Gu Yan was anxious: "......"
"Okay, okay. If Awan wants to know, go ask Yan Ji in private." Gu Xun smiled like an old white rabbit luring the little gray wolf.
"Really?" Song Wan's cheeks puffed up and she stared at Gu Yanji with hesitant eyes.
"Yes, Sister Wan." Li Yu blocked her view and smiled. "It's not a big deal. It's okay if you ask again in a year or two."
Gu Yan was anxious: “???”
The past few years have been wasted.
Song Zhaoyuan stroked his beard, never expecting that one day he would have the same idea as the emperor.
What Li Yu was thinking was that since Sister Awan was so powerful, she had to be very careful in choosing a husband and couldn't just let her second brother get one so easily.
Song Wan muttered a few words like "weird" and "incomprehensible" and then lowered her head to continue chewing her paw.
The chicken feet made by Sister Chunhua are a bit like the tiger skin chicken feet in later generations. It takes a lot of oil to make them. I didn’t have the chance to eat them when I was in the orphanage before, and I had even less chance after the end of the world, so this was the first time Song Wan ate them.
It was just as described, soft, glutinous, fragrant and appetizing. After finishing half a plate, she not only didn't feel full, but felt even hungrier.
Because the Dai Viet Dynasty controls the entire country almost all day long now, and after returning from a victorious battle, there are many things that need to be discussed. So after the celebration banquet, even though Li Yu was reluctant, he still had to return to the palace to take charge of the overall situation.
"Sister Awan, are you really not going to go to the palace with Ayu to have some fun?" Li Yu asked again without giving up.
"I won't go!" Song Wan patted his head perfunctorily. "I'll come to the palace to see you later."
In fact, in her mind, there was nothing fun in the palace except the delicious snacks. She had tasted the snacks a long time ago, but she had never tasted the food in Xiaoyao Tower.
At the celebratory banquet at noon, Song Wan specially reserved some seats for Xiaoyao Tower.
"Okay." Li Yu said with a slight disappointment, "Then Sister Wan must remember to come to the palace more often in the future."
"I know!" Song Wan said goodbye to him and watched him leave.
Li Yu returned to the palace surrounded by the crowd.
The ministers were all waiting at the palace gate. Since they couldn't enter the marquis's residence and attend the celebration banquet, they had to arrive early.
Although rewards and punishments are scheduled for three days later, all rules and regulations must be finalized early so that the people below can do their work more easily.
Gu Yan was reluctant to leave Song Wan, but since she didn't want to enter the palace, he had to come. He couldn't let his wife's contribution go to waste. Even though the emperor was in the palace, he believed that it was his own responsibility to protect his wife, and the emperor, his brother of the opposite sex, should protect the people of the world.
The morning court was postponed until the afternoon, which was the only case. Li Yu put on the dragon robe again and sat on the throne.
He said, "Now that Daye and the Qiang have submitted to Dai Viet, do you have anything to say?"
The first one to come forward and submit the memorial was Li Songzhi. He now held the position of Minister of Revenue. In the eyes of others, he was the emperor's eyes planted among the court officials.
"Your Majesty, I believe that we should first reward the meritorious officers and soldiers according to their merits."
"What Li Qing said is very true." Li Yu also intended this. "So I would like to ask the ministers how this achievement should be evaluated."
Several ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally one representative stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we believe that the soldiers fighting on the frontiers should be rewarded first. Rewards should be given according to the number of heads, either through promotions or rewards of gold and silver. For those who died, silver should be given as a comfort to their parents, wives, and children."
"Furthermore," the minister said, glancing at Gu Yan and several other generals standing in front of him, "Furthermore, General Gu is the commander-in-chief of this battle and should be credited with the greatest achievement."
After hearing this, Gu Yan frowned slightly.
Li Yu was equally displeased. He frowned, lowered his voice, and asked, "Oh? Really? Is that all Lord Zhang wanted to say?"
