"The imperial edict has arrived! Xiao Nan will return to the Qinghuai Marquis' Mansion to receive it."
The loud voice woke Xiao Nanhui from her hangover stupor. She barely turned over, only to feel a burning coal in her stomach.
She was still wearing the same clothes she wore when she drank last night, and she had only taken off one boot. She fell headfirst off the bed and was dragged out of the room by Dujuan in a daze. She was kneeling on the ground and hadn't realized that she had to accept the order.
"But is Xiao Nan back to Captain Xiao?"
The eunuch glanced at her from above, confirming again that the woman with disheveled hair and untidy clothes was the one he wanted to announce the decree to.
Xiao Nan was about to speak loudly, but when he opened his mouth, he uttered a piercing cry: "Exactly... yes."
Uh, what's the etiquette for receiving an imperial edict? Isn't this considered an offense to the emperor?
Wait, why was there an imperial edict? And why was she the one who received it, not Xiao Zhun? Could it be that the guy from the Prime Minister's Mansion got away with something and said something to the Emperor?
Xiao Nan recalled what Xiao Zhun had warned her about in the military camp yesterday, and her heart sank. She seemed to have said something bad about the emperor in the carriage on the way back. What had she said?
Xiao Nanhui waited anxiously, the burning feeling in his stomach turning into cold sweat that trickled down his forehead. However, the eunuch who was announcing the decree was neither hurried nor slow, and was still fiddling with it.
The imperial edicts of Tiancheng were sealed with three jade buttons. When the edict was announced, the jade buttons had to be opened one by one to indicate that no one had opened the edict since it was written by the emperor himself.
"Mr. Xiao Nanhui of the Qinghuai Marquisate has returned to receive your decree. Mr. Xiao, virtuous and hardworking, is a model of the imperial court. He bravely exterminated traitors, slaying thousands of enemies. He also maintains a clean and honest character, and is dedicated to recovering our territory and restoring our military power. Therefore, I hereby appoint you as the Right General of the Guangyao Camp, awarding you one hundred taels of gold and a set of Guangyao armor. I decree this."
Xiao Nanhui listened blankly, and after a moment's pause he took the imperial edict and kowtowed.
"I accept your order and bow to thank you for your grace."
"Congratulations, General Xiao, on being promoted to the Fourth Rank. Choose an auspicious day to come to the palace and express your gratitude for His Majesty's grace."
The eunuchs and their entourage marched out of the door in a mighty procession, but Xiao Nanhui was still standing there, dazed.
The emperor actually promoted her and rewarded her with gold?
"Hey, what are you doing? The emperor gave you a gold reward, aren't you happy?" Du Juan carefully lifted the plate of glittering gold, already thinking about how to use the money to add to the household expenses. "I was startled this morning when you said someone from the palace was coming. I thought you were in trouble this time, but I didn't expect you to have some achievements. Why didn't you tell me before? I had to scold you all the time."
"Dujuan, does the position of Right General sound familiar to you?"
Du Juan's mind was clearly elsewhere. She fiddled with the 100 taels of gold, looking overjoyed. "Really? This is the first time I've heard of that. Regardless of his title, he's a general anyway."
Did Tiancheng ever hold the title of Right General? It seemed not. But why did she feel as if she had heard a similar title not long ago?
"Who is the General Zuo now? Is it General Yu?" She remembered that it seemed that Yu Jin had always been in this position. Yu Jin and Xiao Zhun had always disagreed on war, but she hadn't heard any news of their quarrel for a long time recently.
"Old General Yu Jinyu? It doesn't seem so. A while ago, I heard from the people in the clinic that he had rheumatism. After a long period of treatment, there was no improvement. The emperor allowed him to return home on sick leave, but newly promoted the second son of Duke Xuanyuan to be the left general. Oh, by the way, you were still in Huozhou at that time, so you probably didn't hear about this. Do you still remember Erlang of Duke Xuanyuan? I remember you met him once when you were a child. Oh, I saw him when he returned to the city a few days ago. He was completely different from when he was a child. This man has really changed a lot..."
Du Juan was still chattering, but Xiao Nanhui was completely deaf to it.
Su Pingchuan, the second son of Duke Xuanyuan, is eighteen years old this year, two years younger than her.
Ten years ago, she knocked out one of his front teeth in someone else's back garden.
Of course she remembered this kind of thing.
Can that be called a chance encounter? It was a tooth-in-the-tooth revenge.
She still remembered that she had just seen him a few days ago.
She even asked people with a flattering face: Do you know her?
Now that I think about it, I do know him.
Tiancheng respected the left, which meant that Su Pingchuan was one level higher than her in rank. They were in the same battalion and had similar positions, so they were bound to meet each other every day.
This is good. Apart from Xu Shu, she now has another person to cause trouble for her.
Xiao Nanhui smiled bitterly. Did the old emperor really not do it on purpose?
At this moment, Xiao Zhun walked into the courtyard, still wearing court robes, obviously having just returned from the palace.
Xiao Nanhui murmured, "Foster father, the emperor promoted me..."
Xiao Zhun's face didn't show any joy at all, he just nodded faintly: "Well, I just met that eunuch and I've heard about it."
Xiao Nanhui seemed to recall something, feeling a little uneasy: "Then the eunuch wants me to go to the palace to express my gratitude. Should I prepare anything? When should I go? Do I need to inform him in advance or something..."
"Don't worry, I'll let Chen Si prepare these things."
As he was speaking, Chen Si came in hurriedly and looked at Xiao Nanhui with a helpless look.
"Young lady, Master Yao has been waiting for you at the back door for more than half an hour this morning. He just sent a message saying that he would meet you at the Feng Teahouse on West Street. If you don't go, there will be no need to see you again in the future."
Xiao Nanhui's face turned pale as fragments of last night's memories surfaced. Yao Yi was a very petty person, and the blueprint of the Zou Mansion looked extremely valuable. If she didn't go and see it, she was afraid she would be in trouble.
"Godfather, I'll be back soon."
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