Chapter 129 Recognizing Ancestors and Becoming the Heir of the Duke of Zhenguo?
"Who...who are you?"
When Shuang'er opened the door early in the morning, she saw an old man standing at the door.
The old man's clothes were simple in color, but made of the finest material, something rarely seen even in the former Duke's mansion.
Guo Ziyu stepped forward and said, "My general is General Meng, the Grand General of the Northwest and Duke of Zhenguo."
"General Meng!"
Although Shuang'er was a maid in the capital, everyone knew the name of General Meng!
An entire family of loyal martyrs! People who are even granted the privilege of not kneeling before His Majesty!
Guo Ziyu's lips curled up slightly; finally, there was someone reasonable among them.
"My general wishes to see Lord Jiang. Inform him immediately."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Xingyao, who was about to leave, came out from behind the screen wall. He rolled up his sleeves and talked to his sister beside him.
“Fu’er is still young, but she is already more intelligent than other children. You must not restrain her any longer.”
"Brother, we can't keep her in check, she's practically climbing on the roof!"
Both of them paused when they saw the person at the door.
Meng Yushan glanced at Jiang Xingyao, then spoke authoritatively, "Lord Jiang is so difficult to invite that I had to come in person."
Yao Shisan handed Fu'er and Xiuzhou over to Shuang'er, asking her to take the two children to school first.
Jiang Xingyao clasped his hands together, refusing to look at him even once.
"Your humble servant Jiang Xingyao greets Lord Meng."
Yao Shisan did not speak, but followed his brother in curtsying.
In the simple hall, the Jiang siblings sat on one side, and Meng Yushan sat on the other.
“I remember, your mother called you Jiang’er.”
His scrutinizing eyes swept over the two of them, then settled on the face that resembled his daughter's by six or seven points.
"Your mother calls you Lan'er."
Lan'er.
A figure flashed through Yao Shisan's mind; it seemed to be calling her.
Jiang Xingyao spoke coldly, "My brother and I were born into poverty, and our mother died long ago. Lord Meng, there's no need to bring up those old grievances that we don't even remember."
Meng Yushan said, "Jiang'er, now that you have entered officialdom and are valued by His Majesty..."
“Recognizing your ancestry and returning to the Meng family will only give you wings to become a tiger.”
Jiang Xingyao said, "Which ancestor or clan? My surname is Jiang. I will definitely return to Chuzhou to build the Jiang Clan Ancestral Hall in the future. No need for Lord Meng to worry about it."
Meng Yushan's hand, which was resting on the back of the chair, suddenly clenched, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in his already somewhat cloudy eyes.
He then released his hand, saying, "The position of heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is currently vacant. You are my grandson. If you come back with me, I will immediately submit a memorial to the throne."
"And your sister, Lan'er, can find a better marriage."
Hehehe—
Jiang Xingyao chuckled softly, "Is Master Meng getting senile? He actually has a habit of recognizing grandchildren everywhere."
"It's a pity that I don't have the habit of being subservient to others."
Yao Shisan looked at his brother, whose face was full of smiles, but a single, glistening tear was visible at the corner of his eye.
When she came back last night, her brother didn't say anything, he just told her to get some rest.
She remembers nothing of her past.
She only had an older brother who always protected her, and a rigid, taciturn father.
She raised her calm eyes and said, "General Meng, please go back. My brother is just a minor county magistrate, while I am merely a humble merchant's wife."
“We are just country folk, unworthy of your esteemed home. Please leave.”
He Zhuo, who was outside, had overheard the entire conversation and looked shocked.
Jiang Xingyao is actually Meng Yushan's grandson.
He peeked through the crack in the window, then walked toward his sister's room.
"Ran'er".
"Hey, Third Brother, weren't you going to the county government office to check on the house repairs?"
He Zhuo moved closer to her, "Do you want to marry Jiang Xingyao?"
He Ran rolled her eyes at him. "Of course I want to, otherwise what do you think I'm doing here!"
"We're just waiting for the six-month period to end so we can immediately force him to go back and propose marriage!"
He Zhuo smiled and said, "No need to wait."
"What do you mean?" He Ran didn't understand.
"If Jiang Xingyao were the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo, Father would agree immediately."
He Ran rolled her eyes at him. "Are you alright? You still have the ability to make a bookworm the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Besides, the Meng family isn't completely wiped out; there are still so many collateral branches."
He Zhuo moved a few steps closer to her, glancing outside twice before speaking.
"Jiang Xingyao is Meng Yushan's grandson, and even Master Meng came personally to invite him!"
"Huh?!" He Ran was just as surprised as he was.
He Zhuo said, "Your father is determined to find you a suitable match. After Jiang Xingyao is recognized as a member of the Meng family, I guarantee that your father will agree immediately!"
"Really!" He Ran's eyes lit up.
Both the Meng and He families are military families, while Jiang Xingyao will only be a civil official in the future and will not become an adversary of his three older brothers.
That's the best of both worlds!
"I'm going to find the nerd now!"
He Ran was about to rush out when He Zhuo grabbed her arm.
"Why are you in such a hurry? They're still talking."
"What you need to consider now is how to persuade Jiang Xingyao if he is unwilling to acknowledge his ancestors."
"Unwilling to admit it?"
He Zhuo knew his sister couldn't understand, so he simply explained it to her directly.
"The Jiang siblings have been living away from home for so many years and have suffered a lot since childhood. Lord Jiang is also a strong-willed person. He is doing a great job as the county magistrate now and is happily repairing the river."
"Letting him go back to be the heir apparent now is like bestowing upon him a high-ranking status as charity."
