Chapter 139 Extra Chapter 1 (1): In October of the third year of Yuanzheng, the eldest son of the Minister of Revenue formally married the eldest daughter of Fu Qing, son of Tong Guowei...

In October of the third year of the Yuanzheng era, the eldest son of the Minister of Revenue officially married Jing Shao, the eldest daughter of Fu Qing, son of Tong Guowei.

The situation was tense during the last few years of the late emperor's reign, and after the late emperor's death, Yinreng took the lead in observing three years of mourning. The outer court and ordinary people were not greatly affected, but the imperial relatives and important officials around the emperor, as well as those officials who wanted to curry favor with the emperor, were more or less extra restrained during these three years.

While not to the point of completely banning weddings and funerals, everyone has unanimously become more low-key. Marriages for their children are arranged in advance, with the formal ceremony taking place three years later. The official explanation given is that they can't bear to part with their daughters and want to keep them a few more years.

If a wife or concubine gives birth, the family won't make a big fuss. They'll usually invite a few close friends and relatives and have a few banquets at home to celebrate.

It wasn't until the Emperor finished his mourning period this year and started the imperial concubine selection in late spring and early summer that the entire capital truly came alive. There were weddings, daughters' weddings, first and second birthday celebrations, and all sorts of belated banquets—the list goes on and on.

Dai Jia even spent a high price to pre-book an opera troupe to keep at home until Shen Wanqing set the wedding date for Yi An and the Tong family girl before sending the troupe over.

The Emperor gave Yulang two choices: the Niohuru family or the Tong family.

The Niohuru family produced an empress and a Consort Wenxi. Since their ancestors, they had always been linked with the Aisin Gioro family through marriage. Women from their family married into the imperial clan, and women from the imperial clan married into the Niohuru family. They were indeed very prominent, but the problem was that they were too prominent.

Yu Lang and Shen Wanqing could guess why Yinreng had singled out this family. The inertia of history is immense; even though their small influence had altered the main course of events, the Eighth Prince's faction still gathered in areas beyond their reach.

However, the goal of the Eighth Prince's faction is not to become emperor now. After all, these princes fell one step at a time in the early stages, and if the timeline of fighting Galdan is pushed forward by two years, Yinzhi will become the most unfortunate one.

Not being able to join the expedition not only meant missing out on the first round of bestowals and titles from the late emperor, but more importantly, it meant he lacked the opportunity to showcase his abilities as the Eighth Prince in public. He also didn't have the chance to cultivate relationships with the Eight Banner generals he led on the expedition, unlike his older brothers.

The support from the imperial clan within the original Eighth Prince's faction was a great help to him; even Prince Yu, Fuquan, supported the Eighth Prince's ascension to the throne at that time.

But now that Prince Yu, Fuquan, is dead, his son Baotai has married the Empress's sister. With this extremely close kinship ties maintaining the relationship, this wave of the imperial clan's close relatives is no longer related to Yinzhi.

After that, from Yinzhi to Yinyou, who left the palace to establish their own residences, Yinsi was left behind and stayed in the palace for a few more years. Later, the emperor's health deteriorated, and the old man held back the titles of his sons, waiting for the new emperor to ascend the throne so that he could bestow favors upon his brothers.

The late emperor's blatant favoritism towards the crown prince and the crown prince's rock-solid position meant that Yinzhi had absolutely no intention of seizing the throne.

But he was a capable man. After taking over the affairs of the Imperial Household Department a few years ago, not only the Imperial Household Department and the palace, but also the imperial merchants in various places under the Imperial Household Department and the three major textile manufacturers in Jiangnan were gradually brought under his control.

This hand belonged to none other than Yinzhi. Yinreng had checked all the brothers and found that Yinzhi was indeed the most tactful and adept at maneuvering in this regard, and the best at balancing the officials in Jiangnan.

After all, if the fourth prince were sent there, the Jiangnan officialdom, which had just begun to recover, might be uprooted again. Sometimes, even when you want to slaughter a fat sheep, you have to have the patience to wait for it to grow up. Both the eighth and fourth princes of Yinreng need to be used, so you have to keep an eye on them while also protecting them, and you can't neglect either side.

