Chapter 334 New Year's Gift
Kaihime's cultivation aptitude is indeed quite good. In just six or seven years, she has already stabilized at the Xuan realm. At this point, it is not arrogant of her to challenge Miyamoto Musashi.
However, Qin Mo still didn't let her take the risk. That old man Miyamoto had been immersed in the Xuanjing realm for decades, and even though Kaihime spent her days sparring with Xu Liyan and others in the inner hall, she wasn't guaranteed to win.
She's a mother now! How can I let her take risks for things I'm not sure about?
Qin Mo's domineering, chauvinistic style greatly frustrated Kaihime, but she wasn't the most frustrated; Makihime and Atsuhime were the most frustrated!
The two sisters came to live with their older sister a few years ago, full of dreams. Even though Qin Mo later made it clear that she would not take them in as servants, it did not extinguish the two sisters' dreams.
With so many powerful second-generation officials, marrying any of them would be a huge win!
But for some reason, Qin Mo's subordinates seemed to have made a pact that whenever Kai mentioned his sister's marriage to them, they would make excuses and refuse, and even the concubines would not agree to the marriage.
In the end, Kaihime finally understood that only a very few people could be as loyal and righteous as Qin Mo. These high-ranking officials and their heirs were wary of the Japanese!
Japanese now make up an astonishing proportion of the permanent residents of Daewan, far exceeding Koreans. Despite Daewan's efforts to attract Daeha people through various means, including directly buying refugees and orphans, they have only managed to exceed half of the permanent residents.
Kaihime is the flag bearer of the Japanese in Daikan. Her personal guards, workshops, and fleets are already a powerful force in Daikan. If her two younger sisters were to marry into the Daikan gentry and settle down there, what would become of them?
After Kaihime figured it out, she persuaded her two younger sisters to return to Japan. She prepared a large dowry for them and planned to help their husbands' families get ahead. In fact, they would live a more comfortable life than in Daegu.
"Is there really no brother-in-law like my brother-in-law in all of Dayuan?" But the two younger sisters were determined to marry a man from Dayuan no matter what.
As a result, Atsuhime and Makihime have been dragging their feet in Daewan for two years. If they don't get married soon, they'll become old maids. You know, old maids are different from young maids! One is a hot commodity, and the other is a poor one. They're two different things!
Seeing the two girls crying their eyes out, Kaihime felt helpless. She knew that Qin Mo was doing it for her own good. Her proposal to equip her personal guard with firearms was something Qin Mo had unilaterally and forcibly passed at the military meeting.
Everyone respects her now, which stems from their respect for Qin Mo. If her two younger sisters continue to be disrespectful, she, Kaihime, may face widespread resistance in Daikan.
She understands the principle of moderation; she will inevitably become a powerful figure in the future, but it is absolutely impossible for her to dominate the world.
Kaihime waved goodbye to her two younger sisters who were far from the dock. She gave them a small fleet of boats laden with wealth, enough for them to live happily. But this enormous wealth, which would make even ordinary Japanese daimyo envious, was nothing more than a consolation to them.
On New Year's Eve of the eleventh year of Zhaowu, Tamsui City was bustling with activity. Nowadays, wealthy families were no longer satisfied with just being well-fed and clothed, and naturally wanted to splurge during the festival.
The once quiet and peaceful Prince Heng's Mansion has become noisy. The banquet hall of the mansion was just completed last year and can hold nearly a hundred tables at the same time, which is barely enough to entertain the various sultans, princes, envoys and so on.
"The Tianzhu Local Yeli Development Branch Company respectfully presents a bushel of top-quality cat's-eye stones!"
"The Aceh Development Branch of Nanyang Preserves Thirty-Six Fine Sapphires!"
"The Governor-General's Office of Luzon respectfully presents ten loads of pure gold!"
"Hahaha! Liu Renyuan... You're supposed to be a governor, yet you use these vulgar things to fill the seats..."
"...That's right...So tacky...Unbearably tacky!"
Outside the door, the master of ceremonies kept announcing the gift list. Inside the hall, Qin Mo's group of old subordinates showed off to each other without any restraint, seeing whose gift was more novel. When they heard that Liu Renyuan's gift was ordinary gold, they immediately attacked and ridiculed him.
"Common things? Gold may be a bit common, but it's practical! Our high-ranking officials' gold coins are hard currency everywhere! If you're so capable, give me all the common things in your house!"
"Hehe, Old Liu, I may not have much else, but I have plenty of gold and silver. You guys, when you were choosing someone to be the governor, you all pushed me out. And now?... You regret it, don't you!"
Liu Renyuan was no fool. He immediately started joking and cursing. He was originally the head of the personal guard and is now the governor of the entire Luzon Island. In terms of the area under his jurisdiction, he is unique in the whole island of Tainan.
So these people's malicious mockery of him was actually a mixture of envy and jealousy, but who could blame them when he was one of the earliest pioneers!
"...Oh?...Su Xiang Lou presents a brocade box!"
"Huh?...Su Xiang Lou? What are they doing here today? Are they so ill-mannered?"
The master of ceremonies had to look twice to confirm that the gift-giver was from Su Xiang Lou in the Danshui Nature Reserve. In principle, they were not qualified to come today, but Qin Mo had repeatedly emphasized that "everyone is a subject of the high-ranking official," so the master of ceremonies glanced at Uncle Lin standing to the side and did not make a fuss.
"This gift must be delivered to the Prince personally. I hope the old steward will not take offense!"
Miss Suyu, carrying a rectangular wooden box, stopped the servants who came to take the gifts and smiled as she spoke to Uncle Lin.
"Oh! Then please wait a moment, Miss Suyu, while I go and inform the Prince!"
Uncle Lin gave Su Yu a deep look before walking to the back of the banquet hall. He knew Su Yu's other identity; she was likely there on behalf of the Empress to deliver the gift.
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