Chapter 160 Princess Jiangzhu

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: There is now a young girl named Lin Daiyu, only eight years old, whose intelligence is extraordinary and unparalleled in the world. Her performance in receiving envoys from foreign lands was exceptional, a great service to the nation, and a true blessing to our dynasty. Considering her young age, I hereby bestow upon her the title of Princess Jiangzhu, granting her a golden book and silver seal, and a fief of one thousand households..."

Daiyu knelt down to receive the imperial edict, but she was very puzzled. It was clearly the nanny's achievement, so why was she the one who was rewarded?

Yuan Hongqu stood to the side, watching her with a smile.

Seven days ago, Yuan Hongqu went to the palace.

Because she was worried about Daiyu, Yuan Hongqu asked Eunuch Chen if she could go early and return late. Eunuch Chen knew what she was thinking, so he allowed Yuan Hongqu to bring Lin Daiyu into the palace as well.

Originally, Eunuch Chen wanted Daiyu to stay at Consort Jia's (Yuan Chun's) residence, but Yuan Hongqu refused, so Daiyu stayed with Yuan Hongqu.

During her three days in the palace, Daiyu had a great time and witnessed Yuan Hongqu and the reception team working together to solve the problems that the foreign countries had thrown at them one after another.

The last question they posed was: "What is the meaning of 'Two peaches kill three warriors'?" They said that even a ten-year-old child in their area could answer this question.

Yuan Hongqu said that if she were to answer, even if she won, it would be an unfair victory, and it would be better to let her eight-year-old student answer.

Although Daiyu followed Yuan Hongqu for three days, she remained hidden and watched from the sidelines, never appearing in front of anyone.

This final round was crucial in determining the winner, so quite a few officials came to watch. Daiyu spotted her second uncle, Jia Zheng, in the crowd.

Jia Zheng was already quite surprised that Yuan Hongqu was in the reception group and that everyone seemed to regard her as the leader. He never expected that his eldest niece would also come and be called upon to answer questions.

What does "Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors" mean? There's no answer!

Daiyu, however, did not think so.

The story of "Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors" was told to her by her nanny as a joke once.

The old woman said that Duke Jing of Qi was being too petty. Even if his three generals were powerful and their achievements overshadowed his lord, if they could so easily sow discord over two peaches, they certainly wouldn't be colluding with each other. Using two peaches to test people's hearts and losing three generals was truly a losing proposition.

Daiyu immediately stood up and expressed her opinion. She was not intimidated at all. The eight-year-old girl was confident and generous, showing the demeanor of a great nation.

"If it were resolved, it wouldn't be difficult. First, if even one of the three knew this was a scheme to kill with a borrowed knife, the plan would surely fail. Unfortunately, all three are rather foolish. What if someone reminded one of them? Second, if the peaches were replaced with gold and silver jewelry, the three of them would definitely be more considerate of each other. Otherwise, people would say they are greedy, and they wouldn't die for the sake of their reputation."

Towards the end, she even became a bit arrogant.

"In the Song Dynasty, there was the story of Emperor Taizu of Song releasing his military power over a cup of wine, which is a truly admirable tale. On the other hand, Duke Jing of Qi killed three warriors with two peaches, a laughing stock for a thousand years!"

If Yuan Hongqu were to say such a thing, she really wouldn't be able to. Even if she could, because she lacks a sense of historical identity, she certainly wouldn't be able to say it as forcefully and powerfully as Daiyu.

But when Daiyu said it, Yuan Hongqu felt proud and wanted to announce to the world that this was her child, and how clever and wonderful he was!

They undoubtedly won this round again. After some chaos, Yuan Hongqu escorted Daiyu back to her residence.

Not long after, Eunuch Chen came over with a beaming smile and invited Yuan Hongqu over, saying that the Emperor wanted to reward her for her contributions.

Yuan Hongqu, however, only wanted to leave the palace as soon as possible.

She had only been here for three days, and if it weren't for the guards at her residence, several ladies in the palace who claimed to be her students would have wanted to come and see her.

Fortunately, during these three days, Yuan Hongqu worked tirelessly with the officials and eunuchs of the reception group, studying the customs of foreign lands and solving one problem after another, so she had very little time to stay at her residence.

She was said to be Yuan Hongqu's student, but she didn't want to see her at all, nor did she dare to.

Of all the students she acknowledges, only Daiyu remains.

"Eunuch Chen, I don't need any rewards. Give them to Daiyu; it was Daiyu who won the most crucial round." Yuan Hongqu refused directly, "I don't want my life to change because of this trip to the palace."

Yuan Hongqu felt that she was receiving too much attention. If someone who knew the original owner of the body noticed that she was different, it would be troublesome.

"Mr. Yuan, Consort Chen was right after all. She said that you have always been indifferent to fame and fortune, so the rewards from the palace would definitely not be given away." With the matter of the foreign mission finally coming to a perfect end, Eunuch Chen felt relieved and said a few more words.

"Several other ladies said the same thing. These ladies in the palace are Mr. Yuan's students and have formed a small circle. No matter what, the ladies who are not Mr. Yuan's students can't get into that circle."

Yuan Hongqu raised an eyebrow. So, one of the original owner's students became a concubine? It seems she really made a mistake coming to the capital.

Because of the answer to that last question, Daiyu confirmed the victory of the Celestial Empire. At the same time, this news reached the ears of the Emperor Emeritus, who muttered for a long time, "A beautiful story," "A laughing stock for a thousand years," and finally quietly moved out of the palace to live in the Summer Palace outside the palace.

Because Yuan Hongqu did not want any reward and all the credit was given to Daiyu, the Emperor felt relieved. Furthermore, Daiyu was the only child of Lin Ruhai, a trusted minister of the Emperor. With these three factors combined, the reward given to Daiyu was exceptionally generous.

A princess with a fiefdom is far more powerful than those princesses who are merely nominal members of the royal family.

The next day, Daiyu went to the palace to express her gratitude. After returning home, everything was as usual.

The way the family addresses her should remain unchanged; it should be the same as before.

However, Daiyu felt that she owed her nanny even more.

"Granny, these honors should have been yours. I feel unworthy to receive them." Daiyu handed all the rewards to Yuan Hongqu.

"What do you mean 'yours' and 'mine'? You're making such a big deal out of us, I'm going to get angry!" Yuan Hongqu feigned anger, then added:

"You know my personality. If I weren't forced to, I wouldn't want to be in the limelight at all. I should thank you for taking the blame for me. Now I can go out freely without being so restrained!"

“But Granny, my grandmother said that with your great abilities, you will leave me sooner or later, and I don’t want you to leave me. All these things that belong to you, and some of my original possessions, I will give to you. Can you please not leave?” Daiyu said cautiously.

Yuan Hongqu frowned, squatted down, and looked directly into Daiyu's eyes:

"You believe whatever other people say? Don't you trust the friendship between us?"

"Granny, you say these things are a burden, and you don't want to be restrained. Doesn't that mean you want to leave?"