Xiao Qidong knew the name of Wei Junchen's great-great-grandfather because his family was from the same place as Wei Junchen's.
When they were young, their parents were busy, and when their grandparents were still alive, they entrusted their children to their grandparents to take care of. The two of them spent several years fooling around in the countryside, having a great time playing with cats and dogs.
For this reason, the ancestral hall in their home was a forbidden zone for the two of them.
Xiao Qidong, in a very unethical manner, encouraged Wei Junchen to take him into the Wei family ancestral hall for a great adventure. The two of them actually ran inside when the adults in the family weren't paying attention.
I was young then and didn't have much respect for ancestral tablets. Since they didn't come to the ancestral hall often, I was very curious about everything inside and turned the whole ancestral hall upside down.
By chance, Xiao Qidong stumbled upon the Wei family's genealogy. He glanced at the names on it and even saw the history of the Wei family's rise to power.
After reading it, he threw away the family tree and stole the incense burner with Wei Junchen. They emptied the incense ash from the burner and took it to the river to catch small fish.
When the adults went inside to offer incense, they discovered that the incense burner was missing. When they found it on the heads of the two children, Wei Junchen's grandmother almost chopped off their hands with a kitchen knife.
Xiao Qidong was therefore deeply impressed by this incident.
His mention of it reminded Wei Junchen of it.
The ghost in the wedding dress stared intently at Wei Junchen, its resentment fluctuating erratically once more, its voice chilling and sinister: "Are you a descendant of Qi Rongxuan?"
Although Wei Junchen was narcissistic, he wasn't stupid. He knew that the ghost in the wedding dress must have a grudge against his great-great-grandfather, so he shook his head vigorously: "No, no, no! I'm not!"
"Although I also call Qi Rongxuan's great-great-grandfather, I actually have two great-great-grandfathers. That is to say, after Qi Rongxuan died, my great-great-grandmother found another man to marry into the family and gave birth to my great-great-grandfather."
"Therefore, our branch is not descended from Qi Rongxuan."
“Moreover…” Wei Junchen hesitated before speaking, “According to the family genealogy, Grandfather Qi did not leave any bloodline. It seems that he was… unable to have children.”
Hearing this, the ghost in the wedding dress couldn't help but cover her face and burst into laughter, her laughter particularly shrill: "Hahahaha! He can't have children! It's because he can't have children... Hahahaha! Retribution! It's all retribution!"
After she finished laughing, Wei Junchen cautiously asked, "Um... what grudge do you have against my great-great-grandfather... oh no, Qi Rongxuan?"
"What grudge? Naturally... an irreconcilable grudge!" The Ghost in the Wedding Dress sneered and told Nan Yuanman and the others a story.
The story of a naive and innocent young lady who is schemed against by a selfish and greedy scholar, resulting in the destruction of her family and the death of her loved ones.
The Ghost in the Wedding Dress's real name is Zhuang Jiayao, and she has been dead for three hundred years.
Three hundred years ago, her family was one of the wealthiest families in Shanghai, and the Zhuang family started out in the medicinal herb business.
When Zhuang Jiayao's father was young, he was robbed while traveling on business. He survived, but his health was severely damaged, and he could no longer have children. Therefore, Zhuang Jiayao was the only daughter in the Zhuang family.
They doted on Zhuang Jiayao and protected her well, which made her somewhat naive and innocent, with a kind and compassionate heart.
Therefore, when Zhuang Jiayao encountered Qi Rongxuan, who had fainted from hunger on the roadside on his way to the capital for the imperial examination, she took him home and kindly cared for him.
When Qi Rongxuan woke up and learned that he had been robbed by bandits, he felt even more sorry for him and offered to lend him money, which he could repay after passing the imperial examination.
Qi Rongxuan refused, saying, "You have already helped me a lot, how could I dare to trouble you again? Besides, I have hands and feet, I can find work, and I won't starve."
