Hearing 'property distribution,' everyone in the hall became quiet. Old Madam Cheng entered the inner bedroom first. Cheng Yujin followed behind Qingfu Junzhu. Cheng Yujin's position was right next to Cheng Yuanjing. She stepped back and made a very respectful greeting: "Ninth Uncle."
The current Cheng Yujin couldn't wait to worship Cheng Yuanjing like a great ancestor. Cheng Yuanjing's eyes swept a glance, then bypassed her to step into the room. Cheng Yujin followed behind. Right after entering the bedroom, her eyes subconsciously fell on the mahogany cabinet. She immediately looked away nonchalantly.
The bedroom was soon full of people. Old Master Cheng lay on the bed and saw his family members coming in one by one. He opened his mouth: "My life won't last much longer. While my mind still clear, let's divide the family property."
Cheng Yuanhan immediately retorted: "Father, what are you talking about? Your body is still good."
This kind of remarks only made the Old Master felt ridiculous. His sons were looking forward to his death. The eldest was one thing, but this second son, even when his greed was so visible, still wanted to pretend. The Old Master didn't have the intention to play along: "Even between brothers, accounts have to be settled down properly. While I'm here, I still can control you people. So I should make clear of the family properties as soon as possible, lest after my death, you all fighting for a bit of money and let outsiders laugh at our family."
Both Cheng Yuanxian and Cheng Yuanhan's expression turned guilty. The Old Master coughed and continued: "Our marquis title is currently in the second generation. After I die, eldest one can inherit it for another generation. When it comes to Bao 'er's turn, we can only hope for the Emperor's grace. I have done my best, and the rest is up to you. After eldest one is titled marquis, he will get all ancestral fields and lands. Eldest one's wife is also in charge of the whole family, but the second branch will continue to live in the marquis manor."
Cheng Yuanxian nodded quickly and said: "Father, I understand. In the future, I'll take care of mother and second brother."
This was a natural consensus. Old Madam Cheng was still alive, so the two brothers obviously couldn't separate the family. Cheng Yuanxian has also long known that the marquis title would be his. The public lands would also be his. The same went for the responsibility of taking care of his parents in old age. What everyone really cared about was the distribution for the rest of the properties.
Sure enough, the Old Master paused tiredly for a while before continued: "Except for the lands and industries owned by the marquis manor, the public fund would be divided into three shares. Eldest one, second one, and ninth boy each get one share. The large objects will also be converted into silver, and equally divided into three."
Hearing this, Cheng Yuanhan became anxious: "Divided into three?"
Cheng Yuanhan and Ruan-shi's original expectation was having the family properties divided into two. The first branch had the public lands under Yichun Marquis manor's name and already had a large enough share. Dividing the rest into two or three had little effect on them. But for the second branch, the difference was significant.
Cheng Yuanjing almost immediately said, "No need. Just divide it into two."
Inwardly, Cheng Yujin scolded these idiots. How much difference was half and one-third could make? The crown prince obviously didn't put a small marquis manor's wealth into his eyes, but if His Highness took the share, it was equivalent to admitting that he was also part of Yichun Marquis family. With this kind of relationship, how much benefits would they get in the future? But if the properties were only be divided among the two brothers, then counting forward, Cheng Yuanjing would have nothing to do with Yichun Marquis manor.
It's a pity that no one in the Cheng family knew Cheng Yuanjing's true identity. Cheng Yujin was fretted, but couldn't say it aloud. She coughed slightly, and pretended to say unintentionally: "The elder has given it. Since it is grandfather's will, we younger generations should obey."
Cheng Yuanjing lowered his head and swept a gaze towards Cheng Yujin, who immediately bowed her head. Cheng Yuanhan glanced at Cheng Yujin displeasedly, and secretly muttered in a complaint: Clearly his own daughter, but was raised by the first branch to be a white-eyed wolf. And at this time, she still said silly things. Truly couldn't comprehend the good from the bad.
Old Master Cheng looked at Cheng Yujin in surprise. Cheng Yujin's head lowered even more, pretending to be a filial child. Qingfu frowned and said: "Don't interrupt elders speaking."
