Chapter 427: I Wish to Take Another Concubine

Dong Ping was a sturdy man, seven feet tall with a majestic appearance, looking every bit the righteous warrior; his features were handsome and his bearing imposing. He had broad shoulders and a thick torso, with long arms and a "general's belly" that signified his strength.

He was the Military Inspector of Yunzhou, one of the high-ranking martial officers of the Imperial Guard stationed in Yunzhou, commanding over a thousand troops. Although Wu Song was a commander of the garrison troops, he was still under Dong Ping's jurisdiction, so Dong Ping held considerable power.

Of course, in an era like the Song Dynasty, military power did not necessarily equate to social status. Even as a commander of an army holding such authority, he would not dare to talk back if the Magistrate of Yanggu County were to spray insults directly into his face, despite his own official rank being higher. He would have to swallow his anger; if it were a civil official of equal rank, he wouldn't even dare to be angry. Such was the reality.

Thus, facing a "Great Official" like Wang Yan who could directly meet the Emperor, Dong Ping was even more cautious. Though he appeared righteous on the outside, the sycophancy he revealed was visible at a glance.

Taking a sip of tea, the Great Official looked smilingly at the "General of Twin Spears," who was sitting on pins and needles and offering a fawning smile: "Er Lang says you wish to seek refuge under Wang Mou's banner."

"Yes, Great Official. I have long heard that you are virtuous, polite, and widely perform good deeds, possessing a reputation for wisdom. I will not hide it from you, Great Official: I have been to Yanggu County before, but compared to now, it is like two different cities. In terms of the prosperity of the marketplace, it even surpasses the prefectural government of Dong Ping. The people here live in peace and work in contentment, and are wealthy—this is entirely due to your merit, Great Official. With such ability to govern, for you to be a mere idle landlord in Yanggu County is truly a waste of your talents. The current Emperor is diligent in governance and has a keen eye for talent; one day, your rise to become a general or a minister will be a matter of course."

This was a man spouting nonsense without knowing the inside story. If Zhao Ji truly wanted him to do things, giving him a position as a magistrate with the status of a Jinshi would not be a problem, and at the very least, he could go to the Western Army to fight the Western Xia. Dong Ping, of course, did not know the underlying connections; he was just licking boots hard.

Wang Yan nodded, accepting the hollow flattery, and said calmly: "Previously, Wang Mou expressed a desire for closeness to you, but you rejected my good intentions. I wonder why you are now taking the initiative to seek me out?"

"In the past, I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai, and could not see your capabilities, Great Official. Although I am a military man, I have courage and strength, and I usually look down on ordinary people. Now, you are wealthy and powerful, Great Official, and have even been summoned by the Emperor; your future is boundless..."

Wang Yan waved his hand to interrupt him, no longer wanting to listen to his flattery, and asked straightforwardly: "You come to me—what are you seeking?"

Seeing that the Great Official had relented, Dong Ping, whose buttocks had only been perched on the edge of the chair, suddenly stood up and bowed deeply: "I leave everything to your decision, Great Official."

Watching the bow that was more than ninety degrees, Wang Yan shook his head and smiled; his flexibility was quite good. Was he not kneeling on one knee to preserve a shred of his own dignity?

The prefect named Cheng Wanli had not yet arrived, and no one knew what Dong Ping had done. Moreover, he did indeed have martial arts skills, and his position was decent. Since he had taken the initiative to seek a future, there was naturally no reason to refuse.

As the introducer, Wu Song was also on the side, chewing on the bitter tea leaves in his mouth with a slouching attitude. He chewed tea leaves because his wife had recently forbidden him from drinking alcohol, and he was a heavy drinker; whenever he drank anything, whether plain water or tea, he would pine for a bit of wine. At this moment, seeing his superior in such a state before the Great Official, he curled his lip, looking down on him—he had no backbone.

The Great Official did not speak, just watching Dong Ping bow quietly. After a long while, having finished a cup of tea, he tapped the table: "Alright, sit down."

"Thank you, Great Official." Dong Ping stood up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and sat down cautiously. Heaven knows what he had just endured; the Great Official's aura was so overwhelming that it frightened him so much he didn't dare to breathe.

"The situation on the Song-Xia border is tense, and the fighting there is the most intense; there are opportunities to perform meritorious service and be promoted. I have some dealings with the Zhong family in Qingjian, and I can recommend you to go there as a commander. It's just that you are currently commanding over a thousand Imperial Guards, and your days are peaceful with no danger. But if you go to the Western Army, you will only be able to lead five hundred troops and will have to face life and death on the battlefield. I wonder if you are willing to go?"

Dong Ping's expression changed. He had not expected the Great Official to send him directly to the front line. He was, of course, not afraid, but by comparison, he still wanted to linger here. After all, life was peaceful, and there was nothing going on. He had thought the Great Official would maneuver things to make him a general commanding troops of a circuit, never expecting to be sent directly to the battlefield. However, things had reached this point, and he had no reason to refuse.

