Free Web NovelChapter 1139: Chapter 1130: Pinnacle (15)
Good news remains indoors, but interesting stories travel thousands of miles.
Following the incident where the child of Prince NanAn wasn’t allowed in to drink full month wine because there was no invitation, the story of him returning from a triumphant journey only to be peed on by his son spread, becoming the talk of the town.
Many laughed so hard they couldn’t straighten their backs.
They marveled that the young Prince NanAn had reached the peak of life by stepping on his own father’s face at such a tender age.
Even Young Master Su was full of amazement.
The Ninth Prince and his peers thought Young Master Su was the most provocative person they’d ever met.
Yet, he was still not as impressive as Prince NanAn’s young son.
Feeling stifled at home, Prince NanAn wanted to go out for a stroll.
As soon as he hit the streets, everyone looked at his face, and Prince NanAn immediately felt something was amiss.
After inquiring, unsurprisingly, the matter had spread.
Such an embarrassing incident, he was too upset to issue a gag order, and neither his father nor mother-in-law did it!
Surely, they wouldn’t stop until they drove him to death with anger.
The Heir of Marquis Beining and Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo rode over and saw Prince NanAn’s gloomy face.
They couldn’t help but remark that a face refreshed by childish urine indeed looked more spirited.
The two laughed so hard they could hardly breathe.
Prince NanAn’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot.
Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo suppressed his laughter.
Yesterday, returning to his own mansion, he learned from Prince NanAn’s lesson and waited until his son had finished urinating before holding him.
The Heir of Marquis Beining saw his three daughters and stared for a long time, unable to distinguish them.
Unable to decide which daughter to hold first, he simply didn’t hold any of them.
He wouldn’t admit it was his wife who forbade him with his rough hands from holding them.
The Heir of Marquis Beining patted Prince NanAn’s shoulder, saying, "Brother Xun, didn’t you say you’d never hold your son for life?"
"How did you manage to get peed on your face?"
Prince NanAn, "...."
Don’t talk to him!
His face hurts!
If not for agreeing on the way back to the Capital to have a meal at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, he wouldn’t have gone out.
Yesterday, the army returned victoriously. Today is the Emperor’s day to confer honors.
However, none of them needed to attend the court.
Early on, when Nanliang was beaten to seek peace and offered compensations, the Emperor began contemplating rewards.
For feats like theirs, bestowing honors to Prince NanAn and his peers seemed easy.
All four were promoted to Standard Fifth-Grade Generals.
This rank isn’t high in the Capital City, but they aren’t that old; historically, it’s rare to attain such a position at a young age.
The difficulty lay in how to reward Prince Zhenbei and Old Duke Chong.
The Prince Zhenbei Mansion was already a Prince Mansion, further promotion would make him a One-character Prince, but the Prince Zhenbei Mansion commanded substantial forces, as the court heavily relied on them for future battles; granting the title of One-character Prince immediately would complicate future honors.
Considerations for rewards should not just address the current situation but also future possibilities, and then there is Marquis Dongxiang...
Marquis Dongxiang’s contributions were worthy of being titled Alien Prince, but Marquis Jibei’s achievements didn’t merit such a title.
Promoting a son to Prince, while the father remains a Marquis, would that mean Marquis Jibei has to salute Marquis Dongxiang?
It’s common for rewarding fathers based on a son’s merits, but Marquis Dongxiang had established a separated mansion, being honored as Prince wouldn’t be inherited by Marquis Dongxiang.
This matter troubled the Emperor for quite some time.
In the end, the Emperor decided to reward Marquis Dongxiang with a piece of Red Book Iron Certificate.
All others didn’t have achievements as significant as Marquis Dongxiang; being promoted by one rank would be considered light, along with fertile lands and brocades.
The Prince Zhenbei Mansion didn’t receive any rewards.
Prince Zhenbei must apologize to the Emperor for failing in teaching his offspring, nearly jeopardizing the Flying Tiger Army.
Xie Jingchuan’s mistakes didn’t implicate the Prince Zhenbei Mansion, which was a sign of the Emperor’s lenience.
