It was the third brother's turn to be surprised. He knew his son very well and that might have happened, but if that happened, he should know if this. With his power in the political world, there shouldn't be a case of something happening without him knowing.
Although he was slowly retreating because of the clan matters, this didn't lessen his influence. Thinking of this, he looked at his second brother.
All four of them had important roles. The first brother was the clan leader with the overall view of control of the clan, the second was responsible for external matters, the third controlled the treasury and storage of the clan while the fourth controlled the clan guards.
In truth, the first and third's responsibilities are pretty much reversed, but the other two are fine. If political roles were given based on this, then the second brother would be the minister of foreign affairs while the fourth brother would be the marshal of the army.
Well, Yu Lingshe's father might be socially awkward in many ways, but he was still a good fighter. If he had no capabilities, he wouldn't be able to sit on the clan leader position, regardless of the support of Lingshe's mother.
The second brother nodded in reply to his younger brother's questioning look "Your son has indeed been kicked out of the political sphere." He looked elegant but his words were a bit rude, the demeanour would surprise anyone outside, but in his family, he didn't act up and just spoke the truth.
"It was the seventh prince who caused a little drama. Your son supports he crown prince under your assignment. Naturally he is like you, a bit of a rat and a bit of a mouse, he is good at smelling opportunities while avoiding troubles.
This would be fine if he supported any other prince, but the crown prince behaves like first brother. He lays a lot of importance on the image and doesn't want to be associated with someone like you, who has a bad reputation. You raised your son well and he doesn't care about being disliked, abilities are more important than like and dislike anyways.
Unfortunately, he follows a vain and incapable prince who is surrounded by even worse assistants. The seventh prince is a troublemaker everywhere he goes, one of the crown prince's assistants must have suggested him to deal with your son.
One thing led to another, and at a banquet where the crown prince happened to be sick, your son was asked to represent him. Who knows the discussions behind closed doors, but your son accepted the task, which was a trap he fell right into.
Your son probably thought you would soon know of this, so he is currently hiding in one of our branches south of the capital. I would usually not tell you this, but since you don't even know this fact, I will have to betray my little nephew."
He said many words and half of them were insults to his two brothers. If he had a chance, he would also comment on his fourth brother. Surprisingly, none of the brothers commented on this. They knew the bad personality of their brother very well – in front of outsiders, he had to wear a mask, so when he was with his family, he would be fully honest to compensate for the lies.
There hasn't been a problem so far, and the great elder didn't comment on this, so there were no issues. They are brothers anyways, no matter how vicious they are when talking, they are actually very close to each other.
It's just that healthy competition has always been supported, so they all fight with each other in the open, making their relationship seem worse than in other families. Naturally this is only the appearance, at least it's not like in other families where they scheme against each other in secret while acting like the closest people in the light.
The third brother looked ugly when he heard this, seething with hatred as he said "Humph! Those rebels in the capital, they think that just because I left and they gained some influence over the crown prince, they can do underhanded things!
Just wait and see, I will make sure you regret setting your eyes on my son! And that brat, why doesn't he come to me to explain clearly! Isn't he just waiting to be beaten? I will make sure he won't repeat such a mistake again!"
In fact, with his power, the delay of a few days isn't a big issue, since the Yu clan is pretty remote, far away from the capital. Still, this meant that people wanted to test his abilities and how long it would take for him to react.
The first brother commented "It has been over ten years since grandfather took action, these people simply think that our Yu clan is declining again! Bah, they don't respect me at all!"
Right at this moment, when they were talking, the door opened. The fourth brother was about to ask which idiot would disturb their not-so-serious clan meeting, when he suddenly stopped, stuttering silently the words he was about to say.
The others turned and were shocked, then they all stood up "Grandfather!"
When they called his name out, they were surprised but also happy. They saw their beloved grandfather who would beat them into disciple! Not the weak grandfather that could barely sit straight, this time it was their true grandfather with a heroic feeling.
He even looked a bit younger than the slightly out of shape first brother.
Hearing them call him and seeing their joy, the great elder was also touched "At least I didn't beat you for nothing!" he said, making his four sons shirk away.
"Alas, heaven must have cursed me to give me four sons. I barely had a little daughter-in-law which I could pamper before she was stolen from me! Now even my grandchild is starting to grow up! What have I done for heaven to curse me with only sons!"
The four looked weird after he said this. Although they were raised up in the Yu clan, they still knew the matters of the outside world. To others, four sons would be a blessing, but for their grandfather, they were a curse.
Then, thinking of the fact that they all had sons besides their fourth brother, they also felt annoyed, thinking 'Ah, if only I had a daughter who could take care of me, I would pamper he so well! Now I have a stinky son who can't do well!"
On the other hand, the fourth brother was thinking exactly the opposite 'Who wants a daughter! Women are so strong willed and don't know how to praise their father! Ah, I want a cute little son and teach him martial arts! Maybe the baby is a boy!'
After this little episode, the sons looked at their grandfather and asked curiously "Grandfather… how, how have you regained your power?"
They were all happy but still curious, so naturally they would ask. The great elder looked at them and shook his head "You stinky children are asking me, why haven't you come to the simplest conclusion! Your only talented niece is in seclusion, of course it's her work!"