Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 544 Aunt and Nephew * One Husband (11,000 words)

The Imperial Study was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The palace maids and eunuchs attending the emperor were all silent and trembling with fear. Ever since Song Yan killed Yang Hetong and Chu Licheng in the court, all the power in the court had fallen into the hands of Emperor Ninghe. The palace had also undergone a great purge. Countless palace maids and eunuchs had mysteriously disappeared. Those who survived were all obedient and no one dared to make the slightest mistake.

Of course, Wei Zhong and the other three remained the same as before.

They were Emperor Ninghe's most trusted confidants, and no matter what happened in Ningguo, Emperor Ninghe's trust in them would not diminish in the slightest. With a wave of his hand, Wei Zhong dismissed some palace maids and eunuchs, then took a cup of tea and walked to the imperial desk: "Your Majesty, have some tea to soothe your throat. It's almost midnight now, you should rest. The Imperial Son-in-Law has instructed that Your Majesty should not stay up late now."

"There's no rush to sleep. There will be plenty of time to sleep in two years." Emperor Ninghe smiled, then handed the secret letter in his hand to Wei Zhong: "Look what surprise our son-in-law has given me this time."

While such behavior might seem presumptuous, it was permitted by Emperor Ninghe after all. Moreover, Wei Zhong had served Emperor Ninghe for decades, having been by his side since the emperor was still a prince. Their bond was naturally exceptional. Thus, he accepted the secret letter. However, after only a brief glance, Wei Zhong's expression immediately turned strange.

Good guy.

The eldest princess is pregnant.

He is the child of Princess Yong'an's husband, who is also her niece.

This is such a mess.

"Wei Zhong, what do you think I should do about this?" Emperor Ninghe rubbed his temples, took a sip of tea, and asked with a smile.

Wei Zhong then put down the secret letter: "Your Majesty is too kind to this old servant. This is a matter of the imperial family. How dare this old servant interfere?"

"You old fool, just say what I tell you. Why are you hiding your ignorance from me?" Emperor Ninghe said irritably.

Wei Zhong chuckled and said, "Song Yan, as the consort of Princess Yong'an, has also coveted Princess Yuheng. This is disrespectful to the imperial family and he deserves to be executed." Then Wei Zhong's tone changed: "However, Song Yan has made great contributions to Ningguo. Executing the consort at this time would be seen as mistreating a meritorious official."

"This old servant believes that if Your Majesty does not wish to execute Song Yan, you can issue an edict to reprimand him."

Emperor Ninghe glared at Wei Zhong; the old man was still trying to smooth things over.

Is this what he wanted to ask?

What he really wanted to ask was about turning his biological sister into an adopted sister, wasn't it?

Just then, Wei Zhong pursed his lips and spoke again: "Your Majesty, if Princess Yuheng gives birth smoothly, then he will be the eldest son of Prince Yan."

Emperor Ninghe's eyes suddenly lit up.

Yes.

Although Song Yan has many female confidantes, only Yu Heng is currently pregnant.

The eldest son has a different meaning at all times.

In addition, because Tianxuan had been taking medicine for many years, her organs were eroded by the drug's toxicity, making it difficult for her to conceive. As a result, she had little chance of having a legitimate son, making the eldest son even more important.

Emperor Ninghe also highly regards Song Yan. With the military strength Song Yan currently has, it wouldn't be difficult for him to directly overthrow the mess that is Ning Kingdom. In fact, he might even have a chance to conquer the Central Plains in the future. Judging from Luo Tianxuan, Luo Tianshu, and Luo Tianquan, Luo Yuheng is quite good at educating his children.

Song Yan's eldest son will naturally be trained to be extremely outstanding by Luo Yuheng, so it is almost certain that he will become the crown prince in the future.

There are many other women in the Prince of Yan's harem. Although Song Yan currently favors Luo Tianxuan and Luo Tianyi, it is hard to guarantee that he will not tire of them. If Luo Yuheng, the former most beautiful woman in Ningguo, were to join, the women of the Luo family would firmly hold half of the power in the Prince of Yan's harem.

The position of Luo Yuheng's eldest son will certainly be more secure.

Everything that Song Yan built must be shared by the Luo family for generations to come.

As for the matter of an aunt and niece sharing a husband, Emperor Ninghe didn't seem to care much.

