Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 19 The Power of the Liu Family
Liu Shiyuan greeted his mother-in-law, saying, "Your son-in-law greets you, Mother."

Liu Sijun followed closely behind: "Sijun greets her maternal grandmother. Is she well?"

Old Madam Chu is ninety-one years old this year, but looks like she is in her early forties. She is thin and wears a dark purple robe with dark patterns. Her hair is all tied up and there are a few white hairs, but she is still very energetic.

Du Qiufen also looked at her granddaughter whom she hadn't seen for a long time.

With eyebrows like willow branches and eyes like autumn water, she wore a moon-colored long dress embroidered with delicate plum blossoms, making her both radiant and elegant.

In short, Du Qiufen was very satisfied.

She beckoned to Liu Sijun: "Jun'er, come here."

Liu Sijun took two steps forward and stood to Du Qiufen's right. As soon as he stood still, his hand was grabbed, and he immediately felt warm spiritual energy flowing into his palm.

Liu Sijun looked at Du Qiufen with surprise.

Why did he test her cultivation level the moment they met? Did he know she was using a magical artifact to conceal her cultivation level?

A few breaths later, Du Qiufen released her hand and said with a warm smile, "Jun'er has grown up and looks more and more like your mother! If my son were still alive, you wouldn't have to suffer in the other courtyard."

Liu Shiyuan's expression was extremely unnatural.

This is essentially blaming him for not investigating the matter thoroughly before sending the person to another residence.

They really came to demand an explanation.

“Mother-in-law, the poison was indeed found in Si Jun’s room. It just so happens that the two of them had argued the day before about the training quota, and it’s understandable that my son-in-law didn’t notice it at the time.”

"How dare you say that? When I suddenly heard the tragic news of A-Yue's death, I was heartbroken and went into seclusion after the seventh day after her death. But when I came out of seclusion, I heard that Jun'er had poisoned her elder sister and asked you to investigate again. But you stubbornly insisted that the evidence was conclusive and told me not to interfere in your Liu family's affairs."

It makes me angry just thinking about it.

Her two sons visited her twice during her seclusion, demanding that Liu Shiyuan investigate the poisoning incident, but were met with indifference each time.

Then they planned to go to the other courtyard and take Liu Sijun away directly, but for some reason, the child refused to leave no matter what they said.

But she is his own granddaughter after all, how could he really let her go?

Six months later, after leaving the pass, Du Qiufen sent someone to the villa to bring the person back to the Chu family.

Unexpectedly, the old woman in the villa said that the person had already returned to the mansion and that she did not want to have any further dealings with the Chu family, and should not come again.

In a fit of anger, he severed all ties with the Liu family.

Looking back now, the reason I was deceived by that old woman was because the entire Liu family was controlled by Aunt Zhu. She deliberately spread the news to the Chu family that Jun'er was doing well in the Liu family and was unwilling to pay attention to the Chu family.

Now that the truth has come to light, she has come to her senses.

I've been deceived by Aunt Zhu for the past few years.

Her granddaughter didn't hate the Chu family; she was simply caught in a situation she couldn't control.

“At the time, all the witnesses and evidence pointed to her. Otherwise, why would the son-in-law send Si Jun to another residence? It was to let her lay low for a while.”

Du Qiufen snorted coldly, ultimately not investigating further.

Old Madam Liu spoke up: "Elder sister, no matter how you look at it, we have wronged Jun'er. Don't worry, I guarantee that such a thing will never happen again."

Liu Sijun watched coldly the whole time.

They said all this without knowing that the original owner had already died at the behest of Aunt Zhu.

The suffering she endured that year could not be forgiven with a few empty promises.

“Grandmother, as a daughter of the Liu family, it’s nothing for Jun’er to suffer some grievances. But some things can’t be solved by suffering a little grievance.”

The two old ladies, along with Liu Shiyuan, all looked at Liu Sijun with confusion.

