Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 446: Chapter 424: The Pros and Cons of Marrying into a Family with Close Ties to Royalty

As she walked out of the building, Yu Qingyi exhaled a gentle breath.

Although she appeared calm and collected just now, a tense line was actually always present in her mind.

After all, this is the Crown Princess Consort, the future Empress of Da Rong.

She must handle the situation with care.

As for the Crown Princess Consort’s niece, Yu Qingyi thoughtfully pondered while leaving the building.

Miss Zijin should be a rather good young lady!

And the Crown Princess Consort’s natal family, although they are currently just a household of a thousand, once the Crown Prince ascends to the throne, they will become an external relative.

In general, external relatives are granted the titles of Marquis or Duke in life, and Duke posthumously.

The Crown Princess Consort, having both sons and daughters, means the Yu family is bound for a title of Marquis.

These external relative titles are hereditary, just like Yang Zhenshan’s Marquis Jing’an.

The Yang family and the Yu family are considered to be well-matched in social status, and Miss Zijin herself seems quite appealing.

Yu Qingyi’s only concern is the fact that the Yu family is an external relative.

External relatives are different from nobles; their entanglement with the royal family is too deep, and should any change befall the Emperor’s family, the external relatives could not escape implication.

For instance, when the previous Crown Prince was deposed, almost all of his maternal relatives were expelled from the Capital City.

If the Yu family faces such a plight in the future, it is inevitable that the Yang family would also be implicated.

Besides, it’s easy for external relatives to get involved in the struggles between Princes.

Right now, Mrs. Yu’s status is very stable, but who can be certain about the future.

The former Empress of Emperor Chengping was also very secure, yet she perished over twenty years ago, and despite Emperor Chengping’s continual grief for the Empress, he never remarried.

Nevertheless, the Empress’s natal family has always been disregarded, even the deposed Crown Prince, bereft of the Empress’s protection, was at the Emperor’s mercy.

Had the Empress remained alive, could the Crown Prince still have been deposed?

But on the flip side, if the deposed Crown Prince ascended to the throne, his maternal family’s status would naturally soar.

Currently, there is a perfect example in the Capital City, the Duke Shou Mansion.

The Duke of Shou soared to riches for several decades simply because of a daughter who bore an Emperor’s grandson.

Even now, although the Duke of Shou is advanced in years, his mansion remains as solid as Mount Tai.

If the Yu family also had an Emperor’s grandson, the outcome would be different.

The pros and cons of marrying into an external relative’s family make Yu Qingyi somewhat hesitant and indecisive.

After returning from Dacheng Temple to her mansion, Yu Qingyi gave the matter some thought and arranged for Wu Zheng to check on Miss Zijin, and then wrote a letter to Yang Zhenshan to ask for his opinion.

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By the time Yang Zhenshan received the letter from Yu Qingyi, it was already the end of March.

The end of March at Chongshan Town had shed the cold wave, on the verge of all things reviving, and spring plowing was on the agenda, making it the busiest time for Yang Zhenshan.

The Camp had already recruited thousands of soldiers, who were training vigorously.

The glass workshop had also recruited five hundred craftsmen and apprentices, building furnaces for glass-making and teaching the techniques.

Civil servants from the engineering department were running up and down along the Ying River banks.

All departments within the General Mansion were busy with the approaching spring plowing and the task of dredging the Ying River.

As the General, Yang Zhenshan had to oversee everything, leaving him hardly any spare moment.

He had just come back from the Camp’s training ground outside the city, when he was cornered by Ning Qinghe, the Capital Commander of Chongshan Town.

”Subordinate Ning Qinghe greets the Marquis!” Ning Qinghe gave a fist-and-palm salute.

Yang Zhenshan, while taking off his overcoat, replied with a smile, ”Mr. Ning, please have a seat. Haha, I’ve just returned from the Camp, allow me to wash my face first!”

Ning Qinghe, with dark skin and a face covered with wrinkles, appeared somewhat hunched despite his tall stature due to his age.

Yang Zhenshan nevertheless held great respect for this elderly senior.

Ning Qinghe was an old soldier who had seen many battles, having served at Beiyuan Town, his military experience far exceeding that of Yang Zhenshan.

Even though Yang Zhenshan’s official position was above Ning Qinghe’s, Ning’s seniority was far greater.

”Please, my lord, I’m not in a hurry,” Ning Qinghe said with a cool demeanor.

He had always been like this, aloof and distant to everyone.

Yang Zhenshan went into the inner chamber, washed his face, changed into loose clothing, and then returned to the hall.

”Mr. Ning, do you have business with me?”

Ning Qinghe replied, ”There’s nothing else, just that I sought to ask the Marquis to allocate some Silver and iron ore to the Governor’s Office!”

Yang Zhenshan was not surprised; the Governor’s Office was responsible for managing military households, and spring plowing and autumn harvest were their most critical tasks.

Farming cannot be separated from tools and livestock; every spring, the Governor’s Office was the most in need of funds, required to prepare various tools and acquire as many oxen for plowing as possible.

Ning Qinghe seeking him out was something Yang Zhenshan had anticipated.

”Silver is easy to discuss; the General Mansion has already prepared three hundred thousand taels of Silver for the Governor’s Office; Mr. Ning can have it collected at any time,” said Yang Zhenshan, sitting down and taking a sip of tea.

Spring plowing is of paramount importance, and neither roadwork nor city construction should affect it.

Therefore, Yang Zhenshan had already prepared the funds for the Governor’s Office.

Hearing this, Ning Qinghe’s facial expression slightly softened.

”The Marquis is generous; this is a blessing for the one hundred thousand military households of Chongshan Town!”

Yang Zhenshan waved it off, smiling, ”The Silver is easy; Mr. Ning probably also knows that the General Mansion has recently issued promissory notes.”

”However, I have no spare iron ore.”

”This!!” Ning Qinghe frowned.

Iron ore was regulated by the court; obtaining a small quantity wasn’t hard, as the government annually allocated certain quotas to be sold to blacksmiths, who would then forge tools to sell to the farmers.