Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Yuan Min hurriedly returned to the Yuan residence. As soon as she entered the gate, a maid greeted her, "Miss, the old master is waiting in the VIP hall. Please go directly there."

After Changsun Wuji, the representative of the Guanlong aristocracy, was forced to commit suicide, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian began to severely crack down on the Guanlong aristocracy who had made contributions to the founding of the dynasty, stripping them of their official positions and titles. The most ruthless move was to relocate the capital to Luoyang. After leaving Guanlong, the Guanlong aristocracy who followed the relocation became like water without roots and gradually faded into political obscurity.

But silence does not mean extinction. They were still a force to be reckoned with in the Tang Dynasty, especially in terms of wealth. They had accumulated wealth over a century, monopolized a large number of industries across the country, and owned countless lands and estates.

Both the Yuan and Dugu families were incredibly wealthy, being the two richest families in the Tang Dynasty. However, the Yuan family was also divided into more than a dozen branches by the court. Yuan Min's branch was the Yinchuan branch because his grandfather, Yuan Chen, was born in Yinchuan County, Luoyang. It was one of the direct branches of the Yuan family, but not the main branch, which was in Chang'an.

Yuan Chen had four sons, fourteen grandsons, and eight granddaughters.

Yuan Min's father was his fourth son, Yuan Chu, a business prodigy. He started as a lowly palace guard, but later abandoned his official post to go into business. He started with 20,000 strings of cash and built a vast business empire over more than 20 years.

The Yuan family's assets are managed by the second son, Yuan Yu, and the third son, Yuan Jin, and have nothing to do with Yuan Chu. Yuan Chu's assets are his own and are clearly separate from the family's assets.

Last spring, Yuan Chu unfortunately fell ill and passed away. He was in poor health and left no children, only a daughter named Yuan Min. He left a will specifying that all his property should be inherited by his daughter Yuan Min, as he did not want to hand over his property to his family.

Generally, after a daughter gets married and receives a dowry, she does not receive any property from her maternal family. However, there are exceptions. Yuan Min is an exception. She is an only child with no siblings and is divorced.

Secondly, the father left a will specifying that his estate should be passed on to his daughter.

More importantly, the grandfather, Yuan Chen, agreed. As the head of the family, if Yuan Chen had not agreed, the property of the four sons would have been confiscated by the family and become family property.

Of all his grandchildren, Yuan Chen loved his seventh granddaughter, Yuan Min, the most, especially because her husband, Xue Wei, was immoral, dissolute, and indulgent. After being imprisoned, he was forced to divorce by the government.

Yuan Chen felt sorry for his granddaughter's misfortune and wanted to leave his four sons' inheritance to his only daughter, Yuan Min, but this was met with strong opposition from his other three sons and the entire family.

Finally, Wu Zetian intervened. Wu Zetian advocated gender equality and believed that daughters had the right to inherit their fathers' estates. After learning about the Yuan family's situation, Wu Zetian wrote a handwritten edict to Yuan Chen. The contents of the edict are unknown, but it was this edict that silenced the entire Yuan family and gave the green light to the government, allowing the property rights and assets to be transferred smoothly.

Yuan Chu had no land or property, but he personally owned more than 230 shops, spread across Luoyang, Chang'an, Jiangdu, and Chengdu. Yuan Min suddenly became a well-known wealthy single woman in Luoyang.

When Yuan Min arrived at the VIP hall, he was slightly taken aback. There were three people in the VIP hall: his grandfather Yuan Chen, his uncle Yuan Yao, and a young scholar who was only in his early twenties. He was very handsome and had a gentle and refined demeanor.

Yuan Min's heart skipped a beat, but she remained calm and stepped forward to give her grandfather a deep curtsy, saying, "Granddaughter Yuan Min greets Grandfather."

