The Eldest Legitimate Son

"Hurry over here! You're the one who upset Yun Wan."

Old Madam Lu shot Lu Zhengliu a glare.

He came over and bowed to the Old Madam. "Grandmother."

Old Madam Lu wanted to bring the two of them together.

Lin Yunwan stepped back, her manner distant. "Heir."

She refused to play along.

Old Madam Lu knew this would be hard to explain. She said, "I don't know which bastard spread such nonsense. We agreed that Chang Gong would be your legitimate son, so how could he become your adopted son?"

Afraid Lu Zhengliu might lose his composure, she glanced at him. Though his expression was cold, his gaze was steady, and he gave nothing away.

Reassured, she continued to soothe Lin Yunwan. "Chang Gong is your legitimate son. Don't worry, that won't change."

Someone came in from outside to announce, "Old Madam, the auspicious hour is almost here."

It was time to open the ancestral hall and adopt the children into the family.

Old Madam Lu said, "All right, stop making a fuss. Let's go see the ancestors together. You tactless girls, why aren't you helping Madam over there?"

Lin Yunwan clenched her hand and walked to the ancestral hall herself.

Before the Lu family's ancestral hall, Qing was renamed Lu Changzong. Together with Lu Chang'gong, he addressed Lin Yunwan and Lu Zhengliu as "Mother" and "Father."

The Marquis of Wuding and the Marquis of Wuding’s wife, Wei Shi, were the boys' "grandfather" and "grandmother."

Wei Shi treated both children coldly.

They weren't her own flesh and blood anyway, so she didn't care about them as much as Old Madam Lu did.

The Marquis of Wuding had lost a leg on the battlefield and survived by a stroke of luck. After suffering two strokes in succession, he was no longer lucid. Now he sat in a wheelchair, babbling without being able to speak, drool soaking the front of his robe.

He showed no reaction to anything his grandsons called him.

Taoist priests chanted scriptures and walked ritual steps outside the ancestral hall.

It was dark by the time Lin Yunwan returned to the Drooping Silk Hall, where she lived. Everyone else was tired too, and those who could leave had left.

Old Madam Lu returned to the Hall of Longevity and made a point of keeping Lu Zhengliu behind to talk.

"You needn't concern yourself too much with Chang Gong. If he proves capable and useful, let him help Qing. At most, we can give him a share of the family property and send him off to live separately in the future. If he develops thoughts he shouldn't have—he's only a child with no one to rely on. It won't be hard to dispose of him cleanly."

A household like theirs had plenty of ways to deal with people without leaving the slightest handle for anyone to seize.

Lu Zhengliu was somewhat distracted, but he could guess what his grandmother had said.

He nodded and said, "Grandmother, now that the family business is settled, I'd like to bring Bao'er back to the residence tomorrow."

Lin Yunwan's outburst today had truly frightened Old Madam Lu.

She refused outright. "No!"

But afraid her grandson might cause trouble, she gently advised him, "There's no need to rush to bring her into the residence a day or two sooner. You've been away from home for seven years. You really ought to accompany Yun Wan on a visit to her family first."

Lu Zhengliu frowned.

No—from childhood to adulthood, whatever he wanted to do was always forbidden.

He couldn't even marry a woman of his own choosing.

He said coldly, "Bao'er is alone outside right now, separated from her son Qing. She's suffering terribly. We can visit Yunwan's family anytime, but I must bring Bao'er back first."

Neither grandmother nor grandson would give way.

In the end, Qing came and tugged at Old Madam Lu's sleeve, tears streaming down his face as he asked, "When can I see my mother, Great-grandmother?"

That "Great-grandmother" melted the Old Madam's heart, and she couldn't bear to say anything more.

So be it.

They had gone on like this for seven years; Yun Wan would just have to suffer the slight of visiting her family a little later.

She quietly instructed Lu Zhengliu, "Qing will be raised under Yun Wan's care from now on. If only for the trouble she'll take raising him, go and explain the visit to her family to her yourself tonight. Don't let her bear a grudge."

