As he said this, he looked at Concubine Yang who was standing beside him, "Sister-in-law, I'll leave it to you from now on."

When this sentence came out, Concubine Yang and Gu Ming, mother and son, exchanged glances with each other. Both of them were eager to try, especially Gu Ming, whose thin single eyelid eyes were flashing with greedy expectation.

Today, Concubine Yang wore an autumn-colored jacket with a gourd and vase pattern. Her neatly combed bun was topped with a pair of white jade hairpins carved with plum blossoms on both ends. The vicissitudes of life had left faint fine lines at the corners of her eyes, making her look elegant and dignified, with outstanding grace.

"I'm sorry to bother all of you relatives and friends today." She smiled apologetically, her well-maintained face looking radiant and energetic, and she looked several years younger.

She slowly looked around at everyone, her loving yet helpless eyes fell on Gu Jin, and she sighed softly, "Ah Jin has always had his own ideas, and a grown-up child is no longer under the control of his mother. Since he has made up his mind, it is not right for me as a mother to interfere..."

She spoke in a high-sounding manner, and her implicit meaning seemed to be saying that it was Gu Jin who insisted on dividing the family because he did not want to be filial to her as his stepmother, completely shifting the blame onto her and Gu Ming.

Prince Li couldn't bear to hear what Concubine Yang said, so he interrupted her coldly: "Sister-in-law, since we have decided to separate the family, let's make it short."

"..." Concubine Yang did not expect that Prince Li would be so disrespectful to her. Her face froze slightly, and she almost couldn't maintain her elegant smile.

“……”Gu Ming’s face also froze.

As for the other princes of the royal family who came to bear witness today, their expressions became very complicated. Many of them glanced at Gu Jin, and they could see a bit of pity in his handsome face, as if he was a little cabbage that no one loved and cared for.

Some people sigh, some people sigh, some people feel emotional, and some people pity.

Li Qin glanced at the concubines of Wang Jingjunwang's mansion and asked directly without beating around the bush: "Gu Feng, Gu Jun, Gu Zheng, do you three want to split up the family property as well?"

Gu Jun and the other three illegitimate sons all shook their heads in unison, and shouted the word "no difference" at the same time, and each of them was impatient to express his or her position.

These illegitimate sons had made the decision several years ago to stand on the same side as Concubine Yang and her son. Over the years, they had also been doing things to hinder Gu Jin openly and covertly. To put it bluntly, they had accumulated deep resentment, and it was impossible for them to stand on Gu Jin's side.

What's more, it's good to stay in the Prince's Mansion, and for these illegitimate sons, the advantages will definitely far outweigh the disadvantages.

Seeing this, Prince Shun, Prince Rui and others exchanged complicated glances, remembering what Prince Li said when he went to their house a few days ago, and became more and more emotional. They looked at Gu Jin with more or less sympathy, feeling that this stepmother was not her biological mother after all! Concubine Yang and Gu Ming did not notice the expressions of Prince Shun and others at all, and were very satisfied with the expressions of Gu Jun and others.

Today it was said that the Prince Jing's Mansion was splitting up, but in fact, only Gu Jin's branch was going to separate and live on its own. Since among so many brothers, only Gu Jin wanted to split up, then naturally there was something wrong with Gu Jin.

Anyone with eyes can see and understand this.

From now on, people in the capital will only say that Gu Jin and his wife are unfilial and disrespectful, and are eager to distance themselves from their stepmother.

Concubine Yang smiled again, putting aside her previous unhappiness, and the smile on her face became calm again.

This is a kind of superiority that belongs to the victor.

She stroked her sleeves calmly, gracefully and elegantly, and continued the topic of dividing the family: "According to the ancestral system of the Gu family, the heir to the title will get the ancestral house and 70% of the family property, and the remaining property will be divided equally among the other sons."

Gu Ming, Gu Jun and other brothers all nodded, agreeing with Concubine Yang's statement.

At first glance, the people from the several branches of the Prince's Mansion are united, except for the couple Gu Jin and Shen Wan from the second branch who seem out of place.

Concubine Yang smiled slightly, her eyes deep.

According to her original intention, she didn't actually want to separate the family so early.

However……

Concubine Yang's eyes flashed, thinking of the woman Shen Wan who threatened her when she went to Duke Mu's mansion at the end of last month: "Mother, I have thought about it over and over again. Ah Jin is indeed too impulsive. The emperor's uncle is right. The title is not a joke. How can you just resign it? Don't you agree?"

