The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 569 - 536: Stepping In to Save Face

This is a double-sided carved jade pendant with full red blood jade, whose intricate patterns demonstrate the exquisite craftsmanship, clearly not an ordinary item.

Song Wei thought for a long time but could not recall when and where he had seen such a jade pendant. He put his mind at ease and told the steward to return the item to Ah Gui.

When the steward arrived at the Ten Thousand Books Study, Ah Gui was teaching Jinbao to write, while Xu Dengke was grinding ink beside him.

This pair of master and servant has been quite out of place with others since the day they entered the mansion.

The master’s reactions were naturally slow, but his temper was inexplicably good. Although the servant never openly did anything to harm the master, his words and actions showed little loyalty and respect. In the eyes of the Song Mansion steward, these two were neither like master and servant, which was quite strange.

The steward lingered at the door for a while before being noticed by the people inside.

Ah Gui instructed Jinbao to write on his own and stepped out of the study, asking, "Is there something you need?"

The steward said, "Master had me take people to the lotus pond this morning to look for something and we fished out a jade pendant. Take a look, is it yours?"

Ah Gui glanced at it, his gaze somewhat frozen.

"It’s mine." He reached out to take it and thanked him, then asked the steward, "Did the master ask for the retrieval?"

"Exactly." The steward patted his shoulder, "You’re lucky, otherwise with another master, it might not be so kindhearted. By the way, how come you have such a precious jade pendant? Did Mr. Xu give it to you?"

Ah Gui replied vaguely and continued to ask, "Did the master say anything after seeing the jade pendant?"

The steward recalled Song Wei’s unusual reaction at the time but thought there was no need to report everything to a servant, and coldly said, "Our master never speaks ill behind others’ backs, it’s just a jade pendant, what could he possibly say?"

"If he said nothing, he said nothing, why so fierce?"

Ah Gui pursed his lips, wrapped the jade pendant with a cloth, and put it away in his bosom. After the steward left, he returned to the study to teach Jinbao to write as if nothing had happened.

...

In the afternoon, Song Wei went to General Chang Wei’s mansion.

The steward stood outside the main gate to greet him. Many people had come to mourn, mostly old acquaintances of General Chang Wei.

Upon seeing Song Wei, the steward was very enthusiastic and called out "Uncle", concernedly asking, "Was your mansion’s Old Mrs. Song scared by our mansion’s commotion yesterday?"

Song Wei casually replied, "My mother is fine, she just caught a light cold last night, so it’s inconvenient for her to attend the mourning. Please forgive us."

"Naturally, Old Mrs. Song’s health is the priority." The steward said, leading Song Wei to the memorial hall.

General Chang Wei was Old Mrs. Xu’s only son, and now he is far away at the border fighting battles, unable to return for the time being. The mourning sons in the hall are volunteers from distant relatives, all kneeling uniformly before the coffin.

During the Northwest battle, Xu Guangfu was defeated. When the war report came back, to avoid being implicated, the distant relatives of the Xu Family proactively distanced themselves from the General Mansion.

Later, not only did the Emperor not punish the Xu Family, but he also gave them a chance to make amends through meritorious deeds, allowing him to continue leading troops to attack West Yue. The court kept the current war situation a secret, and outsiders are temporarily unaware. However, recently, the Divine Soldier Bureau transported the astonishing mechanical beast to the battlefield, rumored to be a divine weapon capable of defeating a thousand enemies singlehandedly. It seems likely that the battle will soon end in victory.

Once victory is achieved, the Xu Family will gain immense glory, and the opportunity for the family’s children to enter officialdom will greatly increase.

The distant relatives have long wanted to find the opportunity to make amends with the General Mansion. Now that Old Mrs. Xu has passed away and the General Mansion lacked a proper mourning son, the distant relatives naturally joined in, under the guise of fulfilling filial duties on behalf of the General.

How could Mrs. Xu not see through their intentions, but she had no choice? Old Mrs. Xu’s sudden passing necessitated someone to participate in the funeral rites, even if they had ill intentions, there was no choice but to let them proceed for now.

Just now, upon hearing the steward announce Uncle’s arrival, all the mourning sons collectively raised their heads and looked at Song Wei eagerly.

It was well known that he was an esteemed court minister, and although he held only a fifth-rank position, his responsibilities included the Divine Soldier Bureau, which was crucial to the life and death of Great Chu’s citizens. Meanwhile, his fellow Advanced Scholars were still struggling to gain experience in the Hanlin Academy, demonstrating his significant weight in the Emperor’s eyes.

