Chapter 418

On the hillside, watching Lu Junyi's party galloping away on fast horses, leaving a trail of dust, Wang Yan turned his head to look at Wu Song beside him: "Erlang, your elder brother's marriage has been settled; you should also put your mind to your own marriage."

Wu Song had returned this time precisely because of his brother's marriage, to see his sister-in-law. Otherwise, in his daily life, he had many affairs and didn't have much free time.

It was indeed quite difficult for Wu Dalang to find a partner. Young, unmarried girls were unwilling to marry him; after all, he was old and had defects. The only thing worth mentioning was that he could earn money. After all, those who worked for Master Wang all had surplus wealth; this was a consensus.

The Master had been here for more than a year. Although in the mouths of so-called heroes he was a man who deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces, in the mouths of the poor people, he was truly well-regarded. And in Yanggu County, everyone knew what kind of treatment those who worked for the Master received. As the base camp, Wang Family Village, the people here had been related to the Master for generations, and some good jobs were only available in Wang Family Village. In just one year, Wang Family Village had expanded by double, and the treatment of the people in that place was naturally no secret.

Therefore, Wang Family Village was an absolute hotspot for marriage, and in the entire six counties of Yunzhou, and even the entire Jingdong East Circuit, it was a top-tier condition. For an ordinary family, wanting to marry into Wang Family Village was really not an easy thing.

Yet, with this advantage, although it wasn't easy to find a partner for Wu Dalang, after a year, he still found a girl who wasn't exactly stunningly beautiful.

The girl was from the neighboring Dong'e County. She had three younger brothers at home, and she was the only grown girl. The family was extremely poor; her mother tended two acres of thin fields, and her father worked in the county town. Counting all the various taxes and levies, they lived a difficult life, unable to afford the next meal. So when the news reached this side, the girl's parents didn't say a word and agreed directly. They had originally thought about selling the girl to a wealthy family as a slave, so this was just right.

Wu Dalang met her once and was naturally very satisfied. He had originally prepared to find a widow, but now it was a grown girl more than ten years younger than him; he was secretly happy. However, he also knew that no matter how unattractive the girl was, she wouldn't worry about getting married, and she was only with him for the money.

He was frugal in his daily life, and here at the Master's, he was a foreman with a decent monthly wage. Because of his good brother, he also received quite a bit of care in his daily life. Also because of his good brother, Wu Song had done proper work and no longer spent his days drinking and causing trouble, nor did he need him to pay money to apologize; he even gave him a sum of filial money every month. So in the most relaxed year of his life, he had properly saved a sum of money.

Since he knew the girl's family was in it for the money, he would just give the money, and he wasn't afraid of any messy business. His brain was a bit better than Wu Song's, or rather, it was his life experience of being cautious for many years. Firstly, he had a brother, and secondly, he had the Master behind him, and this marriage was also a matter of concern to the Master, so naturally, there weren't so many worries. He would help out whenever he could, as long as this woman lived a good life and bore him sons.

Wu Song cupped his hands: "It is all up to the Master to decide."

"The one living a life with the girl is you, not me. What decision can I make?" Wang Yan shook his head and said: "Unlike your brother, your marriage is easier to talk about. Don't leave for these few days; stay at home and meet the girl."

Wu Song felt a bit embarrassed, let out a chuckle, and didn't say anything more.

"What I told you before about going to the Imperial Guards is almost ready. The Western Army, the Northern Army, and the Imperial Guards stationed in our Jingdong East Circuit—where do you want to go?"

"Go to the Western Army? Unlike the Northern Army, the Western Army always has battles with Western Xia. With Wu Song's ability, the more battles there are, the more I can stand out. With the Master helping Wu Song plan, I think I should be able to hold a certain amount of troops."

Wang Yan shook his head: "Since your brother has already married, you cannot delay either. After such a newlywed period without having enjoyed much affection, going to the Western Army to fight and kill is not good. How about this: stay in the Jingdong East Circuit Imperial Guards as a commander for a period of time first. After you have a son, we can make other plans."

Plans couldn't keep up with changes. He had indeed originally thought about sending Wu Song to the border army, but he had overlooked the marriage matter. It was only when the official reported Wu Dalang's marriage last month that he remembered that as an elder brother, one should care for the younger brother, and there must be human decency. So changing the arrangement for Wu Song didn't matter. It didn't matter if Wu Song didn't directly command troops; slowly contacting and infiltrating was also fine, and waiting was also fine. As for why he still wasted words to ask, it was just a habitual way to win his heart.

"Master..."

"No need to say more, just follow orders."

"Yes, Master."

"Go, tidy up properly. You will be meeting the young lady in these few days."

