The Emperor glanced around to make sure no one was watching before saying, "Cousin, a timely snowfall promises a good harvest next year, won't it?"
"Of course, Your Majesty." The Marquis also smiled, reaching out to catch a few snowflakes. "Auspicious omens from the heavens are signs of the revival of Tianwu. One day, all the mountains and rivers under heaven will return to Your Majesty's feet."
The Emperor turned to look at him and couldn't help but ask, "Cousin, are you really not planning to marry and have children? What about the Ye family's lineage...?"
The Marquis shook his head. "Right now, all I want is to reclaim our lost territories. If I can live to see victory, then we can talk about these things later. If I die in battle, Your Majesty, remember to give everything to Fu Niu."
The Emperor sighed, "I really don't know whether sending you to lead troops into battle is a good thing or a bad thing."
The Marquis laughed, "Of course it's a good thing. I've never felt so happy in my life."
After saying this, he glanced at the sky, stepped back, bowed, and changed his form of address.
"Your Majesty, I must be going back now. My family has probably already prepared dumplings and is just waiting for me to come back to eat them."
The Emperor rarely saw him like this, like a child rushing home from school, so he asked curiously, "The Li family's soup noodles are delicious, and their dumplings are also quite good, aren't they?"
“Of course,” the Marquis said, a hint of pride creeping into his expression, “I will definitely bring a few for His Majesty to try when I have the chance.”
The Emperor nodded, "Go ahead. Don't worry, I will keep my promise."
The Marquis lifted his robe and knelt on one knee. "Your Majesty, I thank you for your great favor. For the rest of my life, I will risk my life to reclaim the territory for Your Majesty and restore the glory of Tianwu!"
Having said that, he didn't wait for the emperor to help him up, and strode away.
A young eunuch quickly followed, carrying a box.
The emperor's trusted chief eunuch saw this from afar and dared to approach, asking in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it's time to prepare the meal."
The Emperor rubbed his heavy sleeves, nodded and ordered, "First, destroy those flowerpots and things on the floor of the study, making sure no one notices the traces. Then serve wine and dishes; I have a joyous occasion to celebrate today."
The chief eunuch immediately put on a smile and replied cheerfully, "Yes, Your Majesty, please wait a moment, this old servant will make the arrangements right away."
The emperor turned and went back to his bedchamber. He carefully took the golden corn cob out of his sleeve, put it into a brocade box, and then hid it in a hidden compartment under his dragon bed.
After finishing all that, he sat steadily on the dragon bed, his eyes shining brightly, as if he were looking at a vast land before him...
The Li family courtyard was bustling with activity at this moment, with many people eating dumplings and quite a few making them.
At times like these, the village chief and his wife, along with the Liu family of three, would be invited to reunite.
Including Uncle Zhao and several other old men, there were more than twenty people in total.
The women kneaded the dough, chopped the dumpling filling, and once everything was ready, they set up a large table in the main room.
The men also helped out, chatting and making dumplings together, everyone smiling.
The head housekeeper was invited to stay for dumplings by the old lady, and now he rolled up his sleeves to help.
Unfortunately, it was his first time making dumplings, and the result was truly indescribable.
Looking back, he saw that even a tiny baby like Fu Niu was wrapped up so neatly, and he couldn't help but blush. He quickly tried to learn from her.
The old lady occasionally looked up and saw it, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, head butler, come a few more times and you'll learn slowly."
The head steward was pleasantly surprised and said with a smile, "Oh dear, then I will listen to the old lady and come here often from now on. The Marquis's mansion is too quiet. Our home is much more lively."
Just then, the Marquis's carriage returned.
The courtyard immediately became even more lively, with the village chief and others inviting the Marquis to sit down and chat.
Jiayin ran over with her two chubby little hands raised and hugged her godfather's leg.
The Marquis was wearing a dark blue robe, and two white handprints were immediately imprinted on his face.
