Chapter 51 Old Stories of the General's Mansion
In just a few days, Yu Qingci had gained some understanding of the personalities of the people in her family. For example, her mother-in-law, Old Madam Ning, was gentle and kind to everyone, but as the matriarch of the household, she seemed somewhat weak and lacked the necessary domineering presence.
The thirteen-year-old sister-in-law in front of us may look delicate, but in order to support the eldest son's family, she has to be more mature and worry more than other girls.
Lu Yun Chu gave a wry smile: "To be honest, it is our Lu family that has wronged you, sister-in-law. Now that you have entered the family, I will get along well with you. Also, my mother is a good-tempered person and will never make things difficult for you."
only--"
Seeing her like this, Yu Qingci knew she had something to say, so she remained silent and looked at her gently.
Lu Yun Chu bit her lip and said, "I heard that you sent a maid to each of the two aunts. I'm not saying you can't send one, but you've only just entered the family and don't know how clingy these two aunts are. If you send a maid over today, they'll come to you tomorrow asking for this and that."
"You've only just moved in, and they already want you to take over the household management. Isn't it because they're after your generous dowry and want to get more benefits from you later? That's why I thought I'd remind my sister-in-law not to give them anything anymore."
Yu Qingci patted her hand: "I know, thank you for reminding me, sister. Since you're here, tell me more about your family."
Lu Yun Chu was being careful when she said these words, afraid that her sister-in-law would think she was stirring up trouble, which would be bad. But now that she saw Yu Qing Ci's expression was normal and she was being allowed to continue, she felt much more at ease and stopped being so discreet as she carefully told her about the situation at home.
The general lost his parents at a young age and raised his three younger siblings alone. Later, he joined the army and started as a private. He gradually rose to the position of general by making meritorious contributions on the battlefield with his excellent skills.
The general took great care of his three younger siblings during his lifetime, truly embodying the role of an elder brother as a father. The second master had followed the old general to the battlefield once when he was young, but he was wounded and retired early. From then on, he stayed at home, married, and had children.
The injury was probably not serious. After the second master got married, the couple had many children and grandchildren. Madam Wei gave birth to two sons and two daughters. Later, she also took two concubines and gave birth to a pair of illegitimate sons and daughters.
The fourth master was the youngest of the brothers. Under the protection of his eldest brother, he had always lived a life of luxury. In his youth, he tried to take the imperial examinations, but unfortunately, he only managed to obtain the title of a junior scholar. Over the years, he did not neglect to marry and have children, and had seven children in total, both legitimate and illegitimate. His legal wife, Madam Ma, gave birth to three children, and the rest were illegitimate.
So it may seem that the General's Mansion is large and has a lot of people, but in reality, the General's lineage only consists of Lu Yunqi and Lu Yunchu, a brother and sister, plus the main branch of Madam Ning, which has only four people.
"...Upon receiving the news that my father and brother had died on the battlefield, my mother and I felt as if the sky had fallen. My mother couldn't bear it and fell ill and was bedridden. During that time, the entire general's mansion was in a state of panic, as if it had lost its backbone. The servants were in chaos. The funeral for my father and brother was arranged by officials from the Ministry of Rites sent by the emperor."
After the funeral, my second and fourth aunts came to visit my mother. In their conversations, they would always mention that our eldest branch of the family was now an orphan and a widow with no one to carry on the family line, and that the General's Mansion would have to rely on their second and fourth branches to support it in the future.
Using this as an excuse, my second and fourth aunts directly asked my mother for the keys and tokens for various parts of the mansion, saying they wanted to temporarily manage all the affairs of the mansion for my mother. Even though my mother was gentle and never spoke harshly to these people, she was still quite angry. I secretly invited a few elders who were close to my mother to speak on her behalf, which finally shut them up.
Later, my mother forced herself to stand up and took charge of the household.
When the plans of the second and fourth aunts fell through, they began to have other ideas…
Lu Yun Chu's words carried a faint sadness. Most of what she said was something Yu Qing Ci already knew before her marriage, but hearing it again from Lu Yun Chu's mouth added a sense of helplessness.
Clearly, over the years, regardless of whether it was the second or fourth wife, or the third aunt's family who would occasionally return to their parents' home to beg for money, they all treated the eldest wife's family as easy targets, living a carefree life under the general's mansion's protection, and getting used to taking advantage of others.
Now the towering tree that sheltered them has collapsed, leaving only old women and young girls in the main house. To put it bluntly, they had the intention of usurping the family's place.
The so-called "guiding the monkeys" refers to the fact that when the general and his son were alive, the second and fourth branches of the family lived comfortably by relying on the eldest branch. Therefore, they outwardly respected Madam Ning, their elder sister-in-law. Even so, they still had many trivial matters to quarrel over every day, which annoyed people. Now that the person who could keep them in check is gone, these people have become more and more outrageous without any restraint.
Yu Qingci sighed and asked, "Father-in-law is only the elder brother of my second and third uncles, not an elder. In principle, he has already fulfilled his responsibility as the eldest brother by helping them get married. There is really no need for several families to live together all the time."
Lu Yun Chu understood the meaning behind her words, sighed, and continued speaking.
“I once asked my mother privately why she didn’t separate the family. She said that if my second and fourth uncles’ families were separated, life would be more peaceful.”
This is a long story, and my mother was actually quite helpless. My father and brother were often away leading troops in battle, and when they occasionally returned to the general's mansion, they wouldn't stay for long before leaving again. My mother didn't want to bother them with these trivial matters at home.
After a pause, Lu Yun Chu looked at Yu Qing Ci and reminded her, "Sister-in-law, you should be prepared. In a few days, they will definitely bring up the matter of adoption with you."
Adoption?
Yu Qingci frowned, recalling what her father had told her before her marriage. When they discussed the marriage with the General's Mansion, Old Madam Ning had personally promised that after she married into the family, her mother-in-law would arrange for her to adopt a suitable boy as her heir, to be registered under her and the young general's names to continue the bloodline of the eldest branch, so that he could inherit the eldest branch's legacy in the future.
It was based on such a guarantee that the Nanping Earl's family finally agreed to fulfill the marriage contract and let their daughter marry into the family. With a child in their family, their daughter would have something to look forward to in the future, and there would be someone to offer incense after she passed away.
Yu Qingci: "I know that. Could it be that the second and fourth wives are planning this?"
Lu Yun Chu nodded: "That's right. Mother said that once my sister-in-law enters the family, she will carefully select an adopted son for my brother and sister-in-law to raise under your care, so that he can inherit the eldest son's lineage. Both of their branches have many descendants, and my second and fourth uncles both have suitable grandsons. Naturally, they are trying their best to put their own grandsons into the eldest son's lineage."
Yu Qingci understood. She remembered that in her previous life, the adoption issue had caused quite a stir, and the choice of adoptive parents could not be decided for a long time. Yu Qingyan's nanny went back to the Nanping Marquis's Mansion for help several times, and her father and Qiao Shi made a special trip to the mansion to make a decision for Yu Qingyan.
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