CHAPTER 318: CHAPTER 315: I AM THE MARQUIS MANSION DOWAGER 4

Tang Dingguo and his brother cried as if to shake heaven and earth.

Anning, however, was unmoved: "How old are you to still be crying? Aren’t you ashamed?"

Only when the brothers had nearly cried themselves out did Anning continue: "Originally, the court should have granted our family two Marquis Mansions, but as you both know, your father was a bit too conservative and wanted us, husband and wife, not to live separately, but to be together. So, he only asked for one Marquis Mansion. Over the years, many people in the Capital have forgotten that I, too, have a title. Now the time has come for me to claim back what rightfully belongs to our family. The court granted us the Duke Zhongyi Mansion, can it be that nobody from our family would go live there? That would certainly be inappropriate."

Tang Dingguo and Tang Baoguo fell silent.

What Anning said was quite reasonable.

They clearly had entitlement to two Marquis titles, so why not claim them?

Even if they were not claimed, it’s likely that no one would remember the family’s modesty; they would only say the family was foolish.

Now that the family had two Marquis Mansions, they would naturally have to be occupied. Dividing the household was inevitable.

Seeing that these two foolish sons finally understood her point and had thought through the pros and cons, Anning laughed: "Today, I will decide on your household division. You don’t have any objections, do you?"

The brothers hastily shook their heads: "No objections."

Anning then looked towards the two daughters-in-law: "And you two? Are you willing?"

"We are willing."

Mrs. Song and Mrs. Yang quickly nodded their heads.

Right now, both of them could hardly wait for the division; after all, once the households were divided, they could be the masters of their own homes.

"Since none of you have objections, I have the final say in this matter. There is no better day than today—let’s divide the household today. Eldest son, go invite General Gai over to serve as a witness."

Upon hearing this, Tang Dingguo hurriedly went out to invite General Gai.

Anning also instructed Tang Baoguo: "Second son, go invite Third Young Master from the back street over."

The Fang Family did not have many members; he was the only son in the house, and had only one sister who got separated during the chaos of war, never to be found again.

This Mr. Tang actually had little to do with the Tang Family, being nothing more than a former neighbor from the Tang’s old village. He had helped Tang Fang when the latter was young, and after Tang Fang made his fortune, he allied his family with Mr. Tang’s and helped Mr. Tang and his family move to the Capital, treating him as a senior relative.

Tang Baoguo dashed out at once.

Since Mr. Tang lived nearby, although Tang Baoguo set out later, he returned very quickly, supporting Mr. Tang as they entered.

Upon seeing Mr. Tang, Anning stood up quickly from her chair to greet him: "Uncle Three, I pay my respects."

"Sit, sit."

Mr. Tang was no longer young, but he still looked quite robust, and most importantly, his mind was very clear and he was an upright person.

As he entered, he laughed: "Madam Tang Fang, why have you called me here?"

Tang Baoguo helped Mr. Tang to sit down, and Anning followed suit with a smile.

She had initially sat in the host’s seat, but now that Mr. Tang was seated in the most honored west seat, she took the second seat on the east side, which was a way to show respect to an elder.

"I called you here today to divide our two foolish sons’ households."

Mr. Tang nodded: "It is time for a division."

He had already been briefed by Tang Baoguo about Emperor Jianyuan conferring upon him the title of Marquis Zhongyi, and naturally, he understood Anning’s reasons for the division.

"That’s right, you’re the elder in the family, and there’s no one in the entire Tang Family with broader knowledge than you. So we invited you here to serve as a witness." Anning smiled and flattered Mr. Tang: "Although I must say my two boys are very filial, if I were to decide the division myself, they would surely not object. But I am a person who values propriety; following the rules, there must be a witness."

Mr. Tang laughed heartily: "Alright, I’ll serve as your witness today. Have you thought it through clearly?"

Anning glanced at Tang Baoguo and Mrs. Yang: "According to convention, the division of household is well regulated. The heir is to receive seven parts of the wealth, and the younger son three parts."

Tang Baoguo was still of the same mind, believing this to be the proper way, as was customary in all families.

Mrs. Yang, though feeling somewhat shortchanged, did not voice any objections.

Anning knew that Mrs. Yang, although looking somewhat calculating, was still reasonable when it came to major issues.

Contrarily, Mrs. Song’s face showed delight.

Mr. Tang looked towards Anning: "You don’t have this plan in mind, do you?"

