Many members of the Zheng family lived in the capital and relied on the Marquis's mansion for their livelihood. Little Chen revealed the plan of adoption to these people. Some were interested and went home to find the clan head of the Zheng family, hoping to ask him to come and negotiate with the Marquis of Pingxi. The Marquis of Pingxi occupied a large area, actually with two mansions built together in the east and west. When Zheng Boyuan's second great-uncle passed away, the late emperor had told the old Marquis of Pingxi that when Zheng Boyuan's second great-uncle's posthumous son grew up, he would establish his own mansion. Who could have imagined that the child was born with a deficiency and, despite the best efforts to raise him, he eventually died young. Because the child died at such a young age, there was no thought of adopting a child to inherit the family line. At that time, the old Marquis of Pingxi had three daughters and only one son. If a child were adopted from the ancestral home, the Marquis's mansion would have to be divided in two again. There were also the iron certificate of merit enshrined in the ancestral hall, all of which were troublesome matters. So the old Marquis of Pingxi put the matter of adoption aside.

This happened decades ago, but it's been brought up again out of the blue. Younger people don't know what happened, but many older people in the village do.

When the old clan chief heard this rumor, he couldn't sleep at night. If the second branch of the Marquis of Pingxi were to adopt another child, not only would the child inherit the family line, but the child would also receive the imperial edict. Although it didn't have a title, the imperial edict was equivalent to a death-exempt token.

These were all heartwarming things. The old clan chief tossed and turned, unable to sleep. His wife asked him, "Why are you making pancakes in the middle of the night?"

The old clan chief said, "Someone from the capital has returned and asked me to help arrange for a child to be adopted by the second branch of the Marquis's family."

The clan elder's wife said, "What nonsense are you talking about? The Marquis's mansion is just one lineage, where did this second branch come from?"

The old clan chief said, "The second brother who died on the battlefield back then, didn't he have a posthumous child? He died at a young age, and their lineage is now extinct. I don't know who heard it, but they said that if they don't adopt a child to carry on the family line, the imperial court will take back the imperial edict."