Chapter 662: The Big Tree Has Branches
After Yan Zhigao and Yan Wenxiu returned home, they first went to pay a visit to Old Lady Yan to reassure her, and then returned to their respective courtyards without immediately meeting other people in the family.
Mrs. Li personally helped Yan Zhigao wash and dress, and during this time, she told him everything that Daohua had investigated.
When Yan Zhigao heard that he was imprisoned this time because of his second brother, his eyelids twitched violently.
Although he is fine now, as the head of a prefecture, he was arrested in front of so many people and was locked up in the provincial jail for a night. People who don't know the reason will say what he said about him. His reputation among his subordinates and the people will definitely be affected in the future.
Madam Li looked at Yan Zhigao's face and waited until he had eaten something before asking, "Does the master know about the bribes that my second brother has accepted?"
Hearing this, Yan Zhigao was shocked and stared at Madam Li with wide eyes: "What do you mean by accepting bribes?"
Mrs. Li sighed and showed Yan Zhigao the things that Daohua had found from Li and Li's brother.
Yan Zhigao quickly flipped through the pages, his face turning greener the more he read. By the end, his hands were shaking: "This bastard, is he trying to kill me?!"
He couldn't imagine what would happen to him if these things fell into the hands of his political enemies.
Others don't care whether he knows about these things or not. They will just think that he condoned his brother to do it, and then in the end, he will be the one to bear the responsibility.
Madam Li's face was filled with sorrow. "Master, I never thought my second brother would be so bold as to do so many evil things behind your back. If it weren't for our daughter, he wouldn't know how long he would have kept it a secret from us."
"Not only did he commit such a horrible act, he was so foolish as to hand over the evidence to his mistress for safekeeping, while being completely unaware of the conspiracy between his mistress and the Jiang family."
"Master, I'm really scared. You're fine this time, thanks to God and our ancestors, but what about next time? Can we always be so lucky?"
Yan Zhigao was also filled with fear, with cold sweat oozing from his forehead. He had finally reached his current position with great difficulty, but he almost fell into the abyss.
Mrs. Li looked at her husband's cheeks, which had turned red with anger, and said nothing more.
She had really had enough of the second wife. It was bad enough that she hadn't done anything for the family over the years, but she actually tried to harm them in this way. When she thought about how her second brother almost harmed her husband and ruined the future of her son and daughter, she couldn't stop the anger in her heart.
On the other side, Han Xinran was also talking to Yan Wenxiu about what happened at home in the past two days.
"Luckily, my eldest sister discovered my second uncle's mistress in time and seized evidence of him accepting bribes. Otherwise, who knows what the consequences would have been."
Yan Wenxiu closed his eyes and rubbed his swollen temples. He had hardly closed his eyes in the past two days. At this moment, he was very tired both physically and mentally. After hearing what his second uncle had done, he was extremely annoyed.
"Second Uncle usually seems quite smart, why does he always do such stupid things?"
Han Xinran hesitated for a moment and said, "Maybe he's been flattered too much." In the capital, she had heard a lot about people like her second uncle. They were all people who hid under the protection of their families and had no ability. After being praised a few times, they couldn't tell the difference between east, west, south, north, and their own weight.
Yan Wenxiu snorted coldly: "Second uncle has indeed lived a very comfortable life these years." Otherwise, how could he dare to keep a concubine and even give birth to a son.
Han Xinran was not sure what to say, so she turned to praising Daohua, "I really didn't expect that the eldest sister was so capable. When she caught Second Uncle's mistress before, Second Uncle was so furious that I was scared just by looking at him, but the eldest sister managed to suppress him."
"Father was arrested, and you followed him to the provincial government. Everyone in the family was panicking. In the end, it was my eldest sister who came back to calm the situation and stabilize the people."
"While preparing food to save my father, she also sent people to inquire about the whereabouts of the lost military rations. She was neither anxious nor impatient, and seemed to have everything under control. She really didn't look like a lady kept in seclusion."
She thought she could never be as good as Rice Flower.
After hearing this, Yan Wenxiu smiled slightly. "My eldest sister is not an ordinary girl. She used to run around a lot and even opened her own shop and bought a farm. I once persuaded my mother to control her temper."
"Now that I think about it, a girl should experience more. Managing a shop and a farm is no easy task. You have to ensure profitability while also keeping the servants in check. It really tests one's abilities."
Han Xinran agreed.
That afternoon, Yan Zhigao called Yan Zhiyuan to the main courtyard.
Although he was the only one called, everyone from the second house came.
Daohua and Yan Wenxiu and his wife also came over and sat beside them.
Yan Zhiyuan knew he had made a big mistake this time. When he saw Yan Zhigao, he knelt down and said, "Brother, I am sorry for you. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in jail this time. Please punish me!"
Yan Zhigao looked at Yan Zhiyuan seriously, and did not ask him to get up. Instead, he interrogated him in detail about what he had done behind his family's back over the years.
When they heard that Yan Zhiyuan had accepted nearly ten thousand taels of silver from others over the years, the faces of everyone in the Yan family changed again and again.
Yan Zhigao threw the teacup in front of Yan Zhiyuan and said through gritted teeth, "Hand over all the money, land deeds, and shop deeds you have collected over the years."
Seeing that his elder brother was so angry that his veins were popping out, Yan Zhiyuan was also frightened and nodded quickly: "I will pay it, I will pay it all."
