Some are happy and some are sad.
There are only two lord mansions in the east city, one is Jing'an Bo Mansion and the other is Changping Marquis Mansion.
Prince Jing'an's Mansion was filled with joy. Everyone in the house was preparing for the New Year and the marriage of their eldest daughter. They were extremely busy, but they were happy with it.
In comparison, the Changping Marquis Mansion seemed a bit deserted.
As the New Year is approaching, it is the time for various mansions to move around. However, both the Jing'an Bo Mansion and the Changping Marquis Mansion are newly promoted ministers, and they have no deep friendship with the group of Jingnan ministers in the capital. During the Chinese New Year, most people would send each other a New Year's note and that would be enough.
The only ones who really come to visit are the former troops and the military generals who are currently under their command. However, most of the former are still guarding the border and cannot come in person. They can only send New Year's gifts to show their affection.
And the latter...
For some reason, both Jing'an Bo Mansion and Changping Marquis Mansion tacitly chose to thank guests behind closed doors.
Jing'an Bo Mansion's reason is that they are getting married in the first month of the new year and they have no time to receive them now. Anyone who comes to visit the house will receive the New Year's invitation as a gift, and then send it back politely with a wedding invitation.
As for the Changping Marquis Mansion, because Yang Hong was ill recently and was unable to receive guests, it also closed its doors to thank guests.
At this moment, in front of the gate of Jing'an Bo Mansion, batches of new year's goods and dowry utensils were carried into the mansion. The servants coming in and out were extremely busy, but it was also very lively.
Across the street, in front of the Changping Marquis Mansion, stood two young men in their twenties, similar in age, but with completely different temperaments.
The man in front of him was a little older and looked very strong, obviously with a warrior physique. In the cold winter, he only wore a warrior's shorts and strode out, carrying an exquisite food box in his hand.
This man's name is Yang Neng, Yang Hong's nephew. He has been recalled to the capital for several months, but this is the first time he has stepped out of the Changping Marquis Mansion.
When Yang Hong pleaded guilty for Yang Jun, Yang Neng was also implicated and was banned from the house to think about his mistakes.
Now that the Spring Festival is approaching, the emperor is lenient and exempts Yang Neng from being grounded, so that he can go out.
The man following Yang Neng was obviously younger, in his early twenties, wrapped in a thick cloak, elegant and bookish in appearance.
This person is naturally Yang Hong's legitimate son, Yang Jie.
As soon as the two of them went out, they saw the lively scene in front of Jing'anbo Mansion in the distance.
Seeing the bustle on the opposite side, but the deserted one on his side, Yang Neng's face suddenly became a little ugly, and he snorted and said dissatisfied.
"The Prince Jing'an Mansion is really eager to cling to the Zhennan Prince's Mansion. They don't even care about the old custom of not getting engaged in the twelfth lunar month and not getting married in the first lunar month. They are not afraid of being disliked by their husband's family after they get married!"
There is an old custom in the capital, which goes like this: "If you are not getting married, you are not getting married." It is believed that getting married in the twelfth lunar month means defeating the husband's family; getting married in the first month means hindering the parents-in-law. All marriages should be avoided during these two months.
But who would have thought that the marriage between Zhennan Prince's Mansion and Jing'an Bo Mansion, which attracted much attention in the capital, would not care at all about it, committing both crimes.
Yang Jie on the side gave a bitter smile and said: "Second brother has been on the battlefield for many years and has lived a life of licking blood on the tip of a knife. How can he still believe in such nonsense? These so-called customs are just rumors spread by stupid men and women among the people. Can’t believe it.”
Yang Neng glanced at Yang Jie, but shook his head and said.
"Of course I don't believe it, Xiaojie. A person's life must be in his own hands. This is what my second brother has only figured out after so many years on the battlefield."
"But, you also said that the foolish men and women of the people take these things as a standard. This time there is such a big fuss on the other side, I want to see how the Zhennan Palace will treat it after we get out of the door. This Crown Princess..."
Yang Jie sighed, feeling a little helpless and said.
"I'm afraid I will disappoint my second brother. In fact, when the news of this marriage first came out, there were discussions among the people. However, later, the palace personally sent someone to refute the rumors and passed down two words from Prince Min."
Now Yang Neng also became interested, turned his head and looked at Yang Jie and asked.
"Oh? There is such a thing, what are you talking about?"
"Old King Min only said two sentences. The first sentence is that the Tian family is extremely noble and noble, so naturally there are no taboos."
Yang Neng was stunned. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
There is really no way to refute what he said.
It is a folk saying that marriage discussions in the twelfth lunar month will defeat the mother-in-law's family.
But who was negotiating marriage with Jing'an Bo Mansion? The young prince of Zhennan Palace.
