Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather
Chapter 170 - 166: Have Two Babies in Three Years, Three in Five Years

Chapter 170: Chapter 166: Have Two Babies in Three Years, Three in Five Years

After he left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

For this matter, there was no need for Yang Zhenshan to say anything; they had all been prepared mentally.

Yu Qingyi had lived in the Yang family home for so long, and recently Yang Zhenshan had been eating alone with her, How could they not guess what Yang Zhenshan was thinking?

Talking about it, they also felt uncomfortable for Yu Qingyi, having no official status.

Now it’s good, Yang Zhenshan wants to marry Yu Qingyi into the family, and Yu Qingyi will have a proper status, so they will also have rules to follow when interacting with her in the future.

A stepmother is still a mother, and they have to respectfully call her "Mother".

Maybe they will not be too close to Yu Qingyi in the future, but it won’t be as awkward as before.

...

Inside the western room, Yu Qingyi sat on the bed, nervously twirling a handkerchief.

Seeing Yang Zhenshan enter, Yu Qingyi immediately stood up anxiously.

"Did they agree?"

Yang Zhenshan chuckled, "How could they dare not agree?"

The head of this household is not for nothing.

Although Yang Zhenshan just asked everyone for their opinions, in reality, he was only notifying them.

Placing filial piety above all, would Yang Mingcheng and Yang Minghao dare to utter a word of dissent?

"Don’t worry, they will accept you!" Yang Zhenshan stepped forward, holding Yu Qingyi’s hand.

The three sons and two daughters of the Yang family are not malicious people; even Yang Mingzhi, who is the most calculating among them, bears no ill will towards his family.

This was also the most satisfactory thing for Yang Zhenshan.

And Yu Qingyi was a kind woman, Yang Zhenshan believed that they would become a true family.

"Okay," Yu Qingyi responded softly, leaning gently against Yang Zhenshan.

This was the first time she had made such an intimate gesture towards Yang Zhenshan.

Breathing in her delicate fragrance, Yang Zhenshan felt his heart stir.

To avoid becoming a beast, Yang Zhenshan had to break this tender moment.

"Do you want to send a letter back first?"

"Is that okay?" Yu Qingyi lifted her head, her pretty face blushing faintly.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said: "Of course, it’s okay. You write it, and I’ll have someone send it tomorrow!"

Yu Qingyi rose and went to the desk to spread out the paper, and Yang Zhenshan personally ground the ink for her.

Beneath the flickering candlelight, Yang Zhenshan quietly watched her cheeks, always touched with a blush.

...

The next day, Yang Zhenshan asked two armed escorts to send Yu Qingyi’s letter out of An Yuan City.

This kind of matter naturally needed to be notified in advance to the other party, so as to allow them to prepare in advance.

After the letters were sent, Yang Zhenshan began to make arrangements for going to the proposal.

Ms. Wang found the best matchmaker in the city. Originally, this matchmaker was reluctant to go to the Sky Blue Sword Sect because it was located a hundred miles south of An Yuan City, near Yuanhe County.

The matchmaker’s business scope was limited to An Yuan City, making her travel a hundred miles away to talk about marriage with a Jianghu martial arts sect seemed unreliable.

That was a Jianghu martial arts sect, after all!

Ordinary people always keep Jianghu martial artists at a respectful distance; even if they come across them on the road, they would avoid them far away.

"Martial heroes can violate prohibitions with their martial might"; many Jianghu martial artists, relying on their strong martial power, are disdainful toward ordinary people, and some even bully them.

Therefore, in the eyes of ordinary people, Jianghu martial artists are not much different from street hoodlums and even more terrifying than street thugs.

The last thing a matchmaker wants to do is deal with Jianghu martial artists, let alone travel a hundred miles away for that purpose.

However, when Ms. Wang took out a ten-tael silver ingot, the matchmaker happily took on the task.

