Chapter 1035: The Queen, My Former Fiancée (Part 1) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Gong Shuwu gently stroked her pale golden bun with his palm.

After much deliberation, he told his elderly mother about his plans and earnestly sought her opinion: "Mother, I'd like to take Imamson with me to raise. What do you think?"

"How...how can this be?" The old lady looked at Imamuksong, then at her second son. "Imamuksong is indeed lovable, obedient, gentle, and filial; everyone likes her. But you are a man; how can you know how to raise a girl?"

Gong Shuwu hadn't thought that far ahead.

"There are female soldiers in the army. During peacetime, they can be entrusted to care for Imamuksong. If the fighting intensifies, your son will send her to the capital, Fengluo, so as not to interfere with important matters. Imamuksong… after all, she was entrusted to him by Yunchi on his deathbed. Your son promised to take care of the child, and he will certainly not break his promise." Gong Shuwu paused for a long while, "Filial piety is good, but being obedient and docile is unnecessary. Your son will find a way to correct these traits. Yunchi and the child's birth mother both hoped that their child would be an upright and honorable person before their deaths, but in chaotic times, obedience and docility are only suitable for playthings. A person must first subdue the inhuman beasts, otherwise…"

Gong Shuwu did not say anything more after that.

But everyone present could understand it.

Upon hearing this, the old lady stopped trying to stop Gong Shuwu.

Imamson tidied her clothes. She spent the entire night forcing herself to accept the fact that a skeleton could speak and was about to become her adoptive father. Yes, adoptive father. To protect Imamson, her family genealogy listed her father as Gong Cheng, but to the outside world, she said that Gong Shuwu had accidentally picked her up and adopted her because he felt it was fate. At the same time, she changed her surname to Gong Shuwu, her given name to Feng, and her courtesy name to Queen.

Gong Shuwu: [Why was the courtesy name 'Queen' chosen?]

Gong Cheng had chosen his formal name and courtesy name two years earlier.

The old lady said, "He unexpectedly read two rare volumes of 'Words of Power,' and thought the name of the Empress Wende Guo in the text was cleverly chosen."

They simply copied it, leaving the words to Imamsong.

As for why it was named "Phoenix"?

Actually, it was originally "Emperor".

Unfortunately, the old lady vetoed it.

She also complained that Gong Cheng was far more knowledgeable than his grandfather, so why did he give his child such a vulgar name?

Gong Di?

Queen Gong?

If this name gets out, how many people will suspect him?

After much persuasion, they changed the name.

Gong Cheng muttered to himself: "The phoenix, the king of birds, will do too."

The title "Queen" is also quite fitting.

Gong Shuwu had read quite a bit over the years, and he had vaguely heard of Empress Wende Guo, who was mentioned in the "Words of Power": [He only knew that her courtesy name was cleverly chosen, but did he ever consider that she met a bad end?]

Empress Guo's "Queen" in her name signifies "Queen among Women"! Gong Cheng didn't mind giving his daughter such a grand name, but Gong Shuwu should consider his lord's feelings. After pondering for a while, Gong Shuwu decided to ask his lord's opinion.

If you don't mind, keep using it; if you do mind, get a different one.

I'll use the name Imamson as my nickname.

Gong Shuwu could not stay outside for too long.

After spending the entire night carefully learning about the situation of the elderly and infirm members of the Gong family and figuring out how to settle them, they were to set off the next day. However, before departure, the eyes of the clansmen were somewhat strange and evasive. Finally, the old lady pushed out the timid boy hiding behind her: "Yun Chi is gone, and you're still like this..."

Gong Shuwu knew immediately what the old lady was going to say.

The old lady was actually unwilling as well.

But she knew that her son, in his current state, could not possibly have any biological offspring. She knew she would have to adopt a talented heir from a closely related collateral branch of the Gong family to continue the family line. When her relatives brought this up, the old lady knew she couldn't refuse them.

