Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 543: One is worldly affairs, the other is busy; one is separation, the other obtains the true constant.

The Jin family held a grand welcoming dinner for Yang Yuan.

Not only the people from the Kim family and the Naju royal family attended the banquet, but also a group of "two-bands" from the Gyeongju area.

With reference to what Yang Yuan said in the study during the day, Old Master Jin paid special attention to the relationship between the civil and military classes during the banquet tonight.

Under the seemingly peaceful atmosphere, he could clearly see the arrogance of the literary class and the resentment hidden beneath the seemingly submissive appearance of the martial arts class.

Master Yang is right. If this continues, big problems will arise sooner or later.

This problem cannot be reversed by the Jin family.

But since the Jin family had foreseen this, they could have kept themselves out of trouble and even profited from it!

This thought made Old Master Jin afraid to drink even a drop of wine during the dinner. He declined everyone's toast on the grounds of feeling unwell.

After the dinner, the “unwell” old man Jin suddenly became full of energy and he invited all the important members of the family to stay.

Because there were too many people, the meeting was held in the Jin Family Ancestral Hall.

These people are not all the core members of the Jin family. Many of the Jin family’s children are serving as officials outside.

However, those who can participate in the ancestral hall meetings are the elders of each family and are able to represent the opinions of that family.

No one knows how long this meeting concerning the future of the Kim family lasted.

The servants waiting outside the ancestral hall only remembered that they added lamp oil three times.

The light shone from night till dawn, but no one came out.

……

At the end of the banquet, the guests dispersed and Wang Shan got the chance to talk to his son Wang Shuai.

Before this, the father and son sat in different seats, with Wang Shan sitting at the chief seat to accompany Yang Yuan in drinking.

Wang Shan said excitedly: "Son, Master Yang has decided to open a new sea trade route at Jiuliancheng on the Yalu River.

This route will be fully entrusted to my Wang family.

You have been helping the Jin family manage their maritime trade business and are well versed in maritime trade affairs.

Come to my room later, and we will discuss how to proceed."

"Yes, father."

Wang Shuai glanced at the corridor and saw Yang Yuan bowing and bidding farewell to the guests one by one.

General Wang said, "Go and say hello to Master Yang first."

"Go, go, this scholar Yang is a great benefactor of our family, you must win him over."

Yang Yuan smiled as he saw the guests off one by one. When he saw that all the guests had left, he was about to turn back to the hall when Wang Shuai came towards him from the corridor with a smile.

When Yang Yuan saw Wang Shuai, he immediately felt a strange feeling in his heart.

But he couldn't just ignore it, so he had to go forward.

General Wang stopped and bowed, saying, "Master Yang, I heard from my father that Master Yang plans to open another shipping route and let my Wang family take full charge of it.

Wang is truly grateful to the Master for his trust in my Wang family."

Yang Yuan hurriedly said, "Mr. Wang, you are too polite. If we want to transport goods to Liaodong by sea, only the Shizikou and Yalujiang ports are feasible.

Shizikou is in the inland sea and is very easy to be attacked by the navy transferred from the north by Wanyan Liang. The Yalu River became our only choice.

Therefore, Luozhou in Goryeo has become the best relay point. This is a mutually beneficial thing between you and me, so you don’t need to thank me.”

Wang Shuai looked at Yang Yuan deeply and said with a smile: "It's mutually beneficial, so there's no need to thank me?
Well, I don’t need to thank you for taking care of me along the way.”

"Prince Wang...what do you mean by this?"

Yang Yuan's courage jumped. Even though he was mentally strong enough, his face changed instantly and he immediately warned himself to be careful.

Could it be that he has already found out about what happened between Yuzhen and I in Haiping County?
Aren't they a pair of resentful lovers without any feelings for each other? Why would they come here to accuse him? Could it be that they want more benefits?
What he didn't know was that Marshal Wang didn't even know the story of Master Yang's magic needle calming the sea in Haiping County.

But as early as when he was in Dun'en City, he mistakenly believed that the two of them had accomplished something because of Jin Yuzhen's angry words.

Otherwise, how could he let himself go like this on the way south?