Royal relatives and nobles, blood of the Tian family.
In other words, the eldest lady of Jing'an Bo Mansion's future husband's surname is Zhu!
If this can all be defeated, that would be a real skill...
Or in other words, since King Lao Min passed down this sentence, whoever dares to say the words "defeat the husband's family" is equivalent to cursing the Tian family's decline.
this……
However, Yang Neng did not react for a moment, and Yang Jie stopped and did not continue.
After a while, Yang Neng wisely stopped mentioning the matter, but he still couldn't help but ask.
"Then what's the second sentence?"
Yang Jie hesitated for a moment, as if he didn't know what to say. After thinking about it, he took two steps forward, lowered his voice so that only two people could hear it, and then said.
"The second sentence did not come out openly. It is said that it was what King Lao Min said when he reprimanded King Zhennan. However, for some reason, it leaked out."
"The original words of this sentence are that my time is running out. I don't know when I will go to see Emperor Taizu. Before I die, I just want to see Xi'er get married. If anyone dares to stop me, I will not forgive him. .”
hiss!
Yang Neng took a breath, no wonder no one dared to say it openly.
This is what Prince Min can say himself. Anyone else who dares to say it is cursing the old prince to die early.
Glancing at the busy scene in the distance that was still coming in and out, Yang Neng sighed, with a rather complicated expression on his face, and said.
"It seems that Prince Min is really optimistic about this marriage. Otherwise, he would not joke about this kind of thing. Jing'an Bo Mansion is really lucky this time."
Don't blame Yang Neng for his sour tone.
The best way for a newly promoted Lord to gain a foothold is to marry other aristocratic families. On the one hand, it can extend the branch line, and on the other hand, it can also make one's own status more stable.
And the best choice for getting married is naturally the royal family!
Even though the power of the vassal kings everywhere today is not as good as it was when the country was founded, and the emperors of all dynasties have suppressed the clan intentionally or unintentionally, but as long as there is a chance, there are many people who want to marry the vassal king.
Among them, Xunqi is the most active.
For no other reason than because these feudal princes are named Zhu!
Just this one word is much easier to use than any iron book of alchemy.
No matter how weak the vassal king is, he is still of the legitimate Taizu bloodline. As long as Tianhuang nobles do not commit suicide and rebel, and live a life of glory and wealth, there will be absolutely no problem.
Even if he commits a heinous crime, he will only be imprisoned at most, and his life will not be affected.
Moreover, the current vassal clans are all elders. Although it is impossible to interfere in the government affairs of the court, once the family is in any crisis, this in-law relationship is the last talisman.
Not to mention, the one whom Jing'an Bo Mansion got married to this time was Zhennan Prince Mansion.
Especially when the second sentence of Old Min King was spread out from nowhere, many people were discussing in private, speculating whether the person who would be in charge of the clan mansion would be Prince Xiang or Prince Zhennan.
If it is the King of Zhennan, then having an in-law who is close to the capital and in charge of clan affairs is naturally more advantageous than an ordinary vassal king.
So in fact, in a word, it is a great thing for a newly promoted noble to marry the clan king. It can not only quickly establish his position, but also leave an unbreakable trump card.
However, it is a pity that Zongfan needs to apply to the court for marriage, and since Xuanzong, the families that Zongfan marries are not of high family status, and most of them are the daughters of low-level civil and military ministers.
For a real lord's family like this, it is extremely difficult to get married to a vassal.
Jing'an Bo's Mansion should be regarded as the first one in the past ten years. It's hard not to be envied...
Relatively speaking, Yang Jie was much calmer, said.
"Luck is luck, but every family has its own destiny. As long as you do good things, why bother asking about the future? Well, second brother, if you delay any longer, the food will be cold. Third brother and you are the most important on weekdays. Get close and don’t keep him waiting.”
The Yang family has been in the army for generations, and when it came to Yang Hong's generation, both of his younger brothers died in the battlefield, leaving only his youngest son who was waiting for food.
Therefore, Yang Hong adopted his two nephews and raised them together with his two sons.
The four younger generations of the Yang family, sorted by age, are brothers.
Yang Xin is the son of Yang Hong's second brother Yang Lin. He is the oldest among the four. He just turned thirty this year and is the eldest brother.
Yang Neng is the son of Yang Hong's third brother Yang Zhong. He is just twenty-seven this year and the second oldest.
As for Yang Hong's two children, Yang Jun is a concubine, but he is the eldest son. He is twenty-five years old this year and is the third oldest son. Yang Jie is the youngest, just twenty-one years old and the fourth oldest son.
Perhaps because of their similar age, among the four juniors, Yang Neng and Yang Jun have the best relationship.
