The system asked me to chase his wife

Qiao Yuandong went to the ancestral hall to burn incense in front of the tablet.

The Xiang family began to prosper from the founding of the Jin Dynasty. Every generation produced military generals who defended the country on behalf of the Xiao and Jin dynasties and earned the title of guardian of the country.

By the time the Jin Dynasty had become strong and prosperous and had finally secured its throne, the Xiang family gradually declined.

Qiao Yuandong inserted three incense sticks on the incense table in front of the mourning hall, and looked down from the rows of Xiang family ancestors' tablets to finally land on the brand new tablet.

Next to the spirit tablet of Xiu Kai, the fifteenth generation of the Xiang family, there is a row of small gold-plated characters, which read "The family has a long history and branches."

Thinking about the current situation of the dwindling population in the mansion, Qiao Yuandong felt irony when looking at the line of words, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

Xia Mang didn't know what was going on inside. He just waited outside the ancestral hall and chatted with Rong Zhu who was also waiting outside.

Rongzhu was angry with Xia Mang at first because she bumped into her wife, but she couldn't resist Xia Mang's outgoing nature and started chatting with her.

Rongzhu was a maid who came from the Qiao family with Qiao Yuandong. When Qiao Yuandong got married, her mother Feng specially chose her to go with her.

Two sisters, Helan and Hehuan, who were from the family, were also sent there.

Xia Mang learned all this from Rong Zhu.

In just a quarter of an hour, Qiao Yuandong came out and led the two of them out of the yard.

The servant guarding the gate was stunned for a moment when he saw Xia Mang appearing out of nowhere, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions when he saw that it was the lady who led the group.

After walking out of the alley and passing the corner gate, Rongzhu saw a maid coming towards her. She recognized her as He Lan at a glance and called out to her.

When He Lan heard the voice, she walked straight over. After meeting Qiao Yuandong, she whispered in her ear, "Madam, someone is coming to the Qiao residence."

Qiao Yuandong's expression straightened when he heard this, and he asked, "Who's here?"

He Lan replied, "Mother Ge from Madam's side is here."

"My mother isn't here?"

He Lan shook her head, and Qiao Yuandong breathed a sigh of relief, but there was still some worry in his eyes. When he saw Xia Mang looking at him, he restrained his expression.

She told Rongzhu to take Xia Mang back to the main courtyard, and she followed He Lan.

Xia Mang followed Rong Zhu obediently, pretending to be directionally challenged. Seeing that Rong Zhu looked thoughtful as he walked, he wanted to ask him about what had just happened.

From what she said, it seemed that someone from the lady's family had come, but why did the lady have such a complicated expression?
However, after weighing the friendship between himself and Rongzhu, Xia Mang wisely kept his doubts to himself.

But someone soon helped her solve this question.

After Xia Mang returned to the main courtyard, she saw Shuangyu who was looking for her. Shuangyu had no idea that she had been delayed outside for so long, and she was looking for someone so much that sweat broke out on her forehead.

As soon as she saw Xia Mang, even the good-tempered Shuang Yu couldn't help but complain a few words.

"You playful little hooves, don't you know what time it is? You might miss your master's meal."

Seeing Shuangyu was angry, Xia Mang nodded and admitted her mistake: "Don't blame me, sister. I'll go to the kitchen now."

Shuang Yu grabbed Xia Mang who was about to leave and said angrily and amusedly, "You are so impatient. I haven't even finished what I was saying."

Xia Mang looked at her in confusion, and Shuang Yu said, "Madam Tai said that she would invite Madam to have lunch together, so she notified the kitchen to prepare a banquet. How can you carry so many dishes by yourself? Go and call Man'er and Dui'er and the other smart ones to help you carry them."

Shuangyu gave detailed instructions, and Xia Mang nodded and wrote them down, but he was thinking about it in his heart.

Except for festivals, the lady-in-waiting, the lady and the young master rarely eat together.

