TRBDM -Chapter 100 Drafting the Family Separation Deed

“Husband.” Shen Zhizhi hurried forward.

The carriage had stopped, and from outside, the heavy smell of alcohol wafted in.

“Husband.” Shen Zhizhi called anxiously.

Xie Sheng stumbled out of the carriage. Instinctively, Shen Zhizhi reached out to support him, but Xie Sheng dodged her.

“I saw Shen Tianci.” Xie Sheng was drunk, yet his words were sharp: “He came asking for money again.”

“No, no. He just… just came to see me.” Shen Zhizhi didn’t dare meet Xie Sheng’s gaze.

“Shen Zhizhi.”

Xie Sheng had never called her by her full name like this before. Hearing it now made Shen Zhizhi’s heart race violently.

“H-husband, my head… it hurts a little.” Shen Zhizhi resorted to her old trick.

But this time, Xie Sheng didn’t react at all.

“Shen Zhizhi, only this once.”

Only this once… of what? Was it the last time Shen Tianci would ask for money? Or the last time Shen Zhizhi would risk the child in her womb? She didn’t dare think too deeply.

After speaking, Xie Sheng stared at Shen Zhizhi for a long while.

Neither of them said a word.

Later, a servant helped Xie Sheng into the mansion, leaving Shen Zhizhi standing there, shrouded in the darkness of night.

The next day, the Xie clan elder and the Wei family uncle arrived at the Mingde Marquis Mansion.

Everyone in the mansion was waiting in the front hall.

“Clan Elder, Uncle, thank you for coming. Please, have a seat.”

Wei Zhaorong invited the two respected witnesses to sit.

“Madam, I heard this time it was Second Master Xie Sheng who voluntarily requested a branch separation?”

“That is indeed the case.”

The clan elder stroked his beard and spoke earnestly:

“Second Master Xie, allow me a reminder. Once the family separation deed is signed, your connection with the Mingde Marquis Mansion will be greatly reduced. Should the mansion receive the emperor’s favor in the future, such as a promotion in title, the second branch will not benefit in the slightest.”

Xie Sheng was still not fully sober from yesterday’s drunken stupor.

The clan elder’s words struck his temples like a heavy hammer. The nausea was so strong he almost vomited.

Swallowing down the queasy feeling in his throat, Xie Sheng croaked, “Thank you for the reminder, Clan Elder. I’ve already made up my mind.”

“Then let’s open the ancestral hall.”

At the Mingde Marquis Mansion, they opened the ancestral hall to draft the family separation deed.

Since the first, second, and third branches had no heirs, the division was not too complicated.

Over the past days, Dou Shuyao and Wei Zhaorong had thoroughly checked the account books. The mansion’s treasury, real estate, shops, farmland, antiques, and calligraphy were all clearly recorded.

The Xie clan elder and the Wei family uncle worked for two full days and finally divided all the property clearly.

The mansion had a separate estate in the capital, which was directly assigned to Xie Sheng as his residence.

Additionally, thirty-five thousand taels of silver, as well as shops, farmland, antiques, and calligraphy, were allocated as the second branch’s share.

The mansion’s ancestral property was indivisible and reserved for the heir to inherit the title.

Shen Zhizhi looked at the ancestral property she couldn’t touch and clenched her teeth.

She didn’t speak a single word during the division.

She feared that if she opened her mouth, tears would fall.

Voluntarily separating the branch was such a heavy loss. All the painstaking work she had put in over the years had led to this outcome.

She was unwilling, but she didn’t even dare to show it.

In short, her emotions were a complex mix, with no single word able to accurately describe Shen Zhizhi’s feelings.

The two from the second branch looked completely dejected, as if they had eaten a mouthful of flies—everyone could see it.

But no one felt any sympathy for them.

“Xie Sheng, the partition deed has been completed. Take a look. If there are no objections, sign your name, seal it with your private stamp, and then we’ll submit it to the authorities for verification and registration. Once that’s done, the second branch will be fully separated from the Mingde Marquisate.”

Xie Sheng took the partition deed, read it carefully, and without a word, signed his name. He then took out his private seal from his chest and stamped it swiftly.

He feared that if he hesitated, he might regret it later.

“All done. I’ll take the partition deed to the authorities immediately. From now on, the second branch is independent; all expenses and provisions will be accounted for separately. As for when you move out of the Marquisate, you can discuss it with the matriarch.”

There needed to be a transition period for moving, not that the second branch had to leave tomorrow.

The clan head had written a one-year transition period into the partition deed.

Of course, if they wanted to move out sooner, they could leave as early as the next day.

With the partition deed finalized, the Xie clan head and the Wei family uncle didn’t linger.

The members of the Marquisate escorted them to the gate.

After they left, Wei Zhaorong glanced at Xie Sheng standing not far away, expressionless, and then turned away to enter the mansion.

Dou Shuyuan and Xie Wanrou followed her, while Xie Chuan came up to Xie Sheng.

He patted Xie Sheng on the shoulder with a mix of helplessness: “Second brother, from now on it’s two separate households. You… well, take care of yourself.”

The recent string of events in the Marquisate had shaken Xie Chuan, making him suddenly understand a lot of things.

The second branch’s separation and moving out made Xie Sheng—the one who had never known any pressure—start worrying about the first branch.

If Xie Sheng could smoothly inherit the title and keep the family estate, he would live comfortably and prosperously. But if he didn’t have the title, and wasn’t like Xie Sheng working at court, he would truly be living off the family fortune until it ran out.

Xie Chuan’s mind couldn’t handle more complicated issues and stalled here.

Well, it’s best to ask Madam. Now that the first branch was under her management, she would decide everything.

Scratching his head, Xie Chuan entered the mansion.

Today, Xie Wanyi had been present the entire time.

She hadn’t expected the second branch to receive so much property from the split.

If she were a man, she would have this much too!

Xie Wanyi felt it was so unfair. Even the largest dowry would only amount to one-tenth or one-fifth of the second branch’s property—not even enough to make ends meet.

“Hmph, Second Sister-in-law made such a huge mistake, why should the second branch get this much?”

Her murmuring reached Xie Sheng’s ears loud and clear.

Xie Sheng, full of anger, glared at her: “Who said you’re a daughter? A daughter married off is like water poured away. Don’t get smug—once you’re married, you’ll have nothing to do with the Marquisate.”

“Second brother, look at how you talk. When I marry, it’ll definitely be into a prestigious family, richer and more powerful than the Marquisate. By then, I’m afraid you’ll even have to bow to me!”

Xie Wanyi gave him a disdainful glance and strutted off arrogantly.

“You!” Xie Sheng hadn’t expected to be trampled on one last time—he was furious enough to want to kill someone.

Shen Zhizhi shrank to the side, witnessing everything. Normally eloquent, she seemed to have had her tongue pulled out, not daring to utter a single word.

Once everyone had left, she cautiously asked, “Husband, when will we move?”

“What, just after getting the property, and you’re already so eager to send money to Shen Tiansi?”

“No, husband, absolutely not!” Shen Zhizhi immediately denied.

“From today on, all property of the second branch will be managed by me. Every copper coin used must have my permission.”

Shen Zhizhi didn’t dare say no, nodding vigorously: “Yes, husband, I’ll follow your orders.”

—

With the major issue of the second branch’s separation resolved, Wei Zhaorong finally had time to look at Xie Lan’s letter.

She had previously instructed Xie Lan to get closer to the Tenth Prince if necessary.

Because the Tenth Prince, Zhao Jingheng, was the new emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty, while Dou Shuxin was the mistress of the harem—a national empress.