The Grand Secretary's Child-Raising Diary

Lu Chong was furious. He had no idea which Zhao family it was; he had only heard it from his wife.

He stubbornly replied, "You'll find out about these things once your marriage is settled."

Then, softening his tone, he earnestly advised, "You were born out of wedlock, and another child has already died. Do you really intend to marry a noblewoman from a high-ranking family as your second wife?"

Lu Shiyan had long since given up hope for his father, Lu Chong. He scoffed and said, "Father doesn't know, then I'll tell you."

The Zhao family you mentioned came from humble beginnings, but they were extremely adept at scheming. Five years ago, the eldest son of the Zhao family married the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Jiangnan. Back then, the wealthy merchant provided his daughter with countless shops, land, gold, and silver as dowry, making them extremely wealthy and powerful.

Less than two years later, the wealthy merchant's daughter fell seriously ill and passed away, leaving behind a generous dowry and a young daughter. A year later, her young daughter also died young.

The merchant believed there must be something fishy about his daughter's death and filed lawsuits with local government offices in various parts of Jiangnan three times, but each time the offices closed the case as a natural death.

Now that wealthy merchant is selling off his assets and heading to the capital, saying he wants to file a complaint with the Dali Temple.

Father thought that if the case went to the Dali Temple (the highest court in Beijing), the Zhao family might be able to escape unscathed.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chong initially thought that the Zhao family had set a trap, plotting to murder for money. However, considering that Qin Shi had acted as guarantor for the marriage, he doubted that this was necessarily the case. After all, although Qin Shi disliked Erlang, she wouldn't joke about such a thing.

Seeing Lu Shiyan's rather aggressive demeanor, Lu Chong said unhappily, "You are now an official of the court. How can you make a conclusion so easily based on some hearsay? Since the government has already made its conclusion, the woman naturally died of illness."

Lu Shiyan closed his eyes. There was a charcoal brazier burning at his feet, but he felt a hundred times colder than the freezing cold.

"If it were only me who had to sacrifice, Father would not have cared."

Then let me tell you something else, Father. Perhaps you remember that five years ago, Prince Chen attempted a rebellion to usurp the throne. Zhao Jiyong, the head of the Zhao family, was a close friend of one of Prince Chen's advisors.

Some things can only be said in passing, but Lu Chong was immediately alarmed and broke out in a cold sweat. The matter of Prince Chen's rebellion had far-reaching implications. Although the matter was over, who could guarantee that His Majesty and the Crown Prince did not still harbor any intention of bringing up old grievances?

If the Zhao family is truly involved with Prince Chen, marrying into such a family would be tantamount to asking for trouble. This Qin family is simply foolish.

Lu Chong was extremely embarrassed by Lu Shiyan's merciless attack, but he still forced himself to say, "Then let's call off this marriage. But you should think things through in the future and not embarrass your mother."

He thought he had already given Lu Shiyan a way out, but Lu Shiyan didn't take the opportunity. Instead, he picked up his teacup, moistened his lips, and continued, "Father, do you know that Zhao Jiyong holds a low-ranking official position? Why is he able to gain the protection of the Jiangnan government? Who knows if it's not because of the Qin family's connections in Jiangnan?"

Lu Chong flew into a rage and shouted, "Who told you to spout nonsense here!"

.......

Lu Shiyan's clothes were stained with tea, and the cold wind outside made them feel icy cold, but as soon as he thought of Lu Chong's expression just now, he felt happy and no longer felt cold.

The news that the Second Master and the Earl had parted on bad terms quickly reached Qin's ears.

Qin didn't take it seriously. There were some things she couldn't say, but with Lu Chong standing in front of her and filial piety being paramount, Lu Shiyan had no choice but to agree.

However, the daughter-in-law, Cui, was a little uneasy: "Mother, what if Second Uncle doesn't agree and gets angry with you because of this?" Getting angry with her mother-in-law is a small matter, but she must not hold them responsible.

She had been married into the Chengen Earl's family for several years and had two children. She had long since realized that her husband was just as incompetent as her father-in-law. But she didn't ask for much. She only hoped that her husband could inherit the title in the future and that the family could live a peaceful life.

My second brother is very capable. He entered the Hanlin Academy at a young age and was favored by the Crown Prince. His future is limitless. If we can befriend him, he will surely take care of us in the future.

But his mother-in-law was blinded by greed, wanting to suppress Lu Shiyan without realizing that he was impossible to suppress.

If you offend someone too badly, Lu Shiyan will rise higher and higher in his official career. Don't actually think about competing with your husband for the title.

Meanwhile, Madam Bo's smugness lasted only a short while. Just as she was about to send someone to the Zhao family to inform them that Lu Shiyan's marriage to their daughter was now settled.

A commotion broke out outside, and Qin Shi impatiently ordered her maid, "Go and see what's going on outside. Don't they have any manners?"

Chunwu dashed out and returned a moment later, looking furious: "Madam, it's people from Songtao Courtyard outside. They said Second Master ordered them to bring Mother Chen to our courtyard, and they also said..."

Enraged, Madam Qin roared, "What else are you saying?"

Chunwu: "He also said that Second Master instructed that if you like the old woman serving in Third Young Master's courtyard, you don't need to send someone secretly. Just tell him and he will send her to you."

The second master also said, "Anyway, we're all servants of the Qin family, so there's no need to hide anything."

"Crack..." Madam Qin smashed the second set of teacups of the day.

Madam Cui looked at the broken teacup on the ground with some regret, thinking to herself that her mother-in-law was really wasteful; porcelain produced by the imperial kiln was not cheap. As the person in charge of the household affairs, she naturally knew that the Cheng'en Earl's mansion was not as glamorous as it appeared from the outside, and it couldn't withstand such extravagance.

Madam Qin was furious, but she dared not retaliate.

Lu Shiyan had made his words so clear, how could she not know that her plan to cause an accident and send that sickly little brat to meet his maker had been exposed?

Although she still holds the title of legitimate mother, she is actually quite wary of this illegitimate son. Otherwise, she wouldn't keep trying to cause trouble for Lu Shiyan.

Lu Shiyan dared to so blatantly dump people at her Chunhui Courtyard, so he must have had enough evidence, and she couldn't do anything more.

It's absolutely infuriating!

Back to Songtao Courtyard

Zhang Shi watched as Sun Mama and two maids tidied up Lu Youning's room, while she stayed by the cradle.

Banxia and Rendong were quite adept at handling things. While they were meticulously organizing Lu Youning's various clothes, they would occasionally ask, "Sister Zhang, do you think it's alright to store these here? Are these the Third Young Master's favorite clothes?"

Zhang was not a narrow-minded person to begin with. Seeing that Sun Mama and the others did not have any intention of ganging up on her, she happily started talking with Banxia and Rendong.

When it was lunchtime, without her having to urge them three or four times, Dendrobium and Coltsfoot quickly took the dishes from the main kitchen and brought them back along with the food for the servants in the courtyard.

Banxia Lengdong said politely, "Sister Zhang, please eat first. Young Master is used to being taken care of by you. Please eat first so you can keep the Third Young Master company during his afternoon rest."

Seeing that the Third Young Master was smiling at her, Zhang happily went to eat, feeling that the Third Young Master finally had hope for the future.