Yuan Chen pointed to the young scholar and said with a smile, "This is your uncle's colleague, Cui Shi. He comes from the Cui family of Qinghe. He passed the imperial examination seven years ago and was promoted to Palace Attendant Censor last year. He once worked with your uncle to compile 'The Pearl of the Three Teachings.' He is young and promising with a bright future. He is also very good at literature and music. You young people should get to know each other better."

Yuan Chen didn't say it explicitly, but his meaning was clear: he wanted to arrange a marriage between his granddaughter Yuan Min and Cui Shi.

Yuan Chen took a liking to Cui Shi at first glance. Cui Shi was born into one of the seven most prestigious families, was exceptionally talented, had outstanding looks, and was successful in his career. Such a grandson-in-law was rare in the world and could not be found even with a lantern. He was a million times better than Xue Wei.

Yuan Chen had complete confidence in his granddaughter. She was stunningly beautiful, exceptionally talented in literature and art, and only seventeen years old. Although she was divorced, she was virtuous and self-disciplined. More importantly, she was incredibly wealthy, enough to make up for the regret of her divorce. He believed that no man could refuse her.

Yuan Chen's judgment was correct; Yuan Min's beauty and wealth were fatally attractive to Cui Shi.

In fact, Choi Sik had also been married, but his wife had passed away, leaving behind a daughter, so he didn't care that Won Min had a history of divorce.

Cui Shi gave Yuan Min a deep look, then rose and bowed, "I, Cui Shi, am truly honored to meet Miss Yuan!"

Yuan Min also gave a perfunctory curtsy, and said with a slight smile, "It's a pleasure to meet Young Master Cui, but I have some matters to attend to. Please have a seat, Young Master Cui, and we can chat again another time!"

Yuan Yao was somewhat displeased. "Min'er, it's getting late. What else do you need?"

Yuan Min bowed and smiled, "Uncle, you don't know this, but I've summoned over fifty managers for a meeting. They're still waiting for me. I'll go back, say a few words, sign something, and then rush back."

Cui Shi quickly smiled and said, "Miss Yuan has important matters to attend to, so please go ahead and do your work. We'll have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future."

"Young Master Cui, I'm sorry!"

Yuan Min bowed to her grandfather again, and before he could object, she turned and left the hall.

Yuan Chen was old and shrewd. He knew that today's event was a bit abrupt and his granddaughter was unprepared. Her departure was just to ease the tension, not because she was truly unwilling.

Yuan Chen stroked his beard and smiled, "Young Master Cui, I personally feel that you two are a perfect match, a match made in heaven. However, our Yuan family tradition has always respected daughters, and it is only after the daughters agree that it is possible."

These words sounded somewhat insincere. It was an arranged marriage, a matter of parental command and matchmaker's words. If it were any other granddaughter, Yuan Chen would have made the decision on the spot.

But Yuan Min is a special case. His granddaughter is very powerful, possessing a vast business empire. If she doesn't agree, no one can force her.

Yuan Yao, standing nearby, smoothed things over, saying, "Young Master Cui, as the saying goes, the master leads you to the door, but the cultivation is up to you. We probably don't need to teach you how to win a beauty's heart!"

Cui Shi laughed heartily, "No need! No need! Sincerity can move mountains!"

...............

It was already late at night, but Yuan Min was still sitting by the window, gently stroking the poem Xue Wei had written for her:

You ask when I will return, but there is no set date.

The autumn rain in Bashan swells the pond at night.

When shall we trim the candle by the west window together?

But we talked about the night rain in Bashan.

The man who once looked down on her, neglected her, and hurt her deeply actually wrote her such a affectionate poem. Has he truly repented? Or is it merely because he is currently down on his luck?

Unbeknownst to her, Yuan Min was in a state of utter confusion. She wanted to forgive him and start over with him, but she was also afraid that he would relapse into his old ways and that her sincere feelings would only bring her deeper hurt. For a moment, she felt lost.

At this moment, her mother, Madam Yang, came in. Madam Yang was not Yuan Min's father's first wife, but his second wife. Yuan Chu and his first wife, Zheng, had passed away long ago, and the two had no children.

