Chapter 76 – Family Separation
“Of course! It’s all yours!” Yu Wen smiled as he rubbed his daughter’s head and bantered with her, “In order to reward you for your earlier generosity, this large silver ingot worth fifty taels will be given to you as your personal funds, you can use it to buy whatever you want!”
For Yu Yuan’s betrothal, Madam Chen had given Madam Wang some of the good fabric she had saved up in the past and used it for the bride price for Yu Yuan’s wife-to-be.
This was a real stroke of luck!
Yu Tang smiled so hard that her eyes squinted into tiny crescent moons. She quickly held the silver ingot in her arms, and they went to see Madam Chen.
Yu Wen and Yu Tang had intentionally concealed some things from Madam Chen, so she didn’t know that this silver was obtained by the father-daughter duo fleecing the Lu family. She thought that Yu Wen had done a good deed and thus received a reward from the Lu family. When she saw the extra silver, she was overjoyed but upon realising that Yu Wen gave Yu Tang 50 silver taels, she couldn’t help but nag him. “She is only a little girl! If she needs something, she can ask us, and we’ll always provide for her. How can you give her so much silver at one go?”
Yu Wen has always been generous person, moreover, he didn’t consider Yu Tang to be a young girl raised in the inner courtyards who didn’t know how the world works. He said in reply, “She is not so little anymore. When she has her own silver, she’ll feel more secure. Don’t worry about it.”
Madam Chen saw that Yutang was tightly guarding the fifty taels of silver in her arms and felt that she could not get it back even if she tried, so she simply closed her eyes and pretended not to see anything. She stopped mentioning it and spoke instead of Ma Xiuniang’s matter with Yutang. “She just went to pay her respects to her in-laws. Listening to Mrs. Ma’s words, the in-laws seem to be very satisfied with her, so she wants to take advantage of this opportunity to establish her authority in the home as well. She is inviting you to go over for a visit. When you go over, remember to dress appropriately – don’t embarrass her.”
Yu Tang agreed and made preparations to visit Ma Xiuniang.
Meanwhile another momentous event was happening in Lin’an City.
The Li Patriarch house wanted to separate from Li Duan’s branch house!
The Li Patriarch house wanted to invite Pei Yan to be the intermediary and preside over the separation together with Governor Tang.
Everyone was so shocked to hear this news that their jaws felt as if they would fall off at any moment.
This kind of major separation had not occurred in Lin’an for many years.
As Yu Wen had put it, “It only happened once when I was still a young child, when your grandfather was still alive.”
Madam Chen hurriedly asked, “What would be the implications of that?”
Yu Wen thought about it for a while and said, “Actually, it’s not a big deal. It’s just that the two families wouldn’t pay respects to their ancestors together. But I just can’t figure out why the Li patriarch would do that. Li Duan’s family is doing well now, so why do they want to separate?”
Yu Tang was more concerned about another matter. She asked, “Father, has Third Master Pei agreed to act as an intermediary for the Li family?”
Yu Wen didn’t know either, but he pondered for a while and said, “I think he should be agreeable. After all, the Li family is a distinguished and well-respected family in Lin’an City.”
Yu Tang listened as she drank a sip of tea.
In her former life, Pei Yan was much more of a mystery and rarely intervened in such matters. In this life, it has not even been a year since he took over as the Pei family’s patriarch and he has already stepped in to preside over two disputes. Was it because he had more troubles in this life? Or was it because in this life she had more contact with Pei Yan and thus understood more about him?
When Master Wu came to discuss about this matter with Yu Wen, Yu Wen couldn’t help but ask, “Will Third Master Pei accept their invitation to be the intermediary?”
