Thinking of this, he ingratiatingly poured a cup of tea for his elderly father, chuckled twice, and continued, "Anyone with a discerning eye can see that following my niece has a bright future. Even if your son were a fool, I'd still know this is a rare opportunity. I will only help my niece look after her affairs properly and won't bring shame to you or her."
Yu Chongshan felt very comfortable being waited on by his son, and the words were pleasing to hear. He knew his son didn't take this for granted, understood that his niece was looking out for him, and was grateful for her patronage.
He was quite satisfied with his youngest son's tactfulness.
Having finished lecturing his son, he was eager to shoo him away, waving his hand as if swatting a fly to tell him to leave quickly.
Yu Mochun tactfully refilled his father's tea and turned to leave. Before he even reached the door, Yu Chongshan called him back.
"Fourth Son, make a trip to your Second Uncle's house. Tell him there is still a vacancy for a secondary seventh-rank official in Fuguang's guard escort. You can also generously share your own good news with them."
Yu Chongshan didn't feel like he was showing off at all.
Therefore, the next day, when Yue Fuguang finished her studies and stepped into the manor with her two older sisters, the butler ran over to report that the Second Master had come to visit and that dinner would be served in the main hall.
Yue Fuguang said, "Uncle Butler, please inform Grandmother that my sisters and I will return to our rooms to change our clothes before heading over."
She directly made the decision for her two sisters; otherwise, they would definitely be too embarrassed to return to their own courtyards first.
Second Grandfather was a close relative, and as the younger generation, they were expected to go and pay their respects immediately.
Waiting until the butler had walked away, Yu Ningxuan smiled and said, "Fuguang, we sisters thank you!"
She tugged at a small ink stain on her sleeve and said, "Otherwise, I would have had to meet our guests in dirty clothes."
Yu Ningxin also chimed in, "Exactly. Second Sister's ink stain is on her sleeve, and mine is on the front of my dress. It really would be inappropriate to go over looking like this!"
Yue Fuguang said nonchalantly, "It's a small matter. Hurry and go, sisters."
She could roughly guess why Second Grandfather's family had come over at this time.
However, she hadn't expected that a minor secondary seventh-rank position would actually prompt the whole family to come over.
How could Yue Fuguang have known that in the eyes of others, she was now a highly promising prospect? Let alone the fact that she had a secondary seventh-rank official position to offer.
Even if a commoner could stay by her side and tie their fortunes to hers, there would be droves of people fighting for the chance to come.
When she was selecting people, she intentionally praised Song Xingzhou a bit more. Her original intention was to build a good relationship first, so that when she came to select people in the future, Song Xingzhou would save some capable hands for her.
Who knew that after yesterday, she wouldn't even need to go looking herself; there were plenty of people lining up, waiting for her to choose.
By the time she arrived at the main hall, Yu Chongshan and his sons were already there. Well, she was the last to arrive again.
Did this count as acting like a diva?
This was also Yue Fuguang's first time seeing Second Grandfather's family since the New Year, and they exchanged a good round of pleasantries upon meeting.
Of course, the ones exchanging pleasantries were the others; she only needed to maintain an appropriate smile.
Yu Chongshan and Yu Chongyan's couple went from mutually flattering each other's children and grandchildren at the beginning, to eventually showering all their praises on Yue Fuguang alone.
Hearing the adults throwing all kinds of free-flowing compliments at her, anyone with thinner skin wouldn't have been able to stand listening.
Yue Fuguang thought: After visiting relatives and friends during the New Year, my skin has already grown thick. This is just a few people, a piece of cake! Doge JPG
Their family was also a bit different. Usually, when others praised one's own child, the family members would offer a few words of modesty.
But her grandfather and grandmother did the exact opposite. While Yu Chongyan and his wife praised her from the front, Yu Chongshan and Old Madam Yu would add more compliments from behind.
It was as if they were afraid that the younger brother and sister-in-law's praises for their granddaughter weren't comprehensive enough!
