Mr. Xu was confused and asked, "Why is Madam Zhongyong waiting for Qin? Don't wait any longer. Tomorrow, we'll bring the imperial edict conferring her title and the imperial edict awarding you into the ancestral hall together. This is the idiom sung on the stage: husband and wife follow each other. Haha, my God, our Xu family has produced two heroes who have made great contributions to the country. There's no other family like them in the entire Hebei Province. It's such an honor! The ancestral tombs are filled with smoke..."
When he was happy, he grinned without any restraint.
Xu Qingyan explained, "They both hold the fourth rank imperial edict, but Qin is the principal wife, so the imperial edict ennobling her should be brought in first."
Old Man Xu was so angry that he knocked Xu Qingyan on the head and cursed, "You damn boy, you praised your wife to the skies before, and now you're still pampering her. Madam Zhongyong sacrificed her life for the country and was commended by the emperor. She's a remarkable woman like Hua Mulan. She's the glory of our Xu family, so why should she wait for Qin? People say Qin came from a brothel, how could a woman like that surpass Madam Zhongyong? Of the two of them, Zhou should be given priority. Besides, the emperor bestowed the title on Zhou first. It's said that officials should guess the emperor's intentions. You can't be as foolish as before."
Xu Qingyan knew the old man disliked Qin, but he hadn't expected him to speak so harshly of her, even going so far as to try to use Zhou to pressure her. His blood rushed to his head, and he said, "Dad, Qin is my legitimate wife. She comes from a clean family, the daughter of an official. It's only because of misfortune that she ended up in my house. She's already wronged by marrying me, a shady secret guard. How could you belittle her like this?"
I didn’t dare to say before that Qin came from an official family, but there is no way to do it today.
Old Man Xu still didn't believe it and said, "For your daughter-in-law, you can even tell such a lie. If she really is the daughter of an official, why didn't you say it earlier? You even want to use her family background to pressure Zhou. This makes no sense at all. You are such a short-sighted fool who doesn't understand the greater good..."
The old lady was angry and raised her voice to curse, "You old fool, you are not allowed to say that about my second son, nor about Qin. You are the shortsighted fool. My son finally came back alive, and you are looking for trouble and saying things that hurt him... Qin is the daughter-in-law of my second son. She is filial to her parents-in-law and educates her children. Everyone has seen it. She is my son's legal wife and should be ranked before Zhou. Also, don't bring up Qin's background anymore. I trust my son and can see that Qin is the daughter of a good family. There is no reason for me to trust my son and daughter-in-law and believe the nonsense of those rotten mouths. You old fool, they say that about Qin because they are jealous that our family has found such a good daughter-in-law and think that such a phoenix should not land in our family. But you listen to it and even follow those rotten mouths."
Xu Qingyan also said, "What mother said makes sense. Those people slandered Qin because they thought she was too good and that our family didn't deserve such a good daughter-in-law. Qin has been married to me for eighteen years, bearing me children, and being filial to my parents. She is my legitimate wife. Although Zhou is very understanding, she is only a concubine and can only be ranked behind Qin."
He stood up, knelt before the old couple, and said solemnly, "Father, Mother, Qin did nothing wrong. I haven't returned for eight years, and when I returned, I brought back a woman's tablet and a daughter. Although I had no choice, it is a fact that I have let Qin down and hurt her. She has suffered too much injustice. Please don't rub salt into her wounds and stop saying those hurtful words. Also, don't tell anyone about Zhou's title and how she died for the time being. Wait until Qin is given the title. The villagers are simple, but sometimes their words are sharper than knives. I am afraid that the elders will do Qin wrong to save the Xu family's reputation..."
Old Lady Xu pulled her son up and said, "Second son, now that we know, I will also keep a close eye on your father and prevent him from talking nonsense. If those elders get to know, who knows what will happen. Qin has had a hard time over the years, and her good mother knows it. Zhou is a good child, and we all remember her kindness, but we can't use the dead to suppress the living, or the living will be angry to death." She then asked Old Man Xu with bulging eyes, "Old man, did you hear that? Don't go out and tell others about it. Also, I will keep all the emperor's rewards and silver that Second son sent today before Qin's imperial edict comes down. Don't touch a single cent. If you and the eldest son dare to be foolish and go out and gossip about it, I will return all these things to the Second House and make the First House lose a single cent. There's no reason to eat Second son's food and then make things difficult for his family."
Xu Qingyan had always known that his mother was more sensible than his father, but today he realized she had even greater wisdom. His mother's unwavering support for him had saved him a lot of trouble. He said gratefully, "Thank you, Mom."
Old Man Xu wanted to say, "I should eat my second son's food," but when he thought about using the money to buy land for his eldest son and make clothes with the brocade given by the emperor, he was afraid that the old woman would really make trouble and return it. Besides, he had something important to discuss with his second son. He could only snort coldly and turn away to sulk.
Suddenly, he thought of the 1,000 taels of silver awarded by the emperor, and asked, "Where is the 1,000 taels of silver awarded to Zhou?"
Xu Qingyan said, "Leave it all to Xiao Niuniu, and use it as her dowry in the future."
Xu Laoqing was so angry that his chest ached and his head was buzzing. He shouted, "That silver belongs to my Xu family, to Lanzhou and Lanting. You are not allowed to give it all to that girl. Her dowry is one hundred taels of silver. No, two hundred taels of silver is the maximum."
Xu Qingyan knew that his father was extremely patriarchal and liked to take advantage of others, but he didn't expect that his father was even thinking about this money and was using the names of Lanzhou and Lanting.
He was furious and said, "That one thousand taels of silver was left by Zhou to her daughter. A son of the Xu family would never steal something left behind by a woman. As for Lan Zhou and Lan Ting, I will not treat them unfairly. The Emperor, the Prince, and Lord Zhou have also rewarded me with silver, and I will earn more in the future."
He felt lucky that he didn't have time to tell his father that Zhou Xin had received rewards from the King of Wu and the Zhou Palace, otherwise his father would have been even more upset.
Old Man Xu was so choked that his face turned red. He wanted to curse, but Old Lady Xu interrupted him and said, "Second son is right. The silver that the emperor gave to Zhou is also considered Zhou's dowry. Don't say that my second son is a high-ranking official. Even if he was a farmer digging for food in the soil, he would be criticized if he tried to steal a woman's dowry."
The old man wanted to say that it was a reward, not a dowry, but seeing his son's face twisted to the point of tears and the old woman glaring at him, he didn't dare to say anything more. The little girl was still young and still had many years before she could get married.
He then said what he had been thinking about, "My second son has made a name for himself now. I also want to go to Beijing to enjoy a few years with my son and become a real old man. Gu Wangchen's mother is so vulgar, but she can still follow her son to Beijing to enjoy a good life. I want to go too."
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