“Third Master Pei was said to be away from Lin’an City.” Master Wu lowered his voice and said, “The Li family patriarch house and Li Duan went over to the Pei’s estate several times but were rejected at the door as he wasn’t at home. We assumed that third master Pei just did not want to get involved in this matter, but just the other day, we learned that third master Pei left for Hangzhou City and still hasn’t returned till today! As per Teacher Shen of the local school, it seems that an imperial envoy visited Hangzhou city, and that imperial envoy was one of Third Master Pei’s peers, and thus the Zhejiang governor invited Third Master Pei to go over to accompany his guest.”
Yu Wen shook his head and said frowning, “Third Master Pei is still in mourning!”
“We have to focus on those living.” Master Wu did not feel the same, he added, “After the mourning period is over, with the Pei family eldest master no longer around, and the two young masters of the eldest house with no merit to their name as they are still young, and with third master Pei inheriting the patriarch position and no longer serving as an official, it is imperative for second master Pei to build his relationships in court and raise up the ranks, in order to secure their family’s position and power. Even if third master Pei family is unwilling, for the sake of the Pei Family’s future, he has to do it!”
This made Yu Tang recall of the past life, second master Pei did indeed rise up the ranks in court and held a prominent official position. She couldn’t remember the exact post, but whenever the Li family mentioned him, they often mentioned him with some caution.
Yu Wen said: “Then will the Li family wait for third master Pei to return before they decide on the separation?”
Master Wu looked around furtively and once he saw that only Yu Tang was in the room making some tea, he lowered his guard and whispered, “You’re still unaware
of this. The Li Patriarch house and Li Duan’s house had a nasty fallout, the specific contents of the altercation were not disclosed but, most likely it had something to do with your family’s dispute.”
Yu Wen was confused. He asked, “What has it got to do with my family?”
“Well…” Master Wu stroked his chin as he answered, “Think about it, in the past, before Li Duan’s family gained prominence, the Li family patriarch house helped them a lot. Once Li Duan’s family became successful, apart from being exempted from paying taxes, what other benefits did they get? But after these unfortunate incidents, the patriarch family was also dragged down by them. Now with the Li patriarch house also having a talented scholar, they too can be exempted from taxation. If you think about it further, Li Duan’s family acted with such ruthlessness, instead of being burdened by Li Duan’s family, it would be better to take this opportunity to split up and break off ties with Li Duan’s family, so that everyone can live their own separate lives.”
This was something that neither Yu Wen nor Yu Tang had thought of.
Their family and Li Duan’s family’s dispute actually led to such an outcome.
Yu Wen still felt that it was too risky for the Li family patriarch house to take such a drastic action. He replied, “But Scholar Li is already in his forties… in case something happens……”
In case he dies, the Li family will still have to pay taxes. This wasn’t a small negligible sum of money. The whole Li family will be involved. If it was not settled correctly, it would cause the Li family clan members to revolt and demand a change in patriarch head.
Master Wu smirked, “You still can’t figure it out? Surely, there must be someone backing up the Li family patriarch house! Otherwise, why would Li family patriarch house dare to take such a big risk!”
Yu Wen still didn’t quite understand.
Master Wu shook his head and laughed. “You really are a simple man with a straight-forward mind. Just forget about it. Today I came to ask you about something else. I would like you to help me make a decision.”
Yu Wen is not that kind of person who’s obsessed with finding out the answers. As he was unable to figure it out, he swiftly put this matter out of his mind, and asked Master Wu about his purpose.
Master Wu replied, “I have a new business proposition and wanted to see if you were interested. I have a nephew doing business in Ningbo, and they have a fleet of vessels heading out to sea soon. He’s currently seeking capital funding for the trip, but I have just repaired my family’s oil factory a few days ago and do not have much funds on hand. I was wondering if you would like to join forces with me and invest?”
Yu Wen had never thought of doing business with his neighbors, let alone participating in the maritime business, which he knew nothing about.
Master Wu also knew of this and said: “You don’t have to reply me now. You should discuss with your family first. If you think it’s too risky, but you have some extra silver at home, you can also lend it to me, and I’ll pay you at 5% interest.”
