Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 214: Chapter 206 Liu Yuanfu’s Reply Letter_2

Yang Zhenshan spoke in a calm tone, his eyes indifferent as he looked at Su Bai.

Su Bai trembled, his face alternating between green and white.

Servant!

He had almost forgotten that he was a servant!

Indeed, he was the most trusted servant of Marquis Jingyuan, but his visit to Yang Zhenshan was not under the Marquis’s orders; he had come on his own initiative.

In his view, this was merely a trivial matter. He would meet with Yang Zhenshan, state his affiliation, and Yang Zhenshan should release the person, and then the matter could be settled.

As for whether Su Shansi would harbor any resentment or bear a grudge against Yang Zhenshan, that was not his concern.

”Show the guest out!”

Yang Zhenshan had already lost interest in entangling with him any further.

Han Fei stepped forward and made a gesture of invitation with his hand.

Su Bai’s expression went through multiple changes, from anger to embarrassment, from annoyance to resentment, ”Fine, I will report this to the Marquis, and Master Yang can explain it to the Marquis himself!”

With that, he turned and left.

Yang Zhenshan curled his lip, explain to Marquis Jingyuan?

He had nothing to explain to Marquis Jingyuan.

Again, this place was Chongshan Town, not the Capital City. No matter how powerful the reach of Marquis Jingyuan Mansion was, it couldn’t extend its hands into Chongshan Town.

Yang Zhenshan truly detested these nobles to the extreme, from Duke Shou’s household before to Marquis Jingyuan Mansion now, each one more arrogant than the last, ever ready to suppress others with power.

But to suppress with power, you also need to be able to suppress.

Power and influence have regional limitations; the authority of a County Magistrate is confined to one county, and the power of a Magistrate is limited to one prefecture. For nobles like them, their power is also restricted to within their own spheres of authority.

Perhaps through various connections, they can extend their influence beyond their official realms, but then their power would be greatly weakened and they would be constrained.

Not to mention them, doesn’t even the old Emperor’s imperial power face regional restrictions?

In the Capital City, the imperial power is supreme, but in the regions, its strength is greatly diminished.

Su Bai’s visit had no impact on Yang Zhenshan’s good mood, and after sending Su Bai off, Yang Zhenshan finished some official business before returning to the backyard to join his wife.

Several days later.

Wu Zheng returned from the Capital City.

Yang Zhenshan sat in his study, reading the reply from Liu Yuanfu.

Liu Yuanfu had a much more detailed understanding of the Capital City and the court’s situation than Zhou Lan.

However, Zhou Lan wasn’t wrong in her guess; indeed, the root of Liang Chu’s desire to form an alliance with the Yang family lay in the succession struggle for the throne that played out in the court.

The Crown Prince wanted to win over Liang Chu, thus he intended to have Qing’an Marquis Mansion form an alliance through marriage with Marquis Changping.

Qing’an Marquis Mansion belonged naturally to the Crown Prince’s faction as his maternal family.

And since Marquis Changping governed Chongshan Town and commanded tens of thousands of troops, it was logical for the Crown Prince to want to win him over.

However, the secret of Marquis Changping’s 300-year legacy was to stay out of the princes’ struggle for succession. Hence when Liang Chu spotted this intention, he immediately sought a suitable match for the Third Young Master Liang in Chongshan Town.

As for why the Yang family was chosen, only Liang Chu knew; Liu Yuanfu also had no idea why Liang Chu had picked the Yang family.

However, Liu Yuanfu did think the Changping Marquis Mansion was a good match and mentioned that if Yang Zhenshan found it fitting, forming an alliance with Changping Marquis Mansion might be a good choice.

Reading the letter in his hand, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but feel somewhat moved.

This stubborn old man was actually quite endearing.

Back at Yinghe Castle, this old man was both smelly and tough, but after returning to the Capital City, he had taken such good care of the Yang family.

The short letter was filled with concern for the Yang family and friendly warnings to Yang Zhenshan.

What did this mean?

It meant that the old man cared about his face.

When he was down and out, he didn’t want to be pitied or taken care of by others.

It also showed that the old man was a person of sentiment.

After recovering his status, he still remembered the kindness he had received in the past and was willing to help those who had helped him before.

No wonder this old man had experienced both rises and falls, and even after being relegated to a border town, there were still people in the court who remembered him.

The old man truly knows gratitude.

