Chapter 201 Rumors (Part 2)
Eleventh Lady was shocked.
So early? And today is the 27th of the lunar month. Did something happen to the Fifth Aunt? Or the First Wife...
She hurriedly ordered the maid, "Please come in quickly." With a confused heart, she changed into a light blue satin gown with ten brocade rose flowers on it and went to the hall.
Seeing that the person who came out was Shiyi Niang, Luo Zhenxing's expression was obviously relieved, and he asked again: "Where is the Marquis?"
Eleventh Lady was reluctant to talk about these things at home, so she said ambiguously, "The Marquis did not stay here last night."
Luo Zhenxing thought Xu Lingyi was resting in the concubine's room, and said, "I have something to tell you." He emphasized the word "you".
Eleventh Lady led Luo Zhenxing to the resting area in the east room, and after the maid served tea, she sent the servants away.
"There's something I want to tell you. Please listen carefully." Luo Zhenxing's expression was very serious. "Don't shout or cry."
It would have been better if she didn't listen. After hearing what Luo Zhenxing said, Shiyi Niang calmed down.
"Brother, please speak!"
Luo Zhenxing looked at his sister deeply and said, "Yesterday, I went to visit the master with a few classmates, and I heard that the master had an illegitimate child..."
"The Marquis has an illegitimate child?" Shiyi Niang looked at Luo Zhenxing in astonishment. "Who told you this? What did they say?"
She was stunned by the sudden news. As soon as she said this, she realized she had asked a stupid question.
Luo Zhenxing was not a gossipy person. Even he had heard about it, and he had heard about it when he and his peers went to visit their master. So this matter must have been widely spread and known to everyone. It had only been two days since the incident with Feng Qing. This was a world without the Internet or television. It was the Ou family who wanted to buy the child. It was obvious who spread the rumor. As for what was said, of course, it was to say whatever it could to smear Xu Lingyi more. Since the matter had been exposed, it was not possible to return empty-handed. It was also good not to damage his foundation. It was also good to let him suffer a little.
"Many people are spreading it!" Luo Zhenxing couldn't tell them one by one. "My teacher, the Minister of Rites, Lord Yu, was present at the time and did not refute it." Lord Yu was upright and strict, and would never let his disciples spread rumors. He believed the truth of this matter, "It is said that when the Marquis was suppressing the rebellion in Miaojiang three years ago, a camp prostitute who served him in bed became pregnant, and then secretly brought her back to Yanjing, and a son was born." After calculating, the time was right, "Because my eldest sister was seriously ill, she has been raising her son outside..." The best way for a man to deal with this situation is to raise his son outside.
He gave a few simple instructions, then looked at Eleventh Lady intently, "I heard that the Marquis has brought the child back. Do you know about this?"
Eleventh Lady had no way to answer.
So far, Xu Lingyi's instructions to her are still being kept secret from everyone.
Luo Zhenxing was not surprised to see his sister remain silent.
After all, Eleventh Lady had only been married to the Xu family for a short time. Matters concerning offspring must naturally be discussed with the Madam first...
"Eleventh sister," he looked at Eleventh Lady solemnly, "Now that you know about this, if the Madam and the Marquis both want the child to recognize his ancestry, what will you do?"
Eleventh Lady was shocked when she heard this.
How could I have forgotten this? Since the Luo family has heard such rumors, they must have made some arrangements to prevent it from happening. Luo Zhenxing got up early in the morning, most likely for this matter. She looked at Luo Zhenxing quietly: "Of course, we have to listen to the lady and the marquis!"
Luo Zhenxing nodded, a trace of relief flashing in his eyes: "I'm glad you're so sensible."
Did Luo Zhenxing get up early in the morning just to tell her this? Or did Luo Zhenxing simply not understand the implication of her words?
Shiyi Niang was confused, but Luo Zhenxing had already whispered to her, "There is only one thing you cannot agree to no matter what."
Sure enough, there is a trick!
She remained calm and looked at Luo Zhenxing seriously: "Please teach me, big brother!"
"No matter what, the child cannot be raised under your name." Luo Zhenxing stared at Shiyi Niang with scorching eyes, and said word by word, "It is natural for the Marquis to want to take the child back. But if the child is raised under your name, the child will take the title of 'legitimate'. In this mansion, apart from Brother Zhe, there is only him. Brother Zhe ranks before him, so naturally there is nothing wrong. But you are still young, and you will have your own biological child in the future..." At this point, his tone paused, "We can't let him take the title of your child!"
This child has no relationship with the Luo family, so it is natural for the Luo family to have such thoughts. Eleventh Lady can understand. Moreover, she also agrees. If Feng Qing is raised under his name, he will have to face not only the suspicion of his legitimate son Zhe Ge, but also the jealousy of his illegitimate son Xu Siyu. If one day these children start a quarrel for the title, the first person to suffer will be Feng Qing.
Fortunately, Xu Lingyi didn’t mean that!
Eleventh Lady let out a long sigh.
Then I thought again, since the Qu family deliberately spread rumors, Xu Lingyi should know about it soon. I wonder how Xu Lingyi will deal with this matter? Sending the child to Xishan or sending him back to his hometown gives people a feeling of covering up, and loses the meaning of hiding it. I'm afraid he will probably be raised at home! This is also good. Anyway, the lady is still in good health, and the family cannot be divided for a while. With the character of the fifth lady, she will probably ignore the child. When the time comes, she will pick a few honest and kind-hearted people to take care of him. He should be able to slowly forget the pain he had before!
