Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 414: Chapter 400 Arrival in Capital City

Capital City, Prince Cheng’s Mansion.

Prince Cheng stood beside a pond, pinching some fish food to scatter into the water, causing numerous koi fish to scuffle for it.

Behind him stood a man dressed in black, narrating the outcome of the battle at the Ru River docks.

After the man finished speaking, Prince Cheng revealed a mocking smile.

“How amusing indeed! Our General Yang truly is powerful, alarmingly so!”

“Your Highness, should we…” the man in black made a slashing gesture with his hand.

Prince Cheng waved his hand dismissively, “No need, I have no intention of killing General Yang. That Jade Dew Spirit Peach belongs to Prince Gong; it has nothing to do with me!”

The Jade Dew Spirit Peach was a scheme between him and Prince Gong, but Prince Gong was the mastermind while he merely provided some ideas.

Although he was currently allying with Prince Gong to oppose the Crown Prince, it didn’t mean that he and Prince Gong were of one heart.

There is only one throne, and among him, the Crown Prince, and Prince Gong, only one can ascend to it, so he definitely would not truly ally with Prince Gong.

Clapping his hands to dust off the remaining fish food, Prince Cheng then tucked his hands back into his sleeves.

He strolled by the pond while contemplating his next plan.

The situation in court was quite clear; the Crown Prince held an absolute advantage, and although he and Prince Gong were boisterous, in reality, they couldn’t genuinely threaten the Crown Prince’s position.

If he wanted the throne, there was only one possibility.

The death of the Crown Prince!

But how could he facilitate the demise of the Crown Prince?

“How is Yueru now?” Prince Cheng inquired.

“She has always been in the Eastern Palace!” replied the man in black.

Prince Cheng sighed deeply and said, “Ask her about her thoughts, if she agrees, I will be grateful to her!”

“Yes!” the man in black responded.

As he raised his head to the breeze-blown falling leaves, Prince Cheng’s eyes appeared exceptionally profound.

The struggle for imperial power is always ruthless.

All kinds of deceit, traps, and despicable methods are employed.

Although he never wished to be a malevolent person, sometimes he had no choice.

“Father, is this the outcome you wanted to see?”

Prince Cheng murmured wistfully.

…

After the battle at the Ru River docks, Yang Zhenshan gained a new title within the Jianghu.

The number one person beneath the Innate.

With the news spreading, Yang Zhenshan’s reputation within the Jianghu surged dramatically.

Not only were details and outcomes of the battle at the Ru River docks spreading, but also Yang Zhenshan’s previous achievements and military exploits.

Suddenly, Yang Zhenshan became the topic of conversation for many.

Although many doubted the title of “number one beneath the Innate”, no one dared to challenge Yang Zhenshan to his face anymore.

After all, his achievements at Ru River docks were substantial; many Jianghu Martial Artists had witnessed it, and the bodies of Ye Changkai and others were displayed at the docks.

Even with doubts, no one could produce any evidence to refute it.

As for these, Yang Zhenshan paid them no mind.

No matter how many rumors swirled in the Jianghu, it had nothing to do with him.

He wasn’t one of the worldly society, nor did he mingle in those circles, so naturally, he didn’t care about his reputation in the Jianghu.

Compared to that, his main priority was to be ennobled in the Capital City.

October 8th, morning.

Yang Zhenshan and a party of twenty-one riders arrived in the Capital City.

Standing under the walls of the majestic Capital City, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but marvel at its grandeur and magnificence.

The Capital City was divided into inner and outer cities. The inner city walls were fifty feet high, roughly thirty miles in circumference; the outer city walls were thirty feet high, beyond a hundred miles in circumference. The city housed a permanent population of over one million.

The military stationed around the Capital City included the Twelve Camps of the Imperial Guards and the Twelve Guards of the personal army.

The Twelve Camps of the Imperial Guards, each with over ten thousand soldiers, totaling approximately fifteen thousand in military strength, were primarily responsible for the defense of the outer city.

The Imperial Guards of the Twelve Guards, each responsible for about 5,600 troops, total nearly seventy thousand soldiers, were accountable for defending the inner city and the Imperial City.

