Four Seasons Brocade – CH 088

Chapter 88 ☆、

What happened around the Old Madam quickly reached the ears of the First Madam. She had not been managing the household affairs for nothing after all these years.

“Divide the family.” The First Madam smoothed her hair and smiled. “They do have some sense.” She also strongly agreed with separating the third branch; she shared the same concerns as the Old Madam and the Second Master.

It was not that these three were dumber than Ah Wu or unable to see through the Duke of Anguo’s character, but being involved in the situation and harboring greed, they were inevitably prone to anxiety and suspicion, determined to nip any potential problems in the bud.

The formal division of the family property was brought up face-to-face between the Old Madam and the Third Master. However, the Duke of Anguo had not been informed yet.

That day, a maidservant from the Old Madam’s side came to summon him. Rong Jichang and Ah Wu exchanged a glance; it seemed the matter was settled.

Upon entering, the Old Madam, unusually polite, invited the Third Master to sit down.

“Third son, now that I am old and my eyesight is failing, I no longer have the energy to care for you three brothers. Let’s be frank. You were not born of me, so there’s bound to be a barrier. In my opinion, I’d like you to live separately. What do you think?” The Old Madam spoke with the air of a loving mother.

Third Master Rong, unable to sit still any longer, slid off the stool and quickly knelt before his mother, pleading, “Mother, have I angered you again? You may scold or beat me, but I will not utter a word. I only beg you not to send me away, lest people gossip about me behind my back, calling me unfilial!” Third Master Rong was very agitated.

The more agitated Rong Jichang became, the calmer the Old Madam grew. She had finally found her third son’s weakness. Once an official was labeled “unfilial,” his future was over. How could someone unfilial be loyal? The Old Madam smirked inwardly, determined to separate him from her son.

“What are you doing? Get up! Now that the family is in such disarray, even if you three brothers get along, there will be a rift. It’s better to separate.” The Old Madam seemed quite reasonable.

Third Master Rong quickly kowtowed, “Your son would never dare to have any disrespectful thoughts towards my brothers. That Wang woman is just a concubine, and she is not proper, so it is no wonder my brothers are not blamed. I only hope that Mother will not separate your sons so that the three of us brothers can all fulfill our filial duties to you.”

The Old Madam chuckled coldly, thinking. “Hmph, I just cannot let you be here to fulfill your filial duties. Otherwise, you might fool the old man and end up getting the better deal.”

“Third Brother, now that your family has separated, your wife will not have to serve her in-laws anymore. What’s wrong with living a quiet life?” the Second Master sneered. “Could it be that you are reluctant to give up the wealth of this mansion?”

“Second Brother, what do you mean?” The Third Master looked up at the Second Master in surprise.

“Stop playing dumb with me. What have you been doing all this time? Do not think everyone’s blind, that you are the only one capable. Hmph, let me tell you, forget about the Duke’s title. Separate as soon as possible, and we will still have a chance to meet again.” The Second Master was a hothead, still so impulsive at his age. The Third Master was deeply glad that it was better to separate off first.

“Second Brother, as your younger brother, I have absolutely no such intention.” The Third Master practically swore to the heavens.

But people were prone to projecting their own experiences onto others. The more Third Master Rong denied it, the more everyone suspected he was hiding something. The Old Madam, the Second Master, and the Second Madam put on a show, finally forcing Third Master Rong to agree to divide the family property.

Of course, the Old Madam also said that even if the family were divided, he would not suffer any losses.

“Alright, Third Brother, go tell Father about this. Just say it’s your own choice,” the Second Master declared, seemingly oblivious to his own influence.

Third Master Rong lowered his head, silent, his eyes filled with tears. His acting skills were far superior to those of his two incompetent older brothers.

“What’s going on here?” Speak of the devil, and he appears. Duke of Anguo, Rong Anjie, entered the Old Madam’s main room.

“Father,” the Second Master said awkwardly, rising to his feet.

“My father,” Third Master Rong looked at the Duke of Anguo with a face full of sorrow and pleading.

The Old Madam, with a hint of guilt yet a touch of pride, yielded the seat of honor to the Duke of Anguo, sitting to his left.

“Third son, what are you doing? What’s wrong with you looking like that?” Duke of Anguo, a man of military background, disliked his third son’s pedantic, scholarly air, even though he was filial and ambitious. He remembered how he’d suffered countless times at the hands of those ignorant, pen-wielding scoundrels in his youth.

In the Great Xia Dynasty, civil officials controlled military officials. In peacetime, military officers were treated like concubines, and even in wartime, they were constantly criticized by the armchair strategists. No wonder the Duke of Anguo disliked civil officials. This dislike extended to his illegitimate son; in his words, they were “completely incompatible.”

The Third Master Rong knelt with a thud before the Duke of Anguo, crying out with a face as if his mother had been killed, “My father, please, My father… I…”

The punctuation was truly skillful; it was impossible to tell whether the Third Master Rong was begging for a division of the family property or pleading for it not to be divided.

But the Second Master was the first to panic, shouting, “Father, the Third Master is making a fuss about dividing the family property, and Mother has already agreed!”

