Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 661: A New Hill with Lush Branches and Leaves
In this era when commercial hype was not yet popular, Yang Yuan's operation of the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant made it a real holy place for imperial examinations.

Although scholars of this era learned to "respect ghosts and gods but keep them at a distance", they certainly believed in these things more than modern people do.

Moreover, the imperial examination is far more significant than the college entrance examination. It can be converted into cash immediately and is the only way out for scholars.

Under such circumstances, in modern society, students go to worship Manjushri Bodhisattva before the college entrance examination and are shoulder to shoulder, let alone in this era.

What's more, "Shuiyunjian" is originally an excellent place for drinking and making friends, and it is also a scenic spot suitable for sightseeing.

When Li Fengniang and Zhao Ning'er got off the carriage, they saw scholars strolling by the lake and students coming in and out of the tavern.

Originally, she might not have taken those characters seriously, but after hearing Belle's words, Li Fengniang suddenly had a different feeling when she looked at them again.

Maybe, my man is one of them?

As a result, Li Fengniang and Zhao Ning'er's behavior became a little "sneaky".

Fortunately, they are still young, and are all pretty girls with delicate features, so they don't show the vulgarity of the men or the infatuation of the women.

Taller, shorter, fatter, thinner, older, darker, uglier...

Once she adopted a scrutinizing gaze, Li Fengniang could always find weaknesses in each of them, so a look of disgust began to show on her face.

"Ning'er, do you have someone you like?"

Li Fengniang was very disappointed and didn't like any of them, so she thought of asking Zhao Ning'er for her opinion.

Ning'er was startled, and waved her hands repeatedly, as if she was afraid of getting stained with something dirty: "I don't want it, I don't want it, I don't want it, I'm still young, if you want to see it, just look for yourself."

"Tsk, there is no one who is pleasing to the eye."

Li Fengniang wrinkled her nose and said disdainfully: "Forget it, let's go to 'Shuiyunjian' to pay our respects."

Zhao Ning'er asked cutely, "Why are you going to worship? You are not going to take the imperial examination."

Li Fengniang answered confidently: "I won't take the exam to become the top scholar, but sooner or later I will become the top scholar."

"Why do you worship him?"

"Husband and wife bow to each other!"

So, the two of them walked hand in hand into the door of the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant.

As soon as they entered the room, they saw a man dancing with a sword.

That's Yang Yuan dancing with a sword!
It turned out that when the wine was drunk, the first person who got excited and started sword dancing was Lu You.

Lu You's swordsmanship was truly extraordinary. He had killed a tiger with just a sword.

Of course, when we usually mention tigers, the first thing that comes to mind is the Siberian tiger.

What Lu You killed was a South China tiger, which is half the size of a Siberian tiger.

But it was also a wild and untamed tiger, and was not so easy to deal with.

When Lu You wielded his sword, the sword light was swirling, which was very beautiful.

But in the eyes of experts like Yang Yuan, they know that they are not only beautiful, but also real killer moves.

Every sword move by Lu You showed great skill and was by no means fancy and fancy.

When Lu You put away his sword, he won applause from the whole room. Yang Yuan then urged Yu Yunwen to show off his skills as well.

Yu Yunwen had always wanted to join the army since he was young. Although he had a quarrel with his father all his life and eventually chose the imperial examination, he must have had good martial arts skills.

However, Yu Yunwen is almost fifty years old. How could his temperament and character still be the same as those of a young man?

He was not good at this kind of game, so he declined with a smile, and in turn he took advantage of Yang Yuan's situation.

The Lingbi victory was an extremely rare victory even in the entire Song Dynasty.

The large number of elite casualties on both sides, the brutality of the battle, and the brilliant results are enough to go down in history.

Because of the "military parade" and "prisoner presentation ceremony" that had just been held, news about this battle was even more rampant.

Since the commander in this battle was a scholar and the top scorer in the imperial examination, scholars all over the world were particularly enthusiastic in spreading the news.

Through the mouths and pens of these literati, Yang Yuan's name has become known to everyone, young and old, women and children.

Yu Yunwen turned the tables, and Yang Wanli, Fan Chengda and Lu You all responded. Yang Yuan didn't want to be shy, so he took Lu You's sword and danced with it as well.

Yang Yuan not only practiced the superior internal energy technique "Zhelong Gong", but also his Qi-cultivation skills became more profound as his official position and status improved.

Now with a sword in his hand, not only does he appear to have extraordinary bearing, but his understanding of martial arts has also reached a higher level.

