Chapter 600 The Army Returns to the Capital
At least for the time being, Emperor Xiaozhao is unlikely to allow the Earl of Enping to control a large army again.
Qiao Qinghe sighed. Just thinking about it, she knew that with Emperor Xiaozhao's personality, even if he trusted the Earl of Enping, he would still be wary of him one day becoming too powerful.
Now, with the two great achievements of pacifying Jiangnan and suppressing the rebellion, the Earl of Enping no longer needs any more military merits.
Too much of a good thing is bad.
"That's good too. Staying in the capital means your family won't have to worry about you."
Qiao Qinghe smiled and comforted her, "Whether you get promoted or not, having an official position means you've crossed social classes."
“Aunt is right. Second Brother thinks so too,” Qiao Jinglian said with a smile. “I also think it’s a good idea.”
"This frees up time to train the next generation."
"Our Qiao family has quite a few boys and girls."
"If we train a few capable people well, the Qiao family will have plenty of opportunities to rise in the future."
Qiao Qinghe looked at Qiao Jinglian with agreement and praised, "Well said! The Qiao family wasn't built by any one person alone. It's precisely because of everyone's joint efforts that it's possible."
***
The next day, Qiao Jinglian went out to look at houses, but after several visits, he couldn't find anything suitable. The main reason was that Qiao Jinglian was a stranger to the area and spoke with a southern accent. The local officials took advantage of him being an outsider. The houses they showed him were either in bad locations or overpriced; none of them met his expectations.
When Qiao Qinghe found out, she sent He Rui to help find someone to look after the house.
Since taking over Qiao Qinghe's businesses, He Rui has become increasingly shrewd and less like a woman. She can get along with anyone, and she's especially adept at working in teahouses and restaurants.
Gradually, he gained recognition in the capital.
Knowing that He Rui was not easily fooled, and that Qiao Qinghe behind her was a powerful figure, He Rui took action and within two days, both houses belonging to the Qiao family were purchased.
For this matter, both Old Madam Qiao and Madam Zhou sent He Rui a lot of things to express their gratitude.
He Rui refused to accept the gift, saying instead that she should thank Qiao Qinghe. She always followed orders.
When Qiao Qinghe found out, she rewarded He Rui with many things.
The Qiao family's house has been purchased; the next step is to renovate, clean, and furnish it...
Qiao Qinghe entrusted all these matters to the He family mother and daughter.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and before the two houses were even properly furnished, the army returned to the capital.
Emperor Xiaozhao, accompanied by the Prince of Qi, the Prince of Chu, and all civil and military officials, personally went to the city gate to welcome the army back to the capital, a truly grand and impressive event.
Upon hearing the news, people throughout the city dropped what they were doing and rushed to join in the excitement.
Starting ten miles outside the city, and continuing to the city gates, and then from the city gates to the palace, the main road through which the army passed was densely packed with people.
Qiao Qinghe had reserved three private rooms on the second floor of a teahouse along the street where the army would pass on its way to the palace several days in advance.
There was no way around it, there were just too many people.
As the commander-in-chief of the campaign to quell the rebellion, Su Rongrong was certain to come and witness Enping's triumphant return.
Similarly, Qiao Jingyao was also in the army, as were Zhou Shi and her daughter, and Mu Jin and her son.
Grandma Qiao, the Qiao family's third branch couple, and the Qiao family's children will naturally be coming as well.
Qiao Qinghe, not wanting to miss out on such excitement, planned to bring Wei Jia and Feng Yuerou, mother and son, to join in the fun.
As for the two babies, Qiao Zhen and Li Yiqian, they were too small, and Qiao Qinghe was afraid that the noise and commotion would frighten them, so she didn't plan to bring them.
Yesterday afternoon, the army arrived at a point 30 li outside the capital and set up camp.
In fact, most of the troops had already gone their separate ways on the road.
Only the 30,000 men from the Xishan camp were brought back to the capital, along with some generals who had rendered meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion and were required to meet the emperor to receive their rewards.
Qiao Jinglian quietly left the city and rejoined his unit yesterday evening.
Although his rank is not high enough to be considered an emperor, he is still of a rank that allows him to ride a tall horse and parade through the streets.
However, upon reaching the palace gates, those of lower rank had to stop and wait.
On this day, Qiao Qinghe led her entire family to the reserved private room at the teahouse early in the morning.
From the moment they got off the bus at the entrance of the teahouse to the moment they went upstairs to their private room, everyone who saw them couldn't help but stare.
It's not that there were too many of them, or that their clothing was inappropriate.
Li Yiqian, who was being held in Wei Jia's arms, was simply too small. Bringing a baby who was only a few months old to such an occasion was really inappropriate.
Many people wanted to say something, but seeing that Qiao Qinghe's group was clearly not an ordinary family, they gave up on the idea.
However, the look in his eyes when he looked at the swaddled baby was inevitably tinged with some complex emotions.
Qiao Qinghe naturally guessed what those people were looking at, and couldn't help but turn around and touch the little thing's hand, laughing and scolding, "Look, it's all your fault."
"Ah, oh..."
The little guy tilted his chin up, as if responding to Qiao Qinghe, and made sounds that were not meaningful.
Qiao Qinghe smiled helplessly.
Qiao Qinghe hadn't originally planned to take the child out. However, before leaving, she went to check on the child and gave instructions to the head caregiver and the two wet nurses on duty.
After everything was arranged, she turned to leave, but the child stretched out his hand and started crying loudly.
When she turned back, he started talking to her with his mouth open, making "ah ah oh oh" sounds. She didn't know what he was saying, but he stopped crying.
After teasing the child for a while, Qiao Qinghe turned and left, and the child started crying again.
After this repeated itself, Qiao Qinghe finally lost her temper.
I had no choice but to take the child with me when I went out.
To avoid frightening the child, she had cotton prepared before leaving the house, intending to stuff it into the child's ears to block out the noise.
If that doesn't work, cover your ears and close the windows...
The group entered the private room, ordered tea and snacks, and chatted and laughed.
More than an hour later, the army finally came from the direction of the city gate.
Leading the procession were the carriages of Emperor Xiaozhao, the Prince of Qi, and the Prince of Chu, followed by the triumphant generals, headed by the Earl of Enping, with the Marquis of Yongchang and the Duke of Jin following closely behind, and then the other generals.
The civil and military officials were the last to arrive. Of course, people's attention wasn't on these people.
In the private room, Su Rongrong stood by the window, staring intently at the slowly moving procession.
The moment she saw Uncle Enping, she covered her mouth and burst into tears.
Whether it was a telepathic connection or not, the Earl of Enping looked up and gazed towards the second floor of the teahouse.
Almost instantly, the Earl of Enping and Su Rongrong locked eyes.
Then, a big smile appeared on the usually serious face of the Earl of Enping.
Su Rongrong immediately stopped crying and started laughing.
This news quickly reached the ears of Emperor Xiaozhao, who was at the forefront of the procession.
Emperor Xiaozhao's already smiling expression became even gentler.
In another private room, the Zhou mother and daughter, and Mu Jin and her son, were also trying to find Qiao Jingyao in the crowd.
Because there were so many people, and everyone was wearing identical full-body armor, and Qiao Jingyao was mixed in with the crowd, it took the others quite a bit of effort to find him.
"Father! Father! We're here! Here!..."
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