Since it was Li's uncle who told Li, he must want to know what happened in Jiuru Lane.
Businessmen seek profit.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but be more cautious, and said, "I heard Uncle Chi say before, isn't it good to divide Jiuru Lane? Anyway, everyone has already separated, but just live together. Now the three uncles are in the capital, and they have children and even grandchildren. Especially Uncle Jing, he has entered the cabinet and become a prime minister, and there is not even a person in charge of the household in the mansion. But if Madam Yuan comes to the capital, the old lady can only stay alone in Jinling or let cousin Xu and his wife stay in their hometown to serve the old lady. But cousin Xu is still counting on being nominated in the next imperial examination, and the next two years are a critical time. I think the old lady and the others must have considered for a long time before making such a decision."
Mrs. Li's face was slightly calm, and she nodded continuously, saying, "It's just that the eldest branch has three sons who have become Jinshi, and one has become an assistant minister of the cabinet, but the second branch has not produced a Jinshi for several generations. Compared with the two, the division of the family line is more disadvantageous to the second branch. Everyone likes to sympathize with the weak, so it is said that every family has its own problems. Even a good family like the eldest branch has its own difficulties. My brother is also worried that if the eldest branch doesn't handle this matter well, someone will find a handle and impeach it."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Even if someone impeaches us, it has nothing to do with us. My uncles are all very knowledgeable people. If we can think of it, they must have thought of it too."
Li thought about it and felt a little embarrassed for her panic. She said, "Second Miss, you are more knowledgeable!"
No one has ever said that about her!
Zhou Shaojin was embarrassed.
Li spoke a few more words to Zhou Shaojin and then stood up to leave.
Zhou Shaojin sent her to the door, returned to the room and leaned against the big kang by the window, thinking about this matter.
I wonder if there is anything she can do to help.
As for the fourth room, she had someone send a letter to them before, but Uncle Mian just told her not to worry about it and that the elders would take care of everything. After that, there was no more word from him and no one knew what was happening to him.
She went to the study, ground the ink and thought about how to write the letter.
As soon as Li came out of the main courtyard, she was stopped by a maid, who said, "Madam, our uncle is still waiting for you in the guest room. He said he has something important to discuss with you."
Or maybe because Cheng Chi had stayed in the study before, Zhou Shaojin hinted to the family intentionally or unintentionally that Cheng Chi might stay in the study again one day if he had something to do, so Li rearranged a guest room to accommodate her brother.
She went to the guest room after hearing that.
The eldest master of the Li family was standing in front of a painting of a tiger descending a mountain hanging in the room, sizing it up carefully. When he saw his younger sister coming in, his brows furrowed even tighter, and he asked, "What did the second young lady say?"
Li told the eldest master of the Li family what Zhou Shaojin had said.
The eldest master of the Li family did not look any better, and he said thoughtfully, "The Cheng family has its own concerns about the division of the Jiuru Lane clan. I am not worried about this. I am worried about my business... Regardless of whether the Cheng family has been divided in the past or not, we are still a family when we go out. The eldest aunt is the granddaughter of the fourth room, but the second young lady is not even a granddaughter. It happens that the second young lady is your good friend, and the eldest aunt is not easy to deal with... I don't know if the Cheng family will still interact with the second young lady as before?"
Li smiled and said, "Brother, you are really too concerned! Is the division of the clan so simple? We just found out about the division of the clan in Jiuru Lane now, maybe they have been making trouble for years? Look at how the eldest branch treats Shao Jin, they just gave her such a good house, and you haven't seen how good Chaoyangmen treats the second young lady? If there is anything to eat, drink or play, there must be a portion in Yuqian Hutong. Even the housekeepers, maids and old women in the family are mostly from Chaoyangmen. It's like another house of the Cheng family."
The eldest master of the Li family laughed and said, "I was also anxious. The Wine and Vinegar Bureau has already given us an order, and the goods will be shipped in the next two days. I am afraid that if there is any change, the Wine and Vinegar Bureau will not recognize it. After all, I have just contacted them. Without the Cheng family to help me, I really can't do this business with confidence!"
Li comforted her brother and said, "I also know that being a royal merchant is very different from being an ordinary merchant, but some things don't have to be forced. Living a peaceful and tranquil life is the most important thing."
The eldest master of the Li family nodded.
But Li didn't expect that Zhou Shaojin would receive a letter from Zhou Zhen, who had traveled 600 miles from Baoding Prefecture, early the next morning. The letter anxiously asked her about the division of the Cheng family.
Only then did Zhou Shaojin truly feel the influence of the Cheng family branch.
She picked out some things to tell her father.
Soon, the Cheng family's affairs spread throughout the capital, especially among officials from Jiangnan.
People visit Xinglin Hutong every day.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but secretly feel fortunate that Madam Guo and Madam Wei had moved to the house near Chaoyang Gate, otherwise he would be asked about the division of the clan every day by others and would never be in a good mood.
Cheng Chi suddenly came over and rested in Yuqian Hutong.
After hearing this, Li sent people to the street to buy a lot of fresh and precious fruits to entertain Cheng Chi, and told Li Ma and others to serve him well, saying: "I'm afraid he is upset by family affairs and came here to have some peace and quiet. Tell the servants in the outer courtyard to keep their mouths shut and not talk nonsense."
