Chapter 711: Break from Official Duties Due to Mourning

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

“Yu! Zong! Shen!” Yu Zongzhengs face turned red, and his face burned as if someone had peeled off his skin. “Our Yu Residence is a noble family. Xie Roujia is just a businesswoman. It’s their blessing to be able to marry into our family.”

Yu Zongshen was furious. “What blessing? The blessing of an early death? Or the blessing of a shameless husband who had an affair with someone that was secretly pregnant? Or the blessing of a husband who couldn’t wait to welcome another new wife before her corpse turned cold and the funeral was over? Or is it that you’ re still doubting her reputation and her daughter’s blessing?

Haha, if I had been as shameless as you back then, would Mother not let me marry Xie Roujia?”

What Yu Zongshen regretted the most in his life was that on the day the Yu Residence held a banquet to entertain the Xie Residence, Xie Roujia had secretly drunk wine.

She had a low alcohol tolerance and she was drunk after taking a sip. She mistook the Yu Residence for the Xie Residence and ran to the wrong courtyard. If he had been more heartless at that time and arranged for a servant to see him alone with Xie Roujia…

He could say that he had seduced Xie Roujia and wanted to express his affection for her. Perhaps the outcome would be different.

However, the more deeply he loved her, the more he had to take care of her, and the more careful he had to be. He was worried that it would be abrupt, but in the end, he was still the most worried that it would damage Xie Roujia’s reputation, so he quietly avoided her and lured a maidservant over.

Yu Zongzheng was embarrassed.

Even so, it was a fact that Second Brother was thinking about Madam Xie, which still made him feel like a fishbone was stuck in his throat. He couldn’t help but feel furious. ‘You care about your eldest sister-in-law and disregard your family. Isn’t that shameless?”

Yu Zongshen sneered. “I’ve already sent a notice to the Imperial Court to hand over Dehua County in Fujian. Why would I care? If she wasn’t my eldest sister-in-law, do you think I would have given up on her?”

In the previous dynasty, their Yu Clan had once snatched someone’s wife.

There was a saying that went, “The past should enlight the future generation.”

Why didn’t he dare to do what his predecessors had dared to do?!

However, Xie Roujia was her eldest sister-in-law.

He could ignore Yu Zongzheng.

He did not care about his reputation.

He couldn’t ignore Xie Roujia’s reputation. It was easy to get married, but Xie Roujia would only die.

However, after thinking so much, Xie Roujia was still dead.

Yu Zongzheng was furious. With a flick of his sleeve, he swept the cups, bowls, plates, and plates on the table to the ground. With a clang, they fell to the ground in a mess.

After a short commotion in the room, there was silence.

An unknown period of time passed!

It was Yu Zongzheng who couldn’t hold it in anymore. He took a deep breath.

“It’s against the etiquette of kinship for brothers to fight over a woman.

Madam Xie has been dead for more than ten years, and Mother has passed away. I don’t want to argue with you about this.” Yu Zongshen’s lips twitched in understanding.

Indeed!

Yu Zongzheng changed the topic and said, “Mother had to be a widow for many years. It’s not easy to raise the two of us until we’re adults and make contributions. We have to thank Mother for her kindness. Now that Mother has passed away, one of us has to mourn for her for three years.”

Yu Zongshen said nothing.

It wasn’t that Yu Zongzheng wasn’t smart. Perhaps he had been fooled by Madam Yang and Nanny Li for a moment. In addition, he had a deep grudge against Old Madam and had suppressed it for many years. On impulse, he had quarreled with her. However, now that Old Madam had passed away and Madam Yang had been abandoned, even if Yu Zongzheng had a grudge, he wouldn’t make this matter public.

Her younger brother coveted his first wife. Did Yu Zongzheng still care about his pride?!

Yu Zongzheng had used this matter to strike first.

He could only scheme against him using the matter of mourning.

Yu Zongzheng waited for a while, but when Yu Zongshen did not say anything, his expression turned even uglier. He could only say, “There’s order in seniority. As an elder brother, it’s my duty to mourn for my mother.”

As an elder brother, he was the one at a disadvantage.

Be it when his mother was alive or after she died.

His mother was biased towards Yu Zongshen, so it was only right for Yu Zongshen to mourn for their mother.

Yu Zongshen still did not speak.

Yu Zongzheng was a little angry. “I’ve also become one of the 13 Imperial Censors, and the emperor’s grace is vast. It’s fine if I’m the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs, but once I have to mourn home, it’s equivalent to removing my title as one of the 13 Imperial Censors. During this period of time, the drought in the north has become more and more serious. The emperor wants me to be the Imperial Censor to help the refugees. If I’m at home now, wouldn’t I be letting down the emperor’s grace?”

In the past dynasties, there was no official position that someone could continue to hold after three years of mourning. It was impossible for him to be in mourning.

Using the emperor’s grace to counterattack was justified!

Yu Zongshen was a little amused. It wasn’t good for Yu Zongzheng to be in mourning as the dignified Cabinet Grand Secretary? Was he using Madam Xie to force him to take the initiative to mourn at home?

Xie Roujia had been dead for more than ten years, but he still refused to let her have peace.

He was really shameless.

Yu Zongshen chuckled. “If you don’t want to mourn, you can ask the Imperial Court for help. There’s a drought in the north, and the emperor wants you to go to disaster relief. It’s a special situation that requires special intervention. The court officials won’t think that you’re ‘unfilial’.”

Yu Zongzheng frowned. “Although that’s the case, it’s still a fact. In the previous dynasty, there was a Prime Minister Zhang. It was because he did not give up his official position that the later people died. He was even hated by the emperor at that time and the dead Prime Minister Zhangs family confiscated his title and his descendants were exiled. Mother is still a widow, so it’s even more difficult to raise us. Filial piety is the top priority. No matter what the reason is, it is a must to mourn for her. Otherwise, our family’s reputation of loyalty and filial piety will be tarnished.”

Yu Zongshen chuckled. “So?”

At that time, Prime Minister Zhang was hovering between filial piety and power, which was why he had caused trouble later. However, the emperor was still young and needed the help of a good minister.

Yu Zongzheng did not want to not show filial piety, nor did he want to give up his power. After becoming a whore, he still wanted to show his chastity.

It was extremely unbearable—

He had even selectively forgotten that he was the one who had caused Matriarch’s death.

Yu Zongzheng perked up. “You’ve always had a stable position in the cabinet. Even if the mourning takes three years, it won’t affect anything.”

Even if he did not want to admit it, he knew very well that the cabinet ministers were different from people like him who had only obtained power because of the emperor’s grace.

“Alright.” Yu Zongshen couldn’t be bothered to feign civility with him. “At dawn, I’ll send a memorial to the palace.”

Yu Zongzheng was overjoyed, but he looked guilty. “Second Brother…”

“However,” Yu Zongshen interrupted him in a gentle voice, as if he had returned to his usual calm and elegant self. “On account of Mother and Xie Roujia, I’ll tolerate you one last time. In the future, without Mother protecting you, we’ll really be enemies from the same family.”

A trace of mockery appeared on Yu Youyao’s face. Yu Zongzheng did not want to worry about the mourning period, so he used her biological mother to threaten Yu Zongshen, forcing him to do it for him.

What a good show.

She did not want to stay in the Yu Residence for another moment..

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