Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 678: Each Serves His Own Master
"This is the founding Duke of the Song Dynasty, the Right Counselor, the Governor of Tongchuan Road, and the Governor of Tongchuan Prefecture. His name is Yang Yuan, and his courtesy name is Ziyue."

During life, it is called "name"; after death, it is called "taboo name".

When the word "taboo" is used alone, it is a respectful title for the deceased. When used with a name, it becomes a respectful title for both the living and the dead.

Only then did the Wu family realize that the distinguished guest the patriarch had mentioned was actually the new governor and pacification commissioner of Tongchuan Road.

Of course they already knew the name of the new master of Tongchuan, but they did not expect that the head of the family would quietly get in touch with this big shot.

For a moment, everyone in the Wu family was surprised and happy, and hurried forward to greet him, calling him General Yang.

Wu Yuan introduced the identities of these people in charge of his family to Yang Yuan one by one.

Among the crowd, only Wu Jiong was slightly stunned, and a hint of anxiety suddenly flashed across his brows.

Mei Zhen stood aside, completely stunned.

She always thought that her father called her back from Gongzhou because he wanted to form an alliance with the Yang family in Lizhong.

But unexpectedly, this Yang is not that Yang.

What official position is he?

I didn't hear it clearly, but with such a long list of titles, his official rank should be quite high.

Mei Zhen stared at Yang Yuan blankly, feeling the sunlight shining on him and his whole body glowing.

So dignified, so elegant, so handsome, so... charming.

Mei Zhen only felt her face getting slightly hot and she wiped her cheek embarrassedly.

It’s bad, the “matchmaker’s mole” has been wiped off.

At this moment, Mei Zhen remembered that he was making a fool of himself and immediately panicked.

How can you face people when you are so ugly?
While Yang Yuan was being pulled by his father to meet the Wu family, Mei Zhen quickly fled.

After some pleasantries, everyone welcomed Yang Yuan into the mansion.

The Wu family's old house is nested layer by layer, with a deep gate, giving a feeling of a noble mansion deep in the sea.

Yang Yuan was welcomed into a large flower hall, and several elders of the Wu family also came to pay their respects to the lord of Tongchuan.

Wu Yuan took advantage of this opportunity to withdraw and leave.

As soon as he left the flower hall, his face darkened.

"Madam, are Marshal Yang's two female relatives waiting on you well?"

Mrs. Wu saw her husband's expression and didn't know why he was like that, so she hurriedly replied carefully, "Don't worry, Master, I'm treating you well. Master, this is..."

Wu Yuan said angrily: "Your good daughter actually pretended to be ugly and teased Yang Shuai, and almost ruined the great cause of my Wu family."

Mrs. Wu didn't know what her daughter had done yet, and said in shock, "What did that child do again? Master, don't be angry. I will teach her a lesson later."

"Humph! Teach her a lesson, teach her a lesson, the more she teaches, the more outrageous she becomes! If she continues to act like this, send her to Mount Emei and send her to Fuhu Temple to chant sutras and meditate with her aunt!"

Wu Yuan asked with lingering anger: "Which daughter is in the mansion now?"

Mrs. Wu hurriedly said a few words. Wu Yuan heard that the third daughter of his fourth brother Wu Jiong's family was at the mansion. Thinking that although she was not as beautiful as his daughter, she was not much inferior, he slowed down his tone and said, "Go and tell her that during the dinner, come and toast to General Yang on behalf of the women of the Wu family."

Mrs. Wu was surprised and said, "Master wants to..."

"Just do it, don't ask any questions."

Wu Yuan frowned and interrupted his wife.

This daughter is so bold and reckless that he dares not use her.

Yang Yuan has no shortage of women, so such a willful girl would fail to please him and instead anger the nobleman.

Wu Yuan asked about the preparations for the banquet and then turned back to the flower hall.

As soon as he stepped over the threshold, Wu Yuan's face immediately became full of joy.

……

The Wu family's large flower hall, called the Hundred Lions Hall, can accommodate eighteen banquet tables.

Such a huge hall was illuminated by countless candles beneath the ceiling, making it as bright as day.