Upon hearing that this was for a garrison commander’s proposal, the matchmaker’s smile was so broad it was as if she was about to worship Ms. Wang as a Bodhisattva.

Ms. Wang took care of the matchmaker’s matters, while Yang Zhenshan was busy preparing the betrothal gifts.

He wanted to marry Yu Qingyi into the family with dignity, so naturally, the betrothal gifts could not be shabby.

He prepared more than thirty kinds of gifts, but Yang Zhenshan still felt dissatisfied.

In the storeroom, Yang Zhenshan looked at the prepared gifts, frowning slightly.

Gifts worth nearly a thousand taels of silver were already considered valuable, but Yang Zhenshan felt that a significant gift was still missing.

These gifts were all common items; even though they were valuable, they were not enough to amaze people.

"Wu Hai, what kind of gift do you think the Sky Blue Sword Sect would like?" Yang Zhenshan couldn’t think of anything that could impress the four elders of the Sky Blue Sword Sect for a moment.

Yu Qingyi had mentioned that her four martial uncles were all very old-fashioned.

To make them willingly marry off Yu Qingyi to Yang Zhenshan, he had to put some thought into it.

Not only could the various rites not be lacking, but they also had to be dazzling.

"Master, I don’t know much about Jianghu sects, but what martial artists like most are just a few things: divine cultivation techniques, divine weapons, and treasure medicines!" said Wu Hai.

"..."

Yang Zhenshan looked at him speechlessly, "Your master likes those things too!"

Divine cultivation techniques, at the very least, need to be of the Innate Realm to be considered divine techniques.

As for divine weapons, his gold-plated Flying Fish Spear doesn’t count as a divine weapon but only as a good spear. The gold-plated Flying Fish Spear is a standard weapon of the court, similar to the Golden Flying Fish Saber, the Gold-Edged Flying Fish Sword, and so on. These are all rewards by the court for officials with meritorious services.

So, the gold-plated Flying Fish Spear is considered a valuable item, but definitely not a divine weapon.

As for treasure medicines, they are even rarer finds. The only place in Chongshan Town with treasure medicine is the Treasure Medicine Pavilion at Chongshan Pass, and even then, there are just a few pieces treated as the crown jewels of the store, which often go unsold for years.

Wu Hai was a bit too optimistic about his master indeed, for these three things were all beyond Yang Zhenshan’s reach.

Wu Hai gave a sheepish smile, feeling that he might have hit a sensitive spot with Yang Zhenshan.

"How about adding a few more horses?"

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes lit up; this was a good idea.

Although the new horse ranch was not yet built, the Yang family still had quite a few fine horses, which Yang Zhenshan had brought over when he came to An Yuan City and had been raising in the Yang family’s backyard ever since.

The number wasn’t large, just ten in total, and they were carefully raised by Yang Zhenshan himself, treated nearly as well as Red Cloud.

The key point was that these ten horses were all young.

Being young and well-founded, plus nurtured with Spiritual Spring Water, although they weren’t quite comparable to some thousand-li treasure horses, they were certainly rare top-quality horses.

"Add four of them!"

"Aye, your lordship, I feel a little heartache!"

Yang Zhenshan was somewhat torn.

Four carefully nurtured treasure horses, if brought out for sale, would at the very least fetch a thousand taels of silver.

Giving them away like this, Yang Zhenshan felt the pain.

But for the sake of getting married, it was worth spending a bit more.

Not to mention, he was also hoping to win over the Sky Blue Sword Sect, wanting the disciples of the Sky Blue Sword Sect to work for him.

"Let it be so! Prepare, and we shall set off the day after tomorrow," said Yang Zhenshan.

"Yes!"

Wu Hai answered affirmatively.

Yang Zhenshan turned and walked out of the storeroom, just as he came face to face with Yang Mingcheng.

"What is it?"

"Dad, Ming Zhi has sent a letter!" Yang Mingcheng handed a letter to Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Mingzhi would regularly write home from Songzhou Guard, especially during the New Year, when he would also send back quite a few items.

