Chapter 129 Chapter 129 Li Sui Liu Sui...

The Prince of Kangling was named Li Sui, a name given to him by his maternal great-aunt who had bestowed upon him the title.

His grandfather thought it was bad.

"Sui" is good, "Li" is bad.

"How can my grandson bear the surname Li? My family has had only one son for four generations! If my grandson were to bear the surname Li, how could I face my ancestors in the afterlife! I beg the Empress Dowager to rescind this decree!"

When his grandfather said this, his maternal grandfather's mind started to wander.

Originally, a woman followed her husband after marriage, and children were born taking their father's surname—this had always been the rule. He thought so too, so he didn't care what his grandson's surname was; whether it was Li or Liu, it was certainly not Gu. Li was better than Liu; with Li, he would be a legitimate member of the imperial family. Unexpectedly, the name "Li Sui" was even written on the imperial edict! This man with the surname Liu dared to call himself that—how audacious! But if the Empress Dowager really revoked the Li surname, his grandson wouldn't necessarily have to change his surname to Liu! Why not take his surname, Gu?

You, surnamed Liu, have been the only sons for four generations, and I am also an only daughter!

Even if it wasn't Li Sui, it had to be Gu Sui; it definitely wouldn't be Liu Sui.

What's so great about your Liu family?

My maternal grandfather figured it out and started calling out too.

"Yes! How could she have the surname Li! Sister, you really didn't think this through! How could she be called Li Sui!"

Liu Shen had assumed that his in-laws were on his side.

"Of course my grandson will take my daughter's surname, Gu! My daughter's child will naturally carry on my daughter's lineage and continue my daughter's generation! What kind of nonsense is it to have him take the surname Li! Don't you have any grandchildren of your own? How dare you try to steal someone else's! Is that even acceptable?"

These aren't helpers, they're clearly wolves that have jumped out to steal food!

Caught between a rock and a hard place, with neither side willing to listen to reason, Liu Shen was so angry that he trembled with rage.

The one in the palace is still out of reach; let's deal with this one first.

"Your child takes your surname, so why doesn't my grandson take his father's surname? This is illogical!"

When has Gu Fang ever reasoned with anyone?

"Who is his father? My grandson clearly only has a mother and no father! He only has one mother, so of course he takes his mother's surname!"

The two of them got into a fight over this, and neither Shanlai nor Liumin dared to speak up, so they kept quiet and didn't help either of them, leaving it all to their own devices.

But Gu Fang's words were really too much, so Shan Lai felt that he had to speak up, so he called out "Father" with a clear sense of reproach in his voice.

Everyone present could hear the blame in his voice.

They would all misunderstand.

Liu Shen was overjoyed, while Gu Fang was furious.

"Don't speak! I haven't treated you like water spilled on the ground, you're not allowed to side with someone else! Even if you have a child, I still won't allow you to go to his house! Do you think his family is some kind of respectable household? Haven't you heard the saying, 'Many unfaithful men are scholars'? Let's talk about him!" Saying this, she pointed directly at someone's face, "If he hadn't been so ostentatious outside, causing all that trouble, his wife wouldn't have died of anger! And him!" This time she pointed at someone else, "If he had a mother who loved him, would he be like this today?" In conclusion, "If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will follow suit! I'm doing this all for your own good!"

That's even more outrageous.

"father!"

Shanlai was truly angry, and his tone was much harsher than before.

"Stop talking nonsense! How can you say such things?"

Gu Fang didn't think he was wrong at all, and still stubbornly insisted, "How am I wronging him! I'm telling the truth! Even your mother, who was already engaged to me back then, praised him for his manners in front of me! Shameless! He flaunts himself on the street, using his charm to seduce people."

It's a case of old grudges being compounded by new ones.

They were not polite at all.

That's too much.

The usually composed Liu Shen was so angry he was like a broken bellows, his breath whirring and leaking air.

"When did I ever show off like a peacock? I'm an innocent person, and I always just look where I'm going when I walk down the street! Unlike some people who, in broad daylight, grab a young lady's hand and get beaten up by her family as lecherous scoundrels!"

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. You've been tolerant of me because you're my son, and I'm the one who benefits from your loss. But now you're treating me like I don't even breathe!

"Yes! I'm talking about you! Not only did you hold that young lady's hand, you even climbed over her wall! If you get caught, you'll get a good beating! Do you really think nobody knows what you've done? All those of us from back then aren't all dead yet!"

"What 'Miss'? That's my wife! I was holding my wife's hand!"

Even when his shortcomings were exposed, Gu Fang had a valid reason and evidence.

"Yes! That lady did become your wife later, but when you arrested those people, was she your wife? A lecher is a lecher! You can't deny it!"

