It was as if what happened in Shukai had never happened, and life returned to peace.
Yang Ming never asked for it again, and Yang Yong never sent anyone to Yuehua Palace to harass Chen Shuyi again. Everyone was in peace.
Even Yang Jian and his wife said nothing about this matter. Empress Dugu even skipped Yang Ming's daily greetings because she was afraid that her grandson would pester her for the Shu armor.
And both she and Yang Jian knew that the prince regarded that piece of Shu armor as his life, and even if the couple spoke, it would be of no avail.
The days are passing by, and the annual spring outing is about to begin.
After the founding of the Sui Dynasty, the tradition of the Northern Zhou Dynasty was continued, and two major events were held every year: spring outing and autumn hunting.
Spring is the time when all things grow, the ice and snow melt, and people come out of the fatigue of winter. It is the time to boost their spirits and feel the spring spirit.
The spring outing is actually a large-scale blind date event endorsed by the royal family.
All the participants were young ladies from various wealthy families. The scene was huge and unprecedented in scale.
It is no exaggeration to say that the annual spring outing can even affect the layout of the court, because it involves a Chinese nation that has continued for thousands of years: marriage.
Although Yang Ming already has an unofficial princess, he can still participate, and he is eager to participate.
Because through the spring outing, he can have a more comprehensive understanding of the family structure of the Sui Dynasty, which is very important.
March has just arrived, and Yang Ming's Yuehua Palace is already actively preparing to prepare all the daily necessities. After all, this spring outing will last more than twenty days.
"I didn't participate in last year's spring outing. Which families went there? By the way, where is the second brother? When will he arrive?"
At this moment, Yang Ming was putting his hands in his sleeves, watching the palace ladies tidying up their belongings in the courtyard.
He was wearing a vermilion cotton robe decorated with gold thread patterns, with dragons on his shoulders and a coiled dragon on his chest. It was not a dragon, but a golden dragon. However, his dragon was different from that of the emperor and prince.
His was thinner, looked malnourished, and a little dark in color.
Facing Yang Ming's inquiry, follower Xu Jing said from the side:
"Last year's spring outing was hosted by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I heard that the eldest princess will be in charge this year. The six major sects and prominent families will send their children of appropriate age to participate. The second master set off from Jiangdu a month ago. Counting the days, it should be In other words, it only takes a few days to reach Daxing.”
Yang Ming said "Oh".
The second master in Xu Jing's mouth refers to Yang Ming's second brother Yang Jian. He was granted the title of King of Yuzhang the year before last. The fiefdom is in Yuzhang County, which is in the north of Jiangxi. The territory is not small, but there is nothing that can be done about it in all aspects. Compared with Hedong County.
Yang Xian's marriage has not yet been decided, so he went north this time to find a suitable family among the major families for marriage.
With an identity like Yang Xian, what the future Princess Yuzhang will look like is only a secondary consideration. The first consideration is the other party's background.
As the saying goes, being from a well-matched family, from a small family, or from an ordinary local prominent family is simply not within the scope of Yang Jian's consideration.
At present, many big families from all over the world have set off for the destination of this spring outing: Nanshan, which will be known as Zhongnan Mountain in later generations.
A blind date meeting for the children of nobles from all over the world is about to begin.
On the fifth day of March, King Yang Jian of Yuzhang arrived at the Jin Palace in Daxing. Yang Ming, escorted by two hundred forbidden troops, took Xu Jing and Chen Shuyi to the Jin Palace to meet with his second brother whom he had not seen for a long time.
During this spring outing, he had a very special person with him.
Aunt Lou is Dugu Jialuo’s personal maid.
Queen Dugu specially made this arrangement to ensure Yang Ming's personal safety outside.
And Yang Ming still doesn't know the real details of A Lou, but he once heard Lou silently call Queen Dugu as sister in private.
"Third brother!"
As soon as he entered the palace, a young man with handsome appearance and extremely luxurious clothes came up to him and put his arm around Yang Ming's shoulders:
"I haven't seen you in two years and you've grown taller again. You're almost catching up with me."
Yang Ming had been to Jiangdu, so he naturally knew the half-brother in front of him.
"I heard that my second brother had arrived, so my younger brother came right away."
After the two brothers exchanged pleasantries for a while, they put their arms around each other and walked toward the inner courtyard. Yang Xun laughed and said on the way:
"Not only am I here, but Chan'er is also here."
In fact, in addition to Yang Xian and Yang Chan, there are two more: Yang Qing and Yang He.
