Chapter 89 Who gave birth to a bunch of kids for me...?
The messenger was Zeng Ying, a regular guest of the Lu family. Zeng Ying smiled and said, "My husband, there's no need to be so polite. You probably don't know, do you? Lord Lu won a great victory at the front. The news of the victory arrived in the capital last night, and the Emperor was overjoyed. He bestowed many rewards upon him. Today's decree is for Lord Lu's husband. However, since you have just given birth, you don't need to come out to receive the decree."
Madam Yan was both delighted and surprised: "Really? Jinlan has won another great victory? This is truly a piece of wonderful news. But if we don't come out to receive the imperial decree, won't we offend the Emperor's wrath? Won't the Emperor think we're arrogant because of our achievements?"
Yan was extremely anxious and said hastily, "Oh dear, we can't cause Jinlan any trouble. Why don't you wait a moment, Master, while I go check if the bleeding has stopped and have someone carry Lincheng out?"
Zeng Ying quickly replied, "You're overthinking it. The Emperor is so happy he's about to grant a general amnesty, he won't hold it against us. Besides, there are extenuating circumstances. I have a close personal relationship with Lord Lu, so if the higher-ups ask, I'll help you explain."
"Furthermore, I have some good news for you. The Emperor has promoted Lord Lu to General of the Cavalry and bestowed upon him the title of Marquis of Jing'an. The imperial edict of conferment is being urgently sent to the front lines. Lord Lu is unaware of this yet, but I congratulate you in advance on your daughter's conferment of a marquisate."
Upon hearing this, Madam Yan nearly fainted with joy. "My God! Our Lu family has never had an official in eight generations, and Jinlan has actually been granted a marquisate? It's like a dream, I'm going to faint."
Qing'er quickly supported him and said with a smile, "Don't faint yet. We need to send someone to Yunzhou to inform my mother that she is now the Marquis's mother."
Madam Yan quickly waved her hand, "Don't inform them yet, let me find out first. Lord Zeng, I am not very knowledgeable, may I ask what rank this Marquis of Jing'an is?"
Zeng Ying laughed and said, "It has no official rank, it's a super rank. All officials, big and small, must bow and pay homage to Marquis Lu. The Emperor also generously granted him a fiefdom of a whole prefecture. From now on, all the taxes from that prefecture will belong to Marquis Lu. This is an unprecedentedly generous reward."
Madam Yan beamed with joy, nodding repeatedly, "Excellent rank, excellent fiefdom, Lan'er has truly brought honor to our ancestors this time."
Zeng Ying said, "And there's more! The title of Marquis of Jing'an is hereditary and can be passed down through generations. You just said that your husband just gave birth. Is it a girl or a boy?"
Madam Yan hurriedly replied, "It is my daughter, Lan'er's legitimate daughter."
Zeng Ying cupped her hands and said, "Then I must congratulate you again. This daughter is now the young Marquis. The decree I have come to announce today is to bestow upon the Grand Master the title of Second Rank Imperial Consort. Since the Grand Master cannot come out to receive the decree, then let someone bring out the young Marquis. Consider it as her father receiving the decree on her behalf."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Madam Yan readily agreed and hurriedly ordered Qing'er to take the child.
The entire household was overjoyed.
*
Inside the delivery room, the doctor had just finished stitching up Song Lincheng's wound when Yu Mian stuffed a few more painkillers and hemostatic pills into his mouth. Song Lincheng, covered in sweat, finally caught his breath.
He asked weakly, "Why is there such a commotion outside? Has something happened? My wife hasn't written to us for quite some time. I had a bad dream last night. Please go and check on her."
Yu Mian hurriedly said, "They said someone from the palace came, but it's nothing serious."
Upon hearing this, Song Lincheng almost sat up. "People from the palace have come, and you're still saying nothing's wrong?"
Yu Mian said urgently, "Don't move! The people from the palace have come to deliver an imperial decree. Father has already gone to make arrangements, so don't worry about it. You're a big child. With one cut, the wound is more than a foot long, even more frightening than when I gave birth to Andong. We've finally managed to stop the bleeding, so don't move around."
As the two were talking, Qilang rushed over, clutching his stomach.
Yu Mian said helplessly, "You're almost due, didn't I tell you not to come? Your belly is so big, all this squeezing and rubbing, what if you get hurt?"
Qi Lang said, "I heard so much noise outside and thought something had happened, so I came to come and check."
Yu Mian said, "It's alright, it's alright, father and daughter are safe. But you, I've noticed your complexion has been getting worse these past two days, I'll have the doctor take a look at you later."
