Old Zhu was annoyed by Wang's crying: "Stop wailing, everyone go back, I need to think things over."
Wang exchanged a glance with her three sons and immediately went outside.
The other two went about their own business, but Lu Youcai was called back by Wang.
"Mother, are we really going to separate the family?"
"Didn't you say we couldn't separate the family? Without the protection of the General's Mansion, what are we, the second branch?"
Madam Wang glanced at her youngest son and suddenly asked, "Youcai, what do you think of Lu Ziwei?"
"What do you mean, I get annoyed just looking at her. She always looks down on people. If she didn't have good parents, I would beat her three times a day."
Lu Youcai felt angry just thinking about Lu Ziwei's arrogant and haughty manner.
Wang's eyes were full of calculation. Suddenly, she leaned closer and asked, "You're rich. How about having her as your wife?"
"What...you want her to be my wife?"
"Mom, what are you thinking? I'm her cousin, not her nephew."
"Besides, I don't want to marry a shrew."
Wang pouted: "So what if we're cousins? Who said cousins can't get married?"
"Cousins are even closer than cousins, and cousins are even closer than cousins."
Seeing that no one was around, Wang muttered to herself, "Besides, you're not even blood-related cousins."
Lu Youcai's expression changed. He looked around and asked seriously, "Mother, what do you mean?"
Wang snorted coldly, her expression somewhat sarcastic: "Your eldest uncle and your eldest aunt are not your grandmother's biological children."
"What?" Lu Youcai's expression changed drastically.
His eldest uncle was a general, and his aunt was an empress; these were two elders he was very proud of.
But now he's being told that his uncle and aunt are not related to him by blood?
Then what are their second wives?
His grandmother's favoritism towards the second branch of the family had long displeased his uncle and aunt.
If my aunt and uncle find out the truth one day, wouldn't they tell the second branch of the family to get as far away from them as possible?
They might settle scores later!
Lu Youcai became increasingly frightened, feeling that his second wife's good days were over.
Lu Youcai pulled Wang Shi into the room, then asked in a low voice, "Mother, is what you said true or false?"
"Are my uncle and aunt really not my grandmother's biological children?"
"Who told you that?"
“You heard it from your dad, and your dad heard it from your grandma.”
Lu Youcai paused for a few seconds, then nervously pressed on, "So, how many people know that they aren't biologically related?"
Do my uncle and aunt know?
Wang scoffed, "If they knew, would they still be dutiful to your grandparents?"
"Besides your grandma and your dad, even your grandpa didn't know about this."
"What? My grandpa doesn't know?"
"How is this possible?"
"Your grandmother couldn't conceive after three years of marriage, which made your great-grandmother so anxious that she wanted to divorce her."
"She went to the temple to pray to the gods and Buddhas, and met a blind fortune teller. The blind fortune teller said that your grandmother was destined for great wealth and honor, and that her future children would be either dragons or phoenixes."
"Your grandma was happy, so she asked him to calculate when she would be able to conceive and how many children she was destined to have."
"The blind fortune teller said that your grandmother was destined to have only one child, but when she passed away, she was accompanied by two sons and a daughter."
Lu Youcai looked completely bewildered: "You were destined to have one child, but you died with three?"
"Your grandmother asked the same question. The blind man said that your grandmother was originally destined to be childless, but a year later she would have a great fortune and find a pair of twins in the mountains."
“Those twins are destined to have a brother. If your grandmother adopts them, she will be able to have a son and enjoy the blessings of children and grandchildren in the future.”
"Your grandmother believed him, but she didn't want your great-grandmother to know that the child wasn't her biological son."
"Otherwise, your great-grandmother definitely wouldn't have tolerated it. After all, back then, the family was so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat. How could they have spare money to raise someone else's child?"
"So your grandma pretended to be pregnant and stuffed a pillow into her belly every day."
"As the days drew closer to her due date, she spent her days going up the mountain to chop firewood, hoping to find the baby on the mountain."
"And she actually ended up with a pair of twins, a boy and a girl."
“Your grandma brought the two children home and said that she had given birth to them on the mountain. Your great-grandmother and the others did not suspect anything and were overjoyed. They even took care of your grandma during her postpartum period.”
Lu Youcai asked again, "My grandma kept this from even my grandpa, so why would she tell my dad?"
"It's all because your uncle became a great general, and your father resents your grandmother."
“Back when they were recruiting soldiers, your grandma wouldn’t let your dad go, but she let your uncle go instead.”
"Who knew your uncle would be so lucky? Not only did he not die on the battlefield, but he also made great contributions and became a general."
“Your father harbors resentment. If it weren’t for your grandmother stopping him back then, your father would have been a great general.”
“Your grandma was afraid that your dad would always resent her, so she told him the truth about what happened back then.”
"Joining the army is a death sentence, so naturally she was reluctant to let her own son go to the battlefield. Who knew your uncle would get such good luck?"
"So, your uncle already owed our family something; he stole your father's great generalship."
"It's only right that he supports us for the rest of our lives."
Wang spoke with conviction, but in reality, she harbored even more resentment.
If her mother-in-law hadn't stopped her husband from making meritorious contributions back then, she would be a general's wife now, and wouldn't have to put up with the eldest son's attitude.
Lu Youcai was stunned for a long time; it seemed that this was true.
He felt a little disappointed. He could have relied on his uncle, a general, and his aunt, the empress, to claim that he was a member of the imperial family.
As it turned out, he was actually a peasant!
This was something he couldn't accept for a while.
"What are you daydreaming about? I'm here to talk to you about serious matters."
"Marry Lu Ziwei?"
Why?
Madam Wang gave him a reproachful look: "Are you stupid? With Lu Ziwei as a hostage, even if the family is divided, we can still keep the eldest son's family under our control."
Lu Youcai was still puzzled: "Why do we have to separate the family if we don't have to?"
"The eldest son's family doesn't know that he's not their biological son."
Looking at her dumbfounded son, Madam Wang was speechless: "You still haven't figured out what's going on with the dragon robe and the letter?"
"Someone wants to target the General's Mansion."
"Last time, it was fortunate that Su Yujiao, that bitch, exposed the matter of the dragon robe, otherwise the entire General's Mansion would have been beheaded."
"Do you want to be implicated by the first wife's family?"
Lu Youcai's eyes widened in horror: "Who wants to mess with the General's Mansion?"
"Can't you use your brain for once? Besides Consort Jing and the Third Prince, who else could it be?"
"Consort Jing wants to be Empress, and the Third Prince wants to be Crown Prince. Who is the Empress and the Crown Prince's biggest support?"
After Lu Youcai figured it out, he broke out in a cold sweat: "Yes, we must separate the family. We can't be implicated."
"So, will you marry Lu Ziwei or not?"
Lu Youcai was still somewhat resistant: "Mother, don't you hate Lu Ziwei the most?"
Wang sneered: "It's precisely because I dislike her that I want to be her mother-in-law."
"Only in this way can we openly and legitimately torment that little hussy."
"Haven't you disliked her for a long time? After you marry her, you can beat her however you want. Let's see if she still dares to be arrogant."
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