No matter how strong Ye Suijin was, in her previous life and present life, she understood one thing - Ye Family Fort should rightfully belong to Fourth Uncle Ye.
Because Ye Family Fort was not the private property of any one branch of the family. It was not built by Ye Suijin's father or grandfather. It was the ancestral property built by generations of Ye family ancestors and passed down through the generations.
Ye Suijin's grandfather and father had both inherited Ye Family Fort as the eldest son of the main lineage.
Now that it came to Ye Suijin, since her father had no son, Fourth Uncle's branch automatically became the main lineage and by ritual and law automatically gained the inheritance rights.
This was not something Ye Suijin could resolve by adopting an heir for her father. Because she did not intend to leave Ye Family Fort to her branch of the family, she wanted to control Ye Family Fort herself.
If she adopted an heir, with so many males thriving in the main lineage, they would definitely not allow her to adopt from a side branch. It would have to be one of the Third Son to Thirteenth Son.
With so many uncles in the family, and male heirs to inherit the ancestral property, how could she as the elder sister marry out to another family and become part of someone else's household?
In fact, as long as she adopted an heir, regardless of who she adopted, she as the elder sister would have to marry out.
Because an uncle is like a father, his status was naturally higher than an elder sister's, an uncle's rights were naturally greater than an elder sister's.
At that time, Fourth Uncle said that the personal assets earned by her grandfather and father, she could take with her.
But she could not take Ye Family Fort and the Ye clan troops. These were the very foundation of the entire clan, and especially in such chaotic times, were extremely important.
No one surnamed Ye would allow it, whether they were from the main or side branches.
So Ye Suijin decided to take a husband from another family.
But she still had to properly resolve the issue of continuing the family line for three generations. This issue could not be avoided. After three generations, when her uncles had all passed away, and the sons, grandsons and later generations of Third Son and his brothers had become side branches, and she herself would no longer be around, if Ye Family Fort changed surnames at that time, she would become the sinner of Ye family through the ages.
She would not be able to face her grandfather and father, and the long line of Ye ancestors underground.
But Ye Suijin was still unwilling to let go.
From the age of thirteen or fourteen, she had started helping her father manage the troops. By the time she was seventeen, the Ye troops all followed her commands.
And the state of the outside world was in chaos. How could she put all this down, and go to another family to be a daughter-in-law sewing and mending? She could not do it.
In the end, Ye Suijin made a drastic decision to resolve this problem.
She decided not to have children, to assure Fourth Uncle that after her, Ye Family Fort would still return to Fourth Uncle's line - the main line of Ye family.
Only then did Fourth Uncle compromise, giving up the position of family head and control over Ye Family Fort.
That night, Third Son returned. He was also extremely busy these days.
The distant and close aunts and sisters-in-law of all branches of the main family envied Tong Niang to death.
"A busy man shows capability," they would say.
Tong Niang firmly believed this too.
Her husband was also a pillar in the Ye troops.
Tonight when Third Son finally finished his tasks and returned, Tong Niang went up to help remove his robes and clothes.
The servant girls all tactfully retreated without lending a hand.
The young couple had been apart for four to five months. Now that they were finally reunited, who would be so tactless as to disturb them.
The Fourth Madam was even hoping for them to have two children in three years.
Ye Sanlang was very perceptive. As he was changing out of his clothes, he felt his wife seemed different from usual, like she wanted to say something but held back.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
But Tong Niang took his clothes and said, "It's nothing..."
"Speak if there is something on your mind. I've been very busy recently and spend little time at home. Don't drag things out, bring it up early if there are issues," said Third Son as he went to the wash basin to splash water on his face.
Tong Niang twisted the clothes in her hands, and finally asked, "What Sixth Madam said the other day, about giving Ye Family Fort to A Gui, is it true?"
"Of course it's true," said Third Son as he scooped up water and splashed it on his face, eyes closed as he washed his face. "Sixth Madam wouldn't joke about such major matters."
Tong Niang put down the clothes and went to take a towel.
"I heard from Sixth Madam that she only mentioned Ye Family Fort," Tong Niang couldn't help but ask further. "Then what about the rest?"
The splashing sounds stopped abruptly.
Third Son opened his eyes.
He straightened up, took the towel from Tong Niang's hands, and wiped the water from his face. His deep dark eyes looked at her intently, "What do you mean by 'the rest'?"
"I mean, what about the rest?" Tong Niang asked. "Like, Deng Prefecture, Tang Prefecture, Jun..."
She didn't finish listing them before Third Son interrupted her.