The Marquis didn't mind, picked up Jiayin and sat her on his lap, and then called Cat Boy, who had chased after his sister, to come forward.
He opened the box in his hand, took out a pair of red agate kittens, and handed them to Cat Brother.
Cat was overjoyed, bowed and thanked them, and ran off to show off to his father.
Jiayin, on the other hand, hugged the remaining boxes and was so happy she almost did a somersault.
The box contained four pairs of solid gold bracelets, all made in China.
Everyone peeked out and understood immediately.
"Fu Niu is rich!"
"This child loves gold and silver the most; he must have been a little fairy boy under the God of Wealth in his past life."
"I think it's a Pixiu, only taking in and never giving out!" When Grandma Li came out and saw her, she couldn't help but complain about her granddaughter, and then scolded the Marquis, "She's just a child, don't always give her these expensive things, you're making her obsessed with money."
The Marquis smiled and admitted his mistake, "I promised the child before, and I can't go back on my word. I won't give it to him anymore."
The old lady didn't believe this. Every single person in the family was susceptible to Fu Niu's charm and coquettishness.
As long as this girl is happy, nothing else matters.
Soon, the table was set with white, plump dumplings, accompanied by several sweet and sour or savory side dishes. Everyone sat around the table, enjoying the meal immensely.
The village chief and several other old men each poured themselves half a bowl of wine, taking a bite of dumpling and a sip of wine, laughing heartily.
Dumplings with wine, the longer you live, the better.
But after they finished eating the dumplings and were half-drunk, the old men pulled the Marquis aside and wiped away their tears.
"My lord, when will we be able to fight our way back to Jiangbei? We old bones don't even know if we'll be able to be buried on the hillside of our hometown when we die."
"Yes, Suijintan is nice, but I can't help but miss my hometown. These past few nights, I've been dreaming about the locust blossoms on the hillside."
The Marquis was not impatient and patiently comforted them, "Soon, in less than three years, we will definitely be able to take back Jiangbei."
"Alright, we may not be able to lift our swords anymore, but we'll plant more grains and melons. We'll contribute our food and labor to support the Marquis!"
The old men felt relieved after saying what they had to say, so they went back to sleep.
Li Zhensheng used the excuse of borrowing books to follow the Marquis to the neighboring courtyard.
Just then, Ye Shan rushed back, bowed, and reported, "My lord, the Wang family can't hold on any longer, and they've sent someone to your residence with another letter."
After saying that, he presented a letter with both hands.
The Marquis opened it, read it quickly, and couldn't help but sneer, "People are all like this. They will never know the pain until they suffer it themselves. Now that the roles have been reversed, Wang Bowei has finally become anxious."
Li Zhensheng asked out of curiosity, "Is it because of that matter?"
Lord Hou shook his head. "No, the third son of the Wang family was thrown into the Dali Temple and hasn't been released yet. Perhaps it's cold in the prison, he fell ill, and no one is treating him. Now his condition has become quite serious, which is why the Wang family is anxious. They plan to donate two hundred acres of land to house my wounded soldiers in exchange for my willingness to clear the third son of the Wang family from the assassination case."
Li Zhensheng felt a warmth growing in his heart. The Marquis said it wasn't because of him, but he still made Wang Sanye experience all the hardships he had gone through from beginning to end.
This is such blatant favoritism; only someone who truly considers him and the Li family as their own would act this way!
The Marquis poured two cups of tea himself and said, "That person means he agrees to let you join the caravan, but we have to solve the seed transportation and planting ourselves. He only cares about the results next autumn."
“Transporting the seeds is easy, but planting them is a bit of a problem. Firstly, the land around Suijintan is mostly mountainous terrain with orchards intercropped with crops or riverbanks, which is not suitable for growing corn and potatoes. Secondly, our Hou family moved here with the capital and we don’t have any land nearby. Today, the Wang family has brought us two hundred acres of land, which has solved our immediate problem.”
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