Union

Chapter 182 181 Wolfish Ambition
Despite Rongguo Gong's complaints about his son, this was indeed a great teaching opportunity.

Moreover, if his son really avenges Wangchen, wouldn't Wangchen be more considerate when the marriage between the two families is mentioned later?

For all these reasons, the Duke of Rongguo subtly passed on the deep-seated scheming he had kept hidden for half his life to his son.

Although Chen Yanzhou had learned a little bit of political maneuvering from his father, this was enough for him to thrive in the officialdom.

However, Chen Yanzhou was still somewhat shocked when his father imparted all his Machiavellian skills to him.

There's a reason why my father became a Duke. His ruthlessness, cunning, shrewdness, cunning, treachery, and sharp thinking alone are enough for him to learn for a very long time.

Unable to sleep at night because he thought about Yunying, Chen Yanzhou patiently pondered what his father had taught him. The deeper he pondered, the calmer his mind became, and he was able to fall asleep very easily in the latter half of the night.

Both the Duke of Xuanguo's mansion and the Duke of Rongguo's mansion became quiet. Everyone, from masters to servants, except for those assigned to guard duty and patrol, went to rest.

Meanwhile, in the Chang'an Marquis's residence, apart from a few children, no one has been able to sleep yet.

Today, after the news of General Pingxi recognizing his daughter reached the Chang'an Marquis's residence, the second branch of the family, who had been lingering in the residence, suddenly made a big commotion.

The second master of the Chang'an Marquis's mansion is the younger brother of the Chang'an Marquis. He previously refused to divide the family property because the old lady was still alive.

After the old Marquis and his wife passed away one after another, the Third Master and his wife were sent to other places, which was considered as separating from the Marquis's mansion. However, the Second Master still played the emotional card and cried and wailed in front of the Marquis of Chang'an.

First he said, "Without parents, how am I supposed to live?" Then he said, "Brother, I've always been indecisive and have relied on you for everything. Brother, I really can't bear to leave you..."

Although this so-called "leaving" was nothing more than moving to a four-courtyard house across the street.

But the second master of the Chang'an Marquis's mansion still refused.

Living in the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion is so wonderful. Living there, they can still use the Marquis's name and identify themselves as members of the Marquis of Chang'an. Conversely, if they were expelled from the mansion, how would they be any different from those impoverished people?
Moreover, living in the Marquis's mansion, his elder brother and his wife take care of all the receptions and farewells, and he doesn't have to worry about daily expenses. How much silver must he save in a year?

The Second Master also swallowed his pride and, after crying and pleading before the Marquis of Chang'an, explained the advantages and disadvantages to him.

They said that only the two brothers were in the capital, and the third brother had been sent to a post outside the capital and it was unknown when he would return. Moreover, he had separated from his eldest brother and was sure to be estranged from him.

Only the two brothers remained in the Marquis's mansion; they should help and support each other. His son was his elder brother's nephew, and his daughters, if the elder brother needed them, could be treated as his own...

Whether the Marquis of Chang'an wanted to cultivate a reputation for benevolence and magnanimity, or perhaps he thought that the daughters of his second wife were quite beautiful and that marrying them off would be much more useful than marrying off the beauties from the estate, the Marquis of Chang'an was not sure.

Perhaps it was a combination of both, because the Marquis of Chang'an eventually agreed to the Second Master's request, allowing his family to continue living in the Marquis's residence.

Lady Chang'an disagreed with this, but she couldn't say much about what the Marquis of Chang'an had made up his mind. Moreover, while it was reasonable and legal to expel his own brother as soon as the old man passed away, it would still be criticized if word got out.

Thus, Lady Chang'an swallowed her words and kept her brother-in-law's family in the mansion all these years.

But people are never satisfied. Perhaps the Second Master felt that this matter had been accomplished too easily, so he began to have other desires.

Not only did they want to take back some of the New Year's gifts sent by other households, but they also required that Yu Lin Shuyu and Lin Shuqing have the same monthly allowances and stipends for the young ladies.

It's not a big deal.

But as such incidents became more frequent, Lady Chang'an gradually developed a dislike for her brother-in-law's family.

Before the marriage of the heir of the Marquis of Chang'an, the Marquis's wife also used the excuse of wanting to expand the mansion for the heir to discuss with the Marquis of Chang'an the possibility of moving the people from the second master's family out.

Marquis Chang'an was persuaded.

After seeing his younger brother once, the two brothers said something and then burst into tears, and the matter was left unresolved.

After this incident, perhaps knowing that it was Lady Chang'an who had caused the trouble, the second couple had cold expressions on their faces when they saw Lady Chang'an.

They did recognize who the true master of the Qing mansion was, and dared not truly frown upon Lady Chang'an. However, their temperaments had been spoiled, and they couldn't bear to be offended, so they started causing trouble one after another.