Furthermore, Su Jin already held a piece of Red Book Iron Certificate, though it was given to Su Jin, this Red Book Iron Certificate would be passed down as family heirloom.
When Su Jin returns to the Capital, the Emperor would surely bestow rewards upon Su Jin, and Xie Jingchen too, who had worked undercover for so long, his merits wouldn’t be publicly acknowledged; more likely, his share of reward could be directly granted to Su Jin.
Su Jin, "...."
Okay.
Regarding Prince Zhenbei, the Emperor expressed intentions briefly, and that was that.
The morning court was lively and harmonious.
After court was dismissed, Marquis Dongxiang went to see the Emperor.
Being most in need of money, Marquis Dongxiang Mansion felt slighted by a single piece of Red Book Iron Certificate without any other reward. fгeewebnovёl.com
Marquis Dongxiang still hoped to plunder some wealth from the Emperor after returning to the Capital later.
But the Emperor’s actions made it unbearable for him. freёweɓnovel.com
He plundered twelve thousand in silver from the Emperor, two paintings, and on his way out, even pocketed the Moyu Qilin Paperweight from the Emperor’s Dragon Desk.
When unable to loot anymore, moments of indulgence from the Emperor would suffice.
The Emperor, "...."
Eunuch Fu, "...."
A gust of wind blew.
With the paperweight gone, the xuan paper scattered messily in the wind.
The Emperor fanned himself furiously.
Eunuch Fu quickly dispatched someone to fetch another paperweight.
Marquis Dongxiang truly, just returned and looted the Emperor’s treasury.
Eunuch Fu suspected Marquis Dongxiang, even while staying at the border, longed for the Emperor’s treasury.
The Emperor’s eyes were fiery with anger.
Including Eunuch Fu, no one dared to persuade the Emperor.
However, the Emperor soon calmed down.
Su Jin’s memorial to the Emperor had arrived at the Capital.
Together with the memorial, the County Magistrate also arrived at the Capital.
In the memorial, Su Jin confessed guilt for executing decisions before reporting and requested Old Master Zheng to temporarily take over the County Magistrate’s duties.
Su Jin didn’t directly demand Old Master Zheng be made County Magistrate, only as temporary, as appointing officials is a prerogative of the court, not something a Princess can arbitrarily decide.
Even if everyone knew she could do it, she must tread carefully.
Old Master Zheng previously was identified as a Nanliang person, which Su Jin didn’t hide but truthfully disclosed.
Xie Jingchen elaborated the benefits of this decision in his letter; the Emperor consulted with the Left Minister and Right Minister.
Typically, for a small County Magistrate, such deliberations were unnecessary without the border’s complications, and Old Master Zheng’s previous Nanliang identity raised doubts about his loyalty to Daqi.
Both the Left Minister and Right Minister felt Su Jin’s actions were overly risky.
However, the reassurance and stability to local sentiment was evident.
Whether it was beneficial or detrimental, would ultimately depend on Old Master Zheng’s character.
"The Heir of Prince Zhenbei and his Heir’s wife must have made this decision after careful consideration," said the Right Minister.
"They understand the border issues profoundly, far more than we veteran ministers."
"I believe letting Old Master Zheng serve three years as County Magistrate should he govern the border well, prove himself useful, he can be moved to Daqi’s interior later, when the border situation stabilizes, assigning another to manage would be easier."
The Left Minister concurred.
He shared the same opinion as the Right Minister.
The Emperor also saw this arrangement as fitting and instructed the Ministry of Personnel to draft the appointment letter to be immediately sent to the border.
The Prince, upon learning this, took charge of delivering the letter.
Currently, the Princess Consort, Little Princess, and son and grandson were all at the border, the Prince wished to reunite with his family at the border.
As for matters in the Capital, with Marquis Dongxiang and Old Prince there, the Prince felt his presence was inconsequential.
The Prince applied for leave intending to stay away temporarily, which the Emperor approved.
Yet ultimately, the Prince didn’t leave—
Because Xie Jinyu had an incident at Ciyun Temple.
