Husbands Seeking Love

Chapter 6: Visiting (2)

Actually, the third son of the Yun family, Wu Bin, was not surnamed ‘Yun’ as he used his father’s last name. The reason he is called the Yun family’s Third Young Master is out of convenience and to give the Masters of the Yun house some face. However, on the household register, his surname must be listed as ‘Wu’. Males have lesser statuses than females, especially since the former could become concubines of the latter, so Tian Chu permitted this type of naming to carry on each ancestral line.

Fourth Husband Wu’s heart felt stifled at seeing his son lose face and could only carefully cover for him: “Bin’er[1] is very filial. Last night, he even brought up the idea for me to visit my maternal family while he oversees the Yun shops in my absence.”

He boasted about his own son while revealing the plan he had long been mulling over. The year he entered the Yun residence as a secondary husband, he also brought a property deed with him. Due to Tian Chu’s law, all assets and properties belonging to the husband are transferred to the wife after marriage. This meant that no matter how much property one accumulates, it is not guaranteed that one’s son will have the same assets in the future. Which son gained what property depended on who is most pleasing to the eyes of the wife. But in this case, the eldest son Yun Shi Yi was an exception as all the Yun businesses were his.

Master Yun shot a cynical glance at the Fourth Master. So he had this early on already prepared for his son’s future. But the Yun family held a multitude of properties and businesses, and the number of shops wasn’t considered to be few. Master Yun also didn’t mind letting concubine-born sons manage one or two of them. If they end up earning a great deal, it would cause him to lose a considerable stream of money. However, he would also gain a magnanimous reputation. As Madam Yun was hesitating, he said: “Bin’er wanting to achieve something is naturally a good thing. Wangyue Teahouse[a] outside of Lan Zhou’s Xicheng district is prosperous. Let’s have him manage it. Manager Li is getting old and it is time for this husband to look for a replacement. How about we let Bin’er learn the weekly affairs for a few months before having him take over?”

Madam Yun had always listened to Master Yun’s advice, thus said: “Then we’ll do it this way.”

Fourth Husband Wu was overjoyed and quickly gave his son a meaningful look. Wu Bin immediately stood up and kowtowed in thanks to the two masters of the Yun family: “Many thanks to Father, many thanks to Mother.” Once he starts managing the business, there would be various benefits. Although he was not courageous enough to embezzle funds, the social and material advantages gained from meeting those arriving, sending those departing[b] for one year would be enough to support upwards of five or six years of monthly income. If he’s mixed in enough socially, he might even be able to wed a girl of some family, and maybe even become the legitimate husband. Unless the family is very poor, all concubine-born children will think of clinging onto legitimate-born children because how many of them would want to live a hard life?

Master Yun faintly said: “Learn well from Manager Li. Doing well will be a big benefit for you. If you don’t do well, return home and just live as a parasite!”

Wu Bin saluted: “Many thanks for Father’s teachings. This son will definitely study hard.”

Madam Yun’s mood turned for the better and continued to gossip with Ruan Zhu: “This daughter-in-law of mine, you don’t have to do too much. Brewing tea, cooking…the feminine arts can be left to the servants. But having children is very important. It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl, both are good. Female children can expand the family while male children can inherit their ancestral businesses. Hurry and give Mother a grandson, oh, but of course the first child being a granddaughter would be even better.”

Madam Yun had a frank nature–whatever she thought, she would say. In front of others, she wouldn’t avoid such a taboo subject, causing Ruan Zhu’s face to turn bright red. Ruan Zhu thought to herself: This mother-in-law’s personality is just like Shi Wei’s. But of course, like mother, like son. In that case, Shi Yi should resemble his father, almost like it was planned from the start. They’re clearly twins from the same mother, but their two temperaments couldn’t be any more different.