Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 332 Luo Tianyi is Jealous (Thanks to Yong Su for being the Alliance Leader)

Song Yan inwardly complained that Luo Tianyang was truly pitiful; no one thought of him when such a good thing happened, completely forgetting that he himself wasn't much better off. However, Song Yan already understood Fang De's purpose.

Now that things have come to this, it would be incredibly foolish for Song Yan not to be able to guess anything about the Luo family's affairs.

Luo Tianchu, Luo Tianquan, Luo Tianxuan, and Luo Tianyi are highly likely to be the sons and daughters of Emperor Ninghe.

Emperor Ninghe had just ascended the throne, his power was unstable, and corruption was rampant in the harem. The birth of a prince was a good thing, but how long the prince would live was uncertain. At least Yang Guifei, whom the Yang family had placed in the harem, would definitely not stand by and watch the prince grow up.

Therefore, after careful planning, Emperor Ninghe and Luo Yuheng switched their children.

Luo Yuheng's daughter was fostered in the palace, while Emperor Ninghe's two children were raised by Luo Yuheng's side, thus keeping them away from the palace's strife and dangers. Of course, it sounds simple, but in practice it must have been extremely troublesome, and there were countless dangers involved.

The Yang family must have had their suspicions, otherwise they wouldn't have used the power of the Duke of Song's mansion to investigate the true relationship between Luo Tianshu, Luo Tianquan, and Luo Yuheng while she was married into the Luo family. The middle-aged man with a effeminate aura who visited the Song family back then must have been a eunuch from the palace.

Song Yan was unaware of the specific details.

They must have faced many life-or-death crises along the way, but Luo Tianchu and Luo Tianquan managed to grow up safely.

From this perspective, the plan can be considered a success.

However, this plan is a bit too much for the prince consort.

Although Song Yan still doesn't quite understand why the execution of this plan requires the head of a prince consort?

Could it be that the imperial son-in-law and Luo Yuheng are not of the same mind as Emperor Ninghe?

The rumors circulating outside that Luo Yuheng and the prince consort were deeply in love are false.
Moreover, this matter was handled with extreme secrecy, so much so that even Fang De was unaware of it. However, the old fox's methods were naturally beyond the comprehension of a greenhorn like Song Yan. He had clearly glimpsed the truth and guessed the identities of Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan.

He married his eldest granddaughter to Luo Tianshu.

The second granddaughter married Luo Tianquan.

This is Mr. Fang De's investment.

This represents a deeper level of connection with the royal family.

Originally, the connection between the Fang family and the royal family relied on Princess Gaoyang and Fang Jun. Now that Fang Jun is dead and Princess Gaoyang is missing, and is likely dead in the eyes of outsiders, the bond of connection has broken down. Although the Fang family is still a royalist, the relationship is obviously not as solid as it was at the beginning.

The unusual behavior of the three brothers, Fang Jiang, Fang He, and Fang Hu, clearly indicated a shift in direction.

However, these three brothers lacked the foresight of the old fox, Fang De. For over a hundred years, since the Ning Kingdom, the Fang family had been staunch royalists, their conflicts with the Yang family and Bailu Academy countless, resulting in casualties on both sides. While the hatred might not be considered deeply rooted, it was certainly not easily resolved. The current situation was no longer a question of whether the Fang family was willing to continue supporting the royal family, but rather that they had no choice but to continue supporting them, even at the cost of everything… Fang De knew very well that once the royal family was completely defeated, the Fang family would inevitably face retribution, and their six- or seven-hundred-year-old lineage would vanish in an instant.

Marrying their two granddaughters to Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan would, on the one hand, reconnect the broken ties; on the other hand, even if the royal family ultimately failed, the final outcome wouldn't be worse, and if the royal family were to regain power, the benefits the Fang family could gain would be countless. Regardless of whether Luo Tianshu or Luo Tianquan became emperor, the Fang family would always have a daughter who became empress, enough to guarantee decades of prosperity for the Fang family.