Shen Wan's words echoed clearly in Concubine Yang's ears. She could recite them by heart, and every word was sharp.

Shen Wan used the title to force Concubine Yang to agree to the separation of the family, otherwise Gu Jin would not resign from the title...

How could Concubine Yang give up the title, which was so easy to get? She weighed the pros and cons and had no choice but to agree to divide the family in order to appease Shen Wan.

The premise is that as long as Gu Jin resigns from the title, she will immediately preside over the division of the family.

Although she agreed, Concubine Yang still felt a little upset.

In her opinion, everything in the Prince's Mansion belongs to her son Gu Ming. Why should she let others share it? Gu Jin only has one daughter, who is a fool. In the future, the property of the Prince's Mansion will have to be passed on to her grandson.

She glanced again at Gu Jin and Shen Wan, who were sitting diagonally opposite her.

The couple were sitting side by side, arm in arm, expressionless, as if whatever others said had nothing to do with them.

The next moment, she saw the couple exchange glances with each other. There was tenderness in their eyes, and a silent tacit understanding filled the air.

Concubine Yang frowned, as if she was stabbed by the scene before her, and she felt uncomfortable from her heart to her limbs and even her bones.

Concubine Yang had always been dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law Shen Wan. Unfortunately, this marriage was arranged when the old prince was still alive, and the old prince never asked for her opinion, so she had no chance to object.

Shen Wan was born into a noble family. The Duke Mu's Mansion was an old noble family with a very stable position in the court. Ever since she married Gu Jin, they had always lived in harmony. If there was anything that was not perfect, it was probably that after many years of marriage, they still had only one daughter, Gu Zhiyan.

However, both Gu Jin and Shen Wan were still young, and the imperial physician also said that Shen Wan's body was damaged when she gave birth to Gu Zhiyan, and she has not recovered much in the past two years. It is only a matter of time before she gives birth to a son.

Concubine Yang knew clearly that once Gu Jin established a crown prince, her son would have no hope of getting his title back.

A cold light flashed across Concubine Yang's eyes. Her pupils were dark, like two deep whirlpools, and seemed to be covered with a thick haze...

Her smile became more gentle and appropriate. She looked at Prince Li at the top with a smile and deliberately asked him, "Prince Li, am I right?"

Prince Li, who was sitting at the top, nodded slightly to show his agreement.

According to the ancestral system of the Great Qi Dynasty, this is indeed the case.

The purpose of dividing the family in this way is to allow the heir to retain the wealth of the palace and most of the property, while the other children who are divided out can at least have enough food and clothing, but if they want a brighter future, they have to work hard on their own.

This was decided by Emperor Taizu in order to maintain the wealth and bloodiness of the royal family of Da Qi. Therefore, the royal family of Da Qi was not as corrupt as in the previous dynasty and still enjoyed wealth and prosperity.

Concubine Yang ordered the housekeeper to fetch all the account books, land deeds, house deeds, silver bills and other documents of the Prince's Mansion, and piled them in boxes in the middle of the hall.

The housekeeper took a thick list and began to read out the properties of the Prince's Mansion, including fields, houses, shops in various places, mines in the northeast, and so on.

This recitation takes a whole incense stick of time, because one must also recite the cash, silver bills, gold and jade in the mansion, as well as the antiques, calligraphy and paintings in the storehouse.

The eyes of the Third Master Gu Ming became brighter and brighter. He had not yet inherited the title, but everyone knew that he would be the new Prince of Jing, and all these properties would soon belong to him.

To the people outside Prince Jing's Mansion, this was as boring as chanting a sutra. Chu Qianchen could not help but cover his mouth with a handkerchief and yawned slightly.

Gu Jue didn't listen at all. He peeled the orange slowly, gave half of the peeled orange to Chu Qianchen, and asked her to eat something to refresh herself.

Chu Qianchen ate the orange happily.

No one else paid any attention to the couple. After all, they were not the protagonists today. Only the Second Prince Gu Nanzhao glanced at Chu Qianchen from time to time, with an increasingly bitter smile.

At this time, the housekeeper finished reading the list, and Concubine Yang deliberately asked Shen Wan this time: "Ah Wan, is there any problem with this list?"

