The first meeting of the main members of the Yang family came to an end in a warm, peaceful, and united atmosphere. All the members of the meeting communicated with each other and expressed their confidence and wishes for the future development of the Yang family. The first meeting was a complete success.
After the meal, Taomei and Third Sister came in with towels, bottles, and cups. They helped them rinse their mouths and hands, and wiped their faces with hot towels. Then, they removed the leftover banquet and served some dried fruits, drinks, and hot milk.
Wan'er and Xiao Man both came quietly. Third Sister and Taomei had been strictly warned by Xiao Man not to reveal anything to the people in the house. Even so, they only knew that these two were Ah Lang's confidantes, but did not know their identities and names.
Ah Nu and Xiao Man were close in age, and they had discussed robbing the execution field together, so they had a good chat. Xiao Man's back was sore from sitting for a long time, so she pulled A 'Nu and intimately went up to the bed that was covered with soft bedding. They continued to chat excitedly, and from time to time, the two of them would even get together like a lotus flower, whispering to each other. No one knew what they were talking about.
This was the most intimate and most intimate behavior. If she treated the other party as an outsider, even if it was the closest guest, the hostess would not lie on the bed and chat with the other party. It was very rude. She could do this because she treated the other party as her closest sister. Even the closest relatives had different ages. If the other party was her elder or junior, it was also impossible to meet her like this.
"Women are really strange creatures!"
Yang Fan secretly sighed with emotion. Looking at the intimate appearance of the two people, he even suspected that the secret fight on the table just now was completely an illusion of his.
Seeing Ah Nu and Xiao Man chatting very intimately to the point that they completely ignored his existence, Yang Fan, who was pushed aside, rubbed his nose. From the bottom of his heart, he felt that his sister Wan'er was still the most gentle and considerate man who knew how to take care of her. So, he took the bowl of lotus seed soup from Wan'er and put it on the table. He took Wan'er's fox fur hat from behind the screen and put it on her. He smiled gently and said, "Wan'er, come with me to the garden!"
Yang Fan was only wearing a light fur coat. He did not mind that it was snowing outside. It was a cold and windy season. He stepped into the garden with Wan 'er.
"What are you thinking about?"
After walking a dozen steps, Wan'er looked at Yang Fan, who was deep in thought. She broke the silence between them with a faint smile.
The beauty in the snow was especially charming. Although Wan'er was more than ten years older than Ah Nu and Xiao Man, her appearance was not inferior to Ah Nu and Xiao Man, but her temperament was much more stable than Ah Nu and Xiao Man. At this moment, the side of her face was smiling, but there was a kind of playfulness to it.
Yang Fan laughed and said, "I'm not thinking about anything. I just feel that the snowflakes are especially quiet. With you by my side, my heart is very peaceful. It's rare for me to enjoy it."
Wan'er curled her lips and mercilessly exposed his hypocrisy. "In front of me, you still want to wear your fur coat inside out? Pretending!"
Yang Fan chuckled and said, "The Emperor is the ruler of the world. The ruler of the world will wear a crown on his head. The crown will hang two pieces of jade next to his ears. That is called 'ear filling'. It is to turn a deaf ear. The Emperor, you don't have to listen to what you shouldn't listen to. Even if you hear it, you have to pretend you don't hear it. The front and back of the crown will hang jade, which means you have to turn a blind eye. You don't have to look at what you shouldn't see. Even if you see it, you have to pretend you don't see it.
If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. It is like this in the court, and it is also like this in a family. A man is the head of a family. In fact, in this aspect, he is the same as the Emperor. When it is time to pretend to be ignorant, you have to be ignorant. If you don't want to rub sand in your eyes, if you want everything to be under your control, if you want everyone to act according to your wishes, then you are a madman. "
Wan'er giggled and said, "I said, how can you be so dull? You are quite open-minded."
She turned her face and smiled at Yang Fan charmingly. "Are you really not angry?"
Yang Fan put his hands behind his back and proudly replied, "What is there to be angry about? I believe my woman knows her limits. I also believe that I can control this family! "
Wan'er began to pout again. "Shameless!"
Yang Fan laughed and puffed out white smoke, which turned into all kinds of shapes in the air.
On the table, there was an undercurrent between the three girls. How could Yang Fan not see it? Even if he didn't feel it at first, he would have felt it later.
However, he really wasn't worried.