It's not that the Second Master is suffering from anemia and wants to ask for an old ginseng root from the storeroom to replenish his strength; it's that the Second Madam is going to a birthday banquet but is a little short on money and can't afford to make new clothes, so to avoid gossip, she wants to ask her sister-in-law to lend her two bolts of fabric; also, the young ladies have ordered several pieces of jewelry, and she's been eyeing them, so she's had one made too, wondering if she can use the Marquis's mansion's public accounts...

One thing after another wore down Lady Chang'an's patience to the end.

But the Marquis of Chang'an, who used to listen to her, refused to back down on this matter and insisted on letting the Second Master's family stay in the mansion.

Lady Chang'an was extremely disgusted with her younger brother's family and had long planned to kick them out of the house while her second son got married.

But as expected, plans change faster than expected.

When the Marquis of Chang'an was taken away by the Ministry of Justice, the second branch of the family was still living peacefully in the mansion. But when news came that Yunying had been recognized as the biological daughter by General Pingxi, the second branch of the family could no longer stay at home.

They learned the news in the morning, and by evening, the entire courtyard had been emptied, and the whole family had moved out of the Chang'an Marquis's residence.

With the second wife gone, the mansion became empty, and even the air felt fresher. One would think that the Lady of Chang'an should be feeling at ease, but at this moment, she couldn't care less about such things.
She sat by the candlelight, lost in thought, so engrossed that she couldn't even see the food being served to her.

In just a few days, Lady Chang'an became emaciated. Upon closer inspection, half of her black hair had turned white, with patches of white interspersed among the gray strands, making her look dry, withered, and as if her life was slowly dying off.

Just like the Chang'an Marquis's Mansion, which has stood for hundreds of years.

The heir of the Marquis of Chang'an sat down not far from his mother. "Mother, please have some food. You haven't eaten for two days."

Lady Chang'an, upon hearing this, finally came to her senses. But her eyes were vacant, and her tone was low, as if she were muttering to herself or comforting her son, "Mother is not hungry now, let's eat later."

The young master lowered his head and sniffed lightly. "Mother, no matter what, you need to eat something so your body can hold on. I'm useless; I can't get Father out of prison. This Marquis's mansion still needs you to keep it going..."

What happened next was unknown to both the heir apparent of the Marquis of Chang'an and the wife of the Marquis of Chang'an.

The mother and son remained silent for a long time. When the heir of the Marquis of Chang'an spoke again, his voice was choked with suppressed sobs. "Mother, Madam Sun is jealous. I want to divorce her."

The Sun family?

Lady Sun was the wife of the heir apparent of the Marquis of Chang'an's household. She was the daughter-in-law whom the Marquis of Chang'an had carefully selected from among the many daughters of noble families in the capital.

Not only was Sun outstanding in virtue, speech, appearance, and work, but she was also quite talented and capable.

After entering the Marquis's mansion, she gave birth to a son and a daughter, and her gentle and considerate nature won her husband's heart.

She was only fortunate to have her grandparents pass away one after another, and to have observed several years of mourning, which delayed her marriage. Otherwise, such an outstanding girl would not have ended up in their Chang'an Marquis's household. Madam Sun was exceptional in every way, perfectly suited to the tastes of both mother and son, yet the son claimed Madam Sun was jealous and wanted a divorce?
Lady Chang'an quickly realized why her son had done this, but things had already gotten to this point.

Is it really necessary to break up the son's small family in order to protect the descendants of the family?
Lady Chang'an asked blankly, "Is there really no other way? Shuqing has already arranged to meet the Second Prince tomorrow..."

"So what can we do? Mother, things are different now."

In the past, only Chen Yanzhou would deal with them, while the others mostly took advantage of the chaos. He firmly believed that although the situation was difficult, there was still a way to break it.

Just as Mother and Sister had discussed, as long as they asked the Second Prince for help, using the child in Shuqing's belly as leverage, the Second Prince would not refuse.

As long as the Second Prince is willing to plead his case before the Emperor, even if the mansion cannot survive this calamity, it will certainly not be in a state of utter ruin.

However, Yunying turned the tables.

She not only rolled over, but she rolled over beautifully.

She went from being a lowly maidservant, reduced to dirt and mistreated, to becoming the precious legitimate daughter of the Duke of Xuan's mansion.

She had a powerful grandfather, the Duke of Xuan, a father who devoted himself to the country and was deeply trusted by the emperor, her elder brother's father-in-law was a leading figure in the Censorate, and her own elder brother held a position in the Dali Temple.

The Censorate, together with the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review, jointly tried his father.