Wang Shuai looked at Yang Yuan with a smile, his eyes of wisdom that said "I have already seen through everything".

"Haha, my background has given me many things that others dream of but ultimately cannot achieve.

Among them, there are things I want and things I don’t want. But if I want to get what I want, I must accept what I don’t want.

Master Yang, can you understand that kind of helplessness? "

Of course Yang Yuan understood, they were just a pair of political grudges.

This kind of thing is not only common in this era, but also in Yang Yuan's previous life, it was still not uncommon.

If a person gains something, he must lose something.

Yang Yuan nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. What is sweet to you is poison to others. That's all."

"What is sweet to you may be poison to others..."

Wang Shuai chewed over this sentence silently, clapped his hands and exclaimed: "The scholar is indeed well-educated, and his words are very insightful.

What is sweet to you is poison to me. It is so true. So..."

General Wang took a step back and bowed to Yang Yuan: "Thank you for the bowl of arsenic, Master Yang."

"Ok?"

"Master Yang, you have worked hard."

"This……"

"From now on, I will have to rely on Master Yang!"

"Well……"

"Please don't shirk your responsibility, Master Yang!"

Yang Yuan, who is always eloquent, was left speechless by Wang Shuai's amazing move.

In the distance, Wang Shan could not help but stroke his beard and smile as he watched his son having an intimate conversation with Master Yang.

This child Shuai'er can actually become close friends with Master Yang. How kind, very kind!

……

Wang Shuai's bowl of "arsenic" is now being entangled by her sister Tae Hee, who is in a dilemma.

Tae Hee actually adores her eldest sister.

Her sister is so capable that even after getting married, she is still able to do so many things for the Jin family.

The status of an ordinary noble lady is determined by the position and ability of her father and brothers in the family and outside.

However, the eldest branch of the Jin family, although the father and brother are mediocre in ability, is still able to possess the power and prestige that matches the status of the eldest branch, all because the eldest branch has a capable and good daughter.

Kim Ok-jung has always liked her younger sister. Tae-hee has been smart and clever since she was a child. Compared with her when she was a child, she is very similar to Tae-hee in both temperament and appearance.

However, as the younger sister grew older, the two sisters gradually began to look different.

This is mainly because the two sisters have different face shapes.

Kim Ok-jung has a round face like her mother, while Tae-hee has an oval face like her father.

A round face naturally has a childish look, so if Tae Hee reaches Ok Jung's age, he will look more mature than Ok Jung.

Every time Tae Hee sees her sister come back, she would pester her with questions and ask her for small gifts. She is so energetic that she is never idle for a moment.

Yuzhen really enjoyed the feeling of being clingy to by her younger sister, which made her cold and lonely heart feel very satisfied.

But today, she just felt noisy.

She was not sure whether what she said in the study had made her grandfather give up the idea.

If after a year or so, grandpa starts to think about marriage again, what should she do?

Is my little sister, whom I have loved since childhood, going to become my love rival?

Looking at that small face that was still childish but had the potential to be a stunning beauty, Yuzhen felt very conflicted!

But Tae Hee's little mouth was still chattering impatiently: "Sister, sister..."

"I'm here, I'm not dead yet! If you have something to say, just say it. Can you please stop yelling? Oh, you really are..."

Yuzhen fell onto the couch in annoyance and turned her back.

Tae Hee is not afraid of her losing her temper, because people who are favored can do whatever they want.

She moved closer with a lecherous look and started gesturing behind Yuzhen.

Yuzhen suddenly realized something, turned away angrily, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Tae Hee held her hands like she was holding a Tai Chi pose and said in an exaggerated manner, "Wow! My sister's butt seems to have grown bigger again, so big and round!
When will I be able to grow up like this? "

"Come, sister will teach you!"

Yuzhen sat up, a dangerous smile on her face.

She grabbed Tae Hee's slender wrist and pressed her against her thigh.

Yuzhen grabbed the slap and said viciously: "Well, just like that, beat him every day, and he will grow up soon!"

There was a crackling sound in the room, and Tae Hee's exaggerated scream.

……

"Are you all ready?"

Yuan Dan stood outside the east wall of the east wing of Banjing Hall and asked in a deep voice with stern eyes.