Yan Zhigao looked at Yan Wenxiu and asked, "Have you remembered everything your uncle just said?"
Yan Wenxiu nodded.
Yan Zhigao: "Starting tomorrow, you will personally deal with the aftermath. You must compensate where necessary and pay the fines due. Not a single thing should be left unpaid. You must make sure these things are erased."
Yan Wenxiu nodded again: "Okay."
When Mrs. Li heard this, her brows were deeply furrowed. Whenever the second wife made a mistake, it was always the first wife who had to clean up the mess. Seeing her son's exhausted look, she felt even more resentful towards the second wife.
Daohua sat aside without saying a word, with her eyes downcast, wondering what she was thinking.
Just as Yan Zhigao was loudly scolding Yan Zhiyuan, Wang Maner came into the room and whispered a few words in Daohua's ear.
Daohua said something to Mrs. Li and left the house. She came back about a quarter of an hour later.
"Is something wrong?"
As soon as Daohua came in, Mrs. Li couldn't help but ask.
Daohua shook her head and looked at Yan Zhigao: "The lost military rations have been found."
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhigao and Yan Wenxiu were both delighted.
Yan Zhiyuan was also very happy: "Brother, since our family has not suffered any losses, let Mei Niang go. She was also threatened by the Jiang family. Wen An is still young and can't leave his mother."
Hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned.
Yan Zhigao looked at his brother in disbelief. At this time, he was still thinking about the mistress and had no idea how big a mistake he had made.
"snort!"
Daohua couldn't help but sneered, "Second Uncle, what do you mean by no loss?"
"Have you forgotten those yamen runners who were killed when the military rations were lost? Their lives were not worth living. Have you ever thought about their families? Don't they need your father to comfort them?"
"In order to recover the military rations, many people sent to search for them were injured. Isn't this a loss?"
"Father was arrested and detained for a day and a night. His reputation was damaged and his dignity was hurt. Isn't this a loss?"
"Although father has been released now, you don't think this matter is over, do you? The loss of military rations is true, but father will definitely be accused of poor supervision. He could have received an excellent grade in this year's assessment, but because of this mistake, he might only get an average or even poor grade. Isn't this a loss?"
"Everyone in the family is in a panic because of this incident, and my grandmother is also sick due to anxiety. Aren't these losses?"
As he spoke, Daohua raised his head and sneered, "Second Uncle, you didn't suffer any loss at all, because all the losses were borne by others!"
After hearing Daohua's words, everyone in the room fell silent. Yan Zhiyuan looked at Daohua with his mouth slightly open. After a while, he said in a cold voice, "What else do you want? Mei Niang gave birth to a son for the Yan family. Do you really want to kill her?"
"Second brother!"
Madam Li stood up with an angry look on her face. "Second brother, Daohua is only speaking the truth. Please don't drag her into this for no reason, as if she forced you to do everything."
As she said this, she looked at Daohua and gave her a wink, "You have nothing to do here, you can go down." The master was back, and she didn't want her daughter to interfere in the affairs of the second house at all, so as to avoid being blamed in the future.
Daohua glanced at Mrs. Li. She didn't want to stay here any longer.
Sun Changze helped find the military rations. When fighting for the food, she had a fight with the people hired by the Jiang family on the river. It was said that many people were injured, and she had to compensate and appease all of them.
Seeing Daohua leave, Yan Wenjie and Zhu Qiyun were extremely anxious. They didn't expect Yan Zhiyuan to be so stupid as to plead for the concubine at this time. Isn't this adding fuel to the fire?
Looking at Yan Zhigao who had a cold face and didn't speak, Yan Wenjie felt a little panicked. If his uncle had beaten or scolded his father, he wouldn't be so panicked, but now that his uncle said nothing, he felt unsure.
Yan Wenjie couldn't help but look at Sun, hoping that she would say a few words to make the situation less awkward.
Unfortunately, Sun lowered her head and said nothing, not even looking at him.
Seeing that her mother-in-law didn't say a word, Zhu Qiyun knew that she had been badly hurt by her father-in-law and didn't want to care about his affairs anymore.
Alas, I’m afraid that their second branch will become estranged from the first branch.
"You all go down, I'm tired and want to rest."
Yan Zhigao suddenly said something, and then strode away without waiting for everyone's reaction.
Yan Wenjie and Zhu Qiyun looked at each other, and both saw worry in each other's eyes.
"Well, what did you find out?"
Old Mrs. Yan looked at Mother Sun anxiously.
Mother Sun hesitated for a moment and told Old Lady Yan what she had just heard in the main courtyard.
After hearing this, Old Lady Yan slapped her thigh in anger: "What a rebellious son, what a rebellious son!"
Mother Sun didn't dare to speak at this time and stood silently by.
After a long while, Old Lady Yan sighed: "I originally thought that this family would remain together until I stepped into the coffin, but now..."
Old Mrs. Yan's eyes gradually turned red. The child's father died early, and the family relied on mutual support to get to where they are today. She originally thought that the three brothers could continue to walk hand in hand, but in the end it was just wishful thinking.
She can't let the second child drag down the eldest child!
Old Madam Yan wiped away the tears from her eyes, her eyes gradually becoming firmer: "Go, call the eldest, second, and third sons over here, I have something to say."
After Sun Ma left, Old Lady Yan looked at the big tree outside the window and sighed, "It's finally time for the tree to branch out."
(End of this chapter)
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