These newly joined forces alone are enough to deliver a fatal blow to the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion, not to mention that Chen Yanzhou is also watching from the sidelines, and the Duke of Rong and Gu Wangchen are still good friends, their relationship is so good that they can entrust their lives to each other.

This time, it seems the Rongguo Duke's Mansion will also take the initiative to get involved.

Compared to these powerful figures, what does the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion have?
He has a father with a lot of dirt on him, a group of clansmen covered in lice, a second uncle who runs away at the first sign of trouble, and then there's him, the incompetent and cowardly heir, and his brother who is still indulging in wine and women and can't tell day from night.

These people are not even as courageous and responsible as my mother, a woman in the family.

Yet her mother's strength and sense of responsibility were confined within her womanly physique.

Without male heirs to support the household, the future of the Marquis's mansion is bleak. Even if the mother speaks eloquently and promises something tempting enough, no one is willing to help the Marquis's mansion. All of the mother's efforts will eventually come to naught.

The heir of the Marquis of Chang'an covered his eyes and said, "While the manor has not yet been implicated, I want to extricate Madam Sun and the two children from the situation."

“In the years since Sun married her son, she has taken good care of him and been very filial to her mother. She also gave birth to a son and a daughter with her son… Even for the sake of the future of the Marquis’s mansion, her son does not want to implicate them.”

“If the Marquis’s family is punished, at least the descendants will still exist. As long as the incense is still burning, there will always be a day when they rise again. If we are lucky enough to get through this calamity safely, and Madam Sun is still willing to come back, then I will bring her and her son and daughter back.”

The heir of the Marquis of Chang'an was indeed cowardly, timid, incompetent, and useless, but apart from these shortcomings, he also had some merits, the most prominent of which was his ability to recognize the times.

He was also kind-hearted and willing to let his wife and children leave at this critical juncture of life and death, so that the sins of the Marquis's mansion would not implicate them.

The heir of the Marquis of Chang'an talked on and on, while the wife of the Marquis of Chang'an listened silently.

After a long while, the room returned to silence, and neither of them said another word.

A very, very long time passed, long enough that the first watch of the night had been struck, and finally Lady Chang'an relented.

Her voice was hoarse as she said, "Since you've thought it through, then let's do it your way. Shen'er, I've always thought you were too green, that you had a long, long way to go before you could take over as Marquis. But today, I see clearly that you are the most decisive and persistent person in the Marquis's mansion. If the mansion had been handed over to you earlier, I think we wouldn't be in this mess today."

Lin Shushen, the heir of the Marquis of Chang'an, seemed to have never expected that he would hear his mother's approval at this critical juncture.

But it was too late, everything was too late.

He took a deep breath, turned away to wipe the tears from his eyes, bowed to his mother and said, "Mother, please rest early. Your son will go back to deal with this matter first."

"...Go ahead."

Lin Shushen had been gone for a long time when Lin Shuqing's people came looking for her.

Lady Chang'an asked the maidservant indifferently, "What is it, Shuqing?"

"Aunt, the young lady said that in order to persuade the Second Prince to help the manor as much as possible after meeting him tomorrow, she wants you to increase the offer."

Lady Chang'an seemed not to understand the maid's meaning, and chuckled, "What kind of bet?"

The maid shrank her neck, and after a long while, she stammered, "The young lady wants, wants 100,000 taels of silver."

Lady Chang'an's heart was as cold as the ice on a snow-capped mountain that had never melted for a thousand years.

Yesterday, she sent her trusted confidant to deliver Shuqing's letter requesting a meeting with the Second Prince. Unsurprisingly, there was no reply.

Shuqing wrote again, and she sent it again; she wrote again, and she sent it again.

After much persuasion, the Second Prince finally agreed to meet him at his private residence outside the city the following morning.

As for what to say after they meet, she discussed it with Shuqing.

In their minds, the Second Prince was of noble birth, and worldly things held little appeal for him. The key was to increase the stakes by presenting the child, whose gender was unknown, as a male.

As long as they insist it's a male heir, and as long as the Second Prince still wants a son, they've won.

Conversely, if they make any more promises, it might distract the Second Prince and prevent them from achieving their goals.

What she had agreed upon with Shuqing, Shuqing has now gone back on her word and wants to ask for an additional 100,000 taels of silver.

Whether the 100,000 taels were for the Second Prince or for Shuqing herself is obvious.

Lady Chang'an even thought that, based on her understanding of her daughter, it was not impossible for Shuqing to take the money and sever ties with the Chang'an Marquis's mansion.

This daughter—at this moment, she even wanted to use the most despicable words in the world to describe her.

The Marquis's mansion fell into misfortune because of her, yet she pushed everyone in the mansion out to fill the fire pit, while she herself wanted to take most of the mansion's property and leave in peace.

She's the real heartless bastard!
(End of this chapter)