In fact, thousands of years of male society had built a strict and tight family system. Most successful men had three wives and four concubines. It wasn't strange for them to have more than ten concubines. It was normal for women to have one husband and compete with each other for favor. It would be abnormal if they didn't do it.
But this kind of competition was to be gentle in front of the Langjun, flattering him in every possible way. They showed their lovely side and used their advantages to win more love from him. Very few people would slander other women and play tricks to win their husband's favor. Because the risks and benefits of doing this were completely disproportionate.
If you really used some despicable means, how many people could you hide it from? How long could you hide it? Especially for a man of such status, which one of them wasn't knowledgeable and scheming? A woman who was born in a house, grew up in a house, and raised in a house, could really play around with him? Men were all fools, and in the end, they could only be fools themselves.
Of course, most of the harmony between wives and concubines was not because of feelings, but because of rules. If you broke the rules, you would become the public enemy of the house. Even if the husband didn't hate you, there were still elders, families, and above that, the government. There were laws and layers of restrictions that would punish you.
Others didn't say anything, but if you dared to make trouble in the house, the first wife could use the family law to punish you! If there was really a family that made trouble in the house, it would become a rare big news. It would spread everywhere, and the whole family would be disgraced. They would become the object of ridicule by other men and women.
"Jin Ping Mei" and "Dream of the Red Chamber" were all stories of wealthy families. She had never seen those clever, clever, and beautiful women in those stories use such underhanded methods to win the favor of their husbands. Or they dote on their husbands so much that they forbid their husbands from touching other women. Even Wang Xifeng had never done such a thing. If she wanted to challenge the feudal system, even someone as shrewd as her would be crushed to pieces.
The real drama of fighting in the house was a work that was produced in modern times to cater to the modern marriage system. Those who followed the rules took it for granted and used the methods of intrigue in the workplace and the government on a group of women in big houses. They deliberately made it more bloody and painted a tragic scene.
Of course, it was different inside the Imperial Palace. Things like Wu Zetian's and Empress Wang's intense fight had happened in every dynasty. This was because that was the Imperial Palace. They were fighting to be the Empress, and they were fighting to have their sons become the Crown Prince. Compared to fighting for favor in big families, the benefits were boundless. If you won, you could change the rules, and you could set new rules. There were no higher rules above you to punish you.
Even so, the reason why Wu Zetian was able to successfully ascend to the throne, other than her scheming and collusion with foreign officials, Li Zhi's own support was also an important reason. Because Li Zhi hoped to break away from the control of the aristocratic families, and Empress Wang was supported by the aristocratic families. She was their spokesperson in the Imperial Palace. This already involved a political struggle.
As for the healthy competition in the house, hahaha …
These three women were all smart. They knew when to advance and retreat, and they knew what was important. Wan 'er was a lady of a noble family. Her breadth of mind was nurtured by her family background, and her vision was cultivated by the Empress. As for Xiao Man, this girl was not jealous at all. She just liked to show off her husband's love to others.
A Nu was more meticulous, but she was not narrow-minded. Moreover, she knew that she was planning to deal with Young Master Jiang, and it was very risky. If she was not careful, she would be hurt, and even Wan 'er and Xiao Man would not be happy. A Nu was self-abased and self-pitying. She had long taken the blame for this. She felt that she had implicated Yang Fan and Yang Fan's family. How could she sincerely oppose Wan 'er and Xiao Man?
During the dinner, she, her and her, the reason why the three women were like this was mostly intentional. They just couldn't bear to see Yang Fan like an old fox who had stolen seven or eight hens in one breath. They sat steadily and laughed happily. They might be a little unhappy in their hearts, but that was the extent of it.
They would not cross the line, and they would not do anything out of line. What did Yang Fan have to worry about?
The Empress said it well, "I am not afraid of chaos, I am afraid of no chaos!"
Official Yang thought, "I am not afraid of fighting, I am afraid of not fighting!"
Wan 'er, Xiao Man, and Ah Nu, which one of them would fight for status or family property? If they wanted to fight, they would fight for him to treat them with more gentleness and love. He was happy to see it happen.
At first, Wan 'er was worried that the little temper of the three of them would make Yang Fan unhappy. When she came out with him, she wanted to explain. Seeing that he saw it so clearly, she was relieved.
