VBNWDW - Chapter 144

Chapter 144

News of the great victory at the border spread through the capital with incredible speed, as if dispelling the last vestiges of cold air. Cheers echoed from every street and alley.

Some even began beating gongs and drums and setting off firecrackers, creating a scene more festive than the New Year. Everyone around was beaming with smiles.

The patrolling soldiers saw this but did not intervene. A special order had come from above, allowing the people to celebrate for a while.

As for the news of the Crown Prince's death, it was overshadowed by this excellent news. For a time, only a few people paid it any mind, such as the two princes who had been demoted to commoners.

When they heard the news, some unknown thought must have struck them. Their expressions shifted between pale and livid, and they stood frozen in place, not moving for a long time.

A few days later, word came that one of the princes had fallen gravely ill and was confined to his bed, lacking even the strength to sit up.

The other had fallen from his horse, injuring his leg and becoming a cripple.

With the only two remaining princes in such a state—one sickly and near death, the other a cripple—they couldn't even walk properly, let alone be considered heirs to the throne.

The ministers who had spent their days debating which prince to support fell completely silent. Their characters were already poor, and now they weren't even able-bodied. They were utterly useless, making it impossible for the ministers to choose them even if they wanted to.

Meanwhile, Luo Yueqing and Meng Yunshan, regardless of what the others were thinking, somehow remembered the long-neglected princess in the imperial palace.

Her mother had been an inconspicuous palace maid who had unexpectedly received the emperor's favor and given birth to a daughter. However, due to her mother's humble status, the princess was also disliked and had lived like an invisible person in the palace. Now, at twenty, she was still unwed.

Luo Yueqing and Meng Yunshan established a princess's residence for her and selected a suitable marriage. The groom's family was not particularly prominent, but he was outstanding in appearance, character, and learning. After their marriage, the couple moved into the princess's residence and got along very well.

After the wedding, the couple even paid separate visits to thank Meng Yunshan and Luo Yueqing.

The two of them already had other plans and felt they couldn't quite accept such sincere gratitude. In the end, Luo Yueqing, under the pretext of adding to their wedding gifts, gave them two storefronts.

A little later, early summer arrived.

Zhong Jueyu and Luo Yueqing had been separated for nearly a year.

Great Chu sent several envoys, willing to cede territory and pay reparations for peace. But everyone ignored them. The memory of the last time was still fresh in their minds; who would believe the promises of Great Chu now?

Thus, the flames of war on the border continued to burn. Since their great victory in the winter, the Liang army had grown ever more courageous. Taking advantage of the Chu army's insufficient supplies, they directly captured two of their cities.

Seeing that peace was unattainable, the Chu kingdom could only increase its military investment in an attempt to reclaim the lost territory. But even after losing fifty thousand soldiers, they made no progress. Instead, their morale plummeted. Many Chu citizens were now fleeing to Great Liang, a clear sign of the dire situation within their country.

Luo Yueqing and Meng Yunshan not only didn't stop them but even allocated land and exempted them from a year of taxes, doing their utmost to attract new people.

On the other hand, to appease the original citizens of Great Liang, Luo Yueqing decreed that her glassworks, canning factory, and even the newly established winery and paper mill would only hire people whose families had been citizens of Great Liang for three generations.

Don't underestimate these four workshops. They were now the most profitable enterprises in Great Liang. The Blissful Pavilion and all the teahouses combined couldn't match the daily income of any single one of them.

Furthermore, Luo Yueqing was extremely generous to the factory workers. Not only was their pay double that of outside jobs, but she also hired a large number of ordinary women. Women who had previously only been able to earn a pittance through embroidery suddenly became the main breadwinners of their households, and the status of women quietly rose.

In addition, Luo Yueqing established special schools. The children of any servants or workers under her and the Grand Princess's name could attend for free. In the future, if they had no hope in the imperial examinations, they would still be literate and numerate and would be given priority for recruitment by the factories.

