Shen Zhaoshu arrived at Yunlan Temple and stood outside the Zen room where her mother had lived for ten years. Memories flooded back. Back then, their father had canceled their younger brother Shen Zhaoming's marriage, much like Shen Zhaoshu's lower-class marriage due to a replacement marriage. He had also canceled his engagement because his father wanted his older sister Zhaoyu to marry smoothly into the Duke's mansion.
The Duke of Rong's Mansion agreed to replace her. A quick check revealed that she was actually a daughter born out of wedlock. This was because there was a case of two sons fighting for a wife, and the Duke's Mansion needed the Marquis of Yongding's Mansion to give her up.
At the age of thirteen, Shen Zhaoming took his first imperial examination and finished in the top three. He continued to do so in every subsequent exam, advancing triumphantly until he won the palace examination and was chosen as the top scholar by the current emperor. As the eldest son of a marquisate, the top scholar, and a beautiful young man, Shen Zhaoming was completely unaware that he had become the dream lover of countless young women in Kyoto.
Shen Zhaoming has a classmate and good friend Jiang Zheng. Jiang Zheng's sister Jiang He and Shen Zhaoming have a mutual love for each other.
Some are happy and some are sad. The second son of the eldest son of the Duke of Rong's Mansion also has his eyes on Jiang He, but he is no match for Shen Zhaoming.
The Rongguo Mansion came up with a shameless, bundled marriage. Since the Marquis' Mansion was shameless and wanted to change the marriage, we can do the same. We can directly find the Yongding Marquis and ask your son Shen Zhaoming to withdraw and quickly marry someone else. Our Duke's Mansion will not cancel the engagement and will recognize Zhaoyu's marriage.
As a result, Shen Zhaoming was disengaged by his father, Marquis Yongding.
So many years have passed.
Shen Zhaoshu sighed, not knowing how her son was doing in Yangzhou.
The news of the fire bombs and the bridge bombing naturally reached the Yangzhou business district very quickly.
The heads of each family sat together. These people were the real masters of Yangzhou. Officials from top to bottom in Yangzhou were either puppets or spokesmen, and some were even the children of merchants in disguise.
Lu Mingqi felt uneasy as he looked at Wan Luo, who sat not far away. Normally, such meetings would have been attended by either the elders of the various families or his father's uncles, with their generation still far behind. However, Wan Luo had already been a part of the Wan family. He was only there this time because he was the person involved, and his father, Lu Zhihai, had brought him along, fearing the other families might have questions. He sat behind his father, while Wan Luo sat proudly in front. Lu Mingqi lowered his head, hiding the gloom in his heart.
When Wan Luo attended such a meeting for the first time without Grandpa Wan, the other families' heads of household were displeased. Was the Wan family sending a junior to embarrass them? The next time, they either skipped the meeting or sent a junior as well. The result was a huge loss. When the elders from each family attended, Wan Luo gave them face, offering advice and respectful advice. While he firmly grasped the interests of the Wan family, he also managed to maintain a balance between the various families.
The brats from each family were sent out, each one so arrogant that they couldn't even last a round against Wan Luo. Wan Luo smiled as he dug a pit and watched them fall into it. Afterwards, the heads of each family were livid.
This kid from the Wan family is truly amazing. The young masters sent out by the various families weren't just useless figures, the kind that would make people laugh. They were all trained and excelled within their families, yet they all fell flat on their faces at Wan Luo's hands.
Among them, Lu Mingqi held out the longest, clashing with Wan Luo three times. The first time, Wan Luo, upon hearing the servants' report of Lu Mingqi's actions, uttered an "oh" and raised an eyebrow in interest. Then, Lu Mingqi discovered Wan Luo had a trick up his sleeve, and he gritted his teeth to accept it, suffering a loss. But Wan Luo's tactics were so relentless that by the third time, he was completely defeated and had no choice but to report everything to his father, Lu Zhihai. This infuriated Lu Zhihai, nicknamed the "Smiling Fox," who roared at his son like a "descending tiger." He had to bring his son to apologize, fearing a mountain of money would be lost.
I had thought I would have to swallow my anger and endure the humiliation to apologize and seek peace, but I didn't expect that Lu Zhihai would bring his son Lu Mingqi and a generous gift to the Wan family. Wan Luo opened the gate of the Wan Mansion to welcome them personally, accompanied them to the garden to appreciate the flowers, and treated them to a meal. He was very thoughtful and treated them with courtesy as a junior throughout the whole process. Grandpa Wan even accompanied them for tea. After seeing off the grandfather, Wan Luo did not let the Lu family father and son say a word of apology. He even prepared a return gift. Only when he personally saw Lu Zhihai off to the carriage did he say, "Uncle, please take a look at what I have prepared for you. If you are not satisfied, I will modify it."
Lu Zhihai, hearing the hidden meaning, hurriedly opened the top ginseng gift box as soon as the carriage left the Wan residence. Inside was a business contract. The Wan family had already affixed their seal and signature. All he needed to do was sign it. It was the contract he had requested. A huge weight lifted from his heart, and a sense of melancholy also filled his heart. Alas, it was truly impressive.
From then on, Wan Luo firmly sat in the position of representative of the Wan family.
As for why the Yangzhou business community places so much importance on fire bombs, it's actually out of fear that they only have money. They have a lot of money, a fortune that rivals a country, but having only money is enough to make them feel uneasy.
The business community in Yangzhou is living a good life. Several big families are calling the shots in Yangzhou, and of course they hope that such days will continue.
How did this happen? Through the wars of three successive dynasties, countless bloody events unfolded, yet Yangzhou remained undeterred, choosing neither side nor standing out. Whenever a powerful figure came to Yangzhou, seemingly obedient, paid them money, seeking only protection. This seemingly non-aggressive attitude, lacking military power but possessing wealth and a willingness to pay, allowed Yangzhou to remain relatively safe for nearly a hundred years through the three dynasties. As Yangzhou's political landscape became entangled by these successive dynasties, the business community quietly developed. Initially, this was done to ensure that Yangzhou's affairs remained normal, and life remained normal. Later, motivated by the sweetness of the situation, the business community gradually sidelined the political world and began to manipulate its own territory.
When the court situation stabilized and Emperor Mingzheng dealt with various messes, he looked back at Yangzhou, which had never caused trouble and never got involved, and realized that this place had become impassable.
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