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He Family did not expect Matriarch of the Jiang Family to actually consider Liu Qingwu. Upon hearing those words, they were momentarily stunned, unsure of how to react.
A delicate laugh came from not far away.
Third Madam Shen slightly leaned to one side in her seat, gently fanning her cheek with a silk handkerchief, and looked at He Family and Liu Qingwu with a charming smile. "The Matriarch truly dotes on this girl. Looking at our family, there is no one who is more favored by the Matriarch than her."
Half of her words were true, and half were false.
It was clear that the Jiang Family showed affection for Qing Wu. However, anyone who had come from the ancestral home knew that the Matriarch usually favored the second daughter, Liu Anmeng. Yet, Third Madam seemed to imply that Qing Wu was more favored than her own daughter...
The maids and servants would not bring up this matter. The brothers Liu Anwu and Liu Anwen also did not mention it. At this moment, the originally composed Liu Anmeng could no longer contain herself.
She was exceptionally beautiful and adept at being charming; she was the most beloved granddaughter of her grandmother, and she took great pride in it. Now seeing her mother Shen favoring Qing Wu over her, how could Liu Anmeng remain calm? She immediately stood up, lifted her skirt, and ran over to the Jiang Family, provocatively glancing at Qing Wu, squeezing between her and the Matriarch, throwing herself at the Matriarch's knees and exclaiming loudly, "Grandmother! Don't be fooled by this outsider! You have always liked me the most. This cannot change now!"
The sight of her beloved granddaughter's adorable demeanor made the Matriarch forget about that lonely girl. She hurriedly set aside matters concerning Qing Wu and comforted Liu Anmeng: "When have I ever not cherished you? Everything you want, I have indulged you in. How can you say such insincere things?"
With the Matriarch's assurance, knowing that for the time being she was still the sole favorite, Liu Anmeng felt much more at ease. When she looked back at Liu Qingwu, her resentment lessened slightly.
However... no matter how she looked at that pretty and delicate demeanor of the girl, it still irked Liu Anmeng.
Returning to her seat, Liu Anmeng whispered with the Wenwu Brothers, occasionally glancing over at Qing Wu. Whenever Qing Wu looked their way, the three would pretend nothing was happening and quickly turn their gazes away.
Qing Wu sensed that their conversation must be related to her and remained quietly vigilant as she slowly moved to sit beside Liu Anfeng.
Due to the discord between Second Master Liu Fangyi and Third Master Liu Fangshi, the relationship between the Second House and the Third Branch had always been strained. When paying respects to the Matriarch, they typically arranged seating according to branches rather than separating by girls and boys.
Even though the two families were not on good terms, some matters still needed to be calculated together.
For example, the order of succession.
Ever since Liu Fangyi brought his wife and children to the capital, they had been living separately, and naturally, they arranged the children in order of age. From the eldest brother Liu Anzhi to Liu Qingwu, they were lined up from one to five.
However, now that the Matriarch had brought people from both the First Branch and the Third Branch here, it would not be appropriate to calculate it this way anymore.
Previously, the He Family had considered this issue and intended to bring it up when the Matriarch first formally met Qing Wu. She was unsure how the Matriarch would react or whether she would truly accept Qing Wu. Now that she saw how kindly the Matriarch treated Qing Wu and her intention to support him, she finally decided to seize this opportunity. During a lull in conversation, she found a chance to raise the matter.
"Since Wu has followed us, he is indeed a legitimate child of the Liu Family. It would not be appropriate to call him anything else. I ask Mother for guidance on how he should be addressed properly."
Third Madam Shen's eyes flickered upon hearing this, and her smile held a hint of coldness.
When the Third Branch calculated their order of succession, they typically separated boys from girls. The Third Branch had three daughters, so logically, Qing Wu should have been placed fourth and called "Fourth Girl."
However, if they included the deceased Liu Anlan in the count, then Liu Qingwu would actually be fifth.
In recent years of turmoil, countless children had perished. Many families omitted those who had died when counting their children.
Shen understood that the He Family wanted to leave a place for Liu Anlan but was unsure whether the Matriarch would agree. Thus, she hesitated and carefully chose her words.
Seeing her hesitation, Shen felt somewhat disdainful.
If they arranged it that way, wouldn't it mean placing her precious daughter next to someone who had died? That simply wouldn't do!
The Second Sister-in-law comes from a prestigious family, and she always thinks twice before speaking, which gave her the opportunity to speak first.
Shen turned her body and said to the Matriarch, "If that's the case, then this Girl will be placed fourth."
As soon as she said this, laughter erupted from Liu Anmeng and the Wenwu Brothers nearby. Liu Anwu kept muttering "Fourth Sister is good." He deliberately made his words unclear, and at first glance, "four" sounded a bit like "death."
Liu Anfeng, who was beside Liu Qingwu, could no longer hold back. However, he refrained from acting recklessly out of respect for their mother. Now seeing Liu Qingwu being bullied like this, he couldn't care about anything else. He immediately slammed his hand on the table and jumped up, his face flushed with anger, pointing at Liu Anwu and shouting, "Say it again! Huh!"