Cheng Yujin replied: "Yes."
Cheng Yuanjing has no interest in Cheng family's wealth. Just mere thousands of silver taels, these weren't considered money in his eyes. Cheng Yuanjing kicked the ball back very skillfully: "Cheng Yujin is right. Since the elder gives it to me, it's not good to refuse. Just put back my share and count it as a dowry gift to my eldest niece."
In her mind, Cheng Yujin was overjoyed at this suggestion. However, with a great effort, she managed to say: "How can I accept this..."
"No problem." Cheng Yuanjing glanced at the girl. "The elder has given it. You shouldn't refuse. This is your uncle's will."
Cheng Yuanjing uses Cheng Yujin's own words to deter her, what else could she say. Cheng Yuanxian and Qingfu quickly operated their mental abacus: having Cheng Yuanjing's share given to Cheng Yujin was equivalent to the first branch getting two-thirds of the properties. It was obviously more profitable than splitting into two. Cheng Yuanxian smiled happily. "Eldest girl is sensible. You uncle and niece, one is filial and the other is benevolent. Truly a blessing of our Cheng family. Since the words have been spoken, then let's do it."
Nobility titles (and also for many imperial titles) aren't passed down indefinitely. Most of the time, it's limited to several generations. Unless the descendants kept contributing to the country, they would eventually lose their titles. This obviously a good system to prevent a heavy burden on the government (titles come with official salary paid by the court and other benefits) and simultaneously, allowing the rulers to keep bestowing title as a reward for meritious deeds. This, however, only applied for the titles held by males. Females can have a title, but cannot pass it down.White-eyed wolf: ingrates.
Ruan-shi wanted to protest, but her momentum was snatched by Cheng Yuanxian. Ruan-shi's complexion turned ugly. But in front of so many people, she couldn't speak loudly. In her heart, she couldn't help complaining about Cheng Yujin's meddlesomeness.
Old Master Cheng was taken aback at the crown prince's unexpected action. However, it was good that His Highness was willing to take care of a Cheng family member. Even if it was just a granddaughter, it was better than having he completely detached himself. Seeing Cheng Yuanjing's attitude, Old Master Cheng changed some of the words he prepared beforehand: "You all know about the amount of the properties in the public funds, and also know how much each branch can get. Besides those, I also have several private properties."
All Cheng family's adult members, including the Old Madam, immediately perked up their ears. The manor's public fund has always been scrutinized under everyone's eyes. They all knew that there wasn't much money in it and had long been fed up by the fact. Outwardly, Yichun Marquis manor didn't lack anything, but it was hard to say how much private property the Old Master and Old Madam had. For example, Old Master Cheng. In these years, he had been boldly raising outside mistress in a private residence and funding an expensive education for the son. The money he secretly amassed should be massive, but no one knew exactly how much. Now, the distribution of his private property was exactly what they waited for the most.
After a pause, the Old Master said: "From now on, this marquis manor will be under Eldest one's control. The second branch has sons and daughter, you cannot not have a private house. I have a three-entries courtyard in the Chongjiao district, this will be given to the second branch. For the first branch, I won't leave any house. I also have two farms in Wanping county. One is 400 mu, the other is 200 mu. The smaller one is for the second branch; the larger one is reserved for Bao'er future study expense."
Chongjiao district was located next to Imperial Academy. Having a house there would be convenient for study. More importantly, it was a highly sought-after area. It was hard to find a house there, especially with a three-entries courtyard. The second branch has two sons, getting that house immediately solved their urgent need.
Qingfu was equally satisfied. A new house would be useless for her. Instead, she preferred farm estate that generated direct income. Qingfu silently calculated the amount of money she could get by leasing a 400 mu farmland. Annually, it should be around six to seven hundred taels, right? And that still not counting the rice, chickens, ducks, and other produces sent over by the farm. The second branch's house produced nothing, but the farmland's income would flow in years after years. Theirs was more practical than the second branch's share. Qingfu Junzhu immediately smiled.
