Being a butler is not a job for just anyone.
Wu Hai had served as the butler in the Yang family for so many years, thoroughly familiar with everything about the family, although he was still sowhat unfamiliar with the situation in the Capital City, Lu Shou could complent his shortcomings in that regard.
Regarding why Wu Hai would wait outside the study for him, he understood that it was nothing more than the fear that Lu Shou might take over his position as the butler.
Yang Zhenshan was a person who valued old sentints, so naturally, he would not dismiss Wu Hai from his position.
However, Wu Hai was not young anymore; he was fifty-six by now, and even if he continued to serve as the butler, he wouldn’t be able to do so for many more years.
Whereas Lu Shou was not yet forty years old, when a few more years pass and Wu Hai retires, it would be perfect for Lu Shou to take over.
"Yes, this old servant will ntor Lu Shou well!" Wu Hai said with a chuckle.
"Mm," Yang Zhenshan pondered for a mont, then said, "Let’s establish another rule in the house. From now on, servants who are over the age of sixty can return ho to enjoy their retirent, and their monthly wages will be distributed as usual, continuing until their death."
"If they have no children to support them, they may stay in the Yangshan Hall within the mansion to spend their retirent."
The rise of the Yang family was not a long one, thus the servants in the family were generally not of great age; Wu Hai was probably the eldest among them.
Retirent at over the age of sixty, which ans collecting a pension, might seem stringent upon first hearing.
After all, in this world, the average lifespan of common people was only around forty years old.
But the servants of the Yang family were not ordinary people; they not only had the nourishnt from the Spiritual Spring Water but were nearly all Martial Artists, so living to sixty was not difficult.
Thus, Yang Zhenshan set the retirent age limit to sixty.
"The Marquis is kind and benevolent, this old servant is deeply grateful!" Wu Hai was about to kneel and kowtow to Yang Zhenshan upon hearing this.
Yang Zhenshan quickly stopped him, "All right, no need for kowtowing at every turn!"
"To be able to serve the master’s family is a blessing for us!" Wu Hai was truly moved.
He had served as a butler in another family before, but when compared, it was like night and day.
In his heart, being in the Yang family was a stroke of luck.
Yang Zhenshan smiled, "Alright, go rest. I don’t need your attendance here."
"Yes, this old servant will take his leave!"
Wu Hai bowed and stood in place, while Yang Zhenshan continued walking towards the main courtyard.
Upon arriving at the main courtyard, Yu Qingyi and Ming Zhao were already waiting for him to dine.
Today, Yu Qingyi had gone out, having been invited by the lady of the Duke Ning Mansion to offer incense at Dacheng Temple.
After a brief wash, Yang Zhenshan sat at the dining table and casually asked, "Did the lady of the Duke Ning Mansion say anything?"
"No, today the lady mainly brought her grandson to et a young lady for him, inviting was simply to have soone to chat with!" Yu Qingyi said with a smile.
"Oh? Which family’s young lady?" Yang Zhenshan asked with so curiosity.
"The Li family from Huaiyang Prefecture!" Yu Qingyi said.
Yang Zhenshan showed an expression of realization.
The Li family of Huaiyang Prefecture was the family of the forr Grand Secretary Li Siyuan. After Li Siyuan retired, he went to live in Huaiyang Prefecture.
In the past when Li Siyuan was in the court, the Duke Ning Mansion had not beco related by marriage to the Li family; now that Li Siyuan had retired, the Duke Ning Mansion was indeed looking to establish marital ties with the Li family.
Once the food was served, Yang Zhenshan casually asked, "Should we set a date for Chengmao’s marriage?"
This past month, the marriage between the Yang family and the Xue family had progressed quickly, completing the betrothal gifts, na inquiries, and all such procedures. All that was left was to set a wedding date and then to wait for the wedding to take place.
"Yes, I’ve already written to Ming Zhi yesterday; I’ve picked three dates, asking him to see which one is suitable," Yu Qingyi said.
The wedding date is chosen by the groom’s side and then inford to the bride’s side, and if there are no objections from the latter, the wedding date can be set.
At that ti, Yang Mingzhi definitely won’t be able to co back, but the Li family’s side will surely return.
"Handle it as you see fit," Yang Zhenshan thought it over and felt that there was nothing he could assist with in this matter.
Yang Zhenshan had seen many weddings in recent years, and Yu Qingyi was well-experienced, not needing his help at all.
"I see Chengmao is not in a hurry about his marriage at all!" Yu Qingyi said with a laugh.
Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, "This kid is now training with the Personal Guard Camp, of course he doesn’t care about marriage."
