Han officials

Chapter 213: Yin is strong and Yang is weak [12]

In the evening, the autumn breeze already brought a hint of coolness.

As the sun set, the once spacious official road was now bustling with traffic. One after another, varnished carriages, gently pulled by yellow horses, slowly made their way toward a mansion that, despite its understated elegance, exuded luxury. Nearly every carriage was guarded by elegantly dressed riders. However, these riders, who seemed like nobles to the common people, were in reality merely the nobles' escorts.

As carriages stopped in front of the mansion, these riders were not even qualified to enter and were led to the servants' courtyard halfway. Outside the mansion, more than ten servants in plain caps and white clothes were waiting, ready to take orders at any time.

"Brother Guangyuan, why is your trip so simple today?"

At the gatehouse, a young man wearing a turban and a red robe jokingly asked, "Could it be that you got drunk somewhere else yesterday and got punished by your mother?"

The young man being teased by this person was also from a noble family. He didn't get angry when he heard it, but laughed and said, "So what if it's a black-covered carriage? Does it really insult my elegance?"

The so-called "black-covered carriage" was actually a two-person carriage, with no screens in the carriage, only a black cover above, allowing passengers to look around freely. It was a light and swift "light carriage." However, even this unassuming means of transportation cost ten or even a hundred gold coins.

The young man in red couldn't help but shook his head helplessly when he heard this: "Liu Guangyuan, you are really not particular about trivial matters!"

After chatting for a while, the man smiled and sent the person into the main hall.

Today is his mother's birthday, and everyone who comes is a guest. The young man in red dare not slack off in the slightest.

As the clan's influence declined, the young man in red clothes became less and less willing to lose face over such trivial matters.

However, what he feared came to pass. When he saw a black-covered carriage approaching, he originally thought that it was also a guest coming to the banquet. However, when he saw Geng Wu getting off the carriage, the young man in red clothes was suddenly shocked.

"Brother Wenwei, why are you here?"

"Why, you don't welcome me?" Geng Wu smiled indifferently.

As the former Chief Secretary of Jizhou and a member of a famous family in Jizhou, Geng Wu was naturally familiar with Zhen Yao.

Before Zhen Yao could react, Geng Wu smiled and walked up to him, holding his hand. "Take me to meet the old lady! The wealth of your Zhen family has arrived!"

He was not worried at all about being captured by Zhen Yao and handed over to Yuan Shao. Instead, he looked around like a master.

Seeing this, Zhen Yao came to his senses and was immediately confused about what Geng Wu was up to.

However, Zhen Yao did not dare to leave Geng Wu outside to show off, so he did not bother to welcome the guests and personally led him to the backyard. Soon they arrived at Lihua Garden where his mother lived to ask for a meeting.

A moment later, a graceful old woman with a high bun appeared in front of Geng Wu.

It is a bit of a stretch to call her an old lady. Although she is already fifty years old, she looks like she is in her forties and still has her charm. You can tell at first glance that she is a woman who is used to a life of luxury and has never suffered hardship in her life.

In fact, this is indeed the case. The old lady's maiden family, Zhang from Changshan, was a well-known family in the county. After marrying Zhen Yi, her wealth and status became even greater than before. If her husband had not died in his prime, leaving her to take care of the family business, she might have looked even younger now.

Therefore, Zhang was not an ignorant woman or child.

She was able to support the huge Zhongshan Zhen family business after her husband's death. Her insight and skills were first-class.

So when Geng Wu approached to pay his respects, Zhang did not lose her composure at all. Instead, she smiled kindly and chatted with her about family matters. In fact, the two of them were somewhat related, after all, the Zhang family of Changshan and the Geng family of Julu had also married.

Seeing this, Geng Wu knew that the old lady was not easy to fool, so he immediately got straight to the point.

No one knew what he said, but before Zhang could even open her mouth, Zhen Yao, who was standing beside her, became so angry that his face turned red.

However, before the son could speak, Zhang stopped him with her eyes.