Old Master Cheng looked at Cheng Yujin and suddenly said, "Eldest girl, come here."
Cheng Yujin was startled. But she slowly stepped forward: "Grandfather."
The Old Master looked at her carefully. After a while, he sighed deeply: "You have always been obedient since a child. It was a pity that your engagement was canceled right when you are in a critical age for marriage. After having one engagement broken, finding the next one won't be easy. Fortunately, you have the Emperor's reward. If you also have money, you may be able to make your future in-law's family value you a bit more. I have two shops in Zhengxi district, a ceramic shop in Xuanbei district, and an estate in Daxing county. All will be given to you. Since the eldest girl gets a share, the second girl should also have one. I'll give Yumo one thousand silver taels and a set of silver and gold utensils as a dowry gift. Several shops in Yangzhou will be divided evenly between the first and second branch. In Jinling, I have ten qing of land, all left for the ninth boy. Four boxes of calligraphy, paintings, and jewels I've accumulated over the years are to be distributed evenly. Eldest one, second one, and ninth boy each get one box, and the remaining box is to be split evenly between the grandchildren. I have another five thousand taels of silver banknotes, all for the Old Madam."
So far, the farms, lands, industries, personal collections, and cash have been distributed. The old servant who had served the Old Master since young took out the deeds and account books and handed them to each recipient.
Cheng Yuanxian picked up his share and was about to open the account books to see how much money he would make in a year. But Qingfu Junzhu secretly pinched him. When Cheng Yuanxian looked up, he saw Qingfu winked, signaling him to quickly go to take his share of box from Old Master Cheng's collection, lest the second branch made a preemptive move and took away the most valuable ones.
Ruan-shi's eyes were very eager. She instructed her two sons to pick the collection. Children were ignorant and didn't have the adults' pretense, so they quickly went. Seeing this, Qingfu inwardly cursed Ruan-shi. She signaled the wetnurse that held Cheng Enbao to follow her. She then hurriedly walked over to the other room.
Mu: Classifier for fields. Unit of area equal to one-fifteenth of a hectareJinling: old name for Nanjing (a capital city of Jiangsu province in the south)Qing: Unit of area equal to 100 mu or 6.67 hectares
People who had just filled the room went away one by one. Cheng Yujin wasn't interested in the Old Master's collections. Calligraphy, paintings, jewels, and such were just playthings, not as good as the cash in one's hand. Although Cheng Yujin didn't lack basic necessities, she never had enough to spend and knew too well the hardship. She would rather spend the time wondering how much income was generated by the three shops she got from the Old Master.
Old Master Cheng's old servant saw Cheng Yujin didn't go and asked: "Eldest young miss, among the Marquis' four boxes of collections, one box is for you, second young miss, and several young masters. Why don't you go and take a look?"
Cheng Yujin smiled. "I am the eldest. Just let younger siblings choose first. After they find what they like, I'll take the rest."
The old servant looked at Cheng Yujin in surprise. The first to choose would have an advantage. Even a three years old child knew this. But Cheng Yujin was so generous to her younger siblings. The old servant was so touched and praised her sincerely: "Eldest young miss is really sensible. Worthy of being the eldest sister."
Cheng Yujin smiled modestly: "Nothing. It's thanks for grandfather's teaching."
Cheng Yujin's mouth automatically complimented the elder. But right after speaking, she realized that she missed mentioning someone, and very smoothly added: "It's also thanks for Ninth Uncle's guidance and example. I'm truly blessed with good elders. Every day I see how grandfather treats others, and also see Ninth Uncle being upright and proper. I always try to learn one or two things from grandfather and Ninth Uncle."
Cheng Yuanjing couldn't help but glance at Cheng Yujin. Once again, he witnessed how smoothly she made use of every smallest chance for her advantage. Cheng Yujin smiled docilely towards Cheng Yuanjing, made a curtsy, then stood well-behavedly on the side.