Wu Song smiled embarrassedly, turned, and left to practice martial arts.

Seeing his appearance, the Master also smiled. This Wu Song was usually cold and aloof, with few people catching his eye, and he wouldn't make a sound when injured or bleeding—a real man. In the past, when women were mentioned, he would look disapproving. Now that his own brother had married and his own affairs were about to be handled, he panicked when the woman was about to be pushed in front of him, and his little heart started thumping.

After giving instructions to the steward beside him, Wang Yan turned and returned to the residence to chat with Jinlian, who had been nervous all along.

Talking and talking, it was still the problem of giving birth to a boy or a girl. Women of this era all had such worries. Ordinary women had significant worries, and with his Master's family business and only one concubine, the pressure was naturally even greater. Although TCM pulse-taking could determine the gender, and he had already found a doctor to take her pulse, who said it was a boy, Pan Jinlian didn't quite believe it; after all, it wasn't as if she hadn't heard of wrong pulse-taking.

"You'll know in another half-month; your wild imagination won't change anything." Looking at Jinlian's worried face, Wang Yan laughed: "Your wild imagination is also likely to hurt the child in your belly. Where is your needlework? Weren't you going to make clothes for the child?"

Pan Jinlian sat sideways on the sofa that the Master had later had someone build, her hands cradling her large belly: "Master, how can this slave not think about it? If it really is a girl, how can Jinlian face people?"

"I am nineteen, you are twenty; we are in our prime. What's the big deal about giving birth to a boy or a girl? There's still a long way to go. If I don't blame you, who else would dare to blame you? Just set your heart at ease. Xiao Lan, go and find the needlework and cloth for making clothes, and find something for the mistress to do, so she doesn't sit idle and let her imagination run wild."

Xiao Lan, who was drowsy on the side, obediently got up, ran into the room, took out a pile of things, and did needlework with Pan Jinlian to make small clothes.

Wang Yan smiled, got up, and went to the west room to write calligraphy...

In the next few days, Wu Song began his matchmaking journey. Unlike Wu Dalang, Wu Song's conditions were there. Although he was only a military officer, he was still an official, and his reputation was not small; he was the number-one leader under the Master. He was tall and big, with a resolute appearance, brave and powerful, and full of heroic spirit—a perfect catch.

Before, Wang Fusheng had already sent people to scout. Now that Wu Dalang had married, those who were paying attention all knew, and they had long been waiting to meet him. So Wu Song was busy day after day, running everywhere in the surrounding ten miles and eight villages, visiting the young ladies of various families.

It was also during this period that Yan Qing, who had left only a few days ago, arrived on a fast horse with two people, expressing his gratitude to Wang Yan and saying that Lu Junyi would send gifts in a few days.

When the Master asked for details, Yan Qing angrily recounted the course of events.

It turned out that after leaving Wang Family Village and returning to Great Ming Prefecture, Yan Qing remembered the Master's words and began to secretly pay attention to Li Gu. He didn't trust what Master Wang said about being able to read people; he was just incomparably loyal to his master, Lu Junyi, and didn't want his master to meet with misfortune, so he wanted to solve the trouble. Plus, he hadn't liked Li Gu in the first place, so he took it as his business.

After finding the accountant to audit some of the accounts from recent years and discovering that Li Gu had embezzled a large sum of money, he had originally wanted to act, but as luck would have it, that day was precisely when Lu Junyi went out hunting, and he used the excuse of feeling unwell to stay at home. It was also like this that he discovered Li Gu having an illicit affair with the mistress, Lady Jia.

He suppressed the murderous intent in his heart and informed Lu Junyi of this matter. Originally, Lu Junyi still didn't believe it; after all, he was fierce and had confidence in himself, thinking that no one would, let alone dare to, do anything to wrong him.

However, Yan Qing's words were firm, and the falsification of accounts was in black and white, which couldn't be denied. So he cooperated, found another opportunity to go out, but actually sneaked back secretly, and caught Lady Jia and Li Gu in bed.

Li Gu was a family slave, so it didn't matter if he was killed; at most, he would pay some fines, so he naturally had no reason to live. When he went out hunting with Lu Junyi, he "accidentally" fell off a cliff and died.

As for Lady Jia, she "died of illness."

This was a true family scandal. Yan Qing could speak of it, and naturally, Lu Junyi had no reason to hide it, which could be considered as accepting Master Wang's favor and sincerely thanking him. If it were an ordinary person, as long as they were narrow-minded, they should have resented Master Wang; after all, if he hadn't been a blabbermouth, there wouldn't have been this troublesome matter. It wouldn't lead to enmity, but it wouldn't lead to closeness either.

Lu Junyi was still sensible, which was not bad.

