Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather
Chapter 160 - 156 Rest assured, I will never let you down!

Chapter 160: Chapter 156 Rest assured, I will never let you down!

"I will resign from the position of Sect Leader!"

Yu Qingyi said resolutely.

Although she had always appeared submissive in front of Yang Zhenshan, her character was still very tough and decisive.

During the months they had spent together, her heart had thoroughly devoted itself to Yang Zhenshan.

Her feelings were simpler, purer, and more intense than his.

It was not hard to understand, Yang Zhenshan could not be considered fickle-hearted, but the ideas formed under the influence of his previous life’s environment made him less faithful in matters of affection.

Whereas Yu Qingyi was a person of this world, even though she was from and grew up in the worldly society, she still recognized and followed the ’Three Obediences and Four Virtues.’

She and Yang Zhenshan living under one roof began from forced circumstances, yet later it turned into a private lifetime commitment.

Yes, in her heart she had already regarded herself as privately betrothed to Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan, looking at her determined expression, felt his heart stir intensely.

"Don’t worry, I will never let you down!"

This was his promise, as well as his restraint upon himself.

The two looked at each other, the atmosphere becoming increasingly ambiguous, and Yang Zhenshan’s heart again became restless.

However, this ambiguous moment was soon broken, as Old Lady Li had prepared dinner, "Master, dinner is ready!"

The sudden voice made Yu Qingyi turn back into a startled little rabbit, swiftly withdrawing her hand from that of Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan, feeling somewhat sheepish, rubbed his beard, only managing to stroke his small hand, truly tormented.

"Let’s go, time to eat!"

They got up and went to dine.

During the meal, they sat together but didn’t say much.

And after the meal, Yang Zhenshan proceeded to his study, sat in front of the desk, and fell into deep thought.

Taking a wife, remarrying.

This was an exceedingly troublesome affair.

Obtaining Yu Qingyi’s agreement was merely the first step.

The real trouble lay in gaining the approval of others.

The people of the Yang family need not be mentioned; Yang Zhenshan was finding them a stepmother, after all, and had to consider their feelings a bit.

However, Yang Zhenshan was not worried about the Yang family’s people; during this time, they had already accepted Yu Qingyi’s presence, it was just that the relationship had not been officially established, creating a bit of awkwardness.

What Yang Zhenshan found headache-inducing was the Lu family’s side.

Mrs. Lu had passed away over four years ago; remarrying would hardly be inappropriate.

Even if the Lu family felt uncomfortable, they had no grounds to prevent him.

But Yang Zhenshan needed to take into account the feelings of the Lu family, and as much as possible, not cause them discomfort.

After some thought, Yang Zhenshan felt it best to write a letter to Lu Songhe.

Such matters could not be concealed, nor easily hidden; it was better to explain with a sincere attitude.

Then Yang Zhenshan began to painstakingly write the letter.

He first wrote of his remembrance for Mrs. Lu and explained her contributions to the Yang family.

It must be mentioned that Mrs. Lu bore the Yang family three sons and two daughters, spreading the family’s lineage far and wide; describing her as a substantial contributor to the Yang family was nothing short of appropriate.

He then expressed gratitude for the previous help the Lu family had provided to the Yang family, recalling from his memories the events where the Lu family helped the Yang family, reminiscing on each incident and writing it down, showing he had not forgotten their kindness.

Though these favors were not received by him personally, since he inherited the original owner’s body and identity, he also inherited the original person’s gratitude and grievances.

Further down, Yang Zhanshan finally penned the matter of his remarriage.

Truthfully, as he wrote, Yang Zhanshan felt very uncomfortable.

He was actually a bachelor, yet now he was forced to play out a role as if it were his second marriage.

What kind of situation was this.

Regarding the remarriage, Yang Zhanshan merely mentioned it briefly, opting not to delve into details, firstly because it was unnecessary, and secondly because too much detail could lead to embarrassment.

