Chapter 520: Promotion

When Chen Jia brought Jiang Yan over, Jiang Boxun looked at Jiang Yan, who looked very much like her elder sister. She was very excited and kept saying "yes" with tears in her eyes.

Although it was the first time Jiang Yan met Jiang Boxun, she could feel Jiang Boxun's kindness towards her, and she stood there with a red face and a shy smile.

Jiang Boxun saw it all and felt complicated.

This niece is nothing but a form.

If she had grown up in a British mansion and been raised like a proud daughter, she would have been so radiant.

What a pity for this child.

Fortunately, Song Mo found it, so it’s not too late. I’ll just take more photos of it in the future.

He hoped even more to use his military achievements to revive the Jiang family.

Jiang Baisun patted Song Mo's shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't worry, your fifth uncle will definitely not let you down."

Song Mo smiled slightly, handed Jiang Bosun a whip that Duke Ding had given him, and said, "I'm waiting for my fifth uncle to return victoriously."

Jiang Baisun nodded and strode out of Kyoto.

Song Mo didn't go back until he could no longer see Jiang Baisun on the post road.

※※※※※

In a few days, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In previous years, the Duke of Yingguo's mansion would invite Jiang Maochun and his family to the mansion during the Mid-Autumn Festival, hold a banquet, listen to music, watch the moon and lanterns, and have a good time. This year, because Song Yichun was still lying in bed, Song Mo only invited Chen Jia and his wife back to the mansion for a meal, which was considered a festival.

He said to Dou Zhao apologetically: "During the Lantern Festival, I will definitely take you to the street to see the lantern market."

It sounds simple, but in reality, the Duke of Ying's mansion was full of lanterns of all kinds, and the lights were bright. Song Mo arranged several young maids and servants who were still in their childhood to accompany Yuan Ge'er to play. Yuan Ge'er dragged a three-foot-tall rabbit lantern with wheels that Song Mo ordered from the Imperial Household Department and ran on the corridor. He had so much fun that he didn't even think about going anywhere.

Dou Zhao looked out the window at his son who was laughing happily, and couldn't help saying, "There are so many people outside, and Yuan Ge'er is still young. There are people setting off firecrackers, and there are fireworks everywhere. I am worried that Yuan Ge'er will be choked, and I am also worried that he will be bumped into. It's better to stay at home!"

Seeing that Dou Zhao was not disappointed at all, Song Mo finally felt relieved and said, "I think we should take this opportunity to get rid of some of the red tape in the past, right?"

Dou Zhao was a little confused.

Song Mo said: "Even if father recovers from his illness, he still needs to rest. This year, we will celebrate the New Year in a simple way."

The implication was that he would never invite those three families to his house to celebrate again.

"Okay!" Dou Zhao agreed readily.

She could understand Song Mo's feelings.

When Song Yichun was about to chase Song Mo out, Song Maochun and the others only looked at Song Yichun's expression. When Song Han was expelled from the family, they didn't even ask why. Others hope to become a marquis by having a family, hoping that someone will lend a hand when they are in trouble. These people help when things are good, but pretend to be ignorant when they are in trouble. It's better not to have such relatives!

"Fortunately, the Dou family has many aunts and uncles," she said with a smile, "I'm afraid that people will say that you only have relatives from your wife's family in the future."

Song Mo leaned close to her ear with a drooling face and laughed softly, "Why don't we have a few more children? Think about it, our ancestor was just one person, and the Song family still has several branches. We can do it too!"

Dou Zhao smiled and gave him a light slap.

Song Mo laughed, put his arm around Dou Zhao's shoulders, and watched Yuan Ge'er playing under the eaves.

The lantern of the headlight illuminated the British mansion in red.

※※※※※

In late August, the imperial edict came down.

Song Mo was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Jinyiwei and the deputy governor of Shenjiying; Ma Youming took over Jinwuwei from Song Mo; the Duke of Dongping was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Shenjiying, and the former commander of Wucheng Bingmasi was appointed by the Marquis of Anlu; Song Yichun was no longer the governor of the Five Armies Military Governor's Office due to illness, and the Marquis of Changxing, the general of Datong, was transferred back to Kyoto and appointed as the commander-in-chief of the front army of the Five Armies Military Governor's Office; the former deputy governor of Datong Military Governor's Office was appointed as the general of Datong; the son of the Duke of Guangen, Dong Qi, was appointed as the deputy governor of Datong Military Governor's Office...

The civil officials did not move, but the military officials seemed to have moved.

Wang Qinghuai saw the official report and couldn't help but sigh. He asked An: "Is there anything else worth celebrating in the Duke of Ying's Mansion?"

An was surprised and asked, "What is the prince going to do?"

Wang Qinghuai placed the official report in front of An.

An picked it up and read it carefully, saying, "Marquis Changxing is really amazing. He actually entered the Five Armies Commandery and became the commander-in-chief. No wonder the Marquis Changxing Mansion has become more and more prosperous in recent years." She said, and asked Wang Qinghuai, "A few days ago, someone proposed a marriage to my brother's eldest son. The one he was talking about was the second daughter of the third branch of the Marquis Changxing Mansion. My mother thinks that the girl is good-looking, but she seems to have a bad temper. She is hesitating. What do you think? Should we talk to my mother and settle this marriage..."

"What are you talking about?" Wang Qinghuai frowned and said, "I want you to see Song Yantang!" He sighed, his tone a little complicated, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince treated him very well. In order to let him take charge of the Shenji Camp, he even let the Earl of Dongping concurrently serve as the commander-in-chief of the Shenji Camp!"

