bestfiction Chapter 157 Sending Supplementary Gift Money
Chapter 157 Sending Supplementary Gift Money
Wen Yuxia happily took out several silver notes from her satchel. "Congratulations! This is a wedding gift from Hong'er and me!" The three newlyweds each held two hundred-tael silver notes in their hands, grinning foolishly!
Wen Yuxia glanced at Wen Yunjiang, who looked on with envy, and continued, "Second cousin, Hong'er said he didn't give you a gift when you got married, so he asked me to make it up to you when I came back this time." With that, she handed Wen Yunjiang a silver note with a smile.
Initially, Yang registered the family's land and house under Wen Yunjiang's name. It was Wen Yunjiang who patiently persuaded Yang to purchase homesteads and land for her other three brothers.
In front of Wen Yuxia and Wen Dashan, Wen Yunjiang stated that the cost of building the houses for the brothers would be covered by the family, and any additional land acquired by the family would be divided equally among the four brothers.
Wen Yuxia was very pleased that the eldest son's family had Wen Yunjiang in charge, and was willing to give him face, so she gave him a gift on behalf of Wen Yunhong.
Wen Yunjiang smiled sheepishly. He had already given birth to a child and was even receiving a wedding gift. In the entire Gu family village, probably no one else had received such treatment except him.
Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, a group of soldiers arrived outside the courtyard. Leading them was An Chiyu. As they entered the courtyard, An Chiyu clasped his hands in a salute to Wen Yuxia and said, "His Majesty has ordered the imperial chefs to prepare a welcome feast for you, Princess."
As the soldiers placed the food and snacks on the table one by one, Wen Yuxia was quite surprised. She didn't understand why the Emperor would bestow such a large imperial feast upon her.
She moved closer to An Chiyu and asked in a low voice, "Brother Chiyu, what does His Majesty mean by this?"
An Chiyu smiled and said, "His Majesty said that you traveled a long way to escort the eldest princess home, which was too tiring. He has to treat you to something nice to reward you, you greedy girl. Just enjoy your meal."
The Emperor also told An Chiyu that Xia Yichen's ability to uncover Xia Yanheng's illegal gold mining, Xie Kun's collusion with the grassland overlord, Lina's impersonation of the eldest princess, and her removal of the eldest princess's body from the Xie residence were all thanks to Wen Yuxia's help.
After understanding everything, Wen Yuxia smiled calmly and said in a clear voice, "This humble woman thanks Your Majesty for the reward." After a slight pause, Wen Yuxia continued, "Brother Chiyu, why don't you stay and eat with us?"
An Chiyu leaped onto his horse and laughed, "Sister Yuxia, I can't finish this meal. I have important business to attend to, so I'll be going now. Remember, you owe me a meal."
After An Chiyu and his soldiers left, Wen Yuxia invited her family to sit down and enjoy the imperial meal. Wen Dashan whispered to her, "Princess, should we invite Village Chief Gu to dine with us?"
Wen Yuxia glanced at the villagers watching outside the courtyard and calmly said, "No need." What right did a mere village head have to enjoy the imperial meal bestowed upon her by the Emperor?
Considering that Wen Dashan and his group lived in Gujia Village, and that they couldn't afford to be too distant from the villagers, Wen Yuxia coldly instructed Bei San to go to the next room and get some pastries to distribute to the villagers outside the courtyard gate.
Holding the pastries, the villagers felt embarrassed to stay outside the courtyard and watch others eat, so they turned around and left one after another. Wen Yuxia smiled and invited everyone to sit down and enjoy the food.
While Wen Yuxia was enjoying the imperial meal in Gujia Village, Xia Yichen, thousands of miles away, was standing on a high platform, shouting, "Anyone who disagrees, come up here!"
There were many troublemakers in the military camp, and even with the Dragon Talisman in hand, Xia Yichen couldn't make them truly submit. So, Xia Yichen set up a fighting arena in the camp to deal with all kinds of dissent.
On the first day, many soldiers and officers went up to challenge him and An Yi's group in the arena. On the second and third days, fewer and fewer people went up to challenge them. Today is the fourth day, and no one has gone up to challenge them all morning.
Vice-General Tian Ke shouted loudly from below the platform, "I submit! I submit! I am willing to follow the Crown Prince's lead!"
"This humble general is also willing to follow the lead of the Imperial Grandson!"
……
Below the arena, cheers rose and fell, all expressing their determination to Xia Yichen. The thunderous cheers caused Xia Yichen's expression to shift slightly; his three days of hard work defending the arena had finally paid off.
Wen Yuxia was right after all. Reasoning with people in the military is useless; you have to use your fists. If they don't submit, fight them until they do.
"Follow me, and I will never mistreat you. Tonight, I'll add an extra dish: pork stew with cabbage!" Xia Yichen shouted, raising his arm.
Xie Kun embezzled military supplies, leaving the soldiers hungry. The grain, pork, vegetables, and fruit that Wen Yuxia left for Xia Yichen before she left were perfect for winning people over.
"Thank you for your understanding, Imperial Grandson!" The soldiers below the stage shouted happily in unison, knowing there was meat to eat.
Looking at the expectant eyes of the soldiers below the stage, Xia Yichen felt a pang of heartache. Just how much military pay had Xie Kun embezzled from the soldiers to make these men, who were dedicated to protecting their country, light up at the mere mention of meat?
"An Yi, bring over five fat pigs, no, bring over all the pigs, and also bring over the grain, vegetables and fruits," Xia Yichen ordered loudly.
An Yi clasped his hands in a salute and responded loudly, "Yes, sir!" He leaped off the platform, pointed to the row of soldiers in front of him, and said, "You, you...you and you come with me to gather supplies."
The soldiers whose names were called happily followed An Yi out of the camp. Xia Yichen shouted loudly on the arena, "Deputy General Tian, come to my tent."
Upon being called upon, Deputy General Tian stood up abruptly, looked up at Xia Yichen on the arena, and loudly replied, "Here!"
"Deputy General Tian, come to my tent. Everyone else, disperse and get back to what you were doing," Xia Yichen's voice, amplified by his internal energy, resounded throughout the entire camp.
The soldiers were stunned by his profound internal strength. Those who didn't go up to the arena to fight Xia Yichen secretly rejoiced.
Those soldiers who had been in the ring and even sparred with Xia Yichen felt a pang of shame. They had assumed Xia Yichen had fought with all his might to narrowly win.
Only now do we realize how profound Xia Yichen's internal strength is. It took him a hundred moves to knock them off the stage, which was entirely to save face for them.
"Deputy General Tian, has Xie Kun been in contact with Traf?" Xia Yichen asked the most important question right off the bat, wanting to see how Tian Ke would answer.
As Xie Kun's first deputy general, Tian Ke handled all the official business when Xie Kun was not in the military camp. Xia Yichen would be the first to disbelieve that he did not know that Xie Kun and Traf were secretly in contact.
Tian Ke did not disappoint Xia Yichen. Without hesitation, he knelt down on the ground with a thud: "This humble general is guilty, please punish me, Your Highness."
"What crime have you committed?" Xia Yichen asked, puzzled.
Xie Kun not only had dealings with Traf, the overlord of the grasslands, but also had a very good relationship with him, so good that Xie Kun would give Traf the military funds he had embezzled.
Tian Ke felt guilty for failing to stop Xie Kun from doing everything he was doing and for not reporting Xie Kun's actions to the court. He was willing to accept punishment.