Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 105 - Another Green Hat

Song Yan's status could be considered a Commandery Prince Consort, which was one grade inferior to a Prince Consort.

The situation for Prince Consorts started to worsen from the Tang Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a Prince Consort was basically a mascot. Anyone with a bit of ambition would not want to be a Prince Consort. Of course, the biggest reason for the poor situation of Tang Dynasty Prince Consorts was that the Tang Dynasty princesses were all very 'martial'.

Each and every one of them was thinking of rebelling and becoming the emperor. One careless move and the Prince Consort would have his nine relations exterminated.

In this world, the treatment of a Prince Consort was probably somewhere between the Han-Tang and Ming-Qing periods. They could hold a certain amount of power, but not much. At the very least, military power was absolutely impossible.

It seems that Emperor Ninghe's current situation is truly very bad.

As Song Yan was thinking this, Luo Yuheng beside him could no longer hold it in:

"Yan'er, you should still wait for next year's Spring Examination. You don't need to go to a place like Xinhou County. The Yang family has surely prepared many tricks."

"It's fine."

"Heh, I've heard that the Jurchen people are skilled in riding and archery. Although their cavalry can't compare to the Xiongnu's, they are still a crushing force against the Central Plains. I'm a little interested in seeing them for myself."

He said this, and seeing that Luo Yuheng still wanted to say something, he smiled and shook his head:

"Mother, you don't need to worry. Even if I go, I will be well-prepared. If there's any real danger, I will also put my life first and not joke with my life."

Song Yan had his own considerations.

Now that he knew what the Yang family wanted to do next, he could also respond in advance.

If he gave up, who knows what kind of methods the Yang family would use next time? Perhaps it would be even more dangerous.

Seeing that Song Yan had said this, Luo Yuheng could only let out a helpless sigh. She knew this son-in-law of hers quite well. Don't be fooled by his usually well-behaved appearance in front of her; his temperament was also very stubborn. If he had really made up his mind, even she would have a hard time changing it.

Since she couldn't stop him, she could only think of ways to protect her son-in-law.

The guards around Yan'er need to be strengthened. Just Zhang Long and Zhao Hu are not enough. Those five hundred veteran soldiers should also be taken along. After all, these men have trained with Yan'er before; they should be able to coordinate more closely with each other. With these five hundred men for protection, Luo Yuheng would also be more at ease.

She also had to prevent the other side from arranging for top-tier masters to carry out assassinations and the like. If it really came down to it, she should have Tianyi go with him too. Anyway, Tianyi was already with this brother-in-law every day. At most, it was just changing locations. It shouldn't be a problem.

Even if they encountered some great danger, with Tianyi's strength, she could also get Yan'er away.

A finger poked her cheek, and her fair cheek indented. Luo Yuheng tilted her head and thought seriously. Her gaze swept back and forth between Luo Tianyi and Song Yan from time to time, and her eyes became a little suspicious. Is there really nothing going on between these two?

She always felt it wasn't that simple.

At the very least, normally, for a younger sister-in-law to be running around with her brother-in-law all day, probably no girl would agree to that, right? Although she was the one who had arranged all these things.

It was also at this time that the eunuch named Wei Liang, opposite them, waved his hand and called over a little eunuch. The little eunuch was holding a box, which he handed to Song Yan. Opening it, inside was, strikingly, the token of a Guerrilla General, plus a large pile of... copper coins.

Song Yan blinked his eyes, looked at Wei Liang's old chrysanthemum-like face, then looked down at the copper coins in the box in his hand: "This is ten thousand gold?"

Wei Liang blinked his eyes innocently: "This is ten thousand gold."

Song Yan was a little unhappy: "Eunuch Wei, this is going too far.”

"I know you attendants occasionally take a kickback or something, but you can't be this outrageous, right? The promised ten thousand gold has been swapped for ten thousand copper coins?"

According to the official exchange rate, one tael of gold can be exchanged for ten taels of silver. But in actual practice, because gold is rarer, it can often be exchanged for eleven to twelve taels.

Ten thousand gold, that would be one hundred and ten thousand or one hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver.

But ten thousand copper coins is only ten taels of silver.

This is too much of an insult.

"The Prince Consort has misunderstood." Wei Liang seemed to understand something, and the smile on his face grew even wider.

