Gan Qiongying was so happy about the 500,000 taels that she wanted to sculpt a golden statue for Li Hua and build a temple for the little monk Dingzhen. She wanted to enshrine Li Hua and burn incense three times a day, praying to him morning, noon and night.
Having money in my hand feels wonderful; my depressed mood instantly vanishes.
With money, what can't you do? As the saying goes, money makes the world go round, and Gan Qiongying is now ready to roll up her sleeves and get to work!
Seeing Gan Qiongying so happy, Li Hua breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but look at her with a smile.
He wasn't really good at comforting people, and these past two days he had been watching Gan Qiongying looking depressed, and he really couldn't think of any way to make her happy.
Moreover, Li Hua was powerless to help the Emperor, and although he wanted to, he couldn't do much to help Gan Qiongying.
Seeing how much Gan Qiongying liked money, he felt somewhat fortunate. He was fortunate to have money, and a lot of it. If he could use the money in his hands to make Gan Qiongying happy, that would be the easiest thing for him.
Just last time, at the birthday banquet of the Grand Princess of Huian, when Li Hua met Zhong Lizheng, she complained to him about being poor and gave all the money she had saved to Gan Qiongying.
Even without Gan Qiongying, Li Hua did not want to give Zhongli Zhengzhen his heart. Even if his heart was not with Gan Qiongying, it was definitely not with the Jinchuan royal family.
Wealth nourishes the spirit, and Gan Qiongying was in high spirits and had a rosy complexion for two consecutive days, and began to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.
She actually had a headdress made, specially selected from rubies. High-end luxury was the only word to describe Princess Duanrong. Li Hua was right; only when she outshone all the beauties and made sure the emperor saw that she was doing well would the emperor feel at ease.
As usual, Gan Qiongying saw Li Hua off at the door that day. Li Hua had gone to the shop to earn money again. Gan Qiongying watched his back as he walked away, and even felt that silver might fall from the ground as he walked.
After Li Hua's carriage drove away, Manyue immediately came over and whispered a few words in Gan Qiongying's ear.
"What?" Gan Qiongying looked confused and didn't understand. "Chen Wa? What are you doing?"
Gan Qiongying couldn't recall what she had told Chen Wa to do earlier.
It's no wonder Gan Qiongying was affected. The 500,000 taels that fell from the sky hit her head and still makes waves of money every now and then. How could she think about anything else?
This kind of thing is not suitable to be discussed in public. Manyue helped Gan Qiongying back to her bedroom.
“Princess,” Manyue said after closing the door to the bedchamber, “Chen Wa just sent someone to report that the old man from Phoenix Tower who is skilled in ventriloquism has been settled in a villa in the suburbs.”
Gan Qiongying then remembered that when she went to coax Li Hua that day, she discovered that there was a talented person in Phoenix Tower and asked Chen Wa to send someone to make contact with him. She had completely forgotten about this matter these past two days. When she saw a figure at the door, Gan Qiongying guessed that it was Chen Wa and immediately sent someone in.
Chen Wa was beaming; getting a reward for completing a task had become an unwritten rule within the princess's residence.
Who in this world doesn't love money?
After bowing, he immediately reported the situation: "Your Highness, the old man who knows ventriloquism is named Li Songjiang, and arrangements have been made."
"His background has been thoroughly investigated," Chen Wa said. "My subordinates rescued his family, and he said he's willing to follow the princess and serve her!"
Gan Qiongying tapped her finger on the table and said to Chen Wa, "Tell me in detail..."
It turned out that the old man's stunned expression that night was not because Gan Li asked him to imitate the voice of the courtesan in the brothel, but because his mother had once been his niece.
The stepmother was his younger brother's daughter. His younger brother, Li Songhai, and his family were kind and warm-hearted. They ran a steamed bun shop, and the couple only wanted to make a small profit and sell a lot of products. They were content as long as they could support their two children to study and learn to read.