Putting aside other matters, during the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, the Yang family continuously sent daughters to the palace. As the Yang family daughters grew older and their favor waned, the Yang family hurriedly sent even younger and more beautiful women to the emperor's side. These women ranged from aunts and nieces by only one generation to women twice as young.

With this in mind, Emperor Ninghe obediently took out a blank imperial edict. In this urgent situation, he had no choice but to make do with what the late emperor had done.

He even felt that one imperial edict was not enough, so he drafted another imperial edict specifically to bestow a marriage upon Song Yan and Luo Yuheng.

With the backing of an imperial edict, even if some people wanted to make a fuss about this matter, they would have no way to do so.

……

Langya, the Yang family.

The main hall of the clan.

Of the seven elders of the Yang family, only six remain today.

Fourth son Yang Hexing, fifth son Yang Heshun, seventh son Yang Hexiao, eighth son Yang Hezhi, ninth son Yang Heming, eleventh son Yang Heli, and thirteenth son Yang Hexin.

Outside, the sun shone brightly, but inside, the air was as cold as frost.

Yang Hetong, the eldest of the seven elders of the Yang family, has died.

Although there were many conflicts and contradictions between the third branch of the family and the branch of the head of the family, Yang Hexing, these were all internal matters of the Yang family. No matter how much they fought over, the conflict ultimately remained within the Yang family's system. Now that Yang Hetong is dead, the past conflicts are no longer important. His body is left to rot in the wilderness, unable even to be properly buried, which inevitably evokes a sense of desolation, like the mourning of a fallen rabbit.

Most importantly, it wasn't just Yang Hetong who died; his son Yang Guochen, his grandson Yang Rui, Yang Guoli (one of the ninth-rank martial artists in the Yang family), Yang Jingshuo (a talented member of a collateral branch of the Yang family), and even Yang Siqi (the eldest grandson of Yang Hexing, the head of the Yang family, who was known as the unicorn of the Yang family) all died.

Even though the Yang family was large and powerful, such damage could definitely be described as a serious injury.

Yang Siqi, in particular, was a rare genius with quick thinking and an exceptionally strong learning ability. Even if he didn't quite understand something at first, he could quickly grasp it and master it with just a few pointers. Such a person was destined for greatness, and Yang Hexing had always groomed him to be the next head of the family. His death was an extremely heavy blow to Yang Hexing and the entire Yang family.

More importantly, the Yang family's years of cultivation in the imperial court vanished in an instant. Suddenly, the Yang family was left without representatives in the court. Although some officials remained, they were mostly minor local officials, such as county magistrates and assistant magistrates, utterly incapable of influencing the situation. The Yang family had many in-laws, and normally this network was a formidable force. But with the entire Yang Hetong lineage executed by Song Yan, this network instantly suffered a massive blow.

The Yang family daughter, due to her family's connections, was often favored by her husband's family. It's likely that many wanted to leverage this marriage to climb the social ladder and gain influence within the Yang family, thus wielding considerable power in her husband's household. However, now that the Yang family has fallen on hard times, her situation has suddenly become extremely dire. Her husband mistreats her, her mother-in-law harasses her, and she faces all the hardships that an ordinary daughter-in-law would normally endure.

Furthermore, Emperor Ninghe has recently acted as if he's gone mad, completely disregarding the fate of Ningguo. He has launched a frenzied campaign of revenge against the Yang family, stripping many nobles who married Yang family daughters and had close ties with them of their titles and reducing them to commoners for the slightest offense. Those recommended by the Yang family for official positions have also been dismissed from their posts and imprisoned.

For a time, everyone in the Yang family by marriage felt insecure. Some even went so far as to divorce their wives and send the Yang family daughters back to their husbands' homes, severing all ties with the entire Yang family.

After all, whether the Yang family can make a comeback is a matter for the future. Right now, if they can't get past Emperor Ninghe, they will have to receive the "nine clans gift package" on the spot.

Once upon a time, this intricate network of relationships was the pride of the Yang family and one of their greatest assets. Anyone who wanted to mess with the Yang family had to think twice about whether they had the ability to offend so many powerful figures at once. But now, as the tide recedes after the table is overturned, people suddenly realize that this network of relationships is not as powerful as the Yang family thought.

