Chapter 290 It seems that General Yang has great ambitions!
Just as Yang Zhengshan thought, rumors about Zhou Lankefu were flying all over Kyoto.

In the backyards of officials' families, teahouses and restaurants, countless people were discussing this matter.

All kinds of rumors, sarcasm and ridicule spread from mouth to mouth, becoming more and more unpleasant.

However, the most troublesome thing for the Ningguo Mansion was not these ugly rumors, but the pursuit of the Huaijiang Earl's Mansion.

Sui Yian died of illness, and the Huaijiang Marquis's Mansion was left without an heir. The Huaijiang Marquis's Mansion blamed this on Zhou Lan, believing that it was because Zhou Lan killed her husband that Sui Yian died.

At this time, the old lady Zhang from the Huaijiang Earl's Mansion was seeking an explanation at the Ningguo Duke's Mansion.

"Call out that bitch who kills her husband. She must be buried with my son today!"

"Ah~~, the Ningguo Mansion is bullying people! The Duke's Mansion is beating people, wuwu, they killed my son and want to kill me, wuwu~~"

"You bitch, come out~~"

All kinds of curses and wailing were hovering over the luxurious Ningguo Mansion.

The old lady of the Huaijiang Earl's Mansion was throwing a tantrum and cursing in the front yard of the Duke's Mansion like a shrew.

However, Lady Yang, the wife of Duke Ningguo, was sitting in the hall with a pale face.

When has the Ningguo Mansion ever been so shameful?
How could this be true? How could it be true?
Yang was extremely angry, but she had no way to deal with Zhang.

You can't hit him, and you can't scold him, you can only let him throw a tantrum here.

"You damned bastard, you deserve to die, God, please open your eyes and take this damned bastard away!"

Zhang was still cursing, and Yang couldn't bear it any longer, so she shouted, "That's enough!"

As the wife of Duke Ningguo, when had she ever suffered such humiliation?

If it weren't for the reputation of the Duke's Mansion, she really wanted to slap this shrew who was spewing shit.

"That's enough! How can I stop? My son is dead!" Zhang became even more excited when she heard Yang's words. She pointed at Yang and shouted, "You, the Ningguo Mansion, must give me an explanation today, otherwise I will never let you go!"

"Explanation? What explanation?" Yang asked with a sullen face.

Zhang gnashed her teeth and said, "Since that bitch is engaged to my son, I have to let her arrange a ghost marriage for my son!"

Yang's face changed. She didn't expect that this shrew could have such a vicious mind.

A ghost marriage!
Wouldn't that mean letting her daughter die?
Yang could no longer maintain her dignified demeanor. She stood up abruptly and wanted to scold Zhang, the shrew.

But before she could speak, a figure came out from the back hall, "What do you want?"

When Yang heard the voice, she turned around and saw that it was none other than Zhou Lan.

At this time, Zhou Lan was wearing a dark black outfit and looked at Zhang with a frosty face.

"Lan'er!" Yang's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly had a bad feeling.

She knew her little daughter's temper too well.

That person will never suffer any loss!

Zhang, the shrew, has been cursing here for a long time. It is not easy for Zhou Lan to endure it until now. Now that Zhou Lan has come out, I am afraid something bad is going to happen.

However, Zhang didn't know Yang's worries. When she saw Zhou Lan coming out, her eyes suddenly lit up, "You little bitch finally came out. I want you to be buried with my son!"

Hearing her say this, Zhou Lan's eyes became extremely cold.

"Buried with your son! I will send you to be buried with your son first!"

Qiang~~
The long sword in his hand suddenly came out of its sheath, and the sharp sword light flashed across like a rainbow piercing the sun.

"Lan'er, don't do that!" Yang was horrified.

Zhou Lan stopped and stared at Zhang's ugly face with a pair of murderous eyes.

Zhang froze as she looked at the sword beam that was so close to her.

"You, you, you, are going to kill me!"

She still wanted to throw a tantrum.

Zhou Lan said coldly: "In the north, tens of thousands of barbarians couldn't force me to be buried with them. How can you force me to be buried with you?"

"Get lost! If you dare to say another word, I will send you to see your son!"

In terms of murderous aura, Zhou Lan might not be as good as Yang Zhengshan, but he is definitely not comparable to ordinary people.

Moreover, her control over the murderous aura was not as meticulous as Yang Zhengshan's. The murderous aura burst out from her body and poured into Zhang like a violent storm.

Zhang's body trembled like a sieve, and then a smell of urine spread from her body.

"Get out!" Zhou Lan shouted coldly again.

A flash of inspiration appeared in Zhang's blank mind, and then she had only one thought in her mind: run, the farther the better.

As if reacting instinctively to danger, she said nothing, but ran away tumbling with a strong smell of urine.

Looking at her back, Zhou Lan's eyes flashed with helplessness.

"Lan'er!" Yang called softly.

"Mom, I'm fine!" Zhou Lan restrained the murderous aura in her body and spoke in a gentle tone.

Yang looked at her, her eyes reddened, "Ah, my poor daughter!"

"Mom, my life is not hard!" Zhou Lan looked even more helpless.

When she was young, she had also dreamed of marrying a good husband, but now she no longer cares about these things. If there is one, she will marry, if not, she won't marry. As for those rumors, she doesn't care at all.

But in the eyes of parents, their daughter still has to get married.

This is where she feels most helpless.

The shrew was driven away, and the Duke's Mansion finally quieted down. The mother and daughter talked to each other sweetly, but Yang was still worried about Zhou Lan's marriage, which made Zhou Lan more helpless.

And just as rumors were spreading in the Ningguo Mansion and the Huaijiang Earl Mansion, the day of the announcement of the spring examination results arrived as scheduled.