Although Concubine Yang wanted to keep the household goods of the palace, it was the old prince who personally gave the household goods to Shen Wan after Shen Wan married into the palace. Even if the old prince passed away, Concubine Yang had no suitable excuse to take back the household goods.

Shen Wan has been the mistress of the house for such a long time, she knows exactly how much property and assets there are in the Prince's Mansion.

Shen Wan put down the teacup and nodded calmly: "That's right."

"That's good." Concubine Yang smiled faintly, and at this moment, this smile seemed to have a sense of confidence.

She continued, "According to the ancestral system, 70% of the family property belongs to the heir to the title. There are five branches in the palace. Apart from the heir to the title, the remaining four branches will share the remaining 30% of the family property equally. Ah Jin, you are the legitimate son, so you will get 10% more than Gu Jun and the others."

Concubine Yang felt contemptuous and proud at the same time. Even if Gu Jin got 10% more than Gu Jun and the others, he would only get less than half of the 30% family property.

They, mother and son, are the final winners of this war for the title.

Even when I no longer have the protection of the Prince’s Mansion, there will still be times when Gu Jin and Shen Wan come to me for help.

Suddenly, Gu Jin spoke up, saying his first words of the day: "All of my assets will be converted into cash or silver notes."

“…”

“…”

“…”

No matter whether it was the other people in Prince Jing's Mansion, or Prince Li, Prince Shun and others who came today specifically to testify for the division of the family, they were all stunned and could not believe their ears.

There was silence in the hall.

Everyone's face seemed to be filled with a question: Did Gu Jin have a brain injury?! He didn't want the property but insisted on cash when the family was separated. He must be mentally ill.

After a brief moment of surprise, Concubine Yang and Gu Ming came to their senses. The mother and son exchanged glances again, both of them were overjoyed, with their eyes shining brightly.

Prince Li frowned in pain, feeling helpless and angry at Gu Jin, and said to him kindly, "Ajin, don't be impulsive."

"Now that you have the cash, you still have to buy some property. There are many good properties in the capital, but they are hard to come by."

To put it bluntly, even if it is a good property, the owner will be reluctant to sell it unless there is an emergency in the family or there is a prodigal son and he has no choice but to sell off his property.

Prince Li thought that Gu Jin was just being angry and wanted to completely cut off ties with the Prince's Mansion, so he didn't even want the Prince's Mansion's property, and only wanted to share the money. Alas, Gu Jin had already suffered a great loss when he resigned from the title, which was equivalent to handing over such a large family business to others. He couldn't suffer any more losses when dividing the family.

Gu Jin also knew that Prince Li had good intentions, so when he turned to Prince Li, he said with a smile: "Uncle, I have thought it through. It's not impulsive."

His expression and tone were very firm.

After a pause, he bowed to Prince Li and asked respectfully, "If these properties are converted into cash, how much can I get?"

Prince Shun and others looked at each other in surprise. The current development was completely beyond their expectations.

A few days ago, when Prince Li went to see them, he only asked them to help Gu Jin appropriately when the family was divided, and to fight for more benefits for him, such as the fields in the capital, a few shops in the downtown area, etc. But now, it was equivalent to Gu Jin once again giving up something that should have belonged to him.

Who wants to——

Gu Jin said as a matter of course: "It's okay. Awan has a house as a dowry. The house with three entrances is enough for us to live in. I am now separated from my family and I need to buy a lot of things and servants. It will be more convenient if I have some money in hand."

"Uncle, don't worry, I have a plan."

Gu Jin spoke with full confidence and enthusiasm, however, the people present could not be as confident as he was. These elders of the royal family had all watched him grow up and had some understanding of his personality and behavior.

Gu Jin has been a playboy who has no idea of ​​the sufferings of the world since he was young. He is a money-grubber. To put it nicely, he is eager to help others and is generous. To put it bluntly, he is a spendthrift who cannot hide his money.

Looking back today, Gu Jin was too short-sighted. No wonder he couldn't even keep his title and had to give it up to someone else.

Prince Shun and others all disagreed with Gu Jin's choice and shook their heads and sighed secretly.

Prince Li tried to persuade him again: "Ajin..."

Gu Jin smiled and rushed ahead of Prince Li, and said confidently: "Uncle, look at Prince Chen."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"Back then, Prince Chen was still the Ninth Prince. When he was separated from the palace, the late Emperor only gave him a house and some money to settle down."