More than 20 years ago, Yuan Min's father, Yuan Chu, for some unknown reason, fell out with his father, the head of the family, Yuan Chen, and left in a fit of anger. He never returned to the Yuan family mansion and has been doing business outside ever since.

It wasn't until eighteen years ago that Yuan Chu married his second wife, Yang, and the following year Yang gave birth to their daughter, Yuan Min.

It wasn't until after her husband's death, at the repeated request of her grandfather Yuan Chen, that Yang moved back with her daughter Yuan Min.

Perhaps feeling indebted to his youngest son, Yuan Chen doted on Yuan Min. Every year on Yuan Min's birthday, he would personally send her expensive gifts. Despite the opposition of his clansmen, he agreed to give all the shops left by Yuan Chu to Yuan Min.

"Min'er, why aren't you asleep yet at this hour?"

Yuan Min nestled in her mother's arms, "Mom, my mind is so confused."

Madam Yang smiled and asked, "Is it because of Young Master Cui?"

Yuan Min was taken aback, then quickly shook her head, "It wasn't him, it has nothing to do with him."

Suddenly, Yang noticed the poem on the table. She came from a scholarly family; her father was a professor at the Imperial Academy. Influenced by her father, she was well-versed in poetry and literature from a young age and had a high level of literary attainment. However, her father died early, and her family fell into decline, which is why she married Yuan Chu, who was more than ten years her senior.

"Oh my! This poem is so beautiful, it's a love poem! Did Young Master Cui write it for you?"

"No, it was Xue Wei who wrote it to me," Yuan Min said softly.

Madam Yang's face immediately darkened. "Min'er, how can you still associate with him? Have you forgotten how he hurt you before? You've been married for three years, and you're still a virgin. If word gets out, the whole world will laugh at you. Isn't that a great disgrace enough?"

"Mother, it's my fault. I didn't let him touch me. He... he broke his promise."

"Why didn't he keep his promise? You are his wife of many years, and respecting you is the bare minimum requirement. What did he do? On our wedding night, he went to sleep with another woman. Whether it was a princess or a prostitute, he didn't refuse any of them. He didn't respect you. He's a licentious person. It's fortunate that we got divorced. Now that he's out of prison, do you still want to rekindle your old feelings for him?"

"No, I just feel sorry for him!"

"Min'er, don't lie to your mother. If you only pitied him, would you stay up at night reading the love poems he wrote for you?"

"I... I still can't let him go. He told me he's changed, and I feel he's different than before."

"What's the difference? Does going to jail once change a person?"

Yuan Min shook her head. "I don't know, but I feel that he is really different from before. His eyes used to be cloudy and dull, but now they are different. There is light in his eyes, and I can even see a trace of righteousness in his eyes, which was completely absent before. His whole spirit has changed, as if he is a different person."

"That's just your imagination because you haven't seen him in a long time."

Madam Yang sighed, took her daughter's hand and said softly, "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change a man's nature. Listen to your mother's advice. Since you've divorced him, start a new life. That young master Cui is a very good catch. It would be a real pity to miss this opportunity. I'm not forcing you to agree immediately, but you can try dating him. You're already seventeen years old. Don't waste your youth on someone who isn't worth it."

Yuan Min gently bit her lip. "Mother, I'm still not reconciled."

Madam Yang knew her daughter's stubbornness well. After a long while, she sighed and said, "Then let time prove it! You say he has repented, so watch his actions and let time prove his repentance."

Also, don't flatly refuse Young Master Cui. You should at least give your grandfather some face; he loves you so much, don't hurt him.

Yuan Min nodded gently. Her mother was right. Time would prove his sincerity. If he had truly repented, she might give him another chance.

As for Cui Shi, he was indeed an outstanding man. If it were six months ago, she might have considered him, but Xue Wei's poem, "When shall we trim the candle by the west window together, and talk of the night rain in Bashan?" resonated with her heart.

It's hard for her to have room for another man in her heart.