Chapter 124 Who Should Inherit the Family Business? Gradually...
For the rest of the day, Qi Chengming acted as if nothing had happened, carrying the bag of snails back to his friends to eat and play as usual.
Zhang Ji helped him put away his scooter. When Zhao's daughter saw that he was wearing unfamiliar clothes that didn't fit well, she was worried that he might be uncomfortable, so she suggested that they call it a day and meet again another time.
"I finally got the top score, are you going to steal my reward?" Qi Chengming asked jokingly. "It's alright, I'm not that delicate, I'm fine dressed like this."
As he said this, the imperial guards and the five young men in the teahouse all concealed the strange expressions on their faces and exchanged glances: "..."
If this were truly the son of a merchant, he probably wouldn't have been able to stand it for a moment longer; he would have made a scene, demanding to go home to change his clothes or sending a servant to buy or fetch them. The other princes would probably be similar. Only their Second Prince seemed completely unaffected.
The five boys nodded in agreement, still shaken.
Hadn't he heard that the prince had an extreme fondness for cleanliness and fine food? His father had secretly told him, "Extravagance without harming the people," and instructed him to serve him diligently. Every time the prince came, Wu'er would spend a great deal of time bathing and getting himself perfectly ready before daring to arrive. But Wu'er never imagined that a nobleman would actually jump into the water to save someone.
Now, Wu'er had doubts about his father's words. He felt that the Prince... was different. Wu'er couldn't quite put his finger on how, but he felt a greater sense of closeness and affection towards him.
"Okay, then we'll give you all the prize money after we finish eating." "Come on, I've made a reservation at a restaurant, let's go have some drinks!" The young men and women were all very agreeable, having already collected all the prizes they had promised. True to their word, the group of three or five people huddled together and took a bus to—the original Bai Family Restaurant.
The Bai family has been rooted in Liuzhou for so long. Their most famous restaurant, which started at a loss, has long since become a bustling establishment with several branches to cope with the increasing influx of people from outside Liuzhou.
As for this building, it inevitably became a gathering place for more wealthy families, gentry, and wealthy merchants, and even so, it was still in short supply every day.
Qi Chengming glanced at her discreetly as he got out of the car.
The Huang family made a reservation at the main building of Baijia Restaurant, saying they were treating everyone to dinner. Their family is quite large.
Qi Chengming remained calm. As he stepped off the oxcart, he glanced up and saw a familiar-looking Imperial Guard enter the shop, slightly out of breath. He was probably there to instruct the shopkeeper and waiter not to reveal his identity.
A group of teenagers quickly settled down, pushing three or four tables together and then having someone set up a screen to separate them, turning the lively hall into a private room.
As the tables and chairs collided softly, Qi Chengming heard someone next to him complain in a low voice, "The Bai family is great in every way, except they don't have private rooms... How can we discuss confidential matters when we're always outside?"
"Hey, Lao Zhao. That branch also has private rooms, why don't we see you going there?" someone teased him.
"The prince likes to come here, who wouldn't want to try their luck..." Old Zhao's voice gradually lowered, realizing he was wrong. They were all shrewd enough to know that Bai Family Restaurant had a second floor, and that only princes and high-ranking officials could go to those private rooms.
In this way, it becomes clear what Old Zhao is complaining about.
Qi Chengming smiled and lowered his head.
"Brother Qi, what are you laughing at? Come and hear the name of the dish." Hu Hong nudged Qi Chengming discreetly, urging him to come over and hear something interesting.
The waiter was rattling off the menu quickly, his eyes darting around alertly. He glanced at Qi Chengming, but his expression remained completely unchanged. It has to be said, even a lowly errand boy possessed such excellent acting skills.
The boys and girls present had different expressions. Some, who were used to stir-fried dishes, remained calm. Some, who didn't eat them often, talked about things they had never heard of. Some, who had never eaten them before, were completely engrossed.
Qi Chengming was practically sick of hearing those familiar dish names; after all, he was the one who "Su" came up with the recipes. He followed the crowd and ordered a dish, indifferent to it, his mind still preoccupied with what had just happened.
Qi Chengming knew his acting skills weren't great, so it wasn't realistic for him to force an exaggerated expression. Fortunately, the people on stage knew he was the son of a businessman and guessed that he ate a lot, which was why he looked so lazy.
After a satisfying meal, the young people ultimately didn't drink any wine, but instead opted for tea.
"This tea is quite mellow," Zhang Ji exclaimed in surprise after taking a sip. He had never tasted such a fragrant, mellow, and endlessly flavorful black tea before.
"This is a local tea from Liuzhou. It is said that the prince loved to drink tea. After a major disaster last year, a family who had no harvest climbed a high mountain and found this tea tree. They presented it to the prince, who praised it highly after tasting it. From then on, that family became tea farmers... This Liuzhou tea is also known as the auspicious tea."
Brother Huang Lan knew all these things like the back of his hand, and he spoke about them vividly, which made everyone listen to him with great interest.
Qi Chengming: "...?"
He slowly put down his teacup and took a sip of tea.
Let me taste it again... It's definitely the usual tea at Bai Family Restaurant, so how come he didn't know that?
"Ahem." There's one more thing. Qi Chengming coughed lightly to cover up his unease, "Brother Huang Lan... isn't our Prince old enough to be called 'him' yet?"
"What's the big deal?" Brother Huang Lan waved his hand dismissively, his face showing undisguised longing. "These are all respectful and affectionate terms that we locals use to address the prince."
This is how you show even greater respect.
The thought that Prince Rui, who had accomplished so much, was actually a young man several years younger than himself, and probably younger than most people present, filled Huang Lan with overwhelming admiration. Although he had no chance to meet him in person, it was still good to express his respect through this form of address.
