Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 547 Tianxuan, Please Convey the Wedding Night in My Place (7,000 words)

On the surface, Song Yan is not short of money.

Cui Yingying was largely aware of what Song Yan had done.

For example, the extortion of millions of taels of silver from merchants in Jin, the large sum of silver offered by the Black Tiger Gang and the Green Dragon Society in Dongling City, the large number of wedding gifts received when Tong Hua Lian Yue got married, and the hundreds of carriages on the way back to Pingyang are all enough to prove that Song Yan really made a fortune on this trip to Dongling.

However, money is something that can't be spent too quickly.

Especially for someone like Song Yan, who also needs to maintain tens of thousands of elite troops, the annual consumption of food and pay, replacement of armor and weapons, and purchase of warhorses all require a large amount of money to support.

Even though Song Yan now has the Zhang family of Pingyang, the Kong family of Shanxi merchants, Shen Qi, and Aunt Lin to continuously generate wealth for him, his current fiefdom area and army size are still enough for the time being... But if Song Yan wants to have more troops and conquer more territory, then the box of receipts that the Cui family has produced will be extremely important.

Cui San Niangzi was very confident in her appearance and figure, but Song Yan was no ordinary person. Perhaps her charm did not have much appeal to Song Yan, especially since she was known as a jinx to husbands. However... ten million taels of silver was a huge sum of money. Even if all the silver in the banks of Ningguo were searched, it might not be enough to exchange it. If it were really to be exchanged, it might require hundreds or thousands of carriages to carry countless copper coins.

This temptation was stronger than her body; Song Yan absolutely could not resist it.

Therefore, her trip to Pingyang this time was less about a marriage alliance and more about... a transaction.

Even Cui Shi'an felt goosebumps when he saw the stacks of silver notes in the box.

Cui Shi'an knew that the Cui family was very wealthy.

The Cui family is a centuries-old merchant family with immeasurable wealth… The Cui family only engages in commerce and not politics. Logically speaking, such a family would be easily exploited by those who wield power. However, if every emperor of Ning Kingdom has a concubine from the Cui family, and if 70% of the money earned by the Cui family is sent to the emperor's private treasury, then the Cui family's position will be unshakeable.

Initially, this money was intended for the emperor's enjoyment, but its use gradually changed from the reign of Emperor Longtai. Emperor Longtai used it to support the army, while Emperors Yuanjing and Ninghe invested it in the national treasury. If it weren't for this money, the court would probably have collapsed long ago.

In comparison, the Cui family neither acquired land, nor maintained private armies, nor recruited retainers. Apart from the food and drink of the family members, social interactions, and investments in new caravans and trade routes, they had few other expenses. Therefore, although the Cui family only kept 30% of the assets, their wealth had already reached a level comparable to that of a country over the past hundred years.

Even so, ten million is by no means a small amount, and it is clear that the elders of the clan have spared no expense in this marriage between Third Sister and Song Yan.

“Since Third Sister has already made her decision, then I will not say anything more.” Cui Shi’an nodded. Although he was the eldest son of the Cui family, he was still the youngest son and did not have many opportunities to express his opinions on family decisions. The reason he was asked to accompany Third Sister to Pingyan this time was mostly because he had met Song Yan once. Cui Shi’an picked up the bowl and prepared to turn around and leave, but just as he lifted the carriage curtain, he seemed unable to resist and said, “Sister, why don’t you change your clothes?”

“You’re not really a widow, there’s no need to be all white all the time.”

"It's somewhat unlucky."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cui Shi'an slipped out of the carriage, leaving Cui Yingying with a slightly surprised expression.

This brat... if you want to look good, you have to wear mourning clothes, don't you understand?
However, looking down at her plain white undershirt and skirt, she realized that she was going to marry Song Yan and might even run into Song Yan and Luo Yuheng's wedding. This outfit did seem a bit inappropriate.

She was used to this routine, and hadn't noticed it if her younger brother hadn't reminded her. Oh well, she could just change into a different, clean, and simple outfit later.

There was a rustling sound outside; the coachman and the guards were packing their things.

About fifteen minutes passed, and with a creaking sound, the carriage continued its journey north. Cui Yingying leaned against the carriage, her eyelids drooping, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

I wonder what kind of man Song Yan really is?
I was still somewhat curious.

……

Early August, Pingyang City.

