(A nine-thousand-word chapter.)
On the day of the palace coup, it could be said that there were some families who were happy and some who were sad. The Mao and Lu families were annihilated in an instant. In the northeast part of the city, influential officials gathered together. Many families, who could shake the entire city with a stomp of their feet, could be considered neighbors. Perhaps through a wall, they could see the scene of the confiscation of property next door.
The Mao family's mansion was sandwiched between the Yuwen and Duanmu families. The young men of the latter two families were watching the excitement from the top of their respective tall buildings. Some of them could not hide their schadenfreude. They could vaguely see that in the majestic heavy rain, several white-faced, beardless old eunuchs led a vast number of Jinwu Guards into the Mao family's mansion. The adult men, regardless of whether they resisted or surrendered, were all hacked to death. Some men with martial arts skills wanted to jump over the wall to escape, but they had already been easily intercepted and killed by the Wulin grassland squatting at the base of the wall. Occasionally, there were a few people who relied on their thick skin and high martial arts skills to jump over the high wall. As soon as they landed, they were stabbed by the two families' elite retainers who were waiting for them. They were nailed to death to the ground or to the wall, or they were shot into hedgehogs by the rows of crossbows. Several of the Mao family's young men, who were regarded as thorns in the eyes of the two families' young men, were also quite unyielding. They led their men of sacrifice and vowed to fight to the death. Even some of the young women, who usually did not reveal themselves, also took out their swords. However, they were unable to withstand the tide-like offensive and were all strangled on the spot. The Mao family, who had five hundred armored cavalry, was originally one of the best in Dunhuang city. Even the odd-job workers and servants did not look at the ground when they walked, each and every one of them had their eyes above the top of their heads. At this time, most of them died miserably. How could this not make the two families' men, who were watching the excitement with cold eyes, feel relieved? Some of the men, who only dared to secretly covet the Mao family's women and covet the Mao family's daughter-in-law, felt a bit of pity. These beautiful women, who usually put on airs and put on airs, would be a wonderful thing if they were sent to serve as prostitutes in the army. They did not mind spending hundreds of taels of silver in one night.
The large clans of Dunhuang City were influenced by the nobles of the Central Plains, and many of them had private libraries. Perhaps because the Yuwen clan had a literary background, they paid special attention to the family's private libraries. The old scholars and teachers were all famous scholars in the Tangerine and Jinxi Prefectures. In the Northern Mang, picking a martial artist with some skills was as easy as picking a cabbage. However, picking a scholar with real talent was like looking for a three-legged toad. The Yuwen clan's expenditure in this area far exceeded that of their peers. This was attributed to the fact that the Yuwen clan's leader was a scholar who had read a lot. The private library, Wenhui Building, had a collection of eighty thousand books. Most of them were plundered by scholars who had rushed to the north. Yuwen Liang had always been immensely proud of this, and he especially looked for a seal master to carve a piece of yellow stone. He called himself the eighty thousand old man.
Today, Yuwen Liang personally led nearly a hundred soldiers and generals to the outside of the Giant Immortal Palace. When he returned, he rewarded them according to their merits. At the same time, he ordered the steward to lead a group of trusted men of sacrifice through a secret passage that connected the three families. He first picked up a few women who had married into the Mao family, so that they would not be implicated. Then, he sealed the passage and destroyed it. The reason why he saved them in the chaos was not because Yuwen Liang was merciful. It was because he wanted to take over the Mao family's property in the future. He had to rely on these astute women who were familiar with the Mao family. In fact, he did not have good intentions in the beginning of the marriage. Of course, it was the same for those women who had married into the Mao family. In the past, Yuwen Liang treated these fierce women, his daughters-in-law, and even his granddaughters-in-law with respect. He would often reprimand his family's descendants in front of them. But after today, he wanted to see if they would still dare to order their husband around, and if they would still dare to forbid him from taking concubines! At this moment, perhaps she was already kneeling on the ground, sobbing and begging for mercy.
Yu Wen Liang sat on a small couch near the window on the top floor of the Wenhui Building, leisurely sipping tea, smiling as he looked at the upheaval in the Mao family mansion. He was in an extremely good mood. Different from Mao Rou, who has a perfume fetish, he likes to drink tea. On the small couch, there was a large tea table with a tea set, tea grinder, tea grinder, and a soup bottle on it. After Yu Wen Liang caught a glimpse, he narrowed his eyes, but immediately put on a warm smile that made people feel good about him. He got off the couch and put on his shoes to welcome him, calling "Brother Chong Yang". The latter waved his hand and casually sat down on the couch, taking a tea towel to wipe his cheeks. Yu Wen Liang laughed happily and said, "Duanmu Chong Yang, you scoundrel, the elegance in the room has been washed away by your vulgarity, how unlucky!"
"Uncle Yu Wen, if you continue to be so merciless, be careful that I don't harm your granddaughter. She's very pretty, to my taste." The man giggled, drinking a cup of tea to quench his thirst. It was indeed unbearably vulgar.