Once Song Yan understood this, he couldn't help but admire Old Master Fang De; this old fox was truly cunning.

After a moment's hesitation, Song Yan nodded slightly: "If I have the opportunity to return to Liaodong, I will tell my mother." He was just a messenger; whether it would work out depended on Luo Yuheng and Emperor Ninghe's decision. He wouldn't get involved.

Moreover, now that he's come to Dongling, leaving won't be an easy task. The Yang family and the people from Bailu Academy will definitely not let him go easily.

Smart people speak simply; they only need to hint at things, and the other party immediately understands. Fang De, the old fox, just smiled slightly when he heard this: "It's alright. These old bones of mine can still hold on for another two years. There's no need for a young person like you to face everything."

"Come on, come on, eat some vegetables, eat some vegetables."

After finishing their business, they invited Song Yan to have a meal.

The rule of not speaking while eating or sleeping clearly had no effect on Old Master Fang. Even during meals, he kept pulling Song Yan aside to chat, mostly asking if Song Yan had taken a fancy to any of the concubine's granddaughters serving in the dining hall. He could tell that Song Yan had no interest in Fang Lingyu. Although Fang De was also a little puzzled, among these concubine's daughters, Fang Lingyu was definitely the most outstanding in appearance and figure.

Until the end of dinner, Fang Lingyu served Song Yan from behind, but the two had little contact throughout the process. They didn't even have a chance to speak or make eye contact, as if there was no one behind them at all.

Seeing that it was already late, Fang De assigned another concubine's daughter to lead Song Yan to rest.

"Boss, come with me."

As he spoke, Fang De went to the study, and Fang Hai immediately followed behind.

As for Fang Lingyu, no one paid her any attention.

As Song Yan walked away, Fang Lingyu's gaze darkened.

She is well aware of her situation.

She's the daughter of the Fang family; she was born to enjoy a life of luxury.

Although she is a concubine's daughter, with the Fang family as her backing, she will inevitably marry into a wealthy family and become the mistress of the house in the future. It is unlikely that she will become the principal wife of the son of a Duke, but there should be no problem with the son of a Marquis or Earl.

However, young girls in love are bound to be curious about those things. At a poetry gathering, she accidentally drank too much and had something happen with Fan Jiu'en. After the incident, Fang Lingyu was also somewhat annoyed. She knew very well that her indulgence had lowered her self-worth considerably.

Fortunately, the Fan family was not a small or insignificant household.

As one of the eight prominent families in Shanxi, although his reputation as a merchant wasn't great, he was certainly wealthy.

Thinking about it this way, I realized it wasn't so bad.

But who could have imagined that Fan Dabiao's entire lineage would be slaughtered, leaving no one alive? Her future husband lost his life after just one night of indulgence with her.

This made her marriage a problem.

It's impossible for him to be the eldest son of a marquis or earl.

Even if such a family wanted to curry favor with the Fang family, they wouldn't go so far as to have their heir marry a woman who had lost her virginity.

Fang Lingyu was left with only two options: marry a son born out of wedlock or become a concubine.

If it were the Song Yan of the past, Fang Lingyu would naturally look down on him. Although he had some military merits, he was ultimately just a peasant, crude and uncouth. No matter how down on her luck Fang Lingyu was, she would never marry such a soldier. Therefore, when her uncle first brought up this matter with her, she was very resistant, feeling that Song Yan's status was simply not good enough for her.

But at dinner tonight, Grandpa's attitude made Fang Lingyu realize that Song Yan was not as simple as she had imagined.

Perhaps, marrying Song Yan would be a good choice.

But who would have thought that throughout the entire meal, Song Yan barely paid any attention to her. Even when she deliberately flirted with him and touched his body while serving food and pouring wine, the man didn't react at all, and sometimes even avoided her with disgust.

Were you rejected?

How could a woman from the Fang family be looked down upon by a mere soldier?
hateful.