The biting north wind has already started blowing, and the temperature has plummeted in just a few days. Just half a month ago, many people were shirtless, but now they are already wearing thick clothes.

The cold wave arrived earlier this year than last year.

It's easy to imagine that this year will be another extremely cold year, one that won't be easy to get through.

This is probably a characteristic of the Little Ice Age. It wasn't just extreme cold, but also frequent abnormal weather events, such as summers being hotter and rainier than usual, and winters being colder and longer than usual. I heard that this summer, the Zhao Kingdom even experienced a hailstorm, with hailstones as large as elephants and as small as oxen... Of course, rumors are always exaggerated, but there is no doubt that this hailstorm could kill people. It is said that countless houses were destroyed by the hail, and countless people died from it. The entire county was littered with mangled flesh, forcing the Zhao emperor to issue an edict of self-reproach.

Perhaps this is the characteristic of this era.

If a natural disaster occurs, such as a flood, a drought, or an earthquake, it is always the emperor's fault for not cultivating virtue. If disasters occur frequently, the emperor must blame himself and repent.

However, in Pingyang, even with the sudden drop in temperature, there were still more pedestrians on the streets than usual. Some were strolling around, while others were hawking their wares, mostly thinking about stocking up on supplies or doing more business before the snow fell. The children, on the other hand, remained carefree, seemingly oblivious to the change in weather, still running around naked in the streets, even looking forward to the first snowfall of the year.

This year has been a generally bountiful year.

It can hardly be described as having favorable weather conditions.

It was purely because the Jurchens and Xiongnu had attacked Pingyang and Anzhou respectively, and because the governors Qian Yaozu and Ma Zhifeng had done nothing, Pingyang's population had been halved and Anzhou was in dire straits... As more people left, the land became empty.

In addition, Song Yan confiscated the land of wealthy families such as the Huang family and the Ma family who had ties with the Jurchens and Xiongnu. Some of this land was rented out by Song Yan to the people in his fiefdom, so each household had more land under their name. Although it was more tiring, seeing more crops after the harvest than in previous years made them very happy.

Moreover, every autumn harvest season, foreign tribes would come south to raid and plunder grain. However, this year, with Song Yan stationed at the border, neither the Jurchens nor the Xiongnu could set foot inside the pass, thus the grain was naturally preserved.

Song Yan also collected taxes, but he simply collected them according to the laws of Ningguo. All sorts of arbitrary levies were abolished by Song Yan, so the people naturally had more grain left than in previous years.

That means we can eat a few more full meals than in previous years.

Therefore, almost everyone had a genuine smile on their face... Ordinary people are really easy to please; as long as they are fed, they will feel very happy.

Of course, the happy events in Anzhou and Pingyang were not just about the bumper harvest... For example, Song Yan was granted the title of king.

The King of Yan.

Anzhou and Pingyang were both assigned to Song Yan's fiefdom.

When the news reached Pingyang, the entire city was in an uproar.

The people of Pingyang Prefecture were probably even happier than Song Yan, the Prince of Yan himself... In their simple minds, such a good official who served the country and its people deserved to be promoted and ennobled. What made them even happier was that from now on they would be subjects of His Highness the Prince of Yan's fiefdom, and they would no longer have to worry about being plundered by the Xiongnu. That gave them a great sense of security.

The people of Anzhou Prefecture were also very happy. Although they had not lived under Song Yan's rule for a long time, it was a fact that Song Yan had annihilated the Xiongnu and driven those barbarian tribes out of Anzhou Prefecture.

Of course, some people were not happy, such as some surviving officials in Anzhou Prefecture. For example, some landlords and powerful families in Anzhou Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture who had not yet been purged... Just thinking about having to live under the rule of the Prince of Yan, this madman who built a mound of corpses, made them feel dizzy and they felt a sense of collapse and despair.

Then another imperial edict caused a stir in Anzhou and Pingyang.

Princess Luo Yuheng was not Emperor Yuanjing's biological daughter. However, considering that Luo Yuheng had carefully protected the royal bloodline for many years, she retained the title of Princess. Because he could not bear to see Luo Yuheng live a lonely life, Emperor Ninghe personally issued an edict to bestow a marriage between Prince Yan and Luo Yuheng.

Some scholars grumbled and questioned the authenticity of the imperial edict, even saying that Song Yan's marriage to Luo Yuheng after marrying Luo Tianxuan was against human ethics and deserved divine punishment. However, they could only mutter such things in private and didn't have the guts to stand up and question it publicly... This Prince Yan was definitely not kind to scholars.

