Chapter 70 Each with their own thoughts 2
The Wei family was at a loss.
Lu Yunzhang breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that Father and Mother have made up their minds. We have already done so much, we must not give up. I am determined to be their adopted son."
The second master raised an eyebrow: "What's your idea?"
Lu Yunzhang: "His Majesty is wise. He is grateful for the sacrifices made by my uncle and Yunqi for the country. Even though our family can no longer produce anyone who can hold military power and lead troops into battle, he has not revoked the title of Ningyuan General's Mansion. He has also promised that if a suitable successor is found in the future, he can inherit the title of Grand General."
These past few days, my efforts to seek help have not been fruitless. I have finally managed to establish a connection with the eldest son of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Lord Wei. In the next few days, I will make a concerted effort to see if I can pay him a visit and use this connection to get through Lord Wei's connections.
If the Ministry of Personnel can put pressure on the eldest branch of the family, even just to convey a message that the court is very concerned about the successor of our General's Mansion and that it cannot be delayed any longer, my aunt, a mere woman, will definitely panic.
"Once she's thrown into disarray, we can say things like we're afraid of losing the Emperor's favor. Then, I'm not worried that my aunt won't change her mind and let me inherit the throne."
Upon hearing their son's words, the second master and Madam Wei immediately showed joy on their faces.
That's true. Since we can't reason with them directly, we should try to find a way from the outside. In short, we need to let the eldest son know that only by quickly producing a suitable male heir can we preserve the reputation of the General's Mansion.
Second Master: "Then you should hurry up and try to get on good terms with Young Master Wei so that you can meet Lord Wei as soon as possible."
Mo Yunzhang looked troubled: "But winning over Young Master Wei's favor isn't something I can do with just words. Young Master Wei is of noble status and usually associates with the sons of high-ranking officials and nobles. He spends lavishly in public, and even the birdcage he buys is worth several months' worth of our family's expenses. If I want to speak to Young Master Wei, I'll have to be quite generous with my connections."
Upon hearing this, Madam Wei pondered for a moment and asked, "How much silver would it cost to bribe them?"
Mo Yunzhang looked at Madam Wei and said with a wry smile, "This child is hard to say. Listen to your father."
The second master stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before saying, "You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. Money should be spent when it's needed, and we must never show any stinginess in front of Young Master Wei."
After saying that, he looked at Madam Wei and said, "Take out three hundred taels of silver and give it to Yunzhang."
Upon hearing that it would cost three hundred taels, Madam Wei gasped in shock: "Three hundred taels? Where would I get that much? The shop's profits haven't been good these past few months, and the amount of silver I can bring back is getting smaller and smaller."
The second master glared at Madam Wei: "Isn't it because your brothers are incompetent? Our shops are all in good locations. We know how much money they made when they were in your sister-in-law's hands. The business wasn't the best, but it was definitely not bad. How come it's gotten worse and worse in your brothers' hands? Did they embezzle it all?"
Wei felt a little guilty, but she still had to speak up for her brother: "No way, I'm keeping an eye on that shop. Business is getting harder and harder these days."
Second Master: "Stop talking nonsense. Business is important. Give Yunzhang three hundred taels of silver and tell him to make arrangements. Once things are settled, you can have as many three hundred taels as you want."
Over the years, my elder brother and Yunqi have repeatedly distinguished themselves in battle, and the imperial court has bestowed upon them countless fine gifts, all of which are now in my sister-in-law's hands. Once Yunzhang is adopted, we must make her hand over all the property of the eldest branch of the family to Yunzhang.”
Only then did Madam Wei get up and go into the inner room to get the silver.
Lu Yunbo sat there, glancing sideways at his parents and elder brother discussing the matter, a cold smile playing on his lips.
It wasn't that he looked down on his older brother; it was just that over the years, apart from being older and having eaten for a few more years, his older brother had never done anything worthy of praise.
Take, for example, what my elder brother just said about wanting to follow the path of the eldest son of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He simply doesn't believe it.
The Dali Temple where he was on duty had a member of a collateral branch of the Wei family, who was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Although he was just a collateral branch, he usually acted superior to everyone else and looked down on everyone else, let alone the direct descendants of the Wei family.
Therefore, he knew very well how difficult it was to establish connections with the children of these families. It might have been possible when his eldest uncle was alive, but now that his eldest uncle and third cousin were gone, who would still recognize who the Ningyuan General's Mansion was?
He didn't believe his elder brother had the ability to catch the eye of Lord Wei's legitimate son.
Thinking of this, Lu Yunbo couldn't help but chuckle softly.
He was also seething with anger. In their family, because his elder brother was the eldest son, he had always been the most favored by their parents, and they always thought of his brother first in everything. He believed that he was far more capable than his brother. Over the years, his brother had done some good work in the household, but to put it bluntly, he had been mediocre and accomplished nothing.
Although he only held the rank of a seventh-grade official in the Dali Temple, he was still active in the officialdom and his knowledge, connections, and abilities were far superior to his elder brother's.
But it was precisely because I was capable that my parents favored my older brother more, always considering only his needs and never thinking of me.
For example, when it comes to adoption, parents can only think of the eldest son and would never consider the second son.
However, he didn't care about this matter.
It wasn't that he wasn't envious of the benefits of succeeding, but rather that he believed he was smarter than his parents and older brother.
He observed coldly and realized that his eldest aunt did not want to adopt a child under his name, while his third sister-in-law had a powerful family to rely on, so it was most likely that a child would be adopted by his third sister-in-law in the future.
So the eldest brother and parents mostly worked in vain.
However, the thought of his third sister-in-law's exquisite and refined beauty made his heart itch. Not only was that beauty captivating, but she also had such a generous dowry, making her truly desirable.
Instead of wasting time on my aunt, I should try to get closer to that pretty girl. If...
A romantic thought crossed his mind, and a smile unconsciously crept onto Lu Yun's thin lips.
Looking up, he saw his parents and eldest brother talking animatedly, their heads clasped together. He coughed lightly and interrupted them, saying:
“Lord Wei’s nephew happens to work at the Dali Temple as well. He is my colleague and we have a good relationship. I can also help my elder brother with this matter.”
Upon hearing this, Wei and the others' eyes widened immediately. Lu Yunzhang said happily, "Really? Second brother, if you can really help me, I will never forget your contribution when I am adopted into the eldest branch and gain real power."
Lu Yunbo smiled lightly: "Sure, I heard from my colleague yesterday that Lord Wei's birthday is coming soon, and he is worried that he doesn't have much money to prepare a birthday gift. This is a good opportunity. Why don't I do him a favor and contribute? Consider this gift as something I would send together with him."
If we can win him over, perhaps Lord Wei can even attend the banquet with my colleague on his birthday. We'll see what happens then.
After thinking about it for a moment, the second master thought the idea was acceptable and asked, "Then how much silver do you think we should contribute?"
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