Chapter 223: Change name and enter the family tree!
When Madam Zheng's expression softened slightly, she continued, "I voluntarily give up my position as the wife of a top scholar and become a concubine of a commoner. I voluntarily give up the life in the capital and go to the imperial palace to cultivate wasteland..."
With every word, Mrs. Zheng's face turned paler.
Before she could finish the third sentence, Xiao Ji had already continued, "Are you willing to serve this man with a broken leg?"
The head of the Xi family, who was originally unaware of the situation, also gathered the general idea after hearing these few words. He looked at Madam Zheng with wide, old eyes, then looked at Xi Jianan, and said tremblingly, "This... nephew... what happened?"
Hearing his great-uncle finally asking the question, Xi Jianan turned around and bowed slightly, saying, "Great-uncle, I asked you to come here today for this matter..."
At some point, not a single maid or servant had left the main hall. They were all sent far away to the outermost part of the courtyard, with only a few trusted servants left.
Xi Jianan briefly recounted the story of the sister exchange. During the conversation, Mrs. Zheng was about to speak, but Xi Jianan used Yuzhu to cover her mouth.
Baozhu and Yuzhu had been looking forward to this day for a long time, so they naturally exerted their utmost strength this time. Isn't it easy for two young and strong maids to subdue a middle-aged noble lady?
After hearing this, the patriarch slammed his cane to the ground with a thud. The old man trembled and pointed at Madam Zheng: "You...you actually did such a foolish thing! You are such a well-educated daughter!"
Mrs. Zheng could only "wuwu" and could not utter a word.
He gasped and said to Xi Jianan, "Thank goodness, Your Majesty, for your generosity. Otherwise, my Xi family's century-old foundation... would be destroyed in an instant!"
Xiao Ji spoke at the right time: "Don't worry, clan leader. This prince will not pursue this matter. This prince has turned a disaster into a blessing, and it is truly a blessing to have this princess. However, if this matter is exposed, it will damage the princess's reputation, so we need to make an explanation to the public."
"Your Highness, please speak." The clan leader bowed quickly.
Xiao Ji looked at Xi Jianan, who nodded, "Uncle, you also know my twin daughters. Qingwu is the elder and Qingtong is the younger. You can tell from their names."
The head of the Xi family nodded. He had also attended the ceremony when the twin sisters were born.
"The Xi family tree hasn't been revised for twenty years. This time, I'll pay five hundred taels of silver to revise it. Please record the names according to their true order. Qingwu is the eldest daughter, and Qingtong is the second daughter."
Hearing this, Madam Zheng immediately thought of what Xi Jianan wanted to do. The imperial edict issued by the royal family at that time was addressed to Xi's eldest daughter!
"Mmmmm!"
Mrs. Zheng struggled hard and was able to free herself from the two maids.
“No…no…”
She opened her mouth immediately and wanted to say no, but after she said the word "no", she couldn't continue.
What could she say? The matter was settled. She had just said Qingwu had volunteered, but now that she had truly become the princess, wasn't it only natural that she should be remembered as the eldest daughter?
Looking at her mother standing there in a daze, Qingwu once again realized how little she loved her and how much she didn't treat her as her own daughter. Even when things had come to this point, she was still thinking about Xi Qingtong in her heart.
Xiao Ji saw the sadness hidden in Qing Wu's eyes. He quietly walked behind her, pressed his chest against her back, and told her that he was still there.
Before Xi Jianan could even say anything, the Xi clan leader couldn't help but explode in anger. "You foolish woman, do you still want to exterminate the Xi family? Qingwu is the eldest daughter, so that's how she should be remembered!"
At this moment, he finally understood why Xi Zhong asked him to bring the family tree when he called him. Looking around, he found that writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone had already been prepared in the hall.
Madam Zheng was so shocked by the clan leader's scolding that she trembled all over. She watched helplessly as the old clan leader trembled and walked to the table, rolled up his sleeves and picked up a pen, and said angrily: "I will revise the family tree now!"
