"You—" Hearing Meng's words, Sun Lurong was so angry that she could no longer ignore her.
Wei Shuwan quickly tugged at her mother's arm and shook her head at Sun Lurong. Sun Lurong looked at her daughter, suppressed her anger, and turned her face away.
Wei Shuwan calmly asked Meng Shi, "Aunt, do you really mean what you're saying? Are you sure you want to break up with our second branch of the family and never have anything to do with us again?"
"Of course! Do you expect us, the eldest son's family, to be buried with you if you can't survive?" Meng replied decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
Wei Shuwan then turned her gaze to Wei Hai, who was, after all, the head of the eldest branch of the family, and she had to hear his opinion: "What did Uncle say?"
Although Wei Hai was not as emotional as Meng Shi, he had already made up his mind, but he put it more tactfully: "I think this is a good idea. Rather than dying together, it's better to save one, right?"
Wei Shuwan smiled and pursed her lips: "What Uncle says is true, but what I want to confirm is, after we separate the family today, if the second branch can make a comeback in the future, will Uncle bring his family to come and seek refuge again?"
"Sigh~" Wei Hai sighed deeply, his face heavy. "Third girl, you're still young. Perhaps you can't understand the magnitude of your father's crime this time! Dozens of lives in Wu County! Even the Emperor has ordered an investigation. Stop having those unrealistic dreams!"
Now that the conversation had started, Wei Hai felt he had something he needed to say, so he simply poured out his heart and told everyone what was on his mind:
“If you hadn’t wronged Chengxu, I, as his uncle, would have at least burned some paper money for him to make things easier for him in the afterlife. But you are such a cruel child…”
"How can you speak like that? We haven't even been brought to trial yet, and you've already sentenced our whole family to death?!" Hearing about burning paper money, Sun Lurong truly couldn't contain her emotions this time.
Madam Meng sneered, "Ha, do you really think your family can get out of here alive? Regardless of whether the second son was wronged or not, just look at how many people have taken advantage of his misfortune after he got into trouble! Has anyone gone to the palace to plead for you?"
Sun Lurong's chest heaved with anger, but having already fallen to this state, she naturally couldn't muster her usual confidence.
"Mother~"
Wei Shuwan gently called out to Sun Lurong to calm her down, and then looked at her grandmother, Wei Wenshi:
“Grandmother, no matter how others look down on our second branch, I still need you to be my witness today. Uncle Wei and Aunt Meng have already made it very clear that from now on, our second branch will completely sever ties with their eldest branch. No matter what our future holds, we will never have the audacity to visit each other’s homes again.”
Although this was to Wei Hai and Meng Shi's liking, they were so angry at the phrase "Uncle Wei and Aunt Meng" that they glared at her. This girl really changed her attitude quickly, treating them like strangers in the blink of an eye.
Despite their anger, they were the ones who spoke the hurtful words first. Now that the two families have severed ties, it's no longer appropriate for them to accuse Wei Shuwan of disrespect.
Fine, as long as they can sever ties and find another way to survive, they can tolerate anything else!
Therefore, both Wei Hai and Meng Shi turned their attention to Wei Wen Shi, waiting for her to bear witness.
The couple were simple-minded and kept trying to figure out what Wei Shuwan was saying, but the old lady had been through thick and thin and felt that her granddaughter was particularly special at this moment.
Madam Wei scrutinized Wei Shuwan intently, remaining silent for a long time. However, she was certain that Wei Shuwan possessed a strong inner strength, completely unlike her mother, Sun Lurong.
Sun Lurong, who used to be a strong-willed person, was unable to remain calm in the face of the current situation. She spoke with obvious lack of confidence and kept tugging at the corners of her eyes.
Wei Shuwan, such a young girl, has never experienced any major storms, yet she shows no fear whatsoever at today's court hearing, and even seems to be engaged in playful banter with the eldest son's family. This is clearly not right.
Although Madam Wei couldn't guess the source of Wei Shuwan's confidence, she could see that Wei Shuwan's determination to sever ties with the two branches of the family was no less than that of the eldest branch, so she did not intend to give in to her granddaughter's wishes.
Madam Wei sighed, then said earnestly, "Third girl, I am very gratified that you still call me grandmother. Although your father was not born from my womb, I raised him with my own hands. In terms of the bond between mother and son, it is no less than that between any other mother and son in the world. Although we are now at a critical juncture, there is still hope. It is too early to sever ties now!"
Wei Wenshi deliberately emphasized the last two words, as if they carried a hint of annoyance at her disappointment with family ties. Regardless, she decided to state her principles here first, and if the situation turned unfavorable in court, she could sever ties later.
However, the two members of the eldest branch of the family were not happy to hear this. Wei Hai looked at Wei Wenshi in disbelief: "Mother, we clearly agreed on this before."
"shut up!"
Madam Wei Wen shouted at her son, making it clear: "You and Zheng'er are both my children! As long as I have a breath left, this family cannot fall apart! No matter how big the obstacle, as long as the family is united, we can always overcome it! Even if we can't overcome it and fall together, at least we can be worthy of the fact that you both share the surname Wei!"
The old lady's incisive speech caused everyone in the prison cart to tremble.
The eldest son's arrogance was suppressed, and he said nothing more.
For the first time, Sun Lurong felt that her mother-in-law was responsible, actually speaking up for her at this critical moment. Then, thinking about how she had stopped paying her respects to her mother-in-law ever since she was punished last time, she felt that she had been too petty.
“Mother,” Sun Lurong called softly, all her emotions contained in those two words.
Wei Wen nodded to her and Wei Shuwan as a form of encouragement.
But the current scene left Wei Shuwan somewhat confused. She had originally intended to take advantage of her misfortune to sever ties with the eldest branch of the family, since after the Wei Chengxu incident, even if her uncle and aunt didn't blame her, she no longer had any goodwill towards them. Seeing the people from the eldest branch reminded her that Ah Xiu's loss of sight was entirely due to them.
But my grandmother, who has always been biased, suddenly became fair at this moment...
Wei Shuwan carefully observed the expression on her grandmother's face, but for a moment she couldn't tell whether her grandmother knew something.
Just as the family finally quieted down after arguing for a long time, the prison van quickly came to a stop.
A clerk from the Censorate lifted the curtain that blocked out the light and said rudely into the carriage, "We've arrived!"
Then several yamen runners rudely dragged the Wei family members off the prison cart.
These people were all from the Censorate, and they were much more brutal than the people from the Court of Judicial Review who came to escort them. These members of the Wei family, who had never worn handcuffs or shackles before, were all put in handcuffs and shackles when they were taken off the carriage.
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