Chapter 469: Extinction (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Looking at Wei Wan, Imperial Duchess Wei thought that she might as well let the younger ones at home practice with her. It would be more lively with the young ladies practicing together.
After getting down to business, Imperial Duchess Wei said teasingly, “When we go back, if Jiaoniang finds out that we’re here, she’ll definitely blame us for not bringing her along to play.”
Imperial Duke Wei and Wei Wan were also amused.
Wei Wan smiled and said, “Yanfei, I heard from my sister-in-law that you like to listen to opera as much as Jiaoniang. I’ll invite a troupe back to the residence to perform another day. 1 heard that a Yangzhou troupe has recently come to the capital. Not only do they sing Yang opera well, but they also know how to act in puppet shows. It’s extremely interesting.”
Hearing the puppet show, Gu Yanfei’s eyes lit up, and she agreed happily.
As they spoke, Xu Yao returned. Her originally calm eyes became brighter. The maidservant behind her carried a blue and white porcelain fish tank the size of a washbasin.
“Aunt, I’ve chosen the fire carp. Take a look,” Xu Yao said to Imperial Duchess Wei with a faint smile on her palm-sized face.
Imperial Duchess Wei praised Xu Yao’s good taste with a smile.
After chatting for a while more, Imperial Duke Wei and the others bade farewell.
Gu Yanfei personally sent her to the entrance of the Gu Mansion. The carriage of Duke Wei’s Mansion was parked there.
When they arrived, Imperial Duke Wei’s head casually welcomed them. After taking a quick glance at Gu Yanfei, he reported in a low voice, “The Xu family went to the Duke’s Estate. They’re staying in the Duke’s Estate and refusing to leave.”
“Even the former patriarch, Old Master Xu, is here. You also know that Old Master Xu is in his eighties. The Duchess was afraid that something would happen to Old Master Xu, so she let them in.”
To put it bluntly, Imperial Duke Wei’s Madam was afraid that Old Master Xu would be too agitated. If he died at the entrance of the Duke’s Estate, it would be easy for others to use him as a topic to affect Xu Yao’s attack.
Imperial Duke Wei only nodded slightly. He wasn’t surprised that the people from the Xu family had come to visit without informing him, and he already knew what to do.
In the world, only men could inherit the family business. The Xu family would definitely be unwilling to confer the Marquis title of the Marquis Mansion on a girl.
There was a high chance that they even had the intention of giving the descendants of the family to the main branch.
Imperial Duke Wei and Imperial Duchess Wei looked at each other in tacit understanding. They were both calm and composed.
After the Wei family bade farewell to Gu Yanfei, the group of people left the Gu Mansion.
Just as Imperial Duke Wei had expected, even if no one in the court objected, the people from the Xu family still caused a huge commotion.
One moment, they suggested that Xu Yan’s second brother, Xu Yu, could inherit the title. The next moment, they suggested that one of Xu Yu’s sons be adopted under Wei Wan’s name. These suggestions were dismissed by Imperial Duke Wei casually.
The Xu family thought that they had backtracked again and again. In the end, they proposed that the candidate for Xu Yao’s husband be decided by the family. After Xu Yao gave birth to a boy, they would immediately give the title to Xu Yao’s eldest son.
Because of this, the Xu family members brought Old Master Xu back and forth to Duke Wei’s Mansion several times.
The various prefectures in the capital also saw this. Most of them were watching this matter, wanting to see how it would develop in the end. For a moment, the Wei and Xu families became the focus of the capital.
The first marquess since the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty had also caused quite a stir among the people. It was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves.
There were some sour scholars and old pedants who kept saying in the academy and teahouses that it was ridiculous for a woman to inherit a noble title. It was a sign that the country was about to fall.
However, some wealthy businesses that didn’t have a son and were called extinct were overjoyed.
In the next few days, the capital became more and more lively. From the nobles and courtiers to the commoners, everyone was discussing this matter.
Juan Bi heard some news from outside and returned to the residence in high spirits to report to Gu Yanfei. “Miss, do you know about the Zhen Corporation’s silver mine?”
Gu Yanfei, who was sitting in front of the desk, slowly looked up from the account book, looking a little listless.
For the past few days, she had been detained at home by Gu Yunzhen and asked to look at the accounts for the past month after the separation.
She looked at the strings of numbers in the ledger and felt a headache coming on. It took her two full days, but she hadn’t even finished half of it.
“The Zhen Corporation’s silver mine?” Gu Yanfei found it familiar. She raised her eyebrows and felt that she had heard this name somewhere before.
She flipped through more than ten pages in front of the account book and pointed at a certain spot in the account book. “Is it this Zhen Corporation?”
Juan Bi brought Gu Yan a new cup of tea and leaned over to take a look. She couldn’t help but be excited and clapped her hands. “This is the one.”
Ever since the Gu Mansion split up last month, there were a lot of things to do in the residence. There were no more people, but there were many things added. For example, they ordered some exquisite silver ingots from this Zhen Corporation’s silver shop to reward the servants and give them as greeting gifts.
“Not only is it silver, but your gold-encrusted jade azure bird-pattern bracelet is also the jewelry of the Zhen Corporation’s silver house.” Juan Bi said with a smile, “This Zhen Corporation’s silver house is one of the best silver houses in the capital. In recent years, it has opened many branches in various states, and business is thriving.”
“That Boss Zhen is already at the age of knowing his fate. He only has one daughter. Miss Zhen has the style of a father and is good at doing business. She has helped Boss Zhen do business all these years and has taken care of things in an orderly manner.”
“But because women can’t inherit the family business, the Zhen family has been forcing Boss Zhen to adopt a distant nephew. How could Boss Zhen be willing to give up such a huge family business and refuse to agree? He has been stubborn with the family for so many years.”
“I’ve asked around in private. Boss Zhen lost his father at a young age and was raised by a widow. Back then, someone in the family bullied them and almost snatched the 2,000 taels of silver left behind by Old Master Zhen. It was only when his uncle helped him stand up that the family stopped.”
As he spoke, Juan Bi curled her lips in disdain and commented, “The Zhen family is really shameless. In the past, they bullied an orphan and a widow. Now, they still have the cheek to covet her family business. If I were Boss Zhen, I wouldn’t agree to adopt any nephew.. Why would the family business 1 worked so hard to build benefit others!”