When Zhu Ziwen heard that his cousin was coming, he held back for a moment before finally putting down his book and walking over. His sister had behaved inappropriately and his mother only knew how to protect her, so he should apologize to his cousin in person.
The old lady had always valued this grandson who was born in a family like theirs but was willing to take the imperial examination and had made a name for himself. Seeing him asking, she did not hide it and pointed to the room next door and said, "It's next door. She said she wanted to talk to your mother and second aunt."
Zhu Ziwen thought about it for a moment and then went to eavesdrop openly.
Inside the house, Hua Zhi also organized her words, "I wonder if my aunt has ever thought about what she would do if the news of my cousin making my grandmother angry spreads? The Daqing Dynasty governs the country with filial piety. By then, let alone discussing marriage, I'm afraid she might even be sent to the family temple. You've calculated so much, is this the result you want?"
The eldest lady's face suddenly changed, and she forced a smile and said, "Zhi'er, don't scare me. Although I did something unkind in the matter of marriage..."
"I don't care. I've never been optimistic about this marriage." Hua Zhi interrupted her and said, "I didn't refuse because it was difficult to refuse. Grandpa and grandmother wanted to strengthen the relationship between the two families and protect us siblings more legitimately. I couldn't refuse this kindness. If you and uncle were willing to do this, I would have nothing to say. I would protect my cousin as my own sister in the future. But you didn't want to, but since everyone else agreed, you had no choice but to agree. As for why you suddenly got the courage to oppose it later, it was because uncle stood on your side."
These words were tantamount to exposing the eldest lady's face, making her feel ashamed and annoyed, but she didn't know that this was just the beginning.
Hua Zhi knew very well where these people's weaknesses were. She tried to cover up by saying that she thought you knew nothing, but now she had revealed everything and made it clear what was right and what was wrong.
"My cousin is only a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl. Everything she knows comes from you. She becomes whatever you want her to be, but she is still an individual with her own thoughts. If you had stopped this marriage from the beginning and kept Zhu Shan from knowing it, she would still be the well-educated and well-mannered girl from the Zhu family who was ready to discuss marriage. Instead of opposing it after she knew who she was engaged to and her heart had already vaguely belonged to someone, it's true that the marriage is decided by the parents and the matchmaker, but you can't decide who is in her heart. You shouldn't have hinted that my Hua family wanted to cancel the engagement and trampled on her self-esteem as a girl."
The eldest lady turned her head away in embarrassment. She didn't expect Hua Zhi to have guessed this!
It was because she could see that her daughter already had feelings for Berlin that she said, in order to make her give up, that the Hua family did not want this marriage. However, she did not expect that this would instead provoked her to go to the other extreme. She even hated the Hua family and rushed to her aunt and said such words. If she had known that Shan'er could not stand provocation, she would not have said that.
Hua Zhi stretched out her hands and warmed them. The red glow of the stove made her look even better.
"The conflict between the two branches of the Zhu family is common in aristocratic families. Having a father and son in the court at the same time is the limit, so in aristocratic families, the eldest son enters the government and the second son manages the family business. They hope that the brothers can live in harmony and help each other, and the family will prosper. However, the eldest son, who is an official, has always been superior, and has suppressed the brothers in the family intentionally or unintentionally. Over time, the conflict has deepened. How can there be true harmony? The second aunt may not necessarily want to bring down the eldest son, but in this environment, she has to protect the interests of her own branch and make plans for her children. Therefore, she always wants to find the mistakes of the eldest son and confronts him on everything. From your standpoint, you are all right, but from the perspective of the family's interests, you are not right. For example, now, both of you are hurt."
Hua Zhi raised her head, "I have never understood why you would rather everyone suffer than live in peace. The eldest uncle gained power for the family, and the second uncle gained benefits for the family. The two rely on each other. The eldest uncle does not need to make mistakes for the sake of embezzlement, and the second uncle makes more money by using the power of the Zhu family. This is obviously the best thing. How did it come to this point of incompatibility?"
Both ladies were a little stunned. All they had ever thought about was how to get more for themselves, how to hold the other party back without hurting their own interests, and how to impress the other party in front of their mother-in-law... These were all they had learned, and they only knew these.
The second wife felt even worse. Before she married into the Zhu family, her mother had taught her how to prevent the eldest branch of the family from draining the Zhu family's assets, and how to prevent the eldest branch's children from receiving more love from their parents-in-law. After she got married, all she thought about was how to prevent this, and she had no other thoughts at all.
"Today I passed by Yunlai Restaurant, but I found it deserted, with only a few customers. When this restaurant was in the hands of the Second Master Bai, it was hard to get a seat. It has fallen to this point now only because the brothers split up. The first master Bai thought that he could monopolize the Bai family by driving his brothers away, but what was the result? In just a few months, the Bai family's assets have begun to shrink. Can it be said that the Bai family has no more capable people besides the Second Master Bai? No, it's just that their ability is not in doing business."
Hua Zhi looked up at the two of them, "Do you want to become the second Bai family? Or, aunt, do you think you can do better than uncle?"
The eldest lady bit her lip. This was too straightforward. She didn't know how to respond. But she couldn't help thinking, if the Zhu family also split up like the Bai family, would the eldest house be better? Since the family was split up, the second house would definitely take a part. With the ability of the younger brother-in-law, he would be like a fish in water. Moreover, there couldn't be two Zhu families with one stroke. Even if the father-in-law was gone in the future, the younger brother-in-law wanted to borrow the power of the Zhu family, and the eldest house would still be given to him!
After much consideration, the first lady found that she had gained nothing from the quarrel with the second wife for so many years, and was even disliked by her parents-in-law for no reason.
The Second Lady, however, felt her back straightened a lot. After being enlightened by Hua Zhi's words, she finally understood that the First House had always been protecting the Zhu family in name only. As long as the First House did not extend its hands too far, she would be happy to live a good life under that big tree.
Hua Zhi picked up the tea that Yingchun had brewed and took a few sips. With the addition of the hot tea from the dragon fire stove, she finally felt warm. She stood up and took off her cloak.
Seeing the expressions of the two men, Hua Zhi knew that her words today were not wasted, and continued, "In everyone's eyes, the Zhu and Hua families are in the same boat. The Hua family sided with the Sixth Prince, and no one would believe whoever the Zhu family sided with. Now everyone who should know knows that I am used by the emperor, but I am also disliked by the emperor. But this is also the basis for my self-preservation. If the emperor wants me to do something for him, he will not take my life. Even if that day really comes, as long as I am not treasonous and selling out the country, I will never implicate the Zhu family. You don't need to worry about it."
This was the second purpose of her talking so much today. Her uncle's attitude towards her changed after she went to the palace. How could she not know what he was worried about? She wanted her uncle to understand this and stop doing unnecessary things to avoid trouble in the future.