Yu's family was furious and scolded, "How can a dog's mouth spit out elephant teeth?! Who said our Yu sister can't get married?! You point that servant to me, I'll take her to ask the Wang family! Let's see if the Xie family has the rules to indulge in slandering behind people's backs!"
Xie Wan certainly couldn't take her there.
Xie Lang heard this and his eyebrows suddenly opened up, he paused for a moment before saying to Yu Shi: "Uncle and aunt's feelings, I fully understand. However, we are after all members of the Xie family, if we go to the Qi family, in the future we will be considered as Qi family's relatives, I am a boy so it doesn't matter, but my sister is different, she is a girl, not staying in the Xie family to grow up, in the future it won't be easy to arrange her marriage. My sister has been the apple of our parents' eye since birth, now that they are no longer here, I must take on the responsibility of taking care of my younger sister. Please forgive me, aunt."
Xie Wan nodded secretly. Although her brother was not good at being clever, his brain was still useful at critical moments.
Yu sighed, holding Xie Wan in his lap, his rough fingers stroking her eyebrows and eyes as pale as a cold moon and stars. "Poor child, you're intelligent and lovely, but your fate is so bitter." He also said to Xie Cong: "I know you're sensible and care about your sister, but can we just let you fall into the wolf's den? What kind of evil idea did that Wang woman come up with? She was so ruthless and hated your father to death back then, and now she's pretending to be kind and letting you stay in the mansion. Even if we agree, how can we put our minds at ease?"
Xie Lang let out a sigh, and his gaze at his sister became even more doting as he said: "This aunt doesn't need to worry, I've already thought it through. Yesterday I wrote a letter to Uncle, asking Aunt to find an opportunity to talk with us privately after arriving at the manor, precisely because we want to ask Aunt to represent us and bring up a few conditions with Grandfather and Grandmother."
Aunt raised an eyebrow: "What conditions?"
The atmosphere in the main hall was already very tense at this time.
Zi Xiang sat in the left front passenger seat, his face flushed red, and said firmly: "No way! On that day, our two families had already agreed that after Lang Ge and Wan Jie's funeral, they would go to the Qi family! Now you're going back on your word, how can I agree with you?!"
Xie Qigong's face also looked very unsightly, and the frown lines on his cheeks deepened.
Xie's adopted son, Xie Hong, wiped the sweat from his forehead, handed tea to Xie Qigong, and made a fist at Qi Sui: "Uncle, please listen to me. The reason I agreed to your request back then was because our old master was so grief-stricken by the loss of his child that he wasn't thinking clearly and spoke rashly. Afterwards, our old master realized his mistake, and this is exactly why we've been waiting for you to come in person, so we can explain everything face-to-face."
"Randomly agreed?" Qi Sui was so angry that he fell back, "Originally, the matter of breaking faith can be settled with just two words 'randomly'! Fortunately, your Xie family is still a family that passes down poetry and books. Do you take me for a three-year-old child?! Today I'm putting my words here, whether you brothers and sisters want to let go or not, you have to let go!"
"I advise you, Lord Qi, not to forget your own identity!" Xie Qigong stood up abruptly, stroking his beard and sneering coldly: "Xie Liang and Xie Wan are the blood of my Xie family. Your Qi family is just an outside family, what right do you have to say no to letting them go?! The two of them have lost their parents, if they don't stay in the manor to receive protection, would they still need to rely on an outside family? What would our Xie family become then?!"
Zi Song was straightforward and unyielding, never good at verbal disputes. At this time, being poked in the weak spot, he couldn't help but feel indignant and choked with rage.
Qī Rú Zhēng had never seen his father so furious before, and watching from the side made him tremble with fear, but he didn't back down.
Xie Hong looked at Xie Qigong and Qi Song's faces, bowed his head and said: "After all, both of you are for the good of Lang Ge and Yu Mei, but don't hurt the harmony between the two families because of this. Otherwise, Er Di and Er Di Mei will not be at peace in the underworld."
He brushed off his sleeves and turned away.
Xie Hong let out a sigh and slowed down his tone: "In my opinion, what our master said is not wrong, and what Uncle said is also not wrong. However, I'd like to say one more thing to Uncle. Even if the twins go to the Qi family, they will still be surnamed Xie after all. The twins are very talented and are about to embark on the path of imperial examination. Although our Xie family is not particularly prominent, my third brother has already become a Hanlin scholar, which means we have some connections now. In the future, this connection will also be very beneficial for the twins' imperial examination journey. Uncle, don't you hope your own nephew will rise to prominence?"
Qizong said in a deep voice: "The Qis also have their own family ties!"
Zi Song's elder cousin is now serving as a minor official in the Censorate, although his rank is not high, he can still speak up in front of the censors.
Xie Hong smiled and said, "That's natural. However, one is the uncle of our family's eldest brother, and the other is Lang's own paternal uncle. Which relationship do you think is more important? Lang is the most outstanding among the younger generation of the Xie family. Our master is counting on him to bring glory to the Xie family like his third brother did. We can't let him go, it's understandable, please forgive us, Uncle."