Qi Rongxuan's politeness, his ability to know when to advance and retreat, and his gratitude made Zhuang Jiayao develop a slight liking for him.
Not to mention that Zhuang Jiayao was at the age when she was in love, and Qi Rongxuan was not only handsome and virtuous, but also a scholar. He didn't have any other women around him, which was much better than the men she knew who were only ten years old and had a lot of maids around them.
Therefore, she couldn't help but fall for him.
A young girl's affection is always straightforward and passionate. After confirming her feelings, Zhuang Jiayao confessed her love to Qi Rongxuan, but to her surprise, Qi Rongxuan rejected her.
Qi Rongxuan said, "Thank you for your kind words, Miss. However, the difference in social status between us is like heaven and earth. I am not worthy of you. I hope you will find someone else."
For the first time in her life, Zhuang Jiayao had something she wanted but couldn't have—no, a person. Unwilling to accept this, she launched a passionate pursuit of Qi Rongxuan.
The two chased each other, and it took Zhuang Jiayao a lot of effort to get Qi Rongxuan to smile at her, show his affection, and agree to her pursuit.
In that era, it was already quite shocking for a woman to pursue a man. Zhuang Jiayao did not hide her pursuit, and their affair became a hot topic, soon reaching the ears of Zhuang's parents.
Zhuang's mother had a heart-to-heart talk with Zhuang Jiayao: "My child, Qi Rongxuan is not an ordinary person. You can't control him. He is not suitable for you. It's time for you to end things here."
At that time, Zhuang Jiayao, who was in charge, refused to listen to her mother. She pouted unhappily and said, "Mother, how is he not good enough for me? He is handsome, knows proper etiquette, and is a scholar. If he passes the imperial examination this time, he will be an official of the court! If we are talking about who is good enough for whom, it is I who am not good enough for him!"
“Mother, don’t listen to what people outside are saying. I married him because I wanted to be an official’s wife! If I didn’t want anything, why would I marry this man?”
She managed to persuade Mrs. Zhuang with all her might, but she forgot about Mr. Zhuang's side.
Zhuang's father, who was often away on business, could easily see through Qi Rongxuan's little scheme. Instead of going to his stubborn daughter, he went directly to Qi Rongxuan and said something to him.
When Zhuang Jiayao met him again, Qi Rongxuan, with red eyes, wanted to break up with her.
How could Zhuang Jiayao, caught up in the heat of passion, allow it? She forcefully stopped him and impulsively had sex with him, giving herself to him.
The next day, she proudly led Qi Rongxuan to confess to Zhuang's father that she was determined to marry him.
Enraged, Zhuang's father laid a hand on Zhuang Jiayao for the first time, but he had no choice but to relent and agree to let them be together, on the condition that Qi Rongxuan must marry into the family.
Qi Rongxuan agreed.
Zhuang Jiayao felt indebted to him because of this, and treated him even better than before they were together.
The couple enjoyed a period of peace and happiness after their marriage. However, this happiness was shattered when Qi Rongxuan went to the capital for the imperial examination and Zhuang's father was killed by vicious bandits while on a business trip.
Mr. Zhuang was the pillar of the Zhuang family. His sudden collapse threw Mrs. Zhuang and Zhuang Jiayao's lives into chaos.
While Zhuang Jiayao was completely at a loss, Qi Rongxuan, who had originally gone to the capital to take the imperial examination, returned. He said, "My servant told me that my father had an accident. I was worried about you, so I rushed back. I think you need me now. As for the exam..."
"There will be another chance in three years. Right now, the most important person to me is you."
Because of her fragile mental state, Zhuang Jiayao's love for Qi Rongxuan deepened, and she became more dependent on him.
She felt that she could never leave this man for the rest of her life.
She felt she was the happiest woman in the world.
It wasn't until the second year after the Zhuang family business was handed over to Qi Rongxuan that she discovered he was keeping a mistress.
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