A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 685 Secret Mission
"Wei Sanniang has been with us for several days now, so you can rest in her courtyard tonight."

Du Shiniang had monopolized her husband for five days in a row, and had also made him toil for five nights. Now she was feeling a little embarrassed.

"Aren't you really going to hold a banquet ceremony for her?"

Li Yi chuckled, "There's no need to give the Wei family that face."

"I'm just afraid of wronging the Wei family," Du Shiniang said. She was actually quite familiar with Wei Sanniang. The Wei and Du families of Jingzhao both lived in the south of Chang'an, one in Weiqu and the other in Duqu, not far apart, and the two families had been linked by marriage for generations.

Du Shiniang's sister-in-law was a woman from the Wei family.

Du Shiniang and Wei Sanniang were actually relatives, cousins, though not very close, but they had played together since childhood.

Back then, Du Shiniang almost married Wei Siqi, the second brother of Wei Sanniang.

“She also really dislikes the Wei family,” Li Yi said.

"Alright, since you're unwilling, then forget it. We don't have to be subservient to everyone anymore. It's okay to occasionally disrespect people," Du Shiniang said with a smile.

During dinner, the family ate together.
Du Shiniang then announced to everyone, "Tonight, Madam Wei should wash up and get ready early, and Ah Lang will stay at your place tonight."

Wei San Niang was reaching for the scrambled eggs with tomatoes in front of her with her chopsticks when she heard this, her hand froze, and two peach blossoms appeared on her face.

"If there's anything you don't understand, I'll have Shuying come to your room to teach you."

Wei Sanniang blushed even more upon hearing this.

Although they were not yet adults, members of prominent families would send women to teach them these things when they reached marriageable age, and some would even have special books to study them.

Wei Sanniang seemed to understand, but she wasn't completely clueless.

It was incredibly embarrassing for a young, unmarried woman to have her husband's concubine instructing her throughout her first time.

The concubines at the dining table, all experienced women, found it amusing to see Wei San Niang's blushing face and chuckled.

Now, Wei San Niang couldn't eat anymore. She put down her chopsticks and said, "I'm done eating. I'm going back to my room now." With that, she lowered her head and quickly left.

Du Shiniang smiled and instructed Shuying, "Take a few servants and maids over there to help with bathing, facials, and hair styling."
Teach those who need to be taught.

These things would normally be the responsibility of Wei San Niang's personal maid, but she was brought from the palace by Li Yi, and she didn't bring any of her personal maids with her.

The Wei family had previously planned for Li Yi to send the person back and then arrange a grand and solemn ceremony, during which time a large number of servants, maids, and dowry would naturally be brought as part of the dowry.

"Understood, Your Highness." Shuying replied with a smile. She used to serve Shi Niang and had a lot of contact with Wei San Niang, so they were quite familiar with each other.

This wasn't the first time Li Yi had taken a concubine.

So I eat regular meals and drink tea as usual.

After dinner, he drank tea with his wives and concubines, then enjoyed the cool air and moon in the courtyard, and played games with his children for a while.

When it got really late, all the playing children had fallen asleep.
Du Shiniang urged him several times before he finally got up with a smile and went to Wei Sanniang's courtyard.

"My lord, Third Sister Wei has finished bathing and changing." Du Shuying greeted her with a smile, and whispered, "I checked during her bath, and Third Sister is still a virgin."

"Ah."

"Do you need me to serve you?" Shuying was getting bolder and bolder; women who have given birth are just different.

Judging from her expression, she seemed quite expectant.

“Since it’s the first time for Miss Wei, I’m afraid she won’t be able to handle the Tartars and my husband won’t be able to enjoy himself. I can take over then.”

"Row."

Looking at her increasingly voluptuous figure, Li Yi reached out and slapped her plump buttocks. "Help me bathe and change first."

On a summer night in Chang'an, it was rather muggy, as the city walls and neighborhood walls blocked the flow of wind.

After soaking in the bath for a while, rinsing off, and changing his clothes, Li Yi went to Wei's room and gently pushed open the door.

Red wedding candles were burning inside the room.

They even decorated it with a lot of red festive decorations.

