Chapter 415: Convince
Editor: Atlas Studios
The patriarch of the Qi family frowned. “Then you should have gone to your uncle and asked him to come and get us to open the ancestral hall.”
Fan Zijin was in low spirits, and he exuded a faint despair. “Uncle… Uncle brought Madam Wu’s niece into the residence a few years ago. I’m afraid that he won’t agree. After all, back then, he… Anyway, I beg you. Although Eldest Cousin isn’t in the capital, he’s the highest-ranking official in the Qi family now. He’s never turned down any requests from the clan. Although I don’t know if this method will work, it’s still a possibility. I only hope that you can give Eldest Cousin a chance of survival.”
Although Fan Zijin’s words were vague, the two people present understood what he meant. Qi Feng was extremely biased, and everyone knew that. Previously, he wanted to marry Qi Xiuyuan to Madam Wu’s niece. It was only after Qi Xiuyuan got married in the Jingzhao Prefecture with the Emperor’s knowledge that they started targeting Qi Haoran.
The Qi clan members also very much despised Madam Wu. Even if the Wu clan’s development was not weaker than their Qi clan’s, they did not think that there was a need to deepen their relationship with the Wus with another marriage alliance. One marriage with the Wu clan was enough.
Originally, the elders wanted to mediate between Qi Feng and Qi Xiuyuan so that their relationship would not be too strained, lest outsiders see them as a joke. However, two years ago, when Qi Xiuyuan attacked the Jingzhao Prefecture and was framed for rebellion, Qi Feng’s decision to give up Qi Xiuyuan without thinking clearly pushed the father-and-son relationship to the freezing point.
Because of this, the two elders believed Fan Zijin’s words. If they really went to look for Qi Feng, Qi Feng might really do something atrocious that would prevent his daughter-in-law from being listed in the family register.
After all, Qi Xiuyuan was already unconscious and might not wake up. Qi Feng might not be willing to give up Qi Haoran’s marriage in order to take the risk to save Qi Xiuyuan.
The two elders looked at each other and saw Fan Zijin looking at them with red eyes. In the end, they sighed and said, “I’ll go find Qi Feng now. Third Brother, inform the others in the clan to come to the ancestral hall.”
Fan Zijin wiped his tears gratefully. “Thank you, Uncles.”
The patriarch of the Qi family, Qi Shan, was only Qi Feng’s elder brother. He had only replaced Qi Feng two years ago to become the patriarch. This was also one of the aftereffects of Qi Feng’s stupid act that nearly ruined the clan back then.
At that time, Qi Xiuyuan did not express any dissatisfaction with his father’s abandonment of him. The gifts that should be given at festivals were still delivered on time. However, after the New Year, the heads of various families in the Qi clan requested to have the patriarch changed. They felt that Qi Feng was having a hard enough time working as an official of the Imperial Court, so it was better to let his brothers help share the burden.
When the meeting was held, everyone voted and only two families braced themselves to stand on Qi Feng’s side. Everyone else wanted to have the patriarch changed, so Qi Shan replaced Qi Feng.
It was an open secret that Qi Shan was able to sit in this position because Qi Xiuyuan was standing behind him. This was why Qi Xiuyuan dared to go around his father and get married in Jingzhao Prefecture. This was also why he had the confidence to make the decision on his younger brother’s marriage.
Qi Feng could indeed control their marriage, but Qi Feng still had the entire Qi family above him. Unless he could give up on the entire Qi clan, he would be controlled by others.
Although he knew that Qi Shan would help him, he still had to put on a show. Fan Zijin sat in the main hall outside the ancestral hall in a sorry state. This was the place where the Qi clansmen discussed important matters.
When the people who came over saw Fan Zijin’s miserable appearance, they were all shocked. Having ridden a horse for 20 days in a row, his hair was greasy and messy, and his face was pale. His lips were cracked, and his eyes were filled with despair. His entire body exuded the sorrow, pain, and despair of one whose biological father was on the verge of death. However, when he looked at them, there was a hint of hope in his eyes. Not to mention the Qi clansmen, even Yanmo, who knew the inside story well, almost thought that Young Master Xiuyuan was really seriously injured, was about to die, and was counting on his brother’s marriage to flush out the bad luck.
