Chapter Ten: The Root of Family Chaos

  Speaking of Master Zong's foolish deeds back then, it is still the root cause of the current mess in the Nanhou Mansion.

  At the end of the Ming dynasty, the Zhao family was not a big clan. Apart from the main house, there were only two other branches: the second and third houses of County Duke Zhao Zhu's family, who were small landowners in Fengxian. The second house produced a minor military officer named Zhao Kui, while the third house had two sons who were both monitor students and owned a considerable amount of good land, making them relatively prosperous. Only the main house was struggling, as the old master was just an accountant for a large merchant, and his wife's family, the Qian clan, relied on him to make ends meet, living a tight life. Compared to the second and third houses, they were somewhat inferior, and often had some complaints.

  When the Qing army marched south, the master of Zongfang's household received news early and fled with his family. Zongfang also rushed home to pick up his wife and children. At this time, he made a mistake, seeing that the second and third households had money, and if they encountered military disaster, they might not be so arrogant. So he concealed the news and instead found an excuse to borrow several dozen taels of silver from each of the second and third households, without arousing their suspicion. Then he fled with his wife, children, and his father-in-law's family.

  When the Qing army entered Nanjing, both old masters of the three houses were gone. The news from the countryside was blocked, and when the news arrived in Fengxian, the Zhao family was in a panic. The second house had only Zhao Zhu's parents, wife, and eldest daughter, while the third house had only one young son, who is now the eighth old master. They could only hastily pack up their valuables and flee their home. In the chaos, the eighth old master broke his arm, and he had just obtained the title of "Xiucai". This injury made it difficult for him to even write, so he had to give up his career path. The weak and elderly women and children of the second house encountered the family members of Emperor Taizu during their escape, but unfortunately, they were separated again soon after. It wasn't until several years later that they were reunited, by which time County Duke Zhao Zhu's parents had already passed away.

  But it is said that the old master of the Zong house, along with his family and in-laws, fled in a panic, hearing that Emperor Taizu had pacified Beijing. They then turned around and escaped into the capital, where they suddenly discovered that Zhao Zhu, the elder brother of the second branch of the family, was actually one of Emperor Taizu's most trusted generals. He became flustered, fearing that his own actions would be exposed, so he lied to Zhao Zhu, telling him that his parents, wife, and daughters, along with the Eighth Old Master, had all died in the war. Since Zhao Zhu was preparing to head north to fight against the Qing army, he advised him to remarry a woman from the first branch of the family, have children, and continue the incense fire of the second branch. Then, he pushed out his wife Qian Shi's younger sister, who became Old Lady Qian.

  Zhao Zhu was heartbroken over the "death" of his family members and worried that if he died on the battlefield, his parents' ancestral line would be cut off. He agreed to marry a distant relative, but with one condition: as long as he couldn't confirm the death of his parents, wife, and daughter, he wouldn't take a new wife. Therefore, Qian Lao could only become his second wife, and she would have to wait until he had buried his parents, wife, and daughter before he could make her his official wife. Zong Fang's old master was eager to finalize this marriage arrangement and agreed to it, not believing that the people in the second or third branches of the family could escape the war either.

  Qian Lao's wife got pregnant soon after entering the house. When Zhao Zhu went on an expedition, he left her in the care of Zong Fang's elderly couple. He felt at ease when he left, and by the time he returned to Beijing after finishing the war, his son had been born. The problem was that Taizu Emperor's family members were also escorted to Beijing around this time, and upon comparison, Zong Fang's lie was exposed!

  The soldiers were in chaos, and at this time, there was no place to find the whereabouts of Zhao Zhu's parents, wife, and daughter. The eldest son had already been born, and Qian Lao Yiniang had not committed any mistakes, but still showed great care. Zhao Zhu could only keep this concubine, but he had no good feelings towards Zongfang Old Master anymore. Zongfang Old Master, in order to maintain his position as the head of the first family, reluctantly stepped down and let his son take over the family affairs. During this time, it was natural that Qian's sisters helped to speak well, with Zongfang Old Master's crimes, such a punishment was truly light.

  Zhao Zhuoyuan's first wife, Qin Shi, took their daughter to Beijing with her mother-in-law's coffin. By then, Zhao Kuang was already four years old. Qin Shi's body had been worn out by life and she could no longer bear children, so she could only tolerate the existence of concubines and illegitimate children. However, she could never forgive the patriarch of the Zong house and the Qian family for what they did, and she refused to see anyone from the Zong house again until her death, when she was sent back to her hometown for burial. Nevertheless, the Zong house only declined for a few years before it flourished again after returning to its old home in Fengxian. Although there were still three branches of the family that held grudges against him, many distant relatives and people with the same surname came to join the clan, and it eventually developed into a large family with three internal branches and nine external branches.

  Qin's family in the capital, Hou Fu, had Empress Taizu as a backing, suppressing Old Lady Qian from being arrogant. Zhao Jiong endured his anger for over ten years. However, Zhao Zhu insisted on recording Zhao Jiong under his first wife's name, making him the legitimate son, to report to the imperial court and establish the heir's status. This broke Qin's heart, and she no longer had any expectations of Zhao Zhu from then on.

  The Qin family married off their daughter and then began to look for a poor but scholarly girl from a good family in the capital. Zhao Zhuo became the eldest son and was pleased with himself, but when he heard that she was looking for a wife for him, he was afraid that she would take revenge on him, so he deliberately chose an unsuitable daughter-in-law for himself, so that he wouldn't have a powerful wife's family to rely on in the future. At that time, the Niu family had just produced a concubine and was still favored, it was a glorious time. However, until Niu Shi entered the house, Qin Shi never said a word, later she died, and before her death, she left a will, others only knew then, originally she was looking for those girls to be the next wife of her husband Zhao Zhu.

