Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 116: Chapter 112 Yang Family’s Family Rules

Ms. Liang was cautious during her first few days at Yinghe Castle, but once she learned that Yang Zhenshan did not interfere with the inner household affairs and that Ms. Wang was in charge, she felt much more at ease.

After settling in, her younger daughter’s naivety and cheerfulness began to show.

After all, she was just a fifteen-year-old girl, and despite the people here maturing early, her mind was not yet cunning.

In just a few days, she became Ms. Wang’s little follower.

She followed Ms. Wang all day, addressing her affectionately as ’elder sister-in-law’.

Ms. Wang, truly resembling an elder sister-in-law, took great care of her younger sister-in-law.

Previously, Ms. Wang had a penchant for food and liked taking small advantages, but now the Yang family was prosperous, lacking neither food nor clothing, so her minor flaws found no place to surface.

With these shortcomings gone, Ms. Wang increasingly adopted the demeanor of a family matriarch, meticulously managing every aspect of the inner household and attentively caring for everyone.

Importantly, Ms. Wang had grown smarter, no longer the simpleton she used to be, her intelligence having notably increased, leaving behind even Yang Mingcheng, who was quite obtuse.

Yang Mingcheng bought a family of servants, but before Yang Zhenshan could even meet them, Ms. Wang had already sent them away.

For this, Yang Zhenshan specifically asked Ms. Wang for her reasons, which she explained plainly.

The newly bought servants were the Song family, a couple in their thirties with two sons and a daughter.

Yang Mingcheng thought this family was quite good; the couple was of an age to work, and their three children were all teenagers, ready to be put to work immediately without needing to be cared for any longer due to young age.

”Dad, the daughter in that family is too pretty!” Ms. Wang said somewhat nervously in front of Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan was at first stunned, then immediately understood Ms. Wang’s implication.

The servants were bought for Ms. Liang, who needed a woman servant and a maid.

Yang Minghao and Ms. Liang had just married, and a pretty little maid was arranged next to Ms. Liang—what was that supposed to mean?

Was it to make Yang Minghao take a concubine, or to make her a chambermaid for Ming Hao?

Even if the family didn’t mean this, what if Ming Hao couldn’t control himself and made a mistake?

Wouldn’t that affect the marital harmony?

Previously, the maids bought by Yang Minghao were from military households, and he had initially emphasized not to get any problematic maids, precisely to avoid such issues.

Here, it’s normal to take concubines; anyone with slight wealth or status tends to have concubines, and even sons of affluent families arrange chambermaids before getting married.

Yang Zhenshan naturally disliked this.

I don’t even have a wife myself, yet my son has a crowd of wives and concubines. How could I be comfortable seeing this at home every day?

If I had multiple wives and concubines, it would be okay; despite my age, I’m physically strong.

As for favoring my sons, yeah right, they better not stir up such trouble.

With this in mind, Yang Zhenshan nodded in approval, ”You did well; such matters should indeed be avoided in the future!”

”A harmonious family leads to prosperity; a loving father and filial children, brotherly solidarity, and marital harmony are fundamental to a family’s prosperity!”

”To avoid discord in the inner household, it’s necessary to timely remove potential risks.”

Hearing Yang Zhenshan say this, Ms. Wang felt relieved.

In fact, she was also worried about this.

She came from a peasant background, and everything she now had was from her husband’s family.

More importantly, she was not just ordinary-looking but also quite plump.

With the Yang family becoming more prosperous, she truly feared that one day Yang Mingcheng would grow tired of her and take several concubines; if that happened, she would be helpless.

By helping Ms. Liang, she was also helping herself.

Currently, the men of the Yang family had no concubines, a precedent that ideally should not be set, or at least delayed as long as possible.

Ms. Wang’s actions also served as a wake-up call for Yang Zhenshan.

He had heard too many dark tales of the women inside affluent families, a group of women constantly bickering and even risking lives, causing unrest in the household.

Such incidents were all too common here.

If the Yang family’s inner household also became like this, Yang Zhenshan thought, it would be a headache.

”Let’s do this; the Yang family doesn’t yet have family rules, today I will establish two.”

”First, a man can only take a concubine at the age of thirty if he has no children, otherwise he will have his leg broken; this applies not only to concubines, but all mistresses and such are forbidden.”

”Second, a girl may marry only after the age of sixteen, and similarly, a new bride must be at least sixteen years old to enter the household.”

Yang Zhenshan spoke slowly.

A complete ban on concubines isn’t impractical, especially concerning inheritance and local customs, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t entirely ignore these.

As for girls marrying at sixteen, he felt fourteen or fifteen was too early; people weren’t fully grown and it was too dangerous to have children at such a young age.

Yang Zhenshan would have preferred to set the marriage age at eighteen, but here an eighteen-year-old girl was already considered a spinster, so he had to compromise and set the age at sixteen.

Ms. Liang had already been married into the family; he couldn’t say much about that, but Yang Yunxue was already twelve, and he didn’t wish for the young girl to marry off too early.

Hearing Yang Zhenshan’s words, Ms. Wang looked up incredulously.

”Dad, is this really true?” she asked cautiously.

”Yes, it’s true! Elder son, note these two rules down, and share them with the family. Whoever dares defy them will face the consequences!”

In the end, Yang Zhenshan’s voice grew indifferent.

Yang Mingcheng shuddered and said, ”Dad, I understand. I will keep the family rules close to my heart!”

His thoughts were the most sincere, and he had never considered taking concubines.

He was also very satisfied with Ms. Wang.

A plump wife was particularly comforting to embrace while sleeping; he had no interest in those bean sprout-like young girls.

Ms. Wang was ecstatic, with the establishment of the first family rule, her worries and unease instantly vanished without a trace.

