Old Madam Song decided to bet for her granddaughter. She insisted that Shen Cangfeng and Wei Changying were still young, so even if Shen Cangfeng didn"t like her, Wei Changying could still change after getting married. After all, both of the families were distinguished, and as long as Wei Huan and Old Madam Song were still alive, Wei Changying would not suffer from anything.
Although Madam Song thought it was too ridiculous to make such a decision, she couldn"t seek help from others except for Old Madam Song. Also, she didn"t know whether Shen Cangfeng would like Wei Changying"s current personalities or not. If she forced Wei Changying to become virtuous, she might run counter to her desire.
After all, Wei Changying would become Shen Cangfeng"s wife. No matter how she was loved and respected by her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, a wife whose husband doesn"t love...has nothing but a t.i.tle.
From the very beginning, Old Madam Song and Madam Song hoped that Wei Changying could live as she wanted after getting married, and now that they had preferred her so much that they began to believe that Chen Ruping"s words could become true. After thinking for some time, Madam Song began to doubt that whether she should continue persuading Wei Changying to become a virtuous lady.
Wei Changying was most sensitive about the elders" att.i.tudes towards her. After she noticed that her mother began to doubt, she felt pleasant and practiced martial arts harder. Seeing and hearing this, Madam Song felt pain in her head again, but she just let Wei Changying do what she wanted.
Days went on peacefully.
... Some days before, Old Madam Song had forced Wei Huan to write a letter, asking the two lineal sons of the second branch back to Fengzhou in order to serve their grandfather and grandmother. Although the letter was written by Wei Huan, the second branch knew from their servants in Fengzhou that it was Old Madam Song who wanted Wei Changyun and Wei Changsui back to Fengzhou.
Wei Shengyi and his wife Mrs. Duanmu knew how powerful Old Madam Song was. Wei Shengyi also knew the reason why Old Madam Song asked both of his lineal sons back. Even if his father Wei Huan persuaded, she would just change two of them into one. No matter which son went to Fengzhou, they would be held as a hostage. This could not only frighten Wei Shengyi and Mrs. Duanmu, but might also alienate the brothers, for Old Madam Song didn"t tell which lineal son she wanted.
However, no matter how clear they knew about this, the second branch could not disobey their parents.
No matter how they delayed, three days after Wei Changying received the precious pair of hair clasp from her future mother-in-law, Wei Changsui had to go back to the Ruiyu Hall to visit Old Madam Song.
Wei Changsui was the second lineal son of the second branch. As the third young master, he looked handsome and fair with a scholar"s style. He could be easily liked by others at first sight. Though he knew that nothing good would happen since grandmother asked him to visit her, he still looked extremely humble in front of Old Madam Song and was trying his best to please her.
At the time of greeting the family members, having met the siblings with Madam Song and Madam Pei, Wei Changsui seemed to be more polite and humble. Facing his cousins Wei Changying and Wei Changfeng, he looked more frightened—apparently, he was afraid of Old Madam Song.
Although Wei Changsui had perfectly covered his fear, he was not able to cheat the elders.
Old Madam Song responded coldly to Wei Changsui. She didn"t like Wei Shengyi, so she also disliked the people in his branch. Since Wei Shengyi had suggested asking Wei Zhenghong to adopt Wei Changsui to Wei Huan, Old Madam Song detested this grandson even more.
Not to mention the reason why she asked him back this time was to pin down Wei Shengyi as well as to give vent to her anger.
Therefore, even if Wei Changsui tried his best to please her, Old Madam Song was not moved at all. It was just the first day since Wei Changsui returned to Fengzhou. Old Madam Song could let him do anything in one word, so she didn"t need to embarra.s.s him in a big way so quickly. Not until he served Old Madam Song dinner did she ask, "Madam Song, Changsui is going to live for a while in Fengzhou, have you prepared his yard?"
"It"s the yard that our second younger brother used to live. I have ordered some servants to tidy up some rooms so that Changsui can choose the one he likes," said Madam Song. Of course, she didn"t like the child of the second branch either, because the second branch had schemed with other people on her daughter"s marriage.
