The dying old lady was carried over by the little maids, and when she heard this, she immediately rolled her eyes with anger, and she was about to faint.

Ruan Qingzhi glanced at it, and did not step forward to greet him, but the second and third masters greeted him, kneeling and crying, saying that the eldest brother had gone miserably, and he had to invite monks and Taoists to recite the scriptures for a few more days, and he would never be buried so soon.

The old lady relieved herself, ignored her two sons, and looked straight at Ruan Qingzhi: "Your father hasn't been buried for three days, who said he wants to be buried?" When will it be your turn to call the shots?! ”

Ruan Qingzhi stood in front of the threshold and said unhurriedly: "Father's funeral should naturally be decided by the children. My younger siblings are still young, and I am the eldest daughter. ”

"You!" The old lady trembled with anger, "The old body is not dead, do you think this prime minister's mansion is yours!" ”

"Grandmother, there is no prime minister's mansion anymore." Ruan Qingzhi looked at her and said.

The old lady sat up straight in her chair.

Ruan Qingzhi stood in place and looked around at everyone, and said coldly: "This mansion is not the Prime Minister's Mansion anymore, but it is still the home of our sister and brother and a few aunts. How to arrange this family in the future, we will figure it out ourselves, and we will not bother with all uncles and uncles. ”

The clan uncle who took the lead in the attack before coughed and stepped forward: "Eldest sister, if you talk like this, it will inevitably hurt everyone's hearts too much." Although Xiangye is gone, you are still members of the Ruan family, if you don't let us interfere at this time, won't you enter the ancestral hall of the Ruan family in the future? ”

"I don't want to go." Ruan Qingzhi looked at him, "Uncle Sixteen, do you think I can't get married?" Besides, daughters who can't marry can't enter their mother's ancestral hall unless they get a chastity archway or something. What's the matter, you're always going to force me to death first, and then go and hire a memorial arch for me to carry me into the ancestral hall of the Ruan family? ”

"This, you ......" The other party looked embarrassed, spread his hands and shrugged his shoulders: "This kid, why is it so ugly!" ”

"I'm even more ugly." Ruan Qingzhi simply sat down on the threshold, "Uncle Sixteen, don't think that I don't know what you are doing. Now you see that my house is a piece of fat mutton, and you can touch it casually and you can get a hand of oil and water, isn't it? ”

Hearing this, seven or eight people in the courtyard jumped up together and shouted:

"How does this kid speak?"

"The elders of the clan took pity on you young and kindly came to help, and your kindness has become a donkey's liver and lungs!"

"How did you have such a black heart at such a young age!"

"It's really a dog biting Lu Dongbin......"

In the end, before the man's words were finished, a sleeve arrow in Cheng Hu's hand had already flown over and was inserted into the brim of his hat in a dignified manner.

The commotion stopped abruptly.

Ruan Qingzhi looked at the man and smiled, and asked, "You say I'm a dog?" ”

The man was a little timid and did not answer.

Cheng Hu said coldly on the side: "Catch Ming'er and see His Royal Highness - oh no, my Royal Highness is the emperor - Catch Ming'er and see the emperor, and he must report it truthfully, just say that someone in the Ruan family scolds our future queen mother for being a dog!" ”

The man's face changed greatly, and his legs were weak and he knelt down: "I didn't say ......"

"Okay," Ruan Qingzhi didn't wait for him to beg for mercy, and sneered coldly, "Don't pretend to be Lu Dongbin with such soft legs, your little Taoism is not enough to see in front of me." I came here tonight to tell all my uncles and uncles in person: This house still has an owner, and it is not yet time to tear down the walls and divide the bricks! ”

"Eldest sister," the third lady Li sighed and walked over, "This matter is that you want to deviate, no one wants to divide your house!" What your sixteenth uncle means is that there are so many things inside and outside the house, where can you children take care of them! Don't say anything else, let's just say those granges and shops, which are the lifeblood of a large family! If there is no one in the house who can take charge, how do you know how much people will calculate! ”

Ruan Qingzhi raised his head and smiled, so frightened that Li took two steps back, and raised his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes in disguise.

