Shipin Dalizheng

Rong Xian also knew that he could no longer hide this matter from Rong Wanli. No matter how terrible his life experience was, he had the right to know the truth.

He took Rong Wanli aside and explained the whole story in detail, even analyzing why he couldn't return to his ancestral home. Finally, he said, "You are grown up now, you have a family, and you will have your own children soon. Godfather respects your choice. If you are willing to return to the Rong family..."

Rong Wanli's face turned pale, "No..."

For a moment, he could not accept this shock. With his background, if he insisted on returning to his ancestral home, it would be a disaster for both the Jian'an Earl's Mansion and himself.

Rong Xian sighed, "I have thought about changing your birth mother's identity so that you can return to the Rong family with a clean record. But doing so would be truly unfair to Zeng. No matter what, she gave birth to you and died in childbirth. As a son, how could I be so heartless and ruthless as to completely erase her? Moreover, this matter is of such great importance that if the court investigates, it will not withstand scrutiny. Godfather has no better solution, and I just want you to live well."

Rong Wanli was in a state of confusion, but considering his current maturity, he felt that acknowledging his ancestral roots was completely unnecessary. Firstly, the title of Earl of Jian'an was already taken, and his presence would only serve as a trigger for others to instigate conflict. Secondly, he didn't want to face outsiders questioning his identity. Did he have to pull down his pants every time someone questioned him?

Even if everyone in the world acknowledged that he was Rong Jing's son, he and his son would always be the laughing stock of the capital.

As a son, even if others look down on his mother, he cannot look down on her himself, and he must not abandon his biological mother just because he wants to marry into the Rong family.

After a while, he figured everything out and knelt at Concubine Xian's feet and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, your nephew only has one master. He is much stronger than me. With him, the Rong family has a bright future. I am willing to follow him forever and devote myself to the Rong family and the Jian'an Earl's Mansion. This will be worthy of my bloodline."

The virtuous concubine's eyes welled up with tears as she cupped his face in her hands. "My child, I'm sorry for what you've done. I know this isn't something you can publicize, but could you please go kowtow to your father? Go to the Rong family's ancestral hall and recognize him, so he can know about this and have no regrets in his afterlife."

Rong Wanli pursed his lips. Although he didn't understand etiquette very well, he felt that it was very inappropriate. Entering the ancestral hall would be equivalent to reporting to heaven and earth. What would his biological mother do? There was no way she could enter the Rong family ancestral hall.

The Third Master and the others discussed for a while and came over to offer a suggestion, "Your Majesty, there are other solutions. We can adopt Wanli to Rong Jing as his heir. That way, outsiders won't have any complaints, and Wanli will also be included in the Rong family genealogy."

The virtuous concubine was very tempted. "Yes, yes, this is a good idea. If outsiders ask, just say that he is adopted by my eldest brother to inherit the family. Wanli, please don't refuse. This is my only wish..."

Rong Wanli hesitated. He felt something was wrong, but he didn't know what was wrong. He was nervous and had no idea what to do. He subconsciously looked at Rong Tang's expression.

The virtuous concubine sighed inwardly. Even though Rong Wanli was a member of the Rong family and three years older than Rong Tang, he was still far behind Rong Tang in terms of scheming and wisdom.

As expected, no one except Rong Tang could become the Earl of Jian'an.

She also looked at Rong Tang, because according to the rules, Rong Tang was the legal master of the Rong family, and even though she was the imperial concubine, she should not influence his thoughts.

Rong Tang said slowly, "Aunt, if we adopt him alone, outsiders will find it strange and start to investigate his background. If someone gets suspicious and uncovers something, that would be bad."

Rong Wanli hurriedly said, "That's right, Madam. There's no need. My last name is Rong, and my child's last name is Rong too. If you really want to adopt someone, you can give my child up. This way, a generation apart, outsiders won't be able to trace the whole story, and it's better for everyone."

The virtuous concubine looked sad.