Just by making a sword gesture and raising his sword, an invisible aura rushed towards the crowd of drinkers watching, as if Yang Yuan had instantly become one with the sword, and his entire body had turned into a sharp sword.

Hands, eyes, body, method, steps...

When Yang Yuan wielded his sword, a fierce murderous aura filled the entire place. As the saying goes, "One sword dance moves all directions." Watching Yang Yuan's sword made people have such a real feeling.

When Zhao Ning'er and Li Fengniang walked hand in hand and skipped into the gate of Shuiyunjian, they saw all the guests sitting against the wall in silence, and a sword dancing alone in the hall.

The sword is full of energy and the heroism is vigorous!
What Li Fengniang and Zhao Ning'er saw was Yang Yuan's graceful figure, which seemed to be frozen in their hearts.

The sword was suddenly like a purple snake bursting out with lightning all over the sky, and suddenly like thousands of flower buds blooming in the night wind. The sword was wieldy and the man was dashing.

Li Fengniang's young heart skipped a beat when she saw this, and her soul flew away in an instant. She was in a daze, as if she had lost her way home.

Zhao Ning'er opened her eyes wide as she looked at the sword as bright as a rainbow and the man as white as jade. Suddenly, she thought of the scene in which she sat in his arms on the Imperial Street.

At this moment, an impulse surged in Zhao Ning'er's heart. She missed the scene of sitting in his strong arms.

Yang Yuan was slightly surprised when he saw them come in.

Then, the sword lights in the sky disappeared, Yang Yuan hid the sword behind his wrist, and smiled at them.

He didn't know that this smile, like white moonlight coated with icing sugar, instantly sweetened their hearts.

……

On December 20th, Yang Yuan married Fei Yuye in a secret but just as formal manner.

Yang Yuan invited only a few friends to his home for the wedding banquet.

Lu You from the Ministry of Rites, Yang Wanli from the Ministry of War, Fan Chengda, the storyteller in the Chongzheng Hall, Yu Yunwen, the supervisor of the Military Department of the Privy Council, Liu Shangqiu, the Secretary of the Quezi Room of the Privy Council, Fan Jiang, Wang Yeran, Li Zeping, Wen Tian, ​​and Wei Shun from the Censorate, Xiao Yiran and Lu Chengze from the Ministry of Personnel… these were Yang Yuan’s close friends in the civil service system.

As for the military, Shao Hongyuan, commander of the Huaixi Front Army, Li Xianzhong, commander of the Huaidong Front Army, Lu Tianming, commander of the army, and Li Dao, commander of the Ezhou Front Army, successively sent New Year's gifts.

However, who wouldn't be smart if they were sent out to deliver gifts?
Learning that Yang Yuan had taken a beautiful concubine into the family, and that the standard was so high, it was obvious that he doted on this woman.

So the "gift giver" just changed the name of the New Year's gift and sent it out, and as for the New Year's gift, he would prepare it separately.

By doing this, their masters will never scold them for acting on their own initiative, but will only respect them more.

Xiao Qianyue, Han Qianchen, Mr. Qu, Wang Changsheng, Uncle Ji, and Uncle Gou were naturally also guests of honor of the Yang family.

These are basically Yang Yuan’s current team.

Three years ago, he was still a runner in Lin'an City, and his toes were exposed from running in his straw sandals.

Today, three years later, Yang Yuan has become a tall mountain top. He is free and easy on the peak, enjoying the endless scenery.

When Fei Yuye saw this level of detail, she was secretly moved.

Luxi was adopted by the emperor as his sister and had the status of the eldest princess. Even if she married him in a formal ceremony and made a grand ceremony, the scale of the ceremony could not be compared with that of the emperor.

But now with such a scale, it is obvious that Yang Yuan has done his best, and it also shows how much he cares for her.

Miss Yuye naturally wanted to repay her lover for his kindness, but she was pregnant at the time and did not dare to act crazy.

So Yang Yuan had to first get the upper hand and then take the first blood, finally fulfilling his wish.

……

Yang Yuan's family's "team" is becoming more and more prosperous.

During the Chinese New Year, when they went to the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors, Yang Yuan told his eldest brother that the Yang family had added a new member and that soon his eldest brother's wish would come true and the Yang family would become as prosperous as it was in the past.

In the first month of the year, Xue Bingxin and Dan Niang's children were born one after another.

Mr. Yang, who was always casual in naming his two sons, named them Yang Guo and Yang Zhi respectively, as they were born only three days apart.

