Chapter 55 Dividing the Inheritance
Madam Min Qiao, in a businesslike manner, repeated: "Dividing the family property is nothing more than dividing the family property and the profits. According to the previous rules of the Marquis's Mansion, 90% of the family property will remain in the Marquis's Mansion and be inherited by Min Rong. The remaining 10% will be inherited by Min Yao and Min Hui, with each son receiving two shares and the other one share, according to the ratio of legitimate sons to illegitimate sons."
"You have no objection to this, right?"
Since the decision has been made to suppress Min Hui's true parentage, then dividing the family property according to the old rules is the best cover-up.
No matter how many doubts and speculations outsiders may have, as long as she distributes the family property to Min Hui according to the treatment due to a legitimate son, all doubts and speculations will only become rumors.
Furthermore, if Min Hui were to bring about his own demise in the future, and she were to produce Min Ji's letter of divorce and remove Wang Shi's memorial tablet from the Marquis's ancestral hall, people would only praise her for her kindness because of what happened today, and would not say that she disregarded the dignity of the dead.
Of course, the main reason she was so generous in giving Min Hui a share of the family fortune was because the Marquis's mansion was too poor! They wouldn't get much money at all!
Those who dream of getting rich quick by dividing the family property will be the first to experience disillusionment! For example, Wang Zhangshi! And Wu Shi!
Suppressing her curiosity about Min Hui, Min Rong spoke first, replying, "My son has no objection."
Min Yao quickly replied, "Everything is up to Madam."
Min Qiao looked at Wang Mian.
Wang Mian showed a look of surprise, then nodded gratefully to Madam Min Qiao and replied loudly, "The third branch of the family has no objections either."
"Since no one has any objections, please have Granny Zhou and Steward Yang bring up the Marquis's estate and accounts."
These items were prepared in advance by Madam Min Qiao, and as soon as they were mentioned, they were quickly brought in.
There were several large wooden boxes containing the account books, but the wooden box containing the house deeds and land deeds was small and light in Yang An's hand.
Yang An placed the wooden box on the small square table next to Min Qiaoshi, then handed her the list of her properties before stepping aside to await further instructions.
Wu's eyes lit up when she saw the several wooden crates of account books. Just how large must this business be to have so many account books?
Madam Yang also secretly wondered how much property the Marquis's mansion actually owned, and how much the second branch of the family would get.
Without wasting any words, Madam Min Qiao directly stated the specific assets of the Marquis's mansion.
"The most valuable part of the Marquis's estate right now is this mansion itself. However, this mansion is passed down through generations along with the title and is not included in the allocation."
"Besides this Marquis's mansion, the mansion also owns two estates. One is a hot spring estate on the outskirts of the city, covering an area of 300 mu. Its annual output is about 200 taels. The estate is valued at 5,000 taels."
"Another estate is in the north, covering five hundred acres, with an annual output of two hundred taels. The estate is valued at three thousand taels."
"In addition, the Marquis's residence has two shops each in the south and north of the city. The shop in the south city has an annual profit of about three hundred taels and is priced at one thousand taels per shop. The shop in the north city has an annual profit of less than one hundred taels and is priced at five hundred taels per shop."
"There are five more shops in Linjingcheng, which is close to the capital. Together, they can bring in about six or seven hundred taels of silver a year. Each shop is valued at four hundred taels."
"These are roughly the properties of the Marquis's estate. All together, it's estimated to generate an annual income of two thousand taels, while the total value of the estates and shops themselves is thirteen thousand taels."
"According to the rules, the Marquis's mansion will retain property worth 11,700 taels. The second branch will receive property worth 440 taels, and the third branch will receive property worth 860 taels."
“I’ll decide that one of the shops in the north of the city will be allocated to the second family.”
"The three households are divided into two shops, one in the north of the city and one near the capital."
Do you have any objections?
While flipping through the general ledger, Madam Min Qiao rattled off a long string of words.
Everyone listened attentively and carefully.
After Madam Min Qiao finished speaking, everyone realized that the enormous Xuanping Marquis's mansion actually only had this little bit of property!
Everyone stared at Madam Min in disbelief.
Ms. Wu looked bewildered.
Yang was also shocked.
Wang Zhangshi, refusing to learn her lesson, shouted, "How is this possible?! How could the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion only have such a small amount of property?"
"Min Qiao Shi, was it you?" Wang Zhang Shi glared at Min Qiao Shi with eyes wide with fury and questioned her sharply, "You have been in charge of the Marquis's mansion for more than 30 years. Did you embezzle the Marquis's mansion's property during this time?"
"That must be it! It must be! Otherwise, how could such a large, century-old marquis's mansion only have such a small amount of property?"
Everyone's eyes were filled with scrutiny.
"Enough! Shut up!" Wang Mian angrily grabbed Wang Zhangshi's arm, glaring at her sharply, and threatened, "If you dare to open your mouth again, I'll throw you out!"
Wang Zhangshi glared at Wang Mian defiantly, but ultimately gave in, muttering resentfully, "I wasn't wrong!"
Seeing that Wang Zhangshi had calmed down, Wang Mian bowed apologetically to Min Qiaoshi and said, "If the third branch has no objections, let's divide it according to what the Grand Madam said."
Wang Mian, representing Min Hui, made a statement; the remaining issues are the first wife and the second wife.
Wu and Wang Zhangshi actually shared the same idea. She was initially pleased when Wang Zhangshi stepped forward to question them.
But at this moment, seeing that Wang Zhangshi was being restrained by Wang Mian, she felt extremely anxious.
She kept giving Min Rong meaningful glances, clearly wanting him to ask her about it.
On the second wife's side, Madam Yang had the same idea, but before she could make a move, Madam Lin had already given Min Yao a wink.
Upon receiving his birth mother's hint, Min Yao quickly stood up, bowed, and replied, "The second branch of the family has no objection."
As soon as he finished speaking and sat down, Yang, who was sitting next to him, pinched him hard.
Min Yao turned his head and glared at Yang Shi, then lowered his voice to remind her, "Our purpose is to divide the family property, not to divide the family assets."
Yang pouted, though she was unwilling, she still obediently settled down.
In this way, only the eldest son's wife remained silent.
Min Qiao's lips curled into a sarcastic smile.
From the moment she received the letter from Wang Shi delivered by Steward Ding, she stopped taking Min Hui seriously.
When dividing the family property, the one who truly needs to be clearly divided is Min Rong! The eldest branch of the family! The private property of the Marquis's mansion, and her dowry, Min Qiao Shi!
Seeing Wu's anxious expression and Min Rong's troubled, hesitant, conflicted, and tormented look, unable to make up her mind for a long time, Min Qiao couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
At this moment, Wu was hoping that Min Rong would question the Marquis's estate, but Min Rong was probably also hoping that Wu would step forward and expose the matter.
Seeing that the eldest son and his wife remained silent, Madam Min Qiao was not in a hurry and leisurely sipped her tea. Sensing someone watching her, Madam Min Qiao raised her eyes and looked towards Madam Zheng.
Sure enough, Madam Zheng was looking at him with a sympathetic expression.
Her adopted son is like that, and even her biological son seems to distrust her. No wonder Madam Min's personality has changed so drastically lately! There's definitely a reason for this!
Unaware that she had been deeply pitied by Madam Zheng, Madam Min Qiao smiled back in response.
Just then, Princess Jiaoyang spoke up impatiently, "Do Marquis Xuanping and his wife have some objection? If there's a problem, just say it! This coy behavior is annoying!"
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