Shipin Dalizheng

Chapter 357 Regret

He muttered, "Rong Ruogu? Rong Ruogu..."

Rong Tang listened and asked, "Fourth Uncle, do you know Rong Wanli's parents?"

Sima Zhi shook his head. "I have some idea, but it's impossible. That person is not married."

Rong Tang said, "Even if we don't get married, we can still have children!"

Sima Zhi choked. It made sense, but...

"The name is wrong too. That man's name isn't Rong Ruogu, but Rong Jing, with the courtesy name Xuhuai. But that's not right either. Aside from the old Earl of Jian'an and his three sons, there aren't many people in the Rong family army who can carry the surname Rong. Rong Xian is the only living personal guard."

Like a flash of lightning piercing the darkness, Rong Tang's mind flashed with many ideas. Rong Jing, the eldest son of Jian'an Earl Rong Zheng, whose courtesy name was Xu Huai, meant "humble and open-minded"...

He turned to the newlyweds who were greeting each other, and to Rong Xian, whose eyes were filled with tears as he watched Rong Wanli get married. It was self-evident whose child was worthy of his best efforts to raise and educate.

It turns out that Rong Wanli is the most likely grandson of Earl Jian'an.

But why can't he be allowed to return to his ancestral home? Is it simply because his father never married and he is a bastard?

Today, Madam Xiao was in better spirits. She sat in her new dress and accepted the tea offered by the newlyweds. But everyone knew that she had actually drunk the medicine prescribed by Zhang Pojun, concentrating all her remaining vitality on this day. After today, she would fall into a deep sleep.

After the wedding, Rong Wanli and Xiao Jinyue took Madam Xiao away from the Jian'an Earl's Mansion and went to Rongjia Village to prepare for the funeral while the city gate was still open.

Rong Tang sighed for a while, then invited Rong Xian to the study to talk. The first thing he said was, "Rong Wanli's father, is he Rong Jing?"

Rong Xianshang was immersed in the joy of his adopted son finally getting married. He didn't react for a while when he heard this, but Rong Tang clearly felt that his expression became solemn. In fact, at this point, not refuting it was already a sign of acceptance.

Rong Xian shook his head, "How did you guess that, young uncle?"

"There aren't many people with the last name Rong in the Rong Family Army. Rong Jing, whose courtesy name is Xuhuai, and the name Ruogu, it's hard for you to make up something for him."

Rong Xian was silent for a moment. "He won't affect your title. If I wanted him to fight for this position, I could have reported it to the old uncle as soon as he was born."

Rong Tang sneered, "Do you think I care about a title?"

Rong Xian was silent. Indeed, everyone knew about the fight between him and the Yao family years ago. The person who cared least about the ownership of the title that everyone was fighting for like crazy was actually the owner of the title.

"Wanli's mother was a camp prostitute. Rong Jing was engaged at the time, but one day he got drunk... Later, Zeng became pregnant, and Rong Jing paid a large sum of money to redeem her and hid her away. Not many people knew about this, not even the old uncle. Not long after, Rong Jing died on the battlefield. I wanted to tell the old uncle that he had an heir, but word suddenly spread in the capital that his fiancée had committed suicide for love, so I couldn't speak. At that time, there were still the Second and Third Masters. I thought the Rong family still had male heirs, so I kept it a secret. Who knew that in the next battle, the Second and Third Masters would die together for their country... Just when I was about to tell this, the old uncle used his military merits to exchange for Madam Rong's inheritance of the title. Zeng's status was also too special. Even if he told it, people would question his bloodline, bringing him endless ridicule. So I kept it to myself. After I was injured and retired, I adopted him as my son. If he has the ability in the future, he can fight for a title on his own. If not, he can live a stable life."

Rong Tang pondered the matter over and over again. Actually, there was a solution. At least if the old man knew he had a grandson, he would have found a way to adopt him or give him up to be with him. The main reason he didn't do so was because of his biological mother's identity. Even the old man might not have fully believed that he was his own bloodline.

It is meaningless to talk about these things now. Just like Rong Xian said, Rong Wanli will never be able to return to his ancestral home in his lifetime, so it is better to let him live a stable life.

Nothing happened that night. In the morning, news came from Rongjia Village that Mrs. Xiao had passed away at night.