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"Since ancient times, imperial rewards have always been in copper coins. It is only because copper and gold are similar in color that they are referred to as 'gold'," Wei Liang explained with a chuckle.

"Otherwise, if we reward this minister with a thousand gold today, and that general with ten thousand gold tomorrow, even the national treasury wouldn't be able to bear it."

The corners of Song Yan's mouth twitched. So they're just putting on a brave face?

And here I thought with these ten thousand taels, the military expenses for the three thousand soldiers would be somewhat covered. I was happy for nothing.

A huge sum of money. Song Yan could be indifferent to other things, but he couldn't be indifferent to money. He was indeed a little disappointed.

But it was alright. Before, his fifth brother Song Zhen and fourth brother Song An had both kindly sponsored him with one hundred thousand taels. With this large sum of money, it should be able to support them for a period of time.

"In that case, this old slave will take his leave first. The Lord Prince Consort need not be too anxious. His Majesty has given you three months to prepare."

Wei Liang said this, bowed to Luo Yuheng, and then left with his two little eunuchs.

It could be seen that Wei Liang was in a bit of a hurry. Perhaps he had other matters to attend to. Luo Yuheng did not ask him to stay either.

Song Yan didn't care much either. He just casually scanned the surroundings, wanting to find that Linghu Rui. Although the debate with that fellow had already ended, he still hadn't asked who was really behind him.

But after looking around, he did not find those scholars.

Song Yan laughed in spite of himself. And here he thought that when these scholars spoke of great principles, they were all so unyielding. But when it came time to run, each one was faster than the last.

For Song Yan, this was just a small interlude. The imperial edict had been delivered. Although he was given three months, there were many things to prepare, so it was still a bit tight. This outing, in the end, could not continue.

Song Yan let out a breath, looked towards the several refugees not far away who were preparing to leave, took a few steps forward, and bowed.

"Seniors, may I have a word?"

If his guess was not wrong, these people should be veteran soldiers who had retired from the Liaodong border army for some reason.

The hideous scars on their bodies were their medals.

Even if Song Yan was arrogant, he maintained absolute respect for these people.

Not far away, two pairs of eyes were quietly watching. One of them was Song Hongtao. Beside Song Hongtao was a woman of about twenty-four or twenty-five, petite and graceful. Her appearance couldn't be called extremely beautiful, but she was charming and moving.

This was Song Hongtao's most favored mistress of recent times... hmm, she could no longer be considered a mistress. After all, she had already been brought back to the Duke Song's mansion. Although not the main wife, she was a noble concubine.

She was currently half the mistress of the Duke's mansion.

This woman's name was Lin Xiangwan.

Although after Yang Miaoqing's death, Song Hongtao had taken in seven mistresses at once, Lin Xiangwan was not the most beautiful, but she was definitely the most favored.

This was because this woman was intelligent and clever, gentle and considerate, never fought for favor, and even took the initiative to let Song Hongtao go to the other women's rooms so that his 'rain and dew' would be spread evenly. She wholeheartedly thought only of Song Hongtao.

I ask you, what man would not like such a woman?

It had rained for several days in a row before. Today, the sky had finally cleared after the rain. Even Song Hongtao wanted to come out for some fresh air. Besides his servants, the only woman he brought with him was Lin Xiangwan.

"That must be Yan'er, right?" Lin Xiangwan also looked in Song Yan's direction:

"Won't you go over, my lord? After all, the Ninth Young Master has been ennobled. It's a great happy event."

Song Hongtao's expression was strange. A few days ago, Song An had returned for a trip and told him some things. For example... Song Yan's origin might be strange.

He was already a suspicious person, and on top of that, none of Yang Miaoqing's eight sons were his own. Song Hongtao had become even more sensitive, and he couldn't help but have some doubts about Song Yan in his heart.

Song Hongtao had also calculated in his heart before. Ever since Mei Xue had entered the Song Mansion, besides her two handmaidens, she had had no contact with anyone else. Even if she had wanted to have an affair, she had no opportunity. Looked at this way, there was only one possibility: Mei Xue was already pregnant before she entered the Song Mansion. It's just that at the time, neither of them knew.

