Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 216: Chapter 208 Discussing Marriage and Dowry

After hearing Yang Yunxue’s thoughts, Yang Zhenshan then turned to look at Wang Yunqiao.

Originally, he had wanted Yu Qingyi to ask Wang Yunqiao alone, but since the young lady had come, he took the opportunity to ask her an additional question.

“Yunqiao, you are also at the age to talk about marriage, do you have a suitor in mind?”

Yang Zhenshan asked this matter directly, not knowing how to put it more tactfully.

As soon as he said this, Wang Yunqiao’s cheeks turned as red as an apple, even her ears blushed.

“Disciple entirely respects the Master’s decision!”

Her voice was as low as a mosquito, and if Yang Zhenshan hadn’t had good hearing, he probably wouldn’t have been able to hear her at all.

Observing the shy young girl, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but smile.

“What do you think of Song Hao?”

Wang Yunqiao became even more embarrassed, lowering her head even further.

Meanwhile, Yang Yunxue, who was next to her, was not shy, her eyes gleaming as she said, “Dad, I think Song Hao is very good, and matches well with our sister Yunqiao!”

While she felt shy talking about herself, discussing Yunqiao seemed to excite her.

Hearing her words, Yang Zhenshan understood the situation—clearly, the two girls must have talked about this often.

Yang Yunxue evidently knew Wang Yunqiao’s thoughts.

“Since you’re satisfied with Song Hao, I’ll discuss this with your Uncle Song in a few days!” Yang Zhenshan chuckled.

But Wang Yunqiao hesitated, and slowly raised her head, “Master, my brother~~”

Yang Zhenshan waved his hand, “You don’t need to worry about your brother, do you still fear that I, your master, would treat him harshly!”

Wang Yunqiao was really caring, overly indulgent towards her brother.

This was normal, after all, Wang Mingzhe was her only family, and she had brought him up. Though the Yang family took care of many things, as a sister, she still worried about most matters.

Moreover, when they had fled, their parents had instructed her to take good care of her brother.

Therefore, over the years, Wang Yunqiao valued her brother even more than herself.

Wang Yunqiao naturally trusted Yang Zhenshan completely, yet she still couldn’t bear to leave her brother.

Yang Zhenshan added, “You can’t let taking care of Mingzhe delay your own marriage. If so, once Yunzhe grows up, he will definitely blame himself.”

“Even if you get married, you can still come back often, or let Mingzhe visit you.”

After saying this, Wang Yunqiao reiterated, “Disciple will follow Master’s decision!”

Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi exchanged glances, both showing gentle smiles.

Marriage is a major life event.

As elders, despite their reluctance, they have to arrange their children’s marriages to ensure that their children marry with dignity and grandeur.

After the two young ladies had left, Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi started discussing their dowries.

“We’ve prepared quite a bit for Yunxue’s dowry, but Yunqiao’s…” Yu Qingyi said somewhat troubledly.

There is a distinction between kin, and although they treat them equally on normal days, it wasn’t feasible for marriages.

If they were still impartial, it would signify neglecting Yunxue and favoring Yunqiao too much.

Too much favoritism could also become a burden.

Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment then said, “Let’s prepare a manor and two shops for Yunqiao, and for the rest, prepare thirty percent of what we did for Yunxue!”

These days Yang Zhenshan certainly didn’t lack money; not to mention the Yang family’s increasing income over the last two years, but also the storage and output from the Spiritual Spring Space, which Yang Zhenshan couldn’t even squander all.

From the fortune he acquired over two years ago, more than half was still left.

Eight thousand silver ingots had already been completely taken out and exchanged for shops and farms.

Two thousand gold ingots still lied within the space, untouched.

The jewelry he obtained was dismantled, the extracted gold and silver remelted into ingots, while the pearls and gems were all given to Yu Qingyi.

Many pieces in Yang Yunxue’s dowry were specially remade using those pearls and gems.

Doing so much was to prevent anyone from tracing these jewels back to Yang Zhenshan.

Because of Yang Zhenshan’s caution, neither the Secret Martial Guards nor the treason conspirators had suspected him or troubled him in these two years.

Yunqiao’s dowry cannot be too meager, otherwise after getting married, she could be looked down upon.

But it also shouldn’t be too much, as too much would burden her.

A manor, two shops—no matter how the Song family fared in the future, Yunqiao would be able to sustain her basic life.

A dowry belongs to the woman’s private property and has to be registered in the government office; the husband’s family can’t snatch it, and even if a man spends the woman’s dowry, he would be ridiculed, akin to living off a woman.

“Yunxue’s dowry needs to be increased further, the Marquis Mansion is not a typical official family; if Yunxue truly marries into it, her dowry certainly cannot be lower than others!” Yang Zhenshan continued.

Being a father is indeed difficult.

Just the dowry for a daughter’s marriage is a significant expense.

And to marry into the Changping Marquis Mansion, naturally, the dowry has to be substantially richer.

“Should we add two more manors?” Yu Qingyi suggested.

In these past years, the Yang family bought quite a few manors and shops, just in An Yuan City alone, the Yang family owned four manors, and in the Jing’an Prefecture City, they also owned four.

Besides, the Yang family bought quite a few shops in An Yuan City, Jing’an Prefecture City, and Qi State City.

Yang Zhenshan had previously prepared a dowry for Yang Yunxue, which included two manors and four shops.

Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and said, “Send someone to the Capital City to buy a set of estates and a few manors!”

“The Changping Marquis Mansion will definitely return to the Capital City, and Yunxue will also reside there permanently.”

Yu Qingyi slightly frowned, “It’s not easy to buy manors around the Capital City!”

What kind of place is the Capital City? It’s teeming with high officials and nobles, and countless noble families and official families; purchasing real estate there is definitely not an easy task.

“Then buy them in the counties around the Capital City.”

Yang Zhenshan also knew that manors around the Capital City were in high demand, so he settled for the next best thing.

Yu Qingyi nodded and said, “Shall I have Wu Hai make a trip?”

“Have the eldest go with Wu Hai!” Yang Zhenshan ordered.

As the eldest son of the Yang family, Yang Mingcheng should gain more worldly experience, and it would also be an opportunity to visit the Liu family.

After the couple discussed and agreed, Yang Zhenshan made arrangements for Yang Mingcheng and Wu Hai to prepare for the trip.

At the same time, Yang Zhenshan wrote a reply letter to Liang Chu.

The gist of the letter was that earning the favor of the Marquis was a blessing for the Yang family, but he felt that matters of marriage should be based on mutual affection, so he wanted the two youths to meet a few more times.

The letter was quickly sent out, and Liang Chu’s reply came swiftly.

In his letter, Liang Chu subtly indicated the reasons for choosing the Yang family.

There were many military families in Chongshan Town, including genuine noble families such as the Wang family behind Wang Bin, the Tang family behind Tang Feihu of the Camp’s right wing, the Ji family behind Vice General Ji Feiyu, and so on.

These noble families, whether in terms of heritage or force, were far stronger than the Yang family.

Yet, Liang Chu chose the Yang family.

Simply because the Yang family was straightforward—the details of the Yang family were so simple that a little investigation could reveal everything clearly.

Originating from Anning County, it had risen only four or five years ago.

And it had few entanglements with other forces.

That was the main reason Liang Chu chose the Yang family.

Liang Chu didn’t want to get involved in the princes’ struggle, and currently, the official and noble families in the Capital City were more or less implicated, so he had to choose a family outside the Capital City.

With those deeply rooted noble families, no one knew what other entanglements might be lurking behind, and Liang Chu was truly uneasy about them; therefore, he ultimately chose the Yang family with a simple background.

Of course, his choice of the Yang family was also predicated on the condition that the Yang family had enough potential.

At present, the Yang family was a very small clan; within the entire Yang family, only Yang Zhenshan was a garrison barely notable enough, whereas Yang Mingzhi was just a households leader, not catching the eyes of various powerful groups.

But Liang Chu had learned about the Yang family, and he valued Yang Zhenshan highly, having studied Yang Zhenshan’s “Thirty-Six Strategies” and “Military Training Realities,” and recognized Yang Zhenshan’s military talents.

Besides Yang Zhenshan, he was also knowledgeable about the younger generation of the Yang family and the Yang clan’s descendants.

In the past two years, Yang Mingwu, Yang Chengze, Yang Chengxu, and others had made a name for themselves under Zhou Lan, and Yang Mingzhi had also shown good abilities.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Yang family and the Yang clan were bound to shine brightly in Chongshan Town in the future.

And more importantly, there was a promising future for the Yang family. Although Yang Mingzhi’s current official position was somewhat low, he already had the capability to support the Yang family.

It could be certain that the Yang family would not decline within three generations; they might even advance further and become a true noble family.

Seeing these points clearly was why Liang Chu chose the Yang family.

Otherwise, why would a mere garrison catch Liang Chu’s eye?

After receiving Liang Chu’s reply, Yang Zhenshan also understood Liang Chu’s thoughts and felt less concerned.

In the evening, in the study of the main courtyard.

Yang Zhenshan sat at his desk, somewhat troubled.

He wanted Third Young Master Liang and Yang Yunxue to meet more, to interact more—this matter should have been taken care of at Chongshan Pass, after all, given the noble status of the Marquis Mansion, the Yang family had to show some respect.

But he definitely couldn’t go to Chongshan Pass now, and Yu Qingyi was pregnant, it wasn’t good for her to be fatigued by travel.

Yu Qingyi, seeing his dilemma, said somewhat helplessly, “Master, I am not so fragile; let me take Yunxue to Chongshan Pass!”

She was a Martial Artist of the Postnatal Seventh Layer; even being pregnant wouldn’t hinder her travel.

Besides, her travel conditions weren’t exhausting with a carriage to ride and plenty of maids to serve her.

“I’m worried it will tire you!” Yang Zhenshan was obviously too concerned.

Yu Qingyi couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him, saying, “Master should be very clear about my physical condition!”

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes lit up as he sized up Yu Qingyi.

Even a loose robe with a straight collar couldn’t conceal Yu Qingyi’s exquisite figure.

Perhaps because of her pregnancy, Yu Qingyi had recently seemed more mature and radiant, becoming increasingly captivating.

“Master, I indeed understand very well!”

The health of his wife, of course, he knew best.

“Master, you are talking nonsense again!” Yu Qingyi couldn’t help but pat Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

“Alright, then you and Yunxue go to Chongshan Pass!”

He knew he had indeed been a bit too anxious lately; Yu Qingyi’s pregnancy was less than two months along, far from the stage where she needed people to take care of her every move.