Separation of the Family
Mrs. Qin knelt on the ground, and a large group of people behind her also knelt there.
She took the imperial edict and kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace.
Everyone also bent down and bowed their heads, and the dissatisfaction and struggle in their eyes were hidden as they closed their eyes.
Madam Qin signaled Lanxiang to give her father-in-law some money as a reward, and politely escorted him out of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's Mansion.
She stood up and carefully opened the imperial edict, "By the will of Heaven, the Emperor decrees that I am grateful for the contributions of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery... and I hereby appoint his son Yan Huaiqi as the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's heir apparent. This is my decree!"
The hand holding the imperial edict trembled slightly, and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. She sniffed. Seeing this, Lanxiang quickly moved behind her to support Mrs. Qin's body.
"Madam, the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict is Eunuch Li, who serves as Madam Qin's attendant." Lanxiang whispered in Madam Qin's ear from behind. "Before he left, the eunuch quietly told me that once our crown prince has his coming-of-age ceremony, he will inherit the title of Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery."
"I think this is what His Majesty meant." Madam Qin smiled. She knew that Eunuch Li was a favorite of His Majesty and he would not easily say anything without turning it over in his mind seven or eight times.
Because of the death of the Marquis, the third-day bathing ceremony was not held, which made Madam Qin feel relieved. She gave birth prematurely this time, so she had to stay in bed for two months.
Unexpectedly, she received the imperial edict just after she left the confinement period. This really gave her peace of mind.
As she walked along the road, her eyes became more and more determined. She could finally free up her hands to clean up the second and third rooms.
Three days later
Madam Qin was sitting in the middle hall, Lanxiang was standing behind her holding the young master, who was sleeping peacefully without crying or making a fuss.
The central hall had been quiet for a while, until Mrs. Chen from the second house "came late" and broke the awkward atmosphere.
"I thought you didn't dare to go out." Mrs. Qin took a sip of tea, lowered her eyes and said nonchalantly without even looking at her.
"Haha, sister-in-law, you're joking. Mrs. Chen just encountered some problems on the way, so she is late." The second master gave Mrs. Chen a look, indicating that she should apologize.
Mrs. Qin caught a glimpse of the exchange of glances between the two and smiled in her heart. It was the first time in all the time she had been married that she had seen the Second Master so adaptable.
If she hadn't secretly sent someone to investigate, she wouldn't have believed that such a sinister trick was actually thought up by the second master of the mansion.
He seemed to be non-competitive in the past. Although he was not very warm to the late marquis, he did not do anything to harm him.
Could it be that he is a bully who only bullies the weak and fears the strong?!
Seeing that the Marquis was gone, she was the only widow left in the main house, and her family was in decline, so he wanted to take action against her?
Thinking of this, Mrs. Qin tightened her grip on the teacup slightly, and only came back to her senses after hearing Mrs. Chen's apology.
Mrs. Qin took a deep breath and placed the teacup heavily on the table to her left.
With a "bang", the people in the third room were immediately frightened. If there was no wet nurse watching beside them, those little kids would have screamed in fear.
Seeing this, the third wife hurriedly looked at her own children.
Madam Qin glanced at the commotion in the third house and thought to herself, "Are they frightened already? The upbringing of the third house is really too poor."
Forget it, it’s because the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery started out lately and is considered a “nouveau riche” in the capital, and the upbringing of their children has not caught up yet.
Poor Marquis, he passed away when he was just thirty years old, leaving them, an orphan and a widow, in this Marquis's mansion.
"Don't be angry, sister-in-law. It's all my fault today. I apologize to you." Mrs. Chen apologized again, but her posture made anyone who saw her feel that she was not sincere, but rather seemed to be acting.
Madam Qin chuckled and shifted her gaze from the third room to Madam Chen.
When the children from the third room saw that she was no longer staring at them, they rolled their eyes and secretly glanced at Mrs. Chen, their second aunt, who was standing in the middle.
The third wife pulled her own child to stop him from looking around, and she ignored the other illegitimate children.
He has an attitude that as long as his family doesn't make any mistakes, everything will be fine.
The Third Master was very dissatisfied with her attitude, so he coughed lightly, and the children all lowered their heads and stopped looking over there. Only the Third Lady glared at her husband.
She didn't like those illegitimate children. If he hadn't taken one wife in after another into the mansion, their three wives would have been so short of money that she almost had to use her dowry to supplement the family expenses. Moreover, they had given birth to so many children who were noisy and annoying.
The third wife's head hurt even more when she thought about the concubine who was about to give birth. She prayed that she would give birth to a fourth daughter.
The children of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery are sorted by gender.
The second and third daughters are both from the second wife's family.
The eldest daughter, the second son, the third son, and the fourth son are all from the third wife.
The eldest son was born to the first wife, but he died at the age of three. Now the first wife, Madam Qin, has only one son, who is the fifth child in the family and is considered the fifth son of the marquis's mansion.
The second wife has no sons, while the third wife has many sons. This is why the third wife is unwilling to act rashly. They can't understand why the second wife has no children and no ability, and the current emperor is a person who loves talents. How can the second wife inherit the title? Is it just based on seniority?
But the current crown prince is neither born of a legitimate wife nor the eldest, so I think Your Majesty doesn't care about these things.
If the first wife had not given birth to a prince, in terms of offspring alone, the third wife would have had a greater chance of inheriting the title than the second wife. They had never thought that His Majesty the Emperor might take back the title. After all, this situation had never happened so far.
"I called you here today for no big deal, just to talk about the division of the family." Madam Qin sat there and said something that made people jump up from their armchairs.