”May take concubines only if childless by thirty!”

She already had a son now, which meant Yang Mingcheng could never consider taking a concubine in his lifetime.

Soon, the family rules set by Yang Zhenshan were known by every member of the Yang family.

The men of the Yang family reacted indifferently; Yang Mingcheng was honest and lacked any mischievous thoughts, Yang Mingzhi was lively-minded but he was obsessed with officialdom, preferring it over women.

Currently, he held the post of Deputy Thousand Households of Secondary Fifth Rank, considering when Yang Zhenshan would get promoted so he could rise in rank as well, therefore he didn’t devote his attention to women.

As for Yang Minghao, the young lad was just married, amidst his honeymoon phase, and wasn’t considering concubinage.

In contrast, the women of the Yang family were much happier.

Especially the newly joined Ms. Liang from the Liang Family, who was both delighted and excited, feeling like happiness had come too suddenly.

”Second sister-in-law, father-in-law is really kind!”

In the west wing, Ms. Liang sat beside Ms. Li, looking at little Chengxian who was sleeping, her face radiating uncontrollable joy.

At the moment, other than happiness, her only thought was to have a son as soon as possible.

With a son, she would be the permanent principal wife of the third household of the Yang family.

”Father-in-law has always acted fairly and reasonably. With father-in-law here, Minghao wouldn’t dare to act recklessly. You can relax!” Ms. Li was also very happy, but she was naturally restrained and did not show excessive excitement.

”Yeah, I’m not worried now, just a bit bored!” Ms. Liang said sheepishly.

Back at her maiden home, she could help her dad manage the fabric business or do some needlework, but since coming to the Yang family, household chores were handled by servants, even sewing and cooking could be delegated, and she seemed to have nothing to do.

Being idle can lead to boredom, always trying to find something to occupy oneself.

”Father-in-law has said that we all should study and practice martial arts. There are many books in the front yard study; if you want to read, you can ask Minghao to get some for you.”

”But I expect these few days Yunxue will teach you spear techniques, and practicing the spear can be very tiring.”

The sisters-in-law were just chatting casually when Ms. Li mentioned the Yang family’s rules.

”We can also practice martial arts?” Ms. Liang was a bit surprised.

”Of course, we must practice martial arts, not only to learn martial arts but also to strive to become Martial Artists!” Ms. Li said with a cheerful smile, ”You might not know, sister-in-law is already a Martial Artist. If it weren’t for my pregnancy last year, perhaps I would be a Martial Artist by now too.”

The women of the Yang family had been practicing martial arts for a year, but previously in Yang Family Village, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t provide them with Spiritual Spring Water, so their training progress was slower.

Since coming to Yinghe Castle, Yang Zhenshan had almost daily secretly added Spiritual Spring Water to their drinking water, and their training progress accelerated.

Four months ago, Ms. Wang had become a Martial Artist, while Ms. Li’s progress lagged due to childbirth and postpartum recovery.

It had become a rule in the Yang family to practice martial arts, whether for masters or servants.

”I don’t know if I can become a Martial Artist; I’ve heard cultivating Martial Arts depends on one’s innate talent,” Ms. Liang was somewhat apprehensive about whether she could become a Martial Artist.

”Don’t worry, father-in-law will take time to guide us, as long as we persist, we will definitely become Martial Artists,” Ms. Li expressed her blind trust in Yang Zhenshan.

Not just her, by now, many in the Yang family and even among the extended Yang clan held blind trust in Yang Zhenshan.

In their hearts, receiving guidance from Yang Zhenshan meant they could become Martial Artists.

The reason for such trust couldn’t exclude the new Martial Artists recently added to the Yang clan.

Last year, the Yang clan had added eighteen Martial Artists, and this year, in just half a year, they had added thirty-two more.

Indeed, the number of Martial Artists added this half-year exceeded the total of the previous year.

And these Martial Artists were all young men who had been trained by Yang Zhenshan.

They had become Martial Artists mainly because of the Spiritual Spring Water, which enhanced their potential; although this effect wasn’t immediate, it manifested gradually over time.

Those hundred or so young men had consumed plenty of diluted Spiritual Spring Water; it was only natural for them to become Martial Artists.

Before Yang Zhenshan became a Martial Artist, the Yang clan hadn’t seen a single new Martial Artist for decades, but after Yang Zhenshan’s advancement, new Martial Artists in the Yang clan sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain.

The key was that all these new Martial Artists had been trained and guided by Yang Zhenshan.

Thus, Yang Zhenshan was almost deified in Yang Family Village.

Many believed that as long as Yang Zhenshan provided some guidance, they could become Martial Artists.

Yang Mingcheng had mentioned this to Yang Zhenshan, although he didn’t particularly care.

Because it was the truth, although the main reason was the Spiritual Spring Water, it was indeed his doing.

And such instances would only increase in the future; currently, it was just the people from Yang Family Village thinking this way, but given more time, the soldiers under his command would probably think the same.

Just this year, many soldiers at Linguan Castle had become Martial Artists, almost every month there were a few, and as time passed, the number of new Martial Artists each month would increase until all the initially trained soldiers became Martial Artists.

Indeed, Yang Zhenshan was like a Martial Artist-making machine, with enough Spiritual Spring Water and time, he could create tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of Martial Artists.

Actually, Yang Zhenshan had already started deliberately reducing the use of Spiritual Spring Water; other than for the Yang family, he rarely provided it to others now.

As Ms. Li had said, the next day Yang Yunxue sought Ms. Liang and began training her in the traditional Yang Family Spear Technique.

Although the Yang family had many basic cultivation techniques now, they still regarded the ancestral Yang Family Spear Technique as the introductory technique for Martial Arts.