Xu Feng's honor was at stake.
Although, to be fair, when wasn't it?
A strange, manly, village ger with an ambiguous claim to respect—mostly due to his striking silver hair and the deep-colored mole between his eyes—Xu Feng had always been an enigma. His lineage was a subject of speculation within the main Xuan family, yet that curiosity never shielded him from being treated like livestock, bartered off as a tool for securing heirs.
His honor had long been a fragile thing, constantly trampled under the feet of his in-laws.
But that was then.
Now, even if he refused to take any more scholars' exams, even if he hadn't yet made his official debut into Donghua's upper class—by marriage or otherwise—his name in Yilin Town needed to be spotless. His character, unquestionable.
Xu Zeng still had his future to consider, and whether they left Dongzhou or not, Xu Feng refused to let his brother's potential be tarnished by lingering doubts about him.