In Pingyang and Anzhou, the Embroidered Uniform Guards were everywhere. The scholars' private discussions could not escape Song Yan's notice. When these messages reached Song Yan, he simply smiled and ignored them. He was not Emperor Qianlong and did not need to behead people because of a few words of gossip.

Ordinary people in the fiefdom wouldn't think so much. If there's no blood relation, then there's no relation. The emperor has issued an imperial edict, so how could it be fake?
His Highness the Prince of Yan is getting married, this is a wonderful thing!

The eldest princess is so beautiful, and Prince Yan is so capable; they are simply a match made in heaven.

Moreover, this was a marriage decree issued by the emperor; how could they possibly defy the imperial decree?
Therefore, in recent days, many people have been sending things to the governor's mansion. Ordinary people naturally cannot afford to send precious silks, satins, gold and silver jewelry, but some eggs, pheasants, rabbits and the like are also a token of the people of Pingyang's goodwill.

As for the governor's mansion, it was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and many places were already adorned for the wedding ceremony. Of course, this wedding was somewhat rushed. The formal betrothal and engagement ceremonies were all omitted, and even the wedding procession was skipped. After all, Luo Yuheng was born in Dongling, and if the bride were to be fetched from Dongling, it would probably take several months to travel back and forth. In addition, Emperor Ninghe's imperial edict even directly specified the wedding date, which was only three to five days away. There simply wasn't enough time to prepare.

Song Yan felt somewhat apologetic for not being able to give Luo Yuheng a perfect wedding, and even for Luo Yuheng's status being only that of a concubine, not even a secondary concubine.

However, Luo Yuheng took all of this in stride. She was already thirty-seven years old and had originally decided to let her life pass by like this. Now that she was able to marry the man she loved, she felt very happy.

As for Song Yan, although he was about to become a groom again, he was still quite busy during this period. He had been away from Dongling for several months. Although Liu Yisheng, Jia Yifei, Gao Xingcai, and Liang Guangzong were in charge of domestic affairs, and Zhang Zhen, Li Er, and Mei Wu were in charge of border defense, the overall situation was stable. However, some minor issues eventually arose.

Upon returning to Pingyang, Song Yan summoned all the important figures in the city. In the study, everyone took their seats, and Gu Banxia served fragrant tea before quietly standing behind Song Yan.

"First of all, congratulations on your investiture as a prince." Liu Yisheng said with a smile. He was proud of his foresight back then. There were countless people who had done well in Songzhou Prefecture. At that time, Song Yan was just a son-in-law who had just entered the Luo family. He had placed all his bets on Song Yan. Now it seemed that this might be the best decision he had ever made. Look, how long has it been? The former son-in-law has already climbed to the position of Prince of Yan.

“As a prince, one should naturally have the dignity of a prince. The imperial carriage for daily travel, clothing, and even the prince’s residence should naturally conform to the standards of a prince.” Liu Yisheng could not suppress the smile on his lips at all: “His Majesty has bestowed an imperial carriage upon us, and the Imperial Clothing Bureau of the Prince of Yan has also prepared several sets, which were sent over when the imperial decree was delivered a few days ago. These can be ignored for the time being, but as for the prince’s residence, we still have to build it ourselves.”

"I wonder if Your Highness has any place in mind? I will arrange for people to make preparations so that Your Highness can move into the Prince's Mansion by this time next year." Song Yan smiled and said, "There's no need to rush into the Prince's Mansion. Right now, my fiefdoms, Anzhou and Pingyang, are all in need of rebuilding. My father is still busy recruiting and expanding the army. It's better to use the money wisely."

"Moreover, this governor's mansion is quite nice. I heard that Qian Yaozu spent one or two hundred thousand taels of silver and forcibly conscripted many laborers to build it. It is more than enough to be used as a prince's mansion. We can just change the plaque outside the governor's mansion later... Besides, I have lived in this governor's mansion for quite a long time and have already gotten used to it. Let's settle this matter."

Liu Yisheng felt something was amiss. Although the governor's mansion was luxurious, it was not of royal standard and was somewhat unworthy of his lord's status. He wanted to persuade him, but Song Yan waved his hand and said, "Liu Sheng, I know you mean well, but you've seen the situation in the fiefdom. The people's lives have only just improved a little. If I were to undertake large-scale construction at this time, wouldn't people gossip and criticize me behind my back?"