Today, the lady has specially prepared a table to invite Madam to dinner. Is there something she wants to discuss?
Xia Mang thought for a moment and asked, "Sister Shuangyu, is this about the visit from Madam's family?"

"You all know?"

Shuang Yu looked at Xia Mang in surprise, then nodded somewhat depressedly and said, "I'm afraid our wife will be taken back to the Qiao Mansion."

Xia Mang couldn't help but exclaimed, "Why? Our Madam has not been wronged in the mansion."

She thought very simply. The Duke's Mansion had a small population, with only one lady in charge.

She had no sisters-in-law to trouble her, no uncles to bully her, no need to serve her husband, and even no parents-in-law. Her only grandmother was very kind to her.

Isn’t this day pleasant?

Shuang Yu rolled her eyes at her, pulled her closer and whispered, "You are stupid. Madam is only 19 years old now, and she has no children. Our young master passed away so early. Isn't it a waste of time for her to stay in the Duke's Mansion?"

Xia Mang thought: That’s great, I’m young and rich, but the key is that my husband died early!
But she didn't dare to say what was in her heart. She thought about it for a while and asked, "Does this mean that our wife is going home to remarry?"

Well, the Duke’s Mansion has one less master!
Shuang Yu frowned and looked worried: "It is very likely that by then there will be no Madam to manage the house, and only the Madam and the young master will be left. That will be even more..."

Shuangyu didn't say anything else. Xia Mang knew what she meant, so he sighed with her.

Qiao Yuandong closed the door and talked with the visitor from the Qiao family for a long time. Before noon, the mother who came from the Qiao family hurried back to report, and did not even stay for lunch.

The lady's banquet had already been prepared, and as soon as Qiao Yuandong was free, she sent someone to invite him over.

Xia Mang was not qualified to enter the house to serve, so she just watched the fun in the yard. After a while, she saw Qiao Yuandong leading the maids to the main courtyard.

Qiao Yuandong had obviously changed her clothes, but they were still plain and quiet. Xia Mang looked at her carefully and it seemed that Qiao Yuandong had reapplied her makeup. Could it be that she had been crying?

Just as this thought flashed through his mind, the maids had already welcomed Qiao Yuandong into the house.

The lady was sitting at the front of the main hall, wearing a formal brocade gown with large sleeves and a gold-mud pattern of fortune and longevity, and a headband with a ruyi pattern inlaid with warm jade. Her face looked peaceful.

Seeing Qiao Yuandong come in, the lady smiled, took the hand of the maid Ji Tong, stood up and went to greet him.

How could Qiao Yuandong dare to let her greet him, so he quickly took two steps over to greet her.

The lady happily held Qiao Yuandong's hand and said gently, "The weather is getting hotter now, and the farm just happened to deliver some fresh asparagus, which is most appetizing when stir-fried. I thought of asking you to come and try it."

Qiao Yuandong nodded gently and said, "Thank you for your concern, grandma. It's been a tough summer these past two days, so I'll have something light to eat."

The lady then took her to the side hall where the dining table was set, and earnestly told her: "In the bitter summer, you have no appetite, but you must eat. Not eating will hurt your spleen and stomach. You must not be too greedy for coolness either."

Qiao Yuandong nodded in agreement.

The grandparents and grandchildren walked to the side hall and sat down. Seeing that they were the only two people there, Qiao Yuandong asked the lady, "Isn't An'er coming with us?"

The lady paused and then said, "Let's not call him. We will eat our own food."

Qiao Yuandong nodded. His uncle Xiang Xiu'an was already fourteen or fifteen years old this year and had already moved to the front yard.

Later, because I went to study in private school, I seldom ate with the lady.

The reason why Qiao Yuandong asked this question was because she knew that the lady had invited her today to discuss something, and she thought that her uncle would be present, but since the lady had not invited him, it didn't matter.