The chosen child was indeed the closest blood relative, the most talented, and an orphan. Adopting him to Gong Shuwu would pose no future problems. If raised well, he would be no different from the biological child.

Gong Shuwu was taken aback.

He recognized the child as an orphan from his cousin's lineage.

Everything is arranged by Mother.

However, Gong Shuwu did not take the child away directly.

They simply said they lacked the energy to care for the two children and asked their elderly mother and other clansmen to help look after them, promising to make further plans after the war ended and they were taken to the capital, Fengluo. The Gong clan members were more than happy to accept this suggestion. They had their pride; they knew that having the old lady intervene at this critical juncture was tantamount to forcibly placing a son in Gong Shuwu's lap. Gong Shuwu couldn't possibly have any biological children; what difference was there between this and helping to seize someone else's property?

The old lady didn't want to agree, and her face remained very unpleasant.

Gong Shuwu returned to camp with his newly adopted daughter.

During the rest stop along the way, the adopted daughter was looked after by a woman who appeared to be in her thirties. The woman was taciturn, and judging from her gait and the thick calluses on her hands, she was clearly a skilled martial artist. According to Gong Shuwu's mother, it was this woman who brought Gong Cheng's token to rescue the girl.

They were sent to Camel City through informants, who helped transport the elderly and infirm.

Logically speaking, the woman should be Gong's great benefactor.

Gong Shuwu thanked her, but the woman avoided him and refused to accept the gift.

He simply said, "I was merely doing this on someone else's behalf."

Gong Cheng actually entrusted someone else.

Everything was settled; she was just hitchhiking.

The woman was combing Imamson's disheveled hair, and in no time it was clean and neat again, with two white wildflowers she had casually picked tied in her braids. Imamson whispered, "Aunt Cui, why is Father unhappy?"

The woman asked, "How do you know he's unhappy?"

Imamson said, "Father's bones have faded in color."

It used to be pink and glossy, but now it looks dull.

Woman: [It's normal to be unhappy after being exploited and left with no descendants.]

Imamson didn't understand the meaning of "extinction of offspring," but she knew that bad things made people unhappy: [Can't we avoid being eaten?]

Woman: [It's simple if you don't get eaten; you just live longer.]

Let's see who outlasts whom.

Their conversation did not escape Gong Shuwu's ears.

He was good-natured and didn't get angry. The woman, as his benefactor, had special privileges: "The only heir the adopted son can inherit is the Gong family name."

He had long ago changed his surname to "Gong Shuwu".

I have no intention of restoring my identity as Gong Wen in this lifetime.

He said calmly, "Don't say such nonsense to children."

Gong Shuwu claimed to personally raise the child, but in reality, he only saw her once or twice a day, mostly at night when he returned from military affairs. To foster a closer father-daughter relationship, he would take Yimamusong around, but his main purpose was to help her recognize people.

Introduce it to everyone you meet.

This is my daughter, the Queen.

Yes, the Lord has no objection to Imamson's words.

Not only did they have no objections, but they also showed great tolerance.

He even inquired whether Gong Shuwu had found a good teacher for Yimamusong. Although the child's aptitude was more suited to martial arts, it wouldn't hurt to expose him to more culture. A general who only knows how to charge into battle will never become a commander; a commander needs to use his brain to fight.

Gong Shuwu said sheepishly, "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

He hasn't planned that far yet.

Shen Tang, however, felt it wasn't far off: "Since we're going to take over the entire Northern Desert and annex this place, we need to appease the people. Although Wei Yuanyuan is from the Northern Desert, he and his people severed ties with it two or three decades ago, so he can't be used as a 'mascot' to appease them. I think Yimamusong's arrival is a perfect coincidence; she's your adopted daughter and has a Northern Desert face—she couldn't be more suitable."

