Chapter 77: Adoption
As night fell, Qu Xian dragged his exhausted body back to the mansion.
Today in the court, he was ridiculed. Even the emperor, who usually ignored state affairs, spoke out rarely, "The missing part of the county lady's dowry must be supplemented."
The Song family reacted very quickly and immediately came forward to express their position.
The Song family will make up for the part of the money embezzled, no matter where it is used.
The only thing missing is that it was clearly stated that the reason why Song used the dowry was definitely to fill the deficit of the Marquis' Mansion.
The emperor nodded and instructed the Ministry of Revenue, "The portion previously embezzled by the Duke of Su's Mansion should be compensated with the confiscated property."
The prince's expression changed.
The Duke Su's Mansion was destroyed just like that.
His gaze fell on the eldest princess and he lowered his eyes slightly. His aunt was really good at it.
Not only did all the private soldiers he had raised over the years become useless in one day, but he also incorporated them into the imperial guards. I'm afraid they were targeting his position as crown prince.
The eldest princess seemed to be oblivious to the prince's sidelong glance and accepted the task. "Tomorrow, I will go to the Marquis' Mansion to count the dowry."
The emperor nodded, "Thank you for your hard work, sister."
The prince had no objection to this task.
Qu Xi's face turned pale and he could only bow and accept the order.
Although Song died, he still lost all face.
As soon as he returned to the mansion, the steward came to greet him, "My Lord, the old lady asks you to go to Yunsong Hall immediately."
Qu Xun felt depressed, but he still forced himself to go.
The lights in Yunsong Hall are bright, and it is rare to see so many people there.
Mrs. He from the second house was present with her daughter Qu Lianjia, her concubine's son Qu Sheng, and her youngest son Qu Han, who was only twelve years old.
The old lady was unusually energetic. She stood up, sat upright in the main seat, and stared intently at Qu Li who came in.
"Mother." He bowed.
The old lady didn't waste any words and said directly, "I called you here today to tell you something. The Song family has committed serious sins. My mansion cannot allow such a daughter-in-law to be included in the family tree."
She slammed the table and said, "Divorce her."
Qu Qi had a headache, not knowing what his mother was doing. "No."
"Why not?" the old lady said, "She dared to kill someone with her own hands, embezzled the dowry, and brought disgrace upon the reputation of the Marquisate. Such a vicious woman, shouldn't she be left to be laughed at by the whole capital?"
Qu Lianzhi and Qu Yi knelt down in unison, "Grandma, please think twice."
Qu Yi said anxiously, "Mother is already dead. If you divorce her again, how will my grandson and sister cope with the future?"
Qu Lianzhi's heart was broken, and he hated the old woman. "Grandma, please give my mother a little dignity."
The old lady sneered, "Respectable? She deserves it."
He's heart was filled with excitement. These past few days were simply the most comfortable days in her life.
She wanted to remove the Song family from the family tree immediately.
She followed the old lady's meaning and said, "My daughter-in-law thinks..."
Before he could finish his words, Qu Lianjia pulled his sleeve hard.
Qu Lianjia didn't dare to speak and could only look at Qu Ling pleadingly.
Qu Ling said, "Grandmother, the Song family is powerful. If we become enemies with the Marquis' Mansion over this matter, the gains will outweigh the losses."
She analyzed the interests involved in a gentle voice, "Death is like the extinguishing of a light, so why should we be unforgiving? The current situation is that the Song family has failed to educate their daughter properly and has let our mansion down. If we divorce Song, it would mean that the mansion is indifferent."
The old lady's expression relaxed a little.
"I remember that my second uncle's term is about to end. At this juncture, why not use the Song family's guilt to transfer my second uncle back to Beijing to take up his post."
He's eyes lit up and she lifted her butt off the stool.
"A Ling is right." He no longer remembered what he wanted to say.
"Shut up!" The old lady glanced at her with disgust.
He sat back with an embarrassed look on her face.
The old lady fell silent with a bad look on her face, but she did not say anything more about divorcing Song.
Seeing this, Qu Xin gave Qu Ling an admiring look.
It is a blessing to have such a daughter who can share his worries.
He thought of the dowry and felt guilty, so he said, "Mother, the most important thing right now is not whether to divorce Song Shi, but how to deal with the eldest princess counting the dowry tomorrow."
The old lady paused.
"What dowry? Is the eldest princess coming to the Marquis' Mansion?"
Qu Xi nodded, "His Majesty has decreed that the missing portion of Aling's dowry will be supplemented by the Song family and the Ministry of Revenue."
Qu Lianzhi felt extremely uncomfortable.
How come she is so lucky?
The old lady almost couldn't breathe.
After a lot of trouble, Xu Zhaoyue's dowry was not lost at all, but her daughter's family was destroyed.
The look in her eyes when she looked at Qu Ling again was not as kind as before.
It’s all because of the dowry.
It’s all Xu Zhaoyue’s fault!
Poor daughter, she doesn't even have a stick of incense to offer to her.
The old lady had a flash of inspiration and her mind moved slightly.
If he were to adopt a child for his daughter, Qu Ling would have to give back some of the dowry since he was engaged to Liu Xuan.
"This is a good thing," the old lady said as she thought in her heart, "Speaking of the Duke of Su's Mansion, I think of your sister..."
Her voice was choked with sobs, and her expression was melancholy.
"You know how much your sister loved you. Now that she's gone, there's no one to offer incense to her. I can still remember her while I'm alive, but when I die, she'll just become a wandering ghost."
The old lady's tears instantly burst out and rolled down her haggard cheeks.
"She married into the Duke of Su's mansion for your future," she pounded her chest, crying even more bitterly, "I never expected it to end up like this..."
Her voice echoed through the room.
He was stunned when she heard this.
When Qu Mingyue was a girl, she was an extremely cruel person. All the maids in the mansion were terrified when they saw her.
At that time, the Duke Su's Mansion originally wanted to marry into another family.
That girl was Qu Mingyue's best friend.
The two of them made an appointment to go out for a trip together, but the girl accidentally fell into the water. It was midsummer and her clothes were thin. When she was rescued, her clothes were torn, and the onlookers saw her naked.
The girl was so humiliated that she went home in a depressed mood and didn't want to see anyone.
It was Qu Mingyue who took the initiative to deliver the message between her and Duke Su, who was still the Crown Prince.
More than a month later, the girl hanged herself.
Qu Mingyue cried and said to Duke Su, "She always feels guilty towards you. The more you stick with her, the more she can't bear you marrying someone with a bad reputation like her. She doesn't want to drag you down."
After sighing, Duke Su came to the Dingxiang Marquis's mansion to propose marriage.
When the dust settled, He saw Qu Mingyue burning letters.
Hiding in the shadows, she heard Qu Mingyue's smug voice, "Fool, I simply changed the content of the letter to express my dislike for her, asking her to break off the engagement, but you couldn't bear it and committed suicide."
He was dizzy, but she dared to keep the matter to herself.
Qu Xi was moved by the old lady's wailing and hurriedly comforted her, "Mother, don't worry. I have already sent a letter to the Hedong clan to bury my sister's coffin in the ancestral tomb."
"I can't feel at ease without any children." The old lady cried so hard that her breathing became a little unstable.
Qu Xi was afraid that something bad might happen to her, so he racked his brains to coax her, "My son is your son. As long as I have children, yours will be indispensable."
The old lady was waiting for him to say this.
"In that case, let's adopt Ayi to your sister."
Qu Yi, who was daydreaming:...Me?
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