Although there was no ceremony, no banquet, and no guests or friends,

However, Du Shiniang still had Shuying make some arrangements.

Wei Sanniang changed into a light blue, wide-sleeved robe, a plain gauze undergarment, paired with a knee-covering, a wide belt, a leather belt, and light blue socks and shoes.

Her hair was adorned with a flower hairpin, a hair ornament, and two sideburns, decorated with gold, silver, and other precious stones.

This is a wedding dress.
It's just that the grade is a bit low; it's a wedding dress for women of rank 6 or below, but above rank 9.

Originally, Wei Sanniang was a daughter of a prestigious family, and her deceased father even held the title of Duke. However, since she was to be a concubine, everything was kept simple.

Wei Sanniang held a fan in her hand and covered her face.
His hands were trembling slightly; he was clearly very nervous.

Li Yi came to the bedside.
Du Shuying smiled and asked Li Yi to compose a poem about fanning himself. This was no problem for Li Yi; he wrote it off the cuff.

"Ah Lang is so talented, this poem is excellent."

Together, in harmony,
The two ate cold-cut mutton together and drank two ladles of wine.

Du Shuying took a strand of hair from each of them, tied them together, and then cut them off, handing them to Wei Sanniang to keep in a jade box.

Keep everything simple.

Du Shuying looked at Wei Sanniang, whose face was sweating nervously and whose makeup was a little smudged, and chuckled, "The ceremony is complete!"

Next came the act of sexual intercourse.

Wei San Niangzi sat there, at a loss.
Du Shuying stepped forward to change Li Yi's pajamas first, and then helped Wei Shi change her clothes.

Ms. Wei gripped her clothes tightly with both hands, her whole body stiff.

"Lady Wei,"

"A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold; don't waste it."

She finally let go, allowing Shuying to help her change her clothes.

······
early morning,

Li Yi opened his eyes.
He noticed that Wei Sanniang was staring at him.

"You woke up so early?"

Wei San Niangzi blushed instantly and quickly turned her head away. Li Yi reached out and pulled her over, "It's still early, let's chat. We didn't have time to chat last night. Your voice is actually quite nice."

Under his guidance, Madam Wei became less nervous and shy, and even took the initiative to mention the dowry that the Wei family had given her.

“My sister-in-law said that her family had acquired 5,000 mu of land, as well as other dowry items worth 3,000 guan.”

"Hmm, the Wei family of Jingzhao truly lives up to its reputation as the head of the six prominent families in Guanzhong; they certainly know how to be generous."

“Some of this land was acquired by other branches of the Wei family as dowry. Among them, the Xiaoyao branch acquired 800 mu of land, and Wei Ting was from the Xiaoyao branch.” Wei San Niang explained the situation directly without concealing anything.

Li Yi stroked the soft skin around her waist. "I know all this. The Wei family used to disregard me, but now they're all very respectful."

Since it's your dowry from your family, you should keep it all. If the estate and shops lack someone to manage them, you can ask Luo San Niang (also called San Niang) for help.

All the proceeds from your dowry are yours to keep.

"Your family prepared such a generous dowry for you, did they make any demands on you?"

Wei Sanniang hesitated for a moment, but still spoke.

"The Wei family hopes that the Prince of Dai will forgive and forget past grievances."

"anything else?"

"When the Wei family heard that the Prince of Dai was selling land, they also wanted to buy some and were willing to pay a higher price than the market price."

Li Yi smiled.
“If the Wei family wants to buy land, that’s fine. It doesn’t matter who we sell to. But there are many people who want to buy our land, so let’s give them 100 hectares. As for the specifics, let him talk to our managers.”

Wei San Niang didn't expect Li Yi to be so agreeable. "Actually, if you don't want to sell, you don't need to agree. I can even give up all the dowry for free."

"Keep your dowry safe."

As for buying land, if I want to sell and he wants to buy, that's a perfect match; as long as the price is right, the transaction can proceed.

"As for Wei Ting, I used to be at odds with him, but now His Highness the Crown Prince has pardoned him and allowed him to return to the capital. As long as he doesn't provoke me in the future, I won't hold it against him anymore."

