"You're welcome." Luo Yining asked him to stand up. In fact, Luo Xuanyuan didn't need to be polite to him at all. She treated this child... To be honest, he was so smart that it was intimidating.
Luo Xuanyuan smiled politely and reservedly, sat down and stopped talking.
When they returned a while later, Luo Yilian and her brother walked alone. She was very dissatisfied with her brother: "Why are you so polite to her! If it weren't for her...how could I have ended up like this!"
Luo Xuanyuan looked at his sister's rich clothes and sighed, "Sister, if you had listened to my advice and cut off your relationship with Liu Jing, no one could have done anything to you."
Luo Yilian looked at him dimly: "Are you blaming your sister?"
"I don't blame you." Luo Xuanyuan felt his sister wasn't smart enough, so he didn't say much. Instead, he explained, "With father away, it's my third brother who's in charge. Naturally, I have to maintain a good relationship with my third sister-in-law. Besides, my third brother is so powerful now... Going against him is a dead end."
Luo Yilian felt that her younger brother had matured to an alarming degree.
Where did all these twists and turns of ideas of his come from?
"Never mind. I'm too lazy to ask you that. Let me ask you, have you ever visited your mother?"
Luo Xuanyuan was not close to Aunt Qiao: "After you got married, Aunt Qiao has been in a bad mood. I have seen her twice and she is in the same state both times."
Luo Yilian could only sigh. After all, she hadn't raised him, so naturally, she felt unfamiliar with him. She decided to let her brother do what he wanted. She was lucky that he was willing to befriend her.
*
Lu Jiaxue wore his military officer's robe today, with a tiger-patterned patch. Having not worn it for a long time, he felt the uniform didn't quite fit him.
Three months had passed since he was ambushed and returned to the capital victorious. As soon as he returned, officials flocked to his residence, no less frequently than before. For a time, the Ningyuan Marquis's residence was once again bustling with visitors.
However, some people did not dare to move, and many forces in the court were taken under the control of Luo Shenyuan.
At the court meeting, Lu Jiaxue was surrounded by people and slowly climbed the white marble steps. From a distance, he saw another group of people accompanying Luo Shenyuan. How amazing! Just over a year ago, he was only the Minister of Works, but now he could sit on equal footing with him.
Lu Jiaxue knew that Luo Yining had already returned. Luo Shenyuan was probably on high alert, not daring to reveal any clues. He was so crazy that he wanted to kill him. He was really not to be trifled with.
"Lord Luo." Lu Jiaxue stopped and smiled at him.
"My Lord Commander, I haven't congratulated you on your triumphant return yet." Luo Shenyuan smiled slowly, his handsome, bony fingers pressing on the memorial. "Today I must ask for a title for you, my Lord."
"Thank you, sir," Lu Jiaxue said. "I heard your wife was seriously ill some time ago. Is she okay now?" He lowered his voice slightly. "She always likes to cling to others to sleep at night. She is also very delicate. I am afraid that your young master Luo can't endure such torture. I have to tell you something, sir, she hasn't been back for two months at the border, but she is looking for me."
Luo Shenyuan remained unmoved. "If that were the case, why would you be so boastful, sir?" His voice became a little clearer. "I heard you brought a beautiful woman back from the Oirat tribe and took her into your residence. You're quite lucky, sir. Fresh from your victory, you're surrounded by beauties."
"Lord Luo, you are too polite. If you want it, I can pack it up and send it to your house in a moment." Lu Jiaxue still smiled.
Inside the hall, the Imperial Ceremony chanted a ritual chant, bells and chimes rang out, and the two men's swordplay ceased. They divided into two columns, leading the civil and military officials through the left and right gates into the hall.
The Emperor, delighted, had bestowed numerous gifts upon Lu Jiaxue at today's court meeting. He lifted his robe and half-knelt in gratitude. Luo Shenyuan, recognized for his meritorious service in the crackdown, was awarded two thousand acres of fertile farmland, three hundred bolts of various silks, and one hundred taels of gold. As to the reason for Luo's meritorious service, no one knew, and the Emperor wouldn't elaborate. Lu Jiaxue, however, offered a mocking sneer.
After the court meeting, Lu Jiaxue went to the Southern Study, and the rest of Luo Shenyuan, Wang Yuan, Xie Yi and others went to the Cabinet.
Next year will be the busiest time for the cabinet. Luo Shenyuan, now Minister of Works, is in charge of military farms, water conservancy, government-run businesses, and civil engineering. On a busy day, hundreds of documents await his approval, all of them crucial matters that cannot be delayed. Today, I'm here to discuss military rations with the cabinet.
Military rations originally belonged to the Ministry of Revenue, and the new Minister of Revenue was Jiang Chunyan. Since Xu Wei's death, Jiang Chunyan and Luo Shenyuan had a strained relationship, but now they were finally able to meet and talk. Since the last war, food reserves at the border had been insufficient. Now that taxes had been paid, military pay wasn't a problem, but lack of food was a recipe for starvation. Transporting food was sufficient for a temporary emergency, but it wouldn't be sustainable in the long run.
Luo Shenyuan listened for a moment, then tapped the edge of the table and said, "It's not that difficult. The national treasury has no surplus grain, but the grain merchants have plenty. We can just have them transport the grain to the border and buy it at the market price."
Jiang Chunyan heard this and said, "Lord Luo, there is no profit without profit. The grain merchants transporting grain to the border is a long journey and the cost is greatly increased. How can they be willing to do that?"
Luo Shenyuan also laughed: "Why not? Just use the salt to attract them in exchange for food. Once this trick is used, they will all run faster than anyone else."
Wang Yuan pondered for a long time before realizing it was a brilliant idea. He said, "Lord Luo, your idea is brilliant. Salt permits should be issued soon. If we use them to exchange for grain, it will save us a lot of trouble. You should discuss this matter with Lord Jiang, and I will draft an imperial edict to report to the Emperor."
Lord Wang was always lazy, and he would definitely avoid it if he could. He just leaned in and listened to their discussion, his eyes squinting until they were almost closed. Luo Shenyuan was not surprised. When it came time to be shrewd, Lord Wang was definitely more cunning than a fox.
He smiled, and after the discussion, he asked people to collect the pens and ink and left the cabinet.
*
After Luo Xuanyuan returned to the outer courtyard, he thought for a while and told the servant, "I remember the water chestnut cake I bought at Xiangji last time tasted good. Go buy a few more boxes."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
