Chapter 444 Worth It
If you ask what's most lacking in war, it's money and weapons.
Only with money can you recruit soldiers and buy horses, and have them leave their homes to risk their lives. Shouldn't their treatment be improved? Otherwise, who would risk their lives for you?
Fortunately, the national treasury is now full, and with Er Ya's continuous donations of money and grain, it really wouldn't be able to withstand such extravagance.
Nevertheless, Ye Wan sometimes has to take the lead in saving money.
"Your Majesty, good news just came from the morning court session: the Third Princess has already reached the capital of the Jin Kingdom!"
"Several small tribes in the surrounding area have all been wiped out!"
"That's really good news. I'm sure Sanya will be back soon." Ye Wan was overjoyed.
“If she doesn’t come back soon, her two sons will be all grown up.”
Wei Ye has been in the Jin Kingdom for three years.
Wei Kai and Wei Xuan are now attending school with Liu Chengfeng and others. Lin Anyuan plans to train them all together, then see how they develop their strengths, and just let go of those who are truly hopeless.
I just received news that General Wei is passing away.
General Wei is already very old, and Lin Anyuan and Ye Wan went to the Wei family to visit him in person.
"This old minister..."
When General Wei saw Ye Wan and Lin Anyuan enter, he struggled to get up.
Lin Anyuan said, "Old General, you should lie down. You have fought for the Xia Kingdom all your life. Even if the late emperor came, you should lie down."
General Wei grinned; the old man was so old he had no teeth left, but he looked quite dashing.
"To speak out of treason, in this old minister's heart, Your Majesty is more like a good emperor than Emperor Jing."
He spent most of his life on horseback, and only Lin Anyuan truly treated his soldiers like human beings.
Emperor Jing also treated his soldiers as human beings, but he came from a wealthy family and his hardest days were still a hundred times richer than those of ordinary people. Lin Anyuan was different; he had truly suffered and knew the hardships of poor people.
Lin Anyuan chuckled, "You've always stood tall and straight, how come you know how to flatter now? What were you doing all this time?"
He still remembers the words that were spoken to him with great enthusiasm on the battlefield.
That's right, Lin Anyuan is petty.
“This old minister’s flattery isn’t flattery, it’s imperial flattery.”
Lin Anyuan was speechless for a moment.
General Wei looked at Lin Anyuan and grabbed his hand. "To be honest, I have no regrets in my life. The only regret is that I didn't personally go to the battlefield to expand our territory."
When he was young, he fought against the Hu people, but when he got old, Emperor Hong recalled him to guard the capital.
Lin Anyuan looked at the old man on the bed and said, "Wei Ye is gone, and Wei's grandson will go in the future. Wherever the sun and moon shine, it will all be Xia land."
"My life has been worthwhile, hahaha."
General Wei laughed twice, then closed his eyes and remained motionless.
Ye Wan didn't let the Wei family see her off; she and Lin Anyuan came out on their own.
The Wei family's funeral was very grand, but Sanya and Wei Ye did not return.
It is said that General Wei wrote a letter saying that they should not be allowed to return.
General Wei passed away, and Madam Wei followed him less than two months later. The Wei family held two funerals in a short period of time.
Lin Anyuan led all the civil and military officials in observing a three-day vegetarian diet and personally wrote a eulogy for General Wei.
Over the past few years, Ye Wan has seen many acquaintances leave one after another, and she seems to have gotten used to it, no longer feeling too much emotional.
Or perhaps she is just a rather cold person by nature.
While Ye Wan was having a meal with several children in the palace, a servant brought news that Lady Qing was dying and wanted to see Ye Wan.
Emperor Jing's only remaining concubine is Lady Qing. Ye Wan, now the Empress, has decided to go and see for herself.
When Ye Wan left, Madam Qing was wearing a very bright dress and had makeup on. She looked quite well and did not seem like someone who was about to die.
"Madam Ye has arrived."
When Madam Qing saw Ye Wan bow, she said, "Don't blame me for not calling you Empress. In my heart, the Empress is your mother-in-law."
Ye Wan didn't mind and found a place to sit down.
"I invited Her Majesty the Empress here not for any other reason than to have a casual chat."
"In my youth, I tried my best to win the prince's favor, thinking that he would eventually like me, since we had a daughter together. Ironically, I even suspected that the prince liked men back then."
Ye Wan: ...
You might as well just say that you suspect Emperor Jing likes Lin Anyuan.
Madam Qing seemed to have opened a floodgate, rambling on and on, "Later, the Prince got together with Lin Suyi. At first, I was not convinced and was thinking about how to fight him."
"The moment I saw her in person, I couldn't think of anything else. Such beauty made me feel ashamed. I never knew that the man who was indifferent to all women could be so careful and gentle..."
"Ah, I've been rich and noble my whole life, it's so good, it's just that I don't have a man. In my next life, I want to be a princess and raise ten or eight thin-faced men, how wonderful that would be!"
Madam Qing thought she was still smart; the other women were either dead or married, and none of them lived as well as she did.
Ye Wan said, "Okay, I hope your wish comes true."
"Thank you for making this trip, Your Majesty."
Lady Qing bowed to Ye Wan, but still addressed her as Empress.
Ye Wan originally thought that Madam Qing, now the Dowager Consort, had come to her for a favor, but she didn't say anything.
After leaving Madam Qing's residence, Murong Wan'er, along with her child and the prince consort, were waiting outside.
"Your Majesty the Empress." Murong Wan'er bowed to Ye Wan.
Ye Wan looked at the middle-aged Murong Wan'er and said, "The princess seems much more composed."
Murong Wan'er smiled gently and gracefully, "I was too young and ignorant back then, but fortunately I didn't do anything irreversible."
She actually tried to steal Ye Wan's man, but luckily Ye Wan didn't mind, otherwise her life would definitely not be so easy now.
Murong Wan'er gave birth to a son and a daughter. Her husband was an official in a local area and only returned after hearing that the Dowager Consort was dying.
Ye Wan's gaze fell on the two children beside her. "In the blink of an eye, your child has grown up quite a bit. If you're willing, let him study with the other children."
Murong Wan'er was overjoyed and quickly thanked her, "Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."
Ye Wan didn't say anything more and left.
"Wan'er, why are you so happy?" the prince consort asked, puzzled.
"My lord, you have no idea how capable my brother and sister-in-law are. As long as our children have a skill, the Li family can remain wealthy for another hundred years." Murong Wan'er now admires Lin Anyuan from the bottom of her heart.
With him around, the people of Xia can live in peace and prosperity, and she, as a princess, will not have to go to a political marriage, nor will her daughter have to worry about this issue.
"My lord, what's wrong?" Murong Wan'er asked when she saw him frowning.
The prince consort was reluctant to part with the child, saying, "The child is so young, and you're just leaving him there? I'm really worried..."
“My lord, you may not understand the temperament of the Emperor and Empress now, but I already know that our child will not be mistreated.”
"As long as you do your job steadily, you'll be fine. Don't think about those unnecessary things."
Murong Wan'er looked up in the direction of the palace.
Only a woman like Ye Wan is worthy of that man.
Ye Wan didn't take a carriage back; instead, she walked along the main road towards the palace.
The current state of Shangjing is completely different from when she first opened it.
Women were everywhere on the street. When they saw Ye Wan dressed in extraordinary clothes, they would only glance at her with occasional curiosity. No one would stare at her for long.
Ye Wan walked slowly until she reached the palace gate, where she saw Lin Anyuan.
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed him in a golden light.
Lin Anyuan smiled when he saw her.
Ye Wan stared at Lin Anyuan beneath the palace walls, unable to recover for a long time.
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