MTL - My Stepmother is Soft and Charming

Chapter 13 Entering the Ancestral Hall

That coy look made the second son Shang Qilang standing next to him a little surprised.

Without saying anything, he turned around and left the place.

 In the courtyard.

Mrs. Wei stepped forward and helped the third old lady herself, and then the fifth old lady.

Shang Yukuan next to him also helped the third old man and the fifth old man up.

These people didn't enjoy the sweetness, so naturally they refused to give up.

Especially the fifth old man, he said cursingly.

“Look at how evil he is that day. He wants to kill everyone around him, and he wants to send us to guard the mausoleum? Bah, let’s see who dares!”

As he spoke, he added angrily.

“This Du family is already the fourth one, I’ll wait and see how many days this one can survive!”

He was originally a gangster in the village, but now that he is dressed in brocade clothes and has wine in his belly, he can't stop his domineering appearance.

Hence the curse words are very unpleasant to hear.

After all, he was his own son. Shang Yukuan was a little unhappy after hearing this and immediately replied.

"How come my son is the only star of the Heavenly Evil? Uncle Wu's words are too unpleasant! No wonder Liulang doesn't like to deal with you, one or two people may be planning him behind his back!"

Then he snorted coldly and gave up. He left the yard angrily and hid in the study.

The fifth old man knew that what he said was a bit harsh, but with a room full of children, grandchildren, and servants watching, how could he back down.

So he scratched his neck and said.

"What's the matter, isn't that what is said outside? If not, you wouldn't have gone to help him marry this Du family girl with a strong destiny. We are the Duke's mansion! Even a merchant's daughter can do this. The future Duke’s wife is really hilarious!”

 The woman has a long tongue.

 But these five old men talk more like a woman than a woman.

Mrs. Wei, who had been frustrated by Shang Ji and Du Jingyi, was happy to see Wu Fang venting her anger on her behalf.

 So although I kept trying to persuade him, all I said was embellished.

 The fifth old man scolded him until the end, even arranging the story of the Gu family's death in battle.

 It seems that they encountered this difficulty because of Shang Ji's tough character.

　　It made the people below whisper to each other.

But before he was happy with the scolding, Luo Yuan had already led his troops back from outside. When he heard these filthy words, his eyes immediately turned cold.

“Gagged, tied up, and sent to guard the tomb!”

"yes."

Those who came were all well-trained guards. The people in the third and fifth rooms were no match.

Crying and making noise, but to no avail.

 In the end, the third old man and the fifth old man were forced out.

Seeing this, the people in the two houses seemed to have lost their backbone. They looked at each other quite sadly, but did not dare to make any mistakes again.

To the northwest of the Duke's Mansion is the merchant's ancestral hall.

 The surroundings were solemn and very quiet.

Du Jingyi followed Shang Ji here and took a deep breath before entering.

The merchant had only been established for a few years, so there weren't many tablets placed on it.

In addition to the old Duke of Shang and his wife in the first row, there are the memorial tablets of Shang Gu's family in the second row, Shang Dalang's memorial tablets in the third row, and the tablets of Shang Ji's first three wives.

They are Shang Xu family, Shang Jing family and Shang Wang family respectively.

In addition, some scattered memorial tablets were placed for the sons and daughters-in-law whose third and fifth bedrooms were gone.

Incense is also offered.

Du Jingyi has never entered this ancestral hall alone except for the whole family coming to worship together every New Year's Eve.

 At first it would have felt a bit gloomy, but now it has a nostalgic atmosphere. Probably because Shang Ji had a calming temperament, Du Jingyi no longer felt as scared as before.

Standing in front of Shang Gu's tablet, Du Jingyi took the cup of tea from Yingying's hand and knelt down in front of the tablet.

Shang Ji next to her also followed her, and Du Jingyi said calmly and with some sincerity.

 “Daughter-in-law Du pays tea to her mother-in-law.”

Shang Ji saw her attitude and felt quite comforted by it.

 When he turned his head to look at the tablet, his face looked a little sad.

 Shang Ji then spoke softly.

"Mother, if you know anything about this, you can rest assured that your son is back and no one will dare to bully my Gu family in the future."

　　Immediately afterwards, he looked at Shang Dalang's tablet, and his tone changed from sad to much harder.

“Brother, rest in peace. As long as I am here, my sister-in-law and nephew will not be wronged again.”

Du Jingyi knelt quietly on the futon, listening to her husband Shang Ji talking to his mother-in-law and eldest brother.

Before she got married, the two of them died of illness.

 Hence, she didn’t know the specific situation.

There are no less shady things in the high-level courtyard than in small households like theirs, so it is better for her to inquire less.

 Shut up and listen quietly until the time for burning incense has passed. Then Shang Ji said calmly.

“I’m sorry, I was so busy with my thoughts that I forgot that you were still kneeling.”

Du Jingyi smiled and said.

“This is my first time serving tea to my mother-in-law. It doesn’t matter if I kneel down for a while.”

"Um."

Shang Ji stretched out his hand to help Du Jingyi stand up, but found that the maids on her left and right had already stepped forward to help her in distress.

Had no choice but to take back his hand, and his expression returned to normal.

“Let’s go back and meet my sister-in-law and the others. I should have introduced you to them three years ago.”

"good."

 After saying this, the couple walked all the way towards Dongyuan.

I don’t know if it’s because there are few servants around the ancestral hall, or because of the scene just now, the servants didn’t dare to cause trouble in front of Shang Ji.

 So, the servants who originally followed them and wanted to watch the excitement disappeared without a trace.

 The couple were silent all the way.

 I waited until I entered the gate of Xitang Courtyard and saw someone familiar.

Then Shang Ji opened his mouth and said to Butler He and Aunt Dou who were guarding the gate of Dongyuan.

"You two have worked hard these past few years. When this is over, we will move to the General's Mansion and live a good life."

Steward He and Aunt Dou were both left behind by Mrs. Gu before her death.

 They have been guarding Dongyuan loyally.

 So, no matter how smoky it is outside, everyone in Dongyuan can still live a peaceful life.

 Including the Fuqiu Courtyard where the widowed lady Liu lived and the Hanyi Courtyard where the eighth lady of the merchant Xu Niang lived, they were not affected by the autumn wind in the third and fifth rooms.

 Therefore, after hearing Shang Ji's words, the two of them said with tears in their eyes, feeling happy.

 “Old slaves, just listen to the general’s arrangements.”

"Um."

After saying this, the couple walked towards Xitang Courtyard in the middle of Dongyuan.

The eldest lady Liu, her nephew Shang Zhiping, and the eighth young lady Shang Xue have all been waiting for a long time.

Seeing the couple arriving, the first one to get up was the merchant's eighth lady, Mrs. Gu's youngest daughter Shang Xue.

 (End of this chapter)