Chapter 235: Dispute (Part 1)

Shiyi Niang changed into plain clothes, said goodbye to the lady and went to Gongxian Hutong with Luo Zhenxing.

The eldest lady was wearing a moon-white jacket in front of the hanging flower gate. Her eyes were slightly red, and when she saw Eleventh Lady, she burst into tears before she spoke: "How could such a thing happen?" Then she realized that it was not the right place to say such a thing, so she quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes.

Eleventh Lady smiled bitterly and, led by Luo Zhenxing, went to the main house with the eldest grandmother.

The eldest master sat beside the eldest wife's bed, Qian Ming and Wu Niang sat on the big kang by the window, Luo Zhensheng and Fourth Grandma stood behind the eldest master. Everyone had a frown on their faces and the atmosphere seemed a little heavy.

Seeing Shiyi Niang coming in, the eldest master raised his eyelids and looked at her: "You are here!" He looked unhappy. The eldest wife, however, looked blank, ignoring Shiyi Niang, and was in a trance, not knowing what she was thinking. Luo Zhenxing and Shiyi Niang went forward to pay their respects to the eldest master and the eldest wife respectively.

Wu Niang came over and held Shiyi Niang's hand: "What should we do? Unfortunately, we don't have any children."

However, the Fourth Grandma brought over a brocade stool and said, "Have you eaten, Eleventh Aunt? Sit down and rest your feet!" She also moved an armchair over for Luo Zhenxing who came in with Eleventh Lady.

Wu Niang finally responded and smiled awkwardly, "Look at me, I was so worried about my tenth sister that I forgot to ask if my eleventh sister had eaten..."

Now is not the time for such politeness.

Eleventh Lady immediately said, "I thought everyone was busy, so I came here after dinner." Fifth Lady nodded.

The eldest master said, "Everyone is here. Zhenxing, you have been to Shuntianfu. Tell me what is going on here."

Luo Zhenxing told the whole story again.

The older master looked uglier as he listened. In the end, he sneered, "…it's obvious that Ren Kun killed someone and wanted the servant to take the blame. I've seen this kind of thing many times." Then he instructed Eleventh Lady, "Since Miss Wang wants to see you, you should have a good talk with her. You can't let Ren Kun get away with it like this."

Shiyi Niang replied in a low voice: "Yes." Qian Ming hesitated to speak.

The eldest master didn't notice, but the eldest wife, who had been daydreaming, suddenly said, "Listen, listen to Qian Ming..." Although her words were labored, they were very clear.

Everyone was stunned. Their eyes fell on Qian Ming. Qian Ming was very surprised and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

The eldest master thought of Qian Ming's quick wit and said, "Yes, yes. Zichun, you are always smart. What do you think about this matter?"

Wu Niang's eyes lit up as she listened, and she looked at her husband with a proud smile.

Luo Zhenxing invited Qian Ming here because he thought that "three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang", but since the eldest master didn't say anything, he couldn't interfere. Now the eldest master and the first wife asked Qian Ming to help with ideas, he was naturally happy to see it. He said: "Fifth brother-in-law, let's not talk about how the tenth brother-in-law died. Even the tenth sister's situation, I'm afraid we need to help her make plans to get through this difficult time. Those sitting here are not outsiders, so just say whatever you want to say. Dad and Mom have never treated you as an outsider."

Qian Ming is a son-in-law after all, so of course he has his concerns. Deep down, he really wants to take care of this matter. You know, this matter not only involves the Wang family of the Maoguo Mansion and the Yuhang Luo family, but also involves the Le'an Jiang family, Princess Changning, the Yongping Marquis Xu family, and even the Dongyang Jiang family... For others, this is something they can't avoid. But for him, it is an opportunity - if he handles it well, he can leave a name in the minds of these families. If it's not easy to handle, isn't there Yongping Marquis in front of him?

Although he was ready to make a move, he remained silent, just looking for a suitable opportunity to speak. Now that Luo Zhenxing had said this, he naturally went with the flow. He pretended to ponder for a moment before saying what he had already prepared in his mind: "I think this matter is quite complicated. I think, as the tenth sister's family, should we track down the murderer first? Or should we find a way to support the tenth sister first... Wang Lang is dead, and the Wang family is in grief. It is inevitable that things will be chaotic. Once they calm down, I am afraid they will have to consider the issue of the widowed daughter-in-law and the heirs."

There was silence in the room.

Qian Ming's words were very tactful, but everyone understood them - he was advising everyone not to worry about who killed Wang Lang, but to save Shi Niang first.

"But Wang Lang..." The eldest master was still a little hesitant.

Luo Zhenxing thought about why Wang Lang died, and he couldn't help but feel a little angry. Seeing his father's unclear attitude, and thinking of Xu Lingyi's advice to him to keep an eye on the eldest master and not let the eldest master be used by others, he took up the conversation without caring about the status quo: "How Wang Lang died is a matter for Shuntian Prefecture and the Wang family. As the tenth sister's family, we are naturally most concerned about the tenth sister's future life."

This is exactly what Qian Ming wanted to hear.

They couldn't afford to offend either the Duke of Mao or Princess Changning, but they couldn't keep silent about this matter. If they acted without purpose, they might offend both the Duke of Mao and Princess Changning, and even implicate Shi Niang. The dead are dead, so it's better to take care of the living. They should think of a way to save Shi Niang first.

"In that case, I mean that we go to pay our respects today just to be polite," Qian Ming said slowly, "to give Tenth Sister some peace of mind. As for what to do in the future, it all depends on the Wang family's opinion."