Thus, his hatred for Mei Xue and Song Yan was not like his hatred for Yang Miaoqing. Of course, Song Hongtao also knew that Song An was not his biological son. He didn't completely believe Song An's words. It was just that meeting with Song Yan like this now was a bit awkward.

Lin Xiangwan looked at Song Hongtao's face, and a gentle smile appeared on her pretty little face: "Is my lord worried about something?"

"Although the Ninth Young Master married into another family, this matter was mainly orchestrated by Yang Miaoqing."

"Even if he holds a grudge, it's most likely a grudge against Yang Miaoqing. You are, after all, his biological father. How can there be an overnight feud between a father and son? Don't you think?"

"I've also heard from Butler Wang and the underlings in the mansion that although the Ninth Young Master hates Yang Miaoqing and Song Zhen, he has never done anything detrimental to you, my lord, has he?"

Lin Xiangwan said in a soft and gentle voice:

"What's more, my lord, think about it. Now the Ninth Young Master has become a Baron and is backed by the Grand Princess. His future is limitless..."

"When all is said and done, the Luo Mansion and the Duke's mansion are still in-laws."

Lin Xiangwan knew the art of conversation very well. Some things only needed to be touched upon. To say too much would instead make a man feel like he was losing face.

Song Hongtao, however, began to think seriously. What Lin Xiangwan said was correct. Although he was unsure if what Song An said was true, and unsure if Song Yan knew his origin, just looking at Song Yan's performance recently, he indeed had not done anything detrimental to the Duke's mansion.

Song Zhen and Song Yun were dead, but those two were just bastards, so it was good that they were dead.

Yang Miaoqing was also dead. That woman had constantly cuckolded him; she deserved to die.

Compared to them, he himself had not suffered the slightest damage.

And now, the Luo Mansion had risen again. Luo Yuheng had recovered her status as Grand Princess, and even Song Yan had been ennobled. In comparison, the Duke's mansion was in decline day by day. If he could latch onto this relationship...

Thinking this, Song Hongtao's heart couldn't help but burn with heat.

A pity. If he could confirm that Song Yan was really his biological son, that would be for the best. With such an heir, the Song family's rise to prominence would be just around the corner.

But it didn't matter even if he wasn't. As long as Song Yan didn't know the truth, it would be fine.

In that case, if any of the seven mistresses he had brought home gave birth to a son, then that would be Song Yan's younger brother. Considering this relationship, it wouldn't be a difficult matter to have Song Yan lend a hand, would it?

It's just that he had been avoiding him during this period. He was afraid that Song Yan already had some ill feelings in his heart. It seemed he had to figure out a way to win back Song Yan's heart.

Thinking of this, Song Hongtao no longer hesitated. He took a deep breath and led Lin Xiangwan towards Song Yan.

On the other side, Song Yan was just about to inquire about the specific identities of those few refugees. Just then, a voice came from the side.

"Yan'er... I didn't expect you to actually be ennobled. Not bad, not bad. As expected of Song Hongtao's son."

Song Yan turned and saw a man and a woman who had approached at some point. Song Hongtao's palm was even patting his own shoulder lightly, with the look of a greatly comforted old father.

Having his conversation interrupted, although Song Yan was displeased in his heart, he did not show it. He just performed a salute and called out 'Father,' and then looked at the petite woman beside him.

Her age was about the same as Gu Banxia's. Her appearance was delicate and pretty, her temperament dignified.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled into an arc: "Concubine."

The concubine of the head of the house, calling her 'Concubine' was not wrong, although the so-called 'Concubine's' status was not much different from a handmaiden's.

The woman seemed a little flustered and hurriedly waved her hands: "I am not worthy of such an address from the Ninth Young Master."

Song Yan didn't mind. He glanced at this woman a couple more times, and his expression suddenly became a little strange.

"Concubine, could you extend a hand?"

Although Lin Xiangwan was a little suspicious, she looked at Song Hongtao and then obediently extended her right hand.

Song Yan's fingers rested on her wrist. A few seconds passed, and Song Yan released his fingers. The gaze he directed at Song Hongtao was full of strangeness.

Faintly, Song Yan felt as if a 'Goat Village' had appeared out of thin air above Song Hongtao's head, and below the Goat Village was a vast green prairie!