Generally speaking, when two forces want to be on good terms or merge, marriage is undoubtedly the lowest-cost solution. If Shen Tang were a man, or if she were fond of handsome men, taking several young men from high-ranking tribes in the Northern Desert into her harem would demonstrate her sincerity. Alternatively, she could adopt a few younger sisters or daughters and bestow them upon them for marriage alliances, which would also be convincing.

She just didn't want to take those paths.

He also did not want to force his courtiers into marriage.

Then the only option is to promote or appoint people from the Northern Desert.

This is similar to her using Su Shiyi Lu.

If no benefits are given and no one from the Northern Desert is appointed, even if Shen Tang conquers the entire Northern Desert, suspicions will continue to arise from top to bottom, shaking social order.

This is clearly not what Shen Tang wanted to see.

Imambar formosana is a good fit for this lubricant.

Her buffs are almost fully stacked.

In particular, Shen Tang personally acknowledged the title "Queen".

Generous and kind.

The prisoners captured alive were not mistreated and even enjoyed the best medical resources in Kangguo. The disabled and wounded soldiers could line up to have their severed limbs restored by the medical doctors. Although they were all placed after the wounded soldiers in Kangguo, this treatment was so good that it was hard to believe.

What about the limited medical resources in the northern desert?

Sigh, let's not even talk about the skill level.

The soldiers survived entirely by sheer luck, and perhaps due to the afterimages of their ancestors kowtowing in the afterlife. Most importantly, even though Kangguo was short of provisions, they didn't bother to wash and chop the soldiers into dried meat.

Kangguo didn't do it, but Beimo did.

The northern desert soldiers who remained in the POW camp, upon hearing of the fates of their comrades who had been exchanged back in previous batches, burst into tears. Holding the coarse wheat porridge provided as a special POW ration, they sobbed, tears and snot dripping into their bowls, each bite tasting salty: "If only we had known this would happen, why did we go back? If we hadn't gone back, we could have at least saved our lives..."

Why did it come to the point of becoming human flesh to fill an empty stomach?

The northern desert prisoners who were brought in initially cursed and refused to surrender, but were beaten by the veteran prisoners. They were then forced to starve for three days, their eyes turning green with hunger. If it weren't for the Kang Kingdom soldiers guarding them, they would have starved to death.

As a result, the prisoner-of-war camp was unexpectedly calm.

Where is things not peaceful?

It's likely that after the prisoners recovered from their injuries, eight out of ten wanted to go back to the battlefield, not to fight Kangguo, but to help Kangguo fight the Northern Desert.

His eyes were firm, and he stated that he only wanted to save his people.

Shen Tang: […What are they doing managing the POW camps?]

"It's nothing much, just making them recite the Kangguo military discipline in the morning, listen to the source of their food before meals, and repent for their sins before bed." Yu Zi finished speaking and then lowered her voice, saying softly, "At most, we'll use some subtle methods from the Ministry of Justice."

She was extremely upset after her account was banned.

Kang Shi was also worried that she would be too immersed in her grief to move on, so he dumped prisoners of war on her to vent her anger—in the prevailing social climate, prisoners of war were considered inanimate objects; the best outcome was being forced into labor until death, and the worst was being buried alive. Food was so precious; they couldn't even feed their own troops, let alone so many mouths to feed.

As long as it's not a one-time scam that wipes out tens or hundreds of thousands of people, it's fine.

Shen Tang: [...]

She thought about it and realized it was normal.

Kangguo had no shortage of food and no need to massacre prisoners of war.

Although the prisoners of war's food and treatment were not as good as those of regular Kangguo soldiers, it was still a significant improvement over their previous conditions. They were well-fed, warmly dressed, and their clothes had fewer patches.

Thinking back to the past, there were even people who fought with their bare bottoms exposed.

Despite the prisoners' clamor, Shen Tang didn't actually send them to the battlefield. Instead, he quietly expanded the prisoner-of-war camps and exchanged prisoners while fighting the stubbornly resisting Northern Desert tribes. These prisoners didn't disappoint Shen Tang upon their return; they all began to spread their good news.

