The Yang family boasts a marquis and two earls, in addition to a General who defends the nation, a doctor from the Ministry of Revenue, and an Imperial Censor from the Metropolitan Procuratorate. This time, both Yang Chengyou and Yang Chengbin have made notable contributions and thus have been promoted by one rank, truly a moment of boundless glory.
For a while, the Yang family was inundated with a blizzard of visits and invitations, which they politely declined on the grounds that there were two pregnant women and one woman in confinement needing rest in the family.
Yang Chengyu being conferred the title of Earl brought great joy to the Ling family. Shortly thereafter, Ling Changkai sent Ling Yongxu to the Jingjiao Villa, and before long, she was married off thousands of miles away, never to return to The Capital again in her life.
During this time, all the undercover agents from Nanping and Beiyue who took the opportunity to cause trouble were arrested. Even though the forces weren’t under Xiahou Muyang and Wu Zhenglie, both still presented a generous gift to the Emperor Dongchu, finally settling the incident.
Of course, the most pitiful was Qi Zonghao; his elite forces sent to aid the Duke of Wuguo were entirely annihilated. The secret networks he spent years building were all now in the hands of the Emperor Dongchu. With irrefutable evidence of the secret agents causing trouble and meddling in Dongchu’s internal affairs, he had no choice but to cede three cities bordering Dongchu as compensation.
Back at the post station, he heard that Qi Qiuxin was causing a scene, wanting to see Long Xuanmo. Furious, Qi Zonghao once again had his trusted guard drug Qi Qiuxin, and then summoned his confidantes to discuss countermeasures. Losing eight cities in total, even if the Emperor favored him, he was bound to face thunderous wrath.
Prince Jing remained idle in his mansion, not making any moves. However, as soon as he heard that Long Xuanmo had managed to turn the chaotic situation around, he hurriedly ordered a trusted guard to shoot an arrow into his right arm. Without even bandaging it, he rushed to the Imperial Palace to sweet-talk the Emperor into acknowledging his loyalty.
The Emperor glanced at Prince Jing indifferently, telling him to rest at ease in his mansion, without another word.
With that extremely light glance, Prince Jing felt inexplicably guilty and could only obediently stay in his mansion, not daring to harbor any further thoughts, at least for the time being.
Su Xiran gently attempted to persuade Prince Jing, but more often than not, he would impatiently cut her off mid-sentence.
She was well aware that Prince Jing agreed to marry her for three reasons: firstly, the marriage was bestowed by the Empress Dowager and he couldn’t defy it; secondly, he needed the support of her father, Marquis Yingchuan; and thirdly, her good reputation would add to his dignity.
Ever since learning that her father was solely devoted to the Emperor, and that she did not ingratiate herself with Prince Jing like the three concubines did, aside from the stipulated visits on the first and fifteenth of the month, Prince Jing never set foot in her room, nor did he bother to lay eyes on her.
During the grand celebration of the four nations, she noticed the way Prince Jing looked at Princess Chen, with regret and passion. She couldn’t help but mock him in her heart. A woman of Princess Chen’s extraordinary grace and beauty would certainly not spare a glance for Prince Jing. His infatuation was nothing short of delusion.
If she had harbored any hope before their marriage of treating Prince Jing with mutual respect, her understanding of him over these past days had left her feeling completely detached.
Now all she wished for was her family’s well-being. Should Prince Jing stray off the path, she hoped to be like Princess Duan, granted by the Emperor to divorce him. If Prince Jing remained dutiful, then she would just endure, until death do them part. freewebnoveℓ.com
This time, Yang Mengchen’s treatment of the Emperor was a major contribution. The Emperor publicly announced her as the "Honorable Princess of Auspicious," allowing her the rank and treatment of an Eldest Princess, and gifted her nine of the richest counties as her fiefdom.
This was the first and only person in Dongchu’s history to enjoy such treatment. Yet all the people of Dongchu believed it was justly deserved, even the stern and impartial Imperial Censors raised no objections.
Many families were overjoyed, especially Sister Jin.
The competitions during the grand celebration of the four nations, coupled with the Emperor’s recent bestowal, left those ladies and misses who had gossiped and belittled the princess for her peasant origins to wonder what they were feeling now?
To realize that among all the current princesses, commandery princesses, and county lords, totaling dozens, fewer than six have both a title and a fiefdom.
Moreover, the title "Honorable Princess of Auspicious" not only symbolized great fortune but also the noble status of the royal family.
The Emperor often rewarded meritorious officials by granting their legitimate daughters the titles of commandery princesses or county lords, and in foreign marriage alliances, he would bestow noble family daughters titles of princesses or commandery princesses.
But those titles were merely pleasing to hear and usually came without a fiefdom or a title, such as Princess Fengying and Commandery Princess Yanrou, who were simply addressed by their given names.
Like the princess of his household, who was both an imperial daughter-in-law and who earned glory through her own talents, it was truly unprecedented.
To put it bluntly, even if the prince and princess were to divorce, the princess would still live very well. Of course, the prince and princess were destined to live in perfect harmony forever.
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