This man called Duanmu Chongyang was the second young master of the Duanmu Clan. His status was similar to Yuwen Duan's, but his personality was the complete opposite. He stood up at thirty and started a family. Even now, he still hadn't taken any shape, causing his father, Duanmu Qingsheng, to have a lot of white hair. Duanmu Chongyang was a renowned swordsman on the border between the two provinces. He often went to kill horse bandits for fun. As he killed, he actually became sworn brothers with the leader of a large group of horse bandits. If it weren't for his clan stopping him, he would have abducted his sister and made her the wife of the head of the horse bandits. Duanmu Chongyang was also the only one who dared to teach the Mao family's children a lesson when the Mao family was at its peak. The three families were neighbors. Close neighbors were better than distant relatives. Plus, they were in-laws, so on the surface, they were harmonious. Duanmu Chongyang, Yu Wen Duan, Mao Chong, and Mao Rou were childhood playmates. However, they had been estranged from Yu Wen Duan in recent years, intentionally or otherwise. In their youth, these two top young masters in Dunhuang liked to follow Mao Chong around as minions. It was a pity that Mao Chong died early. He didn't even reach twenty years of age before he died.
Duanmu Qingsheng had endured for a long time. Seeing that his eldest son was still frivolous, he finally couldn't help but slam the table angrily. "Why did you go to the Mao family? Did that widow Mao Chong steal your soul? You're just a broken shoe. Don't you feel ashamed? You've ruined the plans of two families. What are you going to use to compensate? "
Yu Wen Duan narrowed his eyes again and lowered his head to taste his tea. Yu Wen Liang kept smiling but didn't say anything. Duanmu Chongyang raised his eyebrows and argued with his father. "What's the big deal? Our two families hiding behind our master's back to scheme for benefits is a big deal? Aren't we afraid of incurring the suspicion of that little woman Yan Zhi? In my opinion, this time we're dividing up the territories of the Mao and Lu families and Tao Yong. We shouldn't be so aggressive just because we protected the Emperor. Do you really think we protected the Emperor? Isn't this a trap that master set up long ago? He's waiting for those old foxes to jump into the fire pit. Besides, if we really want to argue, it's the young man who blocked the city gate with his sword who did the most work. I didn't hear him clamoring for a reward. He can't just do that behind closed doors with Yan Zhi, right? Why didn't I see him take the position of Commander of the Jinwu Guards? Heh, this is a two-man show they're purposely putting on for us to see. They're warning us not to push our luck. Father, if you don't go to the Mao family and cause a ruckus, I'd like to see if you'll get a stomachache from eating the meat in your mouth. "
Duanmu Qingsheng looked like he was going to pick up the jade-like Dongyue celadon cup and smash it at this bastard of a son full of nonsense. Yu Wen Liang hurriedly stopped him and pulled on his in-law's arm. He joked, "Don't throw it, don't throw it. This kid isn't afraid of pain, but my heart aches for the cup."
Duanmu Qingsheng huffed, "Brother Yu Wen, listen to this brat. What do you mean by arrogant? Does he think I'm a dog?"
Yu Wen Duan held an exquisite tea broom. He bent over and lowered his head. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he narrowed his eyes and sneered.
After Duanmu Qingsheng calmed down, Yu Wen Liang looked at the green and tea-colored Dongyue porcelain. He stroked his beard and said with a faint smile, "Actually, Chongyang's words aren't without reason. Our table manners aren't too good. It's hard to avoid being disliked. Our two families are Beiliang's chess pieces that can't see the light of day. Misfortune and fortune are interdependent. Indeed, we don't have to worry about that little girl with a strange background mistreating us. We can eat less on the surface, but there's no harm in taking more in secret. This way, it'll be convenient for Giant Immortal Palace to appease the people. To put it bluntly, don't think the word 'dog' is unpleasant to hear. Our two families are just other people's running dogs. Before biting, we have to tuck our tails between our legs and not make a sound. When it's time to bite, we have to be full of energy.
Duanmu Qingsheng's face was full of anger. He was a rough man who brandished his spear and brandished his staff. He couldn't speak in a genteel manner. He really couldn't think of a rebuttal and could only sulk. Duanmu Chongyang, on the other hand, laughed loudly. "Uncle's words are truly incisive."
Yu Wen Liang said with a smile, "Then let's set the tone like this. Eat less, eat more, and take it slow? In-law, why don't you and I spit out a few pieces of meat first? "
Duanmu Qingsheng hesitated. He turned his head and caught a glimpse of that bastard who was the butt of jokes in the city casually slipping a teacup into his sleeve. He couldn't vent his anger, but it wasn't good for him to point it out. He could only nod and say in a low, muffled voice, "In any case, it's all up to you these past few years."
After absent-mindedly drinking his tea, Duanmu Qingsheng practically dragged his son out of the teahouse and library. Yu Wen Duan was about to speak when the carefree Duanmu Chongyang jogged in, smiling as he took away the straw raincoat hanging on the screen.
Yu Wen Liang waited until the sound of footsteps was far away before he glanced at the tea table. The tea set was missing a young gentleman's incomplete tea set. The entire set was ruined. He sighed softly.
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