“…I understand.” Zhang Ji nodded thoughtfully, looking at the black tea in his cup and truly believing it.
Qi Chengming's face was filled with an indescribable expression: "..."
Don't believe everything you hear!
As he turned his head in exasperation, he saw the waiter winking at him while refilling his tea. Qi Chengming remained expressionless, got up, and made an excuse to change his clothes before leaving.
The waiter led Qi Chengming to the shop entrance, where Wu'er was standing, looking somewhat flustered: "Young Master, we've found out!"
In the time it takes to eat a meal, and considering the travel time, they've gathered information incredibly quickly.
Qi Chengming looked around, then leaned closer, urging him to get to the point.
"That family was indeed the newly appointed official and his family who were going to take up their post in Yulin Prefecture. They were from Guanzhong, and the new county magistrate's name was Zhang Rui. He had a wife and several female relatives, and one son and two daughters—"
"Wait a minute." Qi Chengming's mind went blank, and he repeated, "One son and two daughters?"
Before Wu'er could answer, he came to his senses and realized that he had been too hasty: "Continue talking, don't pay attention to me."
“Yes… I heard that the county magistrate originally had a deceased elder brother, who now only has a son and a daughter, who I heard have lived with the county magistrate since they were little,” Wu’er said with certainty.
He whispered, "That young master Zhang Ting is the illegitimate son of the magistrate's elder brother. It seems that because the elders are still alive, the two families are ranked together, so he is the 'Fourth Master.' I haven't found out anything wrong with their family yet; they seem to be a very happy family."
Qi Chengming found the conversation a jumbled mess and tried to piece it together: "They can distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children and take concubines... Is the Zhang family a respectable family? Zhang Rui, wasn't Zhang Rui's deceased elder brother named Zhang Wei?"
"This... I couldn't find out." Wu'er shook his head in shame. Time was short, and he and several imperial guards could only glean some basic, publicly available information.
"Is Magistrate Zhang Rui a legitimate son or a son born out of wedlock? Is his elder brother a legitimate son or a son born out of wedlock? How many people are there in their family in total?" Qi Chengming asked again.
He thought he was just being overly sensitive, but when it came to the issue of legitimate and illegitimate children, Qi Chengming began to suspect that it might be a matter of family business. After all, under normal circumstances, how could that young man be driven to the point of wanting to commit suicide?
Wu'er was speechless, and said with a bit of grievance and self-reproach, "...I, I'll go and inquire again!"
Before Wu'er could move, an elderly figure hurried over and calmly pressed Wu'er down. He was an old guard who had interrogated the hooligan with Commander Mao last time. Qi Chengming remembered that he was very good at questioning.
The older man added steadily, "Young master, the name of that Lord Zhang Rui's elder brother is indeed 'Wei'. He was also a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) many years ago and was the eldest son of the Zhang family. It is said that he died of a cold. I haven't found out if Lord Zhang Rui had any other brothers, but judging from the scale of his wealth and his wife's family background... I guess he was also a legitimate son, but we still need to investigate further."
This old Imperial Guard had a sharp eye and, before Qi Chengming could ask, revealed the details he wanted to know: "...because if the Zhang family's favored concubine's branch was the head of the household, it would be reasonable for Lord Zhang Rui to be able to produce the Zhang family's name card from Guanzhong, and it would be normal for him to have such a wife and children with such a family background."
"...Of the son and two daughters that Lord Zhang Rui brought this time, his only son was born to the main wife, and the servants call him 'Master.' I guess that 'Second Master' and 'Third Master' were both women who did not live together before, but I don't know which branch of the family they belong to."
Wu'er was confused.
Qi Chengming, however, was filled with burning excitement. All those melodramatic TV dramas he'd watched before his transmigration had finally come in handy; he'd swiftly extracted the key words according to that "legitimate lineage" system:
"So... Zhang Ting is the only illegitimate son left in the eldest son's family, and his uncle still doesn't know whether he's legitimate or illegitimate?"
And here comes the conspiracy theory!
Wu'er was a great straight man, and he had a strong thirst for knowledge, but he didn't understand the intricacies of these wealthy families. He asked inquiringly, "Young master, is there something wrong with this?"
Qi Chengming didn't give a definitive answer yet, because he would probably have to ask Song Gu or Mr. Qin for the specific details when he got back: "Fifth son, do you know how the inheritance of the family property is divided between legitimate and illegitimate children?"
"The eldest son inherits?" Wu'er had been following the prince around lately and had heard them talk a lot about their friend "Zhang Ji." When he heard this, he exclaimed "Ah!" and vaguely understood something.
"If the eldest son of the legitimate wife were to pass away, and there were only one illegitimate son in his family, would the family business still be inherited by the illegitimate son of the eldest son? Or is it possible that it would be inherited by the eldest son's capable younger brother?" Qi Chengming quickly pondered this question in his mind, as this was the part he was unsure about.
Who has the right to inherit: the eldest son of the legitimate wife, the son of a concubine, or the second son of the legitimate wife?
Between the eldest son of the legitimate wife and the youngest son of a concubine, and the second son of a concubine who holds a powerful official position, who has the right to inherit the throne?
Although Qi Chengming hadn't yet grasped the full picture, he vaguely felt that it was likely related to Zhang Ting's extremely repressed state. Could it be that after so long in this world, he was finally about to witness the true struggles and conflicts between legitimate and illegitimate children within a powerful family?
Qi Chengming thought of Bai Xuan and Zhang Ji, a shiver running down his spine, his hair standing on end, and he was extremely excited: "..."
"Go investigate again!" Qi Chengming urged.
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Author's Note: After searching for a long time, I found that there are many conflicting opinions on these two situations.
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