Su Rong didn’t enter the inner temple, but went directly to bathe.
After bathing, she quietly returned to her room to find Zhou Gu lying on his bed, sleeping deeply, with a nine-loop puzzle at his side. The handsome young face, no matter when she looked at it, always stirred her heart, and she never grew tired of looking at it.
She silently came to the bedside and squatted down, staring at Zhou Gu. Her heart was so entranced that she almost couldn’t help disturbing his sleep with a kiss.
However, as she leaned forward, she stopped just in time, stepped back, stood up, extinguished the light, and quietly climbed onto the bed.
Alas, her daily life had been reduced to such a state that even a goodnight kiss was now a luxury.
The Nanchu Imperial Court was in a flurry, and Dawei was no different, being even busier than Nanchu.
After all, when Dawei had waged war on Nanchu, no one had expected it to lose. They had the six-door siege cannon and eight hundred thousand troops, yet they were defeated.
Could they say that it was due to Crown Prince Yuan Zhao’s lack of ability? Not at all. The situation on the frontline was no secret. Yuan Zhao’s strategic plan was not faulty; the defeat was due to the Nanchu Princess’s stubborn resistance until the very end. Daliang, as Nanchu’s supporter, had acted too quickly, enabling Nanchu to be saved through indirect means.
It must be said that the elderly duke of the Daliang Duke Residence was shrewd. Having arrived at the frontier, he immediately waged war on Dawei without delay, preventing Dawei from having time to launch an attack on Nanchu, something that the Dawei Imperial Court had not anticipated.
Ultimately, one mistake led to many, and Dawei was forced to consider peace talks, ceding territories and compensating Nanchu with money, cities, and even seeds for spring planting.
This whole scenario was truly infuriating, but there was no solution. Dawei was utterly suffocated.
Moreover, Dawei had to marshal national resources, collecting gold, silver, horses, food seeds, etc., and send them to Nanchu and Daliang for handover.
Just dealing with the aftermath of this defeat was enough to turn Dawei upside down, with cries of sorrow heard throughout the nation. Even the common people ceased to hold celebratory events.
Having been powerful for many years, Dawei had never suffered such a significant loss before. Even the Dawei Emperor fell sick as a result this time.
Fortunately, Crown Prince Yuan Zhao was firmly in place, and his ambitious younger brother, Prince Yuan Chen, was subdued by Yuan Zhao and became a tame sibling. As the Crown Prince and the Second Prince joined forces, the other princes dared not stir trouble at such a time, fearing they might lose the kingdom. Although there were cries of sorrow throughout the court and the country, the essential tasks could not be neglected, and there was no significant chaos amid the busyness.
However, the depletion of the national treasury, the ceding of cities, giving away prized horses, and even parting with seeds for crops was truly a bitter pill to swallow.
The strength of Dawei had regressed by a decade in an instant. The court officials didn’t dare to show their resentment towards Yuan Zhao, but they felt a kind of despair. If they wanted to recover from this, it wouldn’t be easy.
After negotiating peace with Yan Huisheng, Yuan Zhao waited for two days. Seeing that Yan Huisheng had not left, but unable to delay his departure any longer due to the Emperor’s illness and the flurry of the court affairs, he left the details of the handover to Prince Yuan Chen and General Helan Jue, and returned to the imperial court with his men.
Luo Yan did not follow Yuan Zhao to Dawei’s capital city but returned to the Poison Doctor Sect with her men. She intended to revive the sect. She would never forget that her Hongying was killed by Zhou Gu. She vowed to kill Zhou Gu and Su Rong herself, no matter what it took.
Compared with the extremely busy Dawei and Nanchu, Daliang was much more relaxed. However, saying it was relaxed was only a relative term; Daliang also had many matters requiring Yan Huisheng’s attention on his return to the court. After all, the war resulted in the hardship of the people and loss of wealth. Although there was compensation from Dawei, the loss was still significant.
But on the whole, for having won the war, the mood throughout Daliang’s court and country was jubilant.
