The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

The Ling family members all came from poor backgrounds and were not arrogant. They took good care of Granny Dong's grandson and played with him very well.

Hongtao has a talent for serving people. Du Mingxian originally wanted her to choose a master herself, but... Hongtao said she wanted to learn cooking.

So, Xiao Zhoushi started working with Hongtao, and it turned out that Hongtao really had a talent for cooking. In a short time, Hongtao was able to handle things on her own.

She has even less opportunity to cook at home.

When she actually picked up the knife to cut vegetables, she felt like she was completely out of practice.

After she finished cooking, she hadn't even gone to find Lord Wen when he arrived first.

The two of them were very relaxed while eating, and did not adhere to the rules of not speaking while eating or sleeping.

"Si Lang has gone to the Imperial Academy. It won't be long before someone impeaches him."

Du Mingxian naturally knew that Ling Silang's identity... as long as they investigated, they would always find some clues. "The Crown Prince mentioned this matter and said he would handle it."

Lord Wen was surprised, "You've already met the Crown Prince?"

"Not long after my father left home, the Crown Prince sent a message, and we went to the Crown Prince's residence."

Lord Wen nodded, “You still need to be careful. You are outnumbered and outgunned. Before, when you were not in the capital, the Crown Prince had given you a few people who were enough to ensure your safety, but that won’t be the case now.”

"This is the capital, as you know yourself. It's full of people trained by various government departments, so you have to be extremely careful."

"Father, don't worry, we will be careful. The Crown Prince is helping us now, and we will also be careful ourselves. Right now, even if my husband goes out, not many people will recognize him. The key is after the New Year. If my husband goes to take the imperial examination, more people will recognize him then."

Ling Silang was an official back then, but now he only interacts with students. How many of those students would recognize him?

Even if he went to the Imperial Academy, few people would recognize him. And even if they did, the people there were mostly old scholars who would analyze who was who... there were very few of them.

"I've already had the steward give the people in the manor a warning. In a couple of days, I'll have someone send word that I've adopted another daughter."

"Father, should we wait a bit? My husband hasn't taken the exam yet. What if... someone says we got in through connections? He'll be upset then."

Lord Wen had also considered it, and said, "Alright, as you wish."

"Thank you father."

Lord Wen waved his hand, "Since you call me father, don't stand on ceremony with me."

"Yes."

After the two finished their meal, Lord Wen received news that Old Madam Wen had woken up. Du Mingxian did not want to visit the Old Madam and suggested leaving, which Lord Wen did not stop her from doing.

After Du Mingxian left, Lord Wen went to see Old Madam Wen.

Madam Wen is partially paralyzed. She can move around, but it is difficult for her. She can speak, but she cannot tolerate anger, as it would be fatal if she got angry.

When Lord Wen rushed over, he found Old Madam Wen leaning against the bed, with a maid feeding her porridge. Old Madam Wen ate listlessly, as if she had lost her soul.

He waited a while longer, and after having eaten with others, he called out, "Mother, is there anything else that's bothering you?"

Madam Wen snapped out of her daze, turned her head, and found Lord Wen already in the room. She said weakly, "You've come to listen."

"Ah."

"Mother, I was wrong, I'm sorry." When Old Madam Wen spoke, she was extremely agitated, which gave Lord Wen a big fright.

"Mother, please speak calmly. You must not get agitated. Your health is not good enough to handle anger. You must not get angry."

Madam Wen took a deep breath, then another, and barely managed to control her emotions before saying, "I was blind."

Lord Wen did not respond. Mother rarely referred to herself as "Niang," but whenever she did say "Niang," it was basically what she was thinking. What did "Niang" do wrong this time?

"It's your mother's fault. If it weren't for all that mess with the Cheng family, you might have children and grandchildren by now, and that child... she wouldn't have died."

"Mother, it was all destined by heaven."

"No, no, it's all because of me. If I hadn't done those things in the middle, she wouldn't have gotten into trouble. There would have been no loophole for Cheng Yu to exploit."

Lord Wen remained silent. He knew these were his mother's true thoughts, but he couldn't be sure what she meant by saying them now.

"You said Mingxian is back, and I hate her and don't want to see her. If I see her, will Wen Shiyan have no chance to take away my things?"

“Mother, even if you have met Mingxian, as long as Wen Shiyan still cares about your things, she will find a way to get them in the future. The key is still your own responsibility.”

"No one dares to force you if you don't like it."

Old Madam Wen shed tears. She was truly heartbroken. She treated Wen Shiyan like her own granddaughter and had always treated them well over the years, but this was how they treated her.

"I've been confused all these years."

"Mother, please stop talking. What's done is done, and we have to move on. The doctor said that you can't get too excited right now. As long as you have a good mindset, nothing else matters."

How could Old Madam Wen not be angry? She really loved Cheng Yu and Wen Shiyan. She never expected that Wen Shiyan would directly snatch money from her for some silver.

"How can it not be a big deal? So many things, and that little bitch took them all."

Taking the opportunity, Lord Wen suggested, "If Mother is unwilling to accept this, we can report it to the authorities. Reporting it to the authorities will put pressure on her. I think she will spend money, but not too much."

Madam Wen hesitated for a moment, which was rare for her. How should she report this to the authorities?

“Those two are from our family after all. If we really put them in jail, our family’s reputation will be completely ruined.”

“Mother, these are not things you should worry about. Right now, we don’t need a good reputation, we just need to vent our anger. It’s up to you whether you want to or not.”

This time, Madam Wen wasn't unhappy. If she could move, she really wanted to hit her directly, "After all, we were once family."

“Since Mother says so, then… then if Wen Shiyan does anything outrageous in the future, you’ll have to put up with it. After all, when she goes back to the Wen family now, she can only sit in your courtyard and talk to you. No one else pays any attention to her.”

When Madam Wen thought of Wen Shiyan's hateful expression when she snatched the things, she hesitated for a moment, then thought hard and said, "If it doesn't work, then we'll report it to the authorities. We can't let that girl take all those things. These are what I left for you brothers."

"Mom, keep these things for yourself. You're not that old yet. Buy some things you like. Living a comfortable life is the best thing."

When Madam Wen heard her son's words of advice, she felt extremely sad. Her son had said the same thing before, and she had gotten angry because he thought she was superfluous and didn't want her to get involved. Now, looking back, she realized that she really wasn't a good mother.