Chapter 48 The Clan Elder Visits
This time, Madam Min Qiao was too lazy to even speak to him, and instructed Wei Jia: "Send Third Master out."
With that, he turned and went back into the house.
"Third Master, please." Wei Jia gestured for the man to leave.
Unexpectedly, Min Hui raised his hand and slapped Wei Jia across the face. "Old woman, you're bullying me. You even dare to look down on me?"
Wei Jia wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, walked to the door, and whispered an order.
Soon, A-San and A-Jiu rushed in.
"Ah Jiu, see Third Master out."
Wei Jia gave the order, and A Jiu rushed up, grabbed the man and dragged him out of the courtyard. "Third Master, let's go. Don't force me to take action."
Min Hui was furious and prepared to do the same to this arrogant little maid.
Unexpectedly, before his slap could even touch Ajiu's face, Ajiu kicked him, sending Min Hui crashing to his knees.
Before Min Hui could react, she grabbed the man by the back of his neck, half-dragged and half-threw him out of Songhe Hall.
As soon as the door closed, Wei Jia breathed a sigh of relief.
Ah Jiu turned around and stared intently at the handprint on her face. "Was that done by Third Master?"
Wei Jia's heart skipped a beat, and she frowned, saying, "Don't meddle! I'm warning you, don't cause trouble for the Grand Madam!"
Ah Jiu curled her lip, "You don't actually think I'd help you get revenge, do you? Tch, you're dreaming!"
After saying that, he turned around and went back to his own little house.
***
The news that the Marquis of Xuanping's family was going to split up spread throughout the capital the very next day.
Just as Madam Min Qiao saw off the people sent by the Duke of Jin's mansion to inquire about the situation, Min Hui arrived with a group of elders from the Min family.
Leading the group was one of the old Marquis's uncles, a generation above Min Qiaoshi.
Then there were the old Marquis's two half-brothers, who were of the same generation as Madam Min and had to call her "elder sister-in-law".
These three are the closest to the Marquis's residence. Among the remaining ones, two are of a higher generation than Madam Min Qiao, while the rest are of the same generation as Madam Min Qiao.
Seeing Min Hui leading seven or eight old men over, Ajiu slammed the gate of Songhetang shut.
"This is outrageous! This is outrageous!"
"This...this is really disrespectful to us old men!"
"This is outrageous! I'm furious!"
The elders were so angry at the scene that they nearly fell over.
Min Hui quickly seized the opportunity to feign grievance: "Dear uncles and grandfathers, you all saw Mother's attitude, didn't you? Not just me, now even you uncles and grandfathers have been turned away..."
"Go! Open the door for me!"
The speaker was the old Marquis's half-uncle, named Min Rui, an old man in his seventies, whose voice was full of energy.
Of course, it's also possible that he was so angry that his voice sounded particularly loud.
On the other side, Ah Jiu closed the door and hurriedly ran inside to report.
Madam Min knew that dividing the family property would not be easy, but she did not expect that the first people to jump out and stop her would be the elders of the Min family.
Madam Min had absolutely no goodwill towards these so-called elders of the Min family, and was not afraid of them at all.
She leisurely had a thick cloak draped over her shoulders, then asked someone to bring her a hand warmer. Before leaving, she drank a cup of hot tea and then strolled leisurely to the courtyard gate.
When she arrived at the courtyard gate, the clan elders had been standing outside for quite some time, and they were all freezing.
Min Hui's knocking on the door didn't lessen at all; on the contrary, it seemed like he was getting more and more enthusiastic as he knocked.
Min Qiao gave Ajiu a wink, and Ajiu quickly opened the courtyard gate.
Min Hui's hand, which was about to knock on the door again, almost hit A Jiu on the forehead.
Ajiu smiled at Min Hui, who was immediately startled and quickly took a few steps back, retreating behind several clan elders.
He hadn't forgotten how this incredibly strong little girl had thrown him out of Songhe Hall with one hand last night.
"Madam, you have quite the airs, keeping us old men waiting!" Min Rui was the first to speak out.