Lastly, he mentioned the situations of Lu Wenchun and Lu Wenhua, saying that Lu Wenhua had already become a Martial Artist and was currently managing government office affairs for him.

Moreover, he talked about his future plans for Lu Wenhua, intending to secure an official position for him, allowing Lu Wenhua to become a Military Officer.

By sharing this, he intended to show that in the future he would not forget the Lu family, nor would he let their relationship grow distant.

With a lengthy letter of two thousand characters, Yang Zhanshan wrote page after page.

The very next morning, Yang Zhanshan arranged for the letter to be sent out.

Traveling from An Yuan City to Anning County to deliver a letter was not convenient; without the carriage team of the Lu family to carry the message, Yang Zhanshan could only hire two armed escorts to deliver it.

As for the court-operated post stations and express delivery services, frankly, Yang Zhanshan did not trust them.

If it were military reports or official court documents, the post stations and express services might perform diligently, but for private correspondence, it depended on their mood.

A slow delivery would have been tolerable, but carelessness could lead to the loss of the letter, making hiring armed escorts a more secure choice.

The letter sent, the relationship between Yang Zhanshan and Yu Qingyi was solidified.

Yang Zhanshan busied himself with official duties during the day, and in the evenings, he continued to cultivate his relationship with Yu Qingyi.

Though they still could not cross certain boundaries, just sitting together and having conversations was relaxing for Yang Zhanshan.

A few days later.

Yang Zhanshan’s letter arrived at the Lu family’s residence.

Lu Songhe, stroking his beard, remained silent for a long time after reading the contents of the letter.

"What’s the matter? What did Zhengshan say in the letter?" Mrs. Qi, sitting on the kang, couldn’t help but ask, noticing Lu Songhe’s unusual expression.

Lu Songhe sighed softly and handed the letter to Mrs. Qi, "Take a look for yourself!"

Mrs. Qi took the letter and began to read.

After reading, a look of sadness couldn’t help but appear on her aged face.

"Qing’er is just not blessed enough!"

She said Qing’er was the original wife from the Lu family.

Isn’t it a lack of good fortune?

After her daughter passed away, the Yang family prospered.

Lu Songhe, with downcast eyes, asked, "Do you think we should agree?"

He felt uncomfortable in his heart and somewhat dissatisfied with Yang Zhenshan.

But he also knew that this dissatisfaction meant nothing.

"Does it make any difference whether we agree or not?" Mrs. Qi saw it clear, Yang Zhenshan wanted to remarry, and they couldn’t stop him, nor did they have any reason to.

"Old man, try to be more open-minded!"

Mrs. Qi advised.

She loved her youngest daughter the most, but now that her daughter was gone, what good would her love do?

"Zhenshan wants to remarry, and we should be understanding!"

"Moreover, Ming Cheng and the others have grown up, even if Zhenshan remarries, it won’t affect them!"

Having a stepmother implies having a stepfather.

If the children were young, then with a new stepmother, life would likely be hard for them.

Aside from feeling some sympathy for her daughter, Mrs. Qi didn’t have much objection to Yang Zhenshan’s remarriage.

And they probably expected something like this to happen.

Now, Yang Zhenshan’s status was different, if he were still in Yang Family Village, still a farmer, then remarriage would almost be impossible.

But now Yang Zhenshan is a Secondary Third Rank Commander, not to mention remarrying, even if he took several concubines, who could say anything.

Lu Songhe fell silent for a moment, then said, "I understand, I will go reply to Zhenshan right away!"

...

Yang Zhenshan didn’t know the attitude of Lu Songhe and Mrs. Qi, but he wasn’t too worried.

Mrs. Qi was right in saying that their agreement didn’t matter much.

Telling them was a sign of respect from Yang Zhenshan; if he didn’t, they couldn’t affect his decision either.

Yang Zhenshan was more concerned about the smuggling case than the Lu family’s attitude.

