Old Madam Song had decided to keep an eye on the second branch, in case that they would do something harmful again to her dear granddaughter. Therefore, she immediately laid down a strategy to limit the second branch. Of course, her plan to teach them a lesson should not be known by Wei Huan.
After looking back and seeing Wei Huan, who had almost finished dressing wounds, Old Madam Song changed her words and said, "Mrs. Lu has died at an early age, so I also brought up Shengyi. If he were a good person, I wouldn"t aim at him. You see, I have never said that Shengnian and Shenghe were bad." Old Madam Song used her status as a legal mother to put a crime of unfilial on Wei Shengyi. She then looked upset and said, "In those years, he said that he would let Zhenghong adopt Changsui, don"t you know what he was planning?"
Wei Huan sighed and said, "At that time, Zhenghong had no children, Wei Shengyi did it out of kindness."
"Out of kindness?" Old Madam Song changed her sad expression as she sneered and said, "Let me ask you, does he have the authority to decide the case of adoption? Is he the Family Head or you are? He has planned such an important thing before us, do you think he"s a person who will remain in his proper sphere? Have I wronged him?! Our family is famous for cultivating Courtesy Officers from generation to generation, so don"t tell me that he doesn"t know the rules! He did it on purpose!"
"... These are the things of the past," Wei Huan said, feeling a pain in his head. "Even if he is as bad as you"ve said, and has planned to scheme against his brother, he wouldn"t go too far. What"s more, now he"s the only one taking charge of the Ruiyu Hall, so if we lose him, it"s okay for Changfeng to get the Duke t.i.tle, or take charge of the Ruiyu Hall. But as for the position of the senior commander, it"s almost impossible for them to get. In this case, how could Shengnian and Shenghe take place of him? What"s more, Duke Jingping refuses to be an official! In my opinion, giving an alert to Wei Shengyi is enough. These years we have returned to Fengzhou, and they were still in the capital, so they were inevitably instigated by someone. Fortunately, things have not gone too far yet, so you shouldn"t quarrel with me for this...."
He touched the wound on his head and made a wry smile. "I know you are worried about Changying," Wei Huan said, "But what about Changfeng? Without his uncle Wei Shengyi, who can he rely on after he becomes an officer? Can he rely on Marquis Jingcheng? In my opinion, he also might be the one who instigated this thing. Shengyi is always afraid of you, so I suppose that someone has divulged something and Marquis Jingcheng has taken advantage of it.... If Shengyi couldn"t have a position in the Royal Court, we Ruiyu Hall would gain losses. What"s worse, the Zhiben Hall would seize this opportunity to occupy our place."
While saying, serious expression appeared on Wei Huan"s face. He said, "People outside all say that Wei Qi can"t become the vice-premier without my help. But you know, although the Zhiben Hall is a branch of the Wei Family in Fengzhou, our relationship is not close. Also, we Ruiyu Hall still has some distant relatives who can become officers in the Royal Court. Why would I speak to the emperor about this? At that time, I had to do this because he was known by the emperor and the emperor asked me about this... Or else, why could he become a vice-premier and a minister in Yanzhou at the same time? Although the emperor trusted him, he also trusted me because I am one of the senior commanders! But now this honor was coveted by Wei Qi!"
People thought that the Ruiyu Hall and the Zhiben Hall were getting along well because they were from the same family. However, they didn"t know that Wei Huan and Wei Qi have been in a secret struggle for a long time. It was all because there were only six senior commanders in the Vi Dynasty, each position for one family. The Shen Family in Western Liang has only one hereditary t.i.tle without any powerful branches, so they wouldn"t struggle against each other. But in the Wei Family, there was a branch called Zhiben Hall which was as powerful as the Ruiyu Hall. Although the honor of the senior commander was pa.s.sed from generation to generation in the Ruiyu Hall, the Zhiben Hall has coveted it for once because that the inc.u.mbent Duke Jingping was not powerful.