Xue Bingxin and Dan Niang thought the name sounded nice, but they didn't quite understand the basis on which Yang Yuan named the child.

It was not until one day when Yang Yuan got drunk that he told them his reasons.

Xue Bingxin was cheated when selling fruit and lost everything, so she "repaid the debt with her body" and gave it to Yang Yuan who paid the debt for her, so the fate between the two was tied to that fruit.

As for Dan Niang, it was because he wanted to help Wugun Yingge cancel the engagement, so he thought of the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant on the bank of West Lake. There was a girl with a beauty mole on the left corner of her left eye who could lure Wanyan Quxing into the trap, so he went to "Shuiyunjian" and got to know Dan Niang.

So, this child was named Yang Zhi.

Xue Bingxin and Dan Niang were both angry and amused after hearing Yang Yuan's explanation.

Xue Bingxin said unconvincedly: "Then when someone gives birth to your next son, how will you name him?"

Yang Yuan calmly replied: "How about Yang Zhai's debt?"

The answer he got was Yang Guo's diaper that Xue Bingxin threw out to him.

Dan Niang thought about how miserable she was before, but it was Yingge's entrustment that changed her life.

Speaking of which, Yingge can be considered a great benefactor to me.

Yingge is a girl from the north with a straightforward personality. She doesn't usually interact closely with Dan Niang, a girl from the water town.

As a result, the relationship between the two became visibly closer.

Up to this point, this generation recorded in the Yang family tree has four sons, namely Yang Jie, Yang Qin, Yang Guo, and Yang Zhi.

Li Shishi has another Yang Sheng, who is the eldest brother. However, it is not known when he can return to his ancestral home.

Yuye, who was already pregnant, was worried. Others had given birth to sons, and her husband married her into the family with such high standards. If the first child was a girl, wouldn't she be inferior to her sisters?
Lu Xi was not too worried because Mrs. Li took her pulse and said with certainty that she was pregnant with a boy.

As for Yuye, it is still too short to make a judgment.

This time it was Yang Yuan's turn to be worried.

In fact, in this era, having many children and grandchildren is a good thing, and wealthy families don’t have to worry about not being able to support them.

For example, his good friend Lu You had six sons, and that only counted males. Yang Wanli also had seven sons.

However, Yang Yuan was still somewhat influenced by the ideas of later generations. When he thought about having so many offspring, all of them boys, he felt overwhelmed.

Lying on the same bed with Lu Xi at night, Yang Yuan stroked his wife's growing belly and sighed, "It would be great if it was a girl. There are too many boys in the family."

You're just being ungrateful after getting an advantage, right?

Luxi rolled her eyes at him, kicked him, turned over with her hands on her belly, and turned her back to him.

The baby in his belly must be unhappy when a father talks like this. Tell him to reflect on himself.

At this time, Baili Bing of Beijin and Tuoba Heiyi of Xixia had already arrived in Bashu one after another and changed their identities.

With the secret support of a country, it was easy for them to make a name for themselves in the Bashu region with their new identities.

After they gained a firm foothold in Bashu, many unfavorable news about the Western Army gradually reached Lin'an.

The Western Army has gone through several generations of changes, and one mountain top after another has fallen and another mountain top has risen. Now the Western Army active in the Sichuan-Shaanxi region still has three mountain tops, belonging to the Wu family, the Yang family and the Guo family respectively.

With their large family and powerful business, and their own power base, of course they have something to hold against them.

For example, the Wu family, which has the greatest power and the best reputation, has five sons under Wu Jie and twelve sons under Wu Lin. Each of the nine sons is different, so it is naturally impossible for all of them to be flawless.

Moreover, there are many relatives, friends, loyal departments, and fellow townsmen who are attached to Wu. Which one of them is not arrogant and fierce? How can there be no illegal behavior?

Baili Bing and Tuoba Heiyi don't need to fabricate false news about them, as such news would be difficult to withstand verification.

They just need to publicize some of the bad deeds involving these generals.

In the past, no one deliberately spread their deeds. The saying "the emperor is far away and the sky is high" is not empty talk.

But at this time, the Jin Dynasty was defeated and stopped its activities, while the Western Xia re-established a border with the Song Dynasty and began to take advantage of the situation to rob. As a result, the Sichuan-Shaanxi region once again became the most concerned area of ​​the Song Dynasty.

Coupled with the deliberate spread of rumors by some people, a lot of negative information began to reach the ears of the Song Dynasty court.

(End of this chapter)