Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other
As soon as Cheng Jue heard this, she flared up, "Don’t talk to me about how we’re not what we used to be.
Why have we become like this? Isn’t it all because you were too soft-hearted back then and let the second branch off?
If you hadn’t let them off back then, those people from the second branch would have been kicked out of the Wen Family long ago. How could they have the glory they have today?
How could we have had our power divided?
Isn’t the current situation entirely your fault?"
Wen Xiaozheng looked coldly at Cheng Jue’s hysterics, and only after she finished her outburst did he coldly say, "Was I the only one who was soft-hearted back then? Weren’t you too?
We’re both equally to blame, so let’s not laugh at each other.
As for the current situation, it’s not only because the second branch rose, but also because the main branch has no successors.
As for why the main branch has no descendants, A-Zhao has already explained it clearly before, so there’s no need for me to emphasize it again."
After Wen Xiaozheng finished speaking, he got up and returned to his room, leaving Cheng Jue sitting there alone in defeat...
In recent years, the second branch of the Wen Family has gradually risen, which is due to the efforts of Wen Jishan and his brothers, as well as the efforts of Wen Zelin and his brothers...
The main branch of the Wen Family has become weaker over time, firstly because Wen Xiaozheng got older and stepped down, and Wen Jizhao simply doesn’t take over everything from Wen Xiaozheng, letting whoever wants to take it fight for it.
Wen Jizhao is neither married nor has children, and because of this, the main branch of the Wen Family faces extinction with his generation, so how can the entire Wen Family respect and trust them?
And the reason why Wen Jizhao doesn’t marry or have children is all because of Cheng Jue.
Wen Jizhao wasn’t someone Cheng Jue wanted to give birth to, but was forced by circumstances, and to Cheng Jue, Wen Jizhao was her disgrace, so from a young age, Cheng Jue treated Wen Jizhao with all kinds of physical and verbal abuse.
Over time, Wen Jizhao’s psyche became twisted...
As he grew older, after Wen Jizhao understood why he was despised, he hated his mother Cheng Jue even more.
Upon learning that they only had him for the sake of inheritance, Wen Jizhao deliberately chose not to marry or have children.
Once, Cheng Jue locked up Wen Jizhao for a month to make him leave an heir, giving him drugs every day and sending women to his bed...
After a month, when it was confirmed that two women were pregnant, Cheng Jue hid them, and only then did she release Wen Jizhao...
However, what Cheng Jue didn’t expect was that as soon as Wen Jizhao got out, he arranged for someone to find the two women, and not just those two, but all the women who were sent to his bed that month, to ensure nothing was left to chance...
And only after confirming that none of them were pregnant did he keep them around as lovers.
The two pregnant women, after being found by Wen Jizhao, were easily coaxed into willingly aborting their children.
Now, all the women who were sent to Wen Jizhao’s bed that month have become his lovers.
However, none of them can ever bear a child for Wen Jizhao again, no... to be precise, no woman can bear a child for Wen Jizhao now.
After experiencing Cheng Jue’s crazy imprisonment, Wen Jizhao understood that if he didn’t solve the root of the problem, he would eventually be caught in a trap.
Wen Jizhao realized he couldn’t possibly defend himself every time, so he decisively underwent a vasectomy, once and for all.
Naturally, Cheng Jue’s reaction upon learning of this was one of furious outrage.
The next day, Qin Xiao and Xiao Li brought Mianmian back to the ancestral home. Hearing they were returning, Qin’s father and mother also went back, taking Little Rock with them under the pretense of: letting Little Rock experience the atmosphere of the clan school first.
Who would have thought that when Qin’s mother mentioned taking Little Rock back to experience the clan school atmosphere, Qin Tan’s expression became quite strange, which piqued He Jie’s interest. As the weekend happened to be approaching, He Jie decided to tag along to the ancestral home for a look.
With his wife and children heading back, Qin Tan followed suit, rubbing his nose as he did so.
What was originally just a group of three consisting of Qin Xiao and the others suddenly turned into a family group heading back together.
At the ancestral home, once everyone arrived, Qin Xiao and Xiao Li took Mianmian directly to the girls’ clan school, while Qin Tan and the others went directly to the boys’ clan school.
At the girls’ clan school, before Xiao Li and the Qin Family even reached the building, they saw through the windows some young girls doing flower arrangements. Upon closer inspection, those doing the arrangements were all teenage girls.
Seeing that the ones learning were of an older age, Xiao Li asked, "Haven’t any girls been born into the collateral branches in recent years?"
Qin Xiao laughed and explained, "Students in the clan school have a lot to learn, and each age group has different lessons, which is why there are three classes for teaching.
What we’re seeing now should be the middle class; the young class is from ages six to ten, the middle class is ten to eighteen, and the senior class is eighteen and above.
See those standing behind the flower arrangers drawing? They’re younger than those doing the arrangements; they haven’t started with the arrangements yet, they’re just drawing."
Following Qin Xiao’s indication, Xiao Li indeed saw that behind the girls arranging flowers, several more tables were set up with girls engaging in drawing.
Curious, Xiao Li asked, "Do they stick to just one subject all day?"
Qin Xiao shook his head, "I don’t know about the girls, but on the boys’ side, middle class has three different subjects each day: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening."
Surprised, Xiao Li exclaimed, "They have evening classes too?"
Startled by her own loud voice, Xiao Li quickly covered her mouth when those in the classroom turned to look...
Seeing this, Xiao Li, feeling embarrassed, quickly covered her mouth, while inside, the teacher turned to see Qin Xiao and Xiao Li and nodded slightly, then instructed the girls to continue...
Feeling too embarrassed to stay by the middle class any longer, Xiao Li quickly pulled Qin Xiao to another area.
They took a left turn, and soon the sound of a piano came through. Raising an eyebrow, Xiao Li looked at Qin Xiao, "Is that a piano? The clan school teaches piano too?"
Qin Xiao covered his mouth and chuckled, "Yes, they teach all arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Li quickly glanced at Mianmian, who was in Qin Xiao’s arms...
Xiao Li internally whispered: My dear daughter, your future days won’t be easy.
After feeling a bit sorry for her daughter in her heart, Xiao Li’s attention returned to Qin Xiao, "Uncle, do you play the piano as well?"
Qin Xiao nodded, "I do..."
Hearing this, Xiao Li’s eyes lit up, "I’ve never heard you play the piano.
In our home at the Tingfeng Pavilion, there is a piano room; is it specifically for you all to play the piano?"
Qin Xiao shook his head, "Not specifically for us, the Tingfeng Pavilion was built during the time of our ancestors, though it was renovated a few years ago.
The layout inside hasn’t been changed and has been kept the same ever since.
The piano room inside has been preserved since the ancestors’ era.
We sometimes go there to play the piano; there’s even a piano of mine in the piano room."