At first, the Northern Desert was able to maintain control.

If they can't control it, they'll kill people to make an example of them.

Bloody methods can only suppress the enemy temporarily, not permanently.

In particular, the elite troops of the Northern Desert were all lost at Shexing Pass, and the hastily assembled teams from the various tribes of the Northern Desert were ineffective. If Shen Tang hadn't deliberately slowed down the progress, the advance would have been even faster.

While it was said that progress was being slowed down, only a little over a month had passed since the recapture of Shexing Pass. Two-thirds of the Northern Desert positions had been lost, and public opinion was leaning towards Shen Tang regarding the remaining third. During this period, Shen Tang also promoted several very insightful individuals from the prisoner-of-war camps to set an example.

"The rest will be enough in fifteen days."

With the situation in the war becoming clearer, everyone had a rare smile on their faces, and they even took the time to hold a simple apprenticeship ceremony for Imamson.

This apprenticeship ceremony had a significant political purpose.

The teachers assigned to Imamson cannot be perfunctory.

Unfortunately, the number of trusted officials and confidants who were stationed on the northern battlefield was relatively limited. Shen Tang initially favored Xun Zhen and Kang Shi, but Xun Zhen declined, as he had already formally accepted Xie Qi's youngest daughter as his student. Kang Shi was willing, but Gong Shuwu was not so happy.

Kang Shi: "..."

In the end, it was Qi Shan who stepped forward.

Shen Tang asked in surprise, "Yuan Liang wants to take on disciples?"

Qi Shan said, "I am more suitable."

The offer was given to Chu Yao, but he refused, valuing quality over quantity.

Should it be given to Ning Yan?

Ning Yan can't even manage her own students.

If one's status, reputation, and abilities are all suitable, then pray for good fortune.

Since it's just a nominal position, Qi Shan doesn't mind.

Shen Tang nodded in agreement: "In that case, as you wish."

Imamson is naturally extroverted. Her previous reserved and introverted nature stemmed from living under someone else's roof. However, her life in the military camp has allowed her to let loose, and she seems much more cheerful now. Yet, even facing a tent full of imposing faces, she was so nervous that she didn't know where to put her hands and feet.

The proper etiquette for becoming an apprentice was taught in advance.

Just follow the process step by step.

Imamson's inner tension slowly subsided.

After drinking the tea offered to the teacher, Qi Shan nodded in agreement to accept the student's offer.

After the tea ceremony for the teacher ended, the woman who had been taking care of Imamson was about to lift her down to give the important figures some space. But before she could leave with Imamson, she heard the military officer with his full braids say, "Qu Tan, this child has the perfect aptitude for martial arts."

The unspoken meaning—

Can you teach it?

Qi Shan: "They have fathers."

He was just a figurehead.

Gong Xiqiu said, "Yes, there is, but death energy is inconvenient."

Qi Shan lifted her eyelids and asked, "What do you want to do?"

The woman moved slowly, as if she was stalling for time, wanting to hear more.

Gong Xichou: "How about I teach her?"

Qi Shan sneered: "You?"

Gong Xichou was practically Yang Ying's mentor, and he also guided Xun Ding for several years. These two victims themselves revealed his parenting methods. Which parent wouldn't feel heartbroken upon hearing that?

Gong Xichou retorted, "Am I not qualified?"

He's so bored he's practically bursting with boredom.

Ever since his older brother no longer needed his help, Gong Xichou was disliked wherever he went, and even his mother couldn't find time to play with him. He had to find things to do on his own. For example, he practiced raising a child so he could seamlessly take over childcare for A Lai after this battle…

Qi Shan sneered.

The woman below also let out a cold laugh.

＿|￣|●

I searched all over for a seat at the IP Awards but couldn't find one. Sigh.

(End of this chapter)