Although she was indignant, her hand involuntarily fell on her stomach. Her period hadn't started this month, and she needed to make plans as soon as possible.

She pursed her lips and quickly walked towards the inner quarters. Her skills in this area were still somewhat rudimentary, but her aunt was different; she was a master in the inner quarters, otherwise she wouldn't be so favored by her father, and even the mistress of the house would give her some leeway. Perhaps she could impart some different experience to her.

With that in mind, Fang Lingyu quickened her pace.

However, Fang Lingyu didn't notice that just as she turned towards the back courtyard, Song Yan, who was heading to the guest room, suddenly stopped, turned his head to glance at Fang Lingyu's back, and a strange smile appeared on his lips. When she was pouring him wine earlier, Fang Lingyu kept accidentally touching him. On one occasion, her wrist brushed against his fingers. Although it was brief, it was enough for Song Yan to notice something.

Is this woman trying to make him a sucker?

This joke isn't funny at all.

Although Song Yan was quite gossipy, able to listen with great interest to stories about which woman was having an affair with which other man, he absolutely did not want such a thing to happen to him.

He is not like Zhao Gaizhi and Song Hongtao; he has absolutely no intention of raising other people's children.

He hoped this woman would be a little smarter and not resort to those underhanded and shady tactics. He was giving her face, but if she didn't know what was good for her, Song Yan wouldn't mind ruining her reputation.

"Lord Song, what's wrong?" The little maid who was helping Song Yan to lead the way was curious when she saw Song Yan stop in place.

Song Yan shook her head: "It's nothing, let's go."

The young girl was a little suspicious, but she didn't say anything more. She led Song Yan to the door of the guest room and then turned and left.

Squeak.

The door is pushed open.

The house was spotless and immaculate.

Inside the room, the teacups, kettle, bronze stove, and even the blankets and mattresses on the bed were all brand new.

A slender figure leaned against the table, her small hand supporting her chin, seemingly asleep. However, when the door was pushed open, her long eyelashes trembled slightly. It was her sister-in-law, Luo Tianyi.

I must say, my quiet and reserved sister-in-law is truly beautiful.

Just like the most exquisite and delicate jade carving in the world, without a single flaw.

Have you been drinking?

"The old man was very hospitable, and I couldn't resist having a little to drink." Song Yan nodded, sniffing his body to smell a hint of alcohol, but it wasn't a big problem. He had trained his alcohol tolerance to some extent and wouldn't get drunk easily. Seeing Song Yan yawn, Luo Tianyi walked over and naturally took the outer robe that Song Yan had taken off, hanging it on the hanger.

After making this move, Luo Tianyi realized that her action was a bit rash, and her pretty face flushed slightly. Fortunately, she had her back to Song Yan, so she didn't have to worry about being discovered.

"Why didn't you go? Old Master Fang even asked about you."

"I'm not interested in those kinds of occasions."

"Okay, is Mother and Old Master Fang very familiar with each other?"

"Well, I guess we're somewhat familiar with each other. During the reign of Emperor Yuanjing, Old Master Fang was the Crown Prince's tutor, responsible for teaching the Crown Prince his studies. My mother would occasionally attend his lectures, so he could be considered my mother's teacher as well."

Good heavens, this old man is the Imperial Tutor!

Looking at her brother-in-law's retreating figure, Luo Tianyi bit her lower lip lightly, but ultimately couldn't hold back: "Grandpa Fang is obviously trying to match you with Fang Lingyu, isn't he? 'Born with exceptional talent and intelligence,' that's a very high compliment..."

She clearly didn't want it to be like this, but the words she said still had a slightly sour tone.

It's like being jealous.

But this is my brother-in-law, why am I jealous?
Also, didn't my brother-in-law say that when he was a child he only listened to a few words in the courtyard while the other young masters of the Song family were reading, and that he had never studied systematically? How come he can speak such beautiful words so readily?
She doesn't seem to have ever described herself like that before.

