Chapter 340 A Different Life

With Yan Shuqin's assistance, Yunxuan regained control of the court.

That night, the Qi family and their faction were arrested and imprisoned by the Dali Temple for the crime of treason.

Upon receiving the news, Yang Jingyan, who was hiding outside the Yue King's mansion, rushed into the mansion immediately and dragged the Yue King out of his sleep.

The next day, Yunxuan lifted the lockdown on the capital.

The people of the capital were unaware of what had happened, so Yunxuan had a notice posted.

The notice stated that His Majesty was seriously ill and that Prince Yunxuan of Jin would act as regent to oversee the country.

Meanwhile, Xu Zhenbang had already rushed to the northern border by the time Yan Shuqin's letter arrived.

The moment Yunxuan obtained the imperial seal, he issued an imperial edict restoring the title of General Who Guards the Nation and ordering him to take command of the Northern Border Army.

They arrived at Qingbeiguan shortly after Xu Zhenbang, traveling by express courier.

Xu Zhenbang was renowned for his power. When he arrived in the northern border, anyone who dared to stop him was punished with a beating.

Just when General Zhenyuan thought he had come to seize power, he came out.

Xu Zhenbang then produced a second imperial edict, arresting him on charges of treason and collusion with the enemy.

When the soldiers in the Northern Border were in a state of panic, Xu Zhenbang used swift and decisive measures to reorganize the Northern Border army.

New military pay was also transported from Yunbei Army to the northern border, quickly pacifying the northern army.

When Wei Jingchen rushed back to the capital from the Northwest, Yunxuan was reorganizing the court.

Tingyu Pavilion submitted the clues from its investigations over the years, and Yun Zhao also handed over the account books from his spatial storage to Yun Xuan.

Through this information, Yunxuan quickly identified officials in the court who were colluding with the Qi family and the Prince of Yue.

The King of Yue and the Ling family were escorted to the capital.

Upon learning that Yun Xuan had become the regent, Ling Ruofeng clamored to see Yun Zhao.

Luo Hao struck him on the back with a stick and stared at him coldly.

"You can't just see a princess whenever you want."

Yunxuan is about to ascend the throne and become emperor. As his legitimate daughter, Yunzhao will naturally be granted the title of princess.

Brothers Luo Hao and Luo Qing have been promoted to junior instructors and have been given a rank for their meritorious service in guarding the area.

The once high and mighty Marquis can now only address the Luo brothers as "Sir".

"I raised her for five years; even if I didn't do anything special, I certainly put in a lot of effort!"

Ling Ruofeng cried out that he wanted to see Yun Zhao, but the Luo brothers didn't even give him a chance to pass on their message.

They'll hit you every time you yell at them.

Even after he lay on the ground, barely alive, Luo Hao laughed and asked, "Do you still want to see the princess?"

Ling Ruofeng was so frightened that he quickly shook his head.

He didn't want to die!

Lin Shujing was on the verge of tears.

If they had known Yunxuan would turn things around, they wouldn't have listened to Ling Xuerou and ruined their relationship like this!

Unfortunately, regret is useless.

When Wei Jingchen returned from the Northwest, the capital city had already returned to its former prosperity.

Under Xun Renhao's leadership, the case of the King of Loulan has entered the stage of reinvestigation.

Wei Jingchen then entered the Dali Temple under the identity of Wei Junyan to be investigated.

With Eunuch Li's confession, the case of the King of Loulan was completely overturned in less than two months.

The following year.

Upon ascending the throne, Yunxuan restored Wei Junyan's identity and, in recognition of Wei Mingde's family's protection of loyal officials, reinstated Wei Junyan as Minister of Revenue.

Wei Junyan knelt below the main hall. In the past two years, he had grown much taller, and his features had become more profound.

"Your Majesty, I am only here to clear the name of the Loulan royal family. I have grown accustomed to living in the countryside all these years and I am afraid that I am not up to the duty of guarding the northwest."

They all knew that military power in the Northwest had been reclaimed, and the King of Loulan could no longer return to the Northwest.

He said this to give the new emperor a way out.

"The contributions made by the Loulan Kings to the stability of the northwest of the Great Zhou Dynasty will never be forgotten by me and the people of the Great Zhou."

"In that case, I hereby grant you the title of King of Loulan, the right to reside in the capital, and the privileges of a prince. This title may be inherited by your descendants for generations!"

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty!"

Wei Junyan kowtowed.

After the New Year, in addition to exonerating the King of Loulan, Yunxuan did another important thing.

Back in Lingnan, Yunxuan had already recognized Xu Yiyan's talent in weapon modification.

He transferred Xu Yiyan to the Ministry of Works to assist the Ministry of War in improving the weapons and city defenses of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

With Lu Xinnian's assistance, Xu Yiyan went to Qingbeiguan and carried out a major overhaul of the city's defenses.

In the same month that Qingbei Pass was renovated, Yanbei launched a night attack on the northern border under the cover of heavy snow.

The renovated city defenses made a great contribution.

Upon learning of this, Yunxuan appointed Xu Yiyan and Lu Xinnian as imperial envoys to carry out city defense renovations in various border cities.

However, this would require a lot of financial resources.

Although many corrupt officials have been investigated and punished, the deficits of previous years have left the national treasury empty, making these measures insufficient to address the problem.