The Imperial Guards were independent from the Five Army Commandery, having a head of the Imperial Guards, supervised by one each of the Inner Official, Minister of War, and Imperial Censor.

The Twelve Camps were controlled by the nobility group, previously handled by the Twelve Dukes, now replaced by Zhou Lan, a character without nobility titles.

The Twelve Guards were commanded by twelve commanders, affiliated with the Imperial Stables, completely separate from the court, under the control of an Inner Official within the Imperial City, answering only to the Emperor; even their salaries were provided from the Emperor’s private coffers.

In essence, the Twelve Guards acted as the Emperor’s private army. The court couldn’t interfere in the affairs of the personal army, thus making it an entity unto itself.

As soon as Yang Zhenshan arrived in Capital City, Wu Zheng came to find him.

“Wu Zheng pays respects to Master!” Wu Zheng, along with a few Yang Family Guards, greeted Yang Zhenshan at the city gate.

Yang Zhenshan, looking at him, dismounted and said with a smile, “You’ve worked hard!”

Counting the time, Wu Zheng had been in the Capital for seven to eight years.

Over these years, Wu Zheng had been collecting information in Capital City for Yang Zhenshan. Although most of the time they couldn’t gather crucial news, it couldn’t be denied that Wu Zheng had dedicated years of service to the Yang Family.

“It’s not hard; serving Master is an honor for Wu Zheng!” Wu Zheng replied with a smile.

Originally a disciple from the Sky Blue Sword Sect, over the years, these disciples had been serving the Yang Family, having long parted from the Sky Blue Sword Sect.

In fact, they had already considered themselves part of the Yang Family, and although they were akin to long-term servants within the Yang Family, they were still willing to stay.

The reason was simple: staying with the Yang Family provided prospects.

Not to mention, now Wu Zheng, Wu Zhan, and others had reached the Postnatal Seventh Layer, while other disciples from the Sky Blue Sword Sect who joined the Yang Family had mostly achieved the Postnatal Fifth and Sixth Layer.

If they had remained in the Sky Blue Sword Sect, they would never have reached their current level of cultivation.

And what’s more crucial is that their descendants will also serve the Yang family.

To ensure their descendants have higher cultivation and greater power, they are willing to go through fire and water for the Yang family.

Yang Zhenshan patted his shoulder and smiled, “Let’s go, we shall enter the city first!”

“Master, please follow me!” Wu Zheng led the way.

The Yang family also owns properties in the Capital City, not just one.

The ordinary residences where Wu Zheng and the others live include three locations, and the Yang family owns a three-section, two-wing mansion in the Capital City.

As for the previous small courtyard, it had been sold.

The Yang family is not short of Silver, and Yang Zhenshan always liked to acquire properties for the family.

Besides residences and mansions, the Yang family owns six shops in the Capital City and another eight shops along with three farms in the surrounding county towns.

Speaking of family wealth, naturally, the Yang family cannot compare to those age-old government official families, but today’s Yang family is not petty, and the properties they own across various places are not a small number.

Simply put, Yang Zhenshan is now a major landlord, with properties and estates in places like Chongshan Town, Liaodong, Jiangnan, and the Capital City.

The Yang family’s mansion in the Capital City is located in the East City within the inner city, not far from the small courtyard where Lu Wenquan resided during his spring imperial examinations.

Rich in the east, noble in the west, poor in the south, low in the north,

Why doesn’t the Yang family own a mansion in the West City?

It’s not that Yang Zhenshan does not wish to, but he really cannot find one to purchase.

Residents of the West City are all nobles, and mansions there are extremely scarce.

To buy a mansion in the West City, not only a profound background is needed but also a stroke of good luck.

Of course, if it’s just about acquiring a small residence, it would be quite easy; Lu Wenquan has set one up in the West City.

Nevertheless, Yang Zhenshan still wanted a big mansion; a small residence simply could not meet the demands of the Yang family, so he settled for the next best option and arranged for a mansion in the East District.

There are only about twenty servants in the Yang Mansion in the Capital City, and normally their job is just cleaning the mansion.