Twelve pretty maids brought the wine and dishes one by one, and all sorts of delicacies from land and sea, as well as fruits, were laid out.

Wu Jiong's third daughter is named Shuangjiu, who is the same age as Meizhen.

Out of curiosity, she asked the maid in the mansion who the distinguished guest was.

When she learned that the person who came was a county lord, the most important official in Tongchuan, and that he was very young and handsome, she felt a little sour in her heart.

She also knew that Meizhen was urgently brought back from Gongzhou Prefecture. People in the prefecture were saying that this was because the head of the family had found a husband for Meizhen.

Now it seems that it is the young and handsome master of Tongchuan.

Her father is the head of the Wu family, and her man is the lord of Tongchuan. Why do all the good opportunities belong to them?
Wu Shuangjiu's father Wu Jiong has always been resentful that Wu Yuan became the head of the family. He disguised himself very well outside, but his true colors were inevitably revealed when he returned home.

His children all knew their father's attitude toward the head of the family. As a result, they naturally developed hostility towards the head of the family, Wu Yuan.

Normally, she and Mei Zhen would compete openly and secretly, but it was just a quarrel between children. Everyone in the family thought it was just the girl being competitive and no one took it to heart.

Wu Shuangjiu was feeling sad when the mistress of the house came over and quietly reminded her that in the evening she should go and offer a glass of wine to Yang Shuai on behalf of the women in the rear house.

Wu Shuangjiu was surprised and happy when she heard this. She also knew that Mei Zhen had just pretended to be ugly. Did this anger her father? So, this good job fell on my head?
She was already a thirteen-year-old girl, how could she not realize that this was a good opportunity for her.

She knew that Yang Shuai already had a legal wife, but...

I would rather be a hero’s concubine than a mediocre man’s wife!
After the integration, Tongchuan Road now has jurisdiction over sixteen states. Can the concubine of the lord of the sixteen states still be called a concubine?
At this moment, all the ladies were flattering and fawning on her. Even the wife of the head of the family was smiling and accompanying the beautiful woman who was sitting in the second seat. She was General Yang's concubine. How noble she was.

My eyebrows are not worse than his. If Yang Shuai takes a fancy to them...

This Yang Shuai had a love affair that was talked about by the ladies in the harem.
Many men would disapprove of a man who gave up his ultimate pursuit of becoming a prime minister for the sake of a woman.

But in the eyes of these girls, that is a plus.

He is truly willing to give everything for the woman he loves.

For a moment, Wu Shuangjiu was surprised and happy, and she glanced towards the hall proudly.

It was a pity that Mei Zhen was not seen, but from this glance, there was already a hint of disdain in her eyes.

Wu Shuangjiu thought about it and hurried to her boudoir. She wanted to dress up.

As soon as Shuangjiu left, Meizhen flashed out from behind the pillar.

After escaping from Yang Yuan, she felt very upset.

What would she do if General Yang mistakenly thought that Wu Mei was an ugly girl?

She knew that she had displeased her father, and she was upset, so she behaved very well the whole night and stayed in the corner obediently.

Suddenly, she saw her mother calling Shuangjiu from her fourth uncle's family to the outside of the hall to talk. Mei Zhen was curious, so she followed quietly and listened to their conversation clearly.

Why did mother ask Shuangjiu from fourth uncle’s family to toast General Yang?
If..., should I still go to Lizhong and marry that drunkard or fool?

Mei Zhen felt uncomfortable when she thought that Shuangjiu, who always liked to compete with her in everything, would one day show off in front of her and make her unable to hold her head up.

Thinking of that handsome and glowing man at first glance, Mei Zhen gritted his teeth and followed Shuang Jiu's hurriedly departing figure.

……

"Marshal Yang's presence has brought glory to Wumen. On this beautiful night, Marshal Yang must enjoy himself to the fullest, so as not to let down this beautiful night and scenery."

After three rounds of drinks, Wu Yuan raised his glass and spoke passionately. The sound of silk music rang out from both sides of the hall. The eight main doors of the flower hall opened one by one, and young dancers walked in one by one.