When Yun Zhao learned of this, he was playing with his younger brother.

"Ah Jin, your sister will take you out of the palace!"

"Yes, yes!"

Yun Huaijin grabbed her sister's hem and followed her out of the palace like a little tail, heading straight for the Loulan Royal Palace.

"Brother Sanhuo, I'm here!"

Yun Zhao lifted her skirt and got off the carriage, and the people from the Loulan Royal Palace made no attempt to stop her.

Lu Li jumped down from the roof, picked up Yun Huaijin, and flew back up to the roof.

"The prince is in his study."

"Brother Ali, put me down!"

Yun Huaijin was only four years old, and Lu Li carried him like a little chick.

"Call me Master!"

Lu Li grinned.

"No! I want to become Uncle Lu's apprentice!"

Compared to Lu Li's arrogant behavior, Yun Huaijin admired Lu Xun more.

Yun Zhao watched Lu Li jumping around and teased his younger brother, "Ah Jin, Uncle Lu is Uncle's master. If you become Uncle Lu's disciple, you'll become Uncle's junior brother. That's not appropriate in terms of seniority!"

Yun Huaijin was taken aback.

That makes so much sense!

Yun Zhao then secretly chuckled and ran into Wei Junyan's study.

She still had a lingering fear of the name Wei Junyan, but it wasn't appropriate to continue calling him Brother Jingchen, so she took it upon herself to call him "Sanhuo".

Wei Junyan put down his brush and looked up as she darted into his study.

"Go ahead, and tell Third Brother to be careful."

He handed the letter to Lu Xun before looking at Yun Zhao.

Yun Zhao is now nine years old, and he has grown much taller than before.

She was dressed in red, and when she ran towards him, she was like a blazing flame.

"Why are you running so fast? What happened?"

Wei Junyan's eyes were gentle as he carefully poured her a cup of warm tea.

Yun Zhao sat down, tilted his head back, and drank it down; the temperature was just right.

Lu Xun greeted them and then left.

"Brother Sanhuo, how much dividend have I earned in these four years?"

Yun Zhao blinked and looked at him curiously.

Wei Junyan paused, then looked up at her.

"Need money?"

“Last night I brought some pastries to see my father, and I overheard him telling Uncle Wei that the national treasury was empty and that there was a shortage of silver for the renovation of the city's defenses. I wanted to see if I could help!”

In its previous life, Tingyu Pavilion was very profitable.

Although the current Tingyu Pavilion is not as powerful as it was in the previous life, it should still be just as good, right?

Yun Zhao was filled with anticipation.

Wei Junyan was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled softly.

"That coincides with my own thoughts."

"ah?"

Yun Zhao was somewhat bewildered.

"The letter I just had Lu Xun take out was to instruct all branches to consolidate the silver so that it could be deposited into the national treasury."

"ah?"

Seeing Yun Zhao's blank expression, Wei Junyan couldn't help but reach out and rub her head.

“My father mentioned this to me a few days ago. I have already had someone calculate your and the second young master’s share of the profits, and then set aside 30% from my share to donate to the national treasury.”

"real?"

"Yes, as citizens of the Great Zhou, we naturally need to do our part in this matter."

Although Wei Junyan no longer guards the Northwest for the Great Zhou, the blood of the Wei clan still flows in his veins.

He would naturally not refuse to do his part for the Great Zhou.

"That's great! Thank you, Brother Sanhuo!"

Yun Zhao excitedly shook his hand, her face beaming with joy.

The silver from Tingyu Pavilion was transported from all over the country, so Yun Zhao secretly put the silver confiscated from corrupt officials into the space as well.

A large sum of silver filled the national treasury, and Yunxuan immediately ordered Wei Mingde to allocate it.

In addition to improving city defenses and weapons, it was also used to improve paddy fields in Lingnan.

The paddy fields they previously renovated in Linjia Village have yielded excellent harvests in recent years, greatly improving planting in Lingnan and alleviating flooding issues.

Yunxuan then allocated all the silver.

After this donation, Tingyu Pavilion became a royal merchant.

All the shops previously owned by the King of Yue were handed over to Xu Yinan for management.

With the support of the imperial court, the two major imperial merchants thrived.

Three-thirds of the annual profit is returned to the national treasury to replenish it.

The war in the Northwest lasted for three years. Xu Yifei was brave and fearless, leading the vanguard straight to the capital of the Western Frontier.

Unable to resist, the western frontier eventually surrendered and submitted to the Great Zhou.

Xu Yifei returned to the capital in triumph and was awarded the title of Valiant General.

On the day of the investiture ceremony, both of Xu's maternal uncles rushed back.

In the main hall, Xu Yifei, dressed in armor, stood tall and imposing, completely devoid of the simple and honest air he once possessed.

After the investiture, the Xu family held a family banquet, which was also attended by the Wei family members, Lu Xun of Tingyu Pavilion, and others.

Looking at her maternal uncle, who had been granted the title of general, her second maternal uncle, who had become a royal merchant, and her third maternal uncle, who was now full of vigor and ambition, Yun Zhao couldn't help but shed tears.

The three uncles who were cruelly murdered in their previous lives have all had different lives in this life.

That's wonderful.