Anning chuckled, "You’ve guessed it right. Our family is different from others. Since the Eldest inherited my husband’s noble title, I plan to leave all the wealth of Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion to him."

Tang Baoguo was shocked, and he looked at Anning with disbelief.

Mrs. Yang also became somewhat anxious.

"What about the second child?"

Mr. Tang asked unhurriedly, "Do you intend to let the second one leave the family empty-handed?"

Anning shook her head: "How could that be possible? Whether it’s the Eldest or the second child, they are both my own flesh and blood. I have no reason to be partial to one over the other. Since the second child inherited the title of Marquis Zhongyi, then all that I have saved up over the years belongs to him. What do you think?"

At this point, Tang Baoguo also became excited, the joy on his face was evident to everyone.

While Mrs. Song’s expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Everyone in the Marquis Mansion knew that Anning had quite a few treasures in her possession. Her wealth was no less than that of Marquis Zhongyong.

By dividing the family assets in this way, Anning essentially allocated the wealth between her two sons fairly. However, this felt unfair to Mrs. Song.

Originally, she could have obtained seventy percent of the family wealth, but now it amounted to only fifty percent.

Since Tang Dingguo was not here, Mrs. Song, though having grievances, dared not express them in front of Tang Baoguo and Mr. Tang.

Soon, Tang Dingguo invited General Gu over.

General Gu’s voice reached them before he even entered.

"Haha... sister-in-law, why the rush to summon me?"

Following that, a tall, robust old man stepped through the door.

Anning stood up to welcome him: "I wish to divide the family property between my Eldest and the second child and need elder brother and our uncle as witnesses."

General Gu sat down with a thump: "That’s good, sure, I’ll be a witness."

Anning then repeated to General Gu what she had just told Mr. Tang.

General Gu fell silent for a while; he glanced at Tang Dingguo, "What do you think?"

Tang Dingguo smiled, "I leave it to mother’s discretion."

Mrs. Song was incredibly anxious, tugging at Tang Dingguo’s clothes repeatedly, but Tang Dingguo ignored her.

Since both sons had no objections, Anning had someone bring in two chests of account books and land deeds.

She pointed to one chest: "This contains what the Old Marquis left behind."

Tang Dingguo and Tang Baoguo opened the chest, with General Gu and Mr. Tang peering in.

This large chest was brimming with account books and various types of land deeds.

Anning had already reviewed them and was familiar with the contents, "There are twenty thousand mu of private fields in Jiangnan, over ten thousand mu of meritorious fields in the eastern province, plus several manors bought around Jing Suburb by your father over the years. There are shops in Capital and various places in Jiangnan—eighteen Trading Houses in Jiangnan and fifteen in Capital, not to mention thirty thousand silver notes, forty thousand gold notes, and the rest piling up in the storage. All of these belong to the Eldest."

As Tang Dingguo looked at the chest full of account books and land deeds, he felt quite overwhelmed.

He knew that the public storage was stocked with many items, from cumbersome furniture to various antiques, and boxes of gold and silver jewelry, in addition to curios, calligraphy, and paintings—altogether worth millions of taels. However, he didn’t expect his mother to have so many valuable items.

He glanced at Anning covertly and then at Tang Baoguo, "Mother, isn’t this a bit, well, too much for me, and for the second brother...?"

With so much wealth for himself, he naturally felt sorry for Tang Baoguo, thinking that if Tang Baoguo had less, he could share some with him.

Anning laughed, "Naturally, I have kept good things for your second brother as well."

She personally opened the other chest, "This is what I have saved up over the years. The contents here do not differ much from your brother’s—twenty thousand mu of fertile land in the Northern Province, another ten thousand mu of mountain forest, ten thousand mu of meritorious fields in Jiangnan, ten Trading Houses in the Southern Province, and several treasure ships. Truly, if you venture to the South Ocean to do business, there are five hundred thousand silver notes. There aren’t any gold notes, but I also have a storage, just not in the mansion; I’ll take the second child there tomorrow to check it out."

Anning admired the original host more and more as she spoke.

The Old Madam was indeed astute.

Even Tang Fang was not very clear about the things she had saved up.

During the chaotic times of war, Tang Fang had looted many valuables, but the original host had not snatched any less. After all, war fortunes were the easiest to make. She kept all that she looted to herself and had not told anyone about it over the years.

Anning thought that if she hadn’t come and the original host had just passed away, nobody would have known about her treasures. In such a case, the two sons might have become desperate over their titles and the family’s wealth.