Not far from the place where the circus troupe performs, there is a courtyard.

This is exactly where the circus troupe rents and lives.

The owners of the courtyard are a father and son duo, with the elderly owner in his fifties and the young owner in his twenties.

A few months ago, they rented out the front yard to the circus troupe while the father and son lived in the backyard.

In the courtyard, the young owner calculated the time and felt that the circus troupe should be returning soon.

So he got up, picked up his teapot and a teacup, and excitedly headed towards the outer courtyard.

He thought that when he handed a bowl of hot tea to the young girl, Xiu'er, she would shyly thank him and give him a smile.

Feeling warm inside, he quickened his pace, eager to see his beloved.

Just as he stepped past the backyard gate, he smelled a whiff of rouge, followed by a seductive female voice.

"Oh! Young Master! What’s the rush?"

The speaker was a woman, a very flirtatious woman.

She dressed boldly, with her chest half-exposed, leaning slantingly against a pillar, lightly powdered, with charming eyebrows and seductive eyes.

While speaking, her handkerchief brushed across the young master's face, the fragrance entering his nostrils, the touch of the handkerchief on his skin making him tingle.

The young master, being an innocent young man, couldn't handle it, retreating repeatedly and pleading.

"Sister-in-law, please don’t tease me!"

After saying this, he didn't dare look at the woman and turned away, feeling embarrassed and at a loss for words.

However, he couldn't help but think how fortunate the dwarf in the circus troupe was to have such a beautiful and flirtatious wife.

"They won't be back for a while, come keep me company and chat for a bit!"

The woman moved even closer.

The fragrance of the woman was overwhelming, making the young master's feet feel unsteady as he took another step back.

"You know, my husband leaves me at home every day, I'm bored to death! Why don't you come and keep me company, sister-in-law is feeling lonely!"

As she spoke, she twirled the handkerchief around the young master.

The young master looked around in embarrassment, now regretting his decision to come out early.

"Oh dear! If you like our Xiu'er, I can teach you tricks to pursue girls! Guarantee you'll win over ten Xiu'ers!"

As she spoke, the woman moved closer to the young master.

Frightened, the young master dodged awkwardly, bending over and running towards the courtyard gate.

He shouted as he ran, "Sister-in-law, you must be joking!"

Laughter erupted from behind him, the woman laughing so hard she pointed at the young master's protruding body.

The young master bent over awkwardly, his face flushed red.

At this moment, the circus troupe entered the gate.

The large monkey obediently crawled into the iron cage at the edge of the courtyard.

The dwarf stepped forward, locked the cage, and patted the monkey's head.

The young master sighed in relief when he saw them enter.

Enthusiastically, he ran up to Xiu'er and poured a bowl of tea, handing it to her, "How are you, Xiu'er? Are you tired today?"

Xiu'er softly thanked him, took the tea, and drank a sip without speaking.

The young master felt something was wrong. Usually, Xiu'er always smiled, but today she wasn't smiling.

Normally, the tall guy would make fun of him in this situation, but today no one said anything.

Seeing Xiu'er's slightly furrowed brows, the young master asked.

"What happened?"

Xiu'er didn't answer.

"Did someone bully you, Xiu'er? Whoever bullies you, I won't stand for it," he said, looking towards the others.

The crowd remained silent, confirming to the young master that someone must have bullied his beloved Xiu'er.

Feeling a surge of anger, he shouted, "Who was it? I'll go settle the score!"

Saying this, he turned to look for a weapon.

He picked up a bat from the wall, "Xiu'er, tell me who it was, I'll kill him!"

He spoke fiercely.

"The Marshal's son, the young marshal!"

The tall guy spoke up.

"Fine! I'll go teach him a lesson!" he said angrily, heading for the door.

Halfway there, he realized something.

Turning back, he asked again, "Who?"

The tall guy stepped forward and loudly repeated, "The Marshal's son, the young marshal, the son of the newly appointed Southwest Border Defense Commander!"

The young master, crestfallen and at a loss for words, didn't know where to put the bat.

The young marshal was not someone he could afford to offend.