No one expected that Gu Jin would actually use Gu Jue as an example. Prince Shun, Prince Rui and others were all speechless.

How can Gu Jin be compared with Gu Jue.

When Gu Jue was fifteen years old, he asked to go to the north. The late emperor did not agree at first, after all, Gu Jue was only fifteen years old at that time.

In order to scare Gu Jue away, the late emperor drove him out of the palace and gave him 50,000 taels of silver to let him set up his own residence. The meaning was that if he insisted on going to the north, he would be considered an adult and should take care of himself.

However, Gu Jue had made up his mind, so he took the Nine Dragon Sword given by the late emperor and went to the north with his sword and horse.

No matter how many people were not optimistic about Gu Jue back then, Gu Jue has now proved his ability with his achievements.

The question is, how many "Gu Jue" have there been in the royal family of Da Qi in the past hundred years? !

Gu Ming curled the corner of his mouth in disdain and gave his second brother a sneering look. He felt that his second brother was still as out of touch and overestimating his own abilities as before!

Prince Li was speechless for a moment and his eyes twitched.

He felt somewhat helpless, and together with everyone else he looked at Gu Jue who seemed to be out of the matter, and could not help but said, "Ajue, you should also try to persuade this kid!"

Gu Jue's eyebrows and eyes are cold, like the bright cold moon and the cool breeze. He always has a kind of awe-inspiring and noble demeanor that makes people sit up straight in front of him unconsciously, and even lower their voices when speaking.

Gu Jue didn't even look at Gu Jin. He slowly used the tea lid to gently brush the floating leaves in the teacup, and said in a nonchalant manner, "If the Concubine Dowager has no objection to the separation of the Jing County Prince's Mansion, we don't need to say anything more."

No one was surprised at Gu Jue's attitude. Or rather, if Gu Jue said something, they would be surprised.

Of course Concubine Yang was willing, and nodded hurriedly, saying, "If Ah Jin insists, I naturally have no objection."

These industries of the palace have been accumulated by several generations. They are all goose that lay golden eggs and must be firmly held in the hands of mother and son. In comparison, money is not important at all.

Concubine Yang was afraid that Gu Jin would go back on his word again, so she smiled and said to Prince Li: "Prince Li, to be fair, please come and see how this property can be converted into cash."

She looked open and had a clear conscience.

Prince Shun, Prince Rui and others all thought that Gu Jin was hopeless and were too lazy to talk. They came because they were from the same clan, and since Gu Jin insisted on being stupid, they had no choice.

At the signal of Concubine Yang, the housekeeper immediately presented the list in her hand to Prince Li.

Prince Li called Prince Shun and others to gather together and calculate the assets of the Prince's Mansion.

They need to convert all these fields, shops and so on into current market prices, and then add up the total amount. There will be some deviations, so every industry must be listed out, and if someone questions it later, they can make slight modifications.

It took them half an hour to finish calculating the property. If they only divided the cash and banknotes, Gu Jin's family could get 500,000 taels.

The assets of the Prince's Mansion are mainly industries, and cash is generally used to purchase industries. The cash and silver notes on the books total only 300,000, and with the addition of gold and jade, it is barely possible to make up 500,000.

Prince Li then had the densely written list of accounts given to Concubine Yang for review.

When Concubine Yang saw the words "five hundred thousand taels" written on the list, she felt that these words were really glaring and could not help frowning.

She could see that Prince Li and Prince Shun were clearly favoring Gu Jin and gave him some extra cash. For example, the land in the capital should be worth about 15 taels per mu, but the invoice said it was 18 taels per mu; the house originally worth 200 taels was converted to 250 taels...

Originally, Gu Jin was to receive at most 400,000 taels, but now he had received an extra 100,000 taels. This almost emptied the palace of cash and banknotes.

Concubine Yang was very unhappy and held her breath, but hesitated and did not speak.

If she said that Prince Li and Prince Shun were not fair in their division, then the situation would naturally become ugly. If the family could not be divided today, Prince Li might even bring the matter of division to the emperor...

She was still hesitating, but Gu Ming couldn't help but come over to take a look. He also frowned and blurted out, "Five hundred thousand taels?! This is too ridiculous!"

