Madam Wang’s legs gave way, and she nearly collapsed again, but her son and daughter-in-law supported her from behind, allowing her to remain standing.
Seeing the humble demeanor of her brother and sister-in-law, Madam Wang refused to admit defeat—the cost was too great, and she could not afford to lose.
“Brother!” Madam Wang pleaded, her eyes fixed on her elder brother. “Help me, help your nephew, help your daughter!”
Wang Chenbi also stepped forward, silently pleading with her parents with her eyes. By convention, the Wang family, as maternal uncles, held significant influence—the saying “the mother’s brother is the greatest” held weight. The Old Marquis had decided to disinherit the second branch without notifying the Wang family.
The Wang family could have rightfully demanded an explanation and supported the second branch.
Wang Zishan, the Count of Ankang, smiled bitterly. How could he not want to stand up for his sister and daughter? But the Old Master had caught him red-handed in his schemes to aid the second branch. He had no choice but to back down.
Although the Ankang Count’s Mansion was also part of the nobility, a mere glance at their titles revealed the vast gap between them and the Jingyuan Marquisate.
Among the five ranks of nobility—Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron—the Count of Ankang might seem only one rank below the Marquis of Jingyuan.
However, the Yan family’s ancestors had followed the Founding Emperor to conquer the realm, securing for their descendants a hereditary Marquisate of Jingyuan that would only begin to decline after five generations.
In contrast, the title of Count of Ankang would end with Wang Zishan’s generation. His children would inherit only a Viscountcy, his grandchildren a Barony, and after that, the title would vanish entirely.
The Jingyuan Marquisate still had generations of prosperity ahead, while the Ankang Count’s Mansion was already in decline. To make matters worse, its descendants were unambitious—they neither achieved military merits nor pursued scholarly careers to enter officialdom.
The entire family lived off their dwindling wealth, relying on marital alliances to secure benefits and find ways to prolong their noble status.
This was why Wang Zishan’s father had married Madam Wang to the Old Marquis as a second wife.
And why Wang Zishan had married his daughter to his nephew, aiding the second branch in scheming to seize the eldest branch’s title, even at the cost of lives.
After all, having a nephew and son-in-law become the Marquis of Jingyuan would greatly benefit the Ankang Count’s Mansion, which had shared both joys and hardships with him, strengthening their bond.
Now, his swift admission of guilt was also driven by self-interest. Since resistance was futile, he had to quickly appease the Old Marquis’s anger. The weak Ankang Count’s Mansion could not withstand the Marquis’s retaliation.
It wasn’t that he didn’t care for his sister and nephew, but priorities mattered. He had to protect the Count’s Mansion first, then consider his sister and the second branch, and only then could he shield them in the future.
Wang Zishan could only advise Madam Wang: “Sister, what’s done is done, especially since we…” were in the wrong from the start.
But before he could finish, Madam Wang leaped up as if someone had stepped on her tail. She grabbed a pair of scissors from a nearby basket and pressed them to her throat, threatening the Old Marquis with a hoarse, desperate cry:
“I don’t care! No one can drive my son away. If any of you dare lay a finger on him, I’ll spill my blood right here!”
Seeing Madam Wang like this, Wang Zishan and his wife turned pale with horror, trying to calm the agitated woman with soothing words.
But Madam Wang, on the verge of losing her mind, would not listen. Her eyes remained fixed on the Old Marquis, searching for even a flicker of sympathy on his face.
She miscalculated. The Old Master remained unmoved by her threats. Instead, he turned and coldly ordered Yan Tang, who was standing nearby: “Bring it here.”
Yan Tang acknowledged the order and turned to leave, returning a short while later with a pile of items.
He held a tray containing a stack of confessions bearing fingerprints and a gleaming, meticulously repaired teacup.
Following Yan Tang were several people being escorted in. Upon seeing their faces, Madam Wang, the second branch couple, and Wang Zishan and his wife all turned pale with shock.
Among those brought in were the maid who had brewed the medicinal concoction for Madam Bai’s teacup, the midwife whom Madam Bai had taken into her own residence, and Doctor Xu, whom Madam Bai frequently consulted.