Yu Wen couldn’t make up his mind at this moment, so after exchanging some pleasantries, Master Wu left.
Yu Tang was contemplating over this.
Previously, she sold her family’s estate to raise funds for her parents’ funeral and lived at her eldest uncle’s house. Although she was longer neighbors with Master Wu, but she still heard about some of the happenings in Master Wu’s family. Master Wu’s family did not suffer a downfall, and he was not involved in the maritime business.
What is going wrong in this life, that so many things are changing?
Could it be because of those two hundred taels of silver from the Lu family?
Without her past life experiences, it was difficult for Yu Tang to judge whether this matter was a good idea or not.
This made her somewhat frustrated.
When Yu Wen asked for her opinion, she said, “Maybe you could someone to ask around and find out what kind of fleet they have and their crew members?”
If she had more information, she might be able to know if the outcome of the fleet was favorable or not.
If the fleet returns safely, they can earn a lot of profit from it.
It was not easy to sail out to sea. Although she may not know exactly which ships returned safely, she would definitely know about those fleets that didn’t make it back as news would have spread about those fleets met with casualties.
Yu Wen had his own opinions, saying: “I’m not comfortable doing business like this. According to me, I don’t covet what’s not mine, and other people shouldn’t be envious of what’s mine either. If Master Wu is really determined to do this business, our family will just lend him the silver. If he’s unable to repay the loan, then we’ll just treat the two hundred taels of silver from the Lu family as an additional bonus.”
Yu Tang hid her smile.
Her father was such a person.
“Why don’t we ask my older cousin for advice?” Yu Tang trusted Yu Yuan’s judgment more than her father’s, “These days, older cousin is helping Eldest Uncle to manage the affairs in the stores, so what he hears and sees will be more than us.”
Yu Wen felt that it made sense and called Yu Yuan over for a discussion.
Yu Yuan was against the idea.
He commented, “Since my previous trip to Hangzhou, I have been keeping an eye on the business dealings there. I heard that the maritime business is difficult, and waters run deep, and so if we really want to participate, we must carefully inquire about all the details clearly beforehand. We need to proceed with caution and not just follow the crowd blindly, envious of their profits.”
Yu Tang agreed with Yu Yuan.
However, for the sake of friendship, Yu Wen still lent a hundred taels of silver to Master Wu.
Yu Tang couldn’t help but look at the heavens in resignation when she found out about it.
She felt that their family would never be able to become wealthy.
Soon after, the separation of the Li Patriarch House and Li Duan’s branch family was concluded.
The Li Patriarch House was so eager for the separation that they did not even wait for Li Yi’s side to reply with their consent before they forcibly split apart the clan with Li Duan’s branch family.
Everyone felt that the Li Patriarch House was too hasty, but the Li Patriarch House announced that Li Duan’s family had violated the ancestral tradition and did not wish to be restrained by the Patriarch House, so instead of causing unhappiness for all the parties involved, it was better for them to separate.
The previous incidents where the Li family kidnapped Yutang as they failed to secure the marriage, and their family servant arbitrarily ordered the fugitives to commit murder, were again brought up for discussion by the people of Lin’an City.
There are all sorts of comments about it.
In general, most commented that Madam Lin was too cruel and that the Li family’s morals were corrupt.
Li Duan was so worried that even the corners of his mouth blistered.
Madam Lin was livid. She yelled “Who are these people spewing nonsense? Ah Duan, we can’t just let this matter slide! Originally, we were concerned about offending the patriarch house, but they didn’t appreciate our generous concessions! It’s better to separate the clan and you two brothers should study hard, and in just a few years’ time, we may even become the second Pei family.”
How can it be so simple?
Li Duan couldn’t vet his frustrations in front of his mother, and was about reply with a smile in agreement, when he heard a man say in a jovial tone, “Why is aunt losing her temper? Fortunately, my cousin is filial and obeys you in everything. If it were me, I would already be arguing with my mother.”