Lord Zhang knelt in the main hall and said fearfully, "Of course, Princess Xiaoyao has also made great contributions, but not only did she privately change the name of Qiang City to Xiaoyao City, she also openly claimed that Xiaoyao City was her territory. This act is too much of an act of self-deprecation and is a sign of contempt for the emperor's authority. Therefore, I believe that Princess Xiaoyao's merits and demerits offset each other, and the emperor's not punishing her is already a favor."
What Gu Yan was worried about finally happened. He showed a look of sarcasm on his face. How could these high and mighty adults who only knew how to talk on paper tolerate a woman stepping on their heads?
And she is a woman who is highly favored by the emperor.
Lord Zhang still insisted on his opinion. "I remember that Princess Xiaoyao and General Gu were engaged when they were young. If the Emperor insists on giving a reward, why not turn this paper engagement into a royal marriage? I think this would be a great honor for Princess Xiaoyao."
Li Yu had a blank expression on his face. "What Master Zhang said does make some sense."
Lord Zhang lowered his face, revealing a hint of pride.
"It seems that Lord Zhang also believes that Princess Xiaoyao made the greatest contribution in this battle. In that case, I will confer upon her the title of King Xiaoyao." Li Yu stared coldly at the figure on the ground and spoke word by word. "She will be granted the fiefdom of Xiaoyao City. As for her fiefdom, since Lord Zhang said that the princess considers Xiaoyao City her own, then she will be granted the entire city."
"Your Majesty! Absolutely not!" Lord Zhang exclaimed, "Your Majesty! You have misunderstood my humble servant's meaning!"
He clearly wanted the emperor to suppress Princess Xiaoyao a little to prevent her from being arrogant and disrespecting the throne and disregarding the laws of the court.
"Have I misunderstood?" Li Yu said coldly, "Otherwise, how could unifying the world be so easy in Lord Zhang's eyes? Breaking into the enemy camp alone wouldn't be that difficult, and repelling the siege of two large enemy armies with a single blow wouldn't be worth mentioning."
"Being able to train cavalry capable of defeating a hundred enemies in just six months, cracking the Qiang's red poison powder, and discovering a species that can yield a thousand kilograms per mu for the people of the world—these are all easy tasks in Lord Zhang's eyes." Li Yu looked at him coldly. "Since that's the case, Lord Zhang, please repeat these things and give the court another Prince Zhang!"
"That's not what I meant!" Lord Zhang clearly felt the emperor's anger pressing down on him, and suddenly said in panic, "I am also doing this for Dai Viet. I think, I think General Gu would not want to see his future wife do something so contrary to the law of the court, right?"
He just didn't believe that Gu Yan, a general who had fought on the battlefield, could tolerate his wife showing up in public and always suppressing him.
Gu Yanji straightened his back and sneered at the man kneeling on the ground, "Master Zhang seems to enjoy making decisions for the Emperor."
This ambiguous hat made Lord Zhang break out in a cold sweat.
"But this General wishes to make one thing clear to Lord Zhang. If Princess Xiaoyao had not personally gone to Chongcheng, I, the one Lord Zhang calls 'the one who deserves the most merit,' would have long since become a weapon used by the enemy to contain the Southwestern Army. Without the Princess, does Lord Zhang think he can still capture the Crown Prince of Daye? Without the Princess, Daye would be unstoppable. If the Southwestern Army could not resist, they could cooperate with the Qiang and march eastward. And you, the others, are still boasting in this palace today?"
"It's just because of that ugly jealousy in your heart that you want to openly erase this woman's achievements. Sir Zhang, you have a really good plan."
"General Gu! Stop talking nonsense in front of the emperor!" Lord Zhang was completely enraged.
"This general remembers that Sir Zhang was the runner-up in the three years of Conghe. After so many years, it seems that Sir Zhang has read so much that it has become a waste of time." Gu Yanji did not give him any face at all.
"You -, you -" Lord Zhang didn't care and pointed at him directly, so angry that he couldn't speak.