Even after Geng Wu finished speaking, Zhang smiled calmly and asked someone to lead him downstairs to rest.

It was not until Geng Wu's figure disappeared from Lihua Garden that Zhen Yao angrily said, "Mother, why should you be polite to that guy? Since he has insulted our Zhen family today, he has not taken the relationship between our two families into consideration. In my opinion, it is better to send him to Yecheng. Maybe I can find a prefectural position for my brother." Because his father and eldest brother died young, the only one left in the officialdom of the Zhongshan Zhen family is Zhen Yan, the second son.

After Yuan Shao took office as governor of Jizhou, he promoted Zhen Yan to the position of Grand General in order to win over the aristocratic families of Jizhou. He later appointed him the Magistrate of Quliang in Zhao State, effectively winning over the Zhen family. If Zhen Yao, the youngest son, hadn't been required to stay behind to handle the reception and farewell duties, he might have been able to secure an official position.

But when he said this, Zhang shook her head with disappointment.

"Do you really think he's here to humiliate my family?"

"Isn't it?" Zhen Yao said, half angry and half puzzled: "Letting my daughter of the Zhen family be someone's concubine, isn't this a humiliation?"

After saying this, Zhen Yao gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, saying, "This is a truly humiliating shame!"

Seeing him behave like this, Zhang suddenly felt a headache and sighed, and she had completely given up hope in her heart.

Although parents always favor their youngest son, Zhang also has to be responsible for the Zhen family.

"If you still recognize me as your mother, you should not take up official duties in the future. Just stay in the mansion and take care of household affairs."

After issuing a ban reluctantly, Zhang called all her daughters to Lihua Garden.

I don’t know why, but in recent years, the Zhen family in Zhongshan has been showing a trend of more female than male.

None of Zhang's three sons was talented. Even the second son Zhen Yan, who served as an official outside, was just an average person.

In contrast, Zhang's five daughters, Zhen Jiang, Zhen Tuo, Zhen Dao, Zhen Rong, and Zhen Mi, were each more intelligent than the other. Even though the youngest daughter, Zhen Mi, was only nine years old, Zhang believed her insights surpassed those of her second brother.

For example, at this moment, after listening to her mother's explanation of Geng Wu's purpose, while her sister Zhen Rong was still feeling embarrassed and angry, Zhen Mi began to think intently like a little adult.

After a moment, Zhen Mi looked at Zhang and said, "Mother, this may not be a bad thing."

Hearing this, no matter how much Zhen Yao loved his sister in the past, he couldn't help but glare at her: "What do you know, little kid? It's your fourth sister who's going to marry as a concubine!"

Because the three sisters Zhen Jiang, Zhen Tuo and Zhen Dao have all married, the only two daughters in the Zhen family who are waiting to be married are Zhen Rong and Zhen Mi, and Zhen Rong is the only legitimate daughter of marriageable age.

However, the young Zhen Mi was not intimidated at all. Instead, she gave her third brother a coquettish look and said, "You are still studying? Haven't you seen the Yin family of Nanyang?"

Zhen Yao was stunned when he heard this: "What does this have to do with the Nanyang Yin Clan?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Mi sighed deeply and couldn't help but make the same move as Zhang just now.

"Brother, have you forgotten that Empress Guanglie was once Emperor Guangwu's concubine?"

Although Yin Lihua was once Emperor Guangwu's white moonlight, she was not the founding empress of this dynasty.

Emperor Guangwu made her empress only after he deposed Empress Guo Shengtong.

And her experience was even more humiliating. She was demoted from the original wife to a concubine, and later became the principal wife again.

No matter how dumb Zhen Yao was, he finally reacted when he heard his sister talking about this.

However, Zhang no longer wanted to hear her son's opinion. She turned to look at Zhen Rong and Zhen Mi, the two sisters standing beside her: "Rong'er, what do you think?"

Zhang wasn't trying to advocate for freedom of marriage, but she wanted to hear her two daughters' opinions...

(End of this chapter)