Cannot Bear It

The old lady was already quite conflicted about the division of the family property. After listening to Xu Xi's advice, she seemed to have come to a better understanding when she received the imperial decree yesterday. However, after hearing Zhao Yuanliang's words, she was still very tempted.

If the second branch of the family doesn't separate, the house can be saved. All that's needed is to allocate a portion of the farmland and two shops to the third branch, allowing them to purchase their own houses. In this way, no one will say that Zhao Yuanxun is harsh, heartless, or disregards brotherly affection.

The moment this thought crossed her mind, Zhao Jingtai came in. He must have run there; his face was flushed, and he was still panting.

After he paid his respects to the elders in the room, the First Madam quickly called him to the Old Madam's side and said to her, "Except for the Third Branch, all the children are here. After all, it's a division of the family, and it wouldn't be good to leave Young Master Tai, so I had someone bring him here."

Zhao Jingtai smiled sweetly at the old lady, "Grandmother."

Upon seeing Zhao Jingtai, and then glancing at Zhao Jingli kneeling there, the old lady's mind instantly cleared.

Yes, if Zhao Jingli were still in this family, he would have his twin brother Zhao Jing'an to help him. With two elder brothers above him, what would it matter if Zhao Jingtai were made a prince?

The ancestral home was important, but the old lady absolutely could not tolerate it if her own children and grandchildren were overshadowed by the children and grandchildren of a concubine.

She had suppressed Zhao Yuankun for over a decade for the sake of her son; she couldn't possibly let Zhao Yuanliang's son overshadow her grandson just for the sake of the house.

She swallowed back the words she was about to say and said to Zhao Yuanliang, "I'm old, and your elder brother's health isn't good either. We can't afford to worry about anything anymore. Your sister-in-law is managing the whole household by herself, and it pains me to see her working so hard. Let's split up this family. After that, you can remarry and have her help you manage the household. And you, stop spending your days out chasing after other men. Your son is all grown up now; as his father, you still need to take care of things. Don't just ignore everything."

She then looked at Zhao Jingli and Zhao Jing'an: "You're both grown up now, fourteen years old. In two more years, you'll be getting married. By then, the family will be getting bigger and bigger, and you can't keep troubling your aunt all by yourself, can you? You need to learn to stand up for yourselves."

She paused, then gave a self-deprecating laugh, "Anyway, even if I die, this family will still be divided. It's just a few years earlier now. Let's take this opportunity to divide it up."

Everyone quickly spoke up, wishing the old lady a long and healthy life.

Since the old lady had said so, Zhao Yuanliang, Zhao Jingli, and Zhao Jing'an couldn't very well say that they were incapable and that their sister-in-law (aunt) should have to worry about them, could they? So they could only lower their heads and remain silent.

Zhao Ruyu was very anxious. But not only was she a woman, she was also not originally a Zhao Family. She didn't even have the right to interfere in the Zhao Family's division of property.

She had no choice but to push Zhao Rurui with her elbow.

Zhao Rurui glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, pursed her lips, and said, "But we can't bear to part with Grandmother, Uncle, and Aunt."

The four of them knelt there, and the First Madam stood behind the Old Madam. She could see their every move and expression clearly.

To prevent the old lady from wavering, the first lady quickly interjected, "Even if we separate the family, we're still family. If you're so kind, come and visit the old lady often. Miss Rui, you're all grown up now, and you won't be able to stay at home for much longer. Even if you're reluctant to part with her, you'll still get married eventually. We'll have to separate then, won't we?"

As she spoke, she turned to Zhao Yuanxun and asked, "Master, have you made arrangements with the clan members? When are they coming? We need to get ready."

Zhao Yuanxun did not go to invite the relatives. After returning from inquiring about the news at the yamen, he originally wanted to tell the old lady about Lady Wei giving three thousand taels of silver to the midwife, so that the old lady would be prepared and avoid the relatives getting emotional about this matter and causing further trouble.

But he understood what his wife meant.

He said, "It's arranged. As you know, Uncle Jiu isn't in good health and takes medicine regularly. He'll have to wait until he takes his medicine at home before coming over." He glanced at the sky, "It'll probably be about half an hour later."

Seeing that Zhao Jingtai was already determined, the old lady realized from the conversation between Zhao Yuanxun and his wife that the two still wanted to separate the family property.

Although she was their elder, they were ultimately the ones in charge of the household.

She immediately said, "Alright, all of you, get up. Daimao, Liuli, Zhenzhu, Manao, help them all up."

Four maids rushed forward to help him up.

Zhao Yuanliang wanted to say something more, but since the old lady and his sister-in-law had already spoken, he couldn't find a reason to stop them after thinking it over and over, so he just sighed and gave up.

Zhao Ruyu had a lot to say, but she also knew that once she opened her mouth, any one of the three—the old lady, the first lady, or Xu Xi— who disliked her, could easily tell her to go back to the Xu Family, and then she would be finished.

So even though she was unwilling, she dared not utter a single word.

"Second brother, you should go back first. I'll let you know when Uncle Jiu and the others arrive," Zhao Yuanxun said.

He said "you," not "you all."

If Zhao Jingli were still the heir apparent, he would definitely have participated in the division of the family property. But he is no longer so. He and Zhao Jing'an are not yet adults, and children are not qualified to participate in the division of the family property.

Women were not originally qualified to participate. However, both the Old Madam and the First Madam, Madam Lady Zhu, held official titles, making them of higher status than Zhao Yuanliang and Zhao Yuankun, who were commoners. The Old Madam was an elder, and the First Madam was the eldest sister-in-law and the actual manager of the Earl's Mansion, with the account books in her hands, so she naturally needed to participate.

Zhao Yuanliang had no choice but to lead his group back to the second house in a dejected manner.

After they left, Xu Xi tactfully took her leave as well.

In modern times, women have inheritance rights and can naturally participate in matters such as dividing the family property. But this was not the case in ancient times. Moreover, since she didn't earn this family fortune, she wouldn't bother getting involved.

She had no interest in sending anyone to inquire about what happened next; she only asked Matron Yuan about the matter of the imperial relatives.

"The Zhao Family wasn't originally from the capital. Our ancestor followed the emperor in conquering the country, achieving great merit and becoming a Duke, but the people in his hometown had long since passed away, so no one followed him to the capital. However, our ancestor had many children, both legitimate and illegitimate, so naturally they branched out. The closest living member of our branch now is our patriarch's illegitimate uncle, who ranks ninth among the relatives; we call him Ninth Grandfather."

"Among these relatives who were separated from the clan, are there any who have achieved anything?" Xu Xi asked again.

Matron Yuan shook her head. "No, there were two or three who passed the imperial examination, but their official positions only reached the fourth rank."

Xu Xi nodded.

Since none of the clansmen had more power than the Earl of Suiping's Residence, the old lady and Zhao Yuanxun had more say, and the division of the family property would naturally be done according to their wishes.

Zhao Yuanliang was incompetent and timid, and wanted Zhao Yuanxun to take care of him more, so he wouldn't haggle over money with the eldest son's family. Zhao Yuankun had the support of his wife's family and Lady Su's dowry, so he wouldn't care about the Earl's family's assets and only wanted to divide the family property quickly, so he wouldn't fight for it either.

I don't think this family division will turn out too badly.