"Master Zhang, General Gu is telling the truth. What's wrong with you?" Wei Xuezhi, who had been silent until then, stepped forward. "If you're feeling unwell, don't force yourself. Return home and rest for ten days, half a month. I believe the Emperor will understand Master Zhang's hard work."
"Your Excellency is right. I am not that ungrateful, cold-blooded, and heartless emperor." Li Yu curled his lips. "Since Master Zhang is unwell, I will grant you a month's leave to recuperate at home."
"If Lord Zhang feels that one month is not enough, then three months or even half a year, I think the emperor will understand." Li Songzhi continued.
"Your Majesty, I have not—"
"In addition, Lord Zhang, your position as the Minister of Personnel will be temporarily taken over by Lord Chu." Li Yu interrupted him.
"I obey your command." Lord Chu stepped forward and knelt.
Lord Zhang looked as pale as death. The emperor wanted to dismiss him from his post. Everyone knew that Lord Chu was a relative of the Song family and was the most protective of his people.
Shortly after watching Gu Yanji and the others leave, Song Wan couldn't wait to pull Yun Zhuo along and said they wanted to go to Xiaoyao Tower.
It just so happened that Yun Zhuo also wanted to take out the account books of the past two years for her to check. The two of them hit it off and slipped away with only their two followers.
Song Qi was used to it, while Gu Wu was urgently asked by Gu Yan to stay with the princess, under the pretext of protecting her. However, Gu Wu always felt that his master was afraid that the princess would disappear without a trace if he left, so he asked him to hold her back temporarily.
Xiaoyao Tower, as its name suggests, looks unique from the outside.
Yun Zhuo introduced, "I worked my butt off to buy the largest brothel and prostitute's house in the capital, renovated and renovated them, and merged them into one, which is how we got to where we are today."
"Xiao Zhuozi, you are quite capable, but how did you convince those brothel owners to move?" Song Wan was curious.
"That's easy. I'll buy the people as well." Yun Zhuo still felt a little painful when talking about this, but fortunately, he had doubled the money he earned from buying people and territory in the past two years.
"What did you buy those people for?"
"It's very simple. The pretty ones will be waiters in the private rooms, and the average ones will be placed on the first floor as ordinary waiters." Yun Zhuo analyzed very seriously, "Princess, think about it, those who need private rooms definitely want attentive service. Whether it's taste or visual, they want the most comfortable service!"
Song Wan thought about it and seemed to be fine.
"As for the women, those who are good at playing the piano will play in the front, those who can cook will help the chefs, and those who don't have much talent will be sent to the back to clean the rooms. Anyway, there will always be work suitable for them."
Song Wan gave him a thumbs up and said, "Xiao Zhuozi, you are the best at business."
When they arrived at Xiaoyao Tower, Yun Zhuo continued to introduce, "I have made some improvements based on the idea you proposed. Now the first floor is open to ordinary guests, and the second floor is for ordinary private rooms. Only those with special Xiaoyao Tower signs can use them, and we only sell three of these signs to the public each month.
The third-floor private rooms require the most prestigious Xiaoyao brand to be used. We don't sell these brands to the public, we only give them away. Aside from the three given away in a lottery three days before the opening, there's only one giveaway per year."
"People who own Xiaoyao cards can not only use it themselves but also lend it to family and friends. They can also bring friends who only have building cards to enjoy the best services of Xiaoyao Tower together."
Yun Zhuo couldn't help but boast, "Princess, you don't know that the high-ranking officials in the capital are very concerned about their reputation. Those who won the Xiaoyao card at the beginning couldn't wait to bring their family and friends to Xiaoyao Tower for dinner every day."
As Song Wan listened to his description, she thought to herself that if he were born in later generations, he would surely be able to thrive.
"Come on, Princess, I'll take you to the third floor first. When I asked someone to design it, I specially reserved a private room for you that is never open to the public." Yun Zhuo led everyone in, but did not notice that a waiter on the second floor was rushing towards him.
