Chapter 9: As long as the lawsuit is not settled, the inheritance cannot be continued...
The sedan chair stopped in the sedan hall of the Bai family. As soon as Song Jin got off the sedan chair, he saw that there were several more sedan chairs in the hall. Guests were coming.
"Young Master Wen," Manager Chen, the steward of the Bai family, came over immediately upon seeing the sedan chair coming in, but when he called him "Young Master", he couldn't help but glance at Song Jin. His false identity made him not know how to talk to Song Jin.
Song Jin knew the difference. Originally, he was in charge of himself, but now he had transformed himself into the young master of the Wen family. Even if it was fake, he had to pretend it was real.
"Why is the steward waiting in the sedan hall? Is there a distinguished guest visiting the family?" Song Jin didn't care about his expression. Whoever was embarrassed should digest it. It was none of her business.
When Manager Chen heard the question, he laughed awkwardly and said, "Grandma asked me to wait here for you two to come back. I was afraid that we would run into the people in that room."
It turned out that not long after Song Jin and Wen Xin went out today, Bai Xiaotian brought people to the house, not for anything else but to establish a successor.
After hearing this, Song Jin and Wen Xin looked at each other and decided to go out from the octagonal door on the side of the teahouse, passing through the corridor and going directly to the back of the main hall. The two entered from the back door and stood behind the wall of the main hall and listened carefully.
"Sister-in-law, we have said everything we need to say. My brother died, and he did not appoint an heir during his lifetime. As the widow, you should take on the responsibility of appointing the heir. Uncle is here today, so let's settle this matter. According to the clan order, my son Yuan Huai should inherit, so don't find any excuses to delay."
"Humph, my husband has only been dead for a few months, and you're already thinking about his property. I'm not even dead yet."
"Sister-in-law, you are almost fifty years old. My brother died at fifty. We must settle this matter today no matter what. I have brought the people to you. Let's do everything we need to do at once, so as not to bother uncle again in the future."
Song Jin and Wen Xin were listening behind the wall. They didn't hear any sound for a long time and were confused for a moment, wondering what had happened in front of them. Just as they were curious, they suddenly heard shouting in front of them.
"Grandma? Grandma?"
A flurry of footsteps was heard. Song Jin and Wen Xin looked at each other and were about to go around the wall to the main hall, but were stopped by Wen Xin.
He glanced her up and down and said, "It's better for you to go back first."
Song Jin realized that it would be easy to be exposed if he just dressed up as Wen Zijin to meet the Bai family, so he did not insist, and the two of them went their separate ways.
Wen Xin went to the front to find his aunt, while Song Jin returned to Zizhuyuan to wait for news.
Not long after, Song Jin saw Wen Ya being carried back to Zizhu Garden in a sedan chair in the room, followed by a group of maids, and Wen Xin was also inside.
Everyone in the Bai family frowned. This was not the first time. She felt dizzy whenever the topic of succession came up and she couldn't continue the conversation.
The steward outside had already sent someone to invite a medical officer. Du Juan and the maids inside helped the patient to the bed and then drove everyone out. Wen Xin was not allowed to stay inside.
Song Jin stayed in the room and did not come out to join in the fun, but just thought carefully about the issue of establishing a successor.
She remembered clearly that a widow had no right to inherit her husband's estate. At most, she could only help the heir to supervise it, and this heir...
Several cases that she had seen before flashed through Song Jin's mind, and an idea popped up. When Du Juan came out of the house, she immediately went over to her.
"Dujuan, is grandma okay?"
When Dujuan heard Song Jin coming to ask, she sighed and asked Yulan to make a pot of tea and bring it in.
As soon as Song Jin heard the words "tea is being brewed", he knew Wen Ya must have woken up, so he held Du Juan's arm and asked quietly, "Is grandma awake?"
Du Juan said: "Even if grandma wakes up, she doesn't want to see anyone. The noise over there is giving her a headache."
Song Jin pulled Du Juan aside and continued to ask, "Does Grandma often do this?"
When Du Juan heard this question, she instinctively glanced around the house and whispered, "Grandma has been dealing with it this way, but I don't know how long she can hold on. If she continues like this, I'm afraid the other side won't be so polite."
After hearing this, Song Jin leaned close to Du Juan's ear and whispered something mysteriously, causing Du Juan to frown: "Really?"
"Go and tell grandma that I will definitely be able to help her."
Du Juan was a little skeptical, and after a while she said helplessly: "Okay, you wait here for me."
Song Jin stood at the door waiting confidently. Sure enough, after a while, Du Juan opened the door and called her in.
Wen Ya was sitting on the bed. She didn't look sick at all, and it was obvious that she had just faked her fainting.
Song Jin bowed and stood there obediently waiting to be questioned.
Wen Ya was in a very bad mood and spoke in a sullen tone: "Du Juan said you have a way to solve this problem? Is it some fake medicine? It's been so many days and there's still no sign of progress."
Wen Ya had no patience. She kept using her illness as an excuse to bother the eldest wife. Just when she saw that things were looking up and she could ask Song Jin to transfer the money away, they came directly with the clan leader and forced her to take over as successor, which made her very angry.
Song Jin said steadily: "There is a way, but it is not just a fake medicine method, but to postpone the succession."
