Upon hearing of the death of Prince Jingbei, the Empress decreed that the funeral be held in accordance with the established rites.
On the day of the funeral, the place was brightly lit and decorated, with guests seeing off the procession and officials welcoming the procession, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.
Sixty-four people in green robes carried the coffin, and Xiao Shan, dressed in mourning clothes, led the procession. The Empress herself also came to offer her condolences.
Two days later, Qin Chuan and Su Ruyan arrived at the Jingbei Prince's Mansion.
After the hustle and bustle, the Jingbei Prince's Mansion returned to its usual quietness. Upon seeing this, Su Ruyan couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat and suggested to Qin Chuan that Su Rushi and Xiao Shan be taken to the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion to stay for a while.
Su Rushi initially refused, but was eventually persuaded by Su Ruyan and moved into the Imperial Preceptor's residence with Xiao Shan.
Since the death of Prince Jingbei, the young princess has been like a different person, listless all day long and rarely speaking...
Humans experience joy and sorrow, separation and reunion; this is the natural course of human life.
Qin Chuan did not intervene, believing that time would heal her.
...
The Empress still held morning court every day, unlike Qin Chuan, who would come to court whenever he wanted and not come whenever he didn't want to, only attending sporadically.
Looking at the pile of memorials impeaching Qin Chuan, the Empress frowned, bit her lip, and said to the eunuch in charge, "Go and summon the Imperial Advisor!"
Qin Chuan arrived at the Imperial Study shortly afterward.
The Empress stared at the thick stack of memorials on the desk and said to Qin Chuan, "Look, these are all impeachments against you."
Qin Chuan picked up a memorial and glanced at it. It was written by Xu Yuanjie, a doctor from the Imperial Academy, and it was still about Qin Chuan's rudeness to the Loulan princess a few days ago.
He picked up another book and opened it; it was from an imperial censor, impeaching someone for a minor matter, saying that the gait of the man after he entered the palace was too exaggerated…
Turning to another book, it accused him of corruption and bribery, which is a bit serious...
After carefully reviewing it, I found it was all fabricated, with no evidence whatsoever. It included things like the flowerpots in the Imperial Preceptor's residence being too ornate, and a whole bunch of trivial matters...
"Neuropathy……"
Qin Chuan cursed under his breath.
However, this matter is very strange. Suddenly, a large number of officials are impeaching him. There must be someone behind this...
There must be something fishy about this.
The Empress slowly sat on the dragon throne and said calmly, "This time, Xiao Yue rectified the officialdom and confiscated the homes of more than thirty officials. Is it because they are afraid of me that they are targeting you?"
"Where's Xiao Yue? I haven't seen her for a while."
Qin Chuan didn't care much about being impeached, and asked about Xiao Yue's whereabouts.
The Empress gently rubbed her forehead and said softly, "I sent her to Henan and Shandong to oversee the situation, taking with her a newly formed thousand Dali Guards. The issue of the displaced people has not been completely resolved, especially the spring planting next year, which is even more urgent. If the displaced people do not receive land, seeds, and farming tools, they will still not be able to survive next year. This matter is quite important, so I sent her there personally."
Qin Chuan nodded slowly, neither confirming nor denying it.
The Empress continued, "Besides the spring planting next year, those fierce bandits who gather in the mountains must also be eliminated. The role of the thousand Dali Guards is in this regard."
The newly formed Dali Guard was well-equipped and its soldiers were all brave and fierce. It was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut when dealing with bandits. Perhaps it was also to help the government quickly eliminate the bandits...
Suddenly, another memorial appeared on the Empress's desk, sent by Song Lian via express courier from Jiangzhe, a distance of 600 li.
Qin Chuan then looked at the Empress and asked, "Is there any news of defeating the Japanese pirates?"