Thinking this, his cheeks involuntarily puffed out.

"Huh? Didn't you skip the cafeteria? You were eavesdropping outside?" Song Yan said helplessly. Where did this bad habit of eavesdropping come from?

"Mother said that I should protect you closely."

Okay, an impeccable reason.

After a pause, Luo Tianyi spoke again: "Why didn't you agree? I think Fang Lingyu is not much worse than my sister."

Song Yan stretched her arms and casually said, "I have no interest in raising other men's children."

"what?"

The younger sister's voice, slightly confused and surprised, was quite pleasant to hear. Her head was tilted to the side, as if she was pondering the meaning of the words.

"Do you still remember the Fan family's Fan Dabiao lineage?"

"I remember, I also found a letter on Fan Jiu'en, could it be..." For some reason, a smile crept onto Luo Tianyi's lips, a hint of delight in his expression.
Song Yan nodded: "That should be right." Seeing the smile on Luo Tianyi's face, Song Yan became a little annoyed: "No, I'm being forced to take over, and you seem quite happy about it?"

"Where is it?" In an instant, Luo Tianyi's icy expression returned, her big eyes darting around.

"Forget it, I suspect that Fang Lingyu has some ideas. Why don't you go and find out? Just in case Fang Lingyu has any tricks up her sleeve, we can deal with them in advance."

Luo Tianyi nodded, her eyes showing a hint of helplessness.

She gave her brother-in-law a reproachful look: "You're always attracting these unwanted suitors."

……

Fangfu.

study.

The Fang family was also known for its tradition of combining farming with scholarship, so they naturally had a vast collection of books.

Although it was just a study, it was quite large, even comparable to the living room of some wealthy families. The cabinets on both sides were filled with all kinds of books, including many ancient books that had long been lost to the outside world.

Perhaps because there were too many books, the air was filled with a rich scent of ink.

Only Fang De and Fang Hai were in the spacious study.

Fang De was quite satisfied with his eldest son.

Although he wasn't exceptionally intelligent, he was pragmatic, knew when to advance and retreat, and most importantly, knew how to seize opportunities. Despite being the eldest son of the Fang family, he lacked the arrogance and haughtiness typical of sons of prominent families. He always wore a slight smile on his face, which Fang De considered to be an extremely excellent quality and ability.

Just like his marquis title... if the second, third, or fourth sons were in charge of Songzhou, they would most likely ignore Song Yan when he came knocking, and might even embezzle Song Yan's merits. Even though the Fang family is large and powerful with deep roots, it is by no means a good thing to provoke someone as ruthless as Song Yan.

"Tell me, what's going on with that girl Lingyu?" Fang De pulled over a chair, sat down, and asked.

Fang Hai felt a headache coming on, but he didn't dare to hide anything from his father and honestly told him everything.

Fang De's expression grew increasingly gloomy. He finally understood why Song Yan had refused: "This second son is a bit outrageous."

“You are capable, but sometimes you are too soft-hearted. You are the eldest son of the Fang family, and you will definitely be the next head of the family.” Fang De sighed: “If you could harden your heart a little someday, I would be able to hand over the Fang family to you with peace of mind.”

Fang Hai smiled but did not say anything.

"Alright, in a couple of days, we'll find an excuse to send the second son out." Fang De pondered, "As for Fang Lingyu, let's just find an honest man for her to marry."

"There are still too many things to do in the court. The concubine daughters in the clan are somewhat neglected in their upbringing, which is not good. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and there will be a grand court assembly. This grand court assembly will probably not be peaceful. So the day after tomorrow, you can arrange for the old women in the clan to check all those concubine daughters. If there are any problems, find them husbands as soon as possible. It doesn't matter what their status is. Even if they are farmers or merchants, it doesn't matter."

"Don't let them tarnish the Fang family's reputation."

Fang Hai nodded.

This is a good idea.

