The Queen Mother was very satisfied with the Emperor's handling of the matter. She hugged Zhao Mingxi... no, from now on, she would say Wen Mingxi, and smiled as she hugged him, saying, "My little darling, you are Ying'er's legitimate grandson. The title will not only be passed on to you, but also to your son. I will strive to live a little longer to watch you grow up and to see Ying'er's descendants enjoy happiness..."

The old lady placed all her doting on Liu Ying on Wen Mingxi, even putting her own grandson and great-grandson in the background. She was still thinking, everyone said Zhuo An was very capable. If he made great achievements in the future, she would find a way to get the emperor to change the hereditary title from three generations to five generations, and it would be best if it could be passed down through generations...

Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "The Imperial Grandmother not only wants to see Mingxi grow up and enjoy happiness, but also wants to see his son grow up and enjoy happiness."

The Queen Mother was even happier and said, "Then I have become an old witch."

On the sixth day of the fifth lunar month, Wen Zhuofeng and Wen Zhuoan came to the Cining Palace together to kowtow to the Empress Dowager and express their gratitude. Wen Zhuofeng blushed and asked the Empress Dowager to grant him and Qin Hongyu a marriage.

When the Queen Mother heard that she was the prefect's daughter, she initially disdained her low birth. Later, she heard that she was Xu Lanyin's cousin, beautiful and virtuous, and that Prefect Qin had been a great help to them, so she agreed. She said, "You are already twenty-eight years old this year. I will issue an edict tomorrow, and you can get married by the end of the year."

Wen Zhuoan smiled with a relaxed expression and nodded in agreement.

The Empress Dowager invited them to dinner in the palace, and in the afternoon Xu Lanyin and her son left the palace with them. The Empress Dowager, the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and Concubine He also gifted them with several carts of gifts.

Several people went directly to the Wen Mansion.

After entering the second gate, Wen Zhuoan led them to the courtyard and pavilion where he used to live.

Hexuan wasn't big, a four-story courtyard with only one entrance. There was only a banana tree in the yard, and not even a blade of grass. Judging by the signs, it had been uninhabited for years and must have been overgrown with weeds. It had just been cleared, and no new flowers or plants had been planted yet.

Much of the paint and coating on the houses and pillars has peeled off, only the window screens have been replaced, and many of the homes are newly occupied.

Wen Zhuoan said, "Big Brother and Third Uncle Wen wanted to buy me a bigger and better courtyard, but I didn't agree. We won't be living here for long, so why bother with so many people? We'll go back to Ningzhou Prefecture to move in a few days, and have someone clean up this place..."

He also stated that the Wen Mansion's title and mansion would be inherited by Wen Zhuofeng, while Wen Xing's would be inherited by Wen Zhuoan. Of the gifts bestowed upon Princess Changhe and Wen Xing, Wen Zhuofeng would receive 30% and Wen Zhuoan 70%. In the future, all of the Wen Mansion's assets, save for some allocated to the three wives, would belong to Wen Zhuofeng. Although the Wen Mansion had declined, it still held some wealth. Wen Zhuofeng would receive a larger share than Wen Zhuoan, but not by much.

The two brothers respected and loved each other, and both felt that the other should get more, so they negotiated and came to this result.

With Old Master Wen still alive, the Wen family remained intact for the time being. Wen Zhuofeng would live in this large mansion with Old Master Wen, the third wife's family, the second wife's legitimate daughter Wen Jiao and concubine's daughter Wen Xiang, Wen Zhuolin's wife Hu and daughter Wen Ping, and Wen Zhuohua's wife Wang. Wen Zhuoan had been granted a title of nobility and established a separate residence and ancestral hall. They would move out once Qin Hongyu married in. Not moving out now was ostensibly to show her filial respect for Old Master Wen, but in reality, to help Third Wife Wen manage the Wen household.

