Bai Lan played at the Wen family's house until 3 p.m. before leaving.
Perhaps she also received some advice from her nanny, and knew that Liu Zhaohou liked Xu Lanyin's clothes and chess playing, so she humbly asked Xu Lanyin how to dress. She also said that she had learned chess and military chess from her father and brothers at home, and would come over often to learn from Sister Xu in the future.
After spending most of the day interacting with her and listening to her inner thoughts, Xu Lanyin also fell in love with this girl. Although she seemed gentle, she was actually smart and independent-minded, and had no bad intentions. She was determined to live a good life with Liu Zhaohou.
Indeed, her stepmother was rather harsh towards her and her two siblings. After she married Liu Houzhao, not only did her life become easier, but her stepmother also dared not treat her siblings harshly.
Just after sending Bai Lan, the Li mother and daughter, and Chai Zixiao away, someone from Old Lady Liu's family came to say that the old lady had passed away at noon today.
Old Lady Liu has already disowned her and is no longer part of the Wen family. Her descendants can go to pay their respects to her, but they won't be accused of being unfilial if they don't. Because Old Lady Liu was directly involved in the murder of Princess Changhe, the brothers Wen Zhuofeng and Wen Zhuoan certainly won't go.
Xu Lanyin did not express her opinion and said she would wait until the eldest and fourth masters came back.
Not long after, Huqi came back and said that Wen Jiao wanted to go to the funeral, but the Third Madam disagreed, and the old man didn't care and was crying in the yard.
Xu Lanyin had a good impression of Wen Jiao. Although she was the daughter of Wen Xing and Liu Shi, she was completely different from her parents and two brothers. Because of the favor of the old lady and Wen Yan, she was a bit arrogant and ignored Wen Zhuoan and his brothers and the third wife's family, but she never bullied them. Most remarkable of all, when Wen Zhuoan was a child, Wen Jiao had accidentally seen Yan Shangchai. Wen Zhuoan asked her not to tell her parents, and she really didn't tell them...
Because of the relationship between Wen Yan and his wife, the Wen Zhuoan brothers were reluctant to interact with Wen Jiao, nor did they want to interfere in the Third Wife's suppression of the Second Wife. Xu Lanyin would definitely follow her husband's lead, but when the Third Wife of Wen was particularly excessive, she would still help them.
Xu Lanyin couldn't interfere in this matter, and at most she could only talk to Wen Zhuoan about it.
Wen Zhuoan came back in the evening.
Xu Lanyin told the story of Old Madam Liu's death and how Wen Jiao wanted to attend the funeral but the Third Madam refused to allow it.
Wen Zhuoan said, "Third Aunt has gone too far in some things. The old lady and Wen Xing and his wife got what they deserved, and the remaining people from the second branch didn't do anything evil. She can dislike them or not help them, or even add insult to injury, but she can't make them unable to survive..."
As he was speaking, the little girl came to report, "Fourth Master, Fourth Madam, the Second Miss is here."
Wen Zhuoan thought about it and said, "Let her in."
Wen Jiao was wearing plain clothes, a white flower on her head, and her eyes were red and swollen.
As soon as she came in, she knelt down and said, "Fourth brother, grandma has passed away, and I want to go to the funeral. I know that the mistakes grandma and my parents made are unforgivable, and you hate them, and you should hate them. But I can't. Grandma loved me from childhood to adulthood, and she died. I can't help but go to see her. I also don't want her descendants to have no one to attend her funeral and let her go alone. Fourth brother, please."
Wen Zhuoan nodded and said, "Okay, I'll tell my uncle and aunt to send a car to take you there."
Wen Jiao hadn't expected it to be so easy, so she smiled. "Fourth Brother, I have one more thing to ask. I was thinking of waiting until my parents passed away, but now I've thought it through and want to do it all at once." She took another deep breath and said firmly, "I want to become a nun and go to the Daci Temple where my grandmother practices."
Wen Zhuoan was stunned and said, "You want to become a monk? You're only fifteen years old this year, still so young... Think about it again. I'll talk to Third Uncle and ask Third Aunt to be more restrained in the future."
Tears welled up in Wen Jiao's eyes, and she said, "Fourth brother, thank you for still helping me. But I have made up my mind, so there is no need to persuade me anymore. If I can't become a monk, I would rather die. Before, I wanted to become a monk in a Taoist temple, just like my aunt did. But now I want to become a monk in a temple, chant sutras and pray for my aunt and uncle, hoping that they can be reborn into a good family in their next life. I also chant sutras to atone for the sins of my grandmother and my parents, hoping that they can love and care for their relatives in their next life..."
After she said that, Wen Zhuoan really couldn't persuade her anymore, so he could only say, "There's no rush for this matter, think about it again."
Wen Jiao shook her head and said, "Don't worry about it. I've packed all my things and will take them out. After I take care of my grandmother's funeral, I will become a nun and never come back. I also want to ask my fourth brother for a favor. Can you talk to my grandfather and eldest brother and ask them to separate my eldest sister-in-law and her daughter to live on their own? They don't need to get much of the family property, just enough for them to live on simple food for the rest of their lives. As for my second sister-in-law, she has no children, and my second brother will definitely not be able to come back. She wants to live with her parents or marry someone else, it's up to her. And my third sister, Wen Xiang, she suffered a lot from my mother in the past. She is also a poor person. When looking for a husband, she doesn't need to look at family background or wealth. As long as the husband's family is kind..."
Before, Wen Zhuoan and Xu Lanyin wished that Wen Xing and his wife and their descendants would be unlucky for the rest of their lives, but they were touched after hearing Wen Jiao's words.
Xu Lanyin had also heard that Third Madam Wen had picked out some families for Wen Jiao and Wen Xiang. Now it sounded like neither of those families was suitable.
Wen Zhuoan said, "Okay, I will discuss these things with my eldest brother, and then discuss them with my grandfather and my third uncle."
After hearing this, Wen Jiao kowtowed to Wen Zhuoan and Xu Lanyin very solemnly.
This gift was a bit too big, so Wen Zhuoan stood up and helped her up.
After Wen Jiao left, Wen Zhuoan said, "You eat by yourself. I'll go eat with my eldest brother."
Xu Lanyin said, "If you can help, then help. Those people are innocent, so let them go."
Wen Zhuoan smiled bitterly and said, "If Wen Jiao becomes a nun, others might think she's disillusioned with the world after being inspired by the fate of Old Lady Liu and the Wen Yan couple. If Third Aunt continues to act recklessly and someone dies, people will say it's us who forced her to do it. The Wen family's reputation is already shattered. People say they're willing to sacrifice even their own family members for money and titles. Big brother has been dedicated to reviving the family tradition and certainly doesn't want anything bad to happen to them again."
The next morning, Xu Lanyin went to Wen Jiao's courtyard to see her off. Following Wen Zhuoan's instructions, she also gave her two hundred taels of silver as a token of gratitude for her silence.
Second Wen grandmother Hu and her daughter Wen Ping, Third Wen grandmother Wang, and Third Wen daughter Wen Xiang all came to see him off. Their eyes were red from crying, and they were still sobbing softly.
The fifth master of the third house, Wen Zhuozhong, also came, and the third master Wen asked him to send Wen Jiao to the nunnery.
One of Wen Jiao's personal maids will become a nun with her.
Xu Lanyin handed a bag of silver to Wen Jiao and said, "My uncle said that the Wen family will donate 100 taels of silver to Daci Temple every year."
Wen Jiao knelt down again and thanked Xu Lanyin solemnly.
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