Chapter 844 - 847: Visit
Chapter 844: Chapter 847: Visit
Gu Letian took the opportunity to press the cup into her hand. "Mother, your voice is getting a little hoarse. Have some water and clear your throat first. Then we can talk about the two of them."
Xie Ruyi scoffed. Having not had a single drop of water since last night, she was indeed thirsty. She took the cup and had a few sips. "What’s so difficult for them? At the end of the day, it’s just the women behind them stirring up trouble. With the two brothers fighting so ugly, how are they supposed to get along in the future?"
"Mother, you actually know what’s really going on." Gu Letian looked at Xie Ruyi as he spoke. Seeing her evasive gaze, he knew he had hit the mark.
"When it comes down to it, this is all because of Lejia’s lack of an heir. But no matter how anxious you are, you can’t rush it like this.
"Besides, you previously promised Yue Wei that you wouldn’t mention this matter again. For you to let Lejia and the others cause such a fuss is really unfair."
Xie Ruyi was caught off guard, her expression growing a bit unnatural. "I’m doing this for the good of you brothers.
"Le Di has three sons. If he adopts one out to Lejia, then even if Lejia takes in a concubine later on, he’ll already have a legitimate son. The Song Family, out of respect for you brothers, wouldn’t dare mistreat the child.
"But a child born to a concubine is different. They would be illegitimate after all.
"We are country folks, and though we usually don’t care about these things, Seventh Uncle’s situation is different now. We have to be at least a little particular..."
"Mother," Gu Letian interrupted her. "What does this have to do with Seventh Uncle?
"This is our own family’s business. Our family is just like this, there’s no need to be so particular."
Xie Ruyi glanced outside the door before lowering her voice. "Actually, I’ve always had another worry. What if Lejia is the one who can’t have children?
"When a child grows older, it’ll be too late to build a bond through adoption. I just wanted to do it while the children are still too young to remember..."
It wasn’t as if there weren’t such cases around them. In the past, people had blamed the daughter-in-law for being infertile, divorced her, and married another, only to find they still couldn’t have children.
But when the divorced wife remarried, she immediately gave her new family a chubby little boy. Then everyone would know the problem lay with the man.
The more Xie Ruyi heard these stories, the more uncertain she felt, which was why she was so obsessed with the adoption.
"Foolish," Gu Letian said, not expecting this to be the reason. "Have you had a doctor look at him? Have you discussed this with Father?"
Xie Ruyi shook her head blankly. She was trying her best to hide the matter; how could she dare spread it around?
Besides, there were only a few doctors in Fu County. If they really found out it was Lejia’s problem, how would he have the face to show himself in public?
Thinking of this, she looked up at Le Tian with a serious expression. "This matter is only known between the two of us. You must not go blabbing about it."
Gu Letian looked speechless. "Mother, there’s not even a shadow of proof for this. Who would I tell?
"Shouldn’t we be talking about the conflict between Le Di and Lejia right now?
"Since you promised Yue Wei not to bring this up again, you should keep your word.
"I’ll go talk to them later. It’s all just a misunderstanding in the end. I believe Lejia doesn’t have such intentions."
Xie Ruyi’s face darkened. "...I briefly mentioned it to Lejia before. I’m afraid he’s taken it to heart.
"The Song Family has been praying for a son all these years. I’ve also taken Song Xiuyang to see several doctors, and they all said there’s nothing wrong with her body, just a matter of waiting for the right time."
Gu Letian was rendered speechless.
"Originally, I thought whichever of you two brothers had more children could adopt one out to Lejia. Your father said that as the eldest son, you’re quite old and only have two young sons, so he wouldn’t agree. That’s why I thought of asking Le Di..."
Gu Letian was speechless once again.
He could no longer hear clearly what Xie Ruyi was saying next. He asked himself internally, "If I had to give away one of my own sons, would I be willing? No, I wouldn’t be. Even if I were adopting the boy out to my own biological brother, I would never agree."
At this moment, he truly understood why Le Di had lost his temper so badly.
"Mother, why don’t we go beg the Clan Leader to let Lejia take a concubine early?" In this moment, he chose to be a bit selfish.
Let Lejia and his wife figure it out themselves. Maybe they would end up having a child after all.
And he needed to tell his own wife when he got back not to bring the children over these next few days, and to stop wandering in front of Lejia and his wife.
"Impossible. I already asked earlier. There’s no way the clan would make an exception for Lejia." If this method worked, Xie Ruyi would also want Lejia to have his own child instead of eyeing his brothers’ children.
"What are you two doing here? Paying respects to your mother this early in the morning?" Liu Liu’s voice rang out from outside the door, and the mother and son immediately stopped their conversation.
"Alright, stop teasing them," Jin Qianqian said, looking at the two brothers kneeling on the ground. "You two head back first. We need to have a chat with your mother."
Once Jin Qianqian spoke, Gu Le Di and Gu Lejia felt somewhat conflicted, but they complied anyway.
After the two brothers left, Jin Qianqian called out toward the main wing room, "Xie Ruyi, we’ve come to talk to you. Is it convenient to come in?"
Perhaps to save face for the two children, the servant women and houseboys were not home at the moment, so Jin Qianqian could only resort to shouting.
"Come in!" Xie Ruyi said to Gu Letian, who was beside her. "Go bring some tea and pastries, and then you can head back."
Gu Letian hesitated. "Mother, why don’t you discuss this with Seventh Aunt and the others? Maybe there will be another way."
Xie Ruyi waved her hand impatiently. "I’ve already thought of every possible method. Don’t interfere in this."
Gu Letian thought to himself, "I certainly don’t want to interfere, but I’m worried the third child in my wife’s belly won’t be safe. If Le Di doesn’t want his Yun Xin to go over, I want it even less."
"Le Tian is here too," Liu Liu said as she lifted the curtain and walked in first. "Looks like we’re still a step late."
Xie Ruyi propped herself up against the heated brick bed. "My body is failing me, so I won’t get up to host you. Find a place to sit wherever you like. I’ll have Le Tian bring you some tea."
After greeting the elders, Gu Letian quickly excused himself.
"Why be so angry with the children? Brothers fight and argue, but maybe they’ll turn around and become as thick as thieves again," Li Xiaohua said, sitting next to Xie Ruyi. Up close, Xie Ruyi’s complexion looked even worse.
Jin Qianqian chose to sit at the end of the bed and offered a few words of comfort as well. "Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. Look at our mother—she let go, and her days are so much more carefree."
Xie Ruyi knew why they were here and knew they meant well. "I understand all these principles, but seeing the two brothers raising their fists against each other just makes my head throb.
"Now I can somewhat understand why my mother-in-law moved us all out back then. Out of sight, out of mind. But with my two karmic debts, I moved them out too, yet they still won’t give me any peace.
"And look at the wives they married—each one more formidable than the last. Being a mother-in-law like me is so stifling it could drive me to an early grave."
Liu Liu and the other two exchanged glances, but no one said a word. If one were to say Song Xiuyang was unreliable and stirred up trouble all day, they would believe it.
But when it came to Xie Yuewei, there was truly nothing to criticize. Even the old madam frequently praised her as a good match.