149: The cat cries over the rat, send off your brother
Imperial Palace.
Imperial Study.
“Xie Weilou went to the Prime Minister's Residence?”
The Xia Emperor looked at Eunuch Huang with a strange expression. Could that fellow really want to collude with Prime Minister Wei?
If so, he needed to be disciplined appropriately. Being young and reckless, greedy for wealth and lustful, was not a problem, but if he wanted to be a treacherous official, then he had gone astray.
After all, there was only one Wei Zhongchen in Great Xia; others could not walk this path. One careless mistake, and they would lose their lives.
Eunuch Huang smiled and said, “He went, and he brought a painting.”
“Bribery?”
The Xia Emperor was a bit surprised.
Eunuch Huang explained, “Prime Minister Wei once gave the Pacification Envoy a painting, which hangs in the Tianquan Division. The painting Xie Weilou brought to the Prime Minister's Residence this time is precisely that one!”
He paused slightly, then continued, “I heard that Xie Wushang and Xie Wuji are about to be buried, and he plans to give them a grand funeral. Before this, people from the Tianquan Division also sent invitations on his behalf to many officials in Tianqi City. Oh, and several princes and princesses also received invitations…”
“Hahaha! What an idea! That kid clearly intends to make a good fortune by leveraging two dead men! Xie Weilou is capable of such a thing.”
The Xia Emperor laughed heartily, seemingly thinking of something amusing.
He wanted to see who would go to the Xie Family then. Xie Cangxuan’s position was only temporary, not the true Marquis Zhenxi Manor.
He naturally knew what Xie Cangxuan had been doing these three years; the other party wanted to stay in that position permanently.
Now that Xie Weilou had appeared, Xie Cangxuan would not be able to hold that position securely!
Eunuch Huang chuckled, “Xie Cangxuan also invited some people to the funeral of the Xie Family’s two young masters. Now Xie Weilou has also invited a group. Tomorrow might be a good show.”
Both of them had invited people, so they would see who invited more people. In this way, it might very well be a contest.
The Xia Emperor smiled and waved his hand, saying, “Don’t bother with this matter; just quietly watch the show. A jade stone cannot be shaped without carving. I also want to see what capabilities that kid has. If he’s too useless, that won’t do.”
According to Great Xia’s Title (nobility) inheritance system, after Xie Nantian’s death, the position of Marquis Zhenxi Manor would belong to Xie Weilou. Xie Weilou should have directly taken that position.
Unfortunately, Xie Weilou had already been imprisoned at that time, so Xie Cangxuan could only temporarily act as Marquis Zhenxi. Now that Xie Cangxuan was in power, whether he would step down depended entirely on a single word from the Xia Emperor.
As for whether Xie Weilou could become Marquis Zhenxi in the future, that would depend on his performance.
If his performance was not good, Xie Cangxuan would have to remain in that position.
Of course, if Xie Cangxuan died…
“Understood.”
Eunuch Huang bowed.
——————
The next day.
At the Xie Family Old Residence, white banners hung, and many people were busy.
Xie Weilou arrived in a white robe, accompanied by Zhang Long and Zhao Hu.
“Xie Weilou, you little beast, what are you doing here? You’re the one who killed my two sons.”
Madam You saw Xie Weilou in his white robe and immediately flared up, angrily stepping forward to tear at him.
“How dare you!”
Zhang Long raised an eyebrow, and a wave of pressure permeated, pushing Madam You back.
After stabilizing herself, Madam You stared at Xie Weilou with a venomous expression: “You little beast, you’re the one who killed my sons.”
The people around, seeing this, showed a strange look in their eyes, all watching the show.
Xie Cangxuan walked out of the main hall. He glanced at Xie Weilou expressionlessly: “You are not welcome here.”
Xie Weilou’s eyes reddened, and he said with a sorrowful expression, “Second Uncle, Wu Shang and Wu Ji are my brothers. They were harmed by villains, and now they are about to be buried. What’s wrong with me coming to see them?”