Luo Zhenxing looked at the eldest master. The eldest master was hesitant.

After a while, he nodded gently. The stone hanging in everyone's heart finally fell to the ground.

"Then get ready, we'll go to Wang's house now." Luo Zhenxing stood up. Everyone followed suit.

But the eldest grandmother said, "Fifth sister is pregnant, so you should stay at home to accompany your mother!"

The eldest master nodded and suddenly said to Eleventh Lady, "Now that you are back, go see Auntie! She has been talking about you these days." Eleventh Lady glanced at the first wife. She saw that the first wife closed her eyes with a sullen face. She did not dare to hesitate, and said "yes" in a low voice, and went to the fifth aunt.

Fifth Aunt was naturally very happy to see her: "I'm fine. You don't have to worry. Sixth Sister has been taking good care of me. Shanhu often comes to see me. And Fourth Aunt is making little blouses for me..." As she spoke, she revealed some sadness, "I didn't expect that Shi Niang would become a widow at such a young age. She will have a hard time living even if she has mountains of gold and silver in the future. You are all in Yanjing together, so you should visit her more often when you have time."

"I know." Seeing that she was in much better spirits than the last time she came, Shiyi Niang felt relieved. Thinking of Shi Niang's prejudice against her, she responded vaguely, "We are going to the Wang family to pay our respects soon. My father specially asked me to come and see you. I can't stay long. If you have anything to say or need anything, please ask Sixth Aunt to bring me a letter."

"Then go quickly." Fifth Aunt nodded and walked her to the door. "You are the youngest, don't keep others waiting."

Eleventh Lady hurried to the main house and went to the Chuihua Gate with everyone to take the car.

The Luo family only had one carriage, so Wu Niang hired a small sedan chair. According to the Xu family's rules, Shiyi Niang brought her maid with her, so she took a large carriage and a small car. In addition to Luo Zhenxing, Luo Zhensheng, and Qian Ming, there were also the eldest grandmother, Shiyi Niang, and the fourth grandmother who went to the Wang family. If they took the carriage as a couple, Shiyi Niang and Qian Ming would have left alone, so they could only take the carriage as a man and a woman.

Fourth grandmother smiled and said, "How about my brother and eldest sister-in-law take one car, Eleventh Aunt and I take one car, and Fifth Aunt and Fourth Uncle take one car?" This division would be very reasonable.

No one objected, so Fourth Grandma helped Eleventh Lady into the car.

The Luo family's carriage was in front, Eleventh Lady's big carriage was in the middle, and the small carriage followed behind, and the group went to the Wang family.

On the way, the fourth sister chatted with the eleventh lady.

"The difficulty for the Tenth Aunt is that she married into a noble family!"

Eleventh Lady thought about how Fourth Lady had taken the initiative to arrange the seats in the carriage and helped her get in. She felt something in her heart, knowing that she had something to say to her.

Give a papaya, and you will get a jade in return. Since she has given me face by showing kindness in front of my aunt, I must not lose her face. Eleventh Lady smiled at Fourth Madam and pretended to listen attentively.

The fourth grandmother smiled and said, "The noble families value offspring, and they value titles even more." She hinted, "Now that the tenth brother-in-law is gone, and he has no offspring. What to do in the future? I'm afraid that the Wang family's words will not count. In the end, they still have to come to the Marquis. Eleventh Lady should also make a decision early." Eleventh Lady was stunned. She didn't expect the fourth grandmother to say such a thing.

Shiyi Niang thought about it carefully yesterday. No matter what era, strength speaks. The Luo family only helped Shiyi Niang to fight for the right of inheritance. Then who Shiyi Niang will inherit and how to inherit are decided by the Luo family. If the Luo family cannot fight for this right, then it will be useless to say anything. Shiyi Niang's fate can only be arranged by others.

Qian Ming reminded everyone in time that the Luo family must clarify their purpose in this matter, and Fourth Grandma clearly proposed how to resolve this matter.

They are all smarter than the other, calmer and more thoughtful. Eleventh Lady couldn't help but look up at Fourth Grandma. But Fourth Grandma looked at her with a smile in her eyes. The best thing to do when talking to a smart person is to be honest.

"The problem is, the Marquis was just dismissed by the Emperor yesterday." Eleventh Lady was not sure about this matter.

Xu Lingyi values ​​his family more than anything else. He is now in a period of keeping a low profile, and most likely he will not help Shi Niang to do this, not to mention the feud between the Xu family and the Wang family. It was the first time that Fourth Lady heard about the dismissal. She was shocked. Eleventh Lady nodded at her with a wry smile, and emphasized again: "The Marquis was dismissed by the Emperor yesterday." As her voice fell, Fourth Lady's expression had returned to calm. "Thirty years on the west, forty years on the east. Don't be sad, aunt." She immediately comforted Shiyi Niang, "As long as there is green, there will be no shortage of firewood. Besides, the Marquis is still young, and the princes are growing up. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future." She added, "I heard that the Marquis has foot paralysis. It's a good time for him to take a good rest, and aunt won't have to suffer the pain of getting up at the drum. It's also a good thing."

If Eleventh Lady thought that Fourth Madam Zhou was not a simple person before, now she has a new respect for her.

She was so sophisticated in her actions and so tactful in her words. It was a blessing for Luo Zhensheng to marry her. When Eleventh Lady thought of Luo Zhensheng's incompetence, she felt both pity and compassion.

"Thank you, Fourth Sister-in-law!" She thanked Fourth Grandma sincerely, "I thought so too. Let the Marquis take this opportunity to have a good rest."