Their residence was in the west courtyard, while the east courtyard was the residence of Wanyan Luti's envoys from Shangjing.

During the sneak attack tonight, Yuan Dan had an idea and led his men to make a detour and go around the east wall of the east wing.

He felt that this would be a better way to catch Ning Yu off guard.

Seeing his men holding knives and nodding, Yuan Dan smiled with satisfaction, then suddenly pulled the mask down and said viciously: "Get on the wall!"

Looking at Yuan Dan leaping towards the wall, Deputy Envoy Hu Zhenyan was quite confused. He didn't understand why he had to wear a mask.

The identity cannot be hidden at all, okay?
Besides, we must declare our identities openly so that the Song Dynasty court will be wary of us because of our recklessness.

However, everyone had already rushed to the wall, so Hu Zhenyan had no choice but to pull down his mask.

Huh? After putting on the mask, I really felt different. Suddenly I became mysterious.

The residence of the delegation to Beijing was even more mysterious because... there was no one there.

Yuan Dan led his men to sneak into the east courtyard, but after searching for a while, they didn't find even a single person breathing.

The confused assassins gathered in the courtyard.

Yuan Dan pulled down her mask and asked in surprise, "Where are they?"

Judge Wang Jiayi thought for a moment and said slowly, "Master Yuan, could it be that the Song people have changed their residence?"

Yuan Dan suddenly realized and said bitterly: "I guess that's it."

Deputy Envoy Hu Zhenyan advised, "Why should you be upset, sir?

The Song people were worried that there would be another conflict between us, but it was they who had their residence changed.

This shows that the Song Dynasty is more afraid of the Jin Dynasty."

"Not bad!"

Yuan Dan smiled and said, "In this case, our trip tonight won't be in vain.

At least we have figured out how important we and the Shangjing rebels are in the minds of the Song people. This will be very useful for our next battle!"

Yuan Danzhi waved his hand with great pride and said generously: "Let's go back!"

A group of people opened the gate and walked out in a proud and confident manner.

The gate of the west wing opposite was also opened at this time.

Ning Yu came out with a big knife in hand, looking confused, leading a group of his subordinates.

He had made thorough preparations tonight, even donning a half-body armor.

As a result, all the members of Zeiliang's delegation disappeared.

Ning Yu was very disappointed. How could I be Ban Dingyuan?

Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked out of the gate of the courtyard, I saw a group of people rushing out from my residence.

The two sides faced each other, and the scene suddenly became eerily quiet.

After a long time, the night crows suddenly cried, and both sides woke up instantly.

"kill!"

With a roar, both sides, who wanted to be "Ban Dingyuan", rushed towards each other like angry bulls.

They all want to be "Ban Dingyuan".

Under the moon, sword shadows and knife lights!
……

Tonight, the moon is as bright as water.

Yuzhen's room was warm as spring.

Fire beds, fire walls and ground heating have long been standard for winter heating in the northern wealthy.

The clingy Tae Hee is very lively when awake, but very well-behaved when asleep.

She insisted on sleeping with her sister tonight, but while she was sleeping, she rolled to the back of the bed and faced the wall.

The body is curled up like a bow, well-behaved and clever.

Jin Yuzhen pulled a quilt over her and then lay back on the pillow, staring at the dim ceiling with her eyes open, without a trace of tiredness.

During these nights of secret lovemaking, her long-lost body and cold personality were quietly changing. But suddenly... she was lonely again, and she was not used to it.

The fire pit beneath her was very hot, but she still felt alone on a cold quilt.

The heated kang could warm her body, but it couldn’t warm up the loneliness in her heart.

I miss that person's embrace so much...

But he should be holding Yingge in his arms right now...

Yuzhen was thinking sourly when she heard someone knocking on the window a few times.

"Who?"

Jin Yuzhen sat up vigilantly, and the quilt slid down, revealing her white clothes.

"Sister Yuzhen, are you asleep?" The voice coming from outside the window was Yingge's voice.

She was a girl who married far away in Luozhou. The Jin Mansion did not keep her boudoir, so every time she returned to the Jin Mansion, she slept in the guest house.

