Old Man Xiao naturally noticed his son’s dilemma.
A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly concealed.
He asked: “Are you worried that your wife will cause trouble with Zhenger’s wife if she goes to Prince Jin’s Mansion?”
Xiao Yuanshi smiled bitterly: “Yes, the Deputy Governor’s residence will lose face again.”
He was sure about it. Shi Qingluo would never let Ge Chunru off the hook.
Old Man Xiao nodded: “That’s certain. Zheng’s wife is very protective of her family. Since your wife bullied her mother-in-law and Zheng’er’s siblings so badly, she will seize any opportunity to humiliate your wife.”
Then he changed his tone: “However, this is an opportunity.”
Xiao Yuanshi was puzzled: “What opportunity?”
Old Man Xiao patted Xiao Yuanshi on the shoulder: “An opportunity to change your legal wife.”
“After all, the ladies in Beicheng haven’t met your legal wife yet, so whether it’s Ge Chunru or Liu Ru who attends the banquet, it doesn’t make much difference.”
“You’ve already severed ties with Zheng’er and the others, this Deputy Governor’s mansion will need someone to inherit it in the future.”
“Zheng’er and Erlang are both proud. Even if you offered it to them, they wouldn’t take it.”
“So you’ll need to have another legitimate son. Liu Ru is about to give birth, so why not make her your legal wife and demote Ge Chunru to a concubine? This will also solve your current urgent problem.”
After hearing his father’s words, Xiao Yuanshi fell into deep thought.
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. This way, all his recent troubles could be resolved.
Moreover, although he wasn’t entirely convinced by the idea of Ge Chunru being a “jinx” who brought bad luck, he still felt somewhat uneasy about it.
If Ge Chunru continued to be his legal wife, would his fortune continue to decline?
After a moment, he nodded: “Alright, I’ll listen to you, Father.”
This way, his parents wouldn’t keep pressing the issue and potentially escalate it to the Jin Prince or even disown him.
Besides, Liu Ru indeed carried herself more like a legal wife than Ge Chunru did now.
Old Man Xiao smiled and nodded: “That’s right. You’ve already done more than enough for Ge Chunru.”
“If it were any other man, they would have divorced her long ago after being cuckolded by their legal wife. They wouldn’t have let her act so arrogantly.”
Xiao Yuanshi agreed with this point: “You’re right, Father.”
Apart from the “jinx” aspect, what bothered Xiao Yuanshi the most was the humiliation of being cuckolded.
Whether Ge Chunru was set up or not, the fact remained that she had been seen being intimate with Zheng Tongfeng by so many people.
Ever since that incident, he hadn’t touched her again.
One time, she insisted on him staying the night, and he did, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to feel any desire for her.
Every time he thought about being intimate with her, he couldn’t help but recall the image of her being kissed by Zheng Tongfeng, and it made him feel nauseated.
So that night, he didn’t touch her and just slept normally.
Xiao Yuanshi sighed: “I just don’t know how to bring this up with her.”
Demoting her from wife to concubine— Ge Chunru would surely make a scene.
Old Lady Xiao couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Xiao Yuanshi: “Look at how spineless you are. Who’s in charge of this family—you or that little wench?”
“Demoting her to a concubine is justified given all the mistakes she’s made. What are you afraid of?”
Xiao Yuanshi rubbed his temples: “I’m not afraid, it’s just that after all these years, there’s still some affection there. It’s hard to bring it up.”
Old Madam Xiao sneered: “You had feelings for Kong Yuelan when you first married her too, but you still managed to bring up divorcing her for Ge Chunru.”
“I think she has bewitched you.” Whenever it comes to her, you lose your mind.”
Seeing Xiao Yuanshi’s discomfort, Old Man Xiao gave the old lady a look: “Enough, our Second Son knows what to do.”
Old Lady Xiao pursed her lips: “Fine, I won’t say anymore.”
Old Man Xiao then asked Xiao Yuanshi: “Who has been managing the household since we arrived in the northern city?”
Xiao Yuanshi replied truthfully: “Ge Chunru has been managing it.”
“Originally, in the capital, I had Liu Ru take over the management, but she became pregnant, and it was inconvenient for her, so I handed it back to Ge Chunru.”
Old Man Xiao said meaningfully: “Before you bring this up with her, you should carefully check the household accounts.”
Xiao Yuanshi sensed something in his father’s words: “Father, are you worried she might have taken money from the household again?”
“That can’t be. After coming to the northern city, I only left a few thousand taels in the accounts.”
He had done this precisely to prevent Ge Chunru from secretly taking money to support her family.
She had taken two thousand taels earlier to send to Ge Chunyi, but he had approved it because he was the one who had sent Ge Chunyi to work in the mines.
Old Man Xiao thought for a moment and asked: “You’re now the Deputy Governor of the northern city. Surely someone has tried to offer you money, right?”
He warned: “Be cautious and check the accounts carefully.”
Xiao Yuanshi knew his father’s temperament. If he brought this up, there must be a reason.
“Father, have you heard something?”
Old Man Xiao sighed: “On the way here, I heard from Zheng’er’s wife that Prince Jin sent money to Zheng’er, but they refused it.”
“Zheng’er’s wife said that since they were offered money, it’s highly likely that someone offered you money as well.”
“So I’m worried that your wasteful wife might have accepted money she shouldn’t have, which could implicate you.”
This was indeed something Shi Qingluo had mentioned.
Xiao Hanzheng and his wife didn’t dare to accept the money, it must be problematic, and his son shouldn’t accept it either.
These words caused Xiao Yuanshi’s expression to change, and he immediately stood up: “I’ll go check right now.”
He hadn’t expected Prince Jin to offer money to Xiao Hanzheng so quickly.
Such an obvious attempt to win favor—what was Prince Jin’s planning?
If Xiao Hanzheng wasn’t a fool, he would not accept such money.
He wasn’t sure if Prince Jin had sent money to the Deputy Governor’s residence, but he hadn’t seen any. Still, he was worried that Ge Chunru might have accepted it without his knowledge.
Old Man Xiao also felt this was a serious matter: “Alright, go and check.”
Then, as if remembering something, he added: “Second Son, Ge Chunru already knows about you scheming to send Ge Chunyi to work in the mines.”
Xiao Yuanshi stiffened: “How does she know?”
He didn’t play dumb. Since his father knew, there was no point in denying it.
But he was surprised. How did they find out?
Old Man Xiao didn’t mention that it was his wife who had revealed it. Instead, he said: “Ge Chunyi told Ge Chunru in front of us.”
This was indeed true, though it was only after his wife brought it up that Ge Chunyi mentioned it.
“Because of this, Ge Chunru and her brother must hold a grudge against you. Keep that in mind.”
He deliberately mentioned this not only to remind his son to be wary of the two, but also to help him firmly decide to demote Ge Chunru to a concubine.
Having a legal wife who resented him was not a good thing.
If she were a concubine, her ability to cause trouble would be much more limited.
After all, a legal wife had far more power than a concubine.
This time, Xiao Yuanshi took it to heart: “Alright, I understand.”
He squinted his eyes. No wonder, Ge Chunyi hadn’t called him brother-in-law once since they met and left with his sister. He already knew.
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