An guessed that her husband was unhappy. Thinking of how her husband had always been on good terms with Song Mo in recent years, she glanced at the court report and said hesitantly, "The Duke of Ying is no longer the governor, but Song Mo has been transferred to the Jinyi Guard. Like the Jinwu Guard, he is a close subject of the emperor. Although he is not as powerful as before, he still holds his position!"

Wang Qinghuai shook his head when he heard this, thinking that An Shi would have to visit Dou Zhao more in the future, and explained: "Dongping Bo is a sensible man. Before, the emperor asked him to concurrently serve as the commander-in-chief of the Wucheng Bingmasi. Song Yantang supervised the affairs of the Wucheng Bingmasi, and he didn't care about anything else and listened to Song Yantang. He got along very well with Song Yantang." He pointed at the name on the palace newspaper, "Look, these two people are colleagues again - Song Yan is not losing power at all. It is obvious that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince intends to promote him and use the qualifications of Dongping Bo to make wedding clothes for him, so that he can be in charge of the two guards of the emperor at the same time. Such favors were only enjoyed by the ancestors who founded the Yingguo Mansion. If this continues, the Yingguo Mansion will be prosperous for at least another 20 years!"

An had always believed in her husband. She suddenly realized something and racked her brains for a long time before saying, "If I remember correctly, in a few days it will be the birthday of Su Xin, the former head maidservant of Madam Dou... But now Su Lan has married Madam Dou's concubine and no longer lives in the Duke of Ying's mansion. Besides, she is just a maidservant of Madam Dou. Am I being too impatient to go and reward her on purpose?"

Wang Qinghuai said: "You won't let the maids and nannies around you talk to her!"

"That's right!" An smiled awkwardly, "I was in a hurry and didn't think about this."

She was a woman of action and immediately called the personal nanny who had served her when she went out to come over and asked her if there was anyone around her who could talk to Su Xin.

"I can talk to her." The maid smiled and said, "Su Xin is easy to talk to and is very kind to everyone. This year during the Ghost Festival, I met Su Lan at the Daxiangguo Temple and treated her to a bowl of tofu pudding."

An was overjoyed when she heard this. She ordered her personal maid to open the box and take out twenty taels of silver to give to the nanny, saying, "Go and celebrate Miss Suxin's birthday and try to make some friends with her. She was brought over from Zhending by Madam Dou, and she is not like an ordinary personal maid. Maybe she will need her to speak for Madam Dou in the future."

The nanny understood, took the silver and went to Suxin's house.

Who knew that Su Xin was not at home.

The doorman of Suxin's house was over fifty years old and spoke Zhending dialect. He told her happily: "Master Chen and Master Liu of the Duke of Ying's Mansion have all been released. Our wife went to the Duke of Ying's Mansion to congratulate the masters."

Mrs. An was also born into a wealthy family, and the nanny was a lifelong servant of the An family. She knew that when loyal servants of powerful families performed favors for their masters, the masters would sometimes promote the maids and release the loyal servants from slavery. There were even prominent families who sought a career for those loyal servants, but such cases were extremely rare. She was almost fifty years old, and she had only heard of two or three such cases.

She was shocked when she heard this and asked, "How many were released? Were Master Chen and Master Liu released? Where did they go? What did they do?"

The doorman of Su Xin's family said proudly, "Several prominent teachers have been released. Some have been sent to the county government to work as constables, and some have joined the army and become centurions of the imperial guards. There are as many as eight or nine of them. Now the mansion is a little short of manpower. Our mistress will have to go back to Zhending in a few days to pick a few guards from Zhending on behalf of the madam!"

No wonder the lady asked her to find a way to visit Su Xin more often!

The nanny was amazed. She gave the doorman fifty coins, put down the gift, left her name, and returned to the Yan'an Marquis' Mansion.

An was shocked and asked, "Eight or nine in one breath? That's a lot. Did you hear it wrong?"

"No, no." The nanny said hurriedly, "I asked clearly and found out that they all have names. I hurried back to ask Madam for advice. Maybe we can prepare some fresh snacks and fruits and send them to the Duke of England's mansion to get some information."

An took out two boxes of chrysanthemum cakes and a bottle of osmanthus wine from the palace, and told the maid, "The Duke of Ying may not like these things, but they are our sincere gifts. Madam Dou will not reject them. Go and come back soon."

The nanny agreed and hurried to the Duke of England's mansion.

The main room of Yizhitang was quiet, but over in the east group of rooms there was a lot of noise and laughter, which could be heard from several alleys away.

The nanny who brought her in said a little embarrassedly, "The guards around Madam have to be released. Madam has appreciated the banquet at the Wine Fairy House and said that it will be a lively three days. It's a bit noisy. I'm sorry to embarrass you."

The nanny hurriedly said a few envious and polite words, but secretly took note of them in her heart and reported them to An when she returned.

Only then did An realize her husband's intention, and she hurried to Wang Qinghuai's study.

Wang Qinghuai has guests.

An asked the servant quietly, "Who is it?"

The servant smiled and said, "It's Marquis Jining."

As he was speaking, Wei Tingyu came out.

An couldn't help but look at him.

In the sunlight, Wei Tingyu looked haggard and his clothes were dull, like an unsuccessful and down-and-out martial artist. He looked five or six years older than Wang Qinghai who was standing behind him.