Li Shiyue shook her head reassuringly, indicating to Xu Lingzi not to worry.
"Sit down with us. Since you're here, listen to what's happening." As soon as the Duke of Rong spoke, someone carried a stool and placed it next to Madam Xu, with a cushion on it.
Li Shiyue did not refuse. This was not the first time she had seen this scene, and she did not need to refuse formally. She sat down next to Madam Xu.
Xu Yunyang was forced to kneel between two servants, his composure gone, replaced by utter defeat.
Xu Yunci stood a little forward, his gaze falling on Liu Shi, who was blocking Xu Yunyang's way, and he still politely bowed.
“If Aunt continues to obstruct the execution of family rules, don’t blame me for punishing Aunt as well.”
His voice was calm, but it only enraged Liu. At that moment, she forgot all manners and her eyes were about to pop out.
"How dare you! I am your aunt, your elder! How dare you punish me!" Madam Liu's voice was full of vigor, perfectly controlling her shrewishness.
Xu Yunci's expression was calm, but a hint of annoyance lingered between his brows: "Sanlang treats his relatives poorly and has also made friends with princes without permission. How can such hypocrisy go unpunished?"
"The Xu family has always been loyal to the emperor. If we're talking about taking sides, it was after the eldest sister married into the Chonghua Palace that the Xu family clearly pledged allegiance to His Highness. The emperor has several princes under his command, and disputes are most likely to arise within the royal family. How could a subject do something so contrary to His Majesty's wishes?"
"Does Aunt think that our Xu family is loyal to two emperors? Loyalty to the emperor means loyalty to the emperor and the Chonghua Palace. There is no one else who can be called loyal to the emperor."
Liu gritted her teeth and stared at Xu Yunci, but how could she compare to Xu Yunci's composure? Under Xu Yunci's deep gaze, she finally suppressed the anger in her chest.
She was naturally unwilling to swallow it down, so she raised her head and said, "Don't slander my son. You are already the heir apparent. My son earned his current position through his own abilities. You are clearly jealous."
She seemed unsatisfied, and her gaze suddenly fixed on Li Shiyue. Li Shiyue, who had been sitting obediently beside Madam Xu, remained calm and detached, which further enraged Madam Liu.
She raised her hand, took two steps forward, and cursed, "You heartless woman! My son has only fallen for you and wants to marry you. If you don't want to, you can simply refuse. Why do you have to find such a terrible stain to harm him!"
Li Shiyue stopped the soon-to-be-angry Old Madam Xu in the first place. She calmly met Old Madam Xu's angry gaze and reached out to touch Old Madam Xu's chest.
Shaking her head slightly, Old Madam Xu let out a heavy breath, and the anger on her face subsided considerably.
Li Shiyue stood up, her face calm as if the events of the day had nothing to do with her.
As Xu Yunci approached Liu Shi, he almost simultaneously reached out to shield Li Shiyue. His icy expression finally softened as he saw Li Shiyue stop and look at Liu Shi, fearing she might do something impulsive.
Li Shiyue didn't rush to speak, but carefully observed the etiquette of each of the elders.
“With my maternal grandmother, uncle and aunt here, there is no reason for Yan Yan to speak, but today’s matter involves me, so please forgive me, elders.”
Today, she wore a moon-white jacket with subtle patterns, and her snow-white bodice and skirt were extremely elegant. Coupled with her calm expression, which was like a snow lotus from the Tianshan Mountains, she was enveloped in a serene and tranquil aura.
“My aunt just said that I ruined my third cousin’s reputation with this stigma, but did I force him to be close to the prince or did I allow it? Neither of those things, so I cannot bear this crime.”
"My third cousin's affections, when did I ever say I needed them? I don't need them, I even find them disgusting."
She glanced sideways at Xu Yunyang kneeling on the ground, her demeanor unlike her usual submissive one: "I'm so disgusted I don't want to see my third cousin. His affections are nothing to me. His affections are his business. I've already rejected him, and my grandmother rejected him too. It's you who have dragged this into it."
"They even dared to lay a hand on me. If my cousin hadn't arrived in time, I wouldn't have had the face to face my elders. My maternal grandmother took me into the family because she felt sorry for the extraordinary people I had met and took pity on me."
"Since everyone is here today, I would like to ask my second aunt, since I entered the manor, my tenth cousin has been causing me trouble, which has made my aunt very unhappy with me. My third cousin is my aunt's only son, yet he also dislikes me and is willing to marry his son to a woman he dislikes the most. Why is that?"
Li Shiyue chuckled, but to everyone else it was full of bitterness: "They only care about me because I have the title of a county princess and the money in my dowry, so I don't have to worry about food and drink."
The thought that her intentions were too obvious made Liu's angry expression freeze instantly. Realizing what had happened, she looked at Old Madam Xu guiltily, and her neck turned bright red.
Li Shiyue turned around and knelt in the center: "Yan Yan has broken the rules. Please punish her, Grandmother, Uncle and Aunt."
Madam Yang sighed, looked at Madam Liu and her son and shook her head in disappointment: "Get up, just say what you mean."
I initially doubted the veracity of what Li Shiyue said later, but Liu's reaction explained everything.
Liu swayed, looking at her husband who had remained silent, and knew she could no longer rely on him.
She raised her head: "Sanlang has come of age; what's wrong with him making friends? The Prince of Yan admires Sanlang's abilities; that's what makes him exceptional. You, ha! You're clearly just jealous!"
No one spoke, and the atmosphere became quiet.
"So, you refuse to admit your mistakes?" Duke Rong spoke slowly, looking at his second brother, but the response he received was still evasion.
This already explains the problem. In fact, as long as the second branch of the family makes a clear statement, severs ties with the Prince of Yan, and guarantees to the ancestors and head of the family that they will not do anything to harm the family, and enforces the family law, this matter can be put to rest.
No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. Duke Rong shook his head, but unfortunately, he did not get the result he had expected.
"In that case, let's divide the family."
Once separated from the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, they would only be the second branch of the Xu family, never again sharing in the glory of the Duke's Mansion. Especially the branch born out of wedlock, in the future, would only be referred to as a collateral branch of the Xu family.
"Brother, it's me!" Master Xu stood up, but Duke Rong raised his hand to signal him to stop talking, instantly realizing that he had gone too far.
His expression was complicated as he stared at the mother and child kneeling on the ground, unsure of what to do.
"Eldest son, have you thought this through? Do you really want to split up the family?" Old Madam Xu raised her eyes, looked around and felt distressed, then closed her eyes again.
"Yes, how can we separate the family? We always say that the four branches are like one family, how can we end up separating?"
Zhou hurriedly stepped forward, hoping that Old Madam Xu could stop her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com