When you are powerful, everyone respects you like a god and hopes to share wealth and honor with you; when you are down on your luck, everyone abandons you like trash and no one will share your hardships... This is, in a way, human nature.

"How have things been lately?" Yang Hexing asked after coughing heavily twice.

He looked somewhat tired. The Yang Hexing of the past, though old, was full of energy, with a ruddy complexion and a strong voice. In just one year, he suddenly looked more than ten years older.

“Not good. Yesterday, two more earls divorced their wives, two daughters of the Yang family were sent back to Langya, and even their eldest sons were expelled from the family.” Yang Hexin shook his head. One of them was even his daughter. “In addition, many of the eldest daughters of the collateral branches of the Yang family are engaged to officials below the fourth rank, and many of the concubine daughters are engaged to scholars and those who have passed the imperial examinations. These days, there are many people coming to Langya to break off their engagements.”

"Although we secretly supported the bandits in Langshan, Fengyang, Xiayi, and Juzhou, providing them with large amounts of silver, grain, weapons, and armor to recruit soldiers and incite unrest, Emperor Ninghe, with his intelligence, couldn't possibly have failed to see through the Yang family's intentions. Yet, Emperor Ninghe showed no intention of compromising whatsoever." Yang Hexin sighed, "Emperor Ninghe merely ordered troops from the surrounding prefectures to suppress them, and otherwise remained indifferent, focusing solely on eliminating the Yang family's remaining influence in the court..."

In the past, the normal clashes between aristocratic families and imperial power often involved arranging proxies to test each other.

In this way, no matter what the future outcome may be, at least the two sides have not broken off relations and can maintain a semblance of civility.

This time, however, Emperor Ninghe did not follow the rules. Emperor Ninghe knew very well that the Yang family had the ability to completely disrupt the Ning Kingdom, but Emperor Ninghe did not care whether the Ning Kingdom would fall or how many more years he could sit on the throne. It was as if he wanted to vent all the resentment he had accumulated from being oppressed by the Yang family over the years, and simply wanted to kill more members of the Yang family and people related to the Yang family.

This means they've completely broken off all pretense of civility.

Clearly, this is not something a mature politician would do.

Unfortunately, this kind of unconventional and rule-breaking method caught the Yang family off guard, causing them to suffer a great blow.

"The most elite Imperial Guards of Dongling City have fallen completely into Zhao Gaizhi's control. This man is a mad dog in the hands of Emperor Ninghe. He kills whoever Emperor Ninghe orders him to kill. The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the people planted by the Yang family have almost all been killed by Zhao Gaizhi."

“A commander of the Silver Feather Guard, who controlled the forces of the three guards and was related to the Yang family by marriage, was directly surrounded by Zhao Gaizhi and several times the size of the Imperial Guards, and had his head chopped off on the spot.”

"The governor of a prefecture, whom the Yang family had secretly supported, was beheaded by Zhao Gaizhi with an imperial edict."

"Now it has even affected the collateral branches of the Yang family who serve as county magistrates and assistant magistrates in remote areas." The fifth son, Yang Heshun, also had a headache: "In the past month, fifty or sixty court officials related to the Yang family have been killed, and fifteen or sixteen members of the collateral branches have been eliminated. If this continues, by next year, I'm afraid all the arms that the Yang family has extended will be completely cut off by Emperor Ninghe."

"Emperor Ninghe seems to be willing to risk the fall of Ning Kingdom to completely annihilate the Yang family. With such an attitude, it's no wonder that people are in a hurry to sever ties with the Yang family. Take those scholars, for example. They have studied hard for more than ten years and finally passed the imperial examination. If they were to be beheaded by Emperor Ninghe because of their marriage ties with the Yang family, all their hard work would be in vain. Most of them would not want that."

"The situation is very bad right now, and we need to make plans as soon as possible."

Old Eight Yang Hezhi's eyelids drooped: "If all else fails, we'll just rebel."

“In earlier years, we only cared about marriage alliances and tried to secretly control all the nobles in Ningguo, using this network of relationships as a moat for the Yang family… At that time, the imperial power was still very influential, so we had no choice but to do this.”