The Empress pursed her lips and handed the memorial to Qin Chuan. Qin Chuan opened it and read that Song Lian had used Qi Jiguang's Art of War to train his troops, and then led five thousand soldiers to wipe out a group of more than a hundred Japanese pirates. After that, he continued to pursue them and fought against a force of a thousand Japanese pirates.
The results are as follows:
1,120 heads were cut off, and several people escaped.
The seized items included 500 Japanese swords, 90 sets of armor, 53 helmets, and countless weapons such as broadswords, spears, bows and arrows, sickles, siege ladders, iron pots, plows, and hoes. In addition, there were more than 100 cattle, sheep, pigs, and dozens of dogs.
Of the soldiers, 3 died and more than 60 were wounded.
In addition, there were hundreds of captured women, all of whom had been defiled by the Japanese pirates. The memorial inquired about how to handle this matter.
After Qin Chuan carefully read the memorial, the Empress asked, "Is Song Lian lying about his military achievements? How could he have fought so well?"
Qin Chuan recalled that Qi Jiguang fought against Japanese pirates throughout his life, engaging in more than a dozen battles, large and small, eliminating 20,000 pirates while suffering only about 200 casualties on his own side. In some battles, not a single person was killed.
This is the power of Grandpa Qi. If his military strategies are strictly followed and the soldiers have the ferocity of the Qi Family Army, then a low casualty ratio is perfectly normal.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I guarantee with my life that Song Lian did not lie about his military achievements."
Upon hearing Qin Chuan's words, the Empress glanced at him and, seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, believed him.
Then, she said quietly, "It seems your military strategy is still the most impressive..."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I believe the Japanese pirates will be wiped out soon."
The Empress smiled gently, "I once had four major worries in my heart: refugees, Japanese pirates, Huns, and the Great Jiang. You have already eliminated two of them for me, and I am very grateful to you. Tonight, you will stay and have dinner with me in the Imperial Kitchen!"
It was time to eat again, and Qin Chuan was speechless for a moment.
They won't pay back the money, nor will they repay me with their bodies. What good is a meal with them?
With that in mind, Qin Chuan politely declined.
The Empress snorted coldly, a displeased expression on her face, as if to say, "I invited you to dinner, and you dare to refuse..."
"Step back!"
The Empress waved her sleeve in annoyance.
...
When Qin Chuan returned to the Imperial Preceptor's residence, he saw a beautiful woman dressed in black mourning clothes with white mourning ribbons tied around her cuffs. She was looking at a potted plant with a sorrowful expression on her face.
The green plant is a loquat tree. A beautiful woman stands leaning against it, gazing at it with a dreamy expression, as if she has something on her mind.
"Sister, please accept my condolences. The dead cannot be brought back to life, so please don't be too sad."
Qin Chuan stepped forward and whispered to the beautiful woman.
Su Ru glanced back at Qin Chuan, a faint smile playing on her lips: "Brother-in-law..."
It was almost nightfall. Su Ru pointed to the loquat tree, "This loquat tree that my brother-in-law planted reminds me of the loquat tree that my late husband and I planted together. Every time the loquats ripened, Shan'er would bring her playmates to pick them..."
At this point, Su Ru felt inexplicably sad, and her eyes welled up with tears...
"This is what Shan'er planted."
Qin Chuan's words left Su Rushi stunned and speechless for a long time.
After gracefully curtsying, Su Rushi sadly left Qin Chuan's sight.
Looking at the widow's figure, Qin Chuan had a feeling he couldn't quite explain.
...
The following day, the Empress received a large number of memorials criticizing Qin Chuan.
"These old geezers clearly have a problem with me!"
The empress was furious and threw the memorial on the ground.
The serving eunuchs carefully picked it up and put it back on the table; the empress did not throw it away again.
There were over a hundred memorials proposing to dismiss Qin Chuan from his post. Faced with so many memorials, the Empress could only sigh in bewilderment. It was impossible to dismiss over a hundred officials, was it?
After thinking for a long time, the Empress murmured, "Qin Chuan, it seems I have no choice but to transfer you out of the court for now..."
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