Greetings, Ninth Uncle

Ch.27 - Dowry

And Old Madam Cheng also planned to seize her husband's properties into her own hands. Although the two sons were born from her, who didn't want money? If she had the properties, not only would she live comfortably, but her two sons and their wives would also compete to please her. Why should she let it go?

But undoubtedly, the mother and children still had a common enemy. No matter what, the money must never be left to Cheng Yuanjing, and had to remain in the hands of their own family.

Cheng Yuanxian said: "Yes, even if the money in father's hand is his private property, it originally came from the marquis manor and should have belonged to us. There is an order in siblings' seniority. Father and mother will rely on me in their old days, so their properties should be left to me. Who knows how much money was wasted on Cheng Yuanjing to prepare him for the imperial examination and afterward, to build his career. Those all are originally mine."

Qingfu hurriedly chimed in: "Eldest master is right. These years father never cares about family affairs. The whole marquis manor is shouldered by you. Besides, we still have Bao'er."

Cheng Yuanxian and Qingfu Junzhu was in a perfect agreement and started to discuss the amount of Old Master Cheng's private property. Listening from the side, Cheng Yujin secretly shook her head in ridicule.

It was true that a lot of money was spent on Cheng Yuanjing's education. Judging from the clothes he wore, his living expense wasn't small either. However, this money has nothing to do with the Yichun marquis manor. The Old Master didn't use his wealth to raise Cheng Yuanjing and little Xue-shi. On the contrary, it was probably Cheng Yuanjing who supported the Yichun marquis manor.

On the contrary, it was probably Cheng Yuanjing who supported Cheng family. The current Yichun marquis manor didn't have any family members in the court. For many years, they held on an empty title and lived off the income from the farmland and shops left by the ancestors.

However, this world had no such thing as 'if I don't offend others, others won't offend me.' The strong preyed on the weak, especially when the food was limited. When a noble family didn't have backing from someone on the court, others wouldn't feel any deterrence to attack them. The end would be having their industries stolen or snatched, even taken over.

Although Cheng family was regressing year by year, the properties left by the ancestor still generating money without disruption. Anyone with working eyes could see that someone above was backing Cheng family, so others didn't dare to touch them.

Cheng Yujin once thought that this person was Shu Consort. Imperial consorts and family members of an official were different. No matter how high a man's official rank was, he dared not offend a favored eunuch. Similarly, no matter how powerful a eunuch was, he dared not easily offend favored consorts. Shu Consort was the eldest daughter of Chang Duke Manor Xu family, who was also an in-law of Cheng family. Cheng Yujin originally thought that people might be afraid of the Shu Consort, which indirectly made them wary of touching Cheng family.

But now Cheng Yujin thought that her guess was naive and ridiculous. Shu Consort didn't have any children nor power. Under Empress Yang's suppression, the Emperor's favor was also minuscule. Even if others were willing to give her a face, that would only be given to Xu family. How was Cheng family mattered? The reason Yichun marquis manor still be able to preserve their wealth and honor this far was obviously thanks to Cheng Yuanjing's protection.

It was ridiculous seeing Cheng Yuanxian and Qingfu Junzhu busily schemed to snatch the Old Master's private properties, fearing Cheng Yuanjing would also covet it. But they didn't pause to consider whether the Old Master would tolerate them. All these years, Cheng Yuanjing spent his own money. Cheng Yuanxian, Cheng Yuanhan, Qingfu Junzhu, and Old Madam Cheng were blinded by greed. The so-called huge private properties on the Old Master's hand were simply a beautiful illusion. How much greed they had now was equal with the disappointment they would get when they finally saw the ledger.