Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 319 Prosperity
Xie Yuyan guessed that Wang Yan was hiding some money from the Wang family, but it probably wasn't much now.

Even if he were very smart, he wouldn't have the energy to be thorough in everything and would spend most of his time on government affairs. He would only occasionally seize opportunities to earn some money for future use.

However, Xie Yuyan also knew that when Wang Yan got older, he had accumulated a lot of money. In addition, before his death, he disposed of some of his private property and left it to Wang Zheng and the New Party. This played a great role in stabilizing the political situation later. Naturally, it was also the key to her being able to win the position of empress and return to the palace after being framed.

She used his money in her past life, and in this life... she's helping him save some too. This must be karma. If her master were here and knew she was thinking this way, she would be pleased.

Xie Yuyan suddenly realized that Wang Yan had passed away before he was sixty years old. He was twenty-one years old now, so he had already lived more than half of his life.

Recalling the circumstances of Wang Yan's passing, a spot in my heart involuntarily aches with pain.

In their past lives, they had little interaction. When they saw Wang Yan's coffin at the Wang family's residence, they only felt regret and never imagined that one day, when they looked back on it again, their feelings would be completely different.

In his previous life, Wang Yan had no wife and no children.

In the mourning hall, only the younger generation of the Wang family knelt and paid their respects to the guests.

Compared to Wang Yan's life achievements, the funeral was rather meager.

When she went to the Wang family, Wang Zheng kept her in the mourning hall and said a few words to her. He took a liking to her beautiful handwriting and asked her to help copy a Taoist scripture.

She later learned that she was the only one who copied the Taoist scriptures, and that was the only scroll used at her funeral.

The Wang family reciprocated by giving her a gift and adding to her dowry when she got married.

Thinking back on those moments, every single one of them exudes a sense of sorrow.

Given Wang Yan's current physical condition, he shouldn't have passed away so early.

In any case, now that she has returned here, everything has changed, and Wang Yan will certainly be different from his previous life.

"Look, sister-in-law."

Xie Yuyan was interrupted by Yang Qin's voice.

“There… there are people there who can breathe fire.”

Xie Yuyan looked up, and a flash of light appeared in the darkness. Sure enough, a tongue of fire was spitting out from the mouth of a stranger.

She didn't think much of it when she saw it, but it really shocked Zhang and Yang Qin. The mother and son were first surprised, and then their faces were full of excitement and agitation. They had really broadened their horizons in Bianjing. Where in Daming Prefecture had they ever seen such things?

Zhang's joyful expression made Xie Yuyan smile.

After she arrived, many things changed, and Wang Yan's path will be different from his previous life. Perhaps he will not be trapped by the situation of his previous life, and naturally he will not have to spend too much energy on it.

Xie Yuyan was startled by her own thoughts. In both her past and present lives, she had never thought about someone in this way before.

Yang Qin protected her for half his life, and even shielded her from arrows at the last moment. All she had to do was protect her and her child, and clear some obstacles for what Yang Qin wanted to do in the future. She never had the idea of ​​trying to hold Yang Qin back.

But just now, she tried to link Wang Yan's future with her own.

Even a fleeting thought made her realize that Wang Yan had unknowingly changed her a lot.

Xie Yuyan gazed at the flickering firelight, feeling the overwhelming liveliness and clamor. Reborn, he experienced a strange state of mind.

Even when that person isn't around, you can still feel a kind of longing.

Xie Yuyan couldn't help but smile, just as the wind blew through the veil on her head, allowing Yang Qin, who was standing next to her, to see it clearly.

"Sister-in-law, you think it looks good too, right?" Yang Qin thought that it was the trick of the Luqi people that amused Xie Yuyan, making his sister-in-law show such a smile.

Xie Yuyan responded, "It looks good." Tang Xing stepped forward and said, "Let's go forward, there are many more over there."

This place is quite large. Besides the locals, there are many stalls on both sides selling food, sundries, medicinal herbs, and some novel trinkets.

Yang Qin witnessed someone gently pull and separate several connected rings.

Xie Yuyan looked at the items, seemingly attracted by the variety of goods, until her gaze fell on the vendors not far away.

The vendor handed over a small earthenware pot, which the woman beside him immediately accepted and put into her basket. The vendor was alright, but the woman's face showed a hint of panic, and she didn't forget to look around.

After the woman left, an old man stepped forward and, like the woman, took the earthenware pot and hid it in his bosom.

Xie Yuyan looked at Tang Xing.

Tang Xing nodded. Before coming here, Madam Xie asked him if there were any items sold in the entertainment district that were prohibited by the imperial court. He hadn't paid attention before, but now it seemed that they were.

It wasn't difficult to find out the details; Tang Xing sent someone over to investigate at an opportune moment.

Just then, the sound of a gong rang out, and the people around immediately shouted, "Quick, quick, the wrestling has begun!"

Wrestling originated from competitions between soldiers in the army and later spread to the common people. Because of its intense scenes, it was very popular with spectators. Wrestling was also held in Daming Prefecture. Yang Qin did see one, but it did not attract as many spectators as it did in Bianjing.

"Go and see, today is a women's wrestling match."

Zhang looked at Xie Yuyan in astonishment: "What did they say? Women wrestling? How is that possible?"

Women are not usually allowed to show their faces in public, let alone engage in a brawl in front of so many people. Isn't this just like a street fight? Their clothes would inevitably be disheveled, and they would be too ashamed to face anyone afterward.
“Those are called Nüzhan,” Tang Xing said. “They are very famous in this entertainment district, and many people come here just to see them.”

At this point, Tang Xing glanced at Yang Qin and said, "Young master is still young. If you have any reservations, you don't have to go."

"Why?" Yang Qin looked up at Tang Xing. "Will it be... bloody?"

Tang Xing shook his head, looking embarrassed: "It's just that sometimes the female warriors will go shirtless."

Now it was Yang Qin's turn to blush. He was young, but he learned etiquette before reading and writing, and knew the difference between men and women. He never expected to see this here.

Zhang said, "Then I won't go see it."

As the two were talking, they heard a string of insults, followed by a woman's scream. They saw several women being pushed and shoved toward the platform.

Tang Xingdao said, "Those are all newly arrived women, and they will all be trained to be virtuous women in the future."

Yang Qin frowned: "They're unwilling to do these things?"

Tang Xingdao said, "On the surface, they all seem willing, but many of them were sold by their families and had no choice but to take this job."

This kind of thing happens everywhere.

Another round of shouting and cursing followed, and the onlookers even laughed at it, clearly seeing this kind of thing often and even treating it as part of their entertainment.

Besides, the wrestling arena was filled with five burly men, and none of them dared to step forward to defend the weak.

As the gong sounded, two women emerged, both around twenty years old, wearing leather armor, with bare arms, and wearing trousers like the men. Their tops were very short, revealing their waists.

It was precisely because of her attire that she attracted more people to come forward and watch.

The two women wrestled together, and excited shouts immediately rang out from all around.

Just as the women were embracing and the onlookers began placing bets, the woman who had been beaten and scolded several times in the corner of the platform decisively jumped off.