Qi Lang said, "I'm fine. I probably just haven't rested well. Let me check on the child first."
Lu Anbei lay on the mat, having just been weighed. His big eyes blinked, and his little feet kicked incessantly in the air.
Qi Lang asked in surprise, "Isn't it said that newborn babies have their eyes closed? Why are her eyes open? She looks like a big child."
The doctor smiled and said, "This baby was well-nourished in the womb and was born strong. Her little fists are quite powerful. You'd better be careful not to let her touch you."
Qi Lang smiled slightly, "What are you talking about? She's just a newborn baby, what makes you think she can jump up and hit me?"
He was standing next to Lu Anbei when he said this. The child seemed to understand and wanted to show him, so he kicked out and hit Qilang in the stomach.
Everyone heard a cry of "Ouch!" and Qi Lang fell backward with his eyes closed. The crowd quickly caught him and exclaimed, "Doctor! Come and see!"
The room was in chaos when Qing'er rushed in with good news: "Young Master won a great victory and was granted the title of Marquis of Jing'an. The young mistress became a little marquis right after birth, and my husband told me to take the child out to receive the imperial decree!"
Lin Cheng said angrily, "What little Marquis? She's a little devil! Take her out of here!"
*
Lu Jinlan had taken command of the 400,000-strong Ling family army and was training and resting outside the Prison Dragon Pass when a system notification suddenly popped up.
"Ding! Congratulations, host! You have gained one more offspring, a daughter, and your HP has increased by 100,000! One hundred new items have been unlocked in the system shop, and the system is gifting you a 'Re-Motherhood' gift pack!"
Lu Jinlan calculated the dates and realized that Lin Cheng should have given birth. Thank goodness, it was a daughter; otherwise, not only would she be unhappy, but Song Lin Cheng would be furious.
She was pondering what excuse to use to celebrate with everyone tonight when, a short while later, the system popped up three more reminders.
"Ding! Congratulations, host! You have gained one more offspring, a daughter, and your HP has increased by 100,000! One hundred new items have been unlocked in the system shop, and the system is gifting you a 'Mother Again' gift pack!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host! You have gained one son, and your health has increased by 10,000! Ten new items have been unlocked in the system shop, and you are also receiving a 'Mother Again' gift pack!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host! You have gained one son, and your health has increased by 10,000! Ten new items have been unlocked in the system shop, and the system is gifting you a 'Mother Again' gift pack!"
Lu Jinlan froze on the spot. This system was quite biased towards women and against men. But wait a minute! Who gave birth to a bunch of children for me?
Did I sleep with someone without knowing it and get him pregnant?
Am I misremembering or is the system malfunctioning?
Lu Jinlan fell into self-doubt. She even started tracing the timeline, counting on her fingers to recall what happened ten months ago.
After pondering for a long time, I still had no clue. In the end, I tentatively concluded that Rin had given birth to four children in one pregnancy. As for the specifics, I'll wait for a letter from home.
Three days later, the imperial edict bestowing rewards finally arrived at the border.
Lu Jinlan led all the soldiers to receive the imperial decree. More than one hundred soldiers she reported would be rewarded. The official who announced the decree took a full quarter of an hour to finish reading it.
Lu Jinlan was promoted to the rank of Second-Rank General of the Cavalry, second only to Song Jingxiao as a Grand General. She was also granted the title of Marquis of Jing'an, and the Emperor bestowed upon her the northern prefecture as her fiefdom.
Yan Wuxin was promoted to Left General, a second-rank official, and Xiang Ruzhen was promoted to Right General, a second-rank official.
Zuo Suizhi, Kong Luan, Sun Lewen, Chu Yishu, and others all received the rank of fifth-grade general.
Ling Zhaoren was wounded in the battle of Qiulong Pass, taking an arrow to the back and being slashed in the shoulder.
Although Ling Zhaoren is usually arrogant, they were classmates and even shared a dormitory for half a year. Although they had some disagreements, they were not enemies.
Yan Wuxin had no choice but to kidnap her that day, and she had felt guilty ever since. Seeing that the Ling family was about to be ruined, she discussed with Lu Jinlan, "Although she is not very bright, she is not too bad. After all, she is a classmate. Let's protect her if we can."
Lu Jinlan said, "That's what I think too. If Marquis Dingbei falls, the Ling family will probably be finished. But given how badly she's injured, I don't want her to be implicated."
Considering the Ling family's situation, Lu Jinlan specially wrote a few more words for Ling Zhaoren in the battle report, praising her for fighting bravely and being seriously injured, etc.