Chapter 76 – Family Separation
“Of course! It’s all yours!” Yu Wen smiled as he rubbed his daughter’s head and bantered with her, “In order to reward you for your earlier generosity, this large silver ingot worth fifty taels will be given to you as your personal funds, you can use it to buy whatever you want!”
For Yu Yuan’s betrothal, Madam Chen had given Madam Wang some of the good fabric she had saved up in the past and used it for the bride price for Yu Yuan’s wife-to-be.
This was a real stroke of luck!
Yu Tang smiled so hard that her eyes squinted into tiny crescent moons. She quickly held the silver ingot in her arms, and they went to see Madam Chen.
Yu Wen and Yu Tang had intentionally concealed some things from Madam Chen, so she didn’t know that this silver was obtained by the father-daughter duo fleecing the Lu family. She thought that Yu Wen had done a good deed and thus received a reward from the Lu family. When she saw the extra silver, she was overjoyed but upon realising that Yu Wen gave Yu Tang 50 silver taels, she couldn’t help but nag him. “She is only a little girl! If she needs something, she can ask us, and we’ll always provide for her. How can you give her so much silver at one go?”
Yu Wen has always been generous person, moreover, he didn’t consider Yu Tang to be a young girl raised in the inner courtyards who didn’t know how the world works. He said in reply, “She is not so little anymore. When she has her own silver, she’ll feel more secure. Don’t worry about it.”
Madam Chen saw that Yutang was tightly guarding the fifty taels of silver in her arms and felt that she could not get it back even if she tried, so she simply closed her eyes and pretended not to see anything. She stopped mentioning it and spoke instead of Ma Xiuniang’s matter with Yutang. “She just went to pay her respects to her in-laws. Listening to Mrs. Ma’s words, the in-laws seem to be very satisfied with her, so she wants to take advantage of this opportunity to establish her authority in the home as well. She is inviting you to go over for a visit. When you go over, remember to dress appropriately – don’t embarrass her.”
Yu Tang agreed and made preparations to visit Ma Xiuniang.
Meanwhile another momentous event was happening in Lin’an City.
The Li Patriarch house wanted to separate from Li Duan’s branch house!
The Li Patriarch house wanted to invite Pei Yan to be the intermediary and preside over the separation together with Governor Tang.
Everyone was so shocked to hear this news that their jaws felt as if they would fall off at any moment.
This kind of major separation had not occurred in Lin’an for many years.
As Yu Wen had put it, “It only happened once when I was still a young child, when your grandfather was still alive.”
Madam Chen hurriedly asked, “What would be the implications of that?”
Yu Wen thought about it for a while and said, “Actually, it’s not a big deal. It’s just that the two families wouldn’t pay respects to their ancestors together. But I just can’t figure out why the Li patriarch would do that. Li Duan’s family is doing well now, so why do they want to separate?”
Yu Tang was more concerned about another matter. She asked, “Father, has Third Master Pei agreed to act as an intermediary for the Li family?”
Yu Wen didn’t know either, but he pondered for a while and said, “I think he should be agreeable. After all, the Li family is a distinguished and well-respected family in Lin’an City.”
Yu Tang listened as she drank a sip of tea.
In her former life, Pei Yan was much more of a mystery and rarely intervened in such matters. In this life, it has not even been a year since he took over as the Pei family’s patriarch and he has already stepped in to preside over two disputes. Was it because he had more troubles in this life? Or was it because in this life she had more contact with Pei Yan and thus understood more about him?
When Master Wu came to discuss about this matter with Yu Wen, Yu Wen couldn’t help but ask, “Will Third Master Pei accept their invitation to be the intermediary?”