Old Madam Wen, now let's talk about Old Madam Liu. She's been driven back to her parents' home. The Liu family's nephews, disdaining her conscience and shameful, refused to let her return home and instead sent her directly to a nunnery to become a nun. I heard that the old lady's health has deteriorated and she won't live long. Of all the people in the Wen family, only Wen Jiao has visited her at the nunnery...

Xu Lanyin thought, this family may seem large, but the old man only cares about Lian Tong and doesn't care about anything else. The third wife is a concubine's daughter, and the second wife has been trampled into the mud and dares not stir up any trouble. The interpersonal relationships are not complicated, so the simple Qin Hongyu won't be too stressed when she marries into the family.

After they had packed up, they went to the main hall in the front yard, where Wen Zhuoan's wife and son were going to formally meet the Wen family.

Old Master Wen sat at the top. He was in his sixties and his family had experienced so many tragic changes and the deaths of so many relatives, but the old man still had a rosy complexion and looked energetic. He didn't seem to be very sad and looked like he was in his early fifties.

Xu Lanyin felt that either the old man's "magic pill" had taken effect, or he was simply heartless. It looked like even if he wasn't immortal, he could live another twenty years. Qin Che hoped Qin Hongyu would live a simple life, but that wasn't likely to happen for nearly twenty years.

Xu Lanyin and Qian Mama, who was holding Wen Mingxi, kowtowed to him.

Old Master Wen nodded and gave Xu Lanyin a red envelope and Wen Mingxi a jade pen holder and jade ornaments. His only great-grandson didn't spark much interest in him; he just glanced at them and smiled. He then said to Wen Zhuofeng, "I heard the imperial edict conferring the title of Zhuo An's wife will arrive tomorrow. Once we receive the edict, we'll enshrine them both in the ancestral hall."

This means that the position of patriarch will also be passed to Wen Zhuofeng.

Wen Zhuofeng bowed in response.

Xu Lanyin and her son paid their respects to the third master and his wife, Wen Hequ.

The Third Master and the Third Lady were both in their thirties and had very good attitudes. Seeing how happy they were, they knew that with Old Lady Wen and her mother-in-law gone, they could finally live a comfortable life.

Several elders from the Wen family's side branches also came and greeted them one by one.

Next, peers greet each other.

Perhaps fate truly saw the Wen Yan line as extinct. Wen Zhuolin's many wives and concubines had only borne him one daughter, and Wen Zhuohua had no daughters at all. The second daughter, Wen Jiao, was fifteen, and the third, Wen Xiang, was twelve. The eldest, Wen Liu, was a concubine from the second wife's family and was already married.

The fifth master of the third house, Wen Hezhong, was thirteen years old, and the fourth girl, Wen Lan, was eleven years old.

After the greetings and dinner, the old man let everyone go. He also said that he liked quietness and should not be disturbed on weekdays. He only needed to visit on the first and fifteenth day of each month to greet him and have a meal together.

He only saw her twice a month because the old lady and Wen Yan and his wife were not in his way. Before that, he almost stayed in the room and didn't see anyone.

He then had someone clean up a courtyard in the northwest corner, and after he passed the title to Wen Zhuofeng, he could concentrate on making elixirs there.

It was not yet completely dark, so Wen Zhuoan asked the servants to take Wen Mingxi back to the courtyard, while he took Xu Lanyin for a walk around the mansion.

The Wen Mansion was large, with numerous houses, gardens, and a lake, but it hadn't been well maintained. The houses hadn't been painted in years, and the flowers and trees were a bit messy. Perhaps Wen Yan and his wife planned to tidy up the place after the separation of the family from the Duke.

Wen Zhuoan smiled and said, "I'll take you to the Xiqing Marquis' Mansion someday. Although it's not as big as this place, it's much more exquisite. It also has a lake and a garden. It was the former Prince Wu's Mansion."

It turned out to be the place where the prince lived before he was deposed. There was no doubt about it.

Xu Lanyin knelt before Wen Zhuoan and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Lord Wen. Congratulations, Lord Wen. I am very polite."