They also help homeless people by giving them food, but some people are always jealous and envious, and some even hate them.
Someone is causing trouble, claiming to have eaten something bad and now bedridden. They are demanding compensation from Li Songhai, asking for 100 taels of silver. They threaten to smash the table and dishes if he doesn't pay. This is clearly a scheme by a competitor.
Li Songhai certainly had a clear conscience, but with their commotion and the presence of passersby, some people might believe that there was something wrong with their steamed buns. If this happened a few times, eventually no one would buy their steamed buns anymore.
At that time, Li Songjiang was serving in the army. He was defeated in the Battle of Nanzhao and barely escaped with his life. He was blind in one eye and had a knife scar on his hand.
Moreover, since the general of the army he was following did not die in battle but went missing, many people were spreading rumors that the general had defected to the enemy.
After they were laid off, they didn't even receive severance pay. He was left with a disability and didn't dare go home, not wanting to be a burden on his family. When he tried to sneak a peek at his home before leaving, he found that the steamed bun shop was still there, but the people there had changed.
Li Songjiang inquired everywhere and learned that his younger brother's family had moved away and he didn't know where they had gone.
Having lost all contact with his family, and now penniless and disabled, Li Songjiang was utterly despondent. He went to the dock intending to jump into the water and commit suicide, but was spotted by Li Hua, who was patrolling the dock for cargo ships that day.
They sent someone to stop him. After hearing about his ordeal, Li Hua first had someone heal his wounds, but Li Songjiang was determined to die and attempted suicide several times without success. It wasn't until Li Hua brought him a portrait of his stepmother that Li Songjiang finally regained his senses.
It turned out that after the older brother's family moved away, they lived a very poor life in another place. When floods struck, the whole family contracted the plague. In the end, they spent all their money and only managed to save their stepmother.
However, because the stepmother was somewhat beautiful, she was targeted by slave traders during the escape and sold into a brothel.
Hemp ropes always seem to break at their thinnest points, just as misfortune has eyes and specifically targets those with unfortunate fates.
In order to preserve Li Songjiang's will to live, Li Hua promised to find a way to protect Wan Niang from being bullied.
Upon learning that he had served in the army on the frontier, trained horses, raised sheep, and was adept at imitating the sounds of other animals, Li Hua found someone from the opera troupe to train him and take him on stage. After he had completed his training, Li Hua arranged for him to perform at the Phoenix Tower.
He promised him a substantial wage so he could earn enough to redeem his stepmother.
This gave Li Songjiang the motivation to live.
Gan Qiongying was deeply moved after hearing this, but having heard too many tragic stories these past few days, she was not touched by it.
In fact, Lu Xun was right; the joys and sorrows of this world are not shared by all.
What moved Gan Qiongying most was that Li Hua would constantly lend a helping hand to such unfortunate people and go to great lengths to keep them alive.
Gan Qiongying had never seen such a pure and kind heart in anyone else in her two lifetimes.
"How did you get him to agree to work for me?" Gan Qiongying asked Chen Wa, "To redeem Wan Niang from her servitude?"
"I promised Li Songjiang that as long as he works for the princess, he will not only redeem Wan Niang from her servitude but also remove her from her lowly status," Chen Wa replied.
Although Li Hua had a lot of money, in the face of power, sometimes money has limited effect.
He was a businessman, and he could easily redeem Wan Niang from her brothel, but only those with power could help her leave the brothel and escape her lowly status.
Moreover, Li Hua has never associated closely with the powerful and wealthy, so it's impossible for him to go to such lengths to free a courtesan he doesn't even know from her lowly status.
The fact that she was able to keep Li Songjiang alive by using his stepmother was already an act of great compassion, a bodhisattva reincarnated.
Her husband was indeed beautiful inside and out.
"Smart." Gan Qiongying clapped her hands. "You handled things very well. You've settled the people in a good place. I'll leave the matter of getting Wan Niang out of her lowly status to you. If you need any money, just tell Manyue."