Rong Tang sent several people from the mansion to help Rong Wanli with the funeral, and also reported the news of Madam Xiao's death. The Ministry of Justice sent people to identify her, and when they came back, they removed Madam Xiao's name from the exile list.

It had been expected that Madam Xiao would not live long, and some necessary items had already been prepared. In addition, the yard she borrowed was Rong Tang's, so the body was not kept for long. After the Ministry of Justice confirmed her identity, the coffin was sealed and she was buried.

Nanny Xing helped to deal with the matter and comforted Xiao Jinyue. Then she returned to the Earl's Mansion and gave Rong Tang a letter. "She said it was written by Madam Xiao herself, asking the Earl to send someone to deliver it to Lord Xiao. She also specifically instructed that Miss Xiao and Master Xiao not see it."

Rong Tang held the letter paper. It was very thin, probably only one piece of paper, and even the seal was only glued with a grain of rice. It was not known whether she particularly trusted Rong Tang's character or did not care whether Rong Tang read it or not.

According to the rules, the Xiao couple were both wanted criminals of the imperial court, so it was reasonable for Rong Tang to decide whether to help deliver the letter even if he just took a look at the contents of the letter.

Rong Tang walked around twice and called Eleven over. "You go and deliver the letter on a fast horse. Stay for a day or two. If everything goes well, come back. If there is something wrong, find a way to get the letter back."

It’s not that he trusts Eleven particularly, but Rong Zhan and the others are about to get married and can’t go on business trips.

In the following time, the Jian'an Earl's Mansion continued to hold weddings. First, on the tenth day, all the military officers got married together. Outside the mansion gate, dozens of horses were decorated with red and colorful ribbons, and they were in groups of seven or eight. After the ceremony, the grooms were helped onto the horses and led away. The process for each group was simplified and accelerated as much as possible, and it took about half a day to complete.

On this day, all the people in Shangjing City stood on both sides of the road to watch this grand and exciting event. A group of low-ranking military officers who had just arrived in Shangjing a few years ago and had not yet completely established themselves were so happy that their mouths stretched from ear to ear. They led big horses and took the bride to the rented house in the village.

11th, Mrs. Xie’s funeral.

On the sixteenth day, Rong Shen got married.

On the 20th, Rong Qianqi got married.

The 28th day of the first lunar month is auspicious, and Rong Zhan will welcome his new bride.

Of all the brides, Miss Xu was the most dignified and elegant. However, there were many perverted men in this world who only liked young girls and considered anyone over 20 an old maid. Rong Zhan marrying Miss Xu at his age was, in Rong Tang's opinion, like finding a national-level cultural relic at a bargain price. It was a pity for Miss Xu.

However, he also knew that when Rong Zhan stood in front of the Xu family in high spirits, the Xu family was also ecstatic. How great was that? He was tall and strong, had good martial arts skills, and was a seventh-rank military officer. Most importantly, he had never married, had no children, and no parents-in-law. He could be the head of the family right after he entered the house.

From then on, the four brides all moved into the Rongjia Village compound and stayed with Chuncao. As for Huixiang and Huizhen, who had originally fallen in love with Rong Shen and Rong Qianqi, that was just their own idea. Apart from feeling sad, there was nothing they could do to change anything.

Because they were getting married, Rong Tang didn't want to be a bad guy who did good things but was evil, so he transferred a few of Feng Liu's men to the mansion for guarding. The four of them took turns on duty, working during the day and returning to the village in groups of two at night.

In fact, it didn't happen very often, because Rong Tang was busy again in the spring.

After the court meeting on the eighth day of the first lunar month, Emperor Xuanning put the construction of the Imperial College on the agenda. As expected, this matter was opposed by most of the court officials, especially the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. He believed that opening another Imperial College would dilute the value of the Imperial College.

Then there were the civil and military officials headed by the Four Surnames. Historically, most court positions had come from students of the Imperial Academy, a smaller portion from recommendations by the Four Surnames, and a very small number from poorer candidates. If the Imperial Academy were established, it would mean that their power of recommendation would be infinitely diluted.

Emperor Xuanning ignored all objections and vowed to become a ruler who would revive the country. The reason was simple: he had money.