Ruan Qingzhi smiled even deeper when she saw this: "Third aunt, I said that your thoughts can't be hidden from me, don't you still believe it?" ”

"You kid!" Li shook his hand heavily, looking helpless, as if he hated iron but not steel.

Ruan Qingzhi glanced at her and smiled: "Third aunt, you also said it yourself, the grange and the shop are the lifeblood of a large family." Now that so many of you are staring at me and stretching out your hands to grab the lifeblood of my family, do you still want me to give you a good look? ”

Li Shi was choked by her, his face was flushed, and he didn't advance or retreat for a while, so he had to look at the old lady again: "Mother, look ......?"

The old lady was probably angry, her face, which had always been a little pale, was frighteningly red at the moment, and her eyes stared straight at Ruan Qingzhi: "So many of your own parents are outsiders in your eyes?" You keep saying that you want to protect your younger brothers and sisters, and this old woman with me is also an outsider in your eyes? My son's bones are not cold, and there is no place for me in the courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion? ”

As soon as these words came out, they immediately attracted a lot of echo.

Filial piety is the first of all goodness in the world, and it is a great sin not to respect one's grandmother. At that moment, everyone was gossiping, accusing Ruan Qingzhi of being disrespectful and cold-hearted.

Ruan Qingzhi slowly stood up, took two steps towards the old lady, and said in a deep voice: "Of course, there is a place for you in the Prime Minister's Mansion, grandmother. But as far as I know, my father and uncle and three brothers have split up more than ten years ago, right? At that time, the Ruan family's property was divided into four equal parts, and because my grandmother lived with my father, two shares of the family wealth were in the Xiangfu, and the second and third uncles each got one share, right? ”

The old lady glared at her and did not answer.

Ruan Qingzhi didn't feel embarrassed, and continued: "Although my father is gone, he is not dead, so his share of property should be taken over by our sister and brother. If your grandmother thinks that our brothers and sisters can't take care of your old man's house, you can take your share of property to find a second or third uncle to live with, and it will save others from saying that Hao'er Jiao'er is a child raised by her grandmother in the future, and she is squeamish and not responsible. ”

"You!" The old lady, who had been ill for many days, stood up angrily, "...... The old man had never heard of his granddaughter leaving the house with her grandmother! Are you going to rebel! ”

"I don't rebel." Ruan Qingzhi said coldly, "I'm afraid that my grandmother will sell us and let our three girls who have not yet left the cabinet and two enlightened children become dogs under other people's fences, and we have to wag our tails and beg others to get a bone to eat." ”

"My big brother!" Second Lady Fang suddenly sat down on the ground and cried: "Why did you suddenly let go!" Leave this ignorant child, what can I do! Everyone has the surname 'Ruan', is it going to smash the ancestral hall and divide the sect now! ”

When the old lady heard this cry, her eyes immediately turned red, and she stared at Ruan Qingzhi viciously, as if she were staring at an enemy.

Ruan Hao walked over timidly and tugged at the corner of Ruan Qingzhi's clothes: "Big sister, otherwise, let's listen to grandmother, right?" ”

Next to him, Liu Shi also nodded, and pushed Ruan Hongyu out to echo, but Ruan Hongyu ignored it.

Ruan Qingzhi saw this battle, suddenly smiled, and sat down again: "Okay." Let's listen to our grandmother and see what future our always fair grandmother can earn us! ”

Seeing that she was showing weakness, the old lady's face looked better, and she immediately said to her two sons: "The old man is too old to take care of things, and the children are still young, so it is really not good. You two call the shots. ”

The second master's face immediately showed joy. The third master even knelt down and said "thank you mother", until the second master grabbed him on the shoulder, he came back to his senses, and hurriedly added: "My son must do his best."

