It was a summer afternoon in the backyard of the Yang Family, and it was cool under the trees.
There were a few mats on the ground, which made up a large area. Yang Fan and his family were resting under the trees.
In the middle of the mats, there was a shiny wooden table with all kinds of fruits, snacks, and drinks on it. There were iced sour plum soup and sour sheep's milk as drinks, but Yang Fan was used to drinking tea now. Tea was the best to quench his thirst, especially in summer.
Moreover, the Tang people's diet was mainly meat, as long as the family's financial situation allowed it. Drinking tea had the effect of refreshing oil. Yang Fan gradually tasted the taste and told his wife. Now not only Yang Fan liked to drink tea, but also Xiao Man and Ah Nu had developed the habit of drinking tea. Now when Xiao Man went to the shop to do the accounts, she would always put a cup of tea beside her.
Yang Nianzu had become more and more robust. He had a cute peach heart shape on his head and a lock of black hair in front of his forehead, which made him look particularly cute. He wore a sleeveless floral gown and held a bamboo pole. The end of the pole was bent with a bamboo strip, and he was sticking cicadas.
How could he really catch cicadas with his loud voice? He was just having fun. When the spider web was broken, Third Sister would patiently wrap a few more layers of the pole, and then the silly boy would happily continue his great cause of catching cicadas.
Si Rong was much quieter than her brother. She sat on the mat, with a pile of clay dolls, cloth dolls, and wooden dolls in front of her. She was very focused on playing with the dolls, and she was also mumbling something, probably arranging these dolls to play house.
Xiao Man was holding a "Lady Bamboo" in her arms and was dozing off on the mat.
Last night, Yang Fan slept with Ah Nu, so the children naturally came back to sleep with their mother. Unexpectedly, the little century eggs were even more annoying than Yang Fan. First, they refused to sleep, and then they asked her to tell them stories. Finally, they fell asleep, but it was easy to wake up in the summer night. One got up in the middle of the night, and the other looked for their mother. She didn't sleep well all night, and now she was sleepy.
Ah Nu sat at the side, attentively threading a needle and sewing a small piece of clothing. In fact, with the Yang Family's current family business, there was no need for Ah Nu to make her own clothes. Not to mention the tailor shop in the square, there was also a needle-maker in her house. But to make a shirt for her own children was a very different feeling.
Yang Fan did not directly sit on the banquet. Instead, he set up a leisure chair on the bamboo chair. Yang Fan lay on the bamboo chair with his eyes closed. He looked as if he was sleeping, but in fact, he was thinking about something.
He had already made a move, but he didn't know how Mu would react. So far, he didn't notice of Shen Mu. In fact, if the clues of Song Badi and Dragon Nine were left untouched, it was possible to figure out Shen Mu's plan from their actions. That was what the old gentlemen of Heaven's Pivot had suggested to him.
But after thinking it over, Yang Fan thought that he would rather not take the risk without knowing Shen Mu's purpose. One had to know that his greatest advantage in dealing with Shen Mu was the power of the officials. If he allowed Shen Mu's people to form a relationship with the most favored Second Zhang, once they found a way to involve Second Zhang, then his greatest advantage would disappear. At that time, even if he understood Shen Mu's intentions, what use would it be?
He wasn't very worried about leading people to attack the Jin Wu Guards. Since he was ordered to stay behind closed doors, then there was still room to maneuver. Otherwise, with the fact that he mobilized troops without permission, he could have been dealt with immediately.
Whether this matter should be dealt with lightly or heavily depended on the Emperor's whims.
Mobilizing troops without permission was a big taboo, but the cause and process of the matter was due to the discord between the two generals, which developed into frequent conflicts between the soldiers under the two. If the Emperor had enough trust in him, then he could completely understand this matter as a larger scale group fight. The nature of the matter was different, and the punishment wouldn't be as severe.
As Yang Fan was pondering, his arm was suddenly touched by someone. Yang Fan opened his eyes and saw A Nu had stopped her needlework. Her beautiful and alluring red lips were moving towards him. Yang Fan was stunned for a moment, then revealed a mysterious smile and returned a knowing look to her.
Yang Fan's expression was wrong, causing A Nu to be stunned for a moment. Then, she came to her senses and blushed, "This shameless fellow, what are you thinking about?"
Now that she was pregnant, Yang Fan often stayed in her room just to take care of his beloved wife's emotions. It was impossible for him to think about the matters between a man and a woman. But sometimes when he was aroused, and faced with his beloved wife, he would not force himself to restrain himself. For example, last night, after a series of begging, A Nu half-heartedly leaned towards the jade flute and pressed her lips against his.
Unexpectedly, Yang Fan seemed to have tasted it. Seeing her pouting, he actually thought of such shameful matters again. A Nu glared at him, her beautiful red lips pressed into a line. Her slender jade-like fingers held a silver needle and pointed behind Yang Fan. Only then did Yang Fan understand. Turning his head, he saw Taomei standing there.
Thinking that Taomei had something to report, but seeing that he was dozing off, she did not dare to wake him up. Yang Fan asked, "What is it?"
Taomei presented a letter with both hands and said in a low voice, "From Princess Taiping's residence."
Yang Fan understood and took the letter. With a light wave of his hand, Taomei retreated. Yang Fan opened the letter. There was only a thin piece of paper inside. After reading it carefully, Yang Fan's lips slowly curled into a smile, "All of you rest first, I'll make a trip to the study!"
Yang Fan said to Ah Nu, who had her head lowered as she sewed. Her heart was filled with joy as she looked forward to becoming a loving mother as soon as possible. He then stood up and walked confidently towards the study …
…
The incident that happened between the Thousand Horsemen Camp and the Jin Wu Guards was not known by the common people. The only people who saw the Thousand Horsemen move were the people in the wine shops and brothels in front of the Jin Wu Guards' encampment. Moreover, they only saw the Thousand Horsemen pass by aggressively and did not know what happened after that. As for after they entered the city, because they went through the north gate, they turned directly towards the Palace. Thus, the common people in the city did not know about it.
