Mother and Son Speak Heart-to-Heart

Naturally, Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui could not join in recklessly. Otherwise, rather than boosting the household guards' and servants' morale, they would only make them anxious and uneasy.

With the entire transport route initially established, Wang Shouzhe no longer involved himself in it. Transporting such an enormous quantity of grain was not something that could be finished in a moment.

This was not some game world where a click of the mouse completed the grain-delivery mission.

Besides, as the head of a clan, he naturally had to grasp the big and let go of the small, keeping his eyes on the overall situation. If he personally handled every matter and took part from beginning to end, what use would there be for those clansmen and household guards?

He even called Mother Gongsun Hui away with him. Wang Luotong could take complete charge of the final stretch of the transport route; the girls of the clan needed to shoulder responsibilities too.

Chatting with Gongsun Hui as they walked, they crossed the vast rear garden and entered the back courtyard of the Wang Clan Main Residence, then slowly made their way to the Young Clan Leader's courtyard where he had grown up.

His personal servant, Wang Gui, was leading two household servants in repairing the courtyard. The moment he saw Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui, he hurried forward and bowed. "Greetings, Clan Leader. Greetings, Madam."

Wang Gui was Wang Shouzhe's attendant. His background was clean, and he had originally been born into a collateral branch of the Wang Clan. Most importantly, among the collateral descendants, he had been a gifted youth whose aptitude had reached lower third-grade.

Do not underestimate the fact that he was merely a personal servant. Having served the Young Clan Leader since childhood, he would inevitably become Wang Shouzhe's trusted confidant in the future. Once he established a family and produced descendants with ranked aptitude, he would have the opportunity to be transferred into the clan's direct-line ranks, and even his name would be entered into the clan genealogy.

"Wang Gui, this is Shanyang Small Spirit Seed. Brew a pot for Mother and me." Wang Shouzhe handed the spirit tea he had brought back to Wang Gui.

"Spirit tea?" Wang Gui had accompanied Wang Shouzhe for ten years, yet had only seen spirit tea twice. He froze on the spot.

"Zhe'er, absolutely not. This was given to you by your maternal grandfather for you alone to drink." Gongsun Hui immediately refused. "These next few years are the most crucial period of your growth. You must reach the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm as soon as possible, or even the ninth layer. Only then will your strength be worthy of your position as Clan Leader!"

"Mother, please do not refuse. Weren't you curious where this batch of old grain came from? Have some spirit tea with me, and I'll tell you slowly." Wang Shouzhe firmly urged her, then snapped at Wang Gui, "What are you standing there for? Go brew the tea."

"Yes, yes, yes." Wang Gui shuddered and hurriedly withdrew.

With her son being so insistent, Gongsun Hui found it difficult to refuse. They sat facing one another at a square table in the side hall of his courtyard. Before long, Wang Gui served a pot of spirit tea, along with some fruits, candied snacks, and other tidbits, then bowed and retreated.

"Zhe'er, this courtyard no longer suits your status as Clan Leader." Gongsun Hui looked around and said, "Once Mother has observed the first year of mourning, I will move out of the main courtyard and make room for you. It will also be more convenient when you marry the Liu Clan's young lady into the family."

"Mother, there's no need for that." Wang Shouzhe smiled indifferently and raised a hand to pour each of them a cup of tea. "This courtyard is quite good, and I'm used to living here. You and little sister Luomiao should just live there comfortably. Don't go stirring things up."

"How can that be called stirring things up? You are now the head of the household and should rightfully live in the main courtyard." Gongsun Hui said, "Besides, you may be used to living here, but the Liu Clan's young lady may not be. Once she enters the Wang Clan, I will have to hand over the accounts and finances to her. Those are the rules of aristocratic clans."

Yet Wang Shouzhe shook his head. "If the Liu Clan's young lady marries in, she will be your daughter-in-law. How could she overstep herself like that? Let's not discuss this for now. Mother, have some tea first. I'll tell you in detail about what I gained on this trip. There are still many matters I need to discuss with you."

To Wang Shouzhe, Mother Gongsun Hui was mature and steady, and coupled with her status, she held extremely high prestige within the clan. Even the several clan elders could not compare with her in that regard.

If cultivating every day alone could revitalize the clan, he would not have minded doing so. However, his vision and goals had long surpassed those of the clan elders and clansmen. As a young Clan Leader, if he wanted to carry out sweeping reforms within the clan, he would inevitably encounter resistance from the conservatives.

And Mother Gongsun Hui ought to be his most powerful and steadfast ally. She was, after all, the legitimate daughter of the Shanyang Gongsun Clan!