The Emperor roughly understood Lu Jinlan's intentions. Although he had already imprisoned the Marquis of Dingbei, he still bestowed upon Ling Zhaoren a fifth-rank miscellaneous general title, which was General Gongshun.
The Emperor granted Lu Jinlan's proposal, allowing her to reorganize the 400,000-strong Ling family army and select elite soldiers to form the Chicheng Army. Two months later, 200,000 Chicheng soldiers were stationed in the northern border.
Of the remaining 200,000 troops, the Emperor ordered her to select 50,000 elite soldiers to be brought back to the capital to join the Imperial Guard, while the rest were assigned to garrisons in various regions.
The formation of the Chicheng Army was a plan Lu Jinlan came up with to appease the emperor's sensitive nerves. She discovered that the emperor particularly liked to play with titles, so she catered to his preferences by choosing the words "Chicheng" (meaning "Sincere").
Actually, what she felt most after this battle was that titles were useless. What you're called is what you're called, and what you do is what you do.
In Yan Wuxin's words, "If a title is not linked to power, it's just a deception and has little use."
The Ling Family Army is still called the Ling Family Army, but Marquis Dingbei has been away from the army for a long time. He only relies on a few confidants to control such a large force and is also responsible for taking down heads. At the critical moment, everyone ran away.
Similarly, being a loyal army doesn't necessarily mean being extremely loyal.
Lu Jinlan wasn't stupid; she had to consider her own interests as well. After going through so much trouble to acquire this army, she at least needed to ensure their loyalty and that she could mobilize them in crucial moments.
As for whether she is loyal to the Emperor, it depends on the situation. In any case, she is currently loyal to the Emperor, and so is the Chicheng Army. However, she must be wary and not allow herself to become the next Nian Gengyao or Yue Fei.
Having learned from the experience of the Marquis of Dingbei, Lu Jinlan realized the importance of the relationship between commander and soldiers. Many things cannot be learned from books; one must experience them firsthand to understand their subtleties.
For example, during the Battle of Qiulong Pass, she discovered that those who stayed close to her were the soldiers she had cared for in the past.
Some soldiers only exchanged a few words with her, but the other party would think, "General Lu remembers me, so I will follow her."
Faced with a life-or-death test, personal emotions, such an intangible thing, still played an incredibly important role, something Lu Jinlan had never imagined before.
She couldn't understand why the Ling family army repeatedly carried out their commander's foolish orders to retreat, but she understood after she took command of the troops herself.
Some soldiers don't understand this or that big principle. They are familiar with their commander. Why would they listen to a stranger if they don't listen to their commander?
It's just like her. If she were asked to risk her life for someone else, she definitely wouldn't be willing. Why should she? But if she were asked to risk her life for Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin, she wouldn't hesitate.
The same principle applies to soldiers: as long as the relationship is right, what difference does it make who they fight for?
Therefore, Lu Jinlan took advantage of the time he was leading troops at the border to work hard to build relationships and win people's hearts.
He would flip through the roster whenever he had a spare moment, making full use of his good memory to remember the soldiers' names. During night patrols, he would exchange a few words of concern with the guards on night duty.
During breaks in training, she would chat with the soldiers about their daily lives. She would ask them, "How are things at home? Are you facing any difficulties?"
When she encountered a soldier who had caught a cold, she would take off her cloak and generously give it to him, moving the soldiers to tears. Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin were both stunned.
Lu Jinlan thought to himself, "What emperor, what Marquis of Dingbei, do you know how to do ideological work in the army? Do you know how to care for soldiers? It has to be me! Being both the leader and the political commissar, I'm a real talent."
After today's rewards were distributed, she, as the commander-in-chief, patted everyone on the shoulder, said a few words of encouragement, and also inquired about the injuries of the wounded.
The whole process was exhausting. She had just returned to her room and had a cup of tea when Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin came to congratulate her with wine.
Yan Wuxin laughed and said, "How about it, Lord Lu? Let's have a drink tonight."
Xiang Ruzhen said, "Why don't I go hunt a few pheasants and we can have a picnic by the river later? It's rare for us to be promoted at the same time, so we must celebrate properly."
Lu Jinlan smiled and said, "We should celebrate, but to be honest, I've learned a new lesson today. If the Emperor finds out you're capable, she'll make you work yourself to death."
Yan Wuxin asked, puzzled, "Why do you say that?"
Lu Jinlan took out a secret decree from his bosom, "You can see for yourselves."
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