But no matter what, I'm still worried about his future fate!
When Luo Zhenxing saw a hint of resentment in Shiyi Niang's eyes, he thought she was worried about what to do if Xu Lingyi wanted to raise the child under her name - Xu Lingyi had a frightening sternness between his brows, and Shiyi Niang was young, so it was normal for her to be afraid of him.
"Eleventh sister," he said slowly, "you don't have to worry. You should know that since ancient times, adopting a concubine's son requires the consent of the clan and the consent of the wife. The Xu family is small, and the Marquis is already the head of the clan, so the first point is considered empty. As for the second point, you are husband and wife, and the wife regards the husband as the heaven. Since the Marquis has this intention, if you refuse, the Marquis will lose face, and the couple will inevitably become estranged in the future. It is bound to be ugly if the couple is not in harmony because of this matter. Let me give you an idea, do you think it's okay?" He said he was asking her if it was okay, but he felt that she was not only young, but also inexperienced. He didn't even bother to ask for her opinion, and said directly, "Doesn't the second branch have no heir? I think if the Marquis tells you about this, you might as well talk to him and put the child directly under the name of the second branch. And you can also tell others that the child was adopted from a charity, or was found by chance, and because he has a pair of eyes that look like those of the Xu family, you thought it was fate, so you took him back and prepared to inherit the incense of the second branch. This way, you can get out of your predicament, and you can also share some of the burden for the Marquis. I'm sure the Marquis will like it when he hears it."
It is very thoughtful, both emotionally and logically.
That’s definitely not what the eldest wife meant.
The eldest wife would never care about her relationship with Xu Lingyi. The more tense her relationship with Xu Lingyi was, the more difficult it would be for her to have children, and the more she would rely on Brother Zhe, and the more secure Brother Zhe's position would be. This was exactly what the eldest wife liked to see, so why would she remind her not to affect the relationship between husband and wife by getting petty over children?
It seems that this is Luo Zhenxing's own idea!
She couldn't help but look at Luo Zhenxing seriously and called out softly, "Brother."
Luo Zhenxing laughed: "What's wrong?"
"It's okay!" Eleventh Lady also smiled, her eyes sparkling like the first rainbow after the rain, "This child is of such a humble origin, I'm afraid Second Sister-in-law won't agree!"
"It doesn't matter if you don't agree!" Luo Zhenxing said, "It's the same if you raise the child under the names of the concubines. Doesn't Concubine Wen have a son? You can raise the child under her name. Concubine Wen feels guilty for not having a son. Only by raising the child under her name can she fight against Concubine Qiao. If it doesn't work with the second lady, you can mention it to Concubine Wen. Concubine Wen is a smart person, she will definitely find a way. You just don't have to show up."
Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded: "I understand."
Luo Zhenxing smiled and said, "Okay, I have told you everything I should tell you. I will go back after I meet the Marquis."
Eleventh Lady hurriedly asked the maid to invite Xu Lingyi.
Luo Zhenxing asked curiously, "Why? Resting at the Madam's place!"
"The Madam was not feeling well yesterday, so she asked the Marquis to come and talk to her."
Luo Zhenxing listened thoughtfully.
Could it be that the mother and son were fighting for this matter...
The thought flashed through her mind, and the maid who had gone to ask Xu Lingyi to come back said, "Madam, the Marquis is back!"
It looks like we met halfway!
Eleventh Lady said "Oh" and went to greet him with Luo Zhenxing.
Seeing Luo Zhenxing early in the morning, Xu Lingyi couldn't hide his surprise: "Zhenxing is here so early. Let's talk inside!"
The two of them sat down in the east room, and Shiyi Niang personally made tea and went in.
Luo Zhenxing and Xu Lingyi told those rumors.
Xu Lingyi did not show any surprise, and nodded, "I heard that, too. Don't worry, I will take care of this matter and will not let Shiyi Niang suffer any injustice."
Luo Zhenxing heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this.
Xu Lingyi is a man of his words. Since he said he would not wrong Shiyi Niang, he would definitely not raise the child under Shiyi Niang's name.
He got the accurate information, and the heavy stone in his heart fell to the ground. He exchanged a few words with Xu Lingyi, then bowed and said goodbye: "...I am going to have dinner with my classmate today."
Xu Lingyi did not want to keep him, so he saw him out the door and then came back to talk to Shiyi Niang in the inner room.
"I only got the news at midnight yesterday. When our two families were fighting for the child, Liu Huifang had disappeared. He treated the child like a cash cow and kept him in the house to raise him. After he fell into poverty, he cut off contact with most of his former friends. Not many people know about this. When I brought the child back, I sent someone to the charity to make a foundation for him. Even if there are any flaws, the Qu family can't make any big waves because of public gossip."
"Will the child be sent to Xishan?" Shiyi Niang wanted to get Xu Lingyi's confirmation. "If not, I can make some arrangements!"
"You take care of it!" Xu Lingyi said, "Sending things back and forth is like covering your ears and stealing a bell."
That means you can stay.
Eleventh Lady felt slightly relieved when she thought of Feng Qing's anxious eyes like a deer.
A little maid came in and reported: "Master, Master Zhou is here!"
Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly at Shiyi Niang after hearing this: "It looks like everyone knows about it."