Old Man Zheng's eyes lit up. Marriage was indeed a good idea.
The purpose of a marriage alliance was not the marriage itself. It did not matter if the relationship between the husband and wife was good or not, but through this action, others would see them as a whole. This was the reason why Xue Shao's two elder brothers had been put to death. In this era where families were the basic units of society, marriage and kinship were undeniably the strongest alliances.
Later on, there was a gifted scholar named Li Shangyin. He was a student of Linghu Chu, an important member of the Ox Clique, but he married the daughter of Wang Maoyuan, an important member of the Li Clique. Even though he had never done anything hostile to the Ox Clique, he was regarded as a member of the Li Clique. After the Ox Clique gained power, they tried their best to suppress him. Li Shangyin had a body full of talent, but he was never able to display it in his life.
Although the aristocratic families were arrogant, it wasn't that they never married people outside of the five surnames. It was just that most of their children would only marry within the five surnames. Hearing this idea, Elder Zheng was delighted. He quickly invited Elder Wang to sit down and excitedly discussed the matter of finding a son-in-law.
It was no wonder that Old Wang was anxious. The Wang Clan of Taiyuan was one of the first clans to become a first-rate aristocratic family. Wang Yun of the Eastern Han Dynasty had used his efforts to turn the tide for the country and the people to promote the Wang Clan to become a renowned family. From then on, the winds and clouds changed, but the Wang Family still stood tall, until the current dynasty suffered another great calamity.
Gaozong Li Zhi's Empress Wang was the daughter of the Wang Family of Taiyuan. Hence, after Wu Zetian came to power, the Wang Family was suppressed the most. If not for this, even though Lai Junchen was arrogant, he would not have the guts to forcefully marry the daughter of the Wang Family. For this reason, the Wang family of Taiyuan needed this opportunity more urgently than the other aristocratic families.
Elder Wang said proudly, "We established the Succession Hall to help the other aristocratic families, not to let them use the power of the aristocratic families to kill each other and fight for power! Now, the Obvious Sect and Hidden Sect are like fire and water, and Yang Fan is on good terms with the Hidden Sect. If he were to become the Head of the Obvious Sect, the Obvious and Hidden Sects would be a harmonious family, and we would be able to avoid internal conflicts. "
Li Mubai sighed and said, "If Yang Fan becomes the son-in-law of an aristocratic family, what will the Emperor think? Will he still entrust this important task to him? "
Mr. Wang and Mr. Zheng, who were discussing excitedly, were startled at the same time. Could it be that they wanted Yang Fan to imitate Lai Junchen and forcefully marry as a cover? But this way, in the eyes of the world, a fake forced marriage would become a real forced marriage. The Wang Family had already lost face once, could they afford to lose face a second time?
Li Mubai added, "In addition, there is another problem. How do we explain to the Lu family? Although the Succession Hall was powerful, it was also fragile. It is said to be powerful because it has us aristocratic families secretly providing it with financial, material, manpower, and all kinds of support. That is why it possesses great power.
It is said to be fragile because the entire Succession Hall, no matter if it is the Obvious Sect or the Hidden Sect, they all rely on the aristocratic clans to support them from behind the scenes. The core members are all from the various aristocratic clans. Therefore, they have to protect the interests of their clans first before the Succession Hall. Once they infuriate the Lu Clan, would the Lu clansmen in the Succession Hall agree? "
The anger on Mr. Zheng's face gradually faded. He pondered for a moment and said with uncertainty, "Since the Succession Hall is formed by the elites from the various aristocratic clans, of course, the capable ones should be promoted and the mediocre ones should be relegated. Lu Binmi's skills are not as good as others. If we ask him to step down, I believe the Lu Clan will have nothing to say!"
Li Mubai shook his head and said, "This is deceiving oneself and others! If Lu Binmi is mediocre and incompetent and asks him to step down, the Lu Clan will have nothing to say. However, Lu Binmi's way of doing things might not be brilliant, but he didn't make a huge mistake! The Lu Clan had just retreated back to Fanyang due to their oath. If we remove Lu Binmi's authority now, what will the Lu Clan think? "
Mr. Zheng's face sank and didn't say anything.
Li Mubai continued, "You all know how powerful the Lu Clan is. Among the aristocratic clans in Shandong, the Lu Clan is currently ranked second. There are countless small clans that are attached to the Lu Clan. If our actions incite a strong backlash from the Lu Clan, the alliance of the aristocratic clans in Shandong will collapse. Do you think the Empress will let go of such a good opportunity? "
Mr. Zheng and Mr. Wang looked at each other and hesitated for a moment. Mr. Wang asked, "Then, what good plan do you have?"
Li Mubai threw the chess piece back into the chess box and frowned, "I still haven't thought of it!"
…
Yang Fan accompanied Xiao Mang around Chang 'an for a few days. The baby in her belly began to grow restless again. Yang Fan didn't dare to bring her around anymore. These two days, the young couple settled down and only stayed in the Gongsun Mansion.
Unexpectedly, even though Yang Fan didn't go out, the number of people who came to visit suddenly increased. There was an endless stream of distinguished guests coming and going. Most of them were descendants of the aristocratic clans of the Guanlong Group.
Although the Guanlong Group started with military merits, it had only risen for a short time and its foundation was still lacking. However, the core figures of the Guanlong Group today were the four families of Guanzhong, Wei, Pei, Liu, and Xue. These four families were also thousand-year-old families.
The Wei Clan of the Capital Zhao was now the leader of the Guanlong Group even though it was dead but not dead. The Pei Clan of Hedong was the most famous family in the world. "Among the hundred families, the four families are first; among all the clans in the world, there is no one like the Pei Clan!"