Usually, when someone from the Yang family visits the Capital City, they stay in this mansion.

This is Yang Zhenshan’s first time visiting this mansion.

“Old servant greets the master!”

Before Yang Zhenshan even entered the mansion, a group of servants came to greet him.

The leader was a man in his forties, named Lu Shou, a steward of the Yang family.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t recognize most of the servants here, but he knew Lu Shou, the steward.

Lu Shou is not just the steward of this mansion but also of all the Yang family’s properties in the Capital City.

Like collecting rent from shops and managing estates, all are handled by Lu Shou.

And Lu Shou is one of the old servants of the Yang family, from the second batch of servants bought, with the first batch including Wu Hai, Ding Qiu, and others.

Wu Hai is the chief steward of the Yang family, Ding Qiu is the commander of the Yang Family Guards, and under Wu Hai, the chief steward, there are several others, including Lu Shou.

“Hmm, is everything arranged inside?” Yang Zhenshan asked while walking into the mansion.

“Master, everything has been arranged, the guest rooms are all cleared out, master’s personal followers can move in now, and meals are also prepared, master can dine anytime!”

“The stables are also cleared, Red Cloud can be placed in the main courtyard, the other horses can be placed in the stables of the front courtyard!”

Lu Shou skillfully arranged everything.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, “Then you go ahead with the arrangements, and also prepare some hot water for everyone, it’s been a dusty journey, so let everyone take a bath and rest first!”

“Yes!” Lu Shou promptly instructed a servant next to him: “Go and get the kitchen to prepare hot water!”

Speaking of which, Yang Zhenshan had already arrived in the main courtyard.

There’s not much to say about the layout of the mansion, with a front and back courtyard as well as east and west wings, the entire mansion isn’t considered large, after all this is the precious land of the Capital City.

If the entire Yang family were to move here, this mansion would seem very cramped.

Yang Zhenshan took a bath, changed into loose clothing, and not long after, someone came looking for him.

“Dad!”

Yang Yunxue stood in the hall dressed in a light blue Luo skirt, her eyes brimming as she gazed at Yang Zhenshan walking out from the inner chamber.

Next to her stood a clear-eyed, handsome child.

Hmm, and Liang Jinyan was standing behind her.

“Son-in-law greets father-in-law!”

“Quick, call him grandpa!” Liang Jinyan nudged Liang Qingping.

Liang Qingping, just turned three, felt both unfamiliar and curious towards Yang Zhenshan.

“Grandpa!” the little guy called out sweetly.

Yang Zhenshan, hearing the little one’s voice, immediately beamed with a kindly smile.

“Little Qingping has grown so big! Come, let grandpa hold you!”

The little guy looked up at Yang Yunxue, then walked towards Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan bent down to scoop him into his arms and then sat down in the main seat of the hall.

“You two sit!”

After signaling them to sit, Yang Zhenshan started to play with little Qingping.

Today, the Yang family truly has a full house of descendants; currently, Yang Zhenshan has six grandsons, five granddaughters, three grandsons by marriage, and one granddaughter by marriage.

Among them, Yang Mingcheng has two sons and two daughters, Yang Mingzhi has two sons and two daughters, Yang Minghao has two sons and a daughter, Jiang He and Yang Yunyan also have two sons and a daughter, and while Liang Jinyan and Yang Yunxue currently only have one son, Yang Yunxue is pregnant again.

Looking at Yang Yunxue’s slightly protruding belly, Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, “Seeing you doing well in the Marquis Mansion, dad is also at ease!”

Since Liang Jinyan and Yang Yunxue were married, he had not seen Yang Yunxue for over five years.

A daughter getting married is just like that. If married nearby, one can still see each other during festivals, but if married far away, it’s hard to meet even once in several years.

These years, the Yang family had always been in Liaodong, while Yang Yunxue had been in the Capital City, separated by thousands of miles, making it difficult for a meeting.

Today, seeing Yang Yunxue matured and graceful, Yang Zhenshan’s heart was filled with immense nostalgia.

Recalling the past, Yang Yunxue was still just a young girl, and now, Yang Yunxue was a wife and a mother, indeed a great transformation.