Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2810 Master Qingsong 28.0
“This…” Shen Cha frowned slightly, looked at Shen Haolin who was also frowning, then at Jin Miaomiao, shook her head gently, and said, “Isn’t this too frivolous? Of course, it’s not that I don’t believe in these things, but is it really appropriate to divide the family based solely on the results of divination?”

“Yes!” Jin Miaomiao chimed in, “It sounds absurd.” “As a nobleman, it’s not so easy for the Marquis of Xibo to divide his family property. This isn’t his own business; it needs to be reported and approved by His Majesty.”

Shen Haolin patted Shen Cha and laughed, "It's not that simple."

“The whole process was indeed not that simple, especially since the eldest and third young masters changed their surnames and completely severed ties with the Marquis of Xibo’s mansion. It was even more difficult to achieve this.” Song Yaojia sighed and said, “Putting everything else aside, if Gongsun Yue had gone to the palace to tell the Emperor’s uncle that his family wanted to split up based on the divination results, the Emperor’s uncle would have really kicked Gongsun Yue out. No, he would have beaten him out. He would have thought that Gongsun Yue was joking.”

“That’s true!” Shen Cha nodded slightly. “It’s not like no one has done this before, right? And this is what happened.”

"Who did it?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Song Yaojia curiously. "Can you say? If you can't, then forget it."

“There’s nothing I can’t say.” Shen Cha smiled. “Do you remember Minister of Works, Chen Shen?”

"Lord Chen," Jin Miaomiao recalled for a moment, "Oh, that imposing old man with the white beard? The one who was about five feet tall and had a mole on the corner of his mouth? The one who snorted at us when we bumped into him at the palace gate last time?"

“Yes, that’s him.” Shen Cha nodded. “Back then, the old man insisted on dividing the family property and insisted on kicking his stepmother and her two younger brothers out of the house. This matter was known not only throughout Xijing City but also throughout the entire Great Xia.”

"Why?" Jin Miaomiao frowned slightly. "Is his stepmother unkind to him?" "Not exactly unkind, but certainly not very kind. After all, according to the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty, if stepparents mistreat their children from the first wife, they will be punished if the children from the first wife file a complaint that is true. So, such situations are rare." Shen Cha sighed. "His stepmother doesn't deprive him of his living necessities and supports his studies for the imperial examinations, but she is extremely indulgent towards her two sons, raising Chen's two younger brothers to be particularly dissolute, proficient in eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring."

"Is Lord Chen's family wealthy?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Shen Cha. "It's not usually wealthy families who can't afford this, right?"

“They did have some money, which is why things turned out this way,” Shen Cha said, spreading her hands. “Later, after Lord Chen passed the imperial examination and took a position in the Ministry of Works, his two younger brothers became even more unruly because someone in their family was an official. They did everything you can imagine. What truly made Lord Chen lose his temper was that when his two younger brothers fought with the sons of powerful families, they injured innocent people, and the sons of powerful families shifted all the blame onto Lord Chen’s two younger brothers.” She looked at Jin Miaomiao, “I’ve seen the case files. It was his two younger brothers who started the trouble first. Those sons of powerful families backed down several times, but his two younger brothers wouldn’t have it.” He wouldn't let it go and kept chasing after them, so they had no choice but to fight back. Moreover, the innocent bystanders were injured by his two younger brothers, not by those scions of powerful families. The victims' families directly filed a complaint with the Jingzhao Prefecture, even accusing the prefect of protecting officials if he couldn't handle the matter impartially. This greatly affected Lord Chen. At the time, he was surveying the imperial tombs in the mountains. Upon hearing the news, he rushed back to Xijing City and, in front of the entire city, begged the prefect to make a fair judgment, emphasizing that he would not show favoritism. Then, he immediately went to the palace to meet the emperor, requesting his approval to divide the family property.

“Although the Chen family is not a large clan, they have lived in Xijing City for several generations and run several shops. If they were to split up the family,” Song Yaojia sighed softly, “it probably wouldn’t be so easy.”

“At that time, my uncle was still alive. He initially thought he was joking and even wanted to give him a few lashes and kick him out,” Shen Cha said, taking a sip of tea to moisten her throat. “But my father was also there and knew a bit about the situation. He spoke to my uncle, who also felt that the stepmother and her brother were being unreasonable. Lord Chen had already done what he should do. Since the three of them were so stubborn, they should simply separate the family and have no further connection with Lord Chen.” “But his two brothers’ cases are still under trial. Isn’t what he’s doing a bit…” Jin Miaomiao raised an eyebrow, “…severing ties?”

“That’s true to some extent,” Shen Cha nodded. “But he’ll also take responsibility, pay the compensation he’s owed, and we’ll divide the family property after the case is closed.” “I understand!” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “But why was he glaring at us?” “Because Father was there and saw all his shameful behavior.” Shen Cha sneered. “The old man is extremely concerned about his reputation, so…” She shrugged, “He’s so old, let’s just let him have his way!”

“Although Lord Chen has successfully separated from his family, they really can’t live together anymore. But Gongsun Yue…” Song Yaojia sighed, “We can’t do that, otherwise my imperial uncle will be really angry.”

"But in the end, the family did manage to separate, didn't they?" Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin. "Wasn't it solely based on divination?"

“Of course, divination is ultimately an ethereal matter, and it’s impossible to propose dividing the family property because of it. Besides,” Song Yaojia sighed softly, “the three young masters were still young at the time of the divination, making it even more impossible for them to live in separate residences. Therefore, this matter can only be put on hold for now.” He spread his hands, “But while it’s put on hold, however…”

"problem occurs?"

"Nothing major happened, but there were always minor troubles," Song Yaojia said, stroking his chin. "It's always someone getting sick today, someone else getting injured tomorrow, or a thief breaking into the house." He spread his hands, saying helplessly, "Later, the whole of Xijing knew about the Xibo Marquis's plight and felt great sympathy. The rumors even reached the ears of the Emperor's uncle and the inner palace. The Empress Dowager specially summoned Gongsun Yue, asking him to bring his three sons to the palace." "Could it be that the late Empress Dowager wanted to see just how this family had fallen on hard times?"

"No, I just wanted to see if letting this father and his three sons into the palace would cause him any trouble."

"And then what happened?" Jin Miaomiao asked curiously. "Did we really get into trouble?"

"Yes!" Shen Haolin nodded. "I heard that a young palace maid in the Empress Dowager's palace accidentally fell into the water, but fortunately she was rescued in time."

"Is it really that amazing?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Shen Haolin in surprise. "How did the Empress Dowager do it?"

"The Marquis of Xibo's residence was originally a three-courtyard house, but because of his family's situation, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's uncle bestowed the courtyard next to the Marquis's residence upon the Marquis of Xibo's residence, which is why it is the current size."

"In other words, although they didn't officially live in separate residences, they were actually separated, right?"

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “The entire Xibo Marquis’s mansion is divided into two courtyards, east and west. Gongsun Yue and his second son, who later became the Xibo Marquis, lived in the east courtyard. The eldest son and his third son lived in the west courtyard. There is a wall separating the two courtyards, with a moon gate in the wall to facilitate communication between the two sides.”