Yang Fan and Gu Zhuting finished their discussion and hurried to the Gu family's guest house. This guest house had its own courtyard and could accommodate four or five guests and their attendants. As soon as the Gu family arrived, it became their home and the entire courtyard was occupied by the Gu family.
As soon as Yang Fan entered the courtyard, several children who were playing in the courtyard called out, "Ah Lang is here!" Then they ran to the room to report the news. A middle-aged woman who was drying clothes in the courtyard saw Yang Fan come in and quickly wiped her hands on her apron and bowed to him.
Yang Fan had some impression of this woman. She seemed to be one of Gu Zhuting's sisters-in-law, so he politely nodded to her. Inside the main room, Old Man Gu, who had already changed into a new set of clothes, was very uneasy. When he heard that Yang Fan had arrived, he subconsciously wanted to go out to welcome him. But Second Uncle Gu hurriedly reminded him, "You're about to become Ah Lang's elder. You can't go out to welcome him. You should wait at the door!"
Old Man Gu quickly stopped and waited by the door. Yang Fan stepped into the living room and saw Old Man Gu standing there. He quickly cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Father-in-law, sorry to keep you waiting!"
In ancient times, the word 'Father-in-law' had many meanings. It could be used to address one's father-in-law, one's elder, one's relative or elder. It could also be used to address one's parents or one's wife's husband, although it was not common. Old Man Gu was prejudiced and naturally thought that it was the first meaning.
If Old Man Gu was marrying off his daughter and the marriage contract had not been signed, it would be inappropriate for him to address him this way. But there were not so many rules for concubines and there was no need for three matchmakers and six certificates.
Old Man Gu had married a wife and a daughter-in-law before, but at that time both parties were servants of the Cui family, so he did not know how to greet Yang Fan. After a moment of hesitation, he also cupped his hands and said, "If Ah Lang has anything to say, just summon this old man, how could I dare to trouble you?"
Yang Fan said to Old Man Gu and Second Uncle Gu, "Elders, you're too polite. Since you're here, don't treat yourself as an outsider. Treat this as your own home and be more casual. Come, come, let's sit down and talk!"
In Yang Fan's mind, the Gu family was about to be freed from slavery, and his Second Madam Ah Nu had always addressed Gu Zhuting as Master Gu, so there was no need to treat her as an outsider. Furthermore, he wanted to recruit the entire Gu family for his own use. It was only right for him to be courteous and humble. However, in the heart of Elder Gu, his initial judgment was confirmed.
Yang Fan was the first to walk over and take a seat at the head of the table. He spoke to Elder Gu without beating around the bush, "Just now, Miss Gu has already explained to me the intentions of the two elders. Right now, this Yang has an important matter to attend to, or perhaps I really do need the help of the Gu Clan, so I will not be unreasonable. Let's settle this matter like this. "
"Oh! Oh! Alright, I'll listen to Ah Lang's arrangements! "
Elder Gu licked his lips and subconsciously glanced at his' resourceful 'brother.
Yang Fan saw that he wanted to say something but hesitated, so he smiled knowingly and said, "Tomorrow morning, father-in-law and I will go to the yamen to settle the matter of freeing yourself from slavery. In addition, I plan to buy a house in this alley for father-in-law's family to live in. Father-in-law can first settle your family down, and for those who do not know martial arts, my wife can arrange for them to do whatever they can to earn a living. "
When Elder Gu heard that he was going to buy a house for himself, he thought, "This son-in-law of mine is indeed wealthy, and he seems to love his daughter very much. I remember that when Fourth Master Cui took a concubine last month, he only gave the woman's family twenty strings of silver. A house is not cheap, especially in a place like Luoyang. "
Whether it was taking a wife or a concubine, betrothal gifts were required. It was just that taking a wife was called betrothal gifts, and taking a concubine was called buying a concubine's wealth. Regardless of the value or the meaning, there was a big difference. With the word 'buy', the concubine became a part of the family's property.
If the master doted on the master and wanted to take the concubine as his wife, that was a crime and would be sentenced. If the concubine disobeyed her superior and was beaten to death by the master's wife, it was not a crime even if she reported it to the magistrate. If the master passed away, and the master's wife was fierce, she would sell the concubine to someone else. That was a matter of course, and the other party was only disposing of their own property.
Therefore, the concubines in the palace could still fight for it. After all, if you overthrew the Empress, you would be the Empress, the mother of the world, and no one above could restrain you. But as a concubine of a big family, unless the master was especially strong and the wife was especially weak, the concubine would stir up trouble, fight for favor and power. It was simply the imagination of the later generations.
The reason why Old Man Gu was willing to let his daughter follow Yang Fan was firstly because he was extremely grateful to Yang Fan. Secondly, with Yang Fan's identity and status, coupled with his rare youth and good looks, his daughter would not be able to find a better shop if she missed this opportunity.
Thirdly, this daughter had sworn not to marry since she was young and had long missed the age for a normal marriage. Now that she wanted to find a family of equal status, the only chance she had was to become the second wife of the family. For a small family like theirs, if there was a man of suitable age who was not married, then the other party's conditions could be imagined.
As for the master's right to punish the concubine, although it was rare for a concubine to disobey her superior, it was also very rare for the master's wife to treat the concubine harshly. Even if extreme actions were in accordance with the law, they still had to consider the public opinion. The bigger the family, the more they would care about this, so there was no need to worry.