In Gu Ming's mind, the title and property of the Prince's Mansion were already in his pocket. Giving such a huge sum of money to Gu Jin was like cutting off a piece of flesh and blood from his heart.

Upon hearing this, Prince Li, Prince Shun, Prince Rui and others frowned in displeasure and felt displeased with Gu Ming.

Gu Ming is the younger generation. Logically speaking, he has no right to speak when the family business is divided. What he said was tantamount to accusing them of an unfair division.

Although they sided with Gu Jin, everyone knew that the real beneficiary of this division of the family was Gu Ming's family. Gu Jin had already given up the title and family property, but Gu Ming was still not satisfied. He was too greedy!

Several princes of the royal family exchanged glances with each other. Prince Li was unwilling to give up and asked Gu Jin again, "Ajin, have you really thought it through?"

After Prince Li said this, the last bit of hesitation in Concubine Yang's heart disappeared. She glared at Gu Ming and told him to shut up and say less.

There is nothing wrong with giving Gu Jin an extra 100,000 taels. It is just the annual income of the Prince's Mansion anyway.

So, everyone, including Concubine Yang, looked at Gu Jin again, with burning eyes and different expressions.

"I accept." Gu Jin nodded without hesitation, his eyes clear.

Prince Li was helpless and sighed again: "Then let's sign the deed."

Concubine Yang was afraid that things might turn out differently, so she hurriedly asked people to prepare the four treasures of the study. Then Prince Li personally drafted the terms of the division of the family, which were read out to him by a housekeeper.

Then, both parties simply signed and sealed the agreement.

If it is a private division, then it will need to be registered with the government, but for royal family members, it only needs to be registered with the clan office.

As the head of the clan, Prince Li can represent the clan government.

Therefore, after Prince Li checked the deed, everything was settled.

The deed was made in triplicate, one copy was kept by Concubine Yang, one was given to Gu Jin, and the last copy was filed with the Ministry of Clan Affairs.

Calculating the time, it only took an hour to complete the division of the family. No one raised any objections this time, so it was a peaceful division.

The division of the family went so smoothly, but Prince Shun and the others felt as if all kinds of emotions had been mixed together, as if they had just watched a big drama.

That complex emotion finally turned into a sigh. Every family has its own problems.

Although Concubine Yang intended to keep the guests for dinner, Prince Shun and others had no such intention and took their leave one after another.

After a while, most of the main hall was empty.

Prince Li felt a little thirsty, so he stayed and drank a few more sips of tea. The middle-aged eunuch he brought with him was blowing the deed dry and carefully putting it into a small box.

However, Gu Jue and Chu Qianchen were still sitting there calmly, as if they were not in a hurry to leave, and seemed to be waiting for Shen Wan and his wife.

No matter what she thought, Concubine Yang still had a gentle smile on her face, as if she was wearing a perfect mask. She said to Gu Jin and Shen Wan magnanimously, "Ajin, Awan, you don't have to be so anxious. It doesn't matter if you pack up for a few more days. Qi Niang is young, and a child might not be used to living in a new place all of a sudden."

At first glance, Concubine Yang looks like a grandmother with a kind smile, perfect.

Now that they had already fallen out, Gu Jin was too lazy to socialize and smiled nonchalantly, "Mother is not anxious, but we are."

His words were extremely sarcastic. Concubine Yang felt like a winner and was too lazy to argue with Gu Jin.

Gu Ming said sarcastically: "Mom, you have good intentions, but you have to let others appreciate it!"

Shen Wan was too lazy to even talk to Concubine Yang. She picked up the teacup in a pretentious manner and happened to see Chu Qianchen winking at her out of the corner of her eye.

Shen Wan also blinked quickly at her.

The rest of the people had almost all left, and Prince Li also stood up, preparing to say goodbye to Concubine Yang, but at this moment, a man in blue clothes ran towards them, panting.

He stopped outside the hall, and without even taking the time to adjust his breathing, he quickly walked to Gu Ming's side and shouted anxiously, "Third Master, no..."

The man in green leaned down and whispered into Gu Ming's ear in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Third Master, Li Er ran away."

The man in green only said these six short words.

"..." Gu Ming's pupils shrank sharply, and his smile froze on his lips. He almost blurted out, "What did you say?!"

His face turned slightly pale, and he looked at the man in green for confirmation, and the man in green nodded affirmatively.

Finished!

(End of this chapter)