Old Madam Song replied with a nod and said to Wei Changsui, "You"ll stay here."
Wei Changsui put down his hands and agreed immediately.
Old Madam Song then said, "When your brothers were studying with Zhijiao, you should have come along, but you were a few years elder than them. Now I believe that you have already learned what they are learning now, so it"s boring for you to have lessons with them. However, Zhijiao has to engage in literature, and we have promised him since the first time he came. Every day, he teaches students for several hours...."
The meaning of Old Madam Song"s words was obvious. Wei Changsui sighed secretly. He had already known that his grandmother wouldn"t be so nice to let him learn from Uncle Zhijiao in order to make him the student of a celebrity. If Old Madam Song had been willing to do this, he could have learned from Wei Shigu when studying with his brother Wei Changyun.
When Wei Shigu became the teacher in the Ruiyu Hall, Wei Changfeng was just about to start schooling.... Also, Wei Gaochuan was lucky enough to learn from Wei Shigu with Wei Changfeng because he started schooling at the same age but was not excellent enough to exceed Wei Changfeng.
At the beginning, Wei Changsui thought that although he would be alerted by his grandmother after he came back, as long as Wei Shigu was in the Ruiyu Hall, he could find ways to ask him some questions. After all, Old Madam Song wouldn"t take him beside her all day long.
However, before he had a chance to meet Wei Shigu, his grandmother had implied him not to think about it.
But now he dared not think about it anymore. Old Madam Song had always suspected that the second branch was planning to take advantage of her descendants. Before coming to Fengzhou, Wei Changsui was told by his parents that he should never ever disobey Old Madam Song. Old Madam Song had experienced a lot in her whole life, and she was the one who had made the most decisions....
Especially in the context that Old Madam Song had believed that the second branch was bothering the first branch....
Old Madam Song was the lineal grandmother of the family, so even if she wanted Wei Shengyi to die, Wei Shengyi dared not living, let alone Wei Changsui.
Although Wei Changsui felt pity that he couldn"t learn from Wei Shigu, he pretended to be polite and said, "You are right, grandmother. My two cousins have learned from Uncle Zhijiao, so I shouldn"t bother them for my own sake. Also, I was too unfilial that I haven"t visited you for years after I went to the capital. Since I have come back this time, I would try my best to make up for what I"ve owed you. By the way, before I came here, my teacher has given me a lot of homework and asked me to finish them on my own, so I shouldn"t seek help from anyone."
"A teacher is like your father," said Old Madam Song as she nodded slightly, "since you have your teacher"s order, you can do your homework first." This did not only mean that Wei Changsui was not allowed to learn from Wei Shigu, but also mean that Old Madam Song was not going to provide him another teacher. Wei Changsui was over 20, so he needed not study every day like Wei Changfeng. After all, Wei Changsui had become an officer mostly based on his family background but not his academic achievements, so offering him a famous teacher or not was nothing to him.
However, because Wei Changsui was afraid of Old Madam Song, his heart sank and began to think, "Of course Old Madam Song knew that learning from a famous teacher or not was nothing to me, but she still did this. Based on her means, maybe her plan was more than letting me feel disappointed and upset."
After all, for Old Madam Song, it was not worth upsetting her grandson personally.
Therefore, it was hard to tell whether Old Madam Song had other attempts or not. Maybe after preventing him from studying from Wei Shigu, Old Madam Song would tell Wei Huan that he was so lazy that he even refused to learn from Wei Shigu….
Though Wei Huan appreciated the second branch because of their capability, he still felt pity for his lineal eldest son who had intrinsic shortcomings, let alone that the first branch had an intelligent son called Wei Changfeng. Wei Huan was not a lineal son, but he still attached great importance to the lineal descendants.
Though Wei Changsui had tens of thousands of thoughts in his mind, he answered politely with a "yes". While he was still feeling scared, he remembered his father"s private advice. He sighed in his mind and looked at Wei Changying and Wei Changfeng— the apples of Old Madam Song"s eye.