And Yingge has been living in the guest house since arriving at the Jin Mansion.

Jin Yuzhen breathed a sigh of relief at first, but immediately became nervous again.

Why is Yingge coming here in the middle of the night?
Are you coming to call me to account?
As soon as she thought of this, Jin Yuzhen's heart began to beat wildly again, and she asked in a low voice: "It's so late, is there anything wrong?"

"Hey, Sister Yuzhen, please open the door first. I have something to tell you."

A figure flashed outside the window and ran towards the door.

Jin Yuzhen hesitated for a moment, then made up her mind again.

Forget it. Whether you stick your head out or hide your head, you will be killed. You can’t avoid it.

She put on her shoes, tiptoed to the door and opened it.

"Sister Yuzhen, come with me!"

Yingge smiled faintly and didn't look like she was going to start a war to accuse Jin Yuzhen, which made Jin Yuzhen secretly relieved.

But Yingge immediately grabbed her wrist, dragged her out of the door, and closed the door behind her.

Jin Yuzhen was embarrassed and said, "Hey, are you crazy? It's so cold, let's talk inside."

"Go to my place and talk."

"Then let me put on more clothes, eh, Yingge..."

Jin Yuzhen was not as strong as Yingge, so she was dragged by Yingge and ran to Yingge's room.

Jin Yuzhen was shy and embarrassed. She was now wearing the traditional underwear of Goryeo women - "Sugu".

This is a moon-white two-piece linen pajamas with an open crotch.

Although the top hangs down to the hips, the skirt itself has pleats and sways like ripples on water in the wind, so that the naked eye does not reveal itself when standing.

But it's winter now, and when I walk around, it feels strange that there's no wind coming out of nowhere.

Yingge's door was open, and Yingge pulled her in without saying anything.

Ah Man had been waiting at the door for a long time. After the two of them went in, she closed the door again.

……

The weather in the northeast and northwest is different, but the moon in the sky is the same, so it is equally bright.

Under the bright moonlight, three figures were quietly walking from the direction of Lintao City towards Xihezhou of the Song Dynasty.

There are three people, one of them looks like a traveling doctor, holding a tiger support;
A scholar in Confucian robes, carrying the same book basket as Ning Caichen;

A girl wearing a leopard skin coat and holding a steel fork, looks like a female hunter.

They are Luo Cheng'an, Yan Qingyu and Yue Peiying from the Northern Sect of "Jisitang".

From the border town of Lintao controlled by the Jin people to the border town of Xihezhou controlled by the Song people, the area between the two cities has become an empty no-man's land.

Sometimes you can still see some abandoned villages, where the houses have long collapsed and can no longer even serve as shelter from the wind and rain, with only ruins left.

This uninhabited area has been uninhabited for a long time, because the soldiers from the Jin border town would sometimes come out to abduct and kill civilians.

Over time, the only ones still active in this area were the scouts sent by both sides.

Even if they were not scouts, if they were seen by the Jin soldiers in this area, they would be shot and killed as scouts.

The three of them had to cross this uninhabited area at night, enter the territory of the Song Dynasty, and then rush to Lin'an City.

Of course they had the "pass" needed to travel through the Song Dynasty.

The fake "Guosuo" made by the Western Xia government is so real that it can be mistaken for the real thing.

However, they had to sneak into the border town of the Song Dynasty first.

Otherwise, even if they had a "pass", they would not be able to explain to the border soldiers why they came from the direction of Lintao.

……

That night, Jin Yuzhen's lifelong shame burst out.

If she wasn't so young, she would have had a cerebral hemorrhage out of shame.

She didn't expect that the crazy girl Yingge would come to her in the middle of the night and forcibly take her to her residence just for Yang Yuan's "threesome".

She had never thought of such a ridiculous thing, and she was so embarrassed that her soul almost flew away.

Yingge did this on purpose.

Yingge's careless nature and her tendency to trust her best friend had kept the secret from Yuzhen before.

The problem is, Yang Yuan would not hide it from Ying Ge.

After Yingge learned the truth, she felt angry when she thought about how Jin Yuzhen pretended in front of her and made her look like a fool.

So, she rushed to Jin Yuzhen's residence and tricked her into coming.

