Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

"Subordinate Zhen Shijie pays his respects to Marquis Yang!"

In the hall of Marquis Mansion, Shuntian Prefecture Governor Zhen Shijie greeted Yang Zhenshan with a bow.

Yang Zhenshan greeted him with a smile, warmly helping Zhen Shijie to his feet, "This Marquis has long held great admiration for Mr. Zhen, ha ha~~"

He was merely acquainted with Zhen Shijie, having no significant interactions on typical days and only seeing each other at morning court sessions, but Yang Zhenshan rarely attended those, so they could at best be described as familiar faces to each other.

However, Zhen Shijie was born in Liaodong's Ping Yuan Province, and the Zhen clan was the largest prominent family in Ping Yuan Province.

During a severe drought in Liaodong years ago, with Yang Zhenshan's covert support, many officials and wealthy merchants in Ping Yuan Province were investigated and seized by the court, including many wealthy merchants who were members of the Zhen clan.

Right, there was also Zhen Yang, a member of the Ping Yuan Zhen clan.

Of course, whether it was those seized wealthy merchants back then or Zhen Yang, they actually had little to do with Zhen Shijie.

Zhen Shijie was quite clean and upright as an official, and he was also very capable.

After all, the position of Governor of Shuntian Prefecture was not an ordinary one.

In Capital City where many powerful figures resided, the majority of cases handled by Zhen Shijie as Governor involved these elites. Without real ability, one simply could not hold the position steadily.

And yet, Zhen Shijie had been the Governor for ten years, and what's most impressive was that he still had a good reputation among the people of Capital City, proving that he was indeed fair in his conduct and dealings.

After some polite exchanges, Zhen Shijie brought up his official business, "Marquis Yang, my visit this time is due to Imperial Censor Zhou's impeachment case. I suppose Marquis Yang is already aware of the matter."

"Ah, aware, aware. However, I have already questioned the younger members of my family, and none of them visited the bookstore that day," Yang Zhenshan said.

This issue had caused Yang Zhenshan some frustration.

Zhen Shijie smiled and said, "It's not that I don't trust Marquis Yang, but since the task has been delegated to me to investigate, I have no choice but to make inquiries."

Yang Zhenshan was not annoyed. Although the matter was frustrating, it was also understandable.

Zhou Ningwei certainly wouldn't lodge a false accusation, as it involved his daughter's reputation, and Zhen Shijie's inquiry was reasonable.

"Shall I call back the young ones from my family so Mr. Zhen can question them?"

Zhen Shijie hurriedly waved his hand, "No need, no need, I trust that the Marquis would not deceive His Majesty. I have here a portrait; Marquis Yang might wish to conduct a preliminary search within the manor."

"If absent, it might be someone posing as a person from Marquis Jing'an's household misbehaving."

Saying this, he took out a portrait from his sleeve and handed it to Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan suddenly had a bad feeling when he saw the portrait.

This portrait looked somewhat familiar to him!

It couldn't really be someone from his own family, could it?

"Who is this?"

"I have just questioned the bookstore owner; he said the customers that day included a master and a servant, both young teenagers and regulars of their bookstore. This portrait is of the servant," explained Zhen Shijie.

The corners of Yang Zhenshan's mouth twitched slightly; it seemed this might actually be the case.

Being a regular meant they often went to buy books – it was unlikely to be an impostor.

"Lu Shou! Go and find out who this is!"

While he felt it looked familiar, the Yang family had many servants, and he was not clear on which ones accompanied whom.

Lu Shou looked at the portrait, hesitating to speak.

"Speak your mind," Yang Zhenshan said sternly.

Lu Shou replied, "Marquis, this is Mr. Jiang's servant, Danian!"

"Mr. Jiang!" Yang Zhenshan was startled, then his expression turned strange, "Jiang Feng!"

"Correct!" Lu Shou replied.

Yang Zhenshan's face showed lines of exasperation, "Go call the two of them over!"

"Yes, sir!"

After Lu Shou left, Yang Zhenshan turned to Zhen Shijie, "Mr. Zhen, could there be some misunderstanding here?"

"Misunderstanding? What does Marquis Yang mean?" Zhen Shijie inquired.

Yang Zhenshan chuckled, "My grandson is only seven years old this year!"

Jiang Feng was Jiang He's youngest son, who had just turned seven and was currently receiving foundational education in the Yang family's school.

Suggesting that a seven-year-old child was harassing young girls, this was honestly a bit much.

Zhen Shijie also froze, "Not a teenager?"

Yang Zhenshan pulled at his beard, "Well, my grandson does tend to look a little older than his age."

Moments later, Lu Shou arrived with Jiang Feng and Danian.

"Grandfather! You were looking for me!" Jiang Feng ran swiftly to Yang Zhenshan's side.

Jiang Feng was indeed only seven years old, but he appeared much taller and more robust than a typical child his age.

It is said that nephews tend to take after their uncles; though he was Jiang He's son, Jiang Feng's physical stature clearly resembled that of the Yang family, similar to Yang Mingcheng in being tall and big, looking almost like an eleven or twelve-year-old child.

Yang Zhenshan ruffled his head and asked, "Did you hug a young lady in front of the Li family bookstore a few days ago?"

"The Li family bookstore?" Jiang Feng paused, thought for a moment, and said, "No, I just helped her because she was about to fall."

Looking at Jiang Feng, Yang Zhenshan noted the child had always been well-behaved, unlike Chengyou and Chengzhang, so mischievous; accusing him of doing something wrong was beyond belief.

And at seven years old, what did a child understand about harassing?

Yang Zhenshan turned to Zhen Shijie, who couldn't help but smile wryly, remarking, "It seems Imperial Censor Zhou has made a mountain out of a molehill!"

Though customs in Da Rong tended to be conservative, it wasn't to the extent that boys and girls couldn't touch each other.

If it had been teenagers, that could imply awareness of gender issues, but for a seven-year-old child, this situation was just a misunderstanding.

Once the matter was clarified, Zhen Shijie promptly took his leave, with Yang Zhenshan personally escorting him to the gate.

Since it was a misunderstanding, Yang Zhenshan thought a simple explanation would suffice, but he hadn't anticipated that Zhou Ningwei would remain so obstinate. Upon learning that Jiang Feng was merely a seven-year-old child, he submitted another memorial, insisting that "There must be no physical contact between men and women, it is the propriety; a seven-year-old child is also male and possesses a beastly nature."