Chapter 31: Old Stories of the Qi Family
Three days later, it will be time for the bride to return to her parents' home.
Pei Lin got up early and practiced two sets of boxing in the courtyard before Wen Lingzheng slowly woke up and lazily got up under the urging of Granny Zhuang.
"Why are you up so early?" Still half-asleep, Wen Lingzheng peered through the dressing mirror at Pei Lin, who was walking into the house from the courtyard. "You seem more eager than I am..."
Knowing his wife had been thoroughly exhausted these past two days and was in a bad mood upon waking, Pei Lin chuckled helplessly. He leaned in and gently kissed her earlobe, "Mmm... I've always had plenty of energy since I was a child..."
Understanding the implication in his words, Wen Lingzheng slapped him back in annoyance and shoved herself aside, saying, "In broad daylight, aren't you ashamed! Stay away from me!"
After the couple finished packing and boarded the carriage to head to the Wen residence, the bright sun, which had been hiding in the clouds, began to peek out.
At the entrance of the Wen family mansion in Yinanqiao Lane, Wen Lingzheng and Pei Lin had just alighted from their carriage when Wen Tongwen led his two brothers out to greet them.
Several unmarried daughters of the Wen family also came along.
Surrounded by her sisters, Wen Lingzheng went to Shou Kang Hall to talk with Old Madam Wen, while Pei Lin was invited by Wen Tongwen and the others to the front hall for a chat.
"No drinking!" Wen Lingzheng pulled Pei Lin back and whispered her instructions.
Wen Tongwen stood to one side, completely taken aback that his daughter dared to speak to the Marquis in such a commanding manner, and broke out in a cold sweat.
Coming to his senses, he was about to reprimand her when he heard Pei Lin walk up to Wen Lingzheng with a smile and obediently say, "I know, I promise I won't drink it!"
Sighing and swallowing back his words, Wen Tongwen secretly glanced at Wen Lingzheng, a hint of joy welling up in his heart.
But then he suddenly remembered the letter that had been sent from Jiangnan yesterday, and he couldn't help but frown. Watching Wen Lingzheng and her sisters walk towards Shou Kang Hall, he sighed helplessly.
The furnishings in the Shou Kang Hall courtyard were as they always were, and as always, Granny Ren was the first to come out to greet them, her mouth full of auspicious words.
Grandma Wen and her daughters-in-law were already waiting at the head of the table. When they saw Wen Lingzheng come in, her smile widened. "Fourth Sister, come here quickly and let Grandma take a look!"
Second Madam Xue: "Indeed, the feng shui of the Marquis's mansion is nurturing. Look, only three days after the wedding, Fourth Sister has become even more beautiful."
With Madam Xue, the eldest daughter-in-law of the second wife, taking the lead, the other women in the room were not to be outdone, and a chorus of auspicious and wishful words appeared. Wen Lingzheng was exhausted from responding, and felt that her face was almost frozen from smiling.
After another round of flattery, Grandma Wen finally found an excuse to let her daughters-in-law and granddaughter leave.
"Grandmother, is there something you want to say to me?" Wen Lingzheng glanced at the window that the maid had closed, and seeing that the old lady was hesitant to speak, she guessed, "Is it that Second Sister or Third Sister is not doing well?"
From the moment Wen Lingzheng's marriage was arranged, the marriage arrangements for the two daughters of the third branch became the Wen family's top priority.
After all, it wouldn't be good to have the younger sister all married while there are still two older sisters waiting to be married.
So, after much deliberation by Old Madam Wen, Wen Tongwen, and the third wife and her husband, the second daughter of the third wife was married into the Ding family, officials in Beijing, while the third daughter was married into the Zeng family, officials in Beijing.
Grandma Wen shook her head. "That's not it. The head of the Ding family is on good terms with your father, and the head of the Zeng family is your father's subordinate. So they certainly wouldn't mistreat the sisters."
"Could it be that Fifth Sister's marriage has encountered another setback?" Wen Lingzheng guessed again.
Grandma Wen denied it again.
"Although the Prince of Xiang's mansion sent people to coerce and entice us a few times some time ago, your father is a civil official and a man of integrity, and your fifth sister is engaged to her childhood sweetheart cousin, so it is only natural that we are not afraid of them harassing us."
"However, your father and I were afraid that things might change if we waited too long, so after discussing it with your aunt and uncle, we decided to set their wedding for April."
Neither? Wen Lingzheng's heart sank for a moment, a vague guess forming in her mind, but she still replied, "That's fine too."
"Fourth Sister, do you still remember your maternal grandparents' family?" Old Mrs. Wen sighed, shook her head, and finally told the truth, "Yesterday, they sent a letter."
The blurry faces of that family from Jiangnan involuntarily flashed through Wen Lingzheng's mind, and her expression grew even colder. "What are they sending this letter for? Do they intend to cause trouble in Shengjing as well?"
Wen Lingzheng's expression immediately turned serious.
After a moment's hesitation, Grandma Wen got up and took out a letter from the cabinet. "This is a letter I received yesterday. I haven't opened it yet. You should take a look... After all, it's your maternal grandparents' family..."
Seeing Wen Lingzheng's displeasure, Old Madam Wen did not dare to continue to persuade her. She simply handed the letter to her and said no more.
On the way back from the Wen residence to the Dingbei Marquis's residence, Wen Lingzheng remained frighteningly silent.
Pei Lin didn't know what had happened, but he could keenly sense the suppressed anger emanating from Wen Lingzheng.
Out of respect, he chose not to ask for the time being, but quietly reached out and put his arms around her, and sent Xingyun to the Wen family to ask what had happened.
The clouds drifted by, and as time passed, the light on the horizon grew dimmer.
A hazy red blush spread across half the sky, and a crescent moon quietly peeked out.