If not that the former Duke Jingping had made a prompt decision to let Wei Huan take charge of the Ruiyu Hall, the Ruiyu Hall might have lost the position that it had in the Royal Court and Fengzhou.
Therefore, when Wei Changying was alerted by her future mother-in-law, and Old Madam Song was eager to vent for her granddaughter, Wei Huan came up with a thought that it was a design of the Marquis Jingcheng.
Old Madam Song"s face looked sullen. She said, "Yes, if not the second branch divulged the message, how would the Zhiben Hall have such a chance? Anyway, it was their fault!"
"Yes, yes, it was their fault," Wei Huan said as he sighed, "But it"s not necessary to ask both Changsui and Changyun to visit you. Because it would be exactly what the Zhiben Hall wanted to see, and we Ruiyu Hall would hence break up from the inside."
"So I decided that you should write this letter," Old Madam Song said calmly, "Just tell them that you want them to attend Wei Shigu"s lecture. At least they have learned from a celebrity in the literature field. And then find a way to make them famous so that they can get promoted faster. Use such an excuse to let them come back and I"ll ask them! Remember to warn them what they are not allowed to say!"
Wei Changyun and Wei Changsui were both above twenty and were both married. Thanks to their father, they had their official positions in their teens. Although they were not as smart as their father and grandfather, they had gained power based on their family. Therefore, Wei Huan was not willing to ask them to come back for the case of his granddaughter"s marriage. It would not only distract Wei Shengyi and deepen the misunderstanding, but also do harm to the future of his two grandsons.
But according to Old Madam Song...
Wei Shigu had a good reputation, and having the opportunity to learn from him is a kind of honor. Besides, if they had come back, based on the status of the Wei Family in Fengzhou, they could easily have a good reputation of being filial and n.o.ble... If Old Madam Song could return good for evil, her grandchildren could gain their reputation. More importantly, it could help to eliminate the hatred between Old Madam Song and the children of Wei Huan"s concubine. Even if their hatred could not disappear, at least their relations would become better.
What"s worse, now Old Madam Song was stubborn, and she would insist that the second branch had harmed the first branch unless Wei Huan asked the children of the second branch back here. However, Wei Huan thought that they were possibly designed by the Zhiben Hall— because even if the second branch had such a plan, the scheme was too simple. The scheme was not a deadly blow to the first branch and Old Madam Song, but it would further offend the mother of the first branch and their eldest sister-in-law.
Wei Huan knew his own son. Wei Shengyi would never be so stupid.
After thinking for a while, Wei Huan understood that he couldn"t explain except asking Wei Changyun and Wei Changsui to come back, but it was unnecessary to ask both of them.... It was better to ask one of them back and explain to Old Madam Song. Meanwhile, he would try to make peace. After turning over this page, they would have to work together and struggle against the Zhiben Hall.
Of course, Wei Huan knew that although Old Madam Song had said nothing mean, n.o.body knew what would happen after their grandsons come back. But if he were staying in Fengzhou.... The grandsons of his concubine would suffer, but not seriously.
It"s a matter of course that the younger generation would suffer from punishment because of the elder generation. If Old Madam Song had known that the second branch was wronged, she wouldn"t make it too worse.
Thinking about this, Wei Huan nodded at last after being urged by Old Madam Song for several times.
Because he had to stay in Fengzhou to mediate the relationship between his wife and the children of his concubine, Wei Huan couldn"t go to Liao City. After finishing writing the letter asking Wei Changsui back following Old Madam Song"s requirements, he ordered a servant to look for his third son Wei Shengnian. "Tell Song Han to deal with the case in the north part of the state," he said to Wei Shengnian, "Apart from the soldiers, he can invoke the militias. As to the state guards, the private guards of the Wei Family will take charge temporarily, so there"s nothing to worry about. If he needs money for food, I could prepare for him, but never let the northern tribes invade our territory! If the northern tribes won again this time, don"t blame me for being cruel!"
Wei Shengnian listened as he stood with his hands down. He opened and shut his mouth, unspeaking.