“Third Master Pei was said to be away from Lin’an City.” Master Wu lowered his voice and said, “The Li family patriarch house and Li Duan went over to the Pei’s estate several times but were rejected at the door as he wasn’t at home. We assumed that third master Pei just did not want to get involved in this matter, but just the other day, we learned that third master Pei left for Hangzhou City and still hasn’t returned till today! As per Teacher Shen of the local school, it seems that an imperial envoy visited Hangzhou city, and that imperial envoy was one of Third Master Pei’s peers, and thus the Zhejiang governor invited Third Master Pei to go over to accompany his guest.”
Yu Wen shook his head and said frowning, “Third Master Pei is still in mourning!”
“We have to focus on those living.” Master Wu did not feel the same, he added, “After the mourning period is over, with the Pei family eldest master no longer around, and the two young masters of the eldest house with no merit to their name as they are still young, and with third master Pei inheriting the patriarch position and no longer serving as an official, it is imperative for second master Pei to build his relationships in court and raise up the ranks, in order to secure their family’s position and power. Even if third master Pei family is unwilling, for the sake of the Pei Family’s future, he has to do it!”
This made Yu Tang recall of the past life, second master Pei did indeed rise up the ranks in court and held a prominent official position. She couldn’t remember the exact post, but whenever the Li family mentioned him, they often mentioned him with some caution.
Yu Wen said: “Then will the Li family wait for third master Pei to return before they decide on the separation?”
Master Wu looked around furtively and once he saw that only Yu Tang was in the room making some tea, he lowered his guard and whispered, “You’re still unaware
of this. The Li Patriarch house and Li Duan’s house had a nasty fallout, the specific contents of the altercation were not disclosed but, most likely it had something to do with your family’s dispute.”
Yu Wen was confused. He asked, “What has it got to do with my family?”
“Well…” Master Wu stroked his chin as he answered, “Think about it, in the past, before Li Duan’s family gained prominence, the Li family patriarch house helped them a lot. Once Li Duan’s family became successful, apart from being exempted from paying taxes, what other benefits did they get? But after these unfortunate incidents, the patriarch family was also dragged down by them. Now with the Li patriarch house also having a talented scholar, they too can be exempted from taxation. If you think about it further, Li Duan’s family acted with such ruthlessness, instead of being burdened by Li Duan’s family, it would be better to take this opportunity to split up and break off ties with Li Duan’s family, so that everyone can live their own separate lives.”
This was something that neither Yu Wen nor Yu Tang had thought of.
Their family and Li Duan’s family’s dispute actually led to such an outcome.
Yu Wen still felt that it was too risky for the Li family patriarch house to take such a drastic action. He replied, “But Scholar Li is already in his forties… in case something happens……”
In case he dies, the Li family will still have to pay taxes. This wasn’t a small negligible sum of money. The whole Li family will be involved. If it was not settled correctly, it would cause the Li family clan members to revolt and demand a change in patriarch head.
Master Wu smirked, “You still can’t figure it out? Surely, there must be someone backing up the Li family patriarch house! Otherwise, why would Li family patriarch house dare to take such a big risk!”
Yu Wen still didn’t quite understand.
Master Wu shook his head and laughed. “You really are a simple man with a straight-forward mind. Just forget about it. Today I came to ask you about something else. I would like you to help me make a decision.”
Yu Wen is not that kind of person who’s obsessed with finding out the answers. As he was unable to figure it out, he swiftly put this matter out of his mind, and asked Master Wu about his purpose.
Master Wu replied, “I have a new business proposition and wanted to see if you were interested. I have a nephew doing business in Ningbo, and they have a fleet of vessels heading out to sea soon. He’s currently seeking capital funding for the trip, but I have just repaired my family’s oil factory a few days ago and do not have much funds on hand. I was wondering if you would like to join forces with me and invest?”
Yu Wen had never thought of doing business with his neighbors, let alone participating in the maritime business, which he knew nothing about.
Master Wu also knew of this and said: “You don’t have to reply me now. You should discuss with your family first. If you think it’s too risky, but you have some extra silver at home, you can also lend it to me, and I’ll pay you at 5% interest.”