These were a group of dancers kept by the Wu family. They were all young, about fifteen or sixteen years old, and each of them had a graceful figure and charming looks.

Their dancing postures are also beautiful, with light steps and graceful waist swaying, like willows in the wind, with beautiful expressions.

As the dancing and music started, the atmosphere at the banquet became more lively. Only Wu Jiong was sitting at the table, feeling restless.

He originally thought that the head of the family was going to decide to marry into the Yang family of Lizhong, but he was not panicked at all.

Because he had received an important piece of information, a secret deal between the Yang family of Lizhong and the Wu family of Lixi.

As long as he hinted a little about this matter to Wu Yuan, there was no need to worry that Wu Yuan would give up his plan of marriage with the Taiwei Yang Zhengjia.

According to the information he had, Yang Zheng knew that he was old and would not last many more years.

However, Yang Zheng's one son and two grandsons were so incompetent that they were simply unable to take over his legacy.

If he forcibly passed this inheritance to his son, it would only bring fatal disaster to his descendants.

After some consideration, Old Yang Zheng has decided to let go.

He was originally a soldier of the Wu family. He worked hard all the way until he became strong enough to compete with the Wu family.

However, his descendants are not good, and for the sake of their long-term future, he now wants to take the initiative to return the military power to the Wu family.

Of course, no matter how loyal the Wu family is to the imperial court, it is impossible for the imperial court to allow the Wu family to control a powerful army again.

Therefore, the Yang and Wu families planned to have Yang Zheng voluntarily hand over his military power to the court and recommend the great general Yao Zhong to succeed him.

Like Yang Zheng, Yao Zhong was a general who had joined Wu Jie's army and rose to prominence step by step through military exploits.

However, Yang Zheng was both brave and resourceful. After Wu Jie's death, he established his own faction and became equal to the Wu family.

However, Yao Zhong has always been just a general of the Wu faction.

His qualifications, military achievements and status were already very high, but he still did not have enough ability to start his own business.

Yang Zheng retired, and the court did not want to hand over this group of troops to the Wu family. However, there were only a limited number of people who could suppress such a group of arrogant and powerful generals, so the recommended Yao Zhongcheng became the only candidate.

At that time, the Wu family would be able to indirectly control the Li Zhong troops through Yao Zhong.

In return, the Wu family promised to protect Yang Zhengyang's disabled son and two grandsons, and ensure that they would live safely and live to a hundred years old.

Wu Jiong has been actively communicating with the Yao family in private, and has finalized the marriage of his second daughter with the Yao family.

If it weren't for the fact that he and Wu Yuan were really inseparable and Wu Yuan's marriage with the Yang family would implicate him, he would not bother to stop Wu Yuan from letting his daughter jump into the fire pit.

Unexpectedly, the person Wu Yuan wanted to curry favor with was Yang Yuan, the new lord of Tongchuan.

To be honest, apart from the fact that I don't know whether Yang Yuan can gain a foothold in Sichuan and Xia, everything else is impeccable.

If the Wu family could establish a relationship with him, it would be more beneficial to them than marrying into the Yao family.

However, in order to compete with the head of the family, he had already secretly pledged allegiance to the Wu family.

In the past year, the four routes of Sichuan and Xia have been adjusted frequently. After learning about the secret agreement between the two generals of the Wu and Yang families, he began to invest in the Yao family.

It's too late to withdraw now.

Besides, getting close to Yang Yuan would benefit the Wu family and the head of the family, not him, Wu Jiong.

Moreover, once Wu Yuan has Yang Yuan's support, his advantages will no longer exist, and he will be just like everyone else in the Wu family.

Thinking of this, Wu Jiong could no longer control himself.

After a little thought, he quietly left the hall while everyone was enjoying the singing and dancing.

It seemed that he just went to the bathroom. When he came back, Wu Jiong gently wiped his hands with a handkerchief.

Looking at Yang Yuan and Wu Yuan chatting and laughing, Wu Jiong smiled slightly, and his smile now also had a hint of sincerity.

(End of this chapter)