Wei Huan noticed it and asked, "What"s the matter?"
"Father, the Eastern Hu has not fallen yet, but we have found the northern tribes in Fengzhou, and the Liao City has entered a state of emergency, so it must be a large crowd of them," said Wei Shengnian, "I was wondering whether something has happened in the Liu Family. If so, do we need more militias? Or ask the Royal Court for help? After all, it"s a big thing that the northern tribes have crossed the Nu River!"
Wei Shengnian was a hesitating person with only a little gut. Some time ago when he had heard that the Liao City was invaded by the northern tribes, he was scared to death and had forgotten the manners. At that time, Song Han was at the scene when Wei Shengnian was scolded by Wei Huan. However, he was still worried about it, so he couldn"t help suggesting Wei Huan strengthen defense.
"Of course something has happened in the Liu Family," Wei Huan said as he gave a heavy humph. He then breathed gently and said, "But it"s not the right time thinking about it now, just leave it alone... Although a crowd of northern tribes has sneaked into Fengzhou, there won"t be too many of them. Otherwise, if they cooperated with the northern tribes on the north, the Liu Family would be doomed. However, the northern tribes are good at fighting, so how could the people in our state defend themselves? That"s why I urge Song Han to bring the troops to support them! As to the Royal Court, I have my plan!"
Although Wei Shengnian was not smart enough, after learning from his father in so many years, he could understand what Wei Huan meant. He felt surprised and said, "You mean the Liu Family... But why?"
"We"ll talk about it next time," Wei Huan said as he frowned, "Speed is important in a war, so tell Song Han to head the troop to the north immediately! No failure is allowed! By the way, don"t tell him about the Liu Family."
"Yes!" Although Wei Shengnian was surprised that the Liu Family had begun to fight against the Wei Family, he dared not to disobey his father. He pulled himself together, made a polite bow and went outside to seek for Song Han.
... In the inner-room, Old Madam Song had listened to her servant telling her everything that Wei Huan had said to Wei Shengnian. She slightly frowned. Chen Ruping asked the maids to leave and took the ma.s.sage hammer on the couch. She gently pounded Old Madam Song"s legs as she said, "Old Madam, I think maybe the second branch was wrongly accused this time."
"I think you are right," Old Madam Song muttered to herself. "However, the second branch would become disloyal. If we don"t alert them again and again, who knows what they would do?" Old Madam Song had always regarded the second branch as a thorn in her side because Wei Shengyi had tried to let Wei Zhenghong adopt Wei Changsui.
After Wei Changfeng had born, Old Madam Song, who had always disliked the second branch, began to be on guard against them. She was afraid that her only grandson would be harmed by the second branch, and that all the things belonged to Wei Huan, including his n.o.ble t.i.tle and property, would become Wei Shengyi"s. Even thinking about this would make Old Madam Song so angry that she would rather kill herself.
Although she had known that the second branch didn"t plan to slander them in front of Madam Su, Old Madam Song didn"t think that she had wronged them by scheming them. She said, "The letter has sent, let"s plan our next step until we have asked Wei Changsui. However, the case in the north part of the state is quite interesting."
"The Liu Family in Eastern Hu deliberately let the northern tribes in, and there were some troubles in Miss Wei"s marriage. It means that they want Family Head to know that something has happened in the north part of the state, but has to stay in Fengzhou," said Chen Ruping. She stopped pounding and said, "I wonder what is happening in the north part of the state."
"Even if Wei Changyun and Wei Changsui came back together, and things really happened in the north part of the state, Zhongyi may not stay in Fengzhou. After all, if he worried about me, why not take us together with him? Therefore, they didn"t expect that Zhongyi will stay in Fengzhou forever," Old Madam Song said as she shook her head. "The Liu Family is far from us. Although they could play some tricks behind us, they couldn"t change the whole situation. They were just planning for some chance. Now, we should pay attention to those near us."
"I see." Chen Ruping said.