I recently argued that Vlad has been relating his adventures since before the events of _Taltos_. I believe only a young naive Vlad who has no contact with the councils of the powerful would agree to talk about his life. Later on he might come to wonder whether this is wise. The events of _Y_ and _J_ are highly sensitive from a political perspective. During the time in question, 242-243 PI (see Alexx's Timeline) Vlad meets and marries Cawti and becomes rich. I assume that Vlad relates these events not long after - certainly before _Teckla_. Thus at the time of his greatest interest in not treading on the cloaks of the powerful. Following the events of _Phoenix_, he's not very concerned with offending anyone. Hence one might understand certain apparent inconsistencies in _Y_ and _J_ as deliberate obfuscations or purposefully clumsy history, while the other Texts of the Vladiad are more likely to be accurate accounts.