Royal Palace
All the officials were marquises, and Yu Jingchen was waiting for Nan Su's arrival in the Golden Palace.
"General Nan has arrived!" Just as everyone was eagerly waiting, Nan Su appeared at the palace gate.
He was accompanied by several lieutenants.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!" He knelt on one knee, his voice booming like a bell.
"Nan Qing, please rise," Yu Jingchen said. Looking at Nan Su's current appearance, he was somewhat dazed. This was the Nan Su he remembered. After Nan Zhiyun left in his previous life... he aged a lot all at once. This man dedicated his entire life to Tian Sheng, and in the end, he protected Tian Sheng, but he couldn't protect his own daughter.
Perhaps he felt disheartened, so he even gave up his military power, just to stay by his daughter's side, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, and enjoy... the joys of family life.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Nan Su's voice always carried a strong sense of righteousness.
"Nanqing, you must have had a long and arduous journey..." Yu Jingchen suddenly felt a dryness in his throat.
Nan Su was also his master in the past, and his martial arts skills were actually taught by Nan Su. After all, Nan Su was the number one general of Tian Sheng back then, with superb martial arts skills that no one could match. In a sense, he taught Yu Jingchen everything he knew.
"This old minister fights for the country and serves Your Majesty. How can I say it is hard work? Your Majesty is too kind." Nan Su was neither arrogant nor impatient, his eyes full of composure.
"Minister Nan has made outstanding contributions to the country and its people this time, and I will certainly reward him handsomely," Yu Jingchen said.
Then he looked at Xinglai, who, upon seeing this, took out the imperial edict that Yu Jingchen had prepared earlier.
"Nan Su, receive the imperial decree!" Xing Lai shouted, and everyone in the Golden Phoenix Hall knelt down in unison.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: General Nan Su has rendered meritorious service in guarding the frontier, upholding integrity and righteousness to secure the nation. This snow disaster is rare, yet you have quelled the rebellion and provided appropriate disaster relief, for which I greatly commend you. Therefore, you are hereby granted the title of Zhenguo General and granted an additional three thousand households in Yucheng. This is the imperial decree!"
Upon hearing this imperial edict, almost everyone was somewhat surprised. Hadn't His Majesty always been wary of Nan Su? How come he was granting her even more power?
"Your Majesty, I accept the decree! Long live the Emperor!" Nan Su readily agreed.
At the same time, an imperial edict also entered the inner palace... and naturally, it ended up in the He'an Palace.
"Consort Nan, receive the imperial decree!" The eunuch delivering the decree held it in his hands.
Qianxia helped Nan Zhiyun kneel down.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: To glorify the court and prosper, thanks to the gentle and virtuous Lady Nan, who has been blessed by Heaven, born into a distinguished family, and possessing outstanding qualities of gentleness and respect, she is hereby conferred the title of Consort Shu. So be it!"
"Your Majesty, I accept the decree and thank you for your great favor. Long live the Emperor!" A wave of emotion surged through Nan Zhiyun's heart. Yu Jingchen had mentioned this to her before, but she hadn't taken it seriously.
"This servant congratulates Your Highness, Consort Shu," the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial decree said with a fawning expression.
Nan Zhiyun accepted the imperial edict, and then Qianxia helped her to her feet: "Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch." She then called out, "Qianxia."
Qianxia stepped forward knowingly and slipped a bag of loose silver into the hand of the eunuch who had come to deliver the imperial decree: "It's freezing cold, please have a cup of hot tea, sir."
The eunuch who came to deliver the imperial decree smiled even more broadly.
"Yes, thank you very much, Consort Shu. Your Majesty's good fortune is yet to come. This servant will now return to report," the eunuch said.
"Qianxia, see your father-in-law out," Nan Zhiyun instructed.
"Yes, please, Father-in-law." Qianxia gestured for him to leave and then saw him out.
"Enshrine it," Nan Zhiyun said, handing the imperial edict to the palace servants.
"Congratulations, Consort Shu!" The palace servants all began to offer their congratulations.
“Let’s give all the palace servants in He’an Palace a month’s salary,” Nan Zhiyun said.
"Thank you for the reward, Consort Shu!" They were naturally happy, not only because they had received the reward, but also because of Nan Zhiyun's promotion. Now, among all the concubines in the harem, only Consort Shu had the highest rank.
The other concubines in the harem were also surprised when they heard the news. It wasn't that they hadn't thought about being promoted, but they hadn't expected it to be so much. They had gone from Jieyu to the Fourth Consort in one fell swoop.
Before everyone could even process what had happened, another imperial edict arrived from Yu Jingchen. It was a grand bestowal of titles upon the harem, with almost everyone receiving an honor, except for those who had previously made mistakes.
Consort Qing was promoted to Noble Consort, Consort Yu to Virtuous Consort, and Consort Li to Wise Consort. The positions of the four consorts were thus filled. Furthermore, Consort Yuan was promoted to Consort Yuan (having given birth to the eldest prince), and Consort Yang and Consort Zhao were promoted to Zhaoyuan and Zhaorong respectively (having given birth to the eldest and second princesses respectively). Everyone else, except those who had committed offenses, was promoted one rank.
Perhaps it's because the year-end is approaching, hence the grand conferment of titles upon the imperial harem. With the high-ranking concubines filled, it's also preparation for the spring imperial concubine selection. (By the way, do you guys enjoy palace intrigue plots?)
"What is His Majesty thinking? Nan Zhiyun has been promoted to Consort Shu in one fell swoop, and her rank is even higher than mine. Isn't he afraid that the Nan family's achievements will overshadow his own?" Consort De (formerly Consort Yu, the order of the four consorts: Noble, Virtuous, and Wise) asked with a face full of dissatisfaction.
"You, your emotions are always written all over your face. His Majesty has his reasons for this, why are you in such a hurry?" the Imperial Concubine said helplessly. (Previously, Consort Qing)
"That can't be right! Why should Nan Zhiyun be promoted to Consort Shu?" Consort Xian sat down on a chair to the side, sulking to herself.
"She was already a Consort Shu when she entered the palace, and given her status, the position of Consort Shu was more than enough for her. This time, the Nan family made a contribution, so it was expected that she would receive these rewards." Consort Qing picked up a cup of tea and drank it slowly.
"Drink, drink, all you know is drinking! What's going on now? How can you still be so calm?" Consort De said with displeasure.
"I am now a Noble Consort. As long as they can't find fault with me, even if Nan Zhiyun becomes Empress, I can still sit firmly in this position. Why should I be in such a hurry?" The Noble Consort didn't care.
"You're so carefree, can't you be a little more careful?" Consort De was speechless.
"If you want me to be more careful, you'd better be smarter first. It's too early to talk about these things now. If they have people who want to fight, then let them fight. Mind your own business and protect yourself. With your personality, you wouldn't even know if you were used as a pawn one day," the Imperial Concubine said irritably.
"All you do is yell at me, because you think I'm easy to bully. Yan Qing, let me tell you, I'm only willing to talk to you a little because you're somewhat smart. If I really end up in this mess one day, you'll have to save me for the sake of this relationship," Consort De said.
The Imperial Concubine smiled upon hearing this and said, "You're the one who likes to bother me the most. If you want me to save you, then you'd better avoid causing trouble."
The way the two of them get along is quite enviable.
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