The atmosphere quickly returned to harmony, the third master stood up, and said to everyone in the first sentence: "Children are not sensible, don't take it to heart." The eldest brother will be suspended for at least seven days, don't demolish the mourning hall first! ”

Everyone responded with a bang, immediately put down the pole carrying the coffin, and laughed.

The old lady frowned when she heard the laughter, but said nothing.

The third old man coughed and raised his voice: "The eldest brother was the prime minister before his death, and he represented the face of the court, so the funeral naturally cannot be simple." Ah Chong, you go and talk to the housekeeper here, replace the incense, candles, tributes and wines in the mourning hall with the best, and redo the filial piety clothes with the best materials! This is the façade of the Prime Minister's House, but it is not a place to save money! ”

The little guy named Ah Chong agreed with a smile on his face, and turned his head to leave.

"Wait." Ruan Qingzhi spoke coldly and stopped people.

The third old man turned around and smiled: "Eldest niece, you are still sick, we can handle these things as the elders, how can there be any reason for you to bother a little girl!" ”

The second master also beckoned to his little servant: "You also go to meet the housekeeper, and say that me and your third master want to see the account books in the house." The degree of food and clothing inside and outside here, we always have to have a number in our hearts, right? ”

The two little servants felt that their master was reasonable, and happily turned around and ran out at the same time.

"Stop!" Cheng Hu suddenly screamed, and the candles in the mourning hall trembled.

The happy atmosphere in the courtyard immediately froze.

The second old man sank his face and looked at Ruan Qingzhi: "Big niece, what do you mean by this?" You said that you were willing to let us enter the house, but it turned out that you coaxed us? This minion's attitude shouldn't be what you meant, right? ”

"Second Uncle, please pay attention to your wording." Ruan Qingzhi said coldly, "The 'minion' in your mouth is the centurion of the Northwest Army. Although it can barely be regarded as a martial arts position from the seventh grade, the size is also an official of the imperial court, and he can afford to kowtow to him. ”

The second master's face changed.

Ruan Qingzhi hooked the corners of her lips and continued: "Also, I only promised to listen to my grandmother's opinion, but I didn't promise to let you enter the mansion. I thought that my grandmother would take pity on us for the sake of our children who have no father or mother, but now it seems that she is not worthy of the trust of our siblings. Then I'm sorry, second uncle, I still have to take care of this matter. ”

"Big sister, don't be unreasonable!" The old lady shouted.

Ruan Qingzhi glanced up at her, her expression was colder than hers: "Old lady, please call me the county lord of Qingyang!" ”

She stood up with a dignified attitude: "My rank is not high, but I am also eating the imperial court." You want to be my master, but I'm afraid it's not enough! ”

Momentum has always been a trade-off. Her momentum was in full bloom, and the old lady involuntarily weakened, and she was dumbfounded for a long time before asking in a deep voice: "Do you want to suppress people with power?" ”

"Yes." Ruan Qingzhi admitted frankly, "My grandmother and uncles bullied me by virtue of age and strength, so why can't I bully you by my identity?" ”

"Big niece, you, you're out of sight!" The second master barely squeezed out a smile, and his face was ugly.

Ruan Qingzhi ignored him, stepped forward, and looked at everyone: "Want to be my master?" My child is not sensible, don't take it to heart? Want to see my account book and manage my family's Grange shop? ”

"Lord Qingyang!" The third master stood up, "The things in the Prime Minister's Mansion are not all yours!" You will have to leave the cabinet sooner or later, and the property in this house belongs to Hao'er and Jiao'er in the final analysis, right? The two of them are young, what's wrong with us being uncles taking care of them for a while? ”

Ruan Qingzhi sneered: "Third uncle, the Ruan family split up more than ten years ago, don't you know whether the family is thick or thin?" Are you all going to pretend to forget, nine out of ten points of the Prime Minister's family were brought over by my mother! My grandmother had promised that everything my mother had brought with her would be my dowry. Why, now that my father has just died, you are going to come and rob me of my dowry? My grandmother is going to break her promise and get fat? ”

Everyone present looked at each other, and their faces became more ugly than the other.

