Jiang Yuanfa spread his hands helplessly and said, "When Mother drove them out, our Jiang family never cared for them. How could he acknowledge me now? How could he listen to me?"
Rong Yue listened silently to her parents-in-law's conversation and suddenly understood everything.
She had been wondering why Jiang Wencheng was an only son and had never mentioned any siblings. How could a great-uncle suddenly appear? It turned out there was such a past.
Before, her father-in-law had sent several invitations to that great-uncle, but there was no response. Her mother-in-law had scolded them at home for three full days because of this, and she was also trembling with fear.
Rong Yue didn't understand at the time. Logically, when brothers faced difficulties, why wouldn't the older brother lend a hand? There was such a hidden reason, so no wonder.
Rong Yue wiped the sweat from her forehead and was worried about her husband's safety.
Although Jiang Wencheng wasn't that good to her, he didn't beat or scold her like her mother-in-law did, and they got along quite peacefully. Now that he was in trouble, she was also worried.
A few days ago, Jiang Wencheng went to a literary poetry gathering. Somehow, he had a quarrel with the Prefect of Qingzhou's nephew and injured him. He was taken by the government and thrown into jail that night.
Her parents-in-law were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, begging relatives and friends to try and get someone to look at their precious son in the Prefect's prison and send in some food and supplies.
Who knew that the Prefect's prison not only wouldn't allow them to visit, but her husband, Jiang Wencheng, was inexplicably moved to the Metropolitan Military Commission's prison.
Her mother-in-law fainted immediately when she heard the news and only woke up after pinching her philtrum until it was swollen.
Everyone knew that the prison of the Metropolitan Military Commission was like Hades' Palace. Going in there would probably cost you three layers of skin, and broken arms and legs were common. How could her weak and precious son endure it?
Just when they were at a loss, Jiang Yuanfa accidentally learned that the newly appointed Commander of the Qingzhou Metropolitan Military Commission was the eldest son who had been driven out of the Jiang family in his childhood!
Back then, Jiang Yuanfa had just passed the xiucai exam. His teacher, Scholar Xie, admired him very much and married his youngest daughter to him.
They also lived a life of mutual respect for a while. Later, for some reason, Scholar Xie was involved in a cheating case in the imperial examination and was beheaded.
Jiang Yuanfa's mother, worried about her son's future, forced Jiang Yuanfa to write a divorce letter to clear their name.
Madam Xie refused to accept this humiliation and refused to acknowledge the divorce letter, even in death.
His mother insisted on driving Madam Xie out.
At that time, Jiang Yuanfa's son, Ting'er, was only seven years old, but he was very opinionated. He desperately stopped his grandmother and father, saying that if his mother left, he would leave too.
Jiang Yuanfa's mother gritted her teeth and drove out her grandson and daughter-in-law together.
She thought she would marry her son again and take concubines, and wouldn't she have grandchildren? She didn't expect that the Jiang family would only have Jiang Wencheng as a single seedling in the end, but that was another story.
Over the years, Jiang Yuanfa would occasionally secretly inquire about the whereabouts of his son and daughter-in-law. Later, he heard that his eldest son had joined the army, made many military merits, and then relied on a nobleman, even changing his name.
When Jiang Yuanfa heard the three words "Xu Hongchuan," he was in a daze for a long time, thinking he had heard wrong.
Later, he asked someone to inquire about the background of the newly arrived Commander and found that everything matched his eldest son. It seemed that it was indeed Ting'er!
Jiang Yuanfa originally wanted to secretly go and see this eldest son he hadn't seen in many years and get his youngest son out.
That way, no one would know, and he wouldn't have to tell his wife, Madam Chen, about having an eldest son, which would probably cause a huge uproar.
But he sent three invitations to Xu Hongchuan's mansion, and they were all like stones sinking into the sea.
There was no response from Xu Hongchuan, and he was at a loss, so he had to reveal everything.
That night, Madam Chen cried and made a fuss, and her face was slapped so hard that it didn't subside for five days.
Jiang Yuanfa painstakingly persuaded Madam Chen: "Our son now has an official position, and he can just rescue our Cheng'er. Otherwise, who can we rely on now?"
As soon as Xu Hongchuan was mentioned, Madam Chen felt a pain in her heart, but no matter how much it hurt, she knew this was the truth.
Now she can only rely on that little bastard to get her precious son out of prison.
Jiang Yuanfa continued to persuade: "Not only that, if my son is willing to reconcile with us and even acknowledge Cheng'er as his younger brother, he will definitely support Cheng'er in the future. Not to mention finding Cheng'er a brilliant teacher, when Cheng'er passes the imperial examination and has my son's support in court, wouldn't it be easy to get a good job?"
Jiang Yuanfa knew how to hit where it hurts. Jiang Wencheng was Madam Chen's lifeblood; she had only this one son, and her future relied entirely on him.
Madam Chen finally calmed down, stopped crying and making a fuss, and then began to arrange to go to Qingzhou with Jiang Yuanfa. Since Xu Hongchuan wouldn't see them, they would go to his mansion to block him.
Rong Yue, listening to her father-in-law's words, couldn't help but be curious. Was the Commander such a big official?
Ever since her father-in-law told her mother-in-law about Xu Hongchuan, her mother-in-law had been crying and making a fuss, and the maids, servants, and maids on this side had also exploded, and they talked about the suddenly appearing great master when they were free.
Some maids joked: "We thought that our Jiang family only had one master, but now there's one more, wouldn't the master have to be called the second master in the future? Wouldn't the great lady be the second lady in the future?"
Rong Yue also heard the maids and servants say that the Commander was a Second Rank official. The new Commander not only had several military merits to his name, but he had also adopted the third brother of Scholar Xu as his foster father, and he was doing very well in the court.
If they could rely on such a big tree, the Jiang family would be prosperous!
Rong Yue understood a little, but those maids and servants were good at gossiping, and she didn't know if they had said anything outside.
Originally, because Jiang Wencheng had been convicted, the family was deserted, and relatives didn't come to visit.
Since her father-in-law said this, there were more people coming and going in the house, and they were all asking about the new Commander.
Rong Yue could see that the smile on her mother-in-law's face was squeezed out through gritted teeth.
She shook the flesh on her face while enjoying the flattery of the crowd, and at the same time, she itched with hatred—they came to flatter that old, dead eldest son, and her own son was still locked up in jail.