The eighth, ninth, and tenth princes have always been inseparable. The eighth prince's maternal clan is too lowly to be of any use. Besides the ninth prince, Consort Yi also has the fifth prince on her side, and with the fifth prince keeping things in check, there won't be any trouble. The Guo Luoluo branch of the family has its roots in Shengjing, so after much consideration, Yinreng felt it was not suitable.

That leaves only the tenth prince. His wife is a Mongol prince, so we can forget about her family. His birth mother is Consort Wenxi, and besides Aling'a, several members of the Niohuru family are now officials in the court. If Yulang could marry into this family, wouldn't that be like driving a nail into Yinreng's heart?

On the other hand, the Tong family seemed to be losing momentum. Although the late emperor's birth mother was a daughter of the Tong family, making them a powerful maternal relative, even the Hesheli family showed signs of fading into obscurity, let alone the Tong family.

The Tongjia clan now enjoys considerable prestige but lacks a successor; the only truly capable member is Longkodo, who was then the Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs.

The Tong family's greatest support in the court now is Prince Yong, but even though Yinzhen has been raised by Empress Xiaoyi for many years, he hasn't changed his imperial genealogy. He is still Consort De's son. Regardless of which son Consort De favors, the Uya family is Prince Yong's legitimate maternal family.

The Fourteenth Prince was incredibly unlucky; he was arguably even more unfortunate than Yinzhi. Three years ago, when the late emperor passed away, all the princes before him received titles, but because he hadn't left the palace and hadn't started a family, he was left behind.

The emperor observed three years of mourning and did not hold a selection of concubines, so what could Yinzhen do? He had no choice but to stay in the palace obediently for another three years.

For the past three years, he has stopped studying in the Imperial Study and instead attends court sessions every day, but he has no real duties. Consort De is helpless, but she has no say in anyone's affairs. For so many years, she has only had eyes for her youngest son, but now she has learned to humble herself and often summons Prince Yong's wife to the palace to speak with her.

The implication was that the eldest daughter-in-law should take good care of the eldest son, so that the whole family could be harmonious and Yinzhen could focus on his duties outside, thus freeing up his hands to help Yinti, whose future was still uncertain.

Seeing the young master's behavior, and with Consort De now only a consort, the Uya family naturally focused most of their attention on Yinzhen. The two families almost fought tooth and nail just arguing with Prince Yong about who was closer to him.

The Emperor selected these two families not only because of their family background and the quality of their talents and appearance, but also to tell Yulang to bring up his son's marriage, either to help him restrain the Eighth Prince's faction.

Either we should revive the Tongjia clan, firstly to prevent the internal strife between the Tong and Wuya families from wasting Yinzhen's energy, and secondly to balance the situation in the court and prevent the Shi family from growing unchecked.

Shen Wanqing and Yulang discussed it all night at home and finally chose the Tong family. As a result, Fourth Master sent five, six, seven or eight rounds of things to Yulang, including furs, silk, Shu brocade, swords and bows, jade jewelry, and decorative items. There was nothing he didn't send.

By the end, Shen Wanqing suspected that the Fourth Prince was trying to empty the Yong Prince's mansion, otherwise why would he still have things to give away?

There were complaints from the Shi family, but they were all suppressed by Shi Xin, the eldest son. Shi Xin, who rarely went home and always stayed by Hongxi's side, made a special trip back. No one knows what he said, but after that day, when Shen Wanqing went out and met the women of the Shi family, she was much less awkward.

The Empress did not publicly comment on whether it was good or bad, and after the Emperor issued the imperial decree of marriage, she never inquired about the matter again.

It wasn't until a month or so before Yi'an's wedding that Shi Qionghua summoned Shen Wanqing to Yongshou Palace and gave her all the things she had gradually saved for Yi'an over the years.

The two not-so-large boxes were filled with everything imaginable, and on top of them was a small box containing a pair of gold filigree ruyi scepters inlaid with various precious stones. This pair of ruyi scepters alone was incredibly valuable, and even Shen Wanqing, in her current state, couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

If we're talking about where money is and where love is, then Empress Shi Qionghua gave Yi'an all the favor she could.