When eating breakfast,

When Luo San Niang heard that Li Yi had asked her to arrange for someone to negotiate with the Wei family about buying the land, she asked in surprise, "Are you really going to sell it to the Wei family?"

“Sell, but only to them the worst and most scattered plots, but at a higher price.”

Luo San Niang smiled, "Yes, alright, leave this to me."

"Remember, just add 20% to the market price, don't add too much. If they agree, sell; if they don't, then forget it."

Many people want to buy Li Jiadi's land.

Zhang Liang also came to visit, presenting a gold invitation.

"The wedding is scheduled for August. We would like to invite Your Highness to attend."

Li Yi accepted the invitation, glanced at it, and said, "So we're brothers-in-law now?"

These words made Zhang Liang grin from ear to ear. Becoming brothers-in-law with the Prince of Dai would naturally take their relationship to the next level.

"I heard that Sikong is going to sell land, and my second aunt and I want to buy some."

Zhang Liang was quite direct.

He used to be the son of a poor tenant farmer; the land belonged to the landlords.

Now that he has prospered and become a new nobleman in the court, he naturally wants to buy land and property. And now he wants to marry a widow from the Li family of Zhao County.

Although this widow Li was not as wealthy as her cousin Li Rulian, she still had a substantial dowry, and even received a share from her deceased husband's family.

Li was quite satisfied with Zhang Liang divorcing his wife and marrying her.

Now they are willing to take a large sum of money from their dowry to buy land from Li Yi for Zhang Liang.

Zhang Liang himself didn't actually have much money.

After all, when he followed Li Mi, he didn't have the necessary conditions. Later, after surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, his career only became smooth after he joined Li Yi's forces.

He was also a meritorious official in Qin's ascension to the throne, but he was far inferior to Li Yi.

Widow Li gave Zhang Liang several thousand strings of cash to buy land; she was quite generous.

It has to be said that Zhang Liang is quite capable.

“Alright, since you also want to buy, I’ll have the manager arrange it.”

“There’s been a change on what I told you last time,” Li Yi poured him a cup of tea. “I was originally planning to send you, a third-rank Left Guard General, to the Censorate as a fifth-rank Imperial Censor.”

However, I later felt it wasn't quite right, and I felt it was a bit unfair to you.

"The position of Governor of Huai Prefecture is currently vacant. I think you could take up the post first, achieve some good results, and prove yourself to everyone. Then, when you return to the capital, you might be able to become the Imperial Censor."

Zhang Liang was stunned for a moment.
The change was somewhat sudden and caught him off guard. He had been preparing for his wedding with Lady Li in Chang'an for just over a month.

"The Governor of Huai Prefecture is a third-rank official, which is one rank higher than your Left Guard General's third-rank position. What are you still hesitating about?"

This is something I personally fought for with His Highness the Crown Prince for you.
This position was originally intended for Duke Wen, Li Wenxiang.

Zhang Liang knew who Li Wenxiang was: the sworn brother of Cao Guogong Li Shiji, and most importantly, Li Wenxiang's mother, Huo Shi, was Li Yi's lover.

"Minister Sikong, how could I possibly take the position of Duke of Wen?"

"You didn't steal it; the imperial court assigned it to you. Cherish it and make some achievements. I'll support you in the court, so you have to earn my respect."

Hearing this, Zhang Liang felt relieved and patted his chest, saying that he would definitely achieve something and live up to Sikong's support.

Zhang Liang was thrilled to be promoted to the rank of Governor of Huai Prefecture, a third-rank official.

"Upon arriving in Huaizhou, the first two things to do are to stabilize the local area and maintain public order, and to encourage agriculture and commerce."

People's livelihoods must be improved.

"I see."

"There's another matter. I've heard that many members of the Wei clan of Jingzhao previously sided with Wang Shichong of Luoyang and engaged in numerous acts of seizing farmland and oppressing the people in Henan. Some people have written to the authorities to file complaints. When you arrive in Huaizhou, investigate thoroughly, both openly and covertly."

Remember, don't alert them. If the people's accusations are true, gather the evidence carefully.

Zhang Liang's heart skipped a beat.
He quickly nodded in agreement, "This humble official understands. I will investigate this matter immediately upon arriving in Huaizhou."

(End of this chapter)