“You parents, your own sons died, and you don’t investigate the cause of their death, you don’t care about them. Now, even their good brother comes to see them and send them off, and you actually refuse? Are you even parents?”
Madam You roared, “Xie Weilou, stop pretending to be kind! My sons were killed by you!”
Xie Wushang and Xie Wuji were dead, and the happiest person now must be Xie Weilou. Moreover, Madam You instinctively felt that their deaths must be related to Xie Weilou.
A clear tear flowed down Xie Weilou’s face, and he said dejectedly, “Second Aunt, you say they were killed by me? Then tell me, why would I kill them? What grudge did they have with me that would make me commit such a vicious act?”
Everyone subconsciously looked at Madam You. They also felt that the deaths of the two were a bit strange, perhaps related to Xie Weilou, but it definitely wasn't Xie Weilou who did it. After all, everyone knew Xie Weilou's capabilities, didn't they?
And at this moment, Xie Weilou’s sorrowful expression couldn’t help but make people feel a little touched, as if he was truly heartbroken!
“I…”
Madam You’s expression froze, and she didn’t know what to say.
She couldn’t possibly say that both of them wanted to kill Xie Weilou.
Especially Xie Wushang, when he went to Snow Wolf Valley, he had revealed that he was going to kill Xie Weilou, but Xie Weilou returned, while Xie Wushang died.
Madam You gritted her teeth and said, “You once cut off my son Wu Ji’s arm…”
Xie Weilou said with heartfelt anguish, “Second Aunt, do you really not understand my purpose in doing that? What kind of place is our Zhenxi Marquis Manor? Wu Ji invited outsiders to indulge in debauchery, made the women of the Zhenxi Marquis Manor serve wine, and even hit the Zhenxi Marquis Manor’s maidservants. Such actions don’t just disgrace the Zhenxi Marquis Manor, but also Second Uncle’s face! Those who don’t know might even think that our Zhenxi Marquis Manor can only associate with scoundrels.”
“…”
Madam You was speechless. What Xie Wuji did was indeed very foolish, as the people he invited were all very ordinary.
Xie Weilou said with a complex expression, “Second Uncle is, after all, a dignified Marquis Zhenxi. Even if he were to make acquaintances, he should associate with high-ranking officials and nobles, ministers of the Six Boards, princes, marquises, generals, and prime ministers. But what did Xie Wuji do? He invited the son of Anping Marquis’s third concubine to indulge in debauchery, his vision was extremely narrow. This was completely slapping Second Uncle’s face. My cutting off his arm was to uphold the dignity of the Zhenxi Marquis Manor and Second Uncle’s face!”
“…”
Everyone around looked at Xie Cangxuan, full of speechlessness. Having a useless son who did such a thing was indeed very shameful.
Bringing a person from a third branch to the Zhenxi Marquis Manor for debauchery?
Not only was it shameful, it was completely trampling on the dignity of the Zhenxi Marquis Manor!
Looking at it this way, Xie Weilou seemed to have done a good deed.
At the very least, no one had ever dared to act presumptuously in the Zhenxi Marquis Manor before, but ever since Xie Cangxuan took power, everything seemed to have changed.
The current Zhenxi Marquis Manor was indeed in decline!
“You…”
Madam You noticed the expressions of the crowd, her face extremely unsightly, unable to retort.
Xie Cangxuan gently pulled her aside, then looked indifferently at Xie Weilou and said, “So, why are you here?”
“I want to give my brothers a proper send-off.”
Xie Weilou’s expression was extremely sincere.
He looked around, shook his head, and said, “My brothers’ funeral should be held grandly. This simple setup won’t do. Those who don’t know might think our Zhenxi Marquis Manor is short on money.”
At this point, he took out an account book from his sleeve and walked straight to the side, finding a seat. Zhang Long and Zhao Hu took out brushes and ink.
Xie Weilou took the brush and ink, looked at the crowd, and said in a low voice, “Today, my brothers are being buried. I am very happy that everyone could come. But I want my brothers to leave grandly. I want to buy paper effigies, paper money, and paper houses to burn for them properly. I hope everyone will support this.”
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