"In reality, since the reign of Emperor Renzong, the power of the Yang family has surpassed that of the emperor. Although Emperor Longtai managed to regain some control, everything returned to square one after Emperor Longtai fell into the water, fell ill, and died. During the reign of Emperor Yuanjing, the power of the Yang family continued to expand. Emperor Yuanjing realized something was wrong and was sent away by the Imperial Physician with a bowl of medicine... Speaking of which, this imperial physician was quite talented, as he could treat two emperors with a single bowl of medicine."

“In the early days of Emperor Ninghe’s reign, we had the opportunity to overthrow the table and ascend to the throne, but because we were concerned about our reputation, we allowed Emperor Ninghe to gradually grow stronger, leading to the situation we have today.” As he spoke, Yang Hezhi raised his head and said, “But now, we still have a chance.”

"Within Langya City, not to mention the Yang family members, the number of guards and servants in each household alone is in the tens of thousands."

The Yang family has seven branches, each with hundreds or even thousands of powerful guards. In addition, there are side branches and collateral branches. All together, it is no exaggeration to say that there are tens of thousands of servants.

“There are also tens of thousands of tenant farmers, all of whom are die-hard loyalists of the Yang family,” Yang Hezhi continued.

Ningguo implemented a system of poll tax and land tax. A child aged seven to fourteen had to pay a poll tax of 300 coins per year, while an adult male or female had to pay 2,000 coins per year. 2,000 coins was equivalent to 1.5 shi of rice, which is about 180 jin. A family of five had to pay 8,300 coins in poll tax per year, which was equivalent to 750 jin of rice.

It may not sound like much, but considering the grain yield of that era, 200 catties per mu was considered a bumper harvest, so 750 catties of rice was quite astonishing. Add to that the land tax, and a family of five owning 20 mu of farmland would have to hand over a third of their annual grain to the government—and this was already considered extremely well-off for a self-sufficient farmer.

As land consolidation became increasingly severe, farmers who lost their land could only become tenants of landlords, gentry, and powerful families. After becoming tenants, the land tax was abolished, but the poll tax remained. The rent for renting land from landlords was even more staggering, rising to 50%. In addition, the rent for the landlords' oxen, plows, and farm tools meant that 80% of the grain from one acre of land had to be handed over, leaving not enough to fill their stomachs.

As a result, the farmers of Ningguo were generally poorly clothed and starving, and even in years of plenty, many still starved to death.

However, the Yang family was different.

Although the Yang family had committed numerous misdeeds and acquired land, they never mistreated their tenants. When renting land from the Yang family, aside from paying a poll tax to the government, the farmers received their oxen, plows, and farm tools almost for free, and the rent was only 20%. Therefore, although the Yang family's tenants lost their land, their lives seemed slightly better than before. For this reason, the Yang family's tenants were extremely loyal to them.

Ordinary people are always like this; they'll side with whoever feeds them. In Langya City, some people even voluntarily sold themselves into slavery with the Yang family. After all, once they became slaves, they were no longer considered human, and the poll tax was gone. The saved food rations would allow them to live a more comfortable life.

If there are floods or droughts and the grain yield is not satisfactory, the Yang family will take the initiative to open the granaries and distribute grain to help the people of Langya City and the surrounding areas overcome the difficulties. The Yang family attaches great importance to the management of Langya. If any Yang family member bullies men or women or steals from others in Langya County, the people will complain to the Yang family. Once the matter is verified, the family will immediately open the ancestral hall, request the family genealogy, and expel the family member from the family.

Therefore, no matter how arrogant and domineering the descendants of the Yang family were in other places, they were all incredibly well-behaved in Langya County. In the hearts of the people of Langya County, the Yang family was like a living bodhisattva. Whether the Yang family had done bad things or wanted to usurp power, the people didn't care; they only knew that their lives were better than before under the Yang family's leadership.

This is the true foundation of the Yang family, and the true essence that has enabled the Yang family to be passed down for hundreds of years.

“If we raise the banner of rebellion now, I estimate that seven or eight out of ten people in Langya would be willing to join us,” Yang Hezhi continued. “This would be the strongest force, surpassing all the current rebel armies in Ningguo. We could directly storm Dongling, pull Emperor Ninghe off the throne, and if we’re in a good mood, let Luo Jingyu sit on that seat. If Luo Jingyu doesn’t obey…”

"We can sit on it ourselves, no problem!"

"The Luo family has been emperor for over a hundred years, now it's our Yang family's turn!"

(End of this chapter)