It was as if what happened in Shukai had never happened, and life returned to peace.
Yang Ming never asked for it again, and Yang Yong never sent anyone to Yuehua Palace to harass Chen Shuyi again. Everyone was in peace.
Even Yang Jian and his wife said nothing about this matter. Empress Dugu even skipped Yang Ming's daily greetings because she was afraid that her grandson would pester her for the Shu armor.
And both she and Yang Jian knew that the prince regarded that piece of Shu armor as his life, and even if they opened their mouths, it would be of no avail.
The days are passing by, and the annual spring outing is about to begin.
After the founding of the Sui Dynasty, the tradition of the Northern Zhou Dynasty was continued and two major events were held every year: Spring Outing and Autumn Hunting.
Spring is the time when all things grow, when the ice and snow melt, and people come out of the winter fatigue, it is the time to boost their spirits and feel the spring spirit.
The spring outing is actually a large-scale blind date event endorsed by the royal family.
All the participants were young ladies from various wealthy families. The scene was extremely grand and unprecedented in scale.
It is no exaggeration to say that the annual spring outing can even affect the layout of the court, because it involves a Chinese nation's millennium-long tradition: marriage.
"I didn't participate in last year's spring outing. Which families went there? By the way, where is the second brother? When will he arrive?"
"Is my taste so bad?" Yang Chan pretended to be dissatisfied.
Although the three of them had not seen each other for many years, perhaps it was because Princess Xiao of Jin often mentioned Yang Ming in front of the Yang Xun brothers and sisters, so they were not unfamiliar with Yang Ming.
Yang Jian nodded:
Yes, your taste is very bad, Yang Ming thought in his heart: Otherwise, you wouldn't have fallen in love with Yu Wenshi and that white-eyed wolf.
"Last year's spring outing was hosted by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I heard that this year the eldest princess is personally in charge. The six great families and prominent families will send their children of appropriate age to participate. The second master set off from Jiangdu a month ago. Counting the days, it should be
In other words, it only takes a few days to reach Daxing."
Such gatherings were an effective means used by the Sui ruling class to consolidate their own family interests, so no family would not value them.
March has just arrived, and Yang Ming's Yuehua Palace is already actively preparing to prepare all the daily necessities. After all, this spring outing will last more than twenty days.
"I haven't seen you in two years and you've grown taller again. You're almost catching up with me."
In addition, the first-class families include the Taiyuan Wang family, Qinghe Cui family, Fanyang Lu family, Boling Cui family, Zhaojun Li family, Luoyang Dugu family, Langya Wang family, Hedong Liu family, Yuwen family, etc.
"Originally, Chan'er and I were going to the palace to visit the Emperor's Grandfather and the Emperor's Grandmother, but word came out from the Palace that we should go to see you after the spring outing, so we simply waited for you at the Prince's Mansion,"
Yang Ming said "Oh".
Facing Yang Ming's inquiry, follower Xu Jing said from the side:
However, these two were concubines and were not among the royal family of Zongzheng Temple, so they were dressed very plainly and were not even qualified to dine with Yang Ming and the others.
Moreover, the three of them were about the same age, and they had the same parents. In addition, Yang Ming deliberately tried to get close to each other, so they quickly became a quarrel.
Queen Dugu specially made this arrangement to ensure Yang Ming's personal safety outside.
Yang Ming was in the middle, Yang Chan was leaning against the wall, and the oldest Yang Xian said by the bedside:
"We are leaving with the clan's team tomorrow. Fortunately, our fifth uncle (King of Wei Yang Shuang) is leading the team. The other uncles and clan members are somewhat dissatisfied with our Jin Palace. Isn't it difficult for my third brother to live in Daxing these years?"
In addition to the most powerful Yang family, the six great clans of the Sui Dynasty: the Li family of Longxi, the Xiao family of Lanling, the Yuan family of Luoyang, the Wei family of Jingzhao, the Yang family of Hongnong, and the Zheng family of Xingyang are all actively participating.
Yang Ming had been to Jiangdu, so he naturally knew the half-brother in front of him.
The second master in Xu Jing's mouth refers to Yang Ming's second brother Yang Jian. He was granted the title of King of Yuzhang the year before last. His fiefdom is in Yuzhang County, which is in the north of Jiangxi. The territory is not small, but there is nothing that can be done about it in all aspects.
Compared with Hedong County.
At this moment, Yang Ming was in the courtyard with his hands in his sleeves, watching the palace ladies tidying up their belongings.