The Old Master was extremely touched by Cheng Yujin's words. He couldn't help thinking how his two sons, and even Old Madam Cheng, ran away without a second thought to grab his possessions. Only Cheng Yujin stayed behind to look after him. This girl's filialness and sensibility far surpassed other Cheng family members. The Old Master sighed for countless times. Very good. Now that those people weren't here, he should use this chance. The Old Master beckoned the old servant: "Get my red sandalwood box and bring it here."
The old servant was shocked: "Marquis, that is your emergency savings. You should leave it behind, just in case."
"No problem." Old Master Cheng didn't care. "I'm now this old, and my end is approaching. I no longer need that money. Better leave it to the younger generation so that it can be useful."
The old servant knew that he couldn't persuade his master. He left with a sigh. After a while, the old servant returned from the inner room, holding a wooden box made from fine red sandalwood that seemed to be pretty heavy. Cheng Yujin was wondering about its content when the Old Master called her: "Eldest girl."
Cheng Yujin was surprised: "Grandfather, are you calling me?"
"Yes." The Old Master nodded with a smile and gestured at her, "Go and pick up that box."
Cheng Yujin stepped forward to take the box. It was heavier than her thought. Cheng Yujin was almost unable to hold it. The Old Master took out a key from under his pillow and said, "That is the gold I saved for the emergency. It's useless for me now, so I'll give it to you."
Cheng Yujin quickly glanced at Cheng Yuanjing and said: "How can this be given to me? I'm just a granddaughter. Grandfather should leave it to younger brothers..."
"They have their own parents to pave their future. Besides, they have working hands and feet. Men should rely on their ability and don't always cling on the things left behind by elders and ancestors." The Old Master continued: "But you are different. You are a girl. Soon, you will have to marry. Once married off, you are no longer this family's member. Secondly, although you are the eldest daughter, you are adopted. If your husband's family wrongs you in the future, it won't be easy for you to find someone that will seek your justice. Since I cannot protect you for long, at least I should leave you more money. This is my duty as an elder."
Such a heavy box, it must be a lot of gold. Now that they fell into her hands, of course Cheng Yujin didn't want to return it. After hearing the Old Master's words, she pretended to accept reluctantly: "Grandfather, thank you."
Today, Old Master Cheng has talked so much and was exhausted. Cheng Yujin's saw the Old Master's tired face and reckoned that he must have something to say to Cheng Yuanjing alone. Cheng Yujin tactfully said: "Granddaughter has disturbed grandfather for a long time. Grandfather must be tired. This granddaughter retires. Ninth Uncle, this niece retires."
After turning around, Cheng Yujin gave Du Ruo an eye signal and ordered her to carry the food box that Lian Qiao delivered today. When Cheng Yujin went out, she deliberately closed the door, expressing her thoughtfulness to the people inside.
After the door closed, Cheng Yujin immediately changed her face. She took Du Ruo to a small chamber nearby and instructed with a low voice. "Take apart the interlayer inside the food box and put the sandalwood box inside. Don't show any unusual expression when carrying, just act like it is empty."
Du Ruo understood and nodded quickly. But the bruise on her waist after being hit by Cheng Enbao today was still painful. Her movement lifting the food box was a little stiff. Cheng Yujin saw it: "Give to me, I'll bring it myself."
"Miss, don't!"
"Why not?" Cheng Yujin said again. "Give it to me. It would be bad if others became suspicious."
Du Ruo knew the risk. Initially, the Old Master didn't intend to leave the gold to Cheng Yujin. But because Cheng Yujin stayed until the end, the Old Master was touched and give this windfall to her. However, having too much money wasn't necessarily a good thing, especially for Cheng Yujin. If Qingfu Junzhu or the Old Madam knew that the Old Master left his emergency savings to a granddaughter, bypassing his two sons and three grandsons, they wouldn't feel happy. At that time, to protect herself, Cheng Yujin would have to hand over the gold.
Therefore, these golds cannot be known by Qingfu Junzhu, Ruan-shi, or others. Du Ruo no longer insisted. But she still looked worried: "Miss, this food box isn't light. Can you hold it?"
"Why can't?" Cheng Yujin chuckled lightly. "As long as there is gold in it, no matter how heavy the box, I will still hold it."
Du Ruo no longer said anything.