The second master tried to maintain a smile, rubbed his hands and said, "That's not what the truth says!" Eldest nephew...... County Lord, although most of the property is yours, you can't starve your younger brothers and sisters......"

"When did I starve them?" Ruan Qingzhi asked rhetorically.

The second master couldn't answer.

Ruan Qingzhi glanced at him and said mockingly: "At this time, you remember to make decisions for the children?" Isn't it time to rush to check the account book and calculate how much oil and water you can fish? Second uncle and third uncle, do you two know that the successive snow disasters a few years ago, the harvest of the grange and shops in the Xiangfu was not good, and if my father's funeral was extravagant, our family would have to cut back on food and clothing next month! ”

"This, that can't be ......" The second old man stammered, his face flushed.

Ruan Qingzhi sneered: "Of course you don't know. You only know that your father's funeral will take a few more days, and these uncles, aunts, and aunts present will be able to drink a few more bowls of wine and eat a few more pieces of meat, and everyone will miss your good ...... As for whether our children are starving or not, where do you care? You don't have to starve to death, do you? ”

Of course, no one would answer such words, and everyone's faces were not good-looking, looking at her as if they were looking at an enemy.

Ruan Qingzhi didn't care, grabbed a white silk flower and tore it off vigorously, and threw it into the brazier: "Human nature is like this, it's not a big sin to be greedy for this little bit of food and drink." But have you forgotten that this is the time of national mourning! Because of the disaster a year ago, the people were unbearable, and even His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince only stopped for seven days! How much credit does my father have to be equal to a prince? Do you think that you can't destroy your family and exterminate your family?! ”

Everyone looked at each other when they heard this. The old lady's face changed greatly: "This, won't it be a raid on the family and exterminate the clan?" ”

"No, no." Ruan Qingzhi said coldly, "But grandmother, have you forgotten how my father died?" ”

The old lady's face was gloomy, and she clutched her cane in both hands, trembling slightly.

Ruan Qingzhi walked over slowly and lowered his voice: "Do you think that as long as the court does not ask for guilt, my father is really not guilty?" Do you think that it is a very honorable thing for my father to indirectly kill hundreds of thousands of people, worthy of being remembered in history, and worthy of the whole city wearing linen and filial piety to see him off? ”

The old lady was shocked and angry, and was speechless for a long time.

Ruan Qingzhi took a breath and straightened up: "Grandmother, at this time, it is better to be low-key or low-key." Taking advantage of the large number of people who went to Beijing to do funerals these days, they were quietly carried out and buried, I don't know how much right and wrong I can save! ”

The old lady thought silently for a long time, sighed and leaned back in the chair: "That's it, the old body can't be the master, let it be!" ”

That's not a good word.

A younger generation forced the grandmother not to make the decision, of course, it is still unfilial.

But Ruan Qingzhi didn't care. When she got this, she turned around and instructed the servants in the house, "Send it to the funeral." Remember that the road is quiet, it is late at night, don't disturb the people. ”

At this time, the little servants did not disobey her words, and immediately eight people stepped forward to lift Ruan Wenzhong's coffin, and after crying twice, they walked out.

Ruan Qingzhi looked at the extra little people in the courtyard, and pointed to Ruan Biyun's coffin again: "Let's carry it out together, what are you waiting for?" ”

The little guy hurriedly agreed to step forward and lift up, and went out without even crying. The remaining girls and mothers-in-law at the back were clever, and immediately stepped forward to start dismantling the white flags in the mourning hall.

Ruan Qingzhi clapped his hands: "It's not early, you uncles and uncles can eat and drink here, you can go home at this time, and we juniors will not be accompanied." ”

No one in the courtyard answered, and everyone in the courtyard looked embarrassed, and they didn't leave or stay.