Hence, the patriarchs who came over whispered to each other and shook their heads slightly. They were too embarrassed to ask Fan Zijin about the exact situation, so they could only ask Yanmo.
Having been following Fan Zijin since he was young, Yanmo was highly eloquent. He sadly described the process of Qi Xiuyuan being injured and poisoned. Then, he emphasized Qi Haoran’s decision to bring good luck to his brother with his wedding and hinted that if anything happened to Qi Xiuyuan, the West Camp could only rely on Qi Haoran.
Some of the patriarchs who had been hesitating whether it was worth offending Qi Feng to save a dying person instantly made up their minds. Even if Qi Xiuyuan died, the most powerful person in the Qi family would still be one of the Qi brothers, so why should they hesitate to help?
Should this work and Qi Xiuyuan recover, he would continue to be the most influential person in the Qi clan. Naturally, he would remember their kindness. If he died, the West Camp would belong to Qi Haoran, and the most powerful person would still be on their side. With Qi Haoran’s personality, he would certainly remember their kindness if they helped Qi Xiuyuan. However, if they hit him when he was down now, with Qi Haoran’s vengeful personality, they would probably not be able to rest in peace in the future.
Therefore, before Qi Feng and Qi Shan arrived, everyone had already made up their minds.
Fan Zijin, who had been secretly observing, could not help but heave a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had used the excuse that their names had to go on the genealogical tree immediately because of the urgency of the matter, and didn’t have to pick an auspicious time. Otherwise, should there be a delay, these old fellows would probably hesitate again.
Just as he thought of this, Qi Shan came in with a sullen-looking Qi Feng.
The moment Qi Feng entered, he looked at Fan Zijin solemnly.
Tears immediately flowed out of Fan Zijin’s eyes. He pounced forward and hugged Qi Feng’s thigh, wailing, “Uncle, please save Eldest Cousin. He’s only 23 years old this year. He doesn’t even have a child yet…”
When the others in the clan heard this, they couldn’t help but feel sad. That’s right. Qi Xiuyuan was still so young and didn’t yet have a child. Some people’s hearts softened, and their eyes even turned red. They went forward and said, “Second Brother, Zijin suffered a huge blow and flew all the way back. It’s inevitable that he lost his composure when he saw you. But he’s right. Xiuyuan is so young and doesn’t yet have a child. While there’s still a chance of survival, let’s put the Haoran couple’s names on the genealogical tree and hope that it will flush away his bad luck.”
“Nonsense.” Qi Feng flicked his sleeves and said, “I’ve only heard of holding a wedding to flush away the bad luck. I’ve never heard of adding names to the genealogical tree to flush away the bad luck. Since you want to celebrate, you can just let Haoran marry a girl in Jingzhao Prefecture.”
“But Uncle, the Qi family’s ancestral hall is here. Of course, we have to come back to add their names to the genealogical tree.” Fan Zijin looked confused. “Don’t they have to do the whole package to flush out the bad luck? The master we hired said that it’s only considered complete after their names are added to the genealogical tree. Or else if simply the wedding is held, Eldest Cousin won’t wake up.”
That’s right. Which family didn’t add the couple’s names to the genealogical tree if the aim was to bring good luck to an ill person?
Fan Zijin wiped his tears as he said, “Now that we have the marriage contract and Cousin Haoran is already married, all that’s left is to add their names to the genealogical tree. Uncle, let’s open the ancestral hall quickly. The earlier we write it, the higher will Eldest Cousin’s chances of survival be.”
Qi Feng’s face turned ashen and he did not speak. Two days ago, the Emperor invited him to the imperial study and hinted that the Qi family could become in-laws with Minister Qin. He was stunned for a long time before he realized that the Emperor was hinting at Qi Haoran’s marriage.
To be able to become in-laws with Minister Qin, even if she was only a concubine’s daughter, he was willing. In the past two days, he had gone to look for Minister Qin as soon as he got out of the government office. However, it was unknown if Minister Qin was really busy or unwilling to marry his daughter to Qi Haoran, but he kept avoiding him under the excuse of being busy.
However, who would have thought that Qi Haoran, that unfilial son, would actually get married in Jingzhao Prefecture like Qi Xiuyuan? He was completely disregarding him as a father.