But there was a condition: if any family favored sons over daughters, sending only their boys to school while keeping their girls at home to work, Luo Yueqing would dismiss them immediately. As a result of this policy, there were even more girls than boys in the schools.

Meng Yunshan and Luo Yueqing also discussed that after Zhong Jueyu ascended the throne, the imperial examinations could be gradually opened to allow women to become court officials. This would slowly elevate the status of women and reduce the controversy surrounding Zhong Jueyu becoming a female emperor.

At the same time, Luo Yueqing secretly had teahouses and theaters commission and perform grand plays like the story of Hua Mulan, promoting them throughout Great Liang.

First, there was the incompetent emperor and crown prince, leaving the Grand Princess to support Great Liang alone. Then there was the Little God of Wealth, Luo Yueqing, who made money as if scooping it from a river. Looking back at the useless late emperor and crown prince, and those two profligate princes, at some point, the people of Great Liang began to say that having a daughter was better than having a son.

Some people sensed that something was amiss and anxiously sought out their colleagues to discuss it, only to find that their colleagues had long seen through it all. The pieces on the chessboard were already in place; small figures like them could only obey.

A few stubborn traditionalists wanted to resist, but their words were drowned in the tide, and no one paid them any heed.

Until the Liang army captured another city—Jingzhou.

Jingzhou had been prosperous since ancient times. Its boundless plains provided Great Chu with abundant grain reserves and were the source of their confidence in attacking Great Liang. The founding emperor of Great Chu had started in Jingzhou and expanded outward from there.

Although the capital was later moved elsewhere to stabilize the rear of Great Chu, they had always placed extreme importance on Jingzhou, stationing imperial princes and heavy troops there year after year.

Thus, some said that Jingzhou was the backbone of Great Chu. And Zhong Jueyu, leading her troops, had personally broken Great Chu's backbone.

For a moment, the Chu kingdom was in an uproar. The entire country fell into a state of pessimism and grief. The Emperor of Chu even offered to send one of his princes as a hostage in exchange for peace between the two nations.

But this matter did not attract the attention of the people of Great Liang. Everyone's focus was drawn to another event: Zhong Jueyu was ascending the throne.

Right after the capture of Jingzhou, as the Liang army held a victory banquet in the city to celebrate their success.

Ruan He, Li Shigui, and the others suddenly led their subordinate officers and soldiers to kneel in unison, pleading for Zhong Jueyu to ascend the throne and become emperor.

Zhong Jueyu feigned ignorance and refused on some pretext.

But Ruan He, Li Shigui, and the others declared that if Zhong Jueyu did not agree, they would remain kneeling indefinitely.

Thus, Zhong Jueyu could only reluctantly agree.

While this was happening at the border, the attitude at the imperial court was also strange. Meng Yunshan said nothing, and no one else raised any objections. It was accepted in silence.

Then, Luo Yueqing suddenly donated a large sum of money to the court, saying it was for the Grand Princess's ascension ceremony.

But the court, for the first time in history, refused the money.

Afterward, Meng Yunshan invited Luo Yueqing to his residence, where they talked in his study for over two hours.

According to servants who passed by, the usually gentle Prime Minister Meng was heard shouting in anger, saying something along the lines of, "Since when does an emperor marry out to someone else?"

"Luo Yueqing! I won't stop you from doing whatever you want! But the Son of Heaven can only take a spouse!"

The poor Prime Minister, with his old bones, roared so fiercely it nearly lifted the roof tiles.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"As long as I am here, Her Highness will only marry, not be married off!"

"Even if you bought all of Great Chu as a betrothal gift, it wouldn't be allowed!"

The servants who overheard this felt their brows twitch. They then saw the Little God of Wealth walk out, looking reluctant and disgruntled, muttering all the way: "Just because there's no precedent, it's not allowed? What a stuffy old man, not a shred of flexibility."

"Why can't an emperor be married off? As long as Jinyan is willing, who cares if you are?"