Yang Zhenshan opened the letter to read.

There was much content in the letter: it first conveyed concern and longing towards Yang Zhenshan, then gave an update on the situation in Jianning Guard.

Last year, Zhou Lan spent her main energy on training the soldiers within Jianning Guard and on the purge of officials belonging to the Assistant General’s administration; this year, Zhou Lan shifted her focus to the training of garrison soldiers and development of the garrisons.

Zhou Lan was a very practical person; training troops had always been her main objective, and with Yang Zhenshan’s help, she developed a comprehensive set of guidelines for it.

As for the development of the garrisons, with Yinghe Castle as a reference and the help of people like Yang Mingwu, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Chengze, along with Yang Zhenshan’s continuous advice on the importance of improving the living standards of military households,

she was planning to renovate all garrisons under her jurisdiction this year, following the example of Yinghe Castle.

In this aspect, she was in agreement with Yang Zhenshan’s thoughts.

Lastly, Yang Mingzhi conveyed some good news to Yang Zhenshan.

Ms. Li was pregnant again!

Last year, Ms. Li had just given birth to Chengxian, and this year she was pregnant again; it felt like the rhythm of having two children within three years, three within five.

Yang Zhenshan counted on his fingers: counting Jiang Ning and Jiang Miao, he already had six grandchildren and step-grandchildren. If one more were added, he could put together seven little Calabash Brothers.

But let’s not forget, Liang Family’s Ms. Li was also ready for battle; if all goes well, she should be pregnant this year, too.

Ah, and then there’s Ms. Wang—seems like the eldest son and his wife haven’t had a child for three years.

Thinking of holding babies, Yang Zhenshan’s eyes suddenly gleamed.

Getting married this year, could he and Yu Qingyi also hold their own next year?

This would truly be a son of his own!

He should count as his own son, right? Although it’s not his original body, the act was his doing, and he chose his wife himself.

Could he perhaps keep pace with having two children within three years, three within five?

Thinking of children, Yang Zhenshan felt even more enthusiastic.

In his previous life, he had never really thought about having children, even found the idea to be troublesome.

But now, he genuinely wanted a child, yes, his own son.

However, wishing for children meant he must first marry his bride.

"Right, let Ming Zhi know about the family matters!" Yang Zhenshan handed the letter to Yang Mingcheng as he casually remarked.

He was planning to take a stepmother for Yang Mingzhi; he ought to inform Yang Mingzhi in advance.

"Understood!"

...

Sky Blue Mountain, Sky Blue Sword Sect.

The sword sect was situated on the southern slopes of Sky Blue Mountain, surrounded by undulating hills. In early spring, streaks of greenery blossomed and expanded amongst the hills, bringing fresh vitality to the whole forest.

The Sky Blue Sword Sect was neither majestic nor luxurious; from a distance, it looked just like an ordinary village.

In front of the village stood a twenty-feet-high archway inscribed with the four large characters "Sky Blue Sword Sect." Following the yard-wide pathway into the sect led to a gentle stairway made of blue stone, which stretched all the way to the mid-mountain from the base.

Alongside the bluestone stairs were ordinary courtyards leading up to a spacious terrace and several somewhat larger tiled houses at the mid-mountain.

Around the terrace were structures like stables and storerooms.

At this time, the four elders of the Sky Blue Sword Sect were all gathered together in the main hall.

The Great Elder Su Kun, Second Elder Cao De, Third Elder Xue Linfu, and Fourth Elder Hua Jinqiu.

The previous generation of the Sky Blue Sword Sect had more than ten disciples; Yu Qingyi’s master was the eldest apprentice brother, and these four elders were all Yu Qingyi’s younger apprentice brothers and sisters.

The rest had either perished, left the Sky Blue Sword Sect, or simply because their cultivation was insufficient to become elders.