The two of them sat down to eat, and the maids silently served the dishes and added soup.

Because of what the lady said, Qiao Yuandong deliberately used more stir-fried asparagus, which made the lady feel very happy.

After the meal, the maids served tea. After the lady sent the servants away, she sat down to drink tea with Qiao Yuandong and casually found a topic to talk about.

"I see you enjoy eating the fresh asparagus. I'll tell the people in the farm to bring more and send some to your father and mother."

Since the two families got married, in addition to the visits during festivals, they would also give each other gifts, whether expensive or cheap, to maintain their relationship on weekdays.

Qiao Yuandong nodded in agreement.

"My granddaughter-in-law would like to thank my grandmother on behalf of my father and mother. My mother said the other day that she went to the temple to pray for blessings and also asked for amulets for my grandmother and An'er. They were just delivered today. I will have someone pick them up in a while."

The lady smiled and nodded, then thoughtfully turned the topic back to business.

"At the beginning of this spring, your garden had just been renovated. I went to see it. It was very elegant. I thought it would be a good place to cool off in the summer. If you want to go back to escape the heat, you can. I will ask the maids to pack up."

Qiao Yuandong took a sip of the tea and replied, "The garden in the mansion is also very cool. My grandson's wife is used to living here, so she won't go back."

The lady's hand holding the teacup trembled, and some tea spilled onto her hand, but she didn't feel it was hot.

The lady looked at Qiao Yuandong's expression carefully and decided to make it clear.

"Good boy, you know what I mean. You have been wronged by entering our house. You are still young, and I am not an unreasonable person. If you are willing to go back..."

"grandmother."

Qiao Yuandong did not ask the lady to continue. She took out the silk from her sleeve and wiped the water stains on the back of her hand with gentle and skillful movements.

The old lady stared at Qiao Yuandong doing these things, her eyes gradually turning red.

Qiao Yuandong lowered his eyes and said, "My granddaughter-in-law has been married for more than three years, and she has never mentioned returning home. It's not just because she has to observe mourning for her mother and husband. Although the family is in such a situation, my granddaughter-in-law doesn't feel wronged at all, so she won't mention returning home in the future."

When the old lady heard Qiao Yuandong mention her deceased daughter-in-law and eldest grandson, she couldn't help but choke up and said, "We are the ones who are holding you back!"

Qiao Yuandong's eyes were reddened by this. She shook her head firmly and said, "Grandma is kind and An'er is calm and sensible. He is not a burden. On the contrary, if your granddaughter-in-law abandons you at this time, she would be truly heartless and ungrateful."

After hearing what Qiao Yuandong said, the old lady could no longer hold back. She hugged her and burst into tears: "My child! My child!"

Qiao Yuandong didn't know whether the lady was crying for her deceased children and grandchildren or for her.

Qiao Yuandong just obediently let the lady hug him, helping her to calm down while she shed tears quietly.

After the grandparents and grandchildren hugged each other and cried for a while, they comforted each other and wiped away their tears.

The lady touched Qiao Yuandong's red eyes lovingly and said with a smile, "Good boy, I'm glad you're willing to stay here. Our family owes you a lot. When An'er inherits the title and gets married, you'll still have the final say in this family. If An'er has a child in the future, ask him to give one to you to raise."

Qiao Yuandong did not expect that the lady would have such a far-reaching plan. He was touched and joked, "Let An'er take care of him by himself. I am impatient with children. From now on, I will just be ashamed to eat with him."

The lady had made up her mind. She held Qiao Yuandong's hand and said, "This is a must. It will give you someone to rely on in the future, right?"

Qiao Yuandong didn't want to argue too much with the lady, so he nodded in agreement.

The lady laughed and said, "I remember when An'er was little, he was very naughty."

The two of them stayed in the room and talked about the young master's embarrassing stories for a long time, but they didn't know that the real person was waiting in the main courtyard.

(End of this chapter)