When they returned to Beijing this time, the two of them were originally promoted, but who knew that because of Yang Jun's mischief before leaving, not only did he himself go to jail, but Yang Neng was also implicated.
But even so, after Yang Neng was lifted from the ban, the first thing he did was to visit Yang Jun in prison.
Yang Neng nodded and said: "The weather is cold, Xiaojie, you don't have to send me off. Go back to your room to rest early. Second brother will come back as soon as he goes."
After saying that, he strode forward, jumped up, and got on the tall horse led by his entourage.
Yang Jie stood outside the door, looking at Yang Neng holding the food box in one hand, tightening the reins with the other hand, raising the horse's hooves high, galloping away through the snow, a trace of envy flashed in his eyes.
Standing in the cold wind, Yang Jie didn't move for a long time. He didn't know what he thought of. In the end, he let out a long sigh, turned around and wanted to go back home.
"Second Young Master, please come over."
As soon as he entered the mansion, the old housekeeper came to him, bowed his head and spoke respectfully.
Yang Jie stopped in his tracks and asked with a gentle tone, "What did your father say?"
The old housekeeper replied: "No, but someone just sent a letter saying that it was the two ministers from the Ministry of War who hurried to Yu Shaobao's mansion."
As he spoke, the old housekeeper took two steps forward and lowered his voice.
"Master, the second aunt is also in the master's room..."
"Okay, got it, I'll be there right away."
Yang Jie gave a faint order, and the old housekeeper stepped back quietly, respectfully, as if he was not facing the second son of the family, but Yang Hong himself.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
Yang Hong has been guarding the Xuan Mansion since Yang Jie was thirteen years old. There are very few opportunities to return to the capital. Yang Jie is in charge of the entire Yang Mansion.
The only two times were when Yang Jie got married at the age of sixteen, and the other time was when Yang Jie's mother died at the age of nineteen.
Other times, even when Yang Jie's eldest son and Yang Hong's eldest grandson were born, the veteran general did not have time to return to Beijing.
Therefore, for everyone in the Yang family, although the current mansion is called Changping Hou Mansion, the real person in charge is still the Second Young Master!
Yang Jie walked slowly in the courtyard, and after a while, he arrived outside Yang Hong's bedroom in the inner courtyard.
Afterwards, he first entered the outer hut and warmed himself up before sending the maid guarding outside to report.
"Second Young Master, I want you to come in."
The door to the inner room opened a gap, and a beautiful woman who looked to be in her thirties appeared and said to Yang Jie.
Looking at this charming woman, Yang Jie bowed slightly and said, "Hello, Aunt Li."
Then, he turned sideways and stepped into the room.
Today's Yang Mansion does not have a mistress, but there are two aunts.
Yang Jie was a direct descendant, and his mother, Wei, was also a general. She and her father, Yang Hong, were married to each other, so they were close friends.
It's a pity that after several years of marrying into the Yang family, the Wei family had nothing to do, so under the control of the old lady of the Yang family, Yang Hong took in another concubine, the Li family, who is now Aunt Li.
This Aunt Li is also Yang Jun's biological mother. She has stayed in Beijing after giving birth to Yang Jun.
In addition to her, Yang Hong also took a concubine named Ge in the Xuan Mansion, but she is not here now.
Entering the room, Yang Jie saw Yang Hong leaning on the couch, holding a book of war in his hand, but it was obvious that his mind had already wandered to other places.
"Greetings to father."
"Well, sit down. Your second brother is gone?"
Yang Hong put down the book in his hand and sat up straight with Li's help. It should be said that his current state is obviously no better than when he was in Xuanfu.
However, he is not as lingering on the sickbed as the outside world said. At least he seems to be in good spirits and his face is quite rosy, but there is a trace of sadness on his brow that cannot be concealed.
Yang Jie sat down next to him. Hearing Yang Hong's question, he nodded and smiled.
"Yes, I have gone. The third brother must have suffered a lot since he was in prison during this period. He and the second brother have always had a good relationship. They must be very happy to meet each other."
When he said this, Yang Jie's tone was calm, but Yang Hong frowned. As for Ms. Li on the side, her expression was a bit complicated. She seemed to want to speak, but she hesitated and did not speak.
After a moment, Yang Hong tilted his head and said to Li.
"You should go back to your room first, and I'll talk to you."
Mrs. Li didn't dare to say anything else, so she blessed her and walked out the door.
However, when she walked to the door, she slowed down a little, turned around carefully and closed the door. Through the last gap, Mrs. Li heard another sound in the room.
"Now your brother is in prison and can't even go home for the New Year. The Changping Marquis Mansion has become so deserted again. Jie'er, do you have anything to say to your father?"