However, this incident was known by everyone in the Palace. Through the mouths of the internal palace maids, this matter quickly spread to the outer court, and then through the internal servants of the Political Affairs Hall, Hanlin Academy, and the Hall of History to the ears of the officials. Very quickly, this matter was no longer a secret in the Imperial Court.
Almost all the imperial censors in the capital submitted a report to impeach Yang Fan.
Those in their positions had to plan for their own affairs. Such a major matter, they could not pretend to be unaware. Thus, even the imperial censors who had a good relationship with Yang Fan or had a good impression of him had to report to the Emperor. The only difference was that some people only severely impeached Yang Fan, while others punished both Yang Fan and Wu Yizong.
Wu Zetian still couldn't make up her mind. It wasn't difficult to punish Yang Fan. She could behead him, exile him, demote him, or take away his salary … There were many ways to do so. The problem was that Wu Zetian wanted to find a way to punish him. This way, she would be able to explain herself to the nation's laws and regulations, but it wouldn't affect her own political plans.
On the second day after the imperial censors submitted a report to impeach Yang Fan, Prime Minister Yao Chong spoke to the Emperor. He believed that Yang Fan had a rash and impulsive personality and was not qualified to command a thousand horsemen. He recommended the Left Commander Zhang Hao to the Emperor, saying that this person had a calm personality, was honest and prudent, and had a reputation in the army. He was qualified to command a thousand horsemen.
Wu Zetian did not express her opinion on the surface, but she was very unhappy in her heart. The Emperor had always regarded the Northern Yamen as his own backyard. Not to mention that Wu Zetian had always been under too much pressure because she was a woman and had always been suspicious of the Emperor, even Li Shimin had always regarded the Northern Yamen as his exclusive property and did not allow others to touch it.
In the 15th year of Zhenguan, the Xuanwu Gate in Chang 'an was being renovated. After hearing this, Prime Minister Fang Xuanling and Gao Shilian inquired about the progress of the Xuanwu Gate's renovation from the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Finance. Li Shimin was very unhappy after hearing this. He specially found Fang Xuanling and other Prime Ministers and warned them, "You should just take care of the Southern Yamen. The Northern Yamen has nothing to do with you!"
Now that Yao Chong coveted a thousand horsemen, Wu Zetian was very unhappy. Back in the harem, the Zhang brothers led the beautiful young men of the Fengchen Prison to present a large-scale song and dance that they had just rehearsed to Wu Zetian. Only then did Wu Zetian's gloomy mood slightly dissipate. While she was beaming with joy, Zhang Yizhi, in a roundabout way, hinted to Wu Zetian that he wanted to put one of his cousins into the army and lead a thousand horsemen.
Wu Zetian, who was dissatisfied with Yao Chong's overstepping his authority, was extremely sensitive at the moment. When she heard Zhang Yizhi's words, she immediately refused. In the past, whenever the Zhang brothers performed a song and dance to make her happy, she would ask them to stay in bed with her. But this night, she was not in the mood and went to sleep alone.
The news that Wan Chong and Zhang Yizhi had their eyes on the Thousand Horsemen Camp and had "recommended wise men" to the Emperor quickly reached the ears of Wu Youyi, the general of the Yulin Guard. Wu Youyi was afraid that the thousand horsemen would fall into the hands of others, so he quickly went to recommend them to the Emperor. As a result, he naturally met with a rebuff that was neither soft nor hard.
Wu Youyi had just left when Wu Sansi smelled the scent and ran over …
The unhappiness that Wu Zetian had accumulated from Yao Chong, Zhang Yizhi, and Wu Youyi had already turned into a thunderous rage by the time Wu Sansi rushed over. Wu Sansi was scolded until his head was sprayed with dog blood, and he left in a sorry state. Immediately after, an imperial decree was quickly transmitted to the Yang Residence: Promote Yang Fan to the rank of loyal general.
Yang Fan had been promoted!
As soon as the news came out, the officials who did not know the inside story were only shocked at Yang Fan's imperial favor. The officials who knew the inside story could not help but secretly laugh at Li Dang, Wu Dang, and Zhang Dang's eagerness and eagerness for doing all this for nothing.
The officials who knew the inside story did not dare to say anything to incur the Emperor's displeasure, and the officials who did not know the inside story would not dare to offend the Emperor's favorite. Therefore, the strange phenomenon of Yang Fan being promoted instead of being punished could only be said by the censors who were always' upholding justice and speaking up for justice '.
However, the words of the censors had to be listened to by the Emperor. If the Emperor was willing to listen, it would be swords. If the Emperor was not willing to listen, it would be spit. This time, the censors' remonstrance was undoubtedly spit for nothing.
Yang Fan's promotion had nothing to do with his authority. He was still in charge of a thousand cavalrymen. Be it loyal general or guide commander-in-chief, those were just ranks. What was related to rank was not authority but treatment. For example, salary, exemption from classes, punishment, order of class, carriage, clothing, etc. Other than that, it also involved retirement, conferment of nobility, purchase of property, construction, funeral, posthumous appointment, etc.
A Guide Zhonglang-General was a lower Secondary Rank Four, while a Loyal Martial General was a higher Secondary Rank Four. Yang Fan skipped the upper Secondary Rank Four and lower Secondary Rank Four and was directly promoted to the upper Secondary Rank Four Loyal Martial General. He had actually been promoted three times. Yang Fan was promoted despite being guilty. What kind of logic was that? It was indeed illogical. However, did Wu Zetian need to reason with him?
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