Mrs. Zheng still wanted to move, but Baozhu and Yuzhu no longer gave her the chance and held her tightly.
"Master, when is the princess' birthday?"
Xi Jianan said without hesitation: "...March 5th."
Qingwu heard the word "birthday" but felt nothing. In her heart, her birthday was the day her grandmother picked her up.
After hearing this, the clan leader took up his pen and wrote down Xi Jianan's name neatly in the family tree. But before he wrote the name, Qingwu stopped him.
"Chief, father, I have something to say."
Meeting Xi Jianan's gaze, Qing Wu said solemnly, "I would like to remove three water drops from the character 'Qing' because my grandmother, who saved me from danger and raised me, called me 'Qing Wu'. The character 'Qing Wu' carries the grace of a daughter's rebirth. I hope my father will grant my wish."
Xi Jianan looked at his daughter's determined eyes and thought about the hardships she had experienced. He felt that the name he and Madam Zheng gave her was indeed not as good as that of the traveling grandmother.
He sighed deeply and nodded, "I was inconsiderate. I should have followed the name given by that grandmother. As for you, you should also follow your brother's generation name."
The clan leader then picked up his pen and neatly wrote the three characters "Xi Qingwu" on the family tree. When the pen and ink were finished, Qingwu could not help but stand in front of the table, staring at the two characters, tears of joy welling up in her eyes.
From today on, she finally regained her true order and became herself again.
Qingwu, green wu tree.
Madam Zheng suddenly felt her legs and feet go weak. The daughter she had despised was actually recorded in the family tree with a new name. It was as if, in that instant, all ties with her were severed.
This word "Qing" was chosen by her...
But what made Mrs. Zheng fall completely was yet to come.
Xiao Ji looked at the extremely happy princess, his eyes slowly falling on Madam Zheng, and suddenly said: "Although this prince loves the princess, he is not completely without anger. If it weren't for Qing Wu, the fact of wife swapping would be a great humiliation."
Xi Jianan's heart sank. After all, this had happened. He bowed and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me. What are your instructions?"
Amidst the pounding heartbeat of Madam Zheng, Xiao Ji chuckled and said, "Of course it's Madam Zheng. Doesn't father-in-law think that Madam Zheng is no longer worthy of her position?"
One is "Mrs. Zheng" and the other is "father-in-law", the closeness between them is obvious.
Madam Zheng trembled all over and fell to the ground. She looked at Xiao Ji in horror, but did not dare to talk back. She could only struggle and say:
"Your Highness, I am the princess's biological mother, Your Highness... If anything happens to me, the princess's reputation..." She seemed to have grasped at the last straw, "Yes, the princess's reputation is not good either..."
Seeing Xiao Ji's expression was stern and unmoved, Madam Zheng knelt down at Xi Jianan's feet and burst into tears, "My Lord, I have given birth to your children and managed the Xi family for more than twenty years. Even if I have no merits, I have worked hard for you!"
Hearing this, Xiao Ji said slowly, "Madam Zheng, I haven't asked my father-in-law to divorce me yet."
The word "divorce" hit Mrs. Zheng's heart hard. She couldn't help but look at Xi Jianan, but saw that Xi Jianan didn't even look at her, as if he was listening to Xiao Ji.
Madam Zheng looked at the clan leader again, not giving up hope, and cried, "Clan leader, I gave birth to the Xi family's eldest son, how can I be divorced?"
The clan leader had long been disgusted with Madam Zheng, and upon hearing this, he immediately shouted angrily, "You have done such a ridiculous thing! I wish the clan leader would divorce you!"
Mrs. Zheng couldn't help but shudder. She used to care about her dignity the most, so when did she end up sitting on the ground in such a miserable state?
She recited the names of Xi Qingbai and Xi Qingtong, hoping that one of them would come back, but it was all in vain. Finally, she looked up and looked at her only flesh and blood present.
"Qingwu..."
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