With many things to do each day, the two had barely returned to the manor when Pei Lin was summoned to the Forbidden City by the Emperor. Thus, in Fanghua Courtyard, only Wen Lingzheng sat alone by the window, lost in thought.
She clutched a half-open letter in her hand, seemingly struggling desperately.
Because Wen Lingzheng was a picky eater, Pei Lin had already instructed someone to build a special small kitchen for Fanghua Courtyard half a year ago.
As usual, Yuheng prepared the meal and was about to enter the room when Yaoguang stopped him at the door.
"Let the girl be alone for a while!" Yao Guang whispered as she pulled Yu Heng away into the distance.
Yuheng asked in confusion, "It's getting dark. The young lady's stomach isn't good to begin with. She went back to her parents' home early this morning and then spent the whole afternoon looking at accounts. She's been busy and hasn't eaten much. How can she manage?"
Yao Guang reached out and poked Yu Heng's head. "Didn't you notice that the girl was completely distracted? Look at how fast she flipped through the pages this afternoon... Forget about paying attention, she probably didn't even read the words on the page!"
Yuheng glanced at Wen Lingzheng with slight concern, sighed, and looked at Yaoguang, asking, "What's wrong, Miss? You were fine this morning."
Seeing that Yaoguang only shook her head without explaining further, Yuheng couldn't help but ask, "You accompanied the young lady back to her parents' home this morning, could it be... that the old lady upset her? But that's unlikely..."
"Keep your voice down!" Yao Guang looked at her younger sister with a headache.
The two went into the small kitchen and put the prepared food back into the stove to keep it warm. Yao Guang then began to explain, "It was nothing more than a matter concerning the Qi family..."
Qi Jia!?
The Qi family, who caused a scene at the Wen family mansion in Lin'an when the girl was five years old!?
Yuheng's eyes showed shock.
How could there be such shameless people in the world?
Only when Yao Guang nodded in agreement did she dare to believe that there really were such shameless people in this world.
Wen Lingzheng's mother, Qi, came from a merchant family in Quanzhou.
His father, Mr. Qi, was a visionary in his career. Despite his humble origins, he single-handedly built a vast business empire.
Although her mother, Old Madam Qi, was only the daughter of a scholar, she was literate and intelligent. Old Master Qi had long admired her, which is why he came to propose marriage.
Unfortunately, Old Madam Qi had few children; ten years after their marriage, she only had one daughter, Qi Shi.
When Qi came of age, Old Master Qi took a concubine. When he was nearly fifty, he finally had a son born out of wedlock.
As he grew older, Old Master Qi found himself increasingly unable to manage his business affairs. He deeply feared that one day when he was gone, his illegitimate son would be persecuted by relatives in the clan because of the family fortune.
For the sake of his illegitimate son's future safety and prospects, Old Master Qi gradually turned his attention to Qi's marriage.
He hoped to marry Qi into an official's family so that she could help and protect his illegitimate son in the future.
—For this reason, he even went so far as to delay his daughter's marriage until she was nineteen.
Unfortunately, Old Master Qi couldn't find a suitable candidate until Wen Tongwen passed the imperial examination that year.
Although Wen Tongwen did not enter officialdom at that time, his future potential was already evident.
At the poetry gathering, Old Master Qi met Wen Tongwen and went to great lengths to facilitate the marriage, even offering a generous dowry for his daughter's wedding.
Although Old Mrs. Qi saw through Wen Tongwen's fickle and heartless nature, Old Master Qi would never listen to her opinions.
Qi felt sorry for her mother and didn't want her parents to have more conflicts. Although she knew that Wen Tongwen was not a good man, she still married him with her eyes closed.
It seems that Old Master Qi was ultimately destined to have no son.
The year Qi got married, the illegitimate son that Old Master Qi had been eagerly awaiting died of a cold. He fell ill because of this and passed away in just over half a month.
With the death of Old Master Qi, the Qi family line ended. Relatives who were rarely seen in previous years suddenly came to visit one after another, and the clan elders even chose a son to succeed Old Master Qi.
According to the provisions of the Great Zhou Dynasty's Criminal Code, the stepson was entitled to one-third of Master Qi's family fortune, and Qi Shi, as a married woman, also inherited one-third, with the remainder going to the government.
Unexpectedly, four years later, Qi died in childbirth, leaving behind only her young daughter, Wen Lingzheng.
When Old Mrs. Qi learned of her daughter's death, she couldn't catch her breath and passed away shortly afterward.
When Wen Lingzheng was five years old, Wen Tongwen had already passed the imperial examination and was demoted to Lin'an as a sub-prefect.
At that time, the stepson had already squandered one-third of the family fortune he had received and had also become addicted to gambling. He even went so far as to make a scene in Lin'an, shamelessly trying to reclaim the share of the family fortune that Qi had inherited.
That day also happened to be Wen Lingzheng's fifth birthday, and the Wen residence was filled with guests.
In front of everyone, the Wen family lost face completely.
Grandma Wen refused to return the items to the Qi family, insisting that they would be combined with Qi's dowry and become Wen Lingzheng's dowry, thus silencing the Qi family's objections.
But from that day on, the two families completely broke off relations and never had any contact again.
Why did the Qi family suddenly come knocking on our door?
Wen Lingzheng frowned, still trying to figure it out, when she saw Bai Yu rush into Fanghua Courtyard.
Hearing the noise, Yao Guang went into the courtyard and asked Bai Yu, "What's wrong with you?"
Seeing Bai Yu's panicked expression, Yu Heng followed closely behind. "What happened? Don't panic, tell me slowly."
After catching her breath, she finally caught her breath and rushed to Wen Lingzheng's side, saying urgently, "A letter has come from Lin'an! It says that Young Master Pei has gotten into big trouble!"
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