Many things didn't need to be said. Shi Qionghua understood that Yu Lang and Shen Wanqing's decision to stand against the Shi family was actually a way of saving her. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been long before the Emperor became wary of the imperial relatives.

Hesheli and the Shi family, after all, Hesheli is related to the emperor by blood, and Shi Qionghua firmly believes that none of her brothers will be able to defeat Yulang in the end.

Only by gradually placing the Shi family and the Hesheli family in opposing positions, while not severing the close relationship between Yi'an and Hongxi, can a smooth transition be possible in the future.

Shi Qionghua once possessed true love, and perhaps the current relationship between the Emperor and Empress is mostly genuine. But true love is fleeting, and she truly doesn't want Hongxi and the Emperor to end up like the late Emperor and the current Emperor, where the bond between father and son becomes a joke—how meaningless that would be.

In this way, the marriage between Yi'an and Jingshao, apart from the Niu Hulu family being disappointed, can still be considered a happy ending for all.

On their wedding day, Shen Wanqing and Yu Lang, as the hosts, got up before dawn.

Shen Wanqing got up, put on her cloak, and first walked around her son and daughter-in-law's new house and courtyard. She made sure once again that everything in the new house and courtyard, inside and outside the house, was ready. She also gave the maids and servants in the courtyard instructions again before going around to the front of the wedding hall and kitchen to check.

Shen Wanqing and Yulang have only two children, Yi'an and Suining. Today, Yi'an is getting married. Not only did everyone from the Hesheli family come, but Shen Wenbo, who lives far away in Shengjing, also came to the capital with his wife and children a month earlier.

Shen Wanqing thought she had gotten up very early, but when she arrived at the wedding hall, Shumulu, Xu, and Tu Nan's wife had already been busy for quite some time.

"Why did you come all the way up here? Go back and rest for a while. The wedding procession will be setting off soon, and you'll be busy all day."

"I just came to take a look, and I'll be relieved if there are no problems."

"Jiyun is such a worrier. She promised just the other day that I, her second aunt, would take care of everything in the wedding hall and kitchen. She said she would only come to you if anything came up."

Since He Yi was in charge of the region, it was impossible for him to return to the capital for Yi An's marriage. So Shu Mulu took her people and Hui Zhong's wife and returned to the capital alone. In the past month or two, she brought her two daughters-in-law to live with the old lady and help Shen Wanqing with trivial matters.

When you reach a certain position, most of the people around you are good people. Shen Wanqing could understand this saying before, but she had never experienced this feeling. Now that she has, it feels really good.

Everyone in the mansion was busy with their own tasks in an orderly manner, and only then did Shen Wanqing feel at ease returning to the east courtyard to have her maids help her wash and dress. Today, she had to present herself in a dignified and elegant manner, so that no one could find fault with her.

However, this thing wasn't easy to maintain. While combing her hair, Shen Wanqing was suddenly dazzled by a flash of silver hair. Looking closer, she realized it wasn't just her eyes playing tricks on her.

"Yulang, come here for a moment."

"Coming, coming, what's up?"

"Do you think I have gray hair?"

"Hey, where is it? Let me see. I have to look carefully."

Yu Lang entered from the side room, leaning most of his body behind Shen Wanqing. He said, "Let me see what's going on," but his eyes were fixed on Shen Wanqing's face.

Grandma Shen was still a little nervous as her son was getting married. The matter had been on her mind for a long time.

Yi An getting married is a happy occasion, which is fine, but Shen Wanqing never imagined that she would be getting married to her son at the "advanced age" of forty and becoming someone else's mother-in-law. This realization was too advanced for her.

Yu Lang had sensed it long ago, but he didn't quite understand. In the eyes of the world, his family was perfect in every way, except for one thing: a lack of offspring. He and Ji Yun had children a little late, and now Yi An was eighteen when he got married.

Even if Lady Tongjia became pregnant immediately after marrying into the family, she wouldn't give birth for another year. By the time her grandchildren grew up, she would be nearing retirement age even if she were still alive.