"Lord Jiang may seem gentle, but he has his own principles, and I'm afraid he won't easily change his mind."
He Ran pursed her lips. "Then I won't do it. I married a bookworm, not some heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
He Zhuo clicked his tongue softly, "Isn't this to make your marriage go more smoothly?"
"It's the best of both worlds: I've gained social standing and the person I love."
He Ran frowned. "When my parents made me learn embroidery, I would climb over the wall every day in agony, even if it meant getting beaten."
"If the bookworm doesn't like it, I won't try to persuade him. So what if it's difficult? I'll just do it first and ask for permission later!"
He Zhuo's eyes widened. "He Ran, I'm warning you, if you dare to do anything reckless, I'll break your legs!"
He Ran pushed his third brother, "I was just saying it. I thought that bookworm wouldn't agree anyway."
He Zhuo immediately grabbed her ear and spun her around. "If you keep talking nonsense, go back right now!"
"Hey, hey, I won't do it again!" He Ran covered his ears and begged for mercy.
Along the riverbank, the laborers were working enthusiastically.
Several people lifted heavy stones, each weighing hundreds of kilograms, with coordinated shouts as they walked slowly and deliberately toward the riverbank.
Meng Yushan watched from afar, without saying a word.
Guo Ziyu and Guo Fang exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with helplessness.
Whether it was enticement or coercion, Lord Jiang remained unmoved.
He was like an impenetrable fortress, without any flaws.
He hesitated for a moment, then said slowly, "General, there's plenty of time. Lord Jiang will come back to you sooner or later."
Meng Yushan sighed, "I'm old now. I've fought and struggled my whole life."
His gaze fell on that figure. "There is no time to forget. Set off for the capital. I must present my report in person."
Guo Ziyu and Guo Fang locked eyes once again.
Is forcing it effective?
We don't know yet, but Ding County has returned to calm.
Yao Shisan's rented land: the early rice is entering the ripening season, the early rice is harvested, and the late rice is sown. There is only one month in between, which is called the "double rush".
The fields are bustling with activity; people get up before dawn and work until the moon is high in the sky before returning home.
During this period, the academy also closed for the holidays, and the older children all had to go home to help.
Children would also carry small baskets to pick up fallen ears of rice in the field.
"Uncle Fu, why aren't you taking this land? Is that nine taels of silver enough for your family to live on for a lifetime?"
Uncle Fu's family also had an acre of land down below, which went to him after his brother died.
Uncle Fu worked slowly and leisurely, saying, "I'm just waiting for my family's Youjin to come back and help me."
The others ignored him and left, inviting him along.
Uncle Fu wasn't waiting for his son to come back and help him; he was plotting to extort money again.
The rice produced from this acre of land can only sell for one ounce at most, but he can swindle three ounces out of it.
Anyway, those two women are so rich, why would they care about a few taels of silver?
After everyone had finished harvesting, they started irrigating the fields.
Only Uncle Fu's family has just finished harvesting, and there are still piles of rice on the ground. When everyone was irrigating, he came over specifically to warn them.
"You lot who are letting the water flow out, watch out! My rice is worth three ounces!"
The foreman who rented the land was more cautious this time and notified the two landowners' wives well in advance.
Shuang'er: "I knew it! That bastard is just trying to extort us!"
Yao Shisan said, "His land is in a low-lying area, so he'll definitely use the same old trick again—flooding it to extort money."
The manager said, "I'll take some men to ambush him tonight and arrest him first!"
She chuckled. "Don't arrest him. If you do, how will he destroy his own harvest?"
She had already said that she wanted him to use the same old trick.
The next day.
Uncle Fu came here specifically to show everyone his family's "losses" once again!
From afar, he saw a large group of villagers gathered at the edge of his land.
He passed by the rented land and, sure enough, the water in the land was almost gone.
He dug up the ridges between the fields, and all the water in the rented land flowed down, flooding the low-lying areas.
The low-lying land covers four acres, and apart from his family's, it has all been harvested.
His family is also the "victims".
"What are you doing here? Are you going to help me gather the rice?"
Uncle Fu pretended not to know and walked into the crowd.
He was dumbfounded.
His land was flooded, and all the harvested rice that hadn't been picked was soaking in the water.
but!
In this low-lying area, why is it that only his family's land has water?
Everything else is dry!
He clearly checked yesterday; the low-lying areas were completely flooded.
Now, only his house is flooded, clearly indicating that he did it on purpose.
Someone mocked, "Uncle Fu, that's not fair of you, you're deliberately trying to extort money from people."
Uncle Fu retorted loudly, "Who, who is trying to extort money! I just finished harvesting yesterday, and I'm here to collect the rice today!"
"That's strange. With so much water in other people's fields, how come only your house was flooded? Does the water have eyes?"
Uncle Fu looked around. "She must have discovered it early and drained all the other water beforehand!"
"The grain on my land is worth three taels! They must compensate me three taels!"
"Clap clap clap".
A few crisp applause rang out.
The villagers made way, and the woman who ran the business stood behind them.
There were also several yamen runners.
Yao Shisan: "What a clever trick! Extorting money is definitely faster than hard work."
"What do you mean by extorting money! Your land was all dry, but all the water flowed into my house!"
Shuang'er, "I knew you wouldn't admit it."
She turned to look at Constable Shi, "Arrest them."
"What...what are you trying to do! You're colluding with businessmen!" Uncle Fu shouted, taking a few steps back.
Yao Shisan pointed at his shoes and said sternly, "Your shoes are the evidence!"
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