Chen Wa was overjoyed at the praise and exclaimed in a loud voice, "Thank you, Princess!"
Gan Qiongying was startled by Chen Wa, but quickly laughed and pointed at him, saying, "You unruly brat! Here's a reward!"
Chen Wa then shouted loudly again, "Thank you for the princess's reward!"
This time, even the full moon had its ears plugged, and it rolled its eyes dramatically.
He's so happy about getting a little reward money. He's so pathetic. The princess gives him the most reward money!
"Go down," Gan Qiongying said with a smile and waved to him.
Chen Wa accepted the order and withdrew, but then remembered something as he reached the door.
The princess was in a good mood, so she might as well take this opportunity to ask for a reward for her brothers who were "dark of life".
Then Chen Wa suddenly turned back, knelt down again, and said, "Princess, the day you were imprisoned by the Regent, I immediately sent people back for help. When they learned that you had returned safely, they were still worried."
Chen Wa raised his head, his eyes bright with anticipation: "Those guards who train day and night ask me several times a day if there are any thieves trying to kidnap or harm the princess."
"These past few days they've intensified their training, everyone is eager to fight, vowing that if anyone dares to harm the princess again, they will fight with all their might and make sure the other party never returns!"
"Would the princess like to go and see the soldiers' drills? Let the brothers see for themselves that the princess is safe and sound, so they can train with peace of mind!"
Gan Qiongying hadn't understood what was going on when Manyue, standing to the side, frowned and immediately said, "The underground is damp and cold. How can a princess go to such a place? You are a strong and healthy warrior. How can a princess withstand the cold winds underground?"
“You can wear more layers, put on a cloak.” Chen Wa retorted quickly, “Can’t I even take a look?”
"But the princess still needs to choose a style of headdress later, how can she have time to go underground to see your private soldiers..."
Man Yue looked at Gan Qiongying.
Those grown men lived and ate underground, where the air didn't circulate much and the smell was terrible. Even Man Yue, who visited once, found it unpleasant.
Man Yue naturally didn't want Gan Qiongying to go. In her heart, Gan Qiongying was extremely precious, how could she set foot in such a filthy place?
Chen Wa frowned, his expression clearly showing his disagreement with Manyue's words, and he even seemed a little anxious: "What do you mean by my private army? Those two thousand-plus people are all devoted to the princess and are ready to give their lives for her at any time!"
He spoke with some excitement, his face flushed: "In order to ensure that those guards can be of great use one day, a sea of silver has been poured in. After all this time, the princess must want to see how the results are!"
In the past, he would never have dared to make such a request, but recently, Chen Wa has clearly felt that the princess has paid more attention to the guards in the mansion, and especially valued them. Their monthly allowances have also increased, and even their summer clothes have been increased by two sets compared to last year.
Manyue was about to say something more, but when she noticed that Gan Qiongying's expression had changed, she stopped talking. However, she still stared at Chen Wa with her round eyes, wishing she could pinch him a couple of times. What a brute!
Gan Qiongying finally came to her senses. She finally realized from the conversation between the two that she actually had a private army!
And all of them were hidden underground in this palace... she had no idea about that!
She didn't know about such a big thing, my God!
She said that so much money in the mansion is spent every month, but where does it all go?
Gan Qiongying had never carefully checked the accounts. It was only after Li Hua took over the household management these past two months that she started to cut back. Before that, the money was spent like water, and Gan Qiongying thought that the whole household was used to extravagance!
It turns out it was used in the right place!
Judging from Chen Wa's words, even if Li Hua hadn't come to save her that day, her people would have arrived in no time!
Those people have been training for a long time! And they are probably the real secret that Duanrong has kept hidden underground for so many years, refusing to show her face to anyone.
Gan Qiongying was so excited that her whole body began to tremble, her eyes wide open like two yo-yos. She slammed her hand on the table and said, "Take me to see!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com