Wei Shengyi had told his second son that if he wanted to stay comfortable in Fengzhou, instead of depending on his grandfather Wei Huan, he should pay more attention to Wei Changying and Wei Changfeng. After all, they were still young. According to the information they got from the servants, Wei Changying and Wei Changfeng were more childish than maleficent.
Since they were children and were the descendants of the Wei Family, it was easier for Wei Changsui to please them than pleasing Old Madam Song and Madam Song.
Wei Changsui was just over 20. Because his father was an important official in the Royal Court, he was used to be imperious in the capital. However, he felt reluctant to return to Fengzhou, because he had to play humble and even please his brothers and sisters. At first, he didn"t care about Wei Shengyi"s words, but he now knew his situation well. On the first day after arriving at Fengzhou, the hatred towards him from Old Madam Song was obvious enough. If he kept being imperious, who knew what would happen to him? Ruiyu Hall needed Wei Shengyi, but not Wei Changsui....
Even if he had been Wei Shengyi, he couldn"t have killed his parents for his second lineal son. With the seniority and status in the family, as long as Old Madam Song was alive, no matter how weak Wei Zheng Hong was, the second branch could only be in an inferior situation.
Wei Changsui thought, "Wei Changying is my cousin, but she shouldn"t stay too close with me at this age. It"s better to stay with Wei Changfeng." However, no one knew whether Old Madam Song had noticed his intention of approaching Wei Changfeng— after all, since he lived here, he didn"t have any chance to meet Wei Changfeng except for greeting him.
Of course, he could have gone to the Liuhua Yard of the first branch to visit Wei Changfeng or asked him to come to the second branch, but he gave up this idea after consulting his old servant.
The old servant said, "The Old Madam doesn"t like you, but she loves the fifth young master. Now that you are not trusted by the Old Madam, if you communicate with the fifth young master, which might make him uncomfortable or fall behind in his studies, Old Madam Song will suspect you. In this case, it will become more difficult for you to explain yourself in front of her."
Wei Changsui thought for a while and agreed with the old servant. He sighed and said, "But grandmother wouldn"t let me go easily this time, and I can"t stay in Fengzhou for the rest of my life. If I don"t have a good relationship with my third sister and fifth brother, what should I do when no one speaks for me?"
He then lowered his voice and asked, "What about my grandfather...."
"Please do not," the old servant replied in anxiety, "before the fifth young master was born, the Old Madam had already intended to give the position of the Family Head to the first branch. Also, now the fifth young master is so talented that he might be the next Family Head. Therefore, if you want to be close to the Family Head, the Old Madam will be on the alert at once, worrying that you might take advantage of the fifth young master!"
Wei Changsui had pleased them so earnestly, but Old Madam Song still treated him coldly. If he ever did something harmful to Wei Changfeng, we could imagine how worse Wei Changsui"s situation would be.
"So it means that I can only be a sitting duck?" Wei Changsui felt worried and resentful as he murmured, "Although I"m not her lineal grandson, I still call her "grandmother"!"
The old servant thought for a while and said, "Although the Old Madam has been on guard against the second branch for so many years, she has never asked you and the second young master come to Fengzhou to serve her. It was all because that day in the banquet of the Shen Family, Madam Su gave her eaglewood bracelet to the daughter of the Zhiben Hall...."
"This was Zhiben Hall"s plan to drive a wedge between us and the first branch," said Wei Changsui. As anger appeared in his eyes, he lowered his voice and said, "My grandmother is so powerful, and the first branch now has my fifth brother. My father has been working so hard these years.... What"s more, the eldest sister has got married. She wouldn"t divorce in order to marry Shen Cangfeng. Even if they want to provide my fifth brother some helpers, as long as my grandmother is here, Shen Cangfeng"s power is nothing. It"s unnecessary for us to scheme on my third sister! My mother has treated the Zhiben Hall well, but they have malicious intent to divulge the secret!"
The old servant said, "The Family Head has said that your arrival here is to explain this case. But these days, the Old Madam hasn"t asked any of it yet...."
Wei Changsui suddenly felt terrified!