Chapter 860: Can Bear 8 Sons

Son-in-law?

The gatekeeper thought it was someone from the Lu Family looking for them.

Lu has managed the Su Mansion for many years and has some connections there. The gatekeeper has seen Lu’s brother and sister-in-law a couple of times. They are said to run a butcher shop on East Market Street and look completely different from the two people in front of him.

Maintaining a cautious attitude, the gatekeeper didn’t chase them away but sent a servant to report to Lu.

Lu looked puzzled. Her family only consisted of her brother and sister-in-law, and they were already in Shengjing. They wouldn’t even come over even when invited.

“Four people, a couple, with a young gentleman and young lady, and the young gentleman and young lady are about the same age as our young master,” the servant described the family of four to Lu.

Upon hearing this, Lu clenched her teeth and cursed Su Shihang as a beast under her breath.

No wonder they called Su Shihang son-in-law. She suspected that the young gentleman and young lady mentioned by the servant were Su Shihang’s illegitimate children, and now they had come to the door.

She had finally managed to make Su Chengmin loathe the Su Family and separate from them, and now Su Shihang had another big son. How could she allow this?

Lu hurriedly called her people, taking advantage of Old Mrs. Su’s ignorance, to quickly drive them out, preferably moving them outside the city and getting rid of them to prevent future troubles.

The Su Mansion could only belong to Su Chengji.

She had it all planned out, finding a way to poison Old Mrs. Su to weaken her, arrange a wife for Su Chengji, and adopt a child from the clan.

No matter who they were, the descendants of Su Shihang outside the mansion dreaming of entering the Su Family was just wishful thinking.

Lu’s maid carried out the order but soon returned in a panic, informing Lu that the people had already entered the mansion and were invited to the old lady’s courtyard.

Lu’s mind exploded in a buzz, and she hurriedly went to the old lady’s room.

Old Mrs. Su looked up and down at Tong Zhaodi. Although she was a bit plain, she had decent features and wouldn’t be an eyesore to Su Shihang. While she was against giving her son a seductive concubine, she wouldn’t give him an ugly one either.

More importantly, her hips were round and her waist was slim, indicating she was likely fertile.

“Was the child from your previous family a boy or a girl?” Old Mrs. Su asked.

The farm manager had already explained Tong Zhaodi’s previous marriage and childbirth situation to Old Mrs. Su.

Old Mrs. Su didn’t mind whether Tong Zhaodi had been married before; she wasn’t marrying her son after all, just looking for a fertile concubine. The important thing was that she could bear sons.

“To answer the old lady, my daughter had a son first,” Mrs. Wang quickly answered, afraid that Tong Zhaodi would say it was a daughter.

Old Mrs. Su glanced at Mrs. Wang, feeling displeased, pondering what kind of fate her son had. Whether it was Lu or Min Baozhen, both of their mothers were crude rural women, and this small concubine’s mother was equally vulgar.

“When my daughter was a maiden, a fortune teller told her she had the fate to bear eight sons, and they would have very noble fates. Her ex-husband’s previous wife had two daughters and then never had more children. After divorcing her, he married our Zhao Di, and within a year, Zhao Di gave birth to a healthy boy.”

Old Mrs. Su was moved by the prospect of eight sons and asked, “Since she had a son, why did they divorce?”

Mrs. Wang gritted her teeth and said, “It’s embarrassing to say in front of the old lady, but we dare not hide it. Her previous husband fell ill and became impotent, and the in-laws were harsh on my daughter. We couldn’t bear to see her suffer, so we arranged for them to divorce.”

Tong Zhaodi added at the right moment, “The fortune teller said I could bear eight sons, with seven of them having extremely noble fates. After I had one, the man couldn’t handle it anymore. I thought it was because he couldn’t suppress a son with such a noble fate. Only a family blessed by the stars could accommodate such a son.”

Old Mrs. Su looked at Tong Zhaodi with extreme satisfaction.

This was talk she liked to hear. Her son, once renowned in Shengjing as a Champion Scholar, was indeed a blessed star.

Her son’s fate was excellent; the Su Family had been poor for generations until her son was born and became a Champion Scholar, a court official overnight.

With a fate like her son’s, it was only fitting to have eight exceptionally noble sons.

The more Old Mrs. Su looked at Tong Zhaodi, the more satisfied she became, saying, “Start as a household servant, and after having a son, we’ll promote you to concubine.”

Tong Fusheng frowned, dissatisfied with this arrangement.

Before coming to Shengjing, the farm manager had told him that once Tong Zhaodi entered the mansion, she would be a concubine, which in a wealthy family meant being half a mistress.

What’s a household servant? Just a bed-warming maid, no different from a servant.

How could he, Tong Fusheng, a scholar, let his daughter fall into servant status?

Tong Fusheng, with an unhappy face, said, “Household servant? It was agreed she’d be a noble concubine upon entering the mansion. My Zhao Di has the fate of eight sons; how can she be a household servant?”

Old Mrs. Su frowned and said, “Sending your daughter to be a concubine, yet making a distinction between household servant and concubine, isn’t that pointless?”

Tong Fusheng was dumbfounded.

Is this the kind of person who nurtured a Champion Scholar? How could she speak so crudely?

Lu initially thought Tong Zhijie and Tong Zhaodi were Su Shihang’s illegitimate children outside, and Tong Fusheng and Mrs. Wang were their servants. She assumed these four came to the Su Mansion as loyal servants protecting their masters, seeking recognition and reunion in the capital.

Once inside and hearing the exchange between Old Mrs. Su and Mrs. Wang, it didn’t seem like what she had imagined, and Lu was confused.

After listening for a while, she finally understood that this group had come to sell a daughter to be a concubine for Su Shihang.

Looking at the spirited Tong Zhaodi, Lu noted her plain attire but youthful appearance, coupled with a maturity that young girls didn’t have.

Plus, she was already married.

A young woman who had been married is better at winning men’s favor than young girls.

More importantly, she could bear children.

Feeling her position threatened, Lu quickly said to Old Mrs. Su, “Old lady, fortune tellers aren’t reliable. They’re just tricksters from the streets. Whether someone can bear eight sons isn’t something a fortune teller can decide. Please don’t be deceived.”

Old Mrs. Su originally intended to give Tong Zhaodi a household servant’s title but, hearing Lu dare to voice an opinion on this matter, felt her authority challenged, and a rebellious impulse surged within her.

Who was she to question her decision?

“What do you mean? Are you saying I’m senile or a fool? Matters of the Su Family aren’t for you to meddle in. If you had the capability to bear eight sons, nobody else would enter the mansion. Now you lack the opportunity, and you won’t let someone else bear eight sons for the Su Family?”

Lu’s face turned pale from the rebuke.

Mrs. Wang and Tong Zhaodi, thinking Lu was Su Shihang’s wife, stood up to salute her but showed no respect in their expressions.

After being undermined by Old Mrs. Su, her position as wife seemed not so secure.

Tong Zhaodi was already eager to stir up the inner quarters once she entered the mansion.

“Wife? She’s not the legitimate wife of the Su Family,” Old Mrs. Su said ambiguously, not emphasizing Lu’s current status.

Tong Zhaodi’s face showed disdain. That meant she was just like her, a secondary wife, only entering the mansion earlier.

“How about this, you seem straightforward and not bad-looking, so you can enter the mansion as a concubine. A banquet will be held for you in three days. After having the first son, you’ll be elevated to the rank of noble concubine.”

Old Mrs. Su confirmed Tong Zhaodi’s status.

Tong Zhaodi, going from household servant to concubine, could barely contain her joy.