She knew that Jin Yuzhen had a delicate face, especially since she came from a Goryeo scholar-official family with strict and rigid etiquette and laws. Things that were beyond her imagination would definitely make it difficult for her.

Jin Yuzhen was indeed extremely embarrassed, but she was not as strong as Yingge and could not escape at all.

At the critical moment, Yang Yuan was still doing something naughty and grabbed her ankle.

Jin Yuzhen's feet are her weak spot. Perhaps all the sensitive nerves in her body are focused on that pair of snow-white feet.

Yang Yuan accidentally discovered two days ago that as long as he held Yuzhen's feet and kneaded them a little, her body would twitch uncontrollably, but her appearance would suddenly become soft as if she had no bones and as soft as mud.

With just a little effort at this time, Jin Yuzhen had no power to fight back.

She could only shrink aside and watch those new tricks that made her face hot and her heart beat fast.

She couldn't believe that there were so many strange and bizarre ways of making love between men and women.

Yingge is the little princess of Sabasan. In terms of military strength alone, the Ugur clan of Sabasan is much stronger than the Jin clan of Gyeongju.

Therefore, the nobility of Princess Yingge is no less than that of Jin Yuzhen.

But Yingge was particularly open-minded, and her unrestrained and uninhibited behavior made Jin Yuzhen blush.

Only then did she realize that Yang Yuan had been gentle to her along the way and had never forced her to do anything too embarrassing.

But tonight, Yingge had tricked her here just to embarrass her, so how could she let her go?
Yingge demonstrated to her with a provocative look, and then dragged the pitiful Yuzhen in front of Yang Yuan.

"You little rascal, aren't you good at talking? Come, show my husband how eloquent you are!"

No!
Yuzhen blushed with shame. How could she do such a thing? It was too difficult to talk about.

But under the threat of the little witch Yingge, she had no choice.

Gradually, the feeling of shame and indignation disappeared, and she, who had previously been seriously lacking in knowledge and imagination, quietly felt a kind of forbidden excitement.

Yingge had breakfast with Yuzhen and her sister, and Yang Yuan did not show up.

After all, this is the Jin family, so some things cannot be done too blatantly.

Seeing Yuzhen eating in small bites, looking pitiful as if her mouth would be dislocated if she opened it a little wider, the little witch Yingge giggled.

She teased, "Sister Yuzhen, you still need more practice..."

After hearing this, Tae Hee looked at Ying Ge in surprise. Her sister was so talented, what else did she need to practice?

Jin Yuzhen blushed, gave Yingge a coquettish look, and said unhappily, "Eat your meal, you stinky woman!"

At this moment, Jin Yuzhen was less anxious about the upcoming separation.

The New Year is approaching, and it is inconvenient for her to accompany Yang Yuan to Song State.

But she was filled with trepidation about her future visit to Song.

Because she didn't know the temperament of Yang Yuan, the noble lady, she was afraid that she would be bullied and humiliated if she went there.

Now that she has Yingge, an ally who once stood by her side to fight against powerful enemies, there will be someone to take care of her in her future trip to Song State.

……

Yang Yuan was as good as his word and indeed he only stayed in Gyeongju for two days.

Two days later, he set off for home.

The cargo ship returning from Dun'en City unloaded a batch of goods in Gyeongju, loaded some Goryeo specialties on board, and carried Yang Yuan and the Goryeo King's delegation, and began its journey to the Song Dynasty.

It was winter and the ship was sailing with the wind at a very fast speed.

At that time, merchant ships from the Song Dynasty and Goryeo would take about seven days to sail from Mingzhou (Ningbo) to reach the Liseong River in Goryeo.

From here, after another three days of sailing, you will reach Bilan Pavilion. After walking ashore for more than 40 miles, you will reach the Goryeo capital of Kaesong.

The entire journey took no more than ten days.

This is the case when there is no favorable wind. If there is a favorable wind, the speed can be doubled and it will take about five or six days to arrive.

The monsoon at this time of year is just right for sailing from north to south, so they arrived at Yanpu Port on the sixth day.