Rumors circulated that the Crown Prince murder case initiated by the Liang Family could have ended without consequence, if not for Song Wei’s intervention.

At that time, Song Wei was merely a minor Hanlin Official.

Daring to frankly speak his mind before the Emperor, even though he did not succeed in the end, his righteous demeanor was admirable to all officials and served as an example for some self-proclaimed high-principled ministers to reflect upon.

As the subject, Song Wei still remains unaware of how many scholars have regarded him as their leader.

The military generals from the Xu Family mostly stem from Xu Guangfu’s branch, and the distant relatives largely wished to pursue official careers. Song Wei, being not only a model scholar but also an uncle to the Xu Family, naturally attracted them to curry favor.

However, Song Wei did not know any of these people. He simply paid his respects before Old Mrs. Xu’s memorial and wanted to see Xu Shu.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, he was called by a young man from the distant relatives.

The young man respectfully called him "Mr. Song," catching Song Wei’s attention.

The young man’s face flushed red, and despite being in a memorial hall, he eagerly said, "I have admired Mr. Song’s talents for a long time. Could you take me in as a disciple?"

Song Wei instantly understood the young man’s intentions.

Since he gained the Emperor’s favor, he received countless invitation cards at home. He would usually respond when possible, and when unwilling, he would go out to avoid them, either visiting colleagues or finding Xie Zheng.

Song Wei currently had no intention of accepting disciples. He smiled slightly and said, "With the border in turmoil and the country still unstable, I must devote all my efforts and attention to the Divine Soldier Bureau; I’m really unable to attend to other matters, so I fear you may be disappointed today."

His words contained little sarcasm, yet the young man blushed deeply.

Indeed, the current prosperity and peace are due to those at the border shielding them from the storms and bloodshed.

Song Sicheng, who resides in the Capital, cares deeply about the border, his concern for the country and people is truly admirable.

The young man immediately changed his ambition, saying he would not seek mentorship but join the army to fight for the country.

Such a dramatic scene is almost like Song Wei had hired a person to promote himself.

However, this promotion succeeded greatly; the distant relatives of the Xu Family inside the memorial hall instantly raised their opinion of him by several levels, treating him as an honored guest and speaking with much respect.

Song Wei’s presence subtly alleviated the awkward situation between the distant and main branches of the family.

Several sisters-in-law became more cordial and polite toward Mrs. Xu.

After dealing with everyone, Mrs. Xu personally saw Song Wei out of the memorial hall and softly said, "Earlier, those were our Xu distant relatives’ children. If their words were offensive, I hope you can tolerate it, Uncle."

"No worries." Song Wei smiled, "Their eagerness to learn is all it is."

Mrs. Xu quickly changed the subject with a couple of sentences and asked about Old Mrs. Song, whether she was startled after returning yesterday, and so on.

Song Wei answered each question and offered his condolences, and after exchanging pleasantries for a while, Song Wei went to see Xu Shu.

Since his father led troops to the battlefield, Xu Shu has been training in the military camp, like a completely transformed person, with the restlessness in his eyes calming down, gaining a rare steadiness.

Apparently concerned with the funeral, he hadn’t closed his eyes all night, and his red eyes showed it. When he saw Song Wei, he smiled, "How come you didn’t let anyone inform me of your visit in advance so I could personally welcome you?"

"You’re not just hosting me today." Song Wei looked at him and after a while, said, "Please accept my condolences."

Xu Shu was open-minded, "Old Mrs. Xu passed away peacefully; I’m not that sad. My main concern right now is my sister’s situation."

Song Fang was standing next to them and chimed in, "Third Brother, Little Sister Jia just went out yesterday and Old Mrs. Xu passed away. Her return visit three days later should have been a joyful occasion, yet our family is mourning. Mother-in-law is worried that the Tang family might make things difficult for Little Sister Jia. Could you help her save face?"

Song Fang had observed the attitude of the Xu family’s children toward Song Wei.

Even the unruly children of Xu treated her third brother with respect and admiration, and the Tang Family, being a scholarly family, surely couldn’t help but show her brother respect. As long as he is willing to step in, her sister-in-law wouldn’t be looked down upon because of Old Mrs. Xu’s death.

Seeing Xu Shu and his wife worried, Song Wei nodded in agreement, consoling them, "No need to worry, although I have no connection with the Tang Family, I roughly know how to win over Old Sir Tang."