He was wearing a vermilion cotton robe decorated with gold thread patterns, with dragons on his shoulders and a coiled dragon on his chest. It was not a dragon, but a golden dragon. However, his dragon was different from that of the emperor and prince.
He is thinner, looks malnourished, and is a bit dark in color.
"Not only am I coming this time, Chan'er is also here."
"As for you, you already have a girl from the Dugu family appointed by your grandmother, so don't worry about her during the spring outing. Let's make sure Cicada doesn't let her fall in love with any crooked melon or jujube."
The three of them chatted for a long time, until Yang Chan felt sleepy.
"I heard that my second brother had arrived, so my younger brother rushed over without stopping."
As the saying goes, being from a well-matched family, from a small family, or from an ordinary local prominent family is not within the scope of Yang Jian's consideration at all.
On the fifth day of March, King Yang Jian of Yuzhang arrived at the Jin Palace in Daxing. Yang Ming, escorted by two hundred forbidden troops, took Xu Jing and Chen Shuyi to the Jin Palace to meet with his second brother whom he had not seen for a long time.
The destination of the spring outing is a plain area at the northern foot of Nanshan Mountain. The Wei River meanders from north to south. It is suitable for camping near the mountains and rivers. The dense woods around it also provide favorable conditions for private meetings between men and women.
Yang Xian's marriage has not yet been decided, so he went north this time to find a suitable family among the major families for marriage.
With an identity like Yang Xian's, what the future Princess Yuzhang will look like is only a secondary consideration. The primary consideration is her background.
After looking at it for a while, Yang Chan stepped forward to take Yang Ming's arm affectionately, and said in an old-fashioned way:
"On this spring outing, you have to listen to your sister's words along the way. Dad said that grandma has booked a sister from the Dugu family for you, so you have to be careful and don't be seduced by those beautiful girls from the big family.
Otherwise grandma will be angry."
For example, during this spring outing, the major families gathered together to form the four largest forces.
I don’t have a good life? Who dares to make me have a hard time if he doesn’t want to live long?
Yang Ming said: "Is that so? I have always lived in my grandmother's Yuehua Palace and rarely leave the palace."
Although Yang Ming already has an unofficial princess, he can still participate, and he is eager to participate.
As the Guanlong Group gradually takes control of the north, some seemingly solid but actually fragile interest alignments have formed among the major families.
As soon as he entered the palace, a young man with handsome appearance and extremely luxurious clothes came up to him and put his arm around Yang Ming's shoulders:
Yang Ming also had a general understanding of this year's spring outing.
Yang Ming laughed and nodded in agreement.
Yang Chan's appearance is definitely considered to be top-notch, as you can imagine from the fact that he and Yang Ming are eighty-nine similar in appearance.
These high-ranking nobles were spread across every state and county in the world, carving up the Great Sui Dynasty, and actually controlling local administration, forming an unbreakable chain of interests.
The three of them are on the same production line.
This kind of clan system began in the Western Jin Dynasty and reached its peak in the Sui Dynasty.
After the two brothers exchanged pleasantries for a while, they put their arms around each other and walked toward the inner courtyard. Yang Xun laughed and said on the way:
The second eldest child, Yang Xian, was born in the fifth year of Kaihuang's reign. Yang Chan, the eldest daughter, was born in the seventh year of Kaihuang's reign. The third eldest, Yang Ming, was born in the eighth year of Kaihuang's reign.
A blind date meeting for the children of nobles from all over the world is about to begin.
Aunt Lou is Dugu Jialuo’s personal maid.
Because through the spring outing, he could have a more comprehensive understanding of the family structure of the Sui Dynasty, which was very important.
"Third brother!"
In the main hall, a delicate girl wearing a lake green brocade cotton jacket stood tall and graceful, with big bright eyes looking at Yang Ming with a smile.
In fact, in addition to Yang Xian and Yang Chan, there are two others: Yang Qing and Yang He.
The three brothers and sisters are all sleeping in the same bed tonight.
The Yang clan formed a sect in person.
During this spring outing, he had a very special person with him.
And Yang Ming still doesn't know the real details of A Lou, but he once heard Lou silently call Queen Dugu as sister in private.
At present, many big families from all over the world have set off for the destination of this spring outing: Nanshan, which will also be known as Zhongnan Mountain in later generations.
The Guanlong aristocratic group headed by the forces of the Northern Zhou Dynasty,
The Jiangnan gentry group headed by the Lanling Xiao family,
A group of local prominent families headed by the Cui family of Qinghe.
Among them, except for the Yang family's natural closeness to the Guanlong Group, the other three families are in harmony with each other, and no one is afraid of the other.