"I am willing to go. If you want me to go, Great Official, there must be a reason. I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse."

Wang Yan nodded and said: "Since you are willing to go, then it is settled. If there is nothing else, go drink with Wu Song. I have important matters to attend to, so I will not keep you company."

Dong Ping hurriedly stood up, bowing again: "Thank you, Great Official."

Wang Yan waved his hand, watching Wu Song—who looked happy upon hearing about drinking, but reluctant and conflicted about accompanying Dong Ping—and chuckled. With his hands behind his back, he turned and walked out, returning to the study in the west room of the main house to write letters.

There were two letters in total: one sent to the Zhong family, and one sent to the chief official in charge of troops in the Jingdong Jingdong Xilu. They stated two things: one was to transfer Dong Ping to the Western Army, and the other was to promote Wu Song to the position of Military Inspector of Yunzhou...

This Dong Ping was still sensible and did not say anything else. If he had refused, within a month, Dong Ping would have been reduced to a common foot soldier. He did not think much of Dong Ping; after all, he had no character. Betraying the city gates, killing an entire family, and then marrying the daughter—this was truly unjustifiable. How could such a person accomplish great things? If this fellow were to catch a glimpse of the great things the Great Official was doing, he would choose to betray him ninety-nine percent of the time.

However, the man did have courage and strength, and could be used, so there was no reason not to use him. Sending him to the Western Army to fight and die, and then getting a few more people to serve under him to silently infiltrate—that was quite good.

The main issue was that time was too short. He was still in the starting phase; his influence looked large, but in reality, it was very thin. His business mainly relied on the output from Wang Family Manor. Although there were industries outside, most were bought with money and were far from being rooted. To truly become solid, it would take several years of accumulation. By making a fortune with fresh, trans-era products, the further he went, the deeper and stronger his influence would become.

After writing the two letters and handing them to his subordinates to be sent out, Wang Yan walked leisurely around the manor with his hands behind his back, inspecting the various industries.

After more than a year, Wang Family Manor was no longer the manor of only a few dozen households it once was.

Because of the massive demand for labor brought by the constantly expanding various industries, coupled with the fact that the Great Official had always provided excellent benefits and treatment, the work here was naturally highly sought after, and people flocked to it.

And here at Wang Family Manor, although it was still a village, because of the various products produced and the department store supermarket specially opened by the Great Official, as well as other auxiliary living facilities...

The village school was now increasingly large, and it was not only the children of Wang Family Manor who studied here; nearby manors would also send their children to study here. There was no help for it; the school was too good. There were more than a dozen father-and-son teachers, and they had opened several classes separated by age and academic progress, refining the Four Books and Five Classics, teaching in stages, and serving meat at every meal. Education was free for children who settled in Wang Family Manor, and for children from outside, as long as they passed an exam, they could enroll, paying only ordinary tuition; for those from poor families, even that was not required. If children from wealthy families wanted to get in, they couldn't even if they threw money at it if they couldn't pass the exam.

Furthermore, Wang Yan had always encouraged settling down in Wang Family Manor, and he handled all the various exploitative taxes on their behalf. Although they still paid, overall it was much less, and they certainly wouldn't fall to the point of killing children as soon as they were born—it was incredibly good. Moreover, no one here, regardless of gender or age, was idle; everyone was arranged with work. With work, a good school, lower taxes, higher earnings, and a good quality of life, the scale of Wang Family Manor naturally grew larger and larger.

Various factories were built five miles away from Wang Family Manor, and newly relocated households built houses on the flat land along both banks of the small river in the village, stretching all the way to the foot of the mountain, with every household raising chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, pigs, and sheep—it could be considered moderately prosperous.

These people who had relocated were now mostly the propertyless from Yanggu County. In another year, those who came would be from the areas around Yanggu, and in two years, it would be from the entire Great Song.

Of course, he couldn't do that; after all, if Wang Family Manor grew to that extent, his influence would be too great. His plan was to disperse the industries, striving to have Wang Family Manor across the north and south of the Great River. After all, gathering in one place versus dispersing—although the strength remained the same, the perception was quite different, and it wouldn't be too alarming. On the other hand, it would also facilitate simultaneous infiltration in many places, using points to lead the whole. When that time came, he would tidy up the old mountains and rivers...

After dinner, in the main house, Wang Yan was playing with the little one as usual, while Jin Lian, who was making clothes, would occasionally tilt her head to look at the playing father and son, and then continue her needlework happily.

It was a very harmonious, very beautiful ancient daily life, but it was always destined to be broken.

"My lady."

"Da Guanren?"

The Great Official turned his head to look at her: "I wish to take another concubine."