The two of them chatted and laughed for a while. Then Wan 'er chatted casually and talked about business. She walked side by side with Yang Fan and said, "The Zhang brothers are now very favored by His Majesty. Zhang Yi has been promoted from Shangcheng to the Minister of Defense a few days ago. Zhang Changzong was directly promoted from a Bai Yi to Yunhui General and Zuo Qianniu Zhonglang General. He felt that his position was too low, so yesterday His Majesty made him a Zuo Sanqi Chang Waiter."
This was information. If you knew many things one step ahead of others, you could grasp a lot of things in time, especially some changes in personnel. As long as Wan 'er saw Yang Fan, she would tell Yang Fan about the movements of the court and the latest situation that she knew.
Wan 'er whispered to Yang Fan about things in the palace. In front of them, there was a small bridge. There was snow on the bridge. Yang Fan was worried that she would slip, so he helped her. Wan 'er smiled sweetly at him because of her Langjun's considerate action.
Yang Fan was surprised and said, "These two have only been in the palace for a few days, and they have risen so quickly?"
Wan 'er charmingly looked at him and joked, "Yes, they have risen much faster than you. I think it won't be long before they will rise. Xue Huaiyi is a Marquis, and sooner or later these two will have the title of Marquis. It's a pity that my Langjun has worked hard in the Western Regions, but he didn't even get a small Baron. Do you want to … go to the palace and serve His Majesty?"
Yang Fan patted her plump buttocks through the soft fur of the fur coat and said with a smile, "I don't have high ambitions. I just want to serve my Lady Wan 'er well. As for the Empress, I won't compete with the Zhang brothers for her favor, lest they come after me with their lives!"
Wan 'er covered her mouth and laughed, "Serving others doesn't give you fame, wealth, and splendor."
Yang Fan gently kissed her cheek. It was cool and smooth like soft jade. Yang Fan softly said, "With such a beautiful family, it is enough!"
Crossing the small bridge, there was a forest in front of them. In the heavy snow, the branches that had lost their leaves were covered with a layer of white snow, like the branches of a jade tree. Stepping on the snow, the two slowly walked in the snowy forest.
Yang Fan sighed and said, "Master Xue received the title of Duke two years ago. He has served His Majesty for more than ten years. Even so, His Majesty first arranged for him to lead the army to fight against the Turks, and then used the great victory to make him a Duke. Now these two boys … Isn't His Majesty worried that the court will criticize them?"
Wan 'er said, "At that time, although His Majesty held great power, he was still the Empress Dowager and not the Emperor. In order to ascend the throne, there were many obstacles. How could he act too hastily and give people a reason to criticize him? So it was inevitable that there would be some fear in his actions. But now it is different. Besides … "
At this point, Wan 'er's delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, and she said in a low voice, "Wan' er feels that ever since His Majesty became the Emperor, he has gradually lost the ambition of the past. Now, other than indulging in pleasure and playing with men, His Majesty is only thinking about immortality. He doesn't even care about the affairs of the country. "
Yang Fan laughed and said, "Immortality? Has His Majesty also learned from Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, and began to seek this ridiculous and ridiculous celestial magic? "
Wan 'er looked at him and said, "Langjun, you don't seem to care about celestial magic?"
Yang Fan raised his head. Pure white snowflakes curled down, silently falling on his face and body. Yang Fan seemed to think of something, and saw something else. His eyes looked at the misty sky, very deep.
He smiled at the vast sky and turned to look at Wan 'er. With confusion, he said, "The current Her Majesty's actions have been criticized by others, but it cannot be denied that she was able to become a female Empress that has never been seen before in history. Her wit and tactics must be superior to others. How could His Majesty still believe in such nonsense like immortality? "
Wan 'er frowned and said hesitantly, "Since the saying of immortality has been passed down for thousands of years, perhaps it really does exist. Think about it, Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, which one of them was not a dragon among men? Didn't they also believe in the existence of immortality in this world? "
Yang Fan smiled and said mockingly, "Yes, Emperor Qin believed it, and so did Emperor Wu of Han. They were deceived by one necromancer after another, over and over again. Emperor Wu of Han was even deceived to the point of slaughtering three of his own clans. Did he continue to believe it, or did he continue to be deceived? His Majesty is a woman, and women believe in these strange things more than men. It is not strange that she is so obsessed. "
Wan 'er asked curiously, "Langjun, why are you so sure that there is no immortality in this world?"
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