As if sensing her thoughts, Meng Yunshan roared from inside the room again: "Don't even think about it!"

This was probably the loudest Meng Yunshan had ever been in his entire life.

Luo Yueqing pouted and finally said resentfully, "Fine, fine, fine. She won't be married off. I'll marry her, alright?"

The nearby servants bowed their heads low, terrified of hearing another word.

By the time high summer arrived, the Liang army, which had been gone for a full year, finally returned.

This was not like before, when they were hastily summoned back by three imperial edicts, looking as if they were being chased home. The capital had received the news long in advance. The common people woke up early to wait, and the area outside the city gates was packed with people for a full li, all standing on tiptoe, watching the distant army draw closer.

The weather today was the same as the day they left. The azure sky was cloudless, with only the bright sunlight shining down. The surrounding trees were a vibrant green, swaying in the breeze.

The silver-armored general rode a white horse. The red ribbon on her topknot had faded, but it still fluttered in the wind, just as it had that day.

The army behind her had a grim intensity it lacked when they departed—a bloodlust acquired from crawling through mountains of blades and seas of blood.

This was the same grim intensity that made the Chu army tremble from a distance, but in the eyes of the families who had waited so long, it only inspired heartache.

Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Long live Great Liang!"

Then everyone followed, and the cheers rose like a tide, wave after wave, almost seeming to tear open the blue sky.

Whether it was the generals on horseback or the foot soldiers carrying their blades, all of them broke into smiles. They leaned toward the crowd like children, a hint of pride in their eyes.

Zhong Jueyu couldn't help but smile, but her eyes remained fixed ahead, searching for the person she had longed to see.

Riding closely behind her, Ruan He and Li Shigui teased in low voices.

"It's been like this all day. Ever since we were ten li out, Her Highness's neck hasn't bent once. She's been staring straight ahead."

Ruan He added, "I wonder where Miss Luo is waiting."

"On the city wall, probably," Li Shigui stroked her chin, guessing. "Prime Minister Meng and the others should be waiting at the city gate."

Ruan He nodded in agreement.

Zhong Jueyu unconsciously tightened her grip on the reins, a rare hint of nervousness showing in her pursed lips. Her gaze instinctively lifted, but she could only see the silhouette of the city wall, not knowing if anyone was standing atop it.

The horse's hooves continued to rise and fall, one step at a time.

For the first time, Zhong Jueyu felt that her swift steed was too slow, taking an eternity to take a single step.

The cheers continued unabated. As they drew closer, people began to toss bouquets of flowers, silk handkerchiefs, and fruit. This was a tradition in Great Liang; many people would stand in the crowd at times like this to choose a satisfactory husband for themselves or their daughters, then toss these items.

If the person caught it, it signified acceptance, and a matchmaker could be sent to their home later. If not, it could also be taken as a gesture of celebration.

The unmarried soldiers beamed with joy upon catching a handkerchief, while the married ones joked beside them, deftly dodging the thrown objects.

Zhong Jueyu and the others at the front were also pelted with quite a few items.

Li Shigui was so frightened she hid behind Ruan He, yelling, "I don't want to get married!"

Someone nearby teased, "Does that mean you'll follow Her Highness for a lifetime?"

"A lifetime it is, then!" Li Shigui shouted back. "It's better than you, you brat, angering your wife in the middle of the night and getting kicked out of the house!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Zhong Jueyu, however, had no mind to pay attention, casually brushing away the things thrown at her.

In the next second, she finally saw the figure she had been yearning for.

Standing right at the city gate, surrounded by the crowd at the very front, smiling at her.

The white horse came to an abrupt halt.

Luo Yueqing looked up at her and said with a smile, "Your Highness has received quite a few handkerchiefs on your way here. I wonder if mine is still to your liking."

Zhong Jueyu swung herself off the horse, pulled her directly into an embrace, and said in a low voice, "I'm home."

Previous Table of Contents Next