One

After Xu Wen monopolized power, with the assistance of Yan Keqiu and Luo Zhixiang, government affairs were unimpeded, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and Huainan had become a rare place in the country without war.

After Xu Wen adopted Xu Zhihe, Mrs. Xu gave birth to two more sons, Xu Zhizheng and Xu Zhige, in addition to the third son Xu Zhizhi, who died young, Xu Wen now has five sons and one adopted son, except for the youngest Xu Zhizheng and Xu Zhige, the others are all adults. Xu Zhihe is still an adopted son and a servant in Xu's Mansion like when he was a child, he is never idle at home, and he always rushes to do the work he can, but Xu Zhixun is still that virtuous, he always likes to ridicule Xu Zhihe when he has nothing to do, he once asked Xu Zhihe:

"My father and mother raised you, how do you plan to repay Xu Fu for such a great kindness to you?"

Xu Zhihe said respectfully: "Big brother, my life belongs to the Xu Mansion, and my father's kindness to me will never be forgotten." ”

Xu Zhixun said nonchalantly: "Don't live forever, just this life, Xu Zhihe, you remember, your life belongs to my Xu family." As he spoke, he poked Xu Zhihe's chest with his fingers, then turned around and left arrogantly with his hands behind his back.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Wen's birthday has arrived, and since Xu Wen is now a one-man leader, many officials in the DPRK and China have come to congratulate him. Xu Wen held a birthday banquet and drank and chatted with the officials. At this time, Xu Wen's sons all came over, and Xu Zhixun knelt in front of Xu Wen with his younger brothers: "The child wishes his father good fortune like the East China Sea, and his longevity is better than Nanshan." Xu Wen said happily, "Okay, let's get up." Then Xu Zhihe also came over and knelt down, "The child thanks his father for his nurturing grace, and wishes his father happiness like the East China Sea and longevity than Nanshan." Xu Zhi's voice was like a bell, and Xu Wen said happily: "Okay, you didn't disappoint your father, get up quickly." Xu Wen looked at Xu Zhihe, his face showed his liking, Xu Zhixun saw Xu Wen looking at Xu Zhihe with such eyes, and he felt very uncomfortable. Xu Zhixun didn't like Xu Zhihe, and his parents always praised Xu Zhihe in front of him, saying that he was so sensible and filial that he lost face in front of his younger brother; Second, he felt that Xu Zhihe was very good at performing in front of his parents, so he could get benefits from his parents. Xu Zhixun suddenly had an idea to make Xu Zhihe ugly in front of everyone and give him a dismount, so he walked up to Xu Wen and said:

"Dad, today is your birthday, and the child doesn't have any congratulatory gifts, so it's better for me to try my swordsmanship with Zhihe to cheer up my father."

Xu Wen was happy when he heard this, "It's rare for my son to be filial, He'er, you can learn from your eldest brother." ”

"Yes, Dad." Xu Zhihe replied.

Xu Zhihe knows Xu Zhixun very well, he is a very conceited guy with strong self-esteem, and he definitely doesn't just want to learn from himself.

Two

Xu Zhihe was thinking about it, Xu Zhixun had already made a move over there, and he was still shouting, "Xu Zhihe, look at it." Xu Zhihe hurriedly dodged, Xu Zhixun stabbed a few swords in a row, and Xu Zhihe dodged again. Seeing that Xu Zhihe couldn't dodge the move, Xu Zhixun was unhappy, "Xu Zhihe, what do you mean, look down on me?" Xu Zhihe saw that Xu Zhixun was angry, so he made a move. Xu Zhixun has a hot temper, usually very conceited, and always feels that he is skilled, so he is fierce, and his sword is fast and ruthless, but he is not allowed to hit, and he is not precise in stabbing. And Xu Zhihe has a calm personality, smart and studious, his sword seems to be slow, but the moves are offensive and defensive, there is a degree of advance and retreat, and the swordsmanship is exquisite, and the two of them are not up and down for a while, and the hall is full of applause, and from time to time there are sounds of "good", "beware", and "attacking". Xu Zhixun originally wanted to behave well in front of Xu Wen, and by the way, let Xu Zhihe make a fool of himself, but he didn't expect that he couldn't win against Xu Zhihe, and he didn't take advantage of it, so he was in a hurry, and his moves were even more ruthless, and every sword went straight to Xu Zhihe's body. Xu Zhihe understood Xu Zhixun's thoughts, thinking that if Xu Zhixun was not allowed to win, with his temper, he would definitely hold a grudge in the future, and his adoptive father actually had high expectations for Xu Zhixun, the eldest son, and definitely hoped that his own son could win. Xu Zhihe was thinking, at this time Xu Zhixun stabbed over with a sword, the speed was very fast, everyone was shocked, Xu Zhihe quickly dodged, made a false move, and the sword grazed his left shoulder.