Initially, he didn’t want to get involved with the smuggling case, but now the case was affecting his marriage with Yu Qingyi.

Until the smuggling case ended, Yu Qingyi couldn’t return to the Sky Blue Sword Sect, and Yang Zhenshan couldn’t send someone to propose marriage.

In order to marry Yu Qingyi as soon as possible, Yang Zhenshan had no choice but to summon Wei Cen.

Wei Cen had not been in An Yuan City recently but had gone to Jia City, yet there were still many Secret Martial Guards keeping watch in An Yuan City, so it was easy for Yang Zhenshan to send a message to Wei Cen.

Three days after Yang Zhenshan sent the message, Wei Cen appeared before him.

"You were looking for me?" Wei Cen asked upon seeing Yang Zhenshan.

He was puzzled as to why Yang Zhenshan would seek him out, as he had clearly seen that Yang Zhenshan hoped to keep his distance from him and the Secret Martial Guards. It was strange and confusing that Yang Zhenshan would actively seek him out now.

"Any movement in Sha Pingchuan?" asked Yang Zhenshan.

In the past month, the cavalry from the Camp had been patrolling the border, making it impossible for the Liang family’s caravans to leave the country. The problem didn’t lie with Yang Zhenshan, so Liang Rong hadn’t been to see him either.

As for Sha Pingchuan, after the Martial Artist Li He had contacted him, Sha Pingchuan acted as if nothing had happened, completely ignoring everything.

"No!" Wei Cen felt uncomfortable.

They had wasted too much time already, and now the lead had run cold at Sha Pingchuan.

Sha Pingchuan was very cunning, hiding in the Guardian Department after seeing Li He and never stepping out or taking any action.

"He must have noticed your presence!" said Yang Zhenshan.

"How is that possible?" Wei Cen frowned.

The Secret Martial Guards were always covert in their operations, and they excelled at tracking and surveillance. Perhaps they weren’t the most powerful in combat, but when it came to surveillance, they were certainly the strongest force in Da Rong.

Wei Cen didn’t believe Sha Pingchuan could have detected the Secret Martial Guards’ surveillance.

Yang Zhenshan shook his head, "It’s time for you to take action! Regardless of Prince Qing Mansion’s involvement, your priority now is to get a hold of Sha Pingchuan, maybe he can provide some clues!"

"If you don’t act, Sha Pingchuan is likely to die an unnatural death!"

Wei Cen furrowed his brows, unsure whether Yang Zhenshan’s speculation was accurate, but Yang Zhenshan’s previous performance forced him to seriously consider his suggestion.

"We still need to report to Mr. Lv, let him make the decision!" added Yang Zhenshan.

Wei Cen pondered for a long while before saying, "Alright, I will head to Chongshan Pass!"

Yang Zhenshan saw off Wei Cen.

The smuggling case could be considered unsolvable at this point.

The case essentially hit a dead end when it reached Sha Pingchuan.

As for Prince Qing Mansion, that was merely Lv Hua’s speculation; perhaps they were indeed involved, but they would never leave any traces.

Yang Zhenshan had also learned about Prince Qing.

The Prince was thirty-eight years old this year, and rumors suggested he had a very perverse nature, acted absurdly, and was frequently scolded by the old Emperor.

Prince Qing wasn’t the son of the old Emperor, but the eldest son of the former Crown Prince.

Before Emperor Chengping ascended the throne, he was not the Crown Prince—at that time, the Crown Prince was Prince Qing’s father.

However, when the previous Emperor passed away, the Crown Prince fell suddenly ill, passed away before ascending, and Emperor Chengping took the throne.

Whether there were conspiracies involved, Yang Zhenshan didn’t know, but many rumors among the populace alleged that Emperor Chengping had killed the previous Crown Prince.

It’s been twenty-six years since then, and rumors are just rumors—without the principal parties, who can tell the truth?