allonlinenovel Chapter 180 The Discord Among the Wu Brothers
Chapter 180 The Discord Among the Wu Brothers
Wu Fengyuan was Wu Yangeng's youngest son and the son on whom he placed great hopes. His wedding was a grand affair, and the guests invited to attend were all prominent figures in the capital.
Among the guests, Wen Zongji was not of high rank; he sat at a table with many sons of noble families.
Coincidentally, sitting next to him was An Guanglu from the Duke of Anguo's mansion. An Guanglu failed the examination for the position of Shujishi and now works in the Ministry of Revenue.
As for Lu Nian'an, although his family background was ordinary, he was already engaged to the Wu family and was considered one of the Wu family members, so he sat at the same table with the Wu family.
Seeing Wen Zongji's gaze fall on Wu Yangeng's eldest son, Wu Fengcheng, An Guanglu whispered, "I heard that the scale of Wu's sixth son's wedding this time has exceeded that of Wu Fengcheng. He must be feeling uncomfortable."
Wu Fengcheng was ten years older than Wu Fengyuan. He not only married early, but also already had children.
Logically speaking, since he received preferential treatment from the family resources before Wu Fengyuan, Wu Fengyuan shouldn't be a threat to his position.
In fact, although Wu Fengcheng passed the imperial examination with high honors, he did not become a probationary official. He obtained an official position through Wu Yangeng's connections, but after several years, he is now only a fifth-rank official.
Wu Fengyuan started as the second-place scholar in the imperial examinations and was a member of the Hanlin Academy. Wu Fengcheng's ten-year age difference became a disadvantage for him.
Because it is obvious to the naked eye that Wu Fengyuan is younger and has more potential.
The scale of this grand wedding revealed the Wu family's plans to some people.
Wen Zongji looked away: "Other people's family matters are none of our business."
An Guanglu laughed: "Brother Wen is indeed cautious. However, everyone knows that the Wu brothers are not on good terms. Their conflict did not only erupt after the sixth son of the Wu family became the second-highest scorer in the imperial examination. To be precise, their relationship has been strained ever since the sixth son of the Wu family became known as a child prodigy."
Wen Zongji glanced at him: "Brother An, why are you also paying attention to such news that's hard to tell if it's true or false?"
An Guanglu said, "I can say this because I'm sure it's true. Everyone here is in the capital, so it's hard to keep anything completely a secret. For example, I heard about the news that Second Young Master Pei is getting engaged."
Wen Zongji believed it.
As expected, there are no secrets under the emperor's nose.
Even news from the imperial palace would circulate in various ways, let alone news from individual residences.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that no gag order was issued. If a gag order had been issued, it might not have been able to keep the secret forever, but at least it could have kept the news hidden for a while.
An Guanglu sighed, "Young Master Pei is about to get married, but my little sister is still unmarried."
Wen Zongji did not respond.
He wasn't interested in settling down.
An Guanglu didn't say much; no matter how much he said, Wen Zongji couldn't help him solve the problem.
He continued to gossip with Wen Zongji about the Wu family: "Grand Secretary Wu only has two legitimate sons. We even made a bet in private about who would take over the Wu family business in the future, and most people chose the sixth son of the Wu family."
"Back then, the sixth son of the Wu family hadn't even passed the high school entrance exam yet. If the betting were to resume now, I'm afraid very few people would choose the eldest son of the Wu family."
Wen Zongji shook his head: "I think the Wu family's business will be inherited by the eldest son."
An Guanglu was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized: "Brother Wen's words make sense. Grand Secretary Wu only has two legitimate sons. Entrusting the family business to the eldest son will ensure his lifelong wealth. We should fully support the second son so that he can go further in the court and establish his own household in the future. This way, he won't have to compete with the eldest son for the family business. It's a win-win situation, truly ingenious."
Wen Zongji said, "I don't know Grand Secretary Wu's personality, but I know that Brother Wu is not the kind of person who would fight over the family property."
Although Wu Fengyuan was occasionally a bit unreliable, Wen Zongji knew after spending time with him that he was a man of integrity and upright character, and that he deserved the title of "gentleman".
Such a person would never do something like fighting with his eldest brother for the family property.
An Guanglu said, "It seems that in recent years, rumors of discord among the Wu brothers have spread because the eldest son of the Wu family vented his dissatisfaction with the sixth son of the Wu family while drunk. But we have never heard the sixth son of the Wu family say anything about dissatisfaction with the eldest son of the Wu family."
"However, this matter is no longer up to Wu the Sixth."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Fengyuan led the bride in with a red silk ribbon.
The auspicious time has arrived; it's time for the wedding ceremony.
Wen Zongji once again observed a wedding and noticed Wu Fengcheng's gaze fixed on Wu Fengyuan.
His expression was gloomy, tinged with resentment.
He sighed inwardly.
As An Guanglu said, there are some things that Wu Fengyuan can choose not to fight for simply because he doesn't want to.
……
the other side
There was also a banquet for the women.
Zuo Mingxuan and Pei Rujing sat together, whispering to each other about An Qingyan not far away: "I heard that she has always looked down on the people that the Duchess of Anguo chose for her, and she makes a scene every day, causing chaos in the Anguo Mansion. If she continues to cause trouble like this, the Duchess and Duchess of Anguo will lose patience with her sooner or later."
Zuo Mingxuan clicked her tongue and said, "I never realized An Qingyan was so stupid."
Pei Rujing sneered: "Are you blind? I saw through An Si's stupidity a long time ago."
Pei Rujing has never had a good impression of An Qingyan.
Although the two had little contact since their argument at Yunxiu Workshop, the county princess was petty and held a grudge.
Perhaps the intense gazes of the two made An Qingyan notice, for her gaze shifted and met Pei Rujing's.
An Qingyan's expression stiffened, then she casually looked away, pretending not to have seen anything.
Pei Rujing narrowed her eyes: "Putting everything else aside, An Si doesn't seem as arrogant as before."
In the past, when the two looked at each other, they would glare at each other fiercely.
But just now, Pei Rujing had no interest in doing such childish things again, and An Qingyan did the same, instead avoiding eye contact.
Pei Rujing immediately felt bored: "An Si has become timid."
Seeing her lack of interest, Zuo Mingxuan couldn't help but laugh: "What are you thinking, Princess? Do you really need An Si to come and provoke you?"
Pei Rujing rolled her eyes at her: "I didn't think that way. I just feel that only a few months have passed, but a lot has changed."
Before their marriage, she and Zuo Mingxuan were only acquaintances, but their relationship wasn't very good. In fact, they often bickered. Now, however, they have become very close.
She and An Qingyan were mortal enemies, and they would almost always make sarcastic remarks to each other whenever they met.
However, in the months since their marriage, the two have seen each other very few times, and now when they do meet, they no longer feel the urge to argue.
Everyone has changed a lot.
Zuo Mingxuan wasn't surprised: "We were young back then, so it's normal for us to change as we grow up."
Pei Rujing thought to herself, "You're right."
Zuo Mingxuan said, "I plan to invite Wu Fengyuan's wife to join the society. What does the county princess think?"
Pei Rujing thought for a moment: "She seems to like playing mahjong too? Then let's invite her. You're the club president, so it's your decision."
Zuo Mingxuan said, "The county princess is the deputy head of the cooperative, so we should at least ask her."
"Okay, I agree."