In this way, the so-called "several generations of officials serving in the same court" that aristocratic families claimed would be difficult to achieve in the Hesheli family. At most, the power and connections in his hands would be passed down to Yi'an. Whether Yi'an could grasp them, how much he could control, and how much legacy he could leave for his son were all beyond Yulang's control.

That's why the Tong family ultimately chose to marry into Fu Qing's branch of the family, not Longkodo's. Longkodo's daughter was aiming to enter the palace to serve the emperor, but the Yi'an family didn't even consider her.

"I didn't ask you to look at me. Look at my gray hair. I'm so young, and I already have gray hair."

"Where is it? I can't find it anywhere."

Shen Wanqing actually had gray hair when she was in junior high school, and her family said it was inherited from her father. Later, after starting work, the stress caused her to have even more gray hair, but Shen Wanqing never cared about it. She thought, "So what if it's gray? It's not something I can control."

Now that she's truly middle-aged, she's finding it strange to finally find a single gray hair. Shen Wanqing inwardly berated herself for being so dramatic, but that didn't stop her from finding the gray hair in front of the mirror, plucking it out, and handing it to Yu Lang.

Yu Lang said he couldn't find it, but he had already snatched the white hair from Shen Wanqing's hand and tossed it behind him. Gone!

"Yulang! You!"

"What does Jiyun want from me? We're both very busy today, and if we delay any longer, the guests will be here."

If you can't find it, it's gone; if it's gone, it was never there. Lord Yu has become increasingly adept at appeasing his mistress in recent years. What's with all the talk of white hair? If he hasn't seen it, then it's nothing.

"You're just trying to fool me. That's all you can do. I'm telling you, if you do this again, I'm not going to help you anymore. Anyway, Yi'an's wife will be moving in after today."

“At that time, I can leave all the household affairs to her. I can just go out of the city and find a manor to stay in. I won’t be able to take care of any of the big or small troubles at home.”

The longer they lived together, the more Shen Wanqing liked to win arguments with Yu Lang. Yu Lang sat beside Shen Wanqing, watching the maid comb her hair while helping the maid take out the jewelry she would be wearing that day from the jewelry box. He listened to her talk and laughed so hard that his shoulders shook.

"Madam has a good plan, but I don't understand why you agreed to let Yi'an take up a post outside the capital in two years. If he leaves, will there be no daughter-in-law in the family? Or are you going to leave her behind and let Yi'an go to his post alone?"

Shen Wanqing had just put on one earring when Yulang said that, and she paused. She was really only thinking that her son was an eagle, and she would definitely support him if he wanted to spread his wings and fly high.

Now that Yu Lang had pointed out something he hadn't considered before, he looked completely incredulous. So all this stuff about the Hesheli family will still be mine in the future? No wonder he'd just smiled and remained silent no matter what I said lately.

"The pearls delivered this year are of really good quality. Let's have this company deliver the pearls next year too."

While Shen Wanqing was still in a daze, Yulang took the other earring and put it on her. Then he helped Grandma Shen up by the waist and walked outside. It was already lively outside, and Yulang and Shen Wanqing's day had just begun.

"Jiyun, you'll never be able to leave me behind, not in this life or the next."

"What?"

The first round of firecrackers of the day was set off in the front yard, signifying that the joyous occasion of the day begins from this moment.

The little quarrel had passed, and Shen Wanqing hurried towards the main courtyard with great strides. She really didn't hear Yu Lang's almost murmured words.

"It's nothing, Grandma, watch your step."

"Nothing, nothing. Wait until tonight and I'll come back to ask you again."

This person would occasionally show a hint of confusion and unease. Shen Wanqing went from not daring to ask to not wanting to ask, and now she wanted to ask but didn't know how to ask. Finally, she faced it head-on for the first time.

Hearing her say that, Yu Lang simply smiled and nodded. He then instructed the maidservant beside Shen Wanqing to keep a close eye on her today so she wouldn't overwork herself, before turning to go to the front courtyard to greet the guests.