Rong Tang continued, "Auntie, you haven't heard me finish yet. If we adopt just one child, outsiders will be suspicious. If we adopt more than one, there won't be any problem. So, let my second and third uncles adopt a child together. Rong Zhan and the other four are the people I trust the most, and they all have the surname Rong. If you don't mind, how about letting them become real Rong family members?"

Xianfei's body swayed, and she suddenly looked up at him, "Tang'er, do you really think so?"

Rong Tang spread his hands and said calmly, "Why not? I think the more brothers the better. As the saying goes, brothers united are stronger than iron. Aunt, don't you believe that we can make the Rong family surpass the glory of our predecessors?"

Concubine Xian subconsciously covered her eyes with her hands and felt a flash of dazzling light. At this moment, she truly understood why her sister adopted Rong Tang as her adopted son.

He can make the Rong family revive and surpass its yesterday's glory. Compared with him, my heart is still too narrow.

"Auntie listens to you."

Her father had only one title in his entire life and lived in fear, always afraid of the emperor's suspicion. Rong Tang, at such a young age, already had two titles. Under his leadership, it was possible that he would have more titles in the future.

When the three masters heard this, they felt that they could never compare to Rong Tang's in terms of their broad minds. What they cared about most were bloodlines and interests, but Rong Tang's heart could accommodate the stars and the sea.

"Good idea, good idea. This is perfect. Your Majesty, what do you think, should we have a grand or small celebration? A grand one would allow the whole clan to attend, with a banquet spread widely. A small one would allow them to kowtow in the ancestral hall, and then be recorded in the family tree."

On the other side, Rong Zhan and several others who got the news also entered the inner courtyard. When they heard the method of explosion, their whole bodies were torn apart and then pieced together again.

Several people looked at each other in confusion. Rong Shen and Rong Qianqi were fine, but Rong Zhan's old face turned red. "This... I'll just let it go. I'm already old."

He was only a few years younger than Rong Jing, and it felt weird for him to suddenly acknowledge him as his father.

Rong Wanli leaned his head on his shoulder, his eyes red, "Boss, you are already our eldest brother, so you don't need this little title. Just be my real eldest brother!"

On the other hand, Rong Shen and Rong Qianqi also reluctantly agreed. They had already signed the indenture, willing to follow as slaves for life, so there was no reason why they couldn't be brothers.

Rong Tang said, "This matter must be handled in accordance with etiquette and law, but it doesn't need to be too extravagant. Tomorrow I will go to the palace to plead my case to His Majesty, and then invite a few elders from the capital to come and observe the ceremony. Back in the village, the three elders can just open the ancestral hall and talk about it."

The matter had been decided. The Third Master wanted to talk about Li Jin, but when he saw Rong Tang shaking his head, he stopped talking.

Since Concubine Xian didn't mention this matter, either Aunt Cailan didn't tell her, or Concubine Xian didn't care about the child of an illegitimate daughter. For a proud person, it would be better to accept Rong Tang, who is not related by blood, than to accept the blood of a concubine to inherit the family.

The next day, Rong Tang entered the palace with a sign. Emperor Xuanning seemed very happy and laughed heartily, saying, "I have received great news. Um... first, what do you want?"

Rong Tang first sighed and lamented how difficult it was for him to support the uncle's mansion alone. A few days ago, he welcomed his mother's tablet back to the ancestral hall. Seeing that several of his uncles died young and left no descendants, and the pressure of carrying on the incense of several branches was also very great, so he asked Emperor Xuan Ning if he could adopt a son to carry on the incense of his ancestors.

Emperor Xuanning paced a few steps and said, "This matter does not conflict with the national law. You should discuss it with Concubine Xian. If she is willing, I have no reason to stop her. It's hard for you, at such a young age, to handle such a matter on your own."

He Daban sighed, "Yes, in other families, it's always the older generation who take care of things. It's really not easy for the young uncle."

Emperor Xuanning then asked, "Are you planning to pick a few young ones from the Rong family and raise them from childhood?"

Rong Tang paused and said, "Don't raise a child, Fermi."