Song Wan reacted quickly and stepped back without being hit at all. Song Qi and Gu Wu had followed her for a long time and were used to staying alert even in a relaxed environment, so the only one who was knocked down was the slow-reacting Yun Zhuo.
Yun Zhuo was knocked sprawled, feeling like his spine was about to be broken. He was in so much pain that he almost forgot to breathe. "Someone help me up!"
Song Qi suppressed his laughter and went over to help him, "Second Young Master Yun, you are too careless."
"Qingzhu, what's wrong with you?" Yun Zhuo asked in a harsh tone, holding his waist.
"Second Master, I didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry!" The man who spoke was handsome, with red lips and white teeth. He used to be a waiter at Chunxin Pavilion. He explained anxiously, "Second Master, please go and save Sister Yangzhi and Sister Ganlu!"
"What happened to them?" Yun Zhuo's waist suddenly didn't hurt as much.
"There is a guest in a private room on the second floor who insists that you two sisters accompany him..." Qingzhu's voice became softer and softer as she spoke.
What he didn't say was that they had encountered this kind of thing before, but each time the people involved only talked about it, not really taking action like this time.
So they never said anything, because they used to do such despicable things.
"Take me there! I want to see who is so blind as to bully me!" Yun Zhuo pushed him upstairs.
Song Wan finished eating the pastries at the checkout counter, patted the crumbs on her palms, and said to Song Qi and Gu Wu, "Let's go and see who the rubbish is."
There was a private room on the second floor. Even before I got close, I could hear dirty talk coming from inside.
Yun Zhuo was so angry that he kicked the door open and asked Ada and Yuanbao to hold down the three young men who came from nowhere.
At this time, Yangzhi and Ganlu had their outer clothes taken off, and Yun Zhuo immediately asked Qingzhu to get a cloak.
Qingzhu was prepared and handed the cloak over. Song Wan took it, walked to the two girls, and carefully helped them put it on.
"Did they bully you?"
The two girls wanted to nod, but finally, for some unknown reason, they shook their heads.
"It was an attempted bullying, right?" Song Wan asked again.
Now, under Song Wan's bright eyes, the two of them finally admitted it and nodded.
"Bah!" The man who was being held to his knees by Yuanbao was still very unconvinced. "They are originally prostitutes in a brothel! They were born to serve this young master! Don't think that working in a decent restaurant can change that smell on you!"
"I'm telling you! If you don't serve me and my friends well today, you won't survive!"
"Yeah, if these two bitches weren't so slutty, we brothers wouldn't even look down on them!"
Yun Zhuo couldn't stand it any longer, so he rolled up his sleeves and punched them fiercely, "You dare to bully me? You're just looking for death!"
"Yun! How dare you hit me! Don't think I don't know that your elder brother is only a fourth-rank military officer! What qualifications do you have to yell at me here!"
"You bully my people, what does it have to do with me, big brother? I'm going to beat you to death today!"
Song Wan stepped in just in time, grabbed the back of his shirt, and pulled him back, "Xiao Zhuozi, why are you so impulsive? You two are guests."
Yun Zhuo's eyes widened in disbelief. "You also think they're right?"
Song Wan ignored him and said to Song Qi and Gu Wu, "You two, go get three jars of horse urine."
"Who are you! What do you want to do?!"
The three men who were captured were all famous young men in the capital. Their favorite things were eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. On the day the army returned triumphantly, they were drunk in the arms of pleasure, so they did not know Song Wan.
"Didn't you smell something fishy?" Song Wan blinked innocently. "I think you're mistaken. So, I'll kindly ask someone to find a few jars of horse urine. I'll give one to each of you three. After you drink it, you won't smell it wrong anymore."
"You stinky woman! Do you know who this young master is?"
The Yuanbao holding him couldn't help but kick him, "Do you think you can use your fingers on the princess?"
"Princess? Haha, where does the princess come from? Everyone knows that the current emperor is just a young boy, where does the princess come from!" The man was drunk and dared to say anything.
Song Qi and Gu Wu came back, and the identities of these three people were also clarified.