The Duke of Anguo slammed his hand on the table and stood up. “Who said anything about dividing the family property?” Although the Duke of Anguo was old, he was not senile. Judging from this scene, he knew that dividing the family property was not the Third Master’s idea at all. If it were, would his old wife have agreed? She probably would have already called for the family discipline and taken the opportunity to beat this unfilial son to death.

Seeing the Duke of Anguo’s anger, the Second Master became meek and dared not utter a word. Third Master Rong looked like he was about to faint—a rather pathetic act for a pretty boy like him. Of everyone present, only the Old Madam was unafraid of the Duke of Anguo; she had never been afraid since her youth.

“I…I said it. Did you not always say that you and your son are incompatible? Anyway, forcing yourselves to live under the same roof is uncomfortable for everyone, so it’s better to separate the household, and everyone will be better off,” the Old Madam said defiantly.

The Duke of Anguo was so angry his blood boiled. This foolish old woman—how could she have spilled the words he had used to comfort and deceive her behind his back? Now, father and son were even further apart.

“Separate the household? What household? I am not dead yet! What household?” Duke of Anguo’s roar could be heard throughout half of the Duke’s Mansion.

But when it came to volume, the Old Madam was no less powerful. While not as booming as the Duke of Anguo’s voice, it was high-pitched and could still reach a crescendo. “Do not think I do not know you! You are still hung up on that vixen who slept with you back then. Now, seeing our eldest son make a mistake, you want to put that little wench’s son in the open, do you not? Let me tell you, even if I kill myself, I will not let you have your way!” The Old Madam’s jealousy had been brewing for years, and it was only getting more bitter.

“You, you, back then you treated Ah Hua like that. I, I did not…” The Duke of Anguo was clearly also confused with anger.

This was seized upon by Third Master Rong. “My father, what happened to my aunt? What happened to her? I was young then; I only remember my aunt…” Actually, the Third Master Rong remembered nothing, but that did not stop him from making a well-founded guess—not seven or eight out of ten, but five or six out of ten were correct.

The Duke of Anguo’s face paled, and he dared not look at Third Master Rong again. He instantly aged, appearing like a dying old man, his face ashen.

“My father, my aunt was perfectly healthy back then…”

The Duke of Anguo waved his hand, his eyes widening. “Your aunt died of illness, died of illness.”

Third Master Rong naturally did not believe him. The Old Madam remained calm, her head held high. Duke of Anguo, however, knew that this matter could not be concealed any longer; the only way was to divide the family property; otherwise, it would likely cause future trouble.

“Alas, third son, I am sorry. But your mother is right. Now that you three brothers are in such a state, your reputation is also damaged. It’s better to separate and live independently.” The Duke of Anguo’s mind changed, but no one felt it was abrupt.

“His reputation?!” The Old Madam could not bear such words.

The Duke of Anguo glared fiercely at the Old Madam. “But your father is old, and this family still depends on you. Even if you separate from the family, this is still your home. The three of you brothers are connected by blood; no matter how great the grudges, they cannot sever this bloodline. Remember that.”

The Third Master Rong kowtowed to the Duke of Anguo. “My father, your son is unfilial. I only pray that Father and Mother live to a ripe old age so that I can fulfill my filial duties. If I separate from the family now, what reputation will I have left? My father…”

Even at this point, he still would not call him ^{(casual form)}“Father.” The Duke of Anguo knew the resentment in the Third Master’s heart. The Old Madam, however, felt much better after hearing this.

“Sigh, let’s separate then. It’s better this way.” The Duke of Anguo seemed to have no strength left to speak, using his last breath to say, “In a few days, I will invite the clan elders to preside over the ceremony. You will certainly not be treated unfairly.”

The Third Master Rong performed all night, kowtowing and weeping. When he returned to Lady Cui’s room, he was so exhausted he almost collapsed.

Lady Cui busied herself helping him take off his shoes, change his clothes, and wash his face, then quietly asked, “My Lord, is it done?” When it came to dividing the family property, Lady Cui was the happiest. The Old Madam and her two sisters-in-law—these three mountains had weighed her down for decades, almost bending her spine.

Third Master Rong nodded. “Was it Ah Wu’s clever idea to have someone trick the old man into going to the main house?” Otherwise, how could the old man have arrived at that exact moment, and the two of them, without any discussion, had a showdown to finalize the division of the family property? Otherwise, if the old man had persuaded the Old Madam behind her back, things would have been very bad.

“Yes, she seized the opportunity, saying that the Old Madam was not feeling well and was afraid you would contradict her, so she sent someone to ask Father to go and mediate.” Lady Cui then wrung out a cool, damp cloth and placed it on Third Master Rong’s forehead.

Third Master Rong lay down, holding the cloth, and let out a long, comfortable sigh.

T/N: There are two forms for “Father” here.
The Second Master calls the Old Master “Dié” which is casual and informal. Modern speech can use “Dad” (Bàba=Daddy) but that feels out of place in a historical setting and they don’t seem to have a close bond to hear him say “Papa”.
Third Master uses “Fùqīn” which is very formal and we sometimes hear it used for “X’s father” than for your own father.