced by his mother, Lady Zhou, he was exceptionally lively and articulate.
"Second Brother, you've really stolen half a day of leisure from a busy life. Fifth and Sixth Brothers have been driven off their feet by Fourth Uncle and are still inside, at their wits' end, guiding Prime Minister Li."
Xue Mingrui was surprised, "Prime Minister Li is here too?"
Xue Mingfang nodded, "Not just Prime Minister Li, that bookworm of their family is here as well."
"A bookworm?" Jiang Lan joined in their soft whispering.
Xue Mingshi, the Fourth Young Master of the Fourth Branch standing nearby, frowned, "Is it proper for us to talk like this?"
Jiang Lan glanced at Xue Mingshi standing beside her; as expected of a child from the Third Branch's household, he was utterly earnest.
Although Xue Mingshi felt it was inappropriate, everyone in front of him was an older brother, so he could only voice his opinion, which didn't have much effect.
In the end, Xue Mingrui made the call, "Which of you is going to accompany this young master?"
"Let Sixth Brother go. Fourth Uncle is Prime Minister Li's prized student, and Sixth Brother is Fourth Uncle's only son; Sixth Brother going is most appropriate," said Xue Mingfang of the Second Branch.
"No, that young master from the Zhao family is coming today, and Sixth is thick as thieves with him. Zhao Yang is alright, but some of his close friends below tend to say inappropriate things when they speak; it's better not to cross paths with them," Xue Mingrui analyzed.
Xue Mingfang nodded, "Second Brother thinks things through thoroughly. The only ones left of similar age are Fourth and Fifth Brothers. Second Brother, look—hey, hey, hey, don't look at me, Second Brother, you know how it is on my mother's side; a whole bunch of maternal cousins have all arrived today. We haven't seen each other in ages and are definitely going to chat for a long time. I really can't make it."
Xue Mingrui sighed and looked once more at Xue Mingshi, the Fourth of the Third Branch.
Jiang Lan also watched the spectacle, expecting Xue Mingshi to argue his way out as well, but she didn't expect him to actively nod instead.
Just as Jiang Lan was feeling surprised, Xue Mingrui shook his head, patted Xue Mingshi on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Never mind then."
"..." Xue Mingshi thought to himself, *It's rare for me to take the initiative for once.*
Then Jiang Lan watched as Xue Mingrui's eyes landed on her. Xue Mingfang and Xue Mingshi looked over as well.
"Not bad, not bad. No one was originally assigned to Cousin Lan today; Cousin is the most suitable," Xue Mingfang clapped and praised.
Sensing all hope was lost, Jiang Lan looked at the honest Xue Mingshi, only to find that he, too, was nodding in agreement.
"Fourth Cousin, you!" Jiang Lan drooped her head in frustration, looking once more at Xue Mingrui, "Second Cousin, you—you—you can't do this! I am not familiar at all with Prime Minister Li's grandson, how am I supposed to host him?"
"Since ancient times, awkwardness turns to familiarity after the first meeting. Besides, which person in Jiankang City are you familiar with?" Xue Mingrui gave his signature pat on Jiang Lan's shoulder, "It's settled then. Later, Cousin will adjust the seating and seat you together with Prime Minister Li's young master."
"..." Jiang Lan thought to herself, *Do I even have room to object?*
With no other choice, Jiang Lan had to accept the arrangement.
After the few of them huddled together to discuss for a long while, Fourth Master Xue, standing a few paces outside, coughed, "Imperial Tutor Fang’s family has arrived."
Xue Mingrui waved his hand, and the brothers immediately separated and stood at attention.
Jiang Lan wanted to slip away, but was directly grabbed by Third Cousin Xue Mingfang and handed over to Xue Mingrui.
"Imperial Tutor Fang, Lady Fang," Fourth Master Xue said, cupping his hands in salute. The younger generation on the side also saluted, adding respectfully, "Young Master Fang, Eldest Miss Fang, Second Miss Fang."
"Grand Tutor Xue." Imperial Tutor Fang turned his gaze to the young men standing junior to Fourth Master Xue of the Xue family, recognizing a familiar face, "Heir Jiang is here too?"