Gu Wu stepped forward and said, "Princess, the most arrogant one is the only son of the Minister of Personnel. The fathers of the other two are both heads of the Ministry of Personnel."
Song Wan suddenly understood, "So you two are the lackeys of this ugly thing.
"Well, I'll give you a chance. As long as you two are willing to feed the horse urine into his stomach, you two won't have to drink it."
More and more guests gathered outside the private room, all of them were well-known people in Beijing. He had to choose between his father's future and his own face.
Yun Zhuo finally let out a lot of his anger. He shouted, "Li Chengyuan, Wu Mingshang, make a decision quickly!"
The two struggled endlessly, and when they saw the people pointing and talking outside the door, they had no choice but to say, "Brother Zhang, I'm sorry!"
They really can't afford to lose this person!
"You two! Shameless!"
Ada let go at the right time to allow the two to move, and Song Qi handed over a jar of horse urine.
Yuanbao was still pressing down on Zhang, and Ada freed up his hands to help.
"You guys - uh uh -" Before Zhang could resist, the two so-called brothers Li Chengyuan and Wu Mingshang poured a jar of horse urine into him.
"You guys are so skillful, not a single drop was spilled." Song Wan praised expressionlessly.
"Then, Princess, we have done everything you said. Can you let us go?" Li Chengyuan said flatteringly.
"Did I say I'd let you go?" Song Wan picked up a chopstick and poked him on the forehead. "Xiao Zhuozi, find two people."
Yun Zhuo was a little slow in responding, "Who are you looking for?"
"Do you want to pour it yourself?" Song Wan glanced at him.
Yun Zhuo understood and immediately opened his voice to shout outside, "Whoever comes to drink, there will be a bonus of 20 taels this month!"
"I'll do it!" Qingzhu was the first to sign up, and he even pulled another one, "Qingxuan and I will do it!"
"How could you go back on your word!" Wu Mingshang pointed at her.
"Yes, I did go back on my word. You bullied me, and you still expect me to keep my promise to you?" Song Wan said coldly, "I've already let you go by not severing your tendons."
Song Qi agreed very much. You know, those who bullied women in the past either had their penises cut off or their hands and feet chopped off. By the way, the former King Yu is still cleaning toilets and emptying chamber pots in Yuzhou.
The last three people, without exception, were all forced to drink a whole jar of horse urine.
Song Wan had all three of them thrown to the gate of Xiaoyao Tower.
She said to everyone inside and outside, "Xiaoyao Tower is my territory. If you want to eat, come and eat properly! If you come here to tease the girls under the pretext of eating, of course, the waiter, the boss, and the cooks will not tolerate it. Otherwise, the lightest fate will be the same as theirs."
After a moment of silence, a voice suddenly emerged, "Just because you're a princess, you can do whatever you want? Besides, they're from the brothel, and who knows how many people have slept with them."
"Yes, it's just that her outer clothes have been stripped off. Why is she pretending to be a chaste and heroic woman?"
Song Wan looked in the direction of the voice and quickly found the two people who were talking.
Well, one is smelly and disgusting, and the other is still smelly and disgusting.
Song Wan took out the whip from her waist and walked towards them. "I think you have quite a few concubines in your family, so you have been slept with by so many concubines. What kind of lowly and ugly thing are you?"
Yun Zhuo couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The two men's faces immediately turned green, and one of them said, "Don't think you can do anything just because you're a princess! The country has its own laws! If you resort to lynching, I'll report you to the Jingzhao Yin!"
Song Wan didn't waste time talking to them. She just whipped them a few times and performed a garbage-whipping show for the people present.
When she finally had enough, a cheer came from outside the crowd.
"The imperial edict has arrived! Princess Xiaoyao accepts it!"
Song Wan put her hands on her hips and turned back, muttering, "Why does this voice sound familiar?"
The crowd automatically made way for her to see the person clearly. "It's Eunuch Fu, why are you here?"
