Wen Ruyu was an illegitimate child of the Wen family. He was not recognized by the Wen family when he was young, and his mother died early.
He was only recognized by the Wen family when he was sixteen years old. There was nothing else to it, mainly because Wen Ruyu was good-looking and the Wen family wanted to use him for a marriage alliance.
But as good-looking as he was, Wen Ruyu was indeed a complete fool. By the time the Wen family took him back, it was too late, and his bad habits could never be corrected.
Even if he were to be married off to someone else, he would be looked down upon. Wen Ruyu was not favored by his father, nor did his mistress like him. The Wen family tried for two years, but then gave up on him, only caring about his basic needs, as the Wen family was large and wealthy enough to support him.
From then on, he spent his days wandering around with spoiled young men, teasing and harassing them. Perhaps because he had lived in the city for more than a decade, he was quite to the liking of those spoiled young men in the capital.
The Wen family was truly kind and righteous, and when Wen Ruyu turned twenty, they also helped him with his marriage.
She was the daughter of a merchant, and through this marriage, she brought in a lot of money for the Wen family. Wen Ruyu was indeed of some use to the Wen family.
However, the woman was unlucky; she died of postpartum hemorrhage the day after giving birth.
Wen Ruyu didn't really have a deep impression of his wife. The two got married in a hurry, and his wife became pregnant not long after the marriage. Soon after, they were separated by death.
But she left him with a child—Wen Leyang. A child that Wen Ruyu had personally raised since she was in her twenties.
The matter of the Crown Prince was the result of a multi-party power struggle, and the Wen family was naturally one of the parties involved, so it was only natural that they would set their sights on the Li family.
Vice Minister Wen's idea was simple: find a concubine's daughter in his family to marry into the Li family. The Li family had three branches; the child from the second branch would marry into the Wen family, and the child from the third branch would be an adopted son of the Ouyang family. This would separate the Li and Ouyang families, making the Li family's heir apparent impure.
The wealth that the Li family's soaps have brought to the Ouyang family in the past two years is immeasurable. Anyone with eyes can see this clearly, and Minister Wen naturally wants a share of the pie.
But Vice Minister Wen never expected that, like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, his own son would steal the peach.
Upon learning of Wen Ruyu's actions, Vice Minister Wen flew into a rage and immediately resorted to family discipline, giving Wen Ruyu a severe beating.
Wen Ruyu was like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water; he would take the beating as it came, at least his daughter's marriage was settled.
Wen Leyang, however, cried uncontrollably.
"Father, it's all my fault for being so useless. If it weren't for my marriage, you wouldn't have had to take this beating."
Seeing her daughter crying with tears streaming down her face, Wen Ruyu felt extremely distressed; even being beaten hadn't hurt her like this.
"Hiss~ Leyang, don't cry. It's not that you're not good enough, it's that your father is not good enough. The Wen family isn't a good place either. Once you get married, your father will be all better."
Father had already inquired and found out that the Li family was quite good. Both Li Qingduan and Li Qingyi were in the military camp. No matter who she married, she would be successful.
"Your father has no other skills, but he happens to be a lackey of the Marquis of Weiyuan's household, so he can at least get the Marquis to give him a hand."
Wen Ruyu lay on the bed, dreaming about the future. The old man was a man who cared a lot about his reputation and wouldn't do something like changing the marriage with Leyang. He would get a beating, but the marriage would be settled, so it wouldn't be a loss.
If the Wen family still wants to win over the Li family, that would be even better; Leyang's dowry certainly won't be anything less than generous.
"I did a great job, but I feel a little sorry for that girl from the Fu family."
"How about we call off this marriage?"
Hearing her father say this, Wen Leyang felt very guilty towards Fu Ning. Her status was really too low. Her grandparents didn't care about her marriage at all, and now her eldest aunt was in charge of the household. The eldest son's family had many daughters, so they wouldn't care about her, their niece.
Only her father went to great lengths to plan for her, and even got beaten by her grandfather.
"Impossible! This marriage is already yours! Even if it weren't you, it would be another woman from the Wen family. Fu Ning has no chance at all."
You can't be so soft-hearted in the future. Once you're married, Dad won't be able to protect you in every way. You'll have to rely on yourself for everything. You need to learn from Dad that pride doesn't matter; getting tangible benefits is what matters.
"Father, I understand. Let's apply the medicine first."
Wen Ruyu sighed; his daughter was just like dough. Thinking of the Miss Fu he had snatched away, Wen Ruyu silently prayed:
Good heavens, this is entirely the Wen family's fault for being so immoral. If there's any retribution, let it fall on the Wen family. I only wish that my son can live out his life peacefully and happily.
——————
Pan Jinhua was naturally unaware of the Wen family's affairs.
After Wen Ruyu left the Pan residence, Pan Jinhua's face darkened. Mo Qiaoniang had never seen her mother-in-law look like this before, and she was also very uneasy.
"Mother, don't be angry. When your husband comes back, he can scold or beat you as he pleases."
Yan Min waited until Wen Ruyu left before coming over; she was still a layer away from them.
"Auntie, this may not be a bad thing."
Once Yan Min learned what had happened, she quickly grasped the crux of the matter.
“I know Wen Ruyu, and his position in the Wen family is awkward. I believe the Wen family wants to form a marriage alliance with our family, but they will never choose Wen Ruyu’s daughter.”
It seems that Wen Ruyu acted on his own initiative, and we have both been outmaneuvered by him.
However, since things have come to this point, the Wen family will undoubtedly continue down the wrong path. The most pressing matter now is dealing with Miss Fu…”
"Alas, the second son has really done something terrible! The person I'm worried about now is Fu Ning. I'm satisfied with her personality. If our family breaks the contract, she'll probably have a much harder time in the future."
Pan Jinhua sighed, determined to beat up Li Lao Er.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
When Bai Sha found him, Li Xushi was outside bragging to someone. Upon hearing that Pan Jinhua was looking for him, he trembled and struggled for a while before finally following Bai Sha home.
He was unaware of the Wen family's visit, only assuming it was because he had argued with his wife earlier that day and his mother had found out.
Therefore, as soon as he came in, he hurriedly begged for mercy.
"Mother, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have argued with Madam. I was wrong."
"Do you know that the Fourth Master Wen of the Wen family came to our door today to finalize the marriage between our family and the Wen family, Second Master Li?"
Pan Jinhua was furious at the sight of him and completely ignored his attempts to flatter her. Li Xushi's legs went weak; the truth could no longer be hidden.
"Mom! I didn't mean to, I just drank too much and accidentally gave the things away..."
"No, you did it on purpose."
Pan Jinhua stared intently into Li Xushi's eyes, her tone indifferent.
"You've long been dissatisfied with the Fu family. When Master Wen exchanged tokens with you, you were probably half-hearted, or even eager to do so, right?"
When Li Xushi returned, Pan Jinhua had already cleared the area, and even Yan Min had left. Therefore, only Pan Jinhua, Mo Qiaoniang, and Li Xushi remained.
“You’ve always seemed somewhat dissatisfied. I’ve promised you that I would never mistreat Qingduan and Qingyi, but you’re still not happy.”
I'm giving you this chance today. Tell me, what are your thoughts?
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