Master Li heard a few days ago about the division of the family in Jiuru Lane. The eldest branch kept the sacrificial fields and the family tree but paid a lot of silver to compensate the second branch, which is now seriously damaged.
Li thought of the beautiful scenery he saw when he visited Jiuru Lane before, and couldn't help but sigh.
This family is finally divided!
I’m afraid I’ll never be able to see the beautiful scenery of Jiuru Lane again.
Because Zhou Shaojin grew up in the Cheng family, everyone treated her as a girl from the Cheng family. Her elder sister married the eldest grandson's wife of the Liao family from Zhenjiang, who was also a famous family in Jiangnan. Naturally, she knew more than Li and Master Li.
Speaking of which, Yuan was also a very powerful person.
After some pointers from her uncle Yuan and the staff around her, she immediately understood.
The eldest and second branches had already separated before. Although they had not registered with the government, they had signed a written document. Because they were one of the most powerful families in Jinling, the document was signed by the uncles of the second branch and the officials who were the parents of Jinling at that time. According to the custom, the genealogy did not write who owned it in the document, but the sacrificial land was clearly written to belong to the eldest branch. The genealogy said that the second branch would not give it to them, but it was fine. Now the eldest branch had not been separated. Yuan was still the patriarch of the Cheng family in Jiuru Lane, responsible for preparing the family's sacrificial needs. The Dragon Boat Festival was the time to worship the ancestors. Yuan had people guard the ancestral hall. When the second branch entered the ancestral hall to worship, she made a scene and also found someone to discuss selling the Cheng family's sacrificial land and moving the graves of Zhigong and the old man to the capital.
Cheng Xu was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
He couldn't possibly sue the eldest son, could he? And let alone sue, he couldn't even tell anyone about it.
If that happens, the Cheng family will become the laughing stock of Jiangnan!
Regardless of whether they win or lose the lawsuit, the reputation of the Cheng family in Jiuru Lane is ruined.
If a person has no reputation at all, how can he survive in the world
What's more, Cheng Shi still needs to study and become an official.
It’s all his fault that he didn’t think so deeply about it when he split up the family business.
Or maybe in his subconscious, the second branch could not possibly fall to the point where it had to control the first branch in order to get through the difficulties.
This may be what is meant by man proposes, God disposes!
There was no use for him to have the family tree.
If the eldest branch of the family split off and established its own branch, then logically, they would have to trace back to the three generations before the first ancestor, and Zhigong would be the great-great-grandfather of their branch. All he could use now was Zhigong's reputation. Once the ancestral tree was abandoned, it would mean that their second branch was separated, and they would have no real relationship with Zhigong at all.
After all, it was because the second branch of the family had no descendants to support the family.
After repeated consideration, Cheng Xu finally used the family tree to exchange for a rank 4 official position for Cheng Shi. The eldest son promised that as long as Cheng Shi could pass the imperial examination, they would spare no effort to promote Cheng Shi to a rank 4 official position. As for what would happen in the future, the eldest son did not have the ability to continue to promote Cheng Shi. Even if Cheng Jing entered the cabinet, he could not guarantee that he could definitely do it. What would happen in the future would depend on Cheng Shi's own luck.
The three million taels of silver were reduced to 1.2 million taels.
The Qixing Hall is something that should not be seen in public.
Based on Cheng Xu's understanding of Qixingtang, most of the income of Qixingtang went to the second house in the early years. The first house was in power only for the few days since Cheng Chi debuted. One million and two hundred thousand taels was the amount of money that the first house could take out. If it had more, it would only force the first house to take risks and turn against the second house without giving a penny...
Yuan was naturally very satisfied with this result.
It is still unclear whether Cheng Shi can pass the imperial examination. Even if he enters the civil service and becomes a fourth-rank official, as long as Cheng Xu can act according to her plan, she will be able to put Cheng Shi under great pressure. She also has evidence that Cheng Shi framed Cheng Xu, and there are plenty of ways to make him stay in the fourth-rank position until he retires. It is too stupid for him to jump out and oppose it now.
The second thing was the 1.2 million taels of silver, which was all taken out by Cheng Chi. She didn't lose a penny, and she even gained a good reputation because she planned to sell her dowry to subsidize the money...
She felt that she was the real winner in the matter of the division of the sect.
Cheng Chi just lay on the bed groaning, and grabbed Zhou Shaojin's hand to comfort her, and asked her to rub his chest: "This is really a dream after all the hard work. One million and two hundred thousand taels of silver... I feel heartbroken just thinking about it! If one or two more ships from the Thirteen Hongs capsize, I think I'd better sell my place in Chaoyangmen and live here... What a reward for kindness, I originally wanted to give you something to keep you safe, but I didn't expect that one million and two hundred thousand taels of silver would be given to you without any hesitation by Yuan Shi..."
Zhou Shaojin was a little nervous at first, but after Cheng Chi mentioned "1.2 million taels of silver" twice, she slowly relaxed.
Even if this 1.2 million taels of silver made the eldest branch of the family no longer as wealthy as before, is Uncle Chi, who wears a fine cloth robe but has to cover it with a mink fur coat, someone I care about
He said that, I don't know what he is trying to do!
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Hey guys, today's update.
I will correct the typos tomorrow. My eyes are blurry now and I can’t see the bugs…
PS: Tomorrow’s update will be around 3pm.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)