Gongsun Hui obediently took a sip of spirit tea, her eyes filled with curiosity. Ever since this legitimate son had taken charge, he had suddenly become increasingly mature. Even she could not understand many of his methods.

After a slight pause, Wang Shouzhe slowly recounted how he had obtained a large sum of money and grain from the Qian Clan Trading Firm. Naturally, he concealed his secret alliance with Qian Xue'an.

Gongsun Hui's mouth gradually fell open, and her eyes slowly widened. This—this was simply unimaginable, and outrageously audacious. Relying on advance information about the outbreak of an insect plague, he had acted so decisively and toyed with the Qian Clan in the palm of his hand.

Such an operation was something Gongsun Hui could never even have imagined. Moreover, a wave of lingering fear rose in her heart. After all, Shouzhe had mortgaged the clan's reputation for four thousand two hundred Qian Gold! If his prediction had failed, he would likely have become the greatest wastrel in the history of the Ping'an Wang Clan!

Even though the matter had already succeeded, Gongsun Hui was still greatly shaken and found it difficult to calm herself. Audacious—far too audacious!

"Mother, please do not blame Zhe'er for not discussing this with you beforehand. The opportunity was fleeting and did not allow the clan time for slow deliberation." Wang Shouzhe calmly drank his tea. "This money can be entered into the clan accounts, but to the elders, we will only announce that I borrowed the funds from the Shanyang Gongsun Clan and the Yingxiu Lu Clan. That way, those old grandfathers will not be unable to digest such news and stir up needless trouble."

"Mother understands." Gongsun Hui drank two cups of spirit tea in succession before calming her emotions and driving away her chaotic thoughts. She finally understood why her son had asked her to drink spirit tea while listening to this news. The impact of it was too great; he had feared she might not be able to withstand it.

After steadying herself, Gongsun Hui slowly said, "Zhe'er, your invitation for Mother to drink spirit tea was probably not merely to inform me of this news, was it?"

"Hehe, Mother's eyes are as sharp as a torch. Shouzhe truly cannot hide these little thoughts of his from you." Wang Shouzhe said with a smile. "It is because I see certain flaws in the clan's system, especially in the ranking of the succession order. Relying solely on bloodline, aptitude, gender, and the like is not good. There is a lack of competitive mechanisms, and the younger generation is raised far too freely, among other issues."

Gongsun Hui frowned. "You mean that child Zongwei, don't you? I have already heard about his affair. Shouyi has sent people to escort him back, and I heard Shouxin flew into a rage upon learning of it. He personally rushed back from the Sericulture Farm and nearly broke Wang Zongwei's legs. I hear he is still locked in the woodshed."

"What does Mother think of it?" Wang Shouzhe asked while drinking spirit tea, as though casually.

Gongsun Hui pondered briefly before carefully saying, "That child truly is rather outrageous. As Clan Leader and his elder, however you punish him is proper. Even temporarily stripping him of his cultivation resources as punishment would be fine. But in the end, you must consider the dignity of Second Grandfather, Uncle Dingchuan, and your elder brother Shouxin. They have all labored bitterly for the clan their entire lives. You cannot possibly transfer the treatment he is entitled to over to Luotong forever, can you?"

"Mother, look—this is precisely why Zhe'er invited you to tea for a discussion." Wang Shouzhe smiled confidently. "Even you think this way, let alone everyone else?"

"Could it be that you truly intend to permanently deprive Wang Zongwei of his resources?" Gongsun Hui asked in surprise. "Wouldn't that make enemies of your elder brother Shouxin's branch?"

"Permanent deprivation is naturally out of the question. But if he wants to reclaim his share, no one's word will count—not even mine." Wang Shouzhe said unhurriedly.

Gongsun Hui was slightly taken aback. "Even your word will not count? Then whose will?"

Just as he was about to answer, a middle-aged woman's voice came from outside the door. "Fourth Uncle, is Fourth Uncle Shouzhe home?"

Gongsun Hui's expression changed slightly. "That is Zongwei's mother, Madam Xu. She comes from the Changning Xu Clan and has always been proud and arrogant, not easy to deal with. Shouzhe, you must respond carefully."

Yet Wang Shouzhe smiled with confidence. "Mother, you jest. Madam Xu is my sister-in-law; we are family. What is there to talk about dealing with or not dealing with?"

At once, he personally pushed open the door and went out to greet her. With a smile as warm as spring sunlight, he cupped his hands and said, "Sister-in-law, you came to visit in person without informing me beforehand. I should have gone out to welcome you."

Even Gongsun Hui's expression was somewhat stunned by such a smooth, face-changing manner. Her legitimate son was truly formidable. Now, she felt that even her elder brother Gongsun Qiang was far inferior to him, and even her late husband Wang Dingyue was worlds apart from him.