Upon receiving news that Li Xi was about to lead a group to transport the treasure back to the palace, Emperor Wenyuan was filled with joy and anticipation.
He deliberately put aside his busy official duties and personally came to wait outside the palace gate.
Standing before the majestic palace gates, Emperor Wenyuan gazed intently into the distance, as if he could see Li Xi leading his troops back through the many palace gates.
"Your Majesty, who are you waiting for?" Prime Minister Lin asked curiously from the side.
He noticed that His Majesty the Emperor seemed unusual today, having set aside important official duties and eagerly waiting at the palace gate.
Lin Xiang wondered to himself what kind of person or thing could have made the emperor so concerned.
Emperor Wenyuan smiled and turned to look at Prime Minister Lin, his eyes gleaming with excitement: "My dear minister, you don't understand."
He shook his head mysteriously and continued, "What I am waiting for is my pride, my hope, and my future."
Lin Xiang was completely confused, but he knew that His Majesty the Emperor would not speak without reason, so he did not ask any further questions and simply stood silently by his side to accompany him.
Not long after, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar, followed by the crisp sound of wheels rolling over the bluestone road.
This sudden sound instantly shattered the peaceful afternoon atmosphere.
Lin Xiang looked in the direction of the sound and saw a long procession slowly approaching the palace gate in the distance.
This large and imposing force, with its fluttering banners and majestic presence, is truly awe-inspiring.
As the group drew closer, Lin Xiang finally saw their true colors.
Emperor Wenyuan was immediately invigorated and looked into the distance.
At the very front of the procession was Li Xi, riding a tall horse.
Li Xi was surprised that the emperor would personally wait for them at the palace gate. Everyone felt flattered and dismounted to pay their respects.
"Your Majesty, we have fulfilled our mission and returned successfully." Li Xi knelt on one knee and respectfully performed a grand salute.
Emperor Wenyuan hurriedly descended the steps, helped Li Xi up, and praised him, "General Li, you have worked hard."
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I am merely fulfilling my duty and sharing Your Majesty's burdens," Li Xi replied humbly.
"Very good, very good, you have rendered a great service, and I will certainly reward you handsomely." Emperor Wenyuan's face showed a satisfied smile.
They went to Yuncheng under the guise of suppressing bandits and training troops, but in reality, they were there to secretly excavate a treasure.
To keep this secret, all the soldiers involved in transporting the treasure signed a pledge, vowing never to leak a word of it.
Anyone who breaks their oath will face extremely severe punishment.
As expected! Even the most distinguished person in Jingyuan is swayed by wealth, Li Xi thought to himself.
She never imagined that His Majesty the Emperor would personally come to the palace gate to wait for her.
In this huge procession, it took a full half day for the horse-drawn carriages, each loaded with boxes, to unload all the goods.
However, this was only a part of it; a considerable amount of treasure was transported to the retired emperor's villa in the Western Hills.
All of this was done at the behest of Emperor Wenyuan.
Clearly, he did not want such a large-scale transport of wealth to attract too much attention.
After all, everyone understands the saying that a tall tree catches the wind, and a ruler of a country naturally needs to be even more careful.
Thus, this precious wealth was safely and discreetly placed in a secure location through a low-key yet efficient operation.
Inside the council chamber
The emperor bestowed generous rewards upon the soldiers who had rendered meritorious service.
Especially Li Xi, the emperor now treats her like a god of wealth. She found the treasure, handed it over selflessly, and even transported it back safely without losing a single soldier. She is truly a genius, a blessing from heaven for his great Jing Dynasty.
"General Li, you are not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also wise and brave. You have made great contributions this time. I have decided to appoint you as a fourth-rank general, directly under my command, and bestow upon you a mansion and a thousand taels of gold as a reward."
The Emperor's voice echoed in the council hall, surprising everyone.
He was just a commoner from an ordinary family, yet the emperor directly appointed him as a fourth-rank general.
This is truly a leap across social classes.
Li Xi herself was also taken aback. She thought that receiving some gold and silver rewards would be enough, but she did not expect the emperor to give her such a great honor.
He immediately knelt down and bowed, his voice firm: "Your subject Li Xi thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness. I will do my utmost to repay Your Majesty's grace."
Her previous official position was merely nominal; unexpectedly, this time she actually became a military general with real power.
Mom, I've made it big! I've actually become an official.
I never imagined that I would fail the civil service exam in my past life, but in this life I would be parachuted into the rank of Lieutenant General, and even be directly under the emperor's command.
This means that she only obeyed the emperor, and she did not have to obey anyone else, even if they held higher official positions.
The emperor nodded in satisfaction and said, "Li Xi, I know you are highly skilled in martial arts and commendably loyal. From this day forward, you will be my trusted lieutenant general. You will need to do your utmost to protect the beautiful land of Jingyuan."
Li Xi was thrilled. He knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your subject will certainly do his duty and live up to Your Majesty's trust."
The emperor then turned to the other officials and said, "You should all take Li Xi as an example, be diligent in your duties, be loyal to me, and work together to protect our Great Tang Dynasty."
All the officials responded in unison, and the council chamber was filled with congratulations.
Although this Lieutenant General held a low official rank, he was directly under the emperor's command and could freely enter and leave the palace.
He was a favorite of the emperor, making other officials envious and eager to curry favor with him.
So not long after Li Xi returned to Tingfeng Courtyard, invitations from all kinds of people came flooding in.
"Xiaoxi, look, Madam Lin also sent you a visiting card, inviting you to Madam Lin's birthday banquet." Meng Zhelan took out a familiar invitation from a pile of visiting cards.
Li Xi accepted the visiting card and looked at the exquisite stationery and flowing calligraphy, a sense of emotion rising in her heart.
She thought to herself that she was already entangled in these trivial matters before she had even officially taken office, which was quite annoying.
He shook his head helplessly and muttered to himself, "This is really difficult!"
For Li Xi, apart from enjoying delicious food, she doesn't have much interest in other activities such as composing poems, admiring flowers, or boating.
Seeing her like this, Meng Zhelan couldn't help but laugh out loud: "What's wrong? Even attending a banquet like this makes you feel annoyed?"
Li Xi said with a wry smile, "Lan'er, please don't tease me. So many people have invited me. If I were to visit each one, wouldn't I have to spend a lot of money? I can't just go empty-handed."
She frowned, seemingly troubled about how to deal with these things.
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