freenovelworld Chapter 182 Heartwarming Self-Reflection!
Chapter 182 Heartwarming Self-Reflection!
The second wife returned to Beijing, and five or six days have passed in the blink of an eye.
This Jin was quite shrewd; she never missed a single one of her daily morning and evening greetings, keeping the old lady delighted!
Li was someone who couldn't stand these things. Every day, she would just come over, pay her respects, sit for a while, and then leave. She had no interest in competing with Jin for the old lady's favor.
Li's thinking was actually quite simple: if the old lady went too far, she could simply separate the family and live separately.
Mu Xin Nuan sensed Li Shi's intentions from their conversation, but she feared it wouldn't work. According to the rules of the Dayong Dynasty, if a son was born out of wedlock, he would be separated from his family as soon as he reached adulthood.
As parents, they would arrange a marriage for their sons and then send them off to live separately. However, for brothers, as long as the elders are still alive, they generally do not separate from the family.
Of course, there are exceptions. For example, if brothers are fighting over the inheritance, the elderly person may have no choice but to ask the government to act as guarantor and then divide the family property. Generally speaking, the ancestral property is inherited by the eldest son of the principal wife. The other sons of the principal wife usually receive very little.
For example, in the Marquis of Dingyuan's household, the title is inherited by the eldest son of the legitimate wife. If the eldest son of the legitimate wife is no longer alive, the priority is still given to the legitimate sons, not the sons of concubines. Only if there are no legitimate sons will the sons of concubines be considered.
Mu Xin Nuan knew exactly what Jin was thinking!
She was heartbroken that the 100,000 taels of silver she had painstakingly embezzled during her tenure had vanished just like that! She felt that after so many years in office, she had only received a small amount of income, which was a bit of a loss!
Now that they've returned to the Mu residence, they're thinking of making a quick buck to cover the deficit of their second branch of the family.
According to the information Mu Xin Nuan had Mu Hua inquire about, Mu Chang Ping hadn't been willing to get too much money back from that mistress, but somehow managed to coax Jin Shi out of 20,000 taels of silver!
This is no small sum! Especially for a woman, it's a rare find!
Mu Xin Nuan couldn't help but admire her second uncle's abilities. He had managed to coax so much money out of Jin Shi, which showed how extremely careful he was in front of her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to keep a mistress for so many years without Jin Shi finding out, and she would have even been paying him money!
If the Jin family knew about this, they would probably be so angry they'd faint.
Mu Xin Nuan was in Jin Yuan with Li Shi, making silk, when Rong Yue came over to report, "Reporting to Madam, Madam Chu has come to visit."
"Please come in quickly." Madam Li gave Mu Xin Nuan a meaningful look, smiled and gave the order before tidying herself up and going to the main hall to greet the guests.
Mu Xin Nuan probably guessed what her mother and Madam Chu would talk about today. Thinking about how Chu Rong had been coming to the Mu residence more and more frequently lately, she figured that her father and mother would definitely agree to their marriage this time.
For some reason, Mu Xin Nuan always felt a little empty inside.
Chu Rong is a good person, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and handsome as well. Although he is a military general, he is not reckless in his actions and is always polite. However, Mu Xin Nuan always felt that there was something amiss between the two of them together.
In just a short while, Mu Xin Nuan thought of the silver-masked boy. At the same time, she suddenly remembered the way the fourth prince looked at her that day, and suddenly felt her cheeks burning.
Mu Xin Nuan shook her head. How could she think of two men at the same time? Wouldn't that make her seem like a womanizer? Besides, her mother now favors Chu Rong. No matter how you look at it, it seems that her chances of marrying Chu Rong are the highest right now.
Sure enough, Madam Chu left in less than half an hour.
When Li came over again, she looked refreshed and radiant.
"Why is Mother so happy?" Mu Xin Nuan had a rough idea of what was going on, but she wasn't sure for the moment.
"Anuan, your mother is asking you, what do you think of that Chu Rong?"
Mu Xin Nuan's heart skipped a beat. So it really happened? She lowered her head slightly. "Mother, I am still young. I have two more years before I come of age."
"Your mother knows you're fourteen this year, but isn't it perfectly normal to arrange a marriage beforehand? Your older cousin is getting married this year too. If you don't get engaged soon, it won't be easy to find a suitable match later."
"Mother." Mu Xin Nuan's voice was slightly angry, which Li Shi naturally assumed was that her daughter was shy.
“Anuan, to be honest, Chu Rong is a really good kid. It’s just that his sister is really too formidable. To be honest, Madam Chu is a good person, and Lord Chu and your father are old friends. But this Chu Moli is just too wild. I’m worried that if you marry into her family in the future, she will definitely make things difficult for you.”
"What is Mother saying? Who wants to marry into that family?"
Li smiled happily, "That's true. Even if she gets married, it will be another two years. No matter how capable Chu Moli is, she's still a girl, and she'll eventually get married. Once she's married, she naturally can't keep running back to her parents' home. To be honest, I was worrying for nothing."
"Mother, I just remembered I have some homework to finish, so I'm leaving now."
Seeing her daughter leave in a hurry, Li felt a little reluctant. In the blink of an eye, her daughter had grown up so much. In another two years at most, she would be getting married.
Mu Xin Nuan returned to Yue Xuan and immediately locked herself in the room. Looking at the beautiful small characters she had written on the table, she seemed a little dazed.
After a long while, she gently pushed open the window and looked at the colorful flowers blooming outside. For a moment, she felt a little sad.
Before long, Mu Xin Nuan's expression began to turn cold, and her eyes became clearer and colder.
"Mu Xin Nuan, what's wrong with you? You clearly swore that you would live your life only for yourself and your family. How come you're starting to crave romantic love again? Wasn't the lesson from your past life painful enough?"
"What time is it now? The second branch of the family is returning to the capital. Jin Shi is clearly a troublesome person. I'm afraid she's already started plotting against the entire Mu family ever since she received the news of her return! How could you be distracted at a time like this? Do you want to make yourself and the entire Mu family repeat the mistakes of the previous life?"
"Wake up, Mu Xin Nuan! In this life, you absolutely cannot trust those men who use sweet words to deceive you again. Even if they are truly good to you now, so what? In the future, won't they still have concubines and mistresses? Where will you find a truly devoted and loyal man who only cares for you?"