However, these two were concubines and were not among the royal family of Zongzheng Temple, so they were dressed very simply and were not even qualified to dine with Yang Ming and the others.
The second eldest child, Yang Xian, was born in the fifth year of the founding of the emperor. Yang Chan, the eldest daughter, was born in the seventh year of the founding of the emperor. The third eldest, Yang Ming, was born in the eighth year of the founding of the emperor.
The three of them are on the same production line.
In the main hall, a delicate girl wearing a lake green brocade cotton jacket stood tall and graceful, with big bright eyes looking at Yang Ming with a smile.
Yang Chan's appearance is definitely considered to be top-notch, which can be imagined just by the fact that he and Yang Ming are eighty-nine similar in appearance.
After looking at it for a while, Yang Chan stepped forward to take Yang Ming's arm affectionately, and said in an old-fashioned way:
"On this spring outing, you must listen to your sister's words along the way. Dad said that grandma has booked a sister from the Dugu family for you, so you must be careful and don't be seduced by those beautiful girls from the big family. Otherwise grandma will be angry.”
Yang Ming laughed and nodded in agreement.
Although the three of them had not seen each other for many years, perhaps it was because Princess Xiao of Jin often mentioned Yang Ming in front of the Yang Jian brothers and sisters, so they were not unfamiliar with Yang Ming.
Moreover, the three of them were about the same age, and they were the same parents. In addition, Yang Ming deliberately tried to get close to each other, so they quickly became a quarrel.
The three brothers and sisters all sleep in the same bed tonight.
Yang Ming was in the middle, Yang Chan was leaning against the wall, and the oldest Yang Xian said by the bedside:
"We are leaving with the clan's team tomorrow. Fortunately, our fifth uncle (King Wei Yang Shuang) is leading the team. The other uncles and clan members may find our Jin Palace a bit distasteful. Isn't the third brother having a hard time in Daxing these years?"
Am I having a hard time? Who dares to make life difficult for me if he thinks he has a long life?
Yang Ming said: "Is that so? I have been living in my grandmother's Yuehua Palace and rarely leave the palace."
Yang Xian nodded:
"Originally Chan'er and I were going to the palace to visit the Emperor's Grandfather and the Emperor's Grandmother, but a message came out from the Palace that we should go to see you after our spring outing, so we simply waited for you at the Palace."
"As for you, you already have a girl from the Dugu family who has been appointed by your grandmother, so don't worry about her during the spring outing. Let's keep a check on Chan'er and don't let her fall in love with any crooked melon or jujube."
"Is my taste so bad?" Yang Chan pretended to be dissatisfied.
Yes, your taste is particularly bad, Yang Ming said in his heart: Otherwise, you wouldn't have fallen in love with Yu Wenshi and that white-eyed wolf.
The three of them chatted for a long time, until Yang Chan felt sleepy.
Yang Ming also had a general understanding of this year's spring outing.
The destination of the spring outing is a plain area at the northern foot of Nanshan Mountain. The Wei River meanders from north to south. It is suitable for camping near the mountains and rivers. The dense woods around it also provide favorable conditions for private meetings between men and women.
Such gatherings were an effective means used by the Sui ruling class to consolidate their own family interests, so no family would not value them.
In addition to the most powerful Yang family, the six great clans of the Sui Dynasty: the Li family of Longxi, the Xiao family of Lanling, the Yuan family of Luoyang, the Wei family of Jingzhao, the Yang family of Hongnong, and the Zheng family of Xingyang are all actively participating.
In addition, the first-class families include Taiyuan Wang family, Qinghe Cui family, Fanyang Lu family, Boling Cui family, Zhaojun Li family, Luoyang Dugu family, Langya Wang family, Hedong Liu family, Yuwen family, etc.
These high-ranking nobles were spread across every state and county in the world, carving up the Great Sui Dynasty, and actually controlling local administration, forming an unbreakable chain of interests.
This kind of clan system began in the Western Jin Dynasty and reached its peak in the Sui Dynasty.
As the Guanlong Group gradually takes control of the north, some seemingly solid but actually fragile interest alignments have formed among the major families.
For example, during this spring outing, the major families gathered together to form the four largest forces.
The Yang clan formed a faction in person.
The Guanlong aristocratic group headed by the forces of the Northern Zhou Dynasty,
The Jiangnan gentry group headed by the Lanling Xiao family,
A group of local prominent families headed by the Cui family of Qinghe.
Among them, except for the Yang family's natural closeness to the Guanlong Group, the other three families are in harmony with each other, and no one is afraid of anyone.