When the Maritime Customs officers of the Yanpu Port boarded the ship for inspection, Huo Chang saw Gao Xin, the judge of the Maritime Customs, and then he took out a secret document.

Judge Gao did not know the existence of the "Good Man Plan", but he could clearly see the pass signed jointly by Prince of Jin Zhao Ju, Prime Minister Shen Gai, and Privy Councilor Yang Cun Zhong.

Gao Xin was secretly surprised. He smiled apologetically and was about to let the boat pass. At this time, a man came out of the cabin and called out, "Gao, wait a minute!"

Gao Xin knew that this ship had a special origin, and seeing the man coming out of the cabin with an imposing manner, he did not dare to neglect him, so he bowed and said, "I wonder if you have called me here, what else do you want?"

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "I am Yang Yuan, the Imperial Academy Scholar who was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Jin. I am back today!"

"What? You are Master Yang?"

Judge Gao was shocked.

The story of top scholar Yang Yuan's diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Jin once became a hotly discussed story among the people of the Song Dynasty.

The story of Yang Yuan beating the big traitor Kong Yanzhou in Yingzhou was adapted into dramas, storytelling and songs by many artists and performed everywhere.

However, after Wanyan Luti and Wanyan Dari rebelled in Shandong and forced the Song Dynasty delegation to cross the sea to Liaodong, this scholar Yang disappeared.

From then on, news about him became increasingly scarce and his popularity gradually faded.

However, in recent days, news about Yang Yuan has once again become a hot topic among the people.

Because rumor has it that Yang Yuan died in the north.

As soon as this news came out, all kinds of strange versions about Yang Yuan's whereabouts appeared.

Judge Gao had just heard a legend about Yang Yuan at the dock:

Legend has it that Yang Yuan was taken to the northern country and one night he met a yellow-skinned man who came to ask for a title.

Scholar Yang was ignorant of northern customs and offended the immortal, so he was cursed, grew red hair, fled into the mountains, and his whereabouts are unknown.

In the blink of an eye, Master Yang was standing in front of him?

Yang Yuan saw his expression and knew that he had heard of him, so he said, "Yes, I have returned from the North Country.

In addition, I am accompanied by an envoy from the King of Goryeo.

They came to congratulate the Great Song Dynasty on its New Year, the change of the reign title, and the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Therefore, please ask the high judge to send a fast horse or boat to report to the court immediately and ask the court to arrange for the reception."

Gao Xin calmed himself down and said hurriedly, "Okay, I will send someone to report to the court right away. Scholar Yang, do you want to stay at the Yanpu Inn for a while and wait for the court's order?"

Yang Fa shook his head and said, "We are a large ship, fully loaded with cargo. Once we enter the inland river, our speed will not be fast. We will just have to slowly make our way to Lin'an."

Gao Xin said: "In this case, I will arrange for the public to see the whole situation."

Judge Gao suddenly got off the merchant ship and when he reached the dock, he excitedly said to a clerk of the Maritime Customs, "Master Yang who was sent to the northern country is back!

Haha, folk rumors are really not credible. He doesn’t have any red hair and he is just a clean-cut top scholar.

Go prepare the speedboat, I will report this to the court immediately!"

At the dock, Nan Fengchi from Xiaoshan Nan's Silk Workshop was picking up a guest from a ship flying the Javanese flag.

The guest was about the same age as Mr. Nanfeng, both around forty years old.

He has the same elegant temperament as Nanfeng Yuanwai, but he is a little thinner than Nanfeng Chi.

These words of Judge Gao and the clerk of the Maritime Customs were overheard by the two of them, and their faces immediately showed surprise.

The guest said to Nan Fengchi, "Brother Nan Feng, I have long heard of the name of this scholar Yang. Could you please introduce him to me?"

Nan Fengchi smiled and said, “Speaking of which, Nan Feng has some connection with this Scholar Yang.

Nanfeng has many business dealings with Mrs. Li of Shifeng.

And this Madam Li had business dealings with Mr. Yang's mansion.

Nan Feng was just thinking of asking Madam Li to help him seek cooperation with the Yang Mansion. Now that we meet here, we should go aboard and pay a visit!"

PS: Two in one, seven thousand words!

(End of this chapter)