Golden Branch

May, early summer.

After being nourished by a spring, the originally dried-up Yi River has become full of water and rippling with waves again.

Hedong County is located on the east bank of the Yi River, hence its name.

The county town is not big. Before the drought, it had a population of more than a thousand households. According to the Zhou Dynasty's classification of counties and prefectures, it was a lower-level county.

However, after three years of drought, the people either fled or died, and now there are only five or six hundred households left in the city.

The population in the city has dropped sharply, and there were riots last winter. The county magistrate fled upon hearing the news, and the county magistrate who stayed behind was killed by the rioters, and the government warehouse was looted.

The county government office was burned down, leaving only broken walls and ruins.

The county town’s walls, moats, etc. are also in dilapidated condition.

It was not until this spring that an army clad in silver armor arrived in Hedong County, repaired the city walls, and appeased the people, barely preventing Hedong County from becoming a den of rioters and bandits.

Last month, General Yang, who occupied Yizhou, sent a county magistrate, who was said to be a son of the top aristocratic family, Wang.

"As expected of a scion of the Wang family, the procession was so grand! The first carriage in the procession had already entered the county government office, while the last carriage was still outside the city gate."

"Two or three hundred of them, all in helmets and armor, looking so majestic. No wonder the insurgents, knowing there was food in Wang's fort, were still helpless."

"And the servants and slaves, all dressed in splendid attire, are more respectable than the ladies of the nobles in our county."

"...More than that, the most dazzling one is the young master of the Wang family, handsome and elegant, like a banished immortal."

As soon as County Magistrate Wang Lin and his family arrived in Hedong County, they became a hot topic of conversation for the people inside and outside the city.

They discussed the wealth of the Wang family, envied the respectability of the Wang family servants, and secretly cared about every move of County Magistrate Wang's family.

For example, before the Wang family arrived at the county government office, they had already sent people to bring boxes of copper coins and carts of grain to recruit craftsmen and farmers.

The Wang family spent their own money to rebuild the dilapidated county government office.

In addition, the Wang family also expanded the back street of the county government office——

According to the official rules of the Zhou Dynasty, government offices were divided into front yamen and back yard.

In the front is the government office, and in the back is the residence of the county magistrate and his family.

There is actually an unwritten rule in official circles: officials do not maintain their offices.

After all, the government remains permanent, but the officials come and go.

The term of office is three years, and when it expires, the officials will be transferred.

Officials and their families were only living there temporarily, so there was no need to spend their own money to repair the government offices.

The Hedong County Government is different this time!

Firstly, the county government office was burned beyond recognition and would be uninhabitable if it was not repaired.

Secondly, the Wang family is a clan and is the most particular.

Even when it comes to food, people pay attention to the principle of "never tire of fine food, never tire of delicate meat", let alone where we live every day?

In addition, Wang Lin brought quite a few family members with him this time.

Even before taking office, in Wang's fortress, Wang Lin and his mother, Madam Xie, had already divided the family, sending away several illegitimate sons who were restless and stirring up trouble, leaving only the three legitimate sons. There were more than a hundred people in these three sons, including masters and servants.

The backyard of the county government office is just a small courtyard with two entrances. It is too cramped for the lady to live in, let alone other masters?

Expansion!

Must expand!

The entire backyard, including the street, is enclosed.

Even so, when all the Wang family members arrived and began to distribute the courtyards, it was still not enough.

Furthermore, Wang Lin wanted to remarry.

He is the head of the Wang family, and the wife he married is the mistress of the family, so the courtyard they live in cannot be too shabby.

Wang Lin's second wife was not from a humble family, but from the famous Cui family in the north.

The Cui family cannot compare with the Wang family, an old clan that has been prosperous for hundreds of years. It is a new upstart that has only risen in the past hundred years.

However, the Cui family has an advantage that the Wang family does not have—

The Cui family is not a pure Han clan. Over the past hundred years, they have intermarried with foreign tribes in the north from time to time.

The Cui family also produced several queens and concubines.

The most famous among them is Empress Yuande, the first empress of the previous emperor.

Empress Yuande and her son, Crown Prince Ai, have both passed away, but the current emperor is her grandson.

Relying on this relationship, the Cui family became one of the most prominent foreign relatives in the capital.

His power was second only to that of the Grand Chancellor.

Last year, the Kuimao Rebellion broke out in the capital. The Grand Chancellor poisoned the emperor and the Cui family was also severely damaged.

However, Empress Yuande's family was just a branch of the Cui family.

The Cui family also has other clansmen.

These clansmen also married into other aristocratic families.

The daughter of the Cui family that Wang Lin married next was from the Helou family, one of the eight great families in the north.