The Emperor of Daliang had a pleased expression, so much so that even in his sleep, his laughter could break through. He pulled the Rui’an King for a drink and said in a drunken sentiment, "I was wrong in the past. This is a great achievement that will be remembered for generations. If I hadn’t acted foolishly these years, Daliang can get ten cities from Dawei."
What else could the Rui’an King say? Should he tell his majesty that he was wrong, but should be praised for acknowledging his error? He dared not, else the Emperor will be displeased once his drunkenness subsided, so all he could say was: "Your majesty, the Crown Prince and the old duke winning the war against Nanchu is a great celebration indeed. Once they return, we should have a grand victory banquet."
The Emperor nodded, "Yes, we should hold a banquet to celebrate the victory."
He pulled on Rui’an King, in a drowsy haze and asked: "Do you think I should abdicate after the Crown Prince returns?"
Rui’an King was surprised, "But your majesty, you are in your golden years..."
"I’ve heard enough of this," the Emperor shook his head. "I no longer have the energy to rule."
Rui’an King wasn’t able to decipher whether the Emperor was being serious, making a jest or testing him. So all he could say was: "Your Majesty, in the humble opinion of this official, there’s no need to rush, the immediate priority is to settle the post-war arrangements with Dawei."
"Indeed, we can wait until the crown prince returns. Even if I think of abdicating, I will wait for his return." The Emperor stopped talking with that thought.
Rui’an King sighed with relief, hoping that the transition of the old and the new would go smoothly, without any bloodshed. He couldn’t bear that. Fortunately, the Crown Prince and the second prince had already made their exits, and the fourth prince was an ally for the Crown Prince. After all these years of subtle observation, he was obedient and did not show any signs of usurping the throne. The other younger princes should also remain calm. Everything should go smoothly and peacefully.
With all three countries at war, the year slipped by quickly amidst the battles. Not only did the palace not hold a banquet or admire festive lanterns, all the major residences in the Capital City and other officials were busy dealing with supplies for the war, all occupied and had no time to celebrate the New Year.
The King of Rui’an’s Residence was one, with the son not at home, the King of Rui’an was busy. The Queen had no thoughts either. The Duke Residence was similar, with all the men away fighting the war. Although the women were used to it, this year was different from the past. Zhou Gu’s situation in Nanchu, was extremely dangerous and everyone was so worried that they had no mood to celebrate. As for Xie Residence in East Fourth Hutong, the madam and the young ladies had a simple dinner on New Year’s Eve. They didn’t even stay up all night to celebrate, and only the servants pasted a few festive couplets and decorations. This was how the year went past.
After the New Year, Dawei heard that Nanchu fought back and Dawei was on the retreat. All of a sudden, there was joy and celebration in Capital City. Each residence affiliated with Su Rong, Zhou Gu and the Crown Prince seemed to have returned to life.
First was the Duke Residence, which held a welcoming banquet for spring, followed by the Xie Residence at East Fourth Hutong that had three daughters get married in one go. Yet beyond that, during this period of marriage, the marriages of the next three daughters were settled consecutively and the families of the brides were chosen.
The Madam was motivated and too busy to even have time to put her feet down. She was busier than the officials from the Imperial Court, the busier she was the more energetic she was, and her face was full of joy every day.
As relatives of the Su Family, the Duke’s wife, along with a group of in-laws, personally helped the madam with the wedding preparations. With the help of Duke’s Residence, each joyous occasion occurred smoothly.
By March, the betrothal gifts for the next three daughters had been sent. The dates for their weddings in June were set.
One day, a letter from Su Rong arrived. After the madam finished reading, she exclaimed: "This fool is too impatient. This letter was on the road for a month. Now there’s only five months left before her grand wedding with Zhou Gu is scheduled. The date was set so closely that even if I plan to attend, would I be able to make it in time?"
After all, she still has to marry off her last three daughters in June! She has to marry them off before leaving.
The Duke’s wife happened to be at the Xie Residence. She immediately stood up: "There is a letter from Xiaoqi, Zhou Gu’s letter should have arrived. I should go back now. Don’t worry Madam, once I read Zhou Gu’s letter, our two families will discuss it."
The Madam knew that the Duke’s wife was thinking about her son, so she nodded repeatedly, "Then you should go."
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