Wen Ya looked at Song Jin intently when she heard this: "Do you have a way to postpone the succession?"
Song Jin said respectfully, "According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the eldest grandmother must indeed establish a successor for the master, but it doesn't say that the heir must be born in person, right?"
Wen Ya sighed after hearing this: "It's not my decision. The clan leader is here, and he's the closest relative. Who else could it be if not him?"
Song Jin continued, "There are two types of successors: the legitimate successor and the beloved successor. Mr. Bai is the legitimate successor, so it is natural for him to inherit. But..." Song Jin paused before continuing, "Who said we can't have a beloved successor? If the grandmother proposed a beloved successor at this time, wouldn't it be able to alleviate the current predicament?"
"Ai Ji?" Wen Ya frowned. "I've heard this before, but... it won't work. They'll definitely go to court, and they'll lose in the end."
Song Jin smiled and said, "I want them to file a lawsuit. As long as the lawsuit is not settled, they will not be able to inherit, and Grandma can breathe a sigh of relief."
Wen Ya clenched her fists, stood up and paced around the room. Suddenly she turned around and said, "Okay, I'll propose the successor, let them make a fuss. And you, hurry up and move the money out for me before they inherit."
Song Jin smiled and said yes, and asked, "Has anyone chosen for Grandma?"
Wen Ya thought for a while and said, "The Bai family and I have a bad relationship, but I do have a nephew who I can consider. This nephew is poor, and if he can get some money, he will definitely obey me in the future, and he will have someone to rely on in his old age."
"No." Song Jin rejected it without hesitation, and then explained: "Although Aiji is the widow's chosen heir, have you forgotten that Aiji cannot inherit? After months of litigation, she will not get a penny and will definitely be disappointed. Isn't that disgusting?"
"Then who do you think we should choose?" Wen Ya was desperate and was trying every possible means, especially when she was in a panic and Song Jin was as steady as a rock. She did not care about the master-slave relationship for a moment and instead asked for help.
"In my opinion, you should choose someone who is equally matched as your heir. As the saying goes, people die for money and birds die for food. Now the Bai family is working together to bully you, isn't it because they think they can't inherit? If someone among them finds a chance to inherit this huge fortune, think about it, Grandma, will they not fight for it? Will they not fight for it? As long as they fight, you can just sit on the mountain and watch the fight, anyway, whoever wins will be no worse than Master Bai inheriting it."
"Okay!" Wen Ya clapped her hands excitedly, "I'll do as you say."
The master and servant had finished their conversation, and the medical officer had been invited, but Wen Ya no longer needed him. She was just waiting for the Bai family to come next time and directly propose a successor. She would let them make a fuss. She was not afraid even if it ended up in court.
As for Song Jin, the same thing applies: be quick.
After returning to the house, Song Jin kept thinking about how quickly this matter could be resolved. Should he burn it down?
Burnt?
When Song Jin was thinking about how to cook, Du Juan suddenly walked in with a tray of food in her hands.
It was already noon, but she had forgotten about it because she was so busy. She only remembered it when Du Juan brought in the food. However, the food...
"Water shield and tofu soup, fried eggs with Chinese toon, fried bacon with mugwort, and stewed pig's trotters."
Du Juan placed the dishes on the table as she spoke, and finally served it with a large bowl of rice.
"Grandma gave it to you as a reward."
Song Jin's eyes lit up. Except for the big pork knuckle, all the vegetables were fresh in March. Not to mention in the Ming Dynasty, even for modern people, if the geographical location is not right, it would take some effort to get them all.
"I'm alone?" Song Jin looked up and asked Du Juan, she was sure she couldn't finish eating.
Du Juan heard her question and simply put the plate aside and sat down to talk: "Don't worry about eating. We can occasionally eat it inside, but we can't eat it outside."
"How about calling the people outside to eat together?"
Du Juan smiled and said, "As long as you are willing, I will help you call it."
Song Jin nodded and reached for the bowl.
The water shield is fresh, the artemisia selengensis has a special taste, and the special aroma of the Chinese toon that goes straight to the brain reminds Song Jin of his childhood.
When she was a child, she didn't like Chinese toon. Vegetables were abundant in the countryside in March, so she always excluded Chinese toon from her menu. Later, she left home and started eating cheap takeout. The bland vegetables reminded her of the special smell of Chinese toon in March in her hometown. When she went home to try it the following spring, she fell in love with it.
Now, eating it again in the 16th century Ming Dynasty, I almost cried.
In just four hundred years, the changes have been so great.
Just when Song Jin was about to burst into tears, several maids rushed in from outside. They were not polite at all and just lay down on the table, each holding a pair of chopsticks in their hands.
"Sister Mancao, can we really eat it?"
"Sure, eat it."
All of a sudden, several pairs of chopsticks rushed towards the pig's trotters, and some people grabbed spoons to drink the water shield soup. The originally quiet room suddenly became lively.
"But you asked me to order it, so don't blame me if you can't eat it."
Du Juan sat aside with a smile, watching the little girls scramble to eat the food, and couldn't help but add: "Leave some for your sister Mancao, she hasn't eaten yet."
The little girls laughed awkwardly and behaved more politely. Song Jin took this opportunity to scoop a few more pieces of food from his bowl and continued eating.
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