Chapter 623: Chapter 518: The Matter that Troubles Yang Zhenshan

Yang Zhenshan fetched a few buckets of Spiritual Spring Water to water the Spirit Plants, then he picked some tea leaves and fried several kilograms of them.

When he came out of the Spiritual Spring Space, it was already evening.

He walked out of the study and went straight back to the main courtyard.

In the main hall of the courtyard, Yu Qingyi was talking to Ms. Wang.

“Dad!”

Upon seeing Yang Zhenshan, Ms. Wang hurriedly got up to greet him, a plump, cheerful smile on her face.

Over the past two years, Ms. Wang had slimmed down a bit, but her physique was still quite robust, and her noble aura had increased.

A village woman had transformed into a noble lady.

“Hmm, what are you two discussing?” Yang Zhenshan asked casually as he sat down.

Ms. Wang chuckled, “We’re talking about that young lady from the Zhou family!”

“The Zhou family? Elder Zhou?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

In the Capital City, there were several Zhou families—the Duke Ning Mansion belonged to the Zhou family, Zhou Yunsong’s family was also the Zhou family, and the former vice-minister of the Cabinet, Zhou Ruoyun’s family, too.

However, Zhou Ruoyun had passed away two years ago. The current Grand Secretary was still Song Yuange, and the vice-minister was now Zhou Yunsong, who also continued to serve as the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Personnel.

Yang Zhenshan was referring to Elder Zhou, meaning Zhou Yunsong’s family.

“Yes, Elder Zhou’s family!” Ms. Wang confirmed.

“What happened with their young lady?” Yang Zhenshan asked with some curiosity.

The ‘young lady’ referred to the Zhou family’s young miss, i.e., Zhou Yunsong’s granddaughter.

Yang Zhenshan rarely paid attention to the affairs among the women in the inner courtyards, but occasionally, he would be curious.

“Today the Zhou family hosted a flower appreciation banquet, and many young masters and misses from around the Capital City attended, including the Princely Heir of Duke Xing Mansion and Princess Nanhua.”

“The young lady from Zhou’s family took a liking to the Princely Heir of Duke Xing Mansion and actually tried to form a connection with him privately, but she was rejected by the Princely Heir and many people witnessed it!”

“Giggle, the Zhou family really lost face today!”

Ms. Wang said with a schadenfreude smile.

Between the noble and official families in the Capital City, the women also have their own circles—some are allies, some are foes, and many have grievances.

The Yang family, for instance, is closer to Duke Ning Mansion, Changping Marquis Mansion, Marquis Nanyang Mansion, and Marquis Dongping Mansion, among other noble families; they are somewhat distant from the families of civil servants.

Yu Qingyi also has several close acquaintances like Mrs. Lin from Changping Marquis Mansion; being relatives by marriage, she often goes out with Mrs. Lin.

Mrs. Li, wife of Lu Baishu, a Martial Artist, also has a temperament that matches Yu Qingyi, and they are quite close.

Meanwhile, Ms. Wang is on good terms with Mrs. Han from Marquis Dongping Mansion. Both coming from farmer backgrounds, they often gather to gossip about the official families’ wives in the Capital City.

The circles among the ladies of the inner courtyards generally follow those of their husbands in the outer courtyards. The families that Yang Zhenshan is close to are also the ones Yu Qingyi and Ms. Wang get close to.

Now, the Yang family had become well integrated into the circle of nobles in the Capital City; they receive invitations for every celebration.

Yu Qingyi, usually not one for crowds, manages well, but Ms. Wang likes the excitement and always represents the Yang family whenever an invitation is received.

“The Princely Heir of Duke Xing Mansion? I heard he’s quite a decent man?” Yang Zhenshan said.

“Yes, he’s very handsome, though he has a bit of a scholarly air,” Ms. Wang remarked.

Duke Xing, Qu Changkong, had been guarding the Southern Border, but he came to the Capital City at the end of last year, bringing along his grandson, Qu Shaogong, and granddaughter, Qu Shaoshang.

Early this year, Qu Changkong returned to the Southern Border but left Qu Shaogong and Qu Shaoshang in the Capital City.

The intention was clear—which was to arrange marriages.

The lineage of Duke Xing Mansion had not been thriving; Qu Changkong had only two sons, the eldest passed away over a decade ago due to illness, and his second son had only one daughter, Qu Shaoshang.

During Emperor Chengping’s reign, appreciating Qu Changkong’s hard work in guarding the Southern Border, he bestowed the title of Commandery Princess to Qu Shaoshang.

Now, Qu Shaogong was already nineteen, and Qu Shaoshang was fifteen—both at the age suitable for marriage.

Yang Zhenshan nodded; he hadn’t met Qu Shaogong, but the latter’s reputation in the Capital City was not small these days and had been brought up by many, though he had only heard bits and pieces.

Ms. Wang sneakily glanced at Yang Zhenshan and seeing his calm demeanor, hesitated but couldn’t help saying, “Dad, about Wanqing’s marriage~~”

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhenshan felt rather awkward.

When he had agreed years ago to let Yang Wanqing decide on her own marital affairs, who knew that Wanqing would still be silent about it after three years?

He was anxious about his own daughter; naturally, Ms. Wang was the most anxious as her mother.

He guessed that Ms. Wang probably had some complaints about him as her father-in-law.

The issue was even more pressing since Wan Ting was already fourteen this year, also reaching the age for marriage talks; they couldn’t possibly wait for Wanqing, the older sister, to be married off after Wan Ting.

“Cough cough, if Wanqing can’t find someone she likes, you should help her look around more.”

Yang Zhenshan felt quite helpless. He hadn’t considered so much at the time, thinking letting Wanqing choose for herself was fine, but now, the girl didn’t seem to be focused on this at all, making the situation very awkward for him, not knowing how to face Ms. Wang.

There’s no choice; after all, she’s the mother, and he, as the grandfather, needs to consider her feelings.

“There are so many young masters in the Capital City; take a look and see who’s suitable. Oh, and there are quite a few talented young men in the Martial Arts Pavilion. Hmm, I’ll also take a look sometime.”

What else could Yang Zhenshan say? He could only help by looking out.

Finding a suitable young man for his granddaughter was also challenging; he didn’t even know what kind of man Wanqing wanted.

Now, he was getting to the point of wanting to urge the marriage.