"I went to the Marquis' Mansion to announce the decree, but I didn't expect the princess was not there. It happened that at this time I met Guard Song who came back to report the news, and only then did I know that the princess had come to Xiaoyao Tower." Zhang Fuzheng said with a smile.
"You just mentioned announcing an imperial decree. Ah--that emperor, what imperial decree did he issue?" Song Wan noticed that there were many people around and decided to maintain A Yu's majestic image.
"I've been here for quite a while."
The two men who were lying on the ground in pain from being beaten became furious and looked aggrieved when they heard what Zhang Fuzheng said.
Since she has been here for a long time, why don’t you stop this crazy woman!
Zhang Fuzheng asked with a smile, "May I ask if the princess has had a good rest?"
Song Wan stared at the two people on the ground, still unsatisfied, and finally replied, "Just barely enough, Eunuch Fu, you read the imperial edict first."
After that she continued.
"Princess Xiaoyao accepts the order."
The people around knelt down in response. Song Wan squatted down symbolically and sat on the steps in front of the restaurant, staring at the two people on the ground with a fierce look.
Zhang Fuzheng turned a blind eye and read out the imperial edict directly.
The above probably lists all of Song Wan's achievements in recent years in detail, including saving the emperor, fighting corrupt officials, single-handedly destroying the Qiang tribe, capturing the Crown Prince of Daye and the old emperor, and discovering a species of potato that can produce 1,000 kilograms per mu, etc.
In the end, the emperor decided to confer the title of King Xiaoyao on Princess Xiaoyao, a hereditary title. In addition to the princess's previous fiefdom of Shengzhou, he also granted her Xiaoyao City as King Xiaoyao's fiefdom, with a fief of one city.
Along with the imperial edict, there was also a princess's mansion, the Prince Xiaoyao's mansion, and ten thousand taels of gold.
"Princess, er, no, it's time to call you King Xiaoyao." Zhang Fuzheng put away the imperial edict and bent down, saying, "King Xiaoyao, accept the edict."
Song Wan stood up quickly, took the imperial edict, and whispered in Zhang Fuzheng's ear, "How did Ayu know about Xiaoyao City?"
"This is all thanks to the Minister of Personnel, Mr. Zhang."
"What? The Minister of Personnel?" Song Wan was embarrassed. "I just poured a jar of horse urine into his son's mouth."
Zhang Fuzheng didn't expect the princess to be so good at playing, and he almost lost his trick, but fortunately he managed to keep his composure in the end.
"Don't worry, Princess. The current Minister of Personnel has changed his surname to Chu." Zhang Fuzheng couldn't change his words for a moment. He was used to calling her Princess.
Song Wan was confused, "What about his father?"
Zhang Fuzheng explained in detail, "Lord Chu had just taken over the job of the former Minister of Personnel when he discovered the account books showing Lord Zhang's bribery and corruption. He reported this to the Emperor, who was furious and has now personally brought people to confiscate the property."
Song Wan blinked and muttered softly, "Sure enough, he's addicted to raiding houses, just like me."
Zhang Fuzheng happened to hear it and couldn't help but twitch his lips.
Even he had to admit that the emperor did inherit this habit from the princess.
The imperial edict read out in the street really frightened a group of people, but what they feared more was being force-fed horse urine and whipped by the princess.
In public, he lost all his dignity and face.
You know, later on, those two who were whipped and kept talking were said to have not only raped women but also kidnapped pretty teenagers.
In the end, the entire family was confiscated.
The incident at Xiaoyao Tower that day completely established Song Wan's status and weight in the hearts of everyone in the capital. From then on, no one dared to cause trouble in Xiaoyao Tower.
After this incident, Yun Zhuo suddenly felt that having only two Xiaoyaolou in the capital and Zezhou was not enough. He decided to open a Xiaoyaolou in every city in Dayue during his lifetime!
Song Wan began to feel bored.
The author has something to say:
After being bored, I will go to conquer the sea of stars~
After counting on my fingers, it seems that there are only tens of thousands of words~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