"What!? Divide the family???" Mrs. Chen had been pretending to bow, but when she heard this, she stood up straight and spoke very harshly without any respect to her sister-in-law. It was not difficult to tell from her eyes that this matter was completely beyond her expectations.
The master of the third house couldn't help but stand up, but he opened his mouth and closed it again. Perhaps he saw someone asked the question for him, so he became a turtle.
"Don't think I don't know what tricks you've been using in secret." Although Madam Qin was still sitting, shorter than the others who had stood up, her imposing aura was undeniable. "If my little five 'accidentally' dies one day, don't blame me for being the first to suspect you!!"
"When that happens, I will file a complaint with His Majesty, including everything your second wife did on the day I gave birth, even if it means losing my life."
When the third wife saw her eldest sister-in-law looking like she wanted to eat people and drag everyone to hell, she was so scared that she collapsed on the armchair.
The second master's face turned blue and white, like a color palette.
Although he coveted the title, he still valued his life more.
Putting aside the imperial edict from a few days ago, just looking at Eunuch Li’s attitude that day, it seems that His Majesty still cares about the first wife.
After all, his eldest brother, the late Marquis of Zhongyong, was a hero who "died on the battlefield and sacrificed his life for the country."
Although he gave Chen some advice in private, he didn't expect her to be so stupid that she actually asked her personal maid to pass on the message. This would definitely be a sure thing.
Although he is not afraid of his sister-in-law, he is afraid of His Majesty.
If Your Majesty gets angry, no one can escape.
And as for the matter of my eldest brother...looking at Qin's expression, I think she is still unaware of it.
Thinking of this, he calmed down again, and couldn't help but think of divorcing his wife.
With such a "good wife", he probably has no hope in this life.
"In that case, we'll listen to my sister-in-law and move out the day after tomorrow." The second master thought about it and agreed.
Mrs. Chen turned and looked at the second master in shock. At this time, the third wife also expressed her willingness to move out.
"My second sister-in-law doesn't want to move!" Madam Qin stared at Chen with a half-smile.
She suddenly felt uneasy, swallowed her saliva, and then reluctantly agreed, but her clenched fists showed her dissatisfaction.
She was only one step away from the glory of the Marquis, how could she be willing to accept this?
After moving out of the Marquis' Mansion, they were no longer the Yan family of the Loyal and Brave Marquis, but just an ordinary Yan family without official title or nobility, and their life was no different from before.
The division of the family was thus finalized.
The central hall became deserted again. Madam Qin leaned back in her chair as if she had lost all her strength, playing with her embroidered handkerchief with two fingers and clearing her mind.
She didn't come to her senses until she heard the young master crying.
"Give me the child." Madam Qin waved at Lanxiang, "He must be hungry."
She has been feeding the baby herself for the past few months. It's not that she doesn't trust the wet nurse, but she heard that this is good for the baby.
After feeding, Lanxiang skillfully took the little prince over, burped him and coaxed him to sleep.
"Madam, our little prince is much more obedient than those from the third house. Look, he doesn't cry or make a fuss when he's full and he's very easy to take care of." Lanxiang was so biased that she always sided with her own prince in everything.
Hearing this, Mrs. Qin smiled and touched Yan Xiaowu's little head.
"I just hope she grows up healthy."
......
Five years passed in a flash, and the fragile baby in the cradle has grown into a little kid.
Five-year-old Yan Xiaowu had just finished school, carrying her schoolbag. She walked into the study at a leisurely pace. Fortunately, it was not yet time for lunch, so she sat on the desk that was tailor-made for her and wrote the homework assigned by her teacher.
There is also a pot of jasmine on the windowsill. The number of flower buds is pleasing, and several of them have already bloomed.
The little hands holding the brush cannot write beautiful characters, they can only be considered neat.
There is a water tank in the room, with a few fish in it. They are happily playing in the water. They pass through the water plants, flick their tails and hide in the rockery in the water. A few bubbles float up with "gurgling" sounds.
Yan Xiaowu was not attracted by this. She was very focused, but her mouth was a little dry, so she smacked her lips. At this moment, Mrs. Qin walked in with a bowl of pear soup.
She did not lower her footsteps, obviously trying to remind Yan Xiaowu that she was coming.
"Mom." Her voice was still very childish. She put down the brush, ran to Mrs. Qin's legs and hugged her, then tilted her head and smiled sweetly at her.
"Mom brought your favorite sweet pear juice." Seeing that Yan Xiaowu's mouth was chapped, she couldn't help but feel a little more distressed.
"Thank you, mother. You are so kind." She did not hold it in her palm but savored it carefully.
She could tell that it was brewed by her mother.
Although the cook’s cooking was delicious, the sweet pear juice made by her mother was always the best for her, with a light jasmine scent.
"Is studying tiring?" She raised her hand and touched Yan Xiaowu's head.
"Not tired." Yan Xiaowu replied loudly, as if as long as the voice was loud enough it would be true.
Mrs. Qin pinched her little face again. It was not as chubby as when she was a child. Her little Wu had always been smart and more mature than other children. Now she was very sensible.
When other children were playing, Yan Xiaowu was studying in the study. When other children were sleeping, Yan Xiaowu was still studying.
She saw all of this.
Studying is hard, but her children have it harder than others.
"You don't have to go to the academy tomorrow. Mom will take you to Peach Blossom Temple for a visit, okay?"
"Really? Really?" She asked twice, and it was obvious that she was looking forward to going out for the trip.
Mrs. Qin smiled and said of course.
"Yeah!"
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