Green Mountain
Chapter 382 - 309, legitimate and illegitimate

Chapter 382: 309, legitimate and illegitimate

Zhang Zheng laughed heartily, "At this moment, don’t worry about that Korea Envoy Party; they have only themselves to blame. Let’s go to Bianyifang Restaurant to eat Pearl Cabbage Tofu Soup."

Zhang Xia suddenly said, "We’re not going to Bianyifang, we’re going to the Chen Mansion to eat."

Zhang Zheng was puzzled, "Why are we going to the Chen Mansion?"

Zhang Xia declared with certainty, "We’ll go to the Chen Mansion."

...

...

Under the night sky, the four of them crossed Fuyou Street and knocked on the side door of the Chen Mansion, but they waited a long time without getting a response from anyone.

Zhang Xia raised her hand and pointed at the gap in the door, and a trace of Invisible Sword Energy passed through, actually cutting the bolt from the door gap.

Xiao Man widened his eyes, "Second Sister, how many days have you been practicing?"

Zhang Xia casually explained, "Sword Qi recovery is a bit slow right now, and I can only use it once a day. Maybe it’ll be better once I reach the Innate Realm."

She pushed open the door, only to see a servant sitting on a nearby chair, looking at Chen Ji and the others in confusion: "You... how dare you break in?"

Zhang Xia walked straight towards Qingzheng Garden, full of murderous intent: "Chen Family members returning to their own house, and the servants guarding the door don’t open it. Xiao Man, slap him."

Xiao Man acknowledged with a sound.

She darted forward, grabbing the servant’s collar with her left hand, and slapped his face left and right with her right hand, leaving him dizzy.

Zhang Xia walked along the pebbled path inward, not turning her head, "Xiao Man, which courtyard are you staying in?"

Xiao Man released the servant and hopped along to lead Zhang Xia.

Chen Ji and Zhang Zheng looked at Zhang Xia’s fierce manner and exchanged glances... This is not a visit for a meal?

At the Silver Apricot Garden where Chen Ji lived, Zhang Xia sat on a stone bench facing the courtyard gate.

Chen Ji was puzzled, "What are you doing?"

Zhang Xia calmly said, "Waiting for someone."

After fifteen minutes, they heard a noisy sound of footsteps from outside the gate.

With a bang, someone kicked the courtyard gate open and shouted angrily, "Get out here..."

The person who kicked the door was an elderly woman dressed in gray cloth. She looked up and saw Zhang Xia in the courtyard, and her momentum suddenly diminished, "Who are you?"

Zhang Xia sat on the stone bench and coldly said, "And who are you? As a servant of the Chen family, do you dare to kick the master’s door?"

The elderly woman instinctively looked behind her, revealing a calm woman behind her.

The woman wore an apricot-yellow silk gown, and her head was adorned with a golden and silver silk net covering a wig, with a vivid green jade hairpin inserted into her hair bun.

She slowly strolled into the courtyard, where two servants placed an embroidered stool, and she then sat down leisurely, "Second Miss Zhang, I saw you at Official Xu’s birthday banquet, but I wonder if you have a visiting card for your visit to my Chen Mansion today?"

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said, "I invited them here; no visiting card is needed."

The woman smiled arrogantly, "Since when does a Chen Family’s bastard son have the right to invite outsiders to the house? I don’t remember such a rule."

Zhang Xia spoke slowly, "Second Lady, in the twenty-first year of Emperor Xuan De, Cabinet Minister Qi Yan was an illegitimate son. Emperor Xuan De praised him for being diligent in governance, saying, ’Laws should consider human emotions. If the legitimate son is unworthy and the illegitimate son is virtuous, the family estate should be given to the illegitimate son to preserve the clan.’

The ’Second Lady’ Mrs. Wang also cited historical principles, "Ning Shenzong wanted to establish the illegitimate son born to his favored Consort Zheng as Crown Prince, but was advised by Cabinet Minister Qi Yan that ’the ancestral family law decrees that the legitimate heir is established by the eldest. The Crown Prince should be the eldest son; though the consort is virtuous, one should not disrupt the order.’ That’s something Mr. Qi himself said; it seems he also knew the difference between legitimate and illegitimate."

Zhang Zheng and Xiao Man appeared stern, hard-headed.

Zhang Xia remained unchanged, "The Daning Law states that legitimate and illegitimate sons, when dividing family wealth, regardless of whether one’s birth was from wife, concubine, or maid, the distribution is equal based on the number of sons."

Mrs. Wang laughed again, "The household laws of Daning Law also state, ’Illegitimate son usurping titles, punished with eighty strokes, title revoked. Only when the legitimate wife is over fifty without a son, the illegitimate eldest son can be established.’

One spoke of inheriting family property, while the other spoke of inheriting titles.

Both were masters in understanding the rules, countering each move with precision, neither gaining the upper hand. If they continued debating, they might not reach a conclusion by morning.

Mrs. Wang gently said, "Second Miss Zhang, why get involved in this muddy water?"

Zhang Xia replied calmly, "Second Lady, the late Emperor was born of a Vassal Prince’s illegitimate line."

Mrs. Wang’s expression changed.

She lightly dabbed her mouth with a handkerchief, "I’ve long heard that Second Miss Zhang is exceedingly wise; today, I see you are indeed extraordinary. But, would you help me reason, my son Chen Wenren was delayed in capturing bandits, yet was punished with a hundred lashes without investigation. What kind of reasoning is this? Chen Ji, being a Chen Family’s bastard, did not assist his own brother but helped the Qi family’s outsider. What kind of reasoning is this? The so-called brotherly affection is innate, and Chen Ji’s actions are against human nature, aren’t they?"

Zhang Xia seriously replied, "Taihang Mountain bandit Chen Feng once rallied five hundred bandits, controlling official roads for pillaging, committing all kinds of evil. Later, surrounded by the Longevity Army, he changed his name and quietly entered the capital in Jianing 27th Year, hiding in Nianzi Alley. Second Lady, dare I ask, who provided him the thirteen hundred taels of silver for purchasing a residence? Additionally, after entering the capital, who handled his household registration?"

Mrs. Wang instinctively clenched the handkerchief in her hand, yet remained nonchalant, "How would I know about this?"

Zhang Xia continued, "In the winter of Jianing 29th Year, Chen Feng secretly met a man surnamed Wang outside the City God Temple, then that night, he infiltrated Landlord Zhou’s home in East City, killing fourteen members of the Zhou Family. Madam, would you want to know who he secretly met?"

Mrs. Wang’s face changed again, she stood up and walked away, "Second Miss Zhang, backed by the Xu Family, you are truly formidable."

The servants and nannies looked at each other, having come in aggressively, yet leaving in haste.

Xiao Man muttered, "Just leaving like that?"

Zhang Xia explained, "She is in a hurry to send someone to silence witnesses."

Zhang Zheng watched their departing figures and then turned to Zhang Xia, "So you anticipated that the Chen family’s second branch would trouble Chen Ji, which is why you insisted on coming to the Chen Mansion for a meal?"

"Xiao Man, cook, I’m hungry," Zhang Xia closed her eyes, and then her lips moved, silently reciting scriptures.