  A year later, Zhang's wife married into the Zhao family and gave birth to Zhao Jiong. This only legitimate son formed a competitive situation with the eldest illegitimate son who had been sealed as the heir.

  It can be said that if Master Zongfang had not concealed the news of war back then, the parents and wives of the county magistrate would not have been separated from him. If Master Zongfang had not taken charge of marrying Qian Lao to the county magistrate as his second wife, giving birth to Zhao Kuang, there would not have been the mistake of the eldest son having no title and the youngest son inheriting the title. For this chaotic situation in the second house of the Zhao family, Master Zongfang is at least 70% responsible. He also lost the position of clan leader because of this. In the decades that followed, although Master Zongfang appeared to be prosperous on the surface, he actually had to look at the face of the second house when making every move.

  Today, Zong Fangyu, the old master of the Zhao family, is willing to offer advice to the newly appointed Duke of Jian'an, Zhao Jiong. He has a reason for doing so, which is related to this matter. He explained to Zhang Shi and Zhao Jiong that he did not want Zhao Jiong to make mistakes and set a bad example for the family members, making them learn to be unfilial and unbrotherly in the future. When dividing the family property, the eldest son would only care about money and ignore his brothers' lives, allowing concubines to sit on an equal footing with the legitimate wife, and even pushing the legitimate wife aside... At that time, the Zhao family would truly become a laughing stock in the eyes of others. As a nouveau riche family, they were already being looked down upon for their lack of etiquette, and there were only a few promising children in the clan. Although the Duke of Jian'an's residence was in the capital and could ignore public opinion, other clan members still had to live in Fengxian. Master Fangyu really did not want to be like his father, blinded by personal gain and causing trouble for the family.

  Zhang and Zhao Zhuo were both persuaded by him, although Yu Daliye was closer to Zhao Jiong's side, but judging from his usual behavior, he had never done anything excessive to the mother and son, since he was willing to speak up for Zhang Shi and fight for more benefits for Zhao Zhuo, shouldn't he be trustworthy?

  They promised to consider the matter of escorting the coffin back to their hometown and asked Master Rui to return home and wait for news. Master Rui earnestly advised them, "What's there to consider? Take advantage of the fact that the Marquis has not changed his mind yet and settle the matter quickly. During the mourning period, you have nothing to do anyway, so go back to the south and live there for a year or two. After the mourning is over, it won't be too late to return to Beijing. The capital city is bustling, I'm afraid Brother Zhuo can't focus on his studies, unlike the peace and quiet of the countryside, which is more suitable for studying."

  Zhang fell silent for a moment before making a decision: "This is right, we will follow the southern return." Zhao Jiong was somewhat surprised by his mother's words, but also silently accepted them.

  Mr. Wei's face lit up with joy, and he suddenly stood up: "Good! Good! Good! I'll go tell Master Hou right away, so he won't change his mind later. You can rest assured, with me around, you won't be taken advantage of!" With that, he hastily left.

  Mi heard it from under the window for a while, saw Mr. Yu walking away, and hurriedly lifted the curtain to enter: "What Mr. Yu said, can it really come true? I don't know why, but listening to it always feels somewhat empty."

  "What I'm worried about is something else," said Zhao Jiong, "I always feel that Big Brother and Sister-in-law want to take us back home because they're afraid we'll mention his unfilial behavior to outsiders while living in the capital. Originally, escorting the coffin back to our hometown wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm afraid once we get back, they'll have our clansmen detain us and not let us return to the capital."

  " What's there to be afraid of? I am the wife of the Duke, and you are a scholar. Among the Zhao family, except for that unfilial son Zhao Kuang, only your eighth uncle has any official status, and he won't help them. Who can trap us? If things really get out of hand, I also have my natal family to rely on!"

  Zhang was a native of Songjiang Prefecture. When she married into the Zhao family, although her family was poor, they were a family of scholars for generations. Now, several members of her natal family have become scholars, and two of them have already become officials, with some reputation in their hometown. Fengxian and Songjiang are not far apart, and she is not someone who has no relatives to turn to.

  Before long, a message was sent from the direction of Rui Dà Lǎoye, and Zhao Jiong had agreed to his invitation. It was decided that after the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, they would set out southward with the coffin.

  The following days were very busy, Zhao Jiong had to submit an application report to the emperor, stating that his late father had a last wish, hoping to return to his hometown and be buried there. The honor of being buried in the imperial mausoleum could only be given to others. The emperor was reluctant, but still agreed to his request. Zhao Jiong immediately began preparing carriages, boats, and luggage.

  While Zhang and Zhao Zhuo were busy packing up all the large pieces of furniture and things they didn't need, letting Zhang's dowry servant, Lu Mama, send them to their new home and arrange them neatly. There was also a sum of money that Lu Mama personally buried in the new house, preparing for future use when they returned to Beijing. Lu Mama and her family had already been assigned to Zhao Zhuo's household, responsible for taking care of the house. Several other servants and maids would accompany their masters south, while Wei Ge'er's wet nurse found an excuse to resign, which suited Mi Shi just fine as she never liked her anyway.

  On the fifteenth of August, the reunion dinner was held separately by the second and third branches. On the seventeenth, everyone set off and boarded a large ship heading south. Zhao Kuang took the coffin of Duke Gong with him, along with Zhao Yu and some servants on one boat; Zhang Shi, Zhao Jiong, Mi Shi, and two children accompanied by several male and female servants were on another boat; the remaining servants with luggage were on yet another boat, and there was also a guard ship. The whole group set off grandly from Tongzhou Wharf.