Jiapingguan Chronicle

"The Yun family of Wujiang? Cultivating Taoism?"

Jin Miaomiao scratched her head. She felt that she could understand every word Song Yaojia said, but when these words were put together to form a sentence, she felt a little confused.

"Look at you scratching your head like that, is there something you don't understand?" Song Yaojia raised an eyebrow, looked at her encouragingly, and said, "Just ask if you have any questions. We don't have anything else to do anyway, so let's just chat."

“It was indeed a chat.” Jin Miaomiao rested her chin on her hand, looking at Song Yaojia. “Is this Wu Jiang Yun family my master’s family? That particularly powerful and mysterious family?”

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia sighed softly. “The Yun family of Wujiang has a history of about four or five hundred years. In front of the Yun family, so-called aristocratic families like Wang and Xie are just juniors, let alone people like us. In their eyes, we are just like nouveau riche. The only families that can stand on equal footing with the Yun family, besides the original Eagle King’s Mansion, are the Xuanyuan family. Because of his relationship with the Xuanyuan family, Elder Tantai also has a certain position in the Yun family.”

"It's quite remarkable that they've been able to maintain their lineage for four or five hundred years," Jin Miaomiao exclaimed. "But I've never heard of them before. Don't any of their children become officials?"

“Yes, but once you enter officialdom, you have to change your name and surname. From then on, you are no longer a member of the Yun family and cannot use the Yun family’s name.” Song Yaojia spread his hands and said helplessly, “This is an ironclad rule set by the Yun family’s ancestor. Over the generations, many rules have changed, but this one rule will never change.”

"My master told me about this." Shen Haolin nodded, and seeing Shen Cha frown, he knew that the medicine she had just drunk might have made her feel nauseous. He reached out and fed her a piece of candied fruit, then turned his gaze to Jin Miaomiao and said, "I feel unwell after taking the medicine these past two days. I even vomited yesterday. Are you really sure there's nothing wrong with this medicine?"

"You threw up?" Jin Miaomiao clapped her hands. "That's right." She beckoned to Shen Cha. "Stick out your arm."

With a candied fruit in her mouth, Shen Cha stretched out her arms and watched Jin Miaomiao take her pulse.

After waiting for a while, she saw Jin Miaomiao release her wrist and raise an eyebrow at the other person.

"how?"

"No problem, it's normal." Jin Miaomiao gave Shen Cha and Shen Haolin a reassuring smile. "As you know, this prescription was decided by our senior uncle. He told you before that you would definitely feel uncomfortable, right?"

“Yes!” Shen Cha nodded. “Uncle said he used a little bit of insect medicine, which made me feel uncomfortable.” She leaned on Shen Haolin’s shoulder, took a deep breath, and continued, “So, this is normal?”

“Yes!” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “There is a problem with the insect medicine. No matter who takes it, they will have the same reaction as you. So, don’t worry, you’re not special. If I were to take it, I would have the same reaction as you.”

"I understand." Shen Haolin thought for a moment and asked, "How long do I need to take this medicine? I can't keep taking it and feeling this uncomfortable forever, can I?"

"Don't worry, Your Excellency, it won't be long." Jin Miaomiao pulled out a small notebook from her pocket and looked at it. "Today should be the sixth day, right?" Seeing Shen Cha nod, she smiled and said, "Tomorrow is the last day. Before noon, you need to go to the Marquis's residence to see your uncle and have him check on you. He will change the prescription. Also, remember to tell your uncle that the reaction to the insect medicine is quite severe."

“Okay.” Shen Cha looked at Jin Miaomiao. “Aren’t you coming with me?” “Of course I’m coming!” Jin Miaomiao smiled. “How could I leave you alone?” Her gaze shifted to Shen Haolin. “The Duke is coming too, right?”

"Of course!"

"And me too!" Song Yaojia closed the fan in his hand and said with a smile, "How could I miss such a lively event?" He raised an eyebrow at Shen Cha, who wanted to refuse, "Hey, don't think about getting rid of me. I've been entrusted with an important task. I'm here to keep a close eye on you all. I'm not here for anything else, but to see if you're reporting good news and hiding bad news."

"Alright!" Shen Cha had no choice but to agree. After finishing the candied fruit in her mouth, she reached for another one and said, "Brother just said that he heard Uncle Huang mention the Yun family of Wujiang?"

“Yes!” Shen Haolin nodded. “The Yun family, Eagle King’s Mansion and Xuanyuan family are old friends. Although their relationship doesn’t seem very deep now, the other two families will not stand idly by if one of them needs help.”

“I’ve heard my uncle mention it too.” Song Yaojia stroked her chin, looked at Shen Cha, then at Jin Miaomiao, and said with a smile, “Then, let me test you. Why are these three families able to become family friends?”

“A stable three-way relationship.” Shen Cha raised an eyebrow at Song Yaojia, yawned, and said, “The Xuanyuan family represents power, and the Eagle King’s Mansion represents military strength, that’s undeniable, right? Now it depends on what role the Yun family played back then. Although they are now a family of cultivators and seem like reclusive masters, their family shouldn’t have started out like this, right?”

"Hmm, that makes sense!" Song Yaojia looked at Jin Miaomiao. "What do you think?"

“Like Xiaocha, I don’t know much about the Yun family, but the Xuanyuan family is a pillar of the court, and the Eagle King’s Mansion is the absolute controller of military power. As for the Yun family…” Jin Miaomiao shook her head slightly, “Based on my master’s description of my grandmaster, they don’t seem like they could manage money. My master inherited my grandmaster’s skills and is also someone who earns two and spends three.” She sighed helplessly, “The fact that they were able to leave behind any wealth is all thanks to my uncle, who kept an eye on them and prevented them from spending recklessly. So…”

"You think the Yun family still doesn't have that ability?" Seeing everyone nod, Song Yaojia smiled. "I have to say, your guesses are quite accurate. The Yun family is indeed not in charge of money. The real money-managers are the Xuanyuan family and the Eagle King's Mansion, especially the Eagle King's Mansion. Like the Shen family army, they never ask the court for money. They solve their own expenses for raising and training troops."

"When the Shen Family Army was established, my master proposed this to my grandfather. If we wanted the Shen Family Army to become a sword loyal to the royal family, it had to be self-sufficient and not controlled by the Ministry of War with military pay. My grandfather and uncle both strongly agreed with this, so..." Shen Haolin chuckled, "I didn't expect the Eagle King Army to be like this too."

“That’s the wisdom of experience!” Song Yaojia smiled. “The Xuanyuan family also owns a lot of businesses. Half of the old shops in Xijing City belong to the Xuanyuan family.” He looked at Shen Cha. “Those pastry shops you like, are they all owned by the family? Did the old general mention them?”

“It was mentioned!” Shen Cha nodded. “They originally wanted me to take over, but I didn’t agree. I wasn’t going to stay in Xijing City anyway. It wouldn’t be right to change the current model just because I’m going back.”

"That's true!" Song Yaojia nodded, looked at Jin Miaomiao, and smiled, "Aren't you particularly curious about the Yun family now?"

"You say the Yun family doesn't manage money, so what exactly do they manage?"

"Actually, it's a place you're quite familiar with," Song Yaojia paused slightly before saying, "It's under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Observatory." (End of Chapter)