Marrying farmers or merchants, who are of low social status, means that even if they discover Fang's woman's premarital infidelity, they dare not make a fuss. They might even think that being able to marry into the Fang family is their good fortune.

After all, she is a woman from the Fang family. Even if she was unfaithful before marriage, many men would love to marry her but don't have the chance.

The reason for not choosing scholars is that scholars have the opportunity to climb the social ladder. If one day they reach a very high position and then realize that the daughter of the Fang family who married into the family was unfaithful, the former in-laws may become enemies.

As for marrying a farmer or merchant, someone of low social status and living in poor conditions, that can only be considered a punishment for not being able to control oneself.

"What about Song Yan?" Fang Hai frowned. "I think it's better to maintain the marriage relationship with Song Yan."

Fang De glanced at his eldest son with some surprise, seemingly not expecting Fang Hai to be so persistent about this matter: "I read the letter you sent back. I admire this kid's abilities, but is it really necessary for you to be so obsessed with him?"

“There is only so much that can be written in a letter.” Fang Hai smiled and said, “In my opinion, if Emperor Ninghe does not suppress him, Song Yan will be granted the title of Duke before he even comes of age.”

Fang De chuckled, instinctively wanting to retort. In Ningguo, a man's coming-of-age ceremony at twenty signified adulthood; a twenty-year-old duke was unheard of, not only in Ningguo but even in the four Central Plains kingdoms. However, he hesitated, his words caught in his throat. Putting aside everything else, this single act of exterminating the Jurchens—the extermination of their lineage—sufficed to save hundreds of thousands of Jurchen barbarians, enough to guarantee peace on Ningguo's northeastern border for years, even decades. This achievement was more than deserving of a marquisate.

Song Yan is only sixteen years old this year, and there are still four years until she turns twenty.

In these four years, Song Yan probably won't behave himself. With his methods and abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for him to gain another military merit, and it seems not impossible for him to be granted a dukedom at a young age.

There are also differences between dukes.

People like the Duke of Song were already in dire straits.

If Song Yan were to be granted the title of Duke, he would be the most sought-after official.

"Tell me about what Song Yan did in Songzhou."

Fang Hai then recounted everything he knew in detail, even including Song Yan's training in the Japanese pirate camp. If Song Yan were here, he would probably be shocked, since he even knew some of the training methods.

Clearly, Fang Hai was not as honest as he appeared, and there might even be some of his men among the Japanese soldiers.

As he listened, Fang De's expression changed from its initial nonchalance.

When Fang Hai finally stopped speaking, Fang De's expression became more serious than ever before, and he stood up again after sitting down: "This Song Yan, could it be that he's planning a rebellion?"

Fang Hai, whose mouth was parched from talking for so long, had just picked up his teacup to moisten his throat when he heard this. He spat out a mouthful of tea and looked at his father with a strange expression: "Is it really that bad? He's His Majesty's niece's husband!"

Fang De let out a heavy sigh. Nephew-in-law? That's the imperial son-in-law, but so what if he's the imperial son-in-law? That supreme position is enough to drive people crazy.

Family ties are meaningless compared to this.

He pursed his lips and said slowly and deliberately, "Distribute rewards in public according to the number of soldiers; eat and train with the soldiers; win every battle with fewer troops, thus gaining supreme authority in the army. This is how you win the hearts and minds of the soldiers."

"Paying military pay in his own name is a way to reduce the influence of the court and His Majesty on his troops."

"The special steelmaking method, the black steel armor and swords, are all designed to enhance the combat effectiveness of the troops under my command."

"He slaughtered Japanese pirates and Jurchens, and killed 133 officials. He gained absolute prestige and worship among the common people in Songzhou Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture. This was to win the hearts and minds of the people."

As he listened, Fang Hai's expression turned strange. Good heavens, this really seems to have a bit of a rebellious intent. The sugar and tea business is their source of income.

For a moment, Fang Hai panicked slightly: "Father, what should we do? Should we inform His Majesty?"

(End of this chapter)