Yue Fuguang thought: I haven't even eaten dinner yet, but I'm already full from all the praise!
Even though she had thick skin and could handle it, there was absolutely no need to endure such torment!
So she racked her brains and quickly came up with a way to divert everyone's attention. She asked inwardly, "Little Zhu, after the Great Yan fell, what happened to my Second Grandfather's family?"
Yu Chongyan thought: Here it comes, here it comes. I've finally waited for you, my time of death!
With the appearance of Yue Fuguang's question, the sound of praise in the room noticeably weakened by a third.
In order to better hear what followed, Yu Chongshan directly invited everyone to take their seats for the banquet.
Although a family of flesh and blood wouldn't strictly adhere to the rule of no talking while eating at the table, speaking a little less wouldn't make people feel it was too abrupt.
[Master, the ending of your Second Grandfather's family wasn't very good either. Although they didn't completely die out like your family, only the youngest daughter-in-law survived, taking along a pair of children.
In such chaotic times, it's easy to imagine how long a weak mother with young children could survive.]
Hearing the word die out again, Yu Chongshan's endurance was much better than before. With his granddaughter giving him confidence, he was now afraid of nothing.
Yu Chongyan's originally pale face and the hand that trembled too much to hold his chopsticks steady instantly calmed down upon meeting his older brother's firm, reassuring gaze.
Especially when he saw Yue Fuguang taking small sips of her soup, an infinite strength suddenly welled up in his heart.
Regardless of the past, now that their two families had her holding down the fort, no matter what happened to other families, theirs would be perfectly fine!
To say something highly disrespectful, even if the Great Yan fell, their Yu family wouldn't fall with it anymore!
"Oh, tell me what happened. Did a troublemaker also appear in Second Grandfather's family?"
[Master, you really hit the nail on the head. Their family also produced a menace, causing your Second Grandpa's entire family to lose their protection after your Grandpa and the others passed away, which quickly led to the ruin of their family.]
"Didn't the Yu Manor perish together with the Great Yan Dynasty? At that time, foreign invaders came in, burning, killing, and looting. As long as they didn't run away, wasn't it normal for a family to be destroyed?"
[When the foreign tribe invaded, even though they had an inside man to open the gates for them, they didn't break in all at once. It was only after a few days of defending the capital that they found an opportunity to secretly open the city gates. At that time, five days had already passed since the Yu family was murdered by Yu Ningrou. That is to say, on the night the foreign tribe entered the city, the menace from Yu Chongyan's family took the opportunity to lead people to ransack their Second Branch.]
"I see. Who exactly is the menace of the Second Branch?"
This question also lingered in the minds of the entire Yu family.
The Second Old Madam, Madam Wu, hid her hand under the table, tightly gripping her husband's broad, sweaty palm.
Yu Chongyan's hand ached from the grip of his usually frail wife, but even though her nails were about to dig into his flesh, he didn't utter a single sound.
He only patted the back of her hand reassuringly, managing his facial expressions well so that the little ancestor at the table wouldn't notice anything amiss.
[It is Yu Huaijian, the third concubine-born son of Yu Boyuan from the eldest branch.]
Yu Huaijian? Yu Chongyan thought about it for a long time but couldn't recall having such a grandson in his family, let alone from his eldest son's branch.
His eyes silently glanced at Yu Boyuan. When Yu Boyuan heard the name Yu Huaijian, he immediately felt a wave of guilt and panic.
His face paled from fright. Being stared at by his own father at this moment, he swallowed hard, his face turning from pale to red. He pretended to eat and drink, simply not daring to look at his father and eldest uncle.
As soon as Yu Chongshan and Yu Chongyan saw Yu Boyuan's reaction, they knew that he definitely had such a son.
Since they didn't know about it, then...
[Master, are you unable to recall ever meeting this Yu Huaijian?]
"Indeed, I've met all the children from Second Grandpa's family, and I really don't remember such a person. Is he Uncle Yuan's son from an outside mistress?"