"All right."

Lu Zhengliu was willing to put on a show to make it up to Lin Yunwan a little and preserve her dignity as his principal wife.

But that was all.

If she hoped for anything more, he would refuse.

After all, he hadn't married Lin Yunwan of his own free will.

The Drooping Silk Hall.

Lu Zhengliu went over and told her directly, "One of Grandmother's grandnieces has just come out of mourning. She has no elders at home to look after her, so Grandmother pities her for being alone and wants me to bring her to the residence tomorrow. Once I've brought her back, I'll go with you to visit your family."

As he spoke, though, he kept looking at Lin Yunwan's bright, beautiful face.

Her expression was impassive, and she actually agreed on the spot. "All right."

Lu Zhengliu was somewhat surprised.

He had thought she would at least be unhappy or look a little hurt. He had never expected her to be so calm and unruffled.

Lin Yunwan looked up and asked coldly, "Is there anything else, Heir?"

"...No."

Lin Yunwan was just as direct in dismissing him. "If there's nothing else, please leave, Heir."

Lu Zhengliu was a famously handsome man in the capital, and his status was exalted. He had been brought up proud and arrogant from childhood.

He had never seen a woman dare show him such a face!

He left without another word.

Lin Yunwan gripped the teacup in her hand tightly, grinding her teeth in silence.

They wanted their family reunited early, right under her nose. Naturally, she would grant their wish!

Not only would she grant it, she would see that the family of three reunited openly, for all to see!

Ping Ye hadn't noticed the clash between them.

She was busy complaining. "What sort of extraordinary grandniece is she, that the heir has to fetch her himself, even putting off your visit to your family?"

Tao Ye, meanwhile, said worriedly, "Madam, the heir so rarely comes over..."

Lin Yunwan understood her concern. For a woman in the inner household, the only person she could depend on all her life was the man beside her in bed; there was no other path for her.

That was what she had thought in her previous life. So no matter how Lu Zhengliu neglected her, she had always sought reconciliation with him because he was her husband. She had devoted herself to the Wuding Marquis Residence, cared for Qing with all her heart, and poured a lifetime of effort into matters connected with him, only to meet such a miserable end.

She would never follow the same disastrous path again!

However she lived, she had only one lifetime. She would no longer squander her energy on a man.

Lin Yunwan gently reassured her maids. "It isn't my husband I rely on to secure my place in this family."

Ping Ye smiled proudly. "Of course not. You rely on yourself, Madam. Even when the heir wasn't home, you earned dignity and honor for yourself. Inside and out, from top to bottom, who in the Wuding Marquis Residence doesn't respect you?"

That was indeed the case. At present, it was the Lu family that couldn't do without Madam, not Madam who couldn't do without the Lu family.

Tao Ye felt much more at ease.

The next day, Lu Zhengliu set out to fetch Bao'er from outside the capital. Lin Yunwan did not see him off.

After she had slept her fill and risen that morning, a maid came to report, "Madam, the second young master slept in Old Madam's courtyard last night, while the eldest young master is in the front courtyard."

"Qing has already spent the night in the Hall of Longevity?"

"Yes."

Since Lu Chang'gong and Lu Changzong had entered the residence, the Lu family had never properly looked after them.

In her previous life, Lin Yunwan had always thought Qing was favored because his lively, clever nature appealed to Old Madam Lu. As his adoptive mother, she had even been delighted for him.

Only now did she see clearly: what appeal? Old Madam Lu had loved her own flesh-and-blood great-grandson from the bottom of her heart, while keeping her in the dark like a fool!

Qing's days of being indulged and favored were probably yet to come.

"What has Young Master Chang Gong been doing in the front courtyard these past few days?"

"Madam, Young Master Chang Gong gets up early every morning to practice writing."

Lin Yunwan was astonished. "Practice writing?"