"Tong Niang," he asked, "Who came by today?"
Tong Niang: "Huh?"
He asked again: "Who did you see today?"
Tong Niang replied: "Eldest brother came by to see A Gui and me. He wanted to see you but you hadn't returned..."
Third Son understood then.
Because Tong Niang was just a simple woman of the inner quarters, focused on household matters, food and clothing, and rearing children for her mother-in-law. Things like Deng Prefecture, Tang Prefecture, Jun Prefecture were not something she would think about.
Someone must have said something to her.
Third Son asked: "Did Eldest Brother tell you to ask this?"
Tong Niang fell silent.
Third Son said: "If Eldest Brother asked, or Father-in-Law asked, tell them for me that these are matters for Ye family, no need for their concern."
Tong Niang was frightened.
Her husband used to be gentle and polite, he never spoke loudly to her before.
But he had gradually changed.
Many people feared him now. Her eldest brother was also very cautious when mentioning this brother-in-law.
"No, no. He just casually mentioned it, and I thought too much about it..." She quickly defended her eldest brother. "He didn't... Of course these are matters for Ye family, eldest brother understands that."
Third Son's expression softened slightly.
But Tong Niang still had her head lowered. She still wanted to understand clearly what was going on, after all it concerned A Gui.
When a woman had a child, nothing was more important than that child to her.
She said: "But, these places...they originally belonged to our family. And now our family, is the true main lineage."
She kept her head lowered, waiting for Third Son's reply but it didn't come for a long time. When she looked up,
Third Son's brows were tightly knitted as he stared at her.
He had an overwhelming aura of authority now, when he looked at someone like this, it brought great pressure to the recipient.
Tong Niang lowered her head again. "Did I say something wrong?"
"What you said wasn't wrong. We are the main lineage now," Third Son calmed himself and said. "That's why, that day, Sixth Madam clearly stated this matter before everyone. In the future, Ye Family Fort will return to our branch."
"Father is getting old. I and Sixth Madam are of the same generation, and I'm even older than her. We'll probably be around for about the same amount of time."
"Therefore, she made it clear that Ye Family Fort is given to A Gui. The ancestral inheritance goes to the main lineage, and remains surnamed Ye forever."
He was not angry, and willing to explain it clearly to her. Tong Niang felt relieved.
She nodded: "I understand that part. What I don't understand now is, what about those other territories? Sixth Madam can't have children, and now Zhao Jingwen is..."
She stopped herself.
Because this time, Third Son's eyes clearly showed anger.
"Who told you about this?" he asked.
Tong Niang honestly told him: "It was Mother."
Just as he guessed.
Third Son took a deep breath, and asked again: "Who did you tell about this?"
Tong Niang wanted to say she didn't dare tell anyone else, but then remembered she did tell one person. It wasn't an outsider to her, but was definitely an outsider to the Ye family.
She said in a tiny voice: "I...I only told Mother."
"Alright. Next time when Mother-in-Law visits, tell her that if I hear one word about this matter outside, I'll take one head. If I hear two sentences, I'll take two heads. I don't care who she told, or who they told. Everyone better shut their mouths about this."
Third Son had killed too many. When he talked like this, the aura of killing radiated from him. Tong Niang who shared the same bed, how could she not sense it being so close to him?
She was frightened pale.
People said, noble men changed wives easily, wealthy men changed friends easily.
Her maternal family had also always cautioned her to keep Third Son's heart. If it really didn't work, pick one of the servant girls from her maternal home and take her as a concubine for Third Son, to help her out.
"He's different now, not the same as before," they would say.
Tong Niang handled the household affairs, bore children, and served her mother-in-law dutifully for him. Seeing how frightened she was, Third Son sighed inwardly.
A woman still needed teaching even in bed.
He pondered, why did a wife still need teaching?
Because women, unlike men, did not have the opportunity to go out, to witness the breadth of the world and understand the diverse ways of the world.
They were confined within the inner quarters, their sights limited to within the compound walls, as far as their toes could reach. What they vied over were gains of three to five feet, one or two gold hairpins, keeping face amongst sisters-in-law.
Twelfth Madam had gone out. And she was different now.
So actually, it wasn't the women's fault.
If a man were shut in like this from childhood, facing only needles, thread, pots, bowls, basins, and buckets every day, he would not be much stronger than them.
"Come here," Sanlang took Tong Niang's hand and sat her down on the edge of the bed, "Let's have a good talk."
Tong Niang obediently sat at the edge of the bed and waited for him to speak.