Back at Chongshan Pass, Yang Zhenshan had said that Yang Chengmao would train with the Personal Guard Camp after getting married, but now that they had co to the Capital City, the Personal Guard Camp had beco the Yang Family Guards, and Yang Chengmao, the lad, had taken it upon himself to follow Yang Chengye to train in the Personal Guard Camp.
This kid joyfully runs to the Personal Guard Camp every day, probably already tossing the marriage to the back of his mind.
"Hehe~~ I reckon Chengmao is quite the martial arts enthusiast!" Yu Qingyi laughed.
Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but grin. He hadn’t noticed Chengmao’s obsession with martial arts before, but ever since Chengmao beca a Martial Artist, this obsession seed to have grown increasingly apparent.
...
Deep into the night, the world was silent, and Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi had gone to bed.
Suddenly, Yang Zhenshan was woken by the sound of faint noises.
Yang Zhenshan was a light sleeper, but ordinary, natural sounds wouldn’t wake him—like the wind, rain, or the chirping of insects. Even the footsteps of Qingxia and Red Cloud wouldn’t rouse him from sleep, because he could unconsciously distinguish whether these sounds belonged around him.
This perception was magical, akin to becoming accustod to certain sounds to the point where they no longer catch your attention. But if a new sound suddenly appeared, one you had never heard before, you would imdiately beco alert.
Previously, this sense wasn’t very clear to Yang Zhenshan, but after breaking through to the Innate Realm, his perceptive abilities had beco much sharper.
Hearing was a part of perception, and this perception wasn’t limited to just hearing.
It was more like a spiritual sense, just as Yang Zhenshan could sense the heavens—he now had a special awareness of all new things around him.
A slight noise was enough to awaken him from his slumber.
Yang Zhenshan furrowed his brows and slowly sat up.
Another noise! And it had already entered the main courtyard!
Anyone who could bypass the Yang Family Guards and sneak into his main courtyard was no ordinary person.
An Innate Martial Artist!
Yang Zhenshan donned his robe.
"What’s going on?" Yu Qingyi asked groggily.
"There’s an expert here!" Yang Zhenshan’s expression was grave.
Yu Qingyi suddenly beca fully awake, "An expert! Where?"
For Yang Zhenshan to call soone an expert, they must surely be an Innate Martial Artist.
"Don’t panic, I’ll go out and have a look!" Opening the bedroom door, Yang Zhenshan glanced at Qingxia, who was sleeping in the outer room.
"Marquis!"
Qingxia was startled awake by the opening of the door.
Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, "You go and stay with the Madam."
After saying this, he stepped out of the outer room and into the main hall, pushing open the wooden door. His gaze imdiately locked on the door of the side room not far away.
The moonlight was cold and clear, casting the courtyard in a white frost-like glow.
But there was a tall osmanthus tree in front of that side room door. The moonlight, filtering through the sparse tree crown, cast a mottled shadow upon the ground.
And in those dappled shades, a shadowy figure could be faintly seen.
The figure was shrouded in a black robe, neither fat nor thin, its face indiscernible, but its back seed slightly hunched.
"Who’s there!" Yang Zhenshan called out sternly.
"Follow !" An elderly voice rang out, prompting an inexplicable sense of familiarity in Yang Zhenshan, yet he couldn’t rember where he had heard this voice.
The mont the words fell, the figure vanished like a wisp of smoke from its place. In the next instant, the figure had leapt to the top of the wall and fled towards the Marquis Mansion’s rear mountain, moving as swiftly as a spectral bat.
Yang Zhenshan narrowed his eyes, intensely watching the figure and quickly following behind.
The person’s speed wasn’t fast; their qinggong was good but probably not much better than Yang Zhenshan’s. In terms of cultivation, they were likely just entering the Innate Realm.
There was only one Innate Martial Artist Yang Zhenshan knew, Ji Zhen, but clearly, this person wasn’t Ji Zhen.
Soon, the two arrived at the rear mountain. The mountain was lush with vegetation and had few buildings; there were scarcely any servants or guards here, except for a few houses inside the surrounding wall intended for guard duty.
The focus of the Yang Family Guards’ vigilance wasn’t the inside of the Marquis Mansion, but the surrounding wall.
The reason was twofold: firstly, Gui’an Square was inhabited mainly by nobles, so the security outside the mansion was already tight; secondly, most of the Yang family servants were Martial Artists, many of them Postnatal Martial Artists, which rendered additional guards unnecessary.
Thus, this vast Marquis Mansion only had a hundred guards on rotation.
Only a little more than thirty were in charge of the night shift.
Compared to the ti at Chongshan Pass, the security at the Yang family was indeed much more relaxed now.
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