The young maid said, "Yes. The stewards prepared brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for both young masters. Young Master Chang Gong has already started practicing on his own, and he's been at it for nearly half an hour this morning."

Everyone in the residence sucked up to the powerful and trampled on the weak. Qing had found favor so quickly that there was no telling how the servants were flattering and coddling him. Despite such a contrast, Lu Chang'gong had remained steadfast and kept practicing his writing.

"The child has a tenacious spirit."

Lin Yunwan murmured the words, unable to help recalling her previous life.

She hadn't chosen Lu Chang'gong as her adopted son without reason.

After she became gravely ill in her previous life, she had handed over all authority to manage the household, and the capable people around her had also been cleared away. She had become a mistress who had lost her standing.

Though the Lu family had let her live in a large, secluded courtyard, it was merely a show of dignity, like flowers arranged for display. The people serving her had long since stopped taking care with their duties, and she no longer had much say even before the servants.

Lu Chang'gong had just passed the age of twenty then. He had never studied, but thanks to his Lu surname, he had secured a job tending the flowers and trees in the Lu household. He had planted several winter plum trees in her courtyard, right across from her window.

She knew it was no coincidence.

When she was in too much pain to sleep, she would look at the winter plums braving the wind and draw on their proud strength to endure, day after day.

Later, the winter plums' blossoms faded, and the family of three—Lu Zhengliu, his wife, and their son—angered her to death. She never learned what became of the child who had planted the plum trees for her.

She would consider this repayment for the kindness of those winter plum trees in her previous life.

Lin Yunwan went to the Hall of Longevity.

That morning, Old Madam Lu had learned that Lu Zhengliu had spent the night in the front courtyard after all. Thinking him utterly muddleheaded, she had looked displeased, but as she took Lin Yunwan's hand, her expression quickly changed. She asked kindly, "Yun Wan, did you just say you wanted to visit Lady Guo?"

"Yes. She and my grandmother used to have quite a bit of contact. When I was still living at home, Lady Guo also gave me guidance, so she is something of a teacher to me. I heard that she was unwell and wanted to visit her."

Old Madam Lu frowned. "But I heard that Lady Guo... apparently never married?"

For a woman to remain unmarried all her life went against human relationships and moral order, and was intolerable by common standards.

There were even many women who publicly declared they would not marry, yet engaged in shameful dealings behind the scenes. A household like the Marquis's Residence did not dare let its women associate with such women.

Lin Yunwan withdrew her hand without betraying her feelings and said evenly, "My teacher keeps herself pure and lives in seclusion. She has spent her life safeguarding and studying the letters left by her grandfather, and occasionally instructs female students from upright scholarly families of officials. Though she never married, she is a person of loyalty, filial piety, and lofty character."

Old Madam Lu came from a noble military family. How could she understand the affairs of scholars?

But her grandson was always treating his wife so coldly. If she too was overly harsh, Lin Yunwan might well come to resent them. Besides, she was old and had no energy to manage the household, while her daughter-in-law Wei Shi was incapable of holding her own. The Lu family couldn't do without Lin Yunwan.

She relented and said with a smile, "Since she is your teacher, you should visit her." She also ordered someone to prepare a modest gift for her to take along.

Lin Yunwan took some female servants and left the Wuding Marquis Residence with little fuss.

In the carriage, Ping Ye asked in puzzlement, "Madam, when did Lady Guo become unwell?"

Lin Yunwan said, "She isn't unwell."

Ping Ye was startled. "She isn't? Then we left the residence to..."

Lin Yunwan said casually, "My husband treats me like this. Must I still devote myself to him wholeheartedly and remain faithful to him alone?"

Ping Ye was even more shocked. She and Tao Ye stared at each other.

"Madam, what... what are you planning to do?"

Lin Yunwan merely closed her eyes and smiled faintly.

The two maids soon calmed down. They were Madam's dowry maids; no matter what she wanted to do, they would have to follow and protect her, even if it meant climbing a mountain of blades or descending into a sea of fire.