When Yun Xiangdong returned, he didn't mention that Yun Mo had taken a concubine, and his sister-in-law didn't care. Thinking this, Yun Zhenchuan gestured to his wife, Wang Shi, with his eyes.
Wang Cuo glanced at him, then put on a smile and asked Yunmu, "Sister-in-law, when did Mo'er take a concubine?"
As soon as she spoke, everyone at the table turned their gaze to Lin Yinan.
Yunmu chuckled and said, "She is not a concubine, but Mo'er's wife."
Yun Zhenchuan asked in confusion, "Wife, isn't Mo'er still unmarried?"
"They got married on their way south, and they couldn't contact each other along the way, so we couldn't notify you."
Yun Zhenchuan snorted dismissively, saying, "Without a matchmaker or betrothal, she shall be a concubine."
Yun Mo's face darkened, and he was about to argue when Lin Yinan pulled him back in time. Yun's mother gave the two of them a reassuring look.
"The young couple got married with the Lin family patriarch and Master Su as witnesses. The marriage certificate has been written. I am very pleased with my daughter-in-law, Anan."
Hearing the protectiveness that Yunmu was showing towards Lin Yinan in her words, Yun Zhenchuan was very displeased. His eyes were filled with anger, and his face was extremely ugly. He had been an official in the South for many years, and no one had ever disobeyed him like this before.
Moreover, he had already promised the head of the Fan family that Yun Mo would marry the eldest daughter of the Fan family, so that the eldest branch of the Yun family could quickly gain a foothold in the south. He did this for the good of the Yun family.
His wife's sudden appearance left him wondering how he could explain this to the Fan family. He glanced at Lin Yinan, who had a nonchalant expression, and turned away in anger.
The eldest son's family is truly ungrateful!
Wang glanced at her husband's expression out of the corner of her eye and stepped in with a smile to smooth things over, "Sister-in-law, don't be shy, my husband is just worried about our nephew."
"How could that be? My grandfather and father are gone, and I'm overjoyed that his second uncle cares about his nephew."
Wang held Yunmu's hand affectionately, saying, "The children have never met before, so let them get to know each other today."
"I'll listen to you."
Yun Zhenchuan had one wife and two concubines. His wife, Wang Fengzhen, came from a collateral branch of the Wang family in Shangjing and had given birth to two sons and one daughter.
Wang's eldest son, Yun Jing, is twenty-two years old this year. He has one wife and one concubine. His wife, Jiang, has given birth to two sons and one daughter. The eldest son is five years old, the daughter is three years old, and the youngest son has just turned one year old. His concubine, Wu, has given birth to a two-year-old daughter.
The second son, Yunze, is twenty years old this year. His wife, Fang, has a three-year-old son with him.
My daughter, Yunhua, is eighteen years old this year. She married the second son of the prestigious Shao family in Nanzhou Prefecture. They have been married for nearly three years but have not had any children.
Yun Zhenchuan's concubine, Kong, bore him two sons. The elder son, Fang Yu, is twenty-one years old this year. He married An, and they have two sons. The younger son, Yun Kang, is fifteen years old this year.
Wei was very well-preserved and looked to be only in her twenties. She was Yun Zhenchuan's most favored concubine and had the most children.
She had two sons and two daughters. Her eldest daughter, Yunyi, was sixteen years old this year. She married into a scholarly family in Nanzhou Prefecture last year and was about to give birth, so she did not come back this time. Her eldest son, Yunhao, was fifteen years old this year. Her second daughter, Yunyan, was twelve years old. Her second son, Yunling, was ten years old.
After the two branches of the Yun family introduced themselves to each other, the servants began to serve the dishes.
Lin Yinan was already starving, and after Yun Zhenchuan, the head of the family, started eating, everyone else began to dig in.
Lin Yinan ate heartily without any hesitation, and Yun Mo, feeling sorry for her hardships along the way, would occasionally put food on her plate.
As she ate, a hostile gaze was fixed on her, but Lin Yinan ignored it and continued eating.
Of all things under heaven, eating is the most important.
Looking at Lin Yinan's starving appearance, Yunhua couldn't help but sneer, "He even said he came from a scholarly family, but he's just vulgar and has no manners at all."
Yunmu carefully fed her four-year-old granddaughter, and upon hearing this, she looked up and smiled at Yunhua, who had a look of disgust on her face.
“Anan is pregnant now and is eating for two, so it’s good that she has a good appetite. You’ll understand when you get pregnant in the future.”
Yunhua's expression suddenly changed drastically. The food she was holding with her chopsticks fell onto the table with a clatter, and the soup splashed onto her exquisite clothes, leaving deep stains. She had been married for almost three years but was still unable to conceive, and she hated it most when people talked about this.
She wanted to retort, but Wang's glare suppressed her, and she forced herself to swallow her anger.
Yunhua was so angry that she trembled all over, threw down her chopsticks, and left the table.
"What kind of behavior is this? You've spoiled her rotten. She's such a grown-up and still acts so willfully." Yun Zhenchuan disregarded the presence of the Yun family's eldest branch and showed no respect to Madam Wang.
Wang held the bowl without saying a word.
The eldest branch of the Yun family seemed not to hear anything, and they all buried their heads in their food, thoroughly enjoying the meal.
After the meal, the servants served tea.
Seeing that Yun Zhenchuan remained silent about their accommodations, Yun Ye cut to the chase, "Second Uncle, have you noticed any place in Nanzhou Prefecture where we can settle down?"
Yun Zhenchuan carefully skimmed off the tea leaves, blew on them, took a sip, and then said unhurriedly, "There's no rush. You've traveled a long way, so you should rest first."
The Yunye brothers exchanged a glance, concealing the emotions in their eyes, and picked up their tea to drink.
Yun Zhenchuan chatted with the Yun brothers about some trivial matters, but never got down to business.
Seeing that it was already completely dark, he said, "Oh, it's so late. You must be tired from your journey. Go back and rest early tonight."
After the eldest son left, Yun Zhenchuan took his three adult sons to the study.
After closing the study door, the eldest son, Yun Jing, asked impatiently, "Dad, what about the matter we agreed on with the Fan family?"
Yun Zhenchuan frowned. Things had indeed taken him by surprise. He had thought that Yun Ye would die on the way, and that Yun Mo would be easier to deal with. He never expected that Yun Ye would actually survive.
"I will go to the Fan residence in person tomorrow."
The second son, Yunyu, said, "Are we just going to leave them like this?"
At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and the third son, Yunze, got up to open it.
The visitor was Yun Xiangdong, who bowed to each of them.
Yun Zhenchuan pointed to a chair and asked him to sit down, "Tell us what you've found out in the past two days."
After Yun Xiangdong sat down, he said, "This day, I came back with Second Master Yun and the others. There were about thirty or forty carriages in their entourage. The carriages were covered with oilcloths and the guards were watching closely. I was unable to find out what was being carried in the carriages."
The three people in the study all lit up after hearing this and turned to look at Yun Zhenchuan.
"Father, could it be the gold and silver treasures that Grandpa left us?" Aunt Yunyu came from a merchant family, and he had been exposed to money since childhood, so he was quite concerned about money.
Yunze was even more indignant. "Then let them take it out. It was left to us by Grandpa. We can't let them take it all for themselves."
Yun Zhenchuan waved his hand at his three sons, "No rush, we haven't found out anything yet." He turned to Yun Xiangdong and instructed, "While they are in the manor now, find a few skilled Yun scouts to find out more, and also find out who is in the group."
"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Yun Xiangdong stood up, accepted the order, and left the study.
The father and his two sons discussed the matter of the eldest branch of the Yun family until late at night before parting ways.
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