“Even my uncle calls me Madam Grand Madam, so isn’t it only right that I make you wait?” Madam Min Qiao immediately used her status to intimidate them, her tone completely lacking in politeness.
"you……"
Min Qiao's words left Min Rui speechless with anger.
Min Qiaoshi curled her lip. "That's it?"
"Nephew's wife, this is, after all, the old Marquis's own uncle. How can you speak to him like that? It's incredibly disrespectful!" The speaker was a distant relative, a member of the same clan as Min Rui, but a generation older than Min Qiao Shi.
His tone was full of accusation. It was clear he was there to cause trouble for Min Qiao's family, just like Min Rui.
Before Min Qiaoshi could speak, another uncle quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Hey, we're all family. Let's go inside and sit down and talk. What's the point of just standing here at the door?"
The others, who were already freezing, quickly chimed in.
"Yes, yes, let's go inside and talk."
"Yes, it's freezing cold outside. Let's go inside and talk about it."
However, Madam Min Qiao stood at the door, showing no intention of letting the group of old men in.
Min Qiaoshi was holding a hand warmer and wrapped in a thick cloak, having made ample preparations in advance, so she wasn't cold at all.
She looked coldly at the group of old men in front of her and said in a detached tone, "Say what you have to say here."
Everyone was stunned, looking at Madam Min Qiao in disbelief.
Are they not even allowed to enter the door?
"Elders, let's get straight to the point and finish this quickly so we can go back sooner. Don't let yourself get cold and then blame me."
"you……"
"you……"
Everyone was furious.
Madam Min Qiao said indifferently, "You came uninvited today, so if you catch a cold or feel unwell, it's not my fault."
"you……"
Seeing that someone was still going to waste time talking, Min Qiang, who had previously suggested coming in to talk, quickly said, "Alright, let's get straight to the point."
He didn't want to actually get sick from the cold.
Min Rui, who was seething with anger, had no choice but to suppress his emotions and looked at Min Qiaoshi with a gloomy face, "Niece-in-law..."
This time, he dared not call her "Grand Madam" again. He had originally intended to satirize Madam Min, but who knew that Madam Min would act completely unpredictably.
He dared to call her "Grand Madam," and Madam Min Qiao dared to truly act as if she were a superior Grand Madam, directly using her status to suppress him.
He had barely opened his mouth, before he could even begin to speak, when Madam Min raised her hand to interrupt him, saying, "Alright, I know what my uncle has to say. I also understand the purpose of the elders' presence here today."
"Aren't you just trying to persuade me not to separate the family?"
"Are you also thinking that Min Rong and his family are just three brothers, and now is a crucial time for the Hou family to rise again, so the three brothers should stick together as one?"
"You understand, so why do you still want to split up the family?" Min Rui asked, puzzled.
Madam Min Qiao said indifferently, "A large tree branches out, isn't that a law? Otherwise, how did you clan elders come about? Didn't you all branch off from the Marquis's mansion?"
"If you can all get a share, why can't Min Hui and Min Yao?"
Everyone was speechless.
Which of the old men standing here didn't originate from the Marquis's mansion?
Logically speaking, the family could have divided the property when the old Marquis died. The fact that it's been delayed until now shows that Madam Min Qiao is quite kind.
Seeing this, Min Hui hurriedly whispered, "Uncle, I won't separate from the family! I can't separate from the family! You promised to help me!"
He rushed to Min Rui's house last night, crying and kneeling to gain sympathy, and promising many benefits. Only then did the old man write a letter to the other clan elders overnight, arranging to come to the Marquis's residence early in the morning to ask Min Qiao Shi to stand up for him.
Min Rui snapped out of his daze and frowned at Min Qiao Shi. "Dividing the family isn't a bad idea. Just separate the second branch. I think the third son doesn't need to be separated. After all, he's Min Ji's legitimate son. It won't sound good if word gets out that you're treating him like this."
Madam Min Qiao sneered, "Is my uncle trying to teach me how to do things?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com