"First, tell me why you feel that Deng Prefecture and Tang Prefecture should also be ours?" Sanlang asked. "Speak freely, don't be afraid."
In the end, he was still gentle.
Tong Niang timidly said, "I know Sixth Madam is formidable. But she conquered Deng Prefecture and Tang Prefecture relying on the troops of Ye Family Fort, and Ye Family Fort should have been ours to begin with."
It was exactly this logic, unsurprising to Sanlang, just as he had guessed.
"Thinking this way is not entirely wrong, it's true that we took so many places relying on the troops of Ye Family Fort," Sanlang said.
"But have you thought, if Sixth Madam had obediently married in the beginning and Father controlled Ye Family Fort, would we still...fight?" Sanlang asked.
Tong Niang was startled. Leaning on his knees, Sanlang slowly continued, "What you're thinking of, we've thought of too. I guess everyone's thought of it before."
"Father and I, as well as Fifth Son, we've calmly analyzed together before, what it would be like if Father had inherited Ye Family Fort from the beginning."
"The conclusion was reached by Father himself."
"He said if it were him, he would take advantage of the large migrant population and cheap labor to buy more servants and slightly expand the central branch of the family."
"But the number would still be limited. People need to eat, our fields are just this big, the output is only so much, the number of people we can feed is limited. Even expanding, it is limited."
"Then he would try his best to maintain good relations with the county magistrates. Because we are commoners, they are officials."
"So after analyzing over and over, the conclusion Father reached was—"
"If he had inherited Ye Family Fort, the current master of Deng Prefecture would either be Ma Jinhui, or Du Jingzhong, one of the two."
"Ye Family Fort would still be Ye Family Fort, a wealthy family in the countryside."
"But in truth, Ye Family Fort commanded the strongest force in Deng Prefecture. Ma and Du understood this."
"The two of them would certainly want our family. Father thought it over and still felt he would not contend with officials."
"It's hard to say, Eleventh Madam and Twelfth Madam may have to be married out, to become their daughter-in-law or even fill their chambers."
"This is Deng Prefecture without Sixth Madam, Ye Family Fort without Sixth Madam."
"Would such a Deng Prefecture fall from the sky like a meat pie into my family's rice bowl?"
"Speak, Tong Niang."
How could Tong Niang find words to speak?
Tong Niang listened with eyes wide.
In truth, as long as one's mind is not congenitally disabled, most can be reasoned with.
Comparing the different accounts from different people, Tong Niang clearly felt her husband's words made more sense and were more logical.
Her father-in-law was indeed a man who protected what he had and did not squander the family fortune. But everything Ye Family accomplished under Ye Suijin was indeed impossible for her father-in-law or husband.
I see, so that's how it is.
Tong Niang felt as if the fog had lifted and she could see the bright moon.
She murmured, "I understand, I understand now."
She let out a long breath.
"Ye Family Fort should go to A Gui in the future, because A Gui is now the eldest son of the eldest branch. It should be his. The rest was earned by his aunt, her private holdings," she reasoned.
Sanlang also relaxed.
He told Tong Niang, "I will provide for the children. What their grandfather earns will also be left to them in the future. Our children will have good lives ahead."
"With you at home, I hope you remain as before, don't overthink. Don't listen to others sow discord."
Tong Niang nodded. "Alright."
"Right," he asked, "what was the purpose of Eldest Brother's visit today?"
Tong Niang said, "Elder brother hopes to find an official post."
Sanlang thought for a moment and said, "Eldest Brother can read and write, and knows how to interact with others. I'll arrange for him to be a clerk in Neixiang County."
A clerk was a low-level official in the county office, one of the "little ghosts" in the saying "little ghosts are hard to deal with." In the past, local gentry like Tong Niang's family also had to politely interact with them. Now with a simple word from her husband, the position was arranged.
"Neixiang County. It's rather far," Tong Niang remarked.
Neixiang County was not too far from Ye Family Fort. But soon after Fifth Son's wedding ended, their whole family would be moving to Biyang City.
In a sense, Neixiang was the county farthest from Biyang in Deng Prefecture.
Seeing each other would not be as convenient as before.
Whereas her brother-in-law had hoped he could go to Biyang.
"Being farther may not necessarily be bad," Sanlang said. "Relatives being too close together may not necessarily be good."
"Tong Niang," he continued, "you should know Sixth Madam's temperament having heard about the past. Now she has the final say, if she takes a dislike to someone, even my uncle, your parents, no one would dare help. At that time, even my pleas would be useless."
Tong Niang pondered in silence for a moment, then nodded lightly.