There's really no way to deny it.

He actually pounced on the young lady in the street and grabbed her hand.

"...I...I was doing it for painting! I had no evil intentions at all! And Wanwan likes me too! She smiled at me!"

This weakened his influence.

"You didn't have any evil intentions! Then why did you climb over the wall into someone's house? That's the act of a thief, something that can be reported to the authorities. Don't tell me you couldn't control yourself; you were happy, but did you consider the young lady's reputation? Calling you selfish wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

Gu Fang recalled the scene, and his legs involuntarily went weak, leaving him stammering and unable to utter a complete sentence.

Therefore, he has lost this duel.

The two argued fiercely, but the prince's father remained silent throughout.

Whether it was Li Sui, Liu Sui, or Gu Sui, Liu Min didn't care at all. No matter what the surname was, the son was his, and he just held his son tightly and wouldn't let go.

"The face, forehead, and eyes—those parts resemble me; the rest resemble you..."

He repeated it again, lightly touching the child's face with his finger, his eyes gentle, his voice soft, looking very content.

I've lost count of how many times this has happened.

This person is both dull and stupid.

Shanlai felt a warmth in her heart and couldn't help but reach out to touch his face.

Liu Min's heart wasn't only for his son; it also belonged to his father-in-law.

His father-in-law is regretting it.

He fell into their trap and didn't realize what was happening, so he lost the argument. Why did he give up so easily? What right do others have to interfere in his and Wanwan's affairs? They even used this to attack him, and he actually backed down, letting them get what they wanted. How despicable!

Fortunately, the son-in-law is a sensible and understanding person.

When you get to him, apologize first, tell him that it was all your father's fault, and promise him that if you can really get the Empress Dowager to retract her order, the child will take his surname and be named Gu Sui. Even if you can't change it, you and your husband can have another child in the future, and the child will definitely be named Gu.

Now the father-in-law was satisfied. For the first time, he found his son-in-law agreeable and thought he was a promising young man!

That person who committed verbal offenses was so eloquent, but in the end, didn't he still end up with nothing? He won in the end!

When you're in a good mood, you become more easygoing.

Now that we've accepted this son-in-law, we can't help but consider his future.

"Why don't you marry into my family? You can change your surname to Gu, just like me. We'll both have the surname Gu, so we're family. I'll definitely treat you like my own son! Your father wasn't good enough, so you can just leave him. I'm different; I love my children the most!"

The teachable child smiled and refused him.

"I can't change my surname. If I do, I'll be letting down my grandmother who raised me. If Dad cares about me, he can allow me to have a child with the surname Liu in the future. That way, I can face my grandmother with a clear conscience..."

How could Liu Shen accept that his own grandson had taken someone else's surname, and not just one, but even those who hadn't even been born yet?

"How could you say that! I don't care, you find a way to take those words back! I won't budge an inch!"

Liu Min thought to himself, "Who gives you the right to speak?"

"You really can't stand to see me do well, do you really want me to be utterly destroyed? Who's to blame for things turning out like this? I don't think it's because of me, is it?"

Although Liu Shen was furious, his face turned red, but he didn't say anything. Then he fell ill and couldn't get up for a long time. Only Shan Lai still treated him with respect, serving him tea and medicine. Shan Lai even snatched the child from the other two people and brought it to Liu Shen to see. However, Liu Shen was afraid of passing on his illness to the child, so he quickly shrank into a corner and waved for Shan Lai to take the child away. Even though his grandson didn't have his surname, he was still his grandson, and he felt a deep pain in his heart. He also wanted to hold him, so he was no longer as despondent as before. He started to eat and take his medicine properly, thinking that he would go see his grandson as soon as he recovered.

Gu Sui won a great victory, so he was actually fighting for himself and therefore spared no effort. As soon as he returned to Xingdu, he went to the palace to find the Empress Dowager and asked her to withdraw the imperial decree that his grandson should not be called Li Sui but Gu Sui.

If he hadn't said that, the Empress Dowager wouldn't have remembered.

This grandson is his sister's bloodline and the first child of their Wei family in this generation. She was unwilling to wrong him, so she came up with a way to grant him a title. If that's the case, why doesn't he take his grandmother's surname, Wei?

Gu Fang was dumbfounded.

The Empress Dowager acted on a whim, immediately summoning someone to retrieve the previous imperial edict and reissue it.

If it's really reissued, what will the imperial edict become?

Furthermore, after all the commotion over the child's surname, and the matter had finally been settled, this new incident is bound to cause chaos again.

Holding the child, Shanlai personally pleaded with the Empress Dowager, "We'll name him Li Sui! Aunt, please don't cause any more trouble! I beg you!"