"Qing'er, when do you plan to return to Narcissus Village? Could you stay in the capital for a while longer and keep me company?"

"Yes, Father. I will take Zhao Cheng back once his injuries have healed a bit. It has been three months since I left Narcissus Village. When I set off, the cotton was already ready for harvest. I wonder how it is now."

Next year, we will strive to expand cotton cultivation, which will require a large quantity of cotton seeds. These things must be done now.

“Alright, when you go back, I will have Lord Yao accompany you so that he can understand the specific situation of cotton and start promoting it.”

After the emperor finished speaking, he pondered for a moment and then spoke again.

"After Qing'er returns to Narcissus Village, she should visit me in the capital more often, instead of going several years without coming back like before."

“Father, during that time, I longed to return to the capital to visit you, but I was unable to protect myself. If my whereabouts were exposed, my life would be in danger.”

Even now, with sufficient strength, I am still vulnerable to sabotage and face numerous risks.

But now things are much better. With my father's protection, I'm much safer. I'll return to the capital more often to see him. With a fine horse like Di Nu, I can get back in no time."

The emperor nodded, feeling that he had failed as a father, failing to protect Li Guang and causing him to flee during his youth, nearly dying a violent death.

"Qing'er, just say what you need, and I will definitely fulfill your request."

Li Guang looked at the emperor and said, "Father, may I really make some requests?"

"Of course, I will agree as long as it is within my power."

Upon hearing this, Li Guang immediately became excited. He did indeed have a request, which he had only thought about before. Now that the emperor had brought it up, why not take this opportunity to make it to the emperor?

Thinking of this, Li Guang said, "Father, I would like to ask for a reward for Zhao Shaoqing."

Upon hearing this, the emperor laughed.

"Zhao Shaoqing is currently a fourth-rank official in the Ministry of War. We can move his rank up a bit. Qing'er, see what kind of official position would be suitable for him."

"I want to get a marquis title for Zhao Shaoqing. I only want the title, not the land or the government subsidies."

After Li Guang finished speaking, he looked at the emperor, wondering how the emperor would react.

In ancient times, being granted the title of marquis was an extremely difficult thing. It was usually only bestowed upon the sons of princes or nobles, or it was a hereditary title.

While Zhao Xian did make some contributions to the Northern Dynasty, he was far from meeting the criteria for being enfeoffed as a marquis.

The emperor pondered that Li Guang should know the difficulty of being granted a marquisate, yet he still wanted this honor, and only wanted the title, not the substance. Li Guang must have had his own considerations.

"Qing'er, if you ask me to grant Zhao Shaoqing a first-rank official title, I will grant it immediately. But if you ask me to grant him a marquis title, I need to consider it for a few more days."

Li Guang nodded. He knew the emperor wouldn't grant his request immediately, so he decided to wait a few days.

For the next few days, Li Guang stayed in the capital, spending most of his daytime time with the emperor or his mother, Consort Yao, only returning to his military camp outside the city at night to rest.

More than ten days later, under the careful treatment of the imperial physicians in the capital, Zhao Cheng's injuries recovered very well.

The emperor kept his word and gave Zhao Cheng a generous reward. Upon seeing this, Li Guang prepared to take Zhao Cheng back to Shuixian Village.

Seeing that Li Guang was about to return, the emperor summoned him, gave him something, and said:

"This is an imperial edict, bestowing upon Zhao Xian the title of Marquis of Zhengyang. You will read this edict aloud when the time comes."

"Thank you, Father Emperor."

Li Guang was overjoyed. Zhao Xian was granted a marquisate, which greatly elevated his status. With this new status, marrying Princess Li Xue was certainly not a problem.

This was the reason why he had requested a marquisate for Zhao Xian; he was unaware of Zhao Xian's intentions, and even Zhao Xian himself was unaware of them.

Li Guang knew that the emperor's conferment of the title of Marquis of Zhengyang on Zhao Xian must have encountered considerable resistance. How could the court officials be willing to grant a marquisate to a fourth-rank official? It would make them, as high-ranking officials, lose face.

Indeed, when the emperor discussed this matter with his ministers, the opposition was almost unanimous, and the emperor naturally argued his case based on reason.

He told his ministers that he had been talking with Li Guang these past few days and learned that without Zhao Xian's help, Li Guang would not have been able to achieve such a brilliant victory when the barbarian troops invaded last year. Perhaps the Great Northern Dynasty would no longer exist, and several important crops would not have been promoted.

The emperor told his ministers that if any minister could achieve the same merits as Zhao Xian, the court could also grant him a title and appoint him as prime minister.

The emperor's domineering attitude left the ministers speechless. They knew that the emperor's decision to confer titles on Zhao Xian was proposed by Li Guang, who would most likely become emperor. Even if Zhao Xian could not be conferred a title now, he would be conferred one in the future.

Under these circumstances, the ministers dared not go too far, for if they offended Li Guang, they would be in big trouble.

What about the eldest prince, Li Hui? Because he did things too ruthlessly, Li Guang finally took him seriously. This time, Li Guang came to the capital to demand an explanation. He stationed a large army outside the city and surrounded the eldest prince's residence as soon as he entered the city. Who could afford to offend him?

In addition, Li Guang also had 100,000 troops in Shuixian Village, making him an invincible force in the Great Northern Dynasty. This was no joke.

On the day Li Guang left the capital, almost all the civil and military officials came out of the city to see him off. Li Guang bid farewell to everyone and led his entourage out of the capital.

As arranged by the imperial court, Lord Yao also accompanied Li Guang to Shuixian Village.

For ordinary people, clothing and food are equally important, and the importance of promoting cotton throughout the Great Northern Dynasty is self-evident.

The weather has cooled down and is no longer as hot as before; autumn has arrived.

More than ten days later, Li Guang led his army back to Shuixian Village. The villagers had already learned that Li Guang was coming back, and they all flocked to the village entrance to welcome him.

Yao Lin, Gu Huai, and others stationed in the military camp, fully armed, came to the village entrance to await Li Guang's arrival.

Meng Yaoyao also arrived at the village entrance. She was protected by Qin Shiyu and Qin Yingying. It was obvious that Meng Yaoyao's belly was already swollen, indicating that she was at least five months pregnant.

It has been more than three months since Li Guang left Shuixian Village, which means that Meng Yaoyao was already more than two months pregnant when Li Guang left, but Li Guang did not know it at the time.

Before long, Li Guang's large contingent approached the village entrance. Seeing so many people coming out of the village to greet him, he quickly jumped off his warhorse. A soldier took the horse from him, and Li Guang strode towards the village entrance.

At this moment, firecrackers went off, and the village's waist drum team started beating gongs and drums, marking the village's most solemn welcoming ceremony.

After meeting Yao Lin, Gu Huai, Zhao Xiaosheng, and others, Li Guang looked at Meng Yaoyao and the Qin sisters beside her.

At this time, people were still wearing only light clothing, making Meng Yaoyao's protruding belly quite noticeable.

Li Guang was overjoyed. Meng Yaoyao was pregnant with their child. Li Guang quickly stepped forward and gently embraced Meng Yaoyao.