Qizong said: "Isn't it that he has been living in our Qi family for a few years, and isn't he one of your Shes' people?" In a few more years, Lang will be able to get married, and at that time they will have the dowry of Yangshi and their mother, so they won't have to worry about food and drink.
"That's natural!" Xie Hong said: "However, my second brother and his family have always lived outside the mansion. Lang Ge and his siblings are not close to the mansion either. If they go to Nan Yuan Qi's house, which is 40 or 50 miles away, they will come and go even less often. This would make them forget their ancestors, which would be detrimental not only to the Xie family but also to the future of the Lang family!"
"Am I supposed to tie up their hands and feet and not let them return home?!"
Xie Hong stroked his beard and said, "That's hard to say."
Zi Song was furious and slammed his fist on the table, jumping up.
Immediately, he stood up with a clang.
Xie Hongdao said: "Uncle, calm down! In my opinion, things are not without a turning point."
"Speak quickly!" Qi Song said.
Xie Hong glanced at Xie Qigong, who was sitting at the head of the table with a stern expression and not saying a word. He turned back to Qi Song and said: "If Uncle insists on taking away Lang Jun's siblings, we won't take it seriously and hurt the harmony between our two families. I think as long as Uncle takes charge and leaves behind the inheritance of my second brother and sister for the Xie family to manage, that would be a guarantee. In the future, when Lang Jun returns, this property will still belong to them."
Xie Qigong's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, but soon this surprise turned into admiration.
Zi Song's face suddenly turned blue and red, and he fiercely punched the tea table, causing a bowl of tea on it to fall to the ground.
"After all, you are still after their family property! You can forget it! I'll take the person away, but you can forget about the property!"
Xie Lang is only thirteen years old now, and this time he goes to the Qi family, at least he won't return to Qinghe County until he's eighteen! Five years may seem short, but it's more than enough to make a move on this property! By then, can Xie's siblings still get their inheritance?! When Xie Hong said this, Qi Song almost wanted to slap him twice!
"Old Master!"
Suddenly, a clear voice came from outside the door.
The people in the house retreated with a hush, and all that could be seen was Yu Shi walking in with a stern face, accompanied by Xie's brother and sister, as well as Qi Ru Xiu.
Qī Sōng saw his wife and the anger on his face dissipated a bit. Qī Rú Zhēn quickly came forward to support her mother, standing beside her father.
Xie Hong saw that Mrs. Yu's face was not good, so he had to politely say: "Auntie, why did you also come?"
Yu's family glanced at him, then stared at Xie Qigong and said: "If we want to take away Lang Geer and Yuanyuan, and also bring back the inheritance of our aunt and uncle for Lang Geer and his siblings without missing a single penny, will your father agree or not?"
Xie Qigong has always considered himself a man of letters, carefully guarding the boundaries between men and women. Now that Yu Shi has come in so boldly, he is already displeased. Seeing her interrogate him in such an overbearing manner, the two points of courtesy he had forced out were gone: "Lang Jun's brother and sister are our Xie family's people, why should I agree?!"
"That's good!" Yu Shi pulled Xie Wan into his arms and said with a serious face: "We can leave without taking the Lang siblings, but if you want us to leave them behind, you must agree to our three conditions!"
Xie Qigong and Xie Hong were both taken aback by her words.
Zi Song hastily said, "How could you agree to him!"
Qī Rú was greatly shocked and lost his composure, but Qī Rú Xiù and Xiè Liǎng simultaneously gave him a signal from the side.
"What conditions?" Xie Qigong asked after a moment.
Yu's family cast a soothing glance at Qi Song, then turned back to face Xie Qigong: "Listen carefully, Uncle! First, after Lang'er turns 18, you must agree to let them decide for themselves whether to stay or leave the Xie estate. Second, the property in the hands of Aunt and Uncle will be managed by our Qi family on their behalf. Third, the marriage of Lang'er and Wan'er is not to be interfered with by the Xie family!"
Three conditions opened up, and inside and outside the house suddenly burst into a loud noise.
Xie Qigong said in a low voice: "No! What right do you have to manage the property of my Xie family's second house? As for marriage, I won't interfere with anyone who can interfere?! He pointed at Qi Song and Yu Shi again, his anger rising: "You just accused us of being greedy for the property of the second house, now you're turning around and interfering, is this really your true intention in taking away their siblings?"
At this time, Ziqi completely understood his wife's intention, and a look of surprise flashed on his face. He couldn't help but admire his wife's approach even more.
Yu stood beside her husband, raising her chin even higher: "Whose property is the second house? The estate of our uncle was left by the late Mrs. Yang, and our aunt's dowry came from our Qi family! The second house isn't without a male heir, now that Lang'er is already fourteen years old, if he entrusts me to take charge for him, why can't I manage it for him? Moreover, our aunt's dowry will eventually be left to Wan'er as her dowry in the future, we being her uncle and aunt, why can't we manage it on their behalf?"
"You've taken advantage of our family, getting the person and now wanting to seize the wealth. Is there such a good thing in the world? If you don't release the person and don't agree to my three conditions, I'll have someone take back our aunt's dowry! From then on, the Qi and Xie families will have no further dealings with each other, and that's final! Who can stop us from taking back our aunt's dowry?"
