Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Ancestral Mansion Belongs to the Young Mistress.

Chapter 15: The Ancestral Mansion Belongs to the Young Mistress.

This mansion is mine, right? Does it count?

Old Lady Qin kept echoing Qin Liuxi's words in her mind until she returned to her room, then looked at her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Wang, with a complex expression.

"What is she thinking?" she wondered.

Mrs. Wang remained silent; she too was puzzled by Qin Liuxi's intentions.

Mrs. Xie couldn't contain her curiosity and asked urgently, "Mother, what did Xi mean by that? Saying the old mansion is hers? Isn’t it our Qin family’s ancestral home?"

"An ancestral mansion, which even the males of the family dare not claim, how did it become hers?"

Old Lady Qin sighed, "Master Chiyuan must have foreseen the troubles of our Qin family."

Mrs. Xie was confused, wondering what that meant.

It turned out that when Master Chiyuan took Qin Liuxi away years ago, he had a secret conversation with Old Master Qin. The person escorting Qin Liuxi back turned out to be Old Master Qin's trusted aide, Cheng Shu. After returning to Licheng, Cheng Shu worked his connections. On the surface, the mansion remained the Qin family’s ancestral home, but the deed had been transferred to Master Chiyuan and then gifted to Qin Liuxi.

When the Qin family was raided, all their properties were seized, except for this ancestral mansion far away in Licheng.

Old Lady Qin had managed to keep this mansion by claiming it as a personal gift and pleaded with the Empress Dowager to preserve it, so everything remained untouched, allowing the Qin family to return here for shelter.

And now, Qin Liuxi had suddenly brought this up.

"So, does this mean the deed of this mansion is now in Xi's hands? It's hers?" Mrs. Xie asked in shock, her voice rising.

Were they living at the mercy of others, liable to be thrown out at any moment?

"It was a necessary measure at the time," Old Lady Qin said wearily. "We're fortunate that the mansion changed hands back then; otherwise, we wouldn't even have a place to settle down now."

"But mother, this is the ancestral home. How can it be given to Xi? We need to retrieve the deed," Mrs. Xie said anxiously, worried about the mansion now being in Qin Liuxi's hands and, by extension, hers.

Mrs. Wang spoke calmly, "Sister-in-law, our family is now bearing a criminal status. Even if we retrieve it, won't we have to hand it over to the authorities for confiscation?"

Mrs. Xie choked, realizing that Mrs. Wang was indifferent as the deed was effectively in the hands of the senior branch of the family.

"That's not what I mean..."

"Enough," scolded Old Lady Qin sternly. "Your sister-in-law is right. This is a time for the Qin family to keep a low profile. Why make a fuss over a mere deed? Your husband, father-in-law, and son are all still in exile, and you seem less concerned about them than this piece of paper."

Mrs. Xie's face turned purple with suppressed emotion, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief, chokingly saying, "Mother, you're cutting deep. He's my husband; how can I not think of him? If it weren't for the children, I would have wished to follow him into exile."

Old Lady Qin snorted, "Stop your fake crying. I find it bad luck."

Mrs. Xie looked sheepish.

Recalling the events of the day, Old Lady Qin turned to Ding Momo, who handed a pouch to Mrs. Wang.

"This pouch was secretly given to me by your great-aunt when we were leaving the capital. Take it; this family needs you to take charge," Old Lady Qin said, looking at the pouch. "True colors show in hard times. The Wang family has shown great integrity. Our Qin family did well in this marriage alliance. Should our family be vindicated, remember the Wang family's kindness."

It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but hard to send charcoal in the snow. Being able to discreetly provide for them despite the emperor's displeasure showed both capability and loyalty, unlike Qin Meiniang's in-laws, who immediately abandoned her with a divorce letter at the first sign of trouble, leaving no room for sentiment.

Qin Meiniang seemed to realize this too, and began to sob quietly.