Yu Wen couldn’t make up his mind at this moment, so after exchanging some pleasantries, Master Wu left.
Yu Tang was contemplating over this.
Previously, she sold her family’s estate to raise funds for her parents’ funeral and lived at her eldest uncle’s house. Although she was longer neighbors with Master Wu, but she still heard about some of the happenings in Master Wu’s family. Master Wu’s family did not suffer a downfall, and he was not involved in the maritime business.
What is going wrong in this life, that so many things are changing?
Could it be because of those two hundred taels of silver from the Lu family?
Without her past life experiences, it was difficult for Yu Tang to judge whether this matter was a good idea or not.
This made her somewhat frustrated.
When Yu Wen asked for her opinion, she said, “Maybe you could someone to ask around and find out what kind of fleet they have and their crew members?”
If she had more information, she might be able to know if the outcome of the fleet was favorable or not.
If the fleet returns safely, they can earn a lot of profit from it.
It was not easy to sail out to sea. Although she may not know exactly which ships returned safely, she would definitely know about those fleets that didn’t make it back as news would have spread about those fleets met with casualties.
Yu Wen had his own opinions, saying: “I’m not comfortable doing business like this. According to me, I don’t covet what’s not mine, and other people shouldn’t be envious of what’s mine either. If Master Wu is really determined to do this business, our family will just lend him the silver. If he’s unable to repay the loan, then we’ll just treat the two hundred taels of silver from the Lu family as an additional bonus.”
Yu Tang hid her smile.
Her father was such a person.
“Why don’t we ask my older cousin for advice?” Yu Tang trusted Yu Yuan’s judgment more than her father’s, “These days, older cousin is helping Eldest Uncle to manage the affairs in the stores, so what he hears and sees will be more than us.”
Yu Wen felt that it made sense and called Yu Yuan over for a discussion.
Yu Yuan was against the idea.
He commented, “Since my previous trip to Hangzhou, I have been keeping an eye on the business dealings there. I heard that the maritime business is difficult, and waters run deep, and so if we really want to participate, we must carefully inquire about all the details clearly beforehand. We need to proceed with caution and not just follow the crowd blindly, envious of their profits.”
Yu Tang agreed with Yu Yuan.
However, for the sake of friendship, Yu Wen still lent a hundred taels of silver to Master Wu.
Yu Tang couldn’t help but look at the heavens in resignation when she found out about it.
She felt that their family would never be able to become wealthy.
Soon after, the separation of the Li Patriarch House and Li Duan’s branch family was concluded.
The Li Patriarch House was so eager for the separation that they did not even wait for Li Yi’s side to reply with their consent before they forcibly split apart the clan with Li Duan’s branch family.
Everyone felt that the Li Patriarch House was too hasty, but the Li Patriarch House announced that Li Duan’s family had violated the ancestral tradition and did not wish to be restrained by the Patriarch House, so instead of causing unhappiness for all the parties involved, it was better for them to separate.
The previous incidents where the Li family kidnapped Yutang as they failed to secure the marriage, and their family servant arbitrarily ordered the fugitives to commit murder, were again brought up for discussion by the people of Lin’an City.
There are all sorts of comments about it.
In general, most commented that Madam Lin was too cruel and that the Li family’s morals were corrupt.
Li Duan was so worried that even the corners of his mouth blistered.
Madam Lin was livid. She yelled “Who are these people spewing nonsense? Ah Duan, we can’t just let this matter slide! Originally, we were concerned about offending the patriarch house, but they didn’t appreciate our generous concessions! It’s better to separate the clan and you two brothers should study hard, and in just a few years’ time, we may even become the second Pei family.”
How can it be so simple?
Li Duan couldn’t vet his frustrations in front of his mother, and was about reply with a smile in agreement, when he heard a man say in a jovial tone, “Why is aunt losing her temper? Fortunately, my cousin is filial and obeys you in everything. If it were me, I would already be arguing with my mother.”
