When the news of the Great Yan being driven back to the other side of the border river reached the capital, Emperor Liang Cheng was overjoyed at the grand court assembly. He kept wanting to reward the soldiers of Wuzhou. It was easy to say that Ma Ming and the others were rewarded, since they were all registered in the Ministry of War and had names and identities. The court had a legitimate reason to reward them. But what about Xu Di?
Xu Di was the greatest contributor. Although Feng Zhongyi, the prefect of Wuzhou, was the official in charge of Wuzhou, it was Xu Di who really made great efforts to drive the Great Yan back from the border river. As for Xu Di, he was now the prefect of Miaozhou. Many things were known only to Emperor Liang Cheng and a few people who knew the inside story. It would be difficult to reward Xu Di.
After the grand court assembly, Emperor Liang Cheng sat alone in his study, pondering for a long time, unsure of what to do. The Marquis of Xu and Xu Rao were both in Wuzhou working for him, so he couldn't even get the person to consult with him. After a long period of contemplation, Emperor Liang Cheng saw Chen Wufu and said, "Wufu, tell me, how should I reward Xu Di this time?"
Chen Wufu was taken aback. He was very clear about his position. He was just a close attendant to Emperor Liang Cheng, and his job was to take care of Emperor Liang Cheng's eating, drinking and toileting needs and to do the tasks assigned to him by Emperor Liang Cheng. As for matters concerning the court, Chen Wufu never spoke out.
Chen Wufu thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, it would be better not to bestow any honors upon Lord Xu this time. He is still young, and it would not be a good thing to praise him too much."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Liang Cheng immediately understood, nodded, and said, "Indeed, the Xu family should not be praised too highly."
The matter was thus concluded. The Ministry of War issued a decree of reward to Wuzhou, along with a large sum of silver. When Xu Di and Ma Ming saw the decree, Ma Ming was puzzled as to why there was no reward for the young master. Xu Di, however, could guess Emperor Liang Cheng's thoughts. He couldn't let them work for the Xiao family for nothing. They would slowly reclaim this reward in the future.
When the imperial court's reward arrived, Chen Zhaoci and Xu Rao were busy treating villagers and teaching them, respectively. Xu Di came over and brought up the matter. Chen Zhaoci said nonchalantly, "If there's no reward, there's no reward. It's all part of what you should do anyway. Can you stop doing it just because the court didn't give you a reward?"
Xu Rao said, "It's best if there are no rewards. Xu Di is so young now, it's not good to praise him too much. I think His Majesty will remember these things, and you will surely benefit from them in the future."
Xu Di nodded and said, "That's true. I'm not the kind of person who's short of a reward. Alright, you guys get on with your work. I'm going back to continue building my city wall."
Things in Wuzhou proceeded as planned. Xu Di led his men to build a very sturdy fortification along the border river. The wide city wall, made of blue bricks, was wide enough for horse-drawn carriages to run on, so that supplies could be transported in time during wartime. The city wall was not completed until the first snow fell.
Marquis Yongning and Xu Rao and Chen Zhaoci have returned to the capital, and Xu Zhi has also returned to Luzhou from the capital. The important life event of Xu Zhi and Zheng Boyuan has been put on the agenda. They have been married for many years but have not yet consummated their marriage. This time, after returning from the capital, not only is the old lady urging Xu Zhi to have a child as soon as possible, but also Granny Lu is helping Xu Zhi prepare for the consummation of their marriage.
Xu Zhi was quite looking forward to consummating her marriage. By December, she would be seventeen years old. In Daliang, many girls of this age were already married and had children. It was Chen Zhaoci's insistence, as well as Xu Rao and Xu Di's, that they should have children later. It was a very dangerous thing for a young girl to have children too early because her body was not fully developed. The Xu family did not dare to risk Xu Zhi's life, so they could only delay the time for Xu Zhi to have children. At eighteen, it would be really unreasonable not to have children.
In Luzhou's courtyard, Xu Zhi had been gone for several months. Returning felt like a lifetime had passed. She lay in bed and slept for half a day. When she woke up, she saw that the outside world was bright and sunny. It was lunchtime. Bai Ying saw that Xu Zhi had woken up and came over to ask, "Miss, would you like to eat now?"
Xu Zhi glanced at the time, nodded, and said, "Okay, let's go check out the workshop after we eat."
Bai Ying agreed and served Xu Zhi a bowl of hot soup noodles made in the kitchen, along with a few side dishes. After Xu Zhi finished eating and strolled around the courtyard a few times, she had the coachman drive the carriage to Huitou Ridge.
The bamboo paper workshop was bustling with activity. Upon seeing Xu Zhi arrive, the manager quickly came over to greet her. After Zhou Erzhu went to the capital, this manager had been keeping an eye on things here, trying to find a suitable person to take over his duties, but hadn't found one yet.
Xu Zhi smiled and thanked the manager for his hard work. She went into the workshop to check on each process. After the manager accompanied her out, Xu Zhi said, "From now on, pick out a few people and train them well. In the future, you will be in charge of everything in the workshop, not only in Lüzhou, but also in the capital."
The manager thanked Xu Zhi for her appreciation, and Xu Zhi even gave him half a share of the company. The manager was even more willing and worked even harder.
Granny Lu rushed over from Miaozhou and chose an auspicious day for Xu Zhi and Zheng Boyuan to consummate their marriage.
Upon receiving the letter, Zheng Boyuan returned from the garrison and was immediately led to a corner room to wash up. After washing up and returning to his inner room, he saw red candles burning, a bright red silk quilt on the bed, and a lot of longan, peanuts, red dates, and lotus seeds scattered on the quilt. Xu Zhi was wearing a red dress and stood by the table with a shy expression.
A table laden with food and wine lay out before Zheng Boyuan, but his attention was drawn to Xu Zhi's expression. The wedding had been too rushed, and he had never had a chance to properly look at his little wife in her red wedding dress. After the wedding, they spent little time together, and even when they were together, they didn't sleep in the same place. Sometimes, Zheng Boyuan didn't dare to look Xu Zhi in the eye. Only now was Zheng Boyuan able to openly examine the person who would be spending the rest of his life with him.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