It was still dark, but outside the examination hall there were already crowds of people and the sound of noise was endless.

In the small courtyard of the Yang family, Yang Mingcheng was walking in the main room with an anxious look on his face. Sometimes he walked outside to look at the sky which was still dark, and sometimes he sat in the room to drink a sip of tea, but his butt seemed to have grown pointed and he could not sit still at all.

"Wenyuan hasn't gotten up yet?"

He couldn't help but ask Wu Zheng next to him for the fourth time,
"Master, Master Wenyuan is still sleeping!" Wu Zheng said helplessly. "Hey~~" Yang Mingcheng said a little depressed: "How can he still sleep?"

The results were about to be announced, but Lu Wenyuan was not nervous at all. Instead, he almost did not sleep all night.

"Forget it, I'd better wake him up!"

Yang Mingcheng felt that his little cousin was a little careless, so he hurried to the side room to wake up Lu Wenyuan who was still sleeping.

A moment later, Lu Wenyuan followed him to the main room with sleepy eyes.

"Brother, it's only Mao time now. The results won't be announced until at least Si time!" Lu Wenyuan said with resentment.

"Should we wait outside the examination hall?"

"No need. If we get hit, someone will definitely come and report it!"

"Forget it, Wu Zheng, arrange for someone else to keep an eye on it!"

The two of them exchanged some irrelevant words, and Wu Zheng dozed off against the door frame. "Master, I've sent three people over to keep an eye on them!"

"Oh, then let's wait a little longer!" Yang Mingcheng looked up at the sky which seemed to be getting brighter.

As time passed, Yang Mingcheng was like an ant on hot pot, unable to calm down at all.

It’s not that Yang Mingcheng was too impulsive, but that he had too high expectations for Lu Wenyuan’s performance.

In contrast, Lu Wenyuan was very calm the whole time. At dawn, he asked the servants to prepare breakfast. After breakfast, he sat leisurely in the main room and drank tea.

It seemed as if the announcement of the results of the Spring Examination was just an insignificant matter.

When it was Si time, Yang Mingcheng finally calmed down and stood at the door of the main room, looking out the gate.

"Master, Master, I got it!"

"bingo!"

Just as Yang Mingcheng was expecting it, a guard ran in from outside with a happy face.

“Hit!” Yang Mingcheng exclaimed.

The guard came closer, "Master Wenyuan is the second in this year's exam!"

“Hahaha~~” Yang Mingcheng was overjoyed.

Wu Zheng also breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that the news he received was bad. If it was not successful, Young Master Wenyuan might not be in any trouble, but the old man would probably be very sad.

Lu Wenyuan let out a long breath. Although he appeared very calm just now, he was still worried.

It was just because of Yang Mingcheng's excessive performance that it was difficult for him to express himself.

"Hahaha, Wenyuan, you passed, second place in this exam!"

"Haha, second place means I will definitely pass the imperial examination!"

Yang Mingcheng laughed and patted Lu Wenyuan on the shoulder.

He ranked second in the imperial examination, which basically meant he was sure to become a Jinshi.

As long as there are no major problems in the upcoming palace examination, he will at least be a second-class Jinshi. If he can perform steadily, there is a great chance of getting a first-class Jinshi.

"Brother, brother, it hurts!" Before Lu Wenyuan had time to experience the joy of being on the list, he first felt the critical hit from his eldest cousin.

His physique was quite strong, but compared to Yang Mingcheng, it was really weak.

Yang Mingcheng slapped him several times, almost causing a comminuted fracture of his shoulder.

"Ah, sorry, fist pump, I was too happy and didn't control the strength well!"

Yang Mingcheng reacted and stopped immediately, "Are you okay? Let me take a look!"

"It's okay, it's okay! Brother, let's tell the good news to our family first!" Lu Wenyuan waved his hands repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's tell the good news home first! Wu Zheng, send someone to deliver the letter home quickly!" Yang Mingcheng's attention was diverted, and Lu Wenyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Just when Wu Zheng sent the good news out of Kyoto, Yang Zhengshan's memorial was also placed on the desk of Emperor Chengping.

In the warm room of the Taiji Hall in the imperial city, a wisp of smoke rose from the incense burner, and a faint sandalwood scent filled the room.

Emperor Chengping leaned on the soft couch, covered with a blanket, and calmly read the wrinkled books.

His face looked a little older, but he seemed to be in good spirits. He was still diligent and still went to court every day to handle state affairs.

After reading several memorials, he finally saw Yang Zhengshan's memorial.

Looking at the contents of the memorial, Emperor Chengping did not have too many thoughts in his mind, because he actually knew roughly what Yang Zhengshan had done during this period.

However, when he saw that Yang Zhengshan wanted to build a salt field, his expression fluctuated a little.

"saltworks!"

"It seems that General Yang has great ambitions!"

Emperor Chengping said with a faint smile.

Eunuch Chen beside him carefully observed his expression, and seeing that he was really smiling, he said, "General Yang has ambitions but he is also loyal to His Majesty!"

Eunuch Chen had said a lot of good things about Yang Zhengshan in the past. He said those good things only to follow the wishes of Emperor Chengping, and he didn't care who he was talking about.

And now, he is also following the wishes of Emperor Chengping.

Being ambitious is not necessarily a good thing.

Who in this world doesn’t have ambition?

If there were no ambition, the entire court would probably be empty of civil and military officials.

The ambition that Emperor Chengping mentioned was obviously not a hidden evil intention.

"Well, General Yang is a man with ideas!" Emperor Chengping gave a very pertinent comment.

He thought about it for a moment and then wrote the word "approved" on the memorial.

It's just a salt field, so he naturally wouldn't care.

This was a troublesome matter for Duke Ningguo, but a trivial matter for Emperor Chengping.

(End of this chapter)