Chapter 445 Aunt Meng is elevated to the rank of official wife

Congratulations!

Congratulations, Mr. Cao, on the birth of your son!

Many people came to offer their congratulations and gifts, and were led inside by maids and servants.

Cheng Wanwan stepped up the stairs and presented the congratulatory gift in her hand: "Congratulations to my father-in-law on the birth of your son. I hope the little one grows up safe and healthy."

"Mother-in-law, we've been waiting for you!" Cao Defu smiled so much his eyes narrowed into slits. "I've asked Magistrate Shen for help with the child's formal name, but I'll leave the nickname to you, mother-in-law. Please take good care of it."

His son was able to be born safely thanks to the intervention of Magistrate Shen and his mother-in-law; otherwise, he would have truly been childless.

Cheng Wanwan nodded in agreement. A formal name would be too much of a hassle, but a nickname would be simpler and less troublesome.

She asked Zhao Ergou to stay at the door and greet the guests with her father-in-law, while she and Cao Yingying walked towards Aunt Meng's courtyard.

After Qi was imprisoned, the main courtyard was empty. As soon as Aunt Meng returned to the Cao family, she moved in without any fuss, and no one in the mansion dared to say anything to her.

The main courtyard was bustling, while the outer room housed the wives of some of the Cao family's business partners.

Some of Cao's close relatives and his wives, who were also close to him, were in the inner room.

Cheng Wanwan and Cao Yingying naturally headed towards the inner room.

As soon as they entered, they heard Aunt Meng's happy voice: "Madam, this name is wonderful, it suits my son perfectly!"

Seeing Cheng Wanwan and Cao Yingying enter, she quickly said, "Lord Shen has given my son a good name, Cao Yin, which means tiger in the Chinese zodiac. My son will surely achieve great things in the future. Madam Sui, please help me choose a nickname."

Cheng Wanwan glanced at the child lying on the bed. He was indeed a chubby, large baby, and his features clearly indicated that he was Cao Defu's son; the resemblance was uncanny.

"Let's call him Stone," she said with a smile. "Old Master Cao only has one son, so he'll definitely cherish him. It wouldn't be good if he were spoiled. The nickname Stone is meant to remind Old Master Cao and Aunt Meng not to treat the child like a treasure, but like a stone. They should educate him when necessary, and toughen him up a bit so he can grow into a great man."

Aunt Meng felt a little embarrassed. Indeed, for the past three days, Cao Defu had been protecting and spoiling his son like the apple of his eye. She was initially quite happy, since her son was favored and her position was secure. However, what Lady Sui said made her worried again. If he spoiled his son too much, he might become the second Cao Hong.

She disliked Cao Hong.

"This is a good name." Madam Shen nodded. "Our Xiaozheng is spoiled. Fortunately, he has his godmother, Lady Sui, to educate him. Otherwise, he would not have been able to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar."

The ladies of the Cao family in the inner room had complicated expressions.

When they learned that Cao Hong was not of Cao family blood, they were overjoyed and wished they could immediately send their sons to be adopted by Cao Defu.

They were arguing fiercely when, unexpectedly, Aunt Meng gave birth, and gave birth to a big, healthy boy.

Now, all their previous thoughts were gone.

One of the ladies was displeased, and her tone revealed her displeasure: "If you say this child is lucky, he is indeed lucky, becoming the only heir of the Cao family. If you say he is unlucky, he is also unlucky, having a mother who is a concubine, so he will never be able to shake off the title of illegitimate son for the rest of his life."

A woman standing nearby chimed in, "I've heard that even if a son born out of wedlock passes the imperial examination, he'll be ranked lower than a son born out of wedlock, and his official position will be one grade lower. This child is truly pitiful."

Aunt Meng was just overjoyed, but upon hearing these blatant sarcasm, she exploded.

She had just given birth a few days ago, but she was eating and sleeping well, and didn't need to breastfeed. She was in excellent spirits. Just as she was about to jump out of bed and yell back, Old Madam Shen held her down.

The old lady twirled her prayer beads and said calmly, "You're a mother now, so don't act rashly."

Aunt Meng had no choice but to obediently lie down.

With her back to the other wives, Cheng Wanwan softly mouthed a single word: "Cry."

Aunt Meng has a very easygoing personality, which she quite likes. The key point is that Cao Yin is the future heir of the Cao family and is Er Gou's wife's family member. Since she is protecting Aunt Meng now, Aunt Meng's son will naturally protect Yingying in the future.

Aunt Meng received the signal, blinked, and a string of crystal tears immediately flowed down her cheeks.

“I know I come from a poor background, I’m just a maid, but I didn’t want this to happen… When Madam asked me to serve Master, I had no right to refuse. Who would have thought I would get pregnant so quickly, and even more unexpectedly, I would give Master a son…”

Cheng Wanwan: "..."

Is she crying? It sounds more like she's showing off that she gave birth to a son...

"Waaaaah, I'm a concubine, my son is born out of wedlock, we were both born into bad circumstances, we deserve to be ridiculed, my son and I shouldn't even be alive..."

“After the master divorced his wife, I also advised him to remarry. After the mistress of the house enters the family, I will have Shitou registered under the name of the legal wife.”

"But what if my second wife is heartless? What if she abuses my son? What if she secretly kills my son? Then I'll have no hope for the rest of my life."

"I've given up hope, but I can't let the Cao family line die out. My poor son, sob sob, I can't bear to leave you..."

Aunt Meng lay on the bed and wailed loudly.

Cheng Wanwan: "..."

Old Madam Shen: “…”

The faces of several Cao family ladies in the surrounding clan turned green.

Cao Yingying realized what was happening and said, "I'll go call my dad over."

After Cao Defu finished greeting the guests, he originally planned to visit his son. He happened to run into Cao Yingying. Upon hearing that Aunt Meng had been so upset that she cried, he rushed into the inner room.

Aunt Meng was crying with tears streaming down her face, and Shi Tou was also startled awake, opening his eyes and crying loudly, making the room a mess.

The wet nurse quickly came in, took the stone away, and went to breastfeed it.

"Master, you've finally arrived!" Aunt Meng complained, feeling wronged. "Third Aunt and Fourth Sister-in-law said that our Shitou is born out of wedlock and won't amount to much in the future. They even said that you should take a second wife and register Shitou under her name. I don't mind, but I'm afraid that my future stepmother will be a heartless person who abuses Shitou every day and feeds him poison. Waaah, just thinking about it makes me so sad..."

Aunt Cao quickly said, "I didn't say that!"

Cao Si's sister-in-law looked wronged: "This Meng woman is making baseless accusations!"

“Third Aunt and Fourth Sister-in-law have a point. My son is born out of wedlock, so his status is indeed a bit lower,” Cao Defu said, suppressing his anger. “With such a large family business as my Cao family, we do need a matriarch to manage the household affairs.”

Aunt Meng's eyes widened. This old Cao was simply kicking her while she was down. She had just given birth to a son, and he was already planning to take a second wife. She really didn't want to live anymore!

Aunt Cao's expression softened: "I'll help you find a suitable girl another day and bring her home on an auspicious day..."

"No need to think about it anymore. Aunt Meng just gave birth to a son. In order to prevent people from looking down on my son, let's just elevate Aunt Meng to the official position." Cao Defu said coldly. "There are many guests here today, so let's do both things at the same time."

Aunt Meng's pupils widened again: "Master, you...you mean, you want me to be the mistress of the house?"