"Okay, big brother is a little more skilled." It was Xu Zhixun who spoke first, his voice was very loud, and it could be seen that he was deliberately cheering for Xu Zhixun.

Xu Zhihe hurriedly said to Xu Zhixun: "The eldest brother is very skilled, and he is good at swordsmanship, and I am willing to bow to the younger brother." ”

"You can't say it early, you didn't dodge it! Don't blame me. Xu Zhixun said proudly and loudly, with a smug expression on his face.

"Big brother, it's the younger brother who is not good at learning, which makes the eldest brother laugh." Xu Zhihe said.

Everyone on the side flattered Xu Wen, some said, "Oh, the eldest son is good at swordsmanship, he really does it", and some said, "The tiger father has no dogs, the eldest prince is really a masterpiece." Xu Wen heard everyone praise Xu Zhixun and said happily:

"Okay, you are all my good sons, and you didn't disappoint the old man," Xu Wen said happily, "That's all for today, He'er, go and bandage it." ”

Xu Zhixun was very happy when he saw everyone praising himself in front of his father, he needed Xu Wen's approval too much.

Three

The wound was just a skin injury, it didn't matter to Xu Zhihe, the banquet was still going on over there, and Xu Zhihe felt that he didn't need to go any further, so he went to the street alone. Xu Zhihe thought as he walked, his adoptive father had high hopes for his eldest son Xu Zhixun, after all, he was his own son, how could his father not want his own son to be promising, he was right to let Xu Zhixun win just now, otherwise his adoptive father would naturally be unhappy if he had no face, and it would not be good for him.

At this time, a young man hurriedly ran from the opposite side, and several people chased after him and shouted "Catch him, kill him". Xu Zhihe was very curious, so he stopped the young man and asked what happened? The young man glanced at Xu Zhihe and said anxiously, "Childe save me." Xu Zhihe looked at the person in front of him, dressed simply, with a haggard face, as if he had been beaten, but he had a Chinese face, thick eyebrows, and a dignified appearance, not like that kind of bad social youth, so he shouted to the person who was chasing:

"Stop, what are you going to do?"

Several people walked up to Xu Zhihe, and the leader of them spoke, "He owes our master money, I want to take him back today, don't be nosy, if you know each other, go away, otherwise we are welcome." ”

Xu Zhihe didn't want to entangle with them, so he clasped his fists at them and saluted, "Under Xu Zhihe, I don't know how much he owes your master?" ”

The man at the head was taken aback, "But is it the son of Lord Xu Wen's family?" Xu Zhihe nodded. Who doesn't know Xu Wen in Huainan now! I all know that Xu Wen has many sons, and there is a word "knowledge" in the middle of the name, such as Zhixun, Zhiqing, Zhizhi, etc., even if you haven't seen it, as long as you hear Xu Zhi's name, the locals can guess that it is Xu Wen's son.

So the man said: "Since it is Xu Gongzi, then we don't embarrass him, but he owes our master money and must pay it back." ”

Seeing that the other party was speaking confidently, Xu Zhihe guessed that the other party should not be unreasonable, so he said: "I paid him back the money I owe to your master, but I came out in a hurry today and didn't bring any money with me, and I asked him to send the money over tomorrow, what do you think?" ”

"Since Xu Gongzi has said so, then we have no opinion, Xu Gongzi, how offensive." The man said to Xu Zhihe. Then he waved his hand to several other people and shouted "go", and several people followed.

Seeing those people leaving, the young man said to Xu Zhihe, "Thank you Young Master Xu." ”

"I don't think you're like a person who does bad things, how can you owe money to others? Still let people chase after the streets? Xu Zhihe asked.

"I didn't do anything bad, I did something good." The young man said with a smile.

"Do good deeds and let people chase them all over the street for money?" Xu Zhihe asked suspiciously.

"Hey, it's hard to say, Childe, I invite you to a drink to show my gratitude." Xu Zhihe felt that this young man was really interesting, he was chased for money just now, and now he wanted to invite himself to drink.

"The point is, do you still have the money to invite me to drink?" Xu Zhihe asked. I saw the young man digging out of his body, and then spread his hand in front of Xu Zhihe's eyes, and looked at Xu Zhihe slyly, "Master Xu, no more, no less, just enough to drink." ”

Xu Zhihe felt more and more interesting about this person, so he happily agreed, "That's good, it's better to be respectful than to obey your fate." ”