Wang Yan saw off Yan Qing and also had people prepare for a funeral; after all, his wife had died, so he had to offer some condolences...

In early September, in the middle of the night, the Wang residence was not quiet. In the main room, a woman's painful screams and an old woman's loud shouts for the mistress to push hard could be heard; it was Pan Jinlian in labor. The so-called "child's birthday is the mother's day of suffering"—this was exactly it.

In the backyard garden, the Master sat at a table, drinking the white wine of this era, one sip at a time. It was brewed from pure grain and blended simply. The difference between good wine and bad wine lies in whether the off-flavors are removed; the cleaner it is removed, the better it is. Of course, the alcohol content is also a key measure, but the current distillation technology is poor and far from reaching 50, 60, 70, or 80 degrees. Another point is that the higher the alcohol content, the more grain it consumes.

Undoubtedly, the Master was drinking good wine. However, at a little over 20 degrees, to him, it was like water and not much better than beer—truly grain juice. Having drunk it for more than a year, he had adapted to this taste and could feel the grain aroma in it; drinking it was actually quite good. Of course, the key was adaptation.

The reason he didn't make distilled liquor himself was also because of this, and another reason was that liquor was state-run. Compared to his current business, brewing liquor was not the optimal choice. After all, there were many profitable trades; why be confined to brewing? Of course, he didn't brew and sell on a large scale, but he did make things like alcohol.

Wu Song was a drunkard who loved to drink, so he also blended some 50-plus degree liquor to supply him. If he didn't, this kid would sneak off to drink alcohol... His role as an elder brother was more than enough...

Listening to the painful screams coming from inside, the Master looked up at the nearly full moon and drank wine to himself.

"Young Master, the mistress will definitely be fine; she will definitely give birth to a big, fat boy." Wang Fusheng waved a fan, helping the young master swat away the annoying flies, and said comforting words; at this time, one had to hold on.

Wang Yan shook his head and smiled, pouring a cup of wine for the old steward: "Uncle Fu, I'm not worried. I know her situation; there's no problem. I'm just thinking of a name for the child. Also, you can't call me Young Master anymore."

Wang Fusheng was stunned for a moment and laughed heartily: "Yes, yes, there will soon be a little young master. I really didn't expect it. Then from now on, should I call you Master?"

After saying this, Wang Fusheng smacked his lips and shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, that sounds too old, too old. Let's just call you Proprietor; what do you think, Proprietor?"

"Whatever you like, it's up to your mood."

"Hey, alright, Proprietor. Tomorrow I must give instructions; the young master is now a father, so we can't call him that anymore. Then, Proprietor, what name did you give the little young master?"

"Qingyuan."

"Good, good name."

Wang Yan laughed heartily and clinked glasses with the old steward to drink one. Whatever name he gave, people would say it was good; who would dare say it wasn't? As for this name, of course, there was no special intention. After all, he had long since grown tired of naming children, but as the father, he had to name him. In his boredom, he happened to estimate it and used his still-ineffective I Ching to calculate for this eldest son. Hmm, he lacked water in his fate, so this name came to be.

Just as the two were drinking, the sounds in the room suddenly became urgent.

"Mistress, push, push."

"It's out, it's out."

Following Pan Jinlian's scream of relief, the midwife shouted happily. Immediately, Master Wang's son received his first beating upon birth—a tiny little thing, squinting his eyes, pulling his throat, and crying with all his might, announcing his arrival to this world.

Not long after, Cuiping ran out excitedly: "Young Master, Young Master, the mistress has given birth; it's a little young master, it's a little young master."

Wang Yan laughed heartily, turned his head to look at the old steward: "Uncle Fu, set up a banquet tomorrow night and let the people in the village have a lively time. When the full month comes, remember to remind me to set up a flowing banquet."

"Rest assured, Young... Proprietor, I won't forget, I won't forget." Wang Fusheng was even more excited than Wang Yan, the father; this was a major event—the old Wang family had an heir.

After waiting for a while, the two midwives and the maids cleaned up, wiped Pan Jinlian and the child's bodies, fed Pan Jinlian some porridge to restore her strength, and fed the child some milk. Wang Yan also handled the placenta before going in to hold his son.

He was just born, all shriveled up—they're all like that. But looking at his eyebrows and eyes, he was also a handsome one. After looking for a while, he casually handed the child to the old steward, who had arranged for the midwife to come near.

The Master sat down by the bed, looked at the exhausted Pan Jinlian, and held her hand.

"Master..."

Wang Yan stroked her wet hair: "You can rest easy now. You are a great contributor; get some good rest."

Pan Jinlian said "Mm," closed her eyes in satisfaction, and before long, she fell into a deep sleep...

---Side Note---

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