Liu Anwu was startled into silence by him and really didn't say anything more. However, Liu Anwen next to him reacted quickly and mockingly said in a teasing tone, "Fourth Sister, Fourth Sister."
His tone and the ambiguous sounds he made infuriated Liu Anfeng so much that his body trembled. Without a second thought, he clenched his right fist and swung it toward Liu Anwen's head.
Liu An Ting and Liu Anzhi noticed their younger brother charging forward and knew something bad was about to happen. They quickly stood up and ran toward him. Liu Anzhi was sitting a bit farther away, so he took a moment longer to reach him. Liu An Ting arrived just in time to get to Liu Anfeng's side.
However, at the moment Liu Anfeng swung his fist, Liu An Ting hesitated for just an instant. When that punch landed squarely on Liu Anwen's face, he finally reached out to pull Liu Anfeng back behind him for protection.
At this moment, Liu Anwu also reacted and stood up to join his brother in attacking Liu Anfeng. Unexpectedly, Liu Anzhi rushed over at this time. Seeing his younger brothers about to get into a fight, the usually stern Liu Anzhi abandoned his usual demeanor and rolled up his sleeves to step forward.
Just as it seemed that the two factions were about to clash, a loud shout suddenly rang out: "Stop!"
The voice was deep and filled with immense anger, causing everyone to halt their movements and look over.
It was none other than Master’s only son, Liu Anyang.
He held in one arm the recently approached Liu Qingwu for help, strode over with a flick of his robe, glaring at the crowd that had formed a tangle and scolded them: "Look at you all; where is there any semblance of brotherhood? You look more like enemies!"
Liu Anyang has a straightforward and gentle personality, rarely getting angry. It is even more unusual for him to be this furious now.
After the two brothers realized what was happening, they wanted to provoke him verbally. However, with Matriarch present, they dared not act recklessly towards Changsun, the cousin of Liu Family's eldest son. They could only suppress their anger and plan to settle the score later.
At that moment of stalemate, an arm quietly reached out towards Liu Anfeng.
In a split second, He Family extended their hand and pulled Liu Anfeng over.
With the attack missing its target, Shen angrily said, "Stop protecting her! If it weren't for her siblings, how would things have escalated to this point today!"
He Family, with arms around their children, looked at Shen, whose face was almost twisted with anger, and calmly but firmly replied, "You were rude first; we retaliated afterward. In that case, what wrong has my son done?"
"Indeed, those who have read books are sharp-tongued. Oh, so a few casual words from my family become a mistake, while you hitting people is justified? Let me tell you, it won't be that easy!"
Shen pointed at He Family with her handkerchief, ready to lash out, but was pulled back by Sister-in-law Meng Family. Meng Family shook her head and indicated for her to look at Matriarch.
"You can refuse if you want." Seeing that her third daughter-in-law still wouldn't back down, Matriarch's face turned slightly red with anger as she stopped hinting and stated directly, "This is the home of the second son. If you truly can't stand it here, then move to an inn by yourself!"
Shen was suddenly stunned. She had been so focused on saving face that she forgot about this matter. Now in the capital city, they were all living in the second son's house.
Seeing that Shen finally quieted down, Matriarch said, "Mistress Wu is now part of the Liu Family, so let’s line up accordingly. From now on, everyone should refer to her as ‘Fifth Young Lady’."
Upon hearing this clearly included Liu Anlan, He Family felt a pang in their nose and nearly shed tears.
At this moment, Madam Meng Family, who had been silently standing beside Matriarch, spoke up: "Ancestor, if that's the case, should we record Mistress Wu in the family tree?"
She knew that the Matriarch still held a grudge about the events of that year—no matter how much the Matriarch disliked the He Family, Sister Lan was still a granddaughter of the Liu Family. Although there was no outward expression of this, privately, the Matriarch had mentioned it to the Meng Family on several occasions.
Hearing her eldest daughter-in-law bring this up, the Matriarch pondered for a moment. After a while, she said, "We still have no conclusion about her background. If in two years' time, no other family members come looking for her, then we will record it."
This meant that Liu Qingwu would officially be recognized as a true descendant of the Liu Family.
The He Family was overjoyed and pulled Qing Wu to bow deeply to the Matriarch.
The members of the Third Branch, Shen and others, were so furious they couldn't speak. The more they watched this scene unfold, the more irritated they felt, so they simply turned their heads away and ignored it.
With such a commotion, it was inappropriate to stay in the same room any longer at that moment.
The Matriarch had no choice but to let her children and grandchildren disperse quickly. Liu Qingwu was held by Liu An Ting as they walked step by step toward the exit.
Just as they stepped out of the house, Qing Wu seemed to sense something and felt as if someone was watching her. Looking around, she saw Liu Anmeng glaring at her with resentment. There seemed to be flames in her beautiful eyes, almost as if she wanted to burn her to ashes.
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