The army stationed in Hedong this time was led by a man named He Lou. Oh no, to be exact, it was Lou.

The previous emperor promoted sinicization, so the Helou family changed their surname to Lou.

"Lou Jin, his father is General Lou Yan, who once garrisoned the Six Garrisons with the Yang family."

"Lou Jin's mother is the daughter of the Cui family—"

Wang Lin's soon-to-be bride is a cousin of Lou Jin.

Wang Lin was appointed as the magistrate of Hedong County, and Lou Jin stationed his troops in Hedong. They also had a "marriage" relationship, which meant a strong alliance.

Wang Lin was no longer afraid of any rioters or rude and arrogant military generals interfering in local affairs!

Therefore, Wang Lin was very satisfied with his new bride, Cui, and the Wang family also showed full sincerity in order to marry Cui.

1. Mrs. Xie gave up the expanded main courtyard on the central axis and left it to Cui as her new home.

Second, the burden left behind by the original wife in the Wang family was "sent" to Madam Xie in advance.

Third, the Wang family offered one hundred kilograms of gold and one hundred volumes of ancient books as a betrothal gift.

Gold is fine, even a poor family can afford it.

But ancient books are very precious.

That was the Wang family's treasure that had been collected for hundreds of years. Not to mention the royal family and aristocratic families, even other clans were coveting it.

The Wang family took out a hundred volumes at once, which was enough to prove how much they valued Cui as their new bride.

……

The eighth day of the fifth month is a good day for marriage.

The day before, the Cui family sent someone to deliver the dowry.

The Wang family has a deep foundation, while the Cui family is wealthy and extravagant. In short: they are not short of money.

More than a hundred loads of dowry poured into the county government office like water, filling the main courtyard where the new house was located.

This does not include furniture, ornaments and other items that have been laid out in advance.

The Cui family's ten-mile red wedding opened the eyes of the people in Hedong County.

Countless people envied and talked about it, and the excitement continued until the day of the wedding ceremony.

The Zhou Dynasty followed the ancient rituals and all marriages were held at dusk, so it was called "hunli".

Wang Lin wore a bright red wedding dress, rode a horse, and led the wedding procession to the post station outside the city.

The Cui family was not in Yizhou, so after the two families agreed on the engagement, the man from the Cui family would send the girl to Yizhou to get married.

Hedong County was too small and didn't even have a decent inn, so the Cui family's wedding party simply stayed at the post station.

Next to the post station is Lou Jin’s military camp and a spacious river channel, which is both safe and convenient.

When we arrived at the post station, the sun was already setting.

Wang Lin followed the ancient rituals and passed the levels one by one.

As a son of an aristocratic family, he was well versed in the six arts of a gentleman, and was able to write poetry, calligraphy, lyrics and prose with ease.

No matter whether it was a difficult question raised by the woman, such as archery or poetry, he handled it with ease.

...Or maybe it has something to do with his experience.

After all, it was not his first time as a groom, so Wang Lin was calm and in good shape.

After going through all the difficulties, the bride was finally picked up. Cui wore a green wedding dress, held a round fan, and sat on the ox cart to welcome the bride.

"Second Mother, put down your fan and take a break."

Cui's personal maid Feicui sat with her in the ox cart. The curtain was lowered and the ox cart started moving.

Jade looked around and found that no one was paying attention, so she whispered advice.

Upon hearing this, Cui did not refuse.

She was also tired of holding the round fan all the time.

"Have you seen my dear? How is he? Is he really as handsome and majestic as the picture shows?"

Cui was only seventeen years old and had a good family background, but she was willing to marry a divorced man, mainly because she liked good-looking men.

"Second Mother, my husband is indeed very handsome, and his demeanor is even more extraordinary!"

"Of course he's not bad! He's the son of the distinguished Wang family of Langya!" This was the second main reason why Cui was willing to be a concubine.

"..." Jade was silent.

No matter how good Mr. Wang is, it's still a remarriage.

Not to mention, the Wang family also has an eldest daughter born to the original wife.

Cui and Feicui have been master and servant for more than ten years and are already very familiar with each other.

Cui glanced at Feicui and knew what she was thinking: "Humph, she's just a little girl of five or six years old, what big waves can she make?"

"Besides, her mother... hmph, with such a disgraceful identity, Wang Lin probably just wants to distance himself from her."

To put it bluntly, Wang Lin’s first wife was a stain on him.

What about Wang Heng? She is both Wang Lin’s biological daughter and the product of a “stain”.

Cui dared to bet that whenever Wang Lin saw his daughter, he would think of his past "humiliation".

He would never like this child.

In the backyard, without her biological mother and disliked by her biological father, Wang Heng was just letting her stepmother manipulate and tame her?!