Old Man Gu thought, "Ah Lang is willing to pay such a large sum of money, it shows how much he values Xiao Ting. Presumably, he will not neglect her in the future …"
Yang Fan saw that he seemed to be deep in thought and could not help but feel puzzled. He thought, "Logically speaking, my conditions are already very generous, is Old Man Gu not satisfied? It can't be, I haven't even revealed my intention to recruit him and he is already willing to work for me, how could he … Ah! That's right, Old Man Gu must be worried about his descendants. "
Thinking to this point, Yang Fan continued, "If there are any juniors in Old Man Gu's family who are willing to learn this trade, don't hesitate to tell my wife, she will arrange for them to be apprentices first. As long as Old Man Gu's family works for me, my monthly allowance will be very generous. Even if I take out some extra money, it will be enough to hire a teacher for my children. I wonder if Old Man Gu is satisfied? "
Second Uncle Gu, who was sitting next to him, hastily said, "Ah Lang's kindness to our family is as heavy as a mountain, we should die for Ah Lang. Now that Ah Lang has arranged for our family so well, we are very satisfied, very satisfied! But, Xiao Ting … "
Yang Fan said, "From now on, with Old Man Gu's family supporting Yang, I do not need Miss Gu to be at my beck and call. After all, she is a woman, it is better not to show her face in public. However, I hope that after I buy a house for you, Miss Gu will still live in my mansion, there is no need for you to move there. "
When Yang Fan was in the study, he had consulted with Miss Gu. The Yang family currently had guards sent by the Succession Hall, but after all, they were not very considerate. There was no need to doubt Gu Zhuting's loyalty. Although his two wives knew martial arts, now that they had a child, it would be better to have someone close to them to take care of them, so he wanted to ask Miss Gu to stay in the Yang mansion for a few more days.
But in the ears of the two Gu elders who had long 'strayed off the wrong path', the meaning was different. Normally, only a married wife would be allowed to live in her parents' home before the official marriage, and they would not see each other. Only after the official marriage would they bring her over. As for taking in a concubine, she could be brought into the mansion from the side door. She could not even go through the main door, so there was naturally no need to be so serious.
In the two elders' minds, Yang Fan was now a respected figure in the officialdom, so he naturally could not break the rules, lest he be impeached. They remembered that when they were in the Cui mansion, they had heard that there was a high-ranking official in the imperial court who bought a piece of biscuit and ate it by the roadside before the court session. Because of this, he was impeached by the imperial censor for losing face in the imperial court, thus ruining his future.
Although Old Man Gu was a little disappointed, the world was like this, so he could only say, "That's right, that's right. Everything should be done according to Ah Lang's idea, I am not an unreasonable person."
Yang Fan nodded and said cheerfully, "Then let's do it this way. Tomorrow morning, I will go to the yamen with Old Man Gu. I will take my leave first! "
Old Man Gu, Second Uncle Gu, and Gu Zhuting sent Yang Fan out of the courtyard. Just as they returned to the hall, the curtain at the door was lifted and Mrs. Gu, who had been standing there listening to the news, walked out from the inner room. She hugged her daughter and said with tears of joy, "My dear, who asked you to be born into my family? You have always been a worry for me! This is great, this is great. General Yang is a high-ranking military officer, and he is young and handsome. I will have someone to rely on for life. Even if I die soon, I can rest in peace! "
Old Man Gu could not hide the joy in his heart, but he deliberately put on a stern face and glared at his wife, reprimanding, "Such a happy occasion, why are you crying!"
Gu Zhuting looked at her father and mother and said with a blank face, "Father, mother, you … what are you talking about?"
…
After Yang Fan settled the matter with the Gu family, he returned to the study and asked the servant Ah Niu to summon Ren Wei.
After a while, Ren Wei came to the study. Yang Fan asked Ah Niu to guard the door outside the study and ordered Ren Wei, "Pass my order immediately. Order the 'Succession Hall' to move into Luoyang!"
Ren Wei was shocked and thought he had heard wrong. He could not help but cry out, "What?"
Frankly speaking, only some of the higher-ups and some core disciples of the aristocratic families knew that Yang Fan had taken over the 'Succession Hall'. It could be said that it was extremely quiet. Ever since Yang Fan became the Clan Master, he had only read the various reports sent by the 'Succession Hall'. He had never expressed his own opinion. Most of the time, he only approved the reports according to the suggestions of the stewards.
Yang Fan's way of doing things was very different from the original Young Master Jiang's arbitrary way of doing things. The people in the 'Succession Hall' almost treated this Clan Master as a symbolic leader and almost ignored his actual existence. However, it was this Clan Master who suddenly made the decision to 'move the capital' without discussing with anyone or even communicating with the seven aristocratic families. How could Ren Wei not be shocked?
Yang Fan played with the jade lion paperweight in his hand and said calmly, "I said, move the 'Succession Hall' from Chang 'an to Luoyang. Do it immediately!" After saying that, Yang Fan raised his eyelids and glanced at Ren Wei. His gaze was as sharp as a knife, and he gave off a feeling of majesty without being angry.
Ren Wei's heart skipped a beat. He quickly cupped his hands and replied in a deep voice, "Yes!"
Ren Wei turned around and left in a hurry. He could not help but say in his heart, "Three years of silence, one brilliant feat!"
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