The tall guy laughed heartily, snatched the bat from his hand, and said, "Young master, we appreciate your sentiment, it's none of your concern!"

The young master, seeing everyone looking at him, felt a bit embarrassed and stubbornly said, "The young marshal! So what? The young marshal can't bully people, I don't care who he is, he can't bully Xiu'er!"

But his voice was a bit low, and those standing farther away couldn't hear him clearly.

But the tall guy, standing close, heard him.

He handed the bat back to the young master, cupped his hands, and said, "Then we thank you, young master, for standing up for us!"

The young master, holding the bat, didn't know what to do.

"Tall guy, stop messing around!" said the dwarf.

The dwarf stepped forward, glared at the tall guy, took the bat from the young master's hands, and pulled him back into the courtyard.

"Don't worry, young master, it was just a misunderstanding. Everything's fine. You can go back now!"

Not knowing what to say, the young master glanced at Xiu'er and then turned back to the backyard.

After the young master left, the woman who had been standing inside stepped out.

"The young marshal? What happened? Did he bully our Xiu'er?"

She walked up to Xiu'er, looking her over to see if she was hurt.

Xiu'er shook her head, indicating she was fine.

Standing to the side, the old man, who was Xiu’er’s father, explained what had happened to the woman.

Unexpectedly, the woman laughed and said, "This might not be a bad thing."

Xiu'er and the old man looked at the woman, confused.

"That’s the young marshal, wealthy and powerful. If he really fancies Xiu'er, that would be great. You can live a good life in the future!"

"Unlike some people who have nothing!" the woman said, glancing at the dwarf preparing food for the big monkey.

Her words were pointed.

The dwarf pretended not to hear, focusing on feeding the monkey, but the tall guy couldn't stand it.

He glared at the woman, "How dare you say that! Don’t forget, if it weren’t for my big brother risking his life to save you from that place, you wouldn’t be standing here talking nonsense!"

Glaring at her brother-in-law, the woman stopped talking, fuming silently.

Seeing the woman at a loss for words, the tall guy grew bolder and continued.

"Sister-in-law, you’re a woman, look at what you’re wearing. You’re not discreet at all, I'm telling you, my big brother cherishes you and won't hit you, but I won't stand for it! If I find out you betray my brother, I’ll chop your head off!"

The tall guy spoke aggressively.

The woman, unafraid, put her hands on her hips and retorted, "You dare scold me? I'm your sister-in-law, you best watch what you say. And what does it matter to you what I wear? I think you just can’t stand me."

As she spoke, she began to cry and list all the ways the tall guy had wronged her.

The two bickered, the woman eventually trying to hit the tall guy.

The tall guy couldn't hit back, since she was his sister-in-law, so he had to endure it, but he didn’t stop arguing, which made the woman even angrier, reaching out to scratch his face.

Seeing the commotion, the old man and Xiu’er hurriedly stepped in to separate them. Xiu'er grabbed the woman, but she was so furious it was hard to hold her back.

Luckily, the dwarf, having finished feeding the monkey, turned and angrily shouted, "Enough!"

The dwarf's anger finally made both the tall guy and the woman stop. Both were fuming and refused to look at each other.

Walking over to the woman, the dwarf harshly reprimanded her, "Go inside!"

The woman stomped her foot and angrily went inside.

The dwarf turned to Xiu'er and her father, "Forget it, we can't stay here much longer. We'll leave in a few days!"

Father and daughter thanked the dwarf.

Turning, the dwarf was about to go back to his room, but the tall guy, still angry, stood in his way.

The dwarf jumped up and slapped the tall guy's leg, cursing, "Move!"

The tall guy finally stepped aside.

He also stomped his foot and went to his own room.

Father and daughter exchanged glances, smiling.

This family argued like this every few days; the brother-in-law couldn’t stand his sister-in-law, and she couldn’t stand him either.

The old man went back to his room, and Xiu’er went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for everyone.

The courtyard quickly quieted down, everyone busy with their own tasks, just like in other courtyards in the city. Some were cooking, some were arguing, some were loving. This is the breath of life.