In addition to these key figures, several other people were being held at the entrance of the ancestral hall—all family members of these key individuals.
The Wang family and the second branch couple knew that the Old Marquis had evidence against them, but they had no idea he had gathered it so thoroughly, exposing their plans completely.
Wang Zishan and his wife were too embarrassed to meet the Old Marquis’s gaze, while Yan Jingzheng and Wang Chenbi flushed with shame and anger at being exposed, instinctively shrinking behind Madam Wang.
“Now that you’ve seen this, what more do you have to say?” The Old Marquis swept his gaze over them, finally settling on Madam Wang. “I’ll give you two choices: either put down the scissors and allow the second branch to leave the Marquis’s estate through adoption, or I will present this evidence to the clan elders. In that case, the second branch will still have to leave, and you will be dealt with according to family rules, spending the rest of your life in the family temple in Jinling!”
Madam Wang’s lips trembled. “So I should thank you for your leniency, is that it?”
The Old Marquis said nothing, but the fact that he had not immediately punished Madam Wang was already a sign of mercy toward the second branch.
Madam Wang, overwhelmed by rage, no longer cared about keeping family matters private. She shrieked, pouring out years of pent-up grievances in one breath: “Is all of this truly our fault? If you had considered me, considered the second branch even a little, who would have willingly stained their hands with blood? Don’t think I don’t know—you’ve already drafted the division of assets. The eldest branch will inherit the title and seventy percent of the family wealth, while my son and I will receive only thirty percent. Jingzheng is also your son. He excels in every way compared to Yan Tingbai, yet in the end, you treat him like a beggar with such meager offerings. Yan Tingbai and Jingzheng are close in age. When it was time for them to marry, you went to great lengths to secure a daughter of the Bai family as the eldest son’s wife. But when it came to Jingzheng, as the second son who would neither inherit the title nor receive much of the family wealth, I begged you—I begged you to purchase an official position for him, so he could have a respectable status and a better chance at marriage. Yet, not only did you refuse to buy him an official post, you even planned for him to marry the daughter of a minor seventh-rank official as his principal wife. Dissatisfied, I returned to my maiden home and pleaded with my elder brother to betroth Chenbi to Jingzheng. You said nothing on the surface, but when it came to the betrothal gifts, you drew distinctions. Both are your sons, yet you insist on making my son inferior to the eldest branch. It is you—your blatant favoritism—that forced us to resort to such measures. Since you favor the eldest branch so heavily, what is wrong with me favoring my own son? Since you refuse to give, I will take it myself.”
Madam Wang’s accusations, one after another, were a venting of her resentment toward the Old Marquis.
The Old Marquis, however, was infuriated. He pointed at Madam Wang and retorted, “Our dynasty has laws: the eldest son and grandson inherit the family estate. In my time, as the legitimate eldest son, I also received the largest share of the hereditary property. Why didn’t you speak up back then?”
Why not speak of unfairness? Why not speak of favoritism?
Your complaints now are merely because the benefits have not fallen upon you or Jingzheng, so you resort to unscrupulous means and commit wrongdoing.
“Be lenient with oneself, strict with others”—that describes you perfectly.
Back then, why did I arrange for Jingzheng to marry the daughter of a seventh-rank official? Because Jingzheng wanted to become an official. Without the opportunity to achieve military merits, he could only pursue a career in the civil service.
That seventh-rank official may seem insignificant, but he managed to retire from the capital’s officialdom unscathed and intact. Do you think everyone possesses such skill?
Moreover, he raised an outstanding son. That son found a capable mentor, and that mentor, in turn, had a high-ranking official as his own teacher in the court.
If one wants to serve as an official, do you think they can last long in the court without connections?
Yes, your Wang family is the Ankang Count’s Mansion, and the Wang daughter comes from a good background. But do the Wang descendants carry any weight in the court?
A short-sighted woman with long hair only knows how to compare trivialities within the inner household.
Little do you realize that you, this foolish woman, have ruined Jingzheng’s future.