Building a royal palace in this era was by no means an easy task, as the conscription of manpower would severely impact the people's production and daily life.

"That's settled then, no need to say more."

Upon hearing this, Gao Xingcai, Liang Guangzong, Li Er, Jia Yifei, and the others exchanged glances, all showing signs of relief. They had genuinely worried that after Song Yan was granted the title of prince, he would lose his former ambition and become arrogant and dissolute. After all, they were willing to follow Song Yan because they wanted to gain merit in the process of becoming a prince, and someone who became arrogant and dissolute after gaining status and power would obviously not be able to guide them to the end.

"Your Majesty's grace has granted me immense power. Within my fiefdom, I can appoint officials, recruit soldiers, establish taxes, and even enact laws." Song Yan pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, "In that case, let me first confirm everyone's responsibilities. Is that acceptable?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the study became solemn and stood up in unison: "We are willing to obey Your Highness's orders."

"First, there are the governors of the two prefectures." Song Yan nodded slightly, pressed his palm down, and gestured for everyone to sit down: "From today onwards, the policy of separating military and political affairs will be implemented within my fiefdom. The governors will be in charge of people's livelihood, criminal justice, taxation, and education, and will no longer be in charge of military affairs. Military defense will be the responsibility of military generals."

Everyone was slightly taken aback.

Everyone knew that the fiefdom under Song Yan's rule would inevitably be different from the current Ningguo, but no one expected that Song Yan would cut the governor's power in half as soon as he took office.

On the other hand, he understood that most of the governors of the sixteen prefectures in Ningguo were civil officials who knew nothing about military affairs. People like Qian Yaozu and Ma Zhifeng were like that. Relying on them to resist foreign tribes would only result in corpses filling the banks of the port and blood filling the caves of the Great Wall.

Furthermore, since Song Yan rose to prominence through military achievements, it is normal for him to elevate the status of some military generals.

"In addition, the governor has another important task, which is to be responsible for the food supply of the border troops and the local militia in special times."

"The Prefect of Anzhou will be Fang Hai."

No one present was surprised or doubtful about this.

In fact, once they learned that Fang Hai had come to Pingyang with Song Yan, they all understood that this was the Fang family's support for the prince, and that Fang Hai was determined to obtain an important official position in the prince's fiefdom. In essence, this was also a transaction.

Fang Hai stood up and bowed in gratitude.

"The defense of Anzhou City will be handled by General Mei Wu, whose rank is the same as that of the governor."

Another order was issued. After all, Anzhou was adjacent to the Xiongnu and was even more dangerous than Pingyang. Without a general of sufficient importance to be stationed there, it was hard to guarantee that the Xiongnu would not have any ideas.

Fang Hai frowned slightly. Although the city defense general was of the same rank as the prefect, that was Mei Wu... a highly respected figure, someone even his father, Fang De, would treat with respect. Undoubtedly, Mei Wu could overshadow Fang Hai, and in fact, Fang Hai's power as the prefect was greatly restricted... But then he thought, what would it be like to have Mei Wu in charge of Anzhou?
Call it safety.

It's called military merit.

Anzhou borders the Xiongnu, so there's no shortage of battles there. If you're thick-skinned enough to go to the front lines, won't you be accumulating military merits like crazy? Thinking this way, Fang Hai felt much better. Earning military merits was indeed a wonderful thing.

"Jia Yifei was promoted from the former Prefect of Pingyang to the Governor of Pingyang."

Upon hearing this, many people's expressions changed.

Jia Yifei, in particular, immediately turned his gaze toward Liu Yisheng. The original governor of Pingyang was Song Yan, and everyone thought that after Song Yan was promoted to prince, the position of governor of Pingyang would fall to Liu Yisheng.

After all, Liu Yisheng's talent was undeniable, and even a learned scholar like Jia Yifei greatly admired him. Most importantly, Liu Yisheng was arguably the first among all these people to join Song Yan, and this friendship was unmatched by anyone else.

Therefore, no one expected that Song Yan would hand over the position of Prefect of Pingyang to someone else.

Liu Yisheng, on the other hand, remained calm. Ever since he proposed the rebellion strategy of "building high walls, stockpiling grain, and delaying the declaration of kingship" to Song Yan and encouraged him to go further and further down the path of rebellion, Liu Yisheng had entrusted everything to Song Yan.