Should the old man be demoted again in the future, this letter alone should warrant Yang Zhenshan’s concern.

After securing the letter, Yang Zhenshan lifted his head and asked Wu Zheng, ”What news have you gathered in the Capital City?”

Wu Zheng was originally a disciple of the Sky Blue Sword Sect; in fact, he was a senior to Yu Qingyi and a junior to Su Kun and Hua Jinqiu, having joined the Sky Blue Sword Sect over twenty years ago.

However, limited by his talent, even after more than twenty years of cultivation in the Sky Blue Sword Sect, he had only reached the Postnatal Third Layer.

If nothing extraordinary happened, it was estimated that he would never reach the Postnatal Fifth Layer, so he had no hope of attaining a position as an elder within the Sky Blue Sword Sect.

That’s why when the Sky Blue Sword Sect initially decided to send someone to the Yang family, they chose him as the team leader.

Wu Zheng reported, ”So far we haven’t gathered much information, just inquired a bit about the situation with the Changping Marquis Mansion in the Capital City!”

”The Changping Marquis Mansion has always kept a low profile in the Capital City. Aside from their interactions within the circle of nobles, they don’t socialize much outside.”

”The Changping Marquis Mansion conducts itself fairly and doesn’t have many negative opinions among the common people in the Capital City.”

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly; it had only been a fortnight, so Wu Zheng surely didn’t have much time to gather information.

However, the reply from Liu Yuanfu was enough, and since Liu Yuanfu said he could connect with the Marquis Changping, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Yang Zhenshan spoke, ”I want you to stay in the Capital City, are you willing?”

Wu Zheng bowed with his hands clasped and answered, ”I am willing to serve Master Yang; I only ask that you take good care of my family!”

He was not a servant of the Yang family; disciples from the Sky Blue Sword Sect were more like guests of the Yang family.

However, there were many reasons he was willing to serve Yang Zhenshan - firstly for the Sky Blue Sword Sect, secondly for his family, and thirdly for himself.

Working for Yang Zhenshan offered him an opportunity to utilize his skills, and by following Yang Zhenshan, he could break through to higher realms in Martial Arts.

In the two years he had been with the Yang family, his cultivation had broken through from the Postnatal Third Layer to the Postnatal Fourth Layer.

Although it was only one layer’s progress, he distinctly felt his own improvement.

It had been a long time since he had this kind of feeling.

Although unclear about the reasons, he understood it was definitely related to Yang Zhenshan.

So for the sake of reaching higher realms, he was willing to serve Yang Zhenshan.

”Mm,” Yang Zhenshan nodded and then took out a wooden box from the bookshelf behind him and handed it to Wu Zheng.

Of course, taking it out from the bookshelf was just a cover; he had retrieved it from the Spiritual Spring Space.

”Inside here, there are a thousand taels in silver notes and a hundred taels in silver ingots. First, purchase a small residence in the Capital City to serve as a foothold and prepare for a long-term stay!”

”Collect more information, from the court, various government offices, the Commandant of the Five Armies, as well as the officials, noble families, and so on - record any information you can gather.”

He instructed softly.

As his official position rises, he’ll inevitably become more deeply entangled with the court.

It’s not a bad thing to understand more, even if some matters are unrelated to him; it’s better than being clueless when the time comes.

”Oh, and be careful of the Secret Martial Guards, try not to attract their attention!” Yang Zhenshan said sternly.

The Capital City was the stronghold of the Secret Martial Guards; one must evade the attention of the Secret Martial Guards when acting there.

”I understand!” Wu Zheng accepted the wooden box and said.

After that, Yang Zhenshan let Wu Zheng leave.

Once Wu Zheng had left, Yang Zhenshan fell into deep thought.

Should he agree to the marriage alliance with the Changping Marquis Mansion?

Liu Yuanfu suggested it’s worth considering, and the reputation of the Changping Marquis Mansion was very good, with the Third Young Master Liang being a suitable match.

Currently, it seemed like a decent choice.

However, Yang Zhenshan still had some concerns.

The Marquis Mansion!

Once Yang Yunxue married into it, Yang Zhenshan would not be able to help her much in the short term.

Whether she could lead a good life in the future depended entirely on Yang Yunxue herself.

As a father, Yang Zhenshan did not wish to see Yang Yunxue slighted.

After a moment of contemplation, Yang Zhenshan decided to first ask Yang Yunxue for her opinion, as this was her own marital affair, her own future.