Although the Guanlong Group as a huge group had declined, the Wei Clan of the Capital Zhao, the Pei Clan of Hedong, the Liu Clan of Hedong, and the Xue Clan of Hedong were all aristocratic families that existed long before the formation of the Guanlong Group. It was only after the rise of the Guanlong Group in Guanzhong that they became important members.
Now that the huge group was declining day by day, the vitality of these aristocratic families was still there. They wouldn't decline so easily. In fact, these aristocratic families could completely get rid of the Sunset Group that had become a burden. However, once the group declined, they would be alone and would definitely not be able to compete with the aristocratic families of Shandong.
As the saying went, it was better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a cow. They still fantasized that the Guanlong Group could rise again and were unwilling to give up on their efforts to revive the Guanlong Group. Naturally, they wanted to have some contact with Yang Fan.
However, the people who had been visiting the Guanlong family these past few days were mostly the younger generation of the Guanlong family. First, it was a matter of their foresight. Although they had already sensed that Yang Fan was a key figure, they had yet to estimate how useful he would be. Second, judging from the storm at Grand Duke Li's birthday banquet, Yang Fan had already become enemies with the aristocratic families of Shandong. Naturally, it would be easy to recruit them. There was no need for the elders to lower themselves to befriend them.
Gongsun Bufan's wife, Aunt Pei, was a member of the Pei family. Although in the Pei family, Aunt Pei's branch was just a side branch and wasn't an important figure, the younger generation of the Pei family's main branch often came to visit this distant aunt. After visiting aunt, he would go find Yang Fan for a chat. Clearly, he had ulterior motives.
How astute was Madam Pei? She sensed that something was wrong when her family visited for several days. Early this morning, her nephew, Pei Qiuli, came to the Gongsun residence again. He first went to the temple to see aunt before going to find Yang Fan for a chat. Madam Pei stopped him and said, "Qiuli, tell aunt the truth. Why have you been visiting frequently these days?"
Pei Qiuli was a young man who had just reached his twenties. When he heard aunt's question, he stood still with his hands by his side and answered, "Uncle has never liked to involve himself in aristocratic family matters. Thus, Father has instructed that if aunt doesn't ask, there is no need to mention it. Now that aunt is asking, nephew does not dare to not answer. In a few days … there will be a decree from the court. Yang Fan will be transferred to the Heavenly Official Yamen and will be the Assistant Minister of the Heavenly Official … "
Madam Pei's brows twitched and she said disapprovingly, "So what? Although the Ministry of Appointments is the yamen for selecting officials, it cannot cover the sky with one hand. Those above third-rank must be chosen by the Emperor himself. Those above fifth-rank must be approved by the Prime Minister. Those below sixth-rank must be reported to their subordinates for review. Yang Fan has become the Minister of Appointments. Is he worth the Pei family's currying favor with? "
Pei Qiuli smiled bitterly. "If you want to say currying favor, it is not so. nephew has always liked his character and character and wanted to associate with him. Moreover, aunt is focused on Buddhist cultivation and is unaware of the changes in the world. The Southern Border now … "
Pei Qiuli told Aunt Pei everything that happened in court today from beginning to end. He added, "Coincidentally, this fifth-rank official, Yang Fan has become one of the key figures. Although the weight of a steelyard is small, it can weigh a thousand catties. Thus, he cannot be treated as a lump of iron. "
Aunt Pei finally understood. Since this matter involved her own family, even though she had been focused on Buddhist cultivation and her temperament had become more tranquil, she could not ignore it.
Aunt Pei thought for a moment and said, "Yang Fan is a very alert person. Although he does not know the details, there have been many aristocratic children visiting him in the past two days. He must have his own considerations. If you want to build a relationship with him and slowly develop your relationship, I am afraid others will beat you to it. It is better to talk to him openly! "
Pei Qiuli and Yang Fan had a good time these past few days. Unfortunately, they had not been able to talk about the main topic. He was still young and had the loftiness of an aristocratic child. He was somewhat ashamed to talk about it. Now that he had received his aunt's advice, he made up his mind. He bowed deeply and said, "Aunt's teachings are correct. nephew knows what to do. However, nephew is not the only one around him. It is difficult for nephew to talk about the main topic in front of so many people. "
Aunt Pei said, "Since that is the case, come early tomorrow as usual. Aunt will create an opportunity for the two of you!"
Pei Qiuli was overjoyed. He quickly bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, aunt!"
The Gongsun family had guests coming and going. Most of them were people who had never visited before. In contrast, the Dugu family, which they occasionally visited in the past, did not make any movements. When Miss Ning Ke, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, heard the news of the Guanlong Group's children visiting the Gongsun residence, Miss Ning Ke only smiled and looked a little proud, like a little fox who had stolen two chickens.
In the Lu residence, Young Master Jiang stared at Yuan Tingyun who was kneeling in front of him with a gloomy face. He knocked on the table and said in a deep voice, "It has been two days and you have not made any movements. Are you going to disobey my words?"
Yuan Tingyun said with a bitter face, "Reporting to Young Master, this lowly one immediately made preparations after Young Master gave the order. However … Yang Fan has not left the residence for the past two days. This lowly one inquired and heard that his wife is about to give birth and the fetus is moving frequently. Yang Fan has been guarding the residence every day and has not left."
"Then let's go and kill him!"
Young Master Jiang said coldly. He turned to Lu Boyan who was sitting in the corner and said, "Elder Lu, please go with us. We must. Kill. Yang. Fan!"
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