Chu Jianniang couldn't help it, walked up to Ruan Qingzhi and asked in a low voice, "This is not good, right?" Will they all be offended? ”

Ruan Qingzhi took her hand and walked into the mourning hall to avoid the crowd, and said with a smile: "It's nothing to be sad about offending a group of leeches, right?" ”

Chu Jianniang couldn't help but laugh when she heard this.

Ruan Qingzhi patted the back of her hand and said comfortingly: "Don't worry, as long as we don't open this opening, these people won't be able to make any waves." Our own family is all fine, how can we let outsiders take care of our food and clothing! ”

Chu Jianniang breathed a sigh of relief and said yes again and again.

Ruan Qingzhi thought for a while, and said: "The old lady is indeed getting more and more dim, and I don't know how many days I can live in the mansion, you have to pay more attention to the affairs of the mansion in the future, and the life of this family will depend on you." ”

Chu Jiaoniang was overjoyed and thanked her again and again.

Ruan Qingzhi took her back to the outside of the mourning hall, and saw that the mother-in-law and the servants in the house had already begun to send off guests, and couldn't help but be very satisfied: "You see, our own people are reliable in doing things." ”

"yes!" Chu Jianniang said with emotion, "Whether it is at home or in the shop, they are all old people who have been used for more than ten years, of course, all of them are capable." Temporarily letting outsiders take over is self-defeating! ”

The old lady knew that this was for her, and she only held her breath.

The second old man and the third old man didn't leave, and when they saw that there were fewer people in the courtyard, they walked over together again, and came to Ruan Qingzhi: "Lord Qingyang, now there is no serious family member in your house, my brothers and sisters are worried that the old lady will be wronged, and they intend to take her old man out to live, what do you think?" ”

"Ouch!" Ruan Qingzhi smiled, looking flattered: "For such a big matter, the two uncles should discuss it with their grandmother, how can I be a junior?" As long as my grandmother agrees, I will immediately ask the housekeeper to clean up my grandmother's share of the property and send it out respectfully! ”

emphasizes "the industry of the year", which of course means "don't think about the property that is related to the Luan family".

The two old men understood this sentence, and of course the old lady understood it better.

No one knows better than the old lady what is the difference between the "property of the Prime Minister's Mansion of the year" and the "property of the Prime Minister's Mansion".

The Ruan family's little property back then, if sold in its entirety, I am afraid it will not exceed 5,000 taels of silver.

The old lady has been accustomed to eating and drinking in the Prime Minister's Mansion all these years, and it is impossible for her to accept it if she is holding a budget of five thousand taels of silver for the rest of her life.

Sure enough, Ruan Qingzhi's voice fell, and the old lady immediately said coldly: "I'm used to living here, what are you doing moving around?" You two can't do anything, you should also think about earning a family business for future generations, don't calculate what your eldest brother left behind! ”

It's a change in the wind.

The faces of the two masters were ugly, and they were very unwilling to go, and they still refused to leave.

Ruan Qingzhi looked at the two of them and said with a smile: "What, the two uncles still want to stay and help our family clean up the table, dishes and chopsticks?" ”

"No need, no need," the two lords waved their hands at the same time, "The county lord is young and old, and he has the skills to govern the family, so we don't have anything to worry about, so let's leave." ”

Ruan Qingzhi smiled and respectfully sent the two of them out, but when he turned around, he saw that the old lady hadn't left yet.

Facing that stern gaze, Ruan Qingzhi smiled: "Grandmother, don't worry, the sky in this mansion can't collapse." ”

"You," the old lady twitched the corner of her mouth, "when will your injury be healed?" It won't be delayed, will it? ”

Ruan Qingzhi raised his hand and touched his face, and smiled even deeper: "Grandmother, don't worry, he doesn't dare to return it in the cold night." ”