The old lady asked, "What brings you to say that, Third Girl?"

“A few days ago, my granddaughter received an invitation from Marquis Molin, who invited her to the government office today to watch the prefect’s public trial. After the trial, Marquis Molin invited her to Qingfeng Teahouse for drinks, and he spoke highly of his father.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Shiyuan excitedly stood up from his chair. "Really?"

Liu Sijun flipped his palm over, and a red invitation card with gold foil stamping immediately appeared in his left hand, with a delicate red plum blossom in the lower right corner.

Liu Shiyuan blushed slightly and carefully accepted it.

The first thing you see when you open it is the signature and seal in the lower left corner.

It is undoubtedly Mo Linhou.

After reading it, Liu Shiyuan handed the invitation to the old lady.

Old Madam Chu glanced at it and confirmed that it was indeed an invitation from Marquis Molin.

“Father, you must already know about the matter concerning Prefect Chen Dafeng these past few days. Prefect Chen has been sentenced to death, and the position of prefect is now vacant. When Grandfather was alive, our Liu family was firmly the head of the three major families, but now…”

Liu Sijun did not continue speaking.

Sometimes, it's better to leave things unsaid.

Liu Shiyuan, however, followed Liu Sijun's lead and thought about it more deeply.

Old Madam Chu's two sons, the eldest, Chu Yanghua, is sixty-four years old and already at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, while the second son, Chu Yinghua, is fifty-nine and also at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Old Madam Chu herself broke through to the Nascent Soul stage last year and became a Dao Lord in the Divine Transformation stage. Not to mention the Chu family head, who frequently travels outside for training, whose cultivation is even more unfathomable.

The Qin family has also developed rapidly in recent years. The head of the Qin family is eighty-one years old and has already reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. His only son, Qin Songyu, is eight years older than him, fifty-two years old, and has also reached the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage. Qin Shuyao, who is known as the most beautiful woman in Laiyang County and is Qin Songyu's youngest daughter, is twenty-two years old and has already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

She is even more talented than Qin'er.

In contrast, the Liu family's patriarch, at forty-four years old, was still only at the peak of the Golden Core stage and had yet to form his Nascent Soul.

My mother made some progress a few days ago, but she's still far behind Old Madam Chu.

Of the second and third wives, apart from Liu Mingyan who is of decent quality, none of the other young wives are worth mentioning.

The only consolation is that when his father was alive, he recruited two rogue cultivators to stay at the Liu family, and now they have both broken through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

Even so, the Liu family's current position remains awkward.

In the past decade or so, the Qin and Chu families have surpassed the Liu family in influence.

Especially the Chu family.

The Liu family had to avoid their sharp edge.

Five years ago, a daughter from the Qin family married into the Chu family, making the Qin and Chu families related by marriage, which made the relationship between the three families even more delicate.

If, at this time, one could obtain a recommendation from Marquis Molin.

His chances of becoming the governor of Laiyang Prefecture would greatly increase, and more resources would be allocated to the Liu family, making their position as the head of the three clans even more secure.

Liu Shiyuan was both pleased and dissatisfied.

I was delighted that Liu Sijun had such a good relationship with Mo Linhou that he was able to receive an invitation from him.

The dissatisfaction was naturally expressed by presenting the invitation in front of the matriarch of the Chu family.

This has made the Chu family more prepared.

"If Marquis Molin were to hear about the affairs of our Liu family, I wonder what he would think. If he can't even be fair and just in his own family matters, how can he govern the people of a prefecture?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Shiyuan's eyes narrowed.

However, he didn't speak harshly to Liu Sijun like he had in the study earlier.

At this moment, Old Madam Chu spoke up: "Jun'er and I haven't seen each other for a long time, so let's have a good chat. Jun'er, go to your Qingqiu Courtyard."

After the two left, only Liu Shiyuan and her son remained in Ci'an Hall.

(End of this chapter)