He would advise Song Yan on any decisions and arrangements, whether they were wrong or correct, even if it meant suffering some injustice himself, all for the sake of his grand ambitions and imperial ambitions.

Moreover, after a little thought, Liu Yisheng understood that Song Yan's move was to win over the local scholars in Pingyang and Anzhou.

After all, their own prince had previously slaughtered too many scholars.

However, whether it is conquering the world or governing it, scholars are an indispensable part. Promoting Jia Yifei is to show Song Yan's attitude. The scholars he killed before were all wicked and heinous. Truly talented, virtuous, and law-abiding scholars will still be given important positions in the Prince of Yan's fiefdom.

Now that he understood Song Yan's meaning, Liu Yisheng naturally wouldn't contradict him at this moment. Instead, he smiled warmly and cupped his hands towards Jia Yifei, saying, "Brother Jia, congratulations on your promotion. You must treat us brothers to a drink later."

Jia Yifei was taken aback, then quickly stood up and replied, "Of course."

Song Yan nodded slightly before continuing, "Zhang Zhen is the deputy commander of Anzhou's city defense, and he will assist General Mei Wu in guarding Yongchang."

"Li Er is the commander-in-chief of Pingyang and is responsible for the defense of Pingyang."

Li Er was also somewhat shocked.

As a surrendered rebel leader, he never expected to be so highly regarded by Song Yan. For a moment, his body trembled slightly, and he quickly stood up and bowed to Song Yan: "Thank you for your cultivation, Your Highness."

Song Yan waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for formalities: "Lei Yi and Zhang Han will serve as deputy generals to assist in the defense of Pingyang."

"In that case, I entrust the border defenses of my fiefdom to you generals."

"Wang Chao, Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu, temporarily cease your work and serve as my personal guards."

Upon hearing this, the four men's faces lit up with joy.

Although they did not have the authority to command troops in battle, the prince's personal guards were the people closest to the prince besides his wives and concubines, so their status was naturally extraordinary.

"Mr. Liang and Mr. Gao, you will serve as my advisors."

Liang Guangzong's face lit up with joy. Although the advisors didn't have official ranks or even proper positions, they were, like the personal guards, the prince's closest confidants. The only difference was that the personal guards were responsible for the prince's safety, while the advisors were responsible for planning his future. These were the most trusted confidants, especially since these two had risen from humble beginnings as rebels; serving as advisors would allow them to realize their ambitions.

"As for Liu Sheng..." Song Yan looked at Liu Yisheng, a smile appearing on his face: "Liu Sheng followed me the longest, and I will never forget Liu Sheng's loyalty all the way!"

"I hereby grant you the authority to inspect your fiefdom. Liu Sheng may travel to Anzhou and Pingyang to oversee all officials on my behalf!"

……

On the other side, Luo Yuheng was in the boudoir with Hua Lianyue, Luo Tianxuan, Gao Yang, and several other women, each holding a needle and thread and embroidering a wedding dress.

Women always have a lot to talk about.

Every now and then you can hear chattering, followed by a burst of crisp laughter.

In fact, even though she was a lady from a respectable family, she was quite uninhibited in her conversations when no men were present. The topic inadvertently drifted to Song Yan, with the conversation mostly revolving around how fierce and troublesome Song Yan was. Whenever these things were mentioned, Luo Yuheng's cheeks would flush slightly.

Not long after, Gao Yang was summoned away. She needed to make some decisions regarding the wedding arrangements, as she was, after all, a princess and knew more about such matters. A little while later, Hua Lian Yue also had to leave, leaving only Luo Tian Xuan and Luo Yu Heng in the boudoir, which suddenly became quiet.

Luo Yuheng blinked, her moist lips pursed, as if she had already made a decision in her heart. However, she couldn't speak up when there were other people present. Now that only Luo Tianxuan was left, she finally spoke: "Tianxuan."

"Can you do my aunt a favor?"

Luo Yuheng asked softly.

Luo Tianxuan smiled gently and said, "What kind of help do you need, Auntie?"

Even after such an incident, Luo Tianxuan's respect for Luo Yuheng did not diminish in the slightest. In Luo Tianxuan's heart, Luo Yuheng was always one of the most important people.

"On our wedding day...you shall take my place in the bridal chamber!"

Luo Tianxuan: (⊙▽⊙）？？？

(End of this chapter)