Traveling to Daliang Kingdom starts from falling into the water

Chapter 1142 How could one not be tempted?

Gu Wenxuan was not surprised that his father-in-law had such concerns. It was quite normal; the world is bustling, and everyone is driven by profit.

Not to mention the Wen family, a long-established family in Dingzhou, even the Gao family, whose ancestral home is not in Dingzhou, if they could suppress his master, how could Lord Gao be so soft-hearted?

He had thought of it, and his father-in-law had naturally considered that with the rise of the Zhou dynasty in Dingzhou, the Wen family, whose power had already waned since the death of Grand Tutor Wen, would decline even further.

If it weren't for his husband's close relationship with Wen Shibo, and the fact that the Wen family wasn't the only prominent family in Dingzhou, what right would the Wen family have to control the Dingzhou wharf?

To put it bluntly, the power of the Dingzhou wharf should have been returned to the Zhou family of Dingzhou, just as the imperial court returned the ancestral property of the late Duke of Liang.

However, his husband and the head of the Zhou clan in Dingzhou had no such intention. Apart from the ancestral property returned by the imperial court, they did not want to deal with anything else and had no desire to take over anything else.

Of course, this wasn't without its advantages. When the imperial court returned the ancestral property of the late Duke of Liang, the gentleman took over it smoothly, both officially and in the community.

But then again, the Wen family isn't in charge of the household, so if there were an opportunity to collude with the Gao family and step on his husband to rise to power...
How could one not be tempted?
Just like back then, the downfall of the Liang State Duke's Mansion enriched countless powerful and noble families in the capital, and the Zhou Family Village alone enriched many families in Dingzhou.

Once his husband also falls, the Liang State Duke's Mansion will be almost completely ruined. What is there to fear then? There are only so many resources at the top, and who wouldn't want to take his place?

Let alone a high-ranking official, anyone who could climb a higher rank would be willing to risk bloodshed over a steamed bun. It would be a waste of their time in the officialdom if they didn't fight tooth and nail for it.

Fortunately, "I'm not afraid. Even if those two families resent my husband, they both know perfectly well that even if they join forces, they are no match for him."

As long as my husband is alive, even if both families include all their in-laws, they will not unite against him.

Since things had come to this point, Gu Wenxuan decided not to hesitate any longer and that there was no need to hide anything from his discreet and meticulous father-in-law.

After saying that, he picked up Yuan Ge'er from Zhou Sishun's lap, turned to the side, lowered his head and whispered in Zhou Sishun's ear, "My husband has a few good brothers."

The person in charge of the Wen family now owes my master a favor in order to seek refuge with my junior uncle. The Wen family will be the first to fall into my master's palm.

As for the remaining Gao family, my aunt is such a capable person, how could she allow the Gao family to one day use her kindness to make him subject to the control of Master Gao?
Since my aunt instructed Madam Gao to personally invite Madam Wen to Zhoujia Village to pay respects to the Lady of Liang, it was most likely a strategic retreat.

Think about it, back then, she watched as the Zhou family clan in Zhoujia Village either died, scattered, or were exiled. Wasn't Zhoujia Village practically extinct?

"So why not simply give up the territory to protect Madam Gao for a while, instead of letting Madam Gao's family dominate, and let Madam Gao and Madam Wen go have fun?"

Gu Wenxuan was surprised that his father-in-law could react so quickly and pick up where he left off. He paused for a moment, then said, "I think my aunt probably had that thought back then."

After all, when it comes to Dingzhou, the Wen family had a long-standing marriage alliance with the Zhou family of Dingzhou, and when Dingzhou was in trouble, the Wen family did not take advantage of the situation.

Supporting any one family is not as good as supporting the Wen family. If it were me, I would also support the Wen family and hand over the dock power to them, so that Zhoujia Village would not be fragmented.

As a result, even though no one with the surname Zhou lives in Zhoujia Village anymore after so many years, it has been well preserved, not to mention that the ancestral graves are still being maintained.

This is also one of the reasons why Second Master Wen was able to seek refuge with Junior Uncle in time. After all, the Master still remembered this favor and couldn't help but want to protect the Wen family for a while.

Otherwise, why would Junior Uncle personally make the trip for someone as lowly as Second Master Wen, a mere Assistant Director in the Ministry of Revenue, who needed to be exonerated and reinstated after his mourning period?

Junior Uncle was on his way to Zhoujia Village to pay respects to your aunt when he happened to pass through the prefectural city and was caught by your Uncle Wen? Zhou Shunxin had doubts, but quickly put his mind to it.

Otherwise, he was genuinely worried that he might have missed something crucial, perhaps a major secret, because his third son-in-law was just too quick-witted. He'd barely caught half a sentence before his son-in-law moved on to something else, leaving him unsure what to ask—it was incredibly frustrating!

"My junior uncle, he's with that person—" Gu Wenxuan was holding his son and couldn't free one hand, so he had to raise his chin and look up at the roof.

Seeing this, Zhou Sishun, both amused and exasperated, snatched his grandson away.

Just as he expected, his third son-in-law whispered to him, "His status is no less than that of my husband."

Zhou Shun knew this.

Ever since he met the child's junior uncle, he had heard his daughter Sanya tell him about this person's background in private.

This man is not only the most favored youngest among his elder brother and fellow disciples, but he also has the surname Liang and is a true descendant of the imperial family of the founding emperor.

The scariest thing is!

Not only is he a descendant of the imperial family, but his father was also the sworn brother of the current emperor, and died in battle when he stormed the palace gates to seize the throne for the current emperor.

In the words of his third daughter, even though her junior uncle and elder brother had been granted the title of prince by imperial grace, her junior uncle would at least have the title of county prince sooner or later.

"To say something no one can hear, even Senior Brother Qian's maternal uncle, who is now the heir of the Prince Rui's mansion, is far less favored by that person than Junior Uncle."

look!
And you say your junior uncle isn't doing anything in Jiangnan behind the scenes? Nobody believes that. Just based on his father's dying wish, he'll eventually get a title of Prince.

On Thursday, Shunxin learned that her third son-in-law had said this—comparing him to the heir of the Prince Rui's mansion was no different from openly stating that her junior uncle was serving the current emperor.

In that case, as long as the young master doesn't become estranged from his elder brother, there's no need to worry that the Wen family will be instigated by the Gao family to trip up his elder brother.

"Among my husband's group of fellow disciples, don't be fooled by the fact that Uncle Qian has the strongest backing on the surface. In my opinion, Uncle Qian doesn't even rank in the top five."

"Oh, how so?"

"It's still true that everyone has their taboos."

After speaking softly, Gu Wenxuan first listened quietly to what was happening outside.

It has to be said that his wife is incredibly smart.

The coordination was absolutely perfect, frequently making his mother-in-law burst into laughter, which alone was enough to drown out the loud noises of the father-in-law and son-in-law.

Besides, how could the father-in-law and son-in-law possibly talk loudly the whole time? "Listen, listen, I don't even need to tell my wife what I'm doing beforehand, and she understands everything."

"I'm not bragging, but look around, is there any couple in this world more in sync than us? It's a shame you didn't like me before—"

Which pot is not opened and which pot should I lift?
They're deliberately keeping us in suspense!
If he hadn't been holding his grandson, Zhou Sishun would have wanted to slap his third son-in-law. Of course, his feet weren't idle either, and he immediately raised one foot!

"Haha, okay, okay, I was wrong. But before we get down to business, shall we decide on building that house over there?"