As soon as the words fell, Pan Jinlian let out a cry of pain; it was because she had accidentally pricked her finger with the needle, and a bead of blood instantly flowed out. She wrapped the blood on her finger to herself and said in a muffled voice: "I am only a concubine; if you wish to take another concubine, you don't need to tell me."

This was, of course, angry talk. Women are always saying one thing and meaning another, aren't they? Of course, one cannot say it's just women; everyone has this problem. It's just that in matters between men and women, women's saying one thing and meaning another is more prominent.

"When you came, I told you that I had no intention of taking a legal wife within a few years. Originally, this woman was someone Uncle Fu had heard of, and was to be a legal wife. But considering you, I let her be a concubine. Once she enters the Wang family's door, she will be equal to you, and when she enters, she will still have to call you sister."

He made Jin Lian sound very important, and made the new concubine sound very high-status, lowering Jin Lian's expectations to make her more accepting. This was the art of speaking, the art of lying.

Actually, he didn't need to say much to Jin Lian; she was just a concubine, with no human rights. Although it was said that the status of women in the Song Dynasty was not bad, that was only for ordinary people. In a household like Great Official Wang's, what status did women have? There weren't that many issues. It was just that the Great Official cared for her, loved her, and didn't want his own household to be restless.

Jin Lian's eyes were filled with tears, watery like a pitiful little kitten: "I am not ignorant. The Wang family has such a great estate, and the family line is not prosperous; you must certainly want to have more children to inherit it. How could I resent my husband? Da Guanren, the night is deep, let's rest early. I want to give you another son..."

Arguing didn't solve problems. On the other hand, between the sheets, she also felt that she was not up to the task; the Great Official could not be satisfied, so she used both hands and mouth.

Of course, the main thing was that she had no choice. A woman with no one to rely on, what else could she do...

At Hu Family Manor, Hu Cheng looked at the letter in his hand, his face full of worry.

What did the letter say? It wanted his Hu family's precious pearl, the little sister he had pampered since childhood, to be a concubine for someone? And it was written by a steward? This was truly bullying them too...

Hu Cheng calmed down. After all, with Wang Yan's heaven-reaching influence, what did it matter if he bullied their Hu family? And truth be told, originally he had wanted his little sister to marry Wang Yan, which would have been climbing the social ladder. Now that the other party had replied wanting his little sister as a concubine, his first reaction was anger. But his second reaction was to study the benefits of being a concubine.

Although their Hu family was of one mind with the nearby Zhu Family Manor and Li Family Manor, over these many years, there had been many frictions in the internal dealings of the three families. And among the three, the Zhu Family Manor was the strongest; if they got desperate, they could pull out three thousand adult males, including guards and tenant farmers. Their Hu family only had eight hundred or a thousand people, and their combat effectiveness was much worse, so they had suffered many grievances.

But with Wang Yan's massive financial resources, and those terrifying relationship networks woven with money—to say nothing else, just a great eunuch like Yang Jian coming to this Jingdong Jingdong Xilu, a single name could suppress many people. How powerful must those others he didn't know be?

Once their Hu family had a marriage connection with Wang Yan, then by borrowing such influence, and participating in Wang Yan's business, their Hu family would rise three stories in one leap. At that time, the Zhu family? The Li family? What were they?

Gritting his teeth, this was a major matter concerning the family's future great cause. Even if he pampered his little sister, he couldn't be hesitant at this time. And women, after all, always had to marry. By comparison, the three sons of the Zhu family weren't even fit to carry Wang Yan's shoes. And Wang Yan had such influence; if it were someone else, they would have had a pile of women long ago, but until now, he only had one concubine, and that concubine lived very well.

He had inquired about it; the concubine named Pan Jinlian lived a top-notch life. She could show her face, go wherever she wanted, and it was obvious how much Wang Yan pampered her. Although his little sister was three parts less beautiful than her, she was still incomparable to ordinary people. He thought that being a concubine to him would certainly not mean suffering grievances. Moreover, Wang Yan's reputation for loving martial arts was known throughout the Great Song, and his little sister could fight better than he, her big brother, so they were compatible; it would certainly be fine.

Of course, this was him convincing himself. At this point, he had to agree no matter what. If she suffered mistreatment in the past, so be it. If sacrificing his little sister could bring about family prosperity, it was a profit no matter how you looked at it.

Having convinced himself, Hu Cheng slapped his thigh, stood up, and left to find his father.

San Niang had to go whether she wanted to or not; she was destined to be a concubine, and she couldn't be willful...

---Author's Note---

Thanks to (Fei Fei Fei Fei Lai Le) and (Tianshan Xiongying) for their continued support.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who voted for monthly tickets.

Thanks to all the brothers who voted for recommendations.

Thanks to the brothers who read silently for their support. ===== CHAPTER 428 =====