"Go ask His Highness where I live! Go ask him why he won't let you live in the main courtyard? Or is the main courtyard not enough for you? Then ask His Highness how about he just tells you to move to Fengxiang Palace?"
"You have the nerve to cause trouble in the Imperial Household Department? You only see the extra red snail charcoal I have. Although His Highness gave an extra instruction, and the Crown Princess took care of it, why can't you see that I also spent money? Now you have the nerve to say that you are a Consort?"
"The servants in this manor have it tough, always on edge while serving you. And you serve a miser like you? We send you things, and you won't even give us a tip."
Xiao Liangyuan was about to retort when Yan Nangui glared at her: "And what about your Feihong Garden? Do you have a single maidservant, big or small, that the manor assigned to you that you can trust? What kind of work do your top maidservants do there? They beat perfectly good girls and disfigured them. As a woman yourself, how can you be so heartless!"
"Aren't you ruthless? Aren't you ruthless to Menglazhu?" Xiao Liangyuan blurted out.
This statement, in effect, admits that he hit the maid.
Yan Nangui sneered: "I was ruthless because she dared to step on me. I didn't ruin her face. As for you, you think too highly of yourself and look down on the servants in the Crown Prince's residence, that's a different story."
"Don't talk nonsense! I was just disciplining you, I didn't do it on purpose!" Xiao Liangyuan snorted.
"Alright, these are all good first-class maids, daughters from good families. Since you don't need them, transfer them away, just keep the menial ones. You have enough people there." The Crown Princess waved her hand: "You've already received your share of the profits. If you really want more, take some from my share. You should also learn the rules properly and not cause any trouble."
"Never before has anyone in the Crown Prince's residence treated his servants so harshly. Your repeated acts of violence are truly unbecoming." The Crown Princess said calmly, "It's clear you haven't learned enough about manners. You should study them properly."
Xiao Liangyuan was furious, but the more she was in a hurry, the less she knew what to say. She gritted her teeth and held back, ultimately not completely breaking off relations.
She thought to herself that once the Crown Prince returned, she refused to believe that, given her father's status, the Crown Prince would allow her to suffer such injustice!
Since neither His Majesty nor the Crown Prince are present, the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration has been omitted this year.
The Crown Princess only sent a congratulatory gift, and of course, the Crown Prince also sent one.
However, it was sent from the south.
The Empress originally intended to hold a banquet, but the Empress Dowager stopped her.
They said that they were short of money for fighting the war and couldn't afford to be extravagant, so they just let it go.
Ultimately, it's because the Empress Dowager wasn't important to His Majesty and the Empress; otherwise, they wouldn't have let it go so easily.
It only snowed four or five times throughout October.
The weather is unusually cold.
Yan Nangui also unfortunately caught a cold and took leave to recover.
I felt groggy for several days and had no appetite, so I actually lost weight.
In early November, news of a great victory in southern Xinjiang arrived.
The King of Southern Xinjiang was killed by Yan Nanxu, and his wives, concubines, and children were all strangled.
Thus, the royal lineage of the Southern Frontier came to an end.
Crown Prince Shu Chengfeng then declared that no princes would ever be appointed in the southern border regions again, and that they would be governed in the same way as other parts of the Central Plains, treating everyone equally.
Furthermore, because the southern border region is mountainous and has a shortage of grain, a certain amount of grain is sent from the Central Plains each year, but other things must be exchanged for it in the south.
For example, herbs, silk, and so on. Basically, local specialties.
Now that we have achieved a great victory, the army should return in triumph after a period of rest and recuperation.
However, now that the royal family of the Southern Frontier has been killed, it is necessary to stay for a while, at least to promote the new officials and others.
At this time, His Majesty issued an edict ordering the Crown Prince to return to the capital with him.
Shu Zhongjing's health has improved somewhat, but the residual poison has not yet been eliminated; he is only more comfortable than before.
I still easily experience palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, and blurred vision.
He had really had enough of staying here and wanted to go back to the palace.
Upon receiving the imperial edict, Shu Chengfeng naturally could not disobey.
After discussing the matter with Xie Yuan and others in the main tent, he decided that the Crown Prince would renege on his promise in Xianyu Prefecture in ten days and then return to the capital.
General Xie and General Yan, among others, will remain stationed here until at least the twelfth lunar month.
Just in case anything goes wrong.
After discussion, Shu Chengfeng suggested a person: "Xie Bi, the magistrate of Shang County. Although his official position is not high, he is a capable man. I believe that if we transfer him to the southern border, he will surely achieve great things in the future. Moreover, he is young and has great potential."
The generals didn't understand governance matters, so naturally they had no objections.
Shu Chengfeng then exercised his authority. Of course, he couldn't just transfer one person; that would be too conspicuous.
At least the staff here needs to be filled, so Xie Bi won't stand out if he's mixed in.
For Wei Xiao's safety, he was not kept. After all, he was the Crown Prince's personal guard. If he were left in the Southern Frontier, he would likely be targeted by scheming individuals.
Ten days later, Crown Prince Shu Chengfeng, along with three princes, took the injured Cao Yuan back to Xianyu Prefecture.
Cao Yuan injured his leg. Although the military doctor treated him, the conditions were not good, and now it is difficult to recover. He has become completely unable to walk.
From now on, there's no need to think about going to the battlefield.
Those who were assigned to assassinate the Crown Prince's guards were either wounded or killed. The tall man who delivered the message was also sent elsewhere by Shu Chengfeng.
It's impossible to find out now, given the chaos on the battlefield.
Shu Zhongjing could only remain silent, reward Cao Yuan, and arrange his return to the capital. He didn't want to stay a single day longer.
However, before leaving, he still wanted to bestow honors upon the meritorious officials who had contributed to this campaign.
Xie Yuan was granted the title of Marquis of Wuying, Jiang Hongyu was granted the title of Earl of Changning, Cao Yuan was granted the title of Earl of Funing, and Yan Nanxu was granted the title of Earl of Fengning.
The other generals also received their own rewards. At the same time, Yan Nanxu was promoted one rank and is now a second-rank general.
However, despite the generous rewards, His Majesty's suspicions remained undiminished.
There was also an imperial edict that expressed the hope that General Xie, General Yan, and General Jiang could return to the capital to celebrate the New Year together in the palace.
By then, the main army should have returned to its positions. Clearly, Shu Zhongjing had no intention of leaving these few people in the southern border region.
When the news reached the capital, the Crown Prince's residence began preparations to welcome him and to make arrangements for his upcoming visit to the palace.
However, a message came from the Yan family saying that they were going to pick up Yan Nanxu's wife, Madam Yin, to come back for the New Year.
After her wedding, Madam Yin never visited the Yan family in the capital. Since Yan Nanxu was spending the New Year in the capital this year, it was only right to bring her back.
The old lady sent people, so naturally no one could stop her.
Yan Lingyun could not possibly return. Although the war in the south had been quelled, the north still needed to be garrisoned to prevent a sudden attack by the Tuotuo people.
Yan Nanji had been abandoned for less than three years, so naturally she couldn't return. The old lady, however, treated everyone equally and wanted to bring back Yang Shi, who had recently given birth to a daughter. But Yang Shi refused, citing that the child was too young to withstand the journey.
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