Chapter 652 - Separating from the Estate? (1/2)
The emperor looked at the civil and military officials and sighed deeply, “Only an incapable ruler would become overly suspicious of a G.o.d-like general and push him away, forcing a once loyal subject to rebel! Do we look like a muddle-headed and an immoral ruler to you?”
The old official was terrified by the emperor’s speech. He hurriedly knelt on the ground and begged for forgiveness.
Yu Xiaocao almost started clapping and cheering for the emperor, ‘The emperor is mighty. The emperor is wise. The emperor is a fair and just ruler.”
People believed that becoming the emperor was amazing and wonderful, so everyone would scramble for the throne. The truth was that it was a demanding position that required a lot of work. If they wanted the throne, then they could just fight for it, but her Jun Yangyang wouldn’t fight for such a strenuous and unrewarding job! Some people put great importance on power and influence, while others viewed power as a pair of discarded shoes. Different people had different views! The unrivaled hero of her heart was not the kind of person who would covet the army for himself and plot a rebellion! She could guarantee that as long as the emperor retained his trust in him, then he would definitely return his trust 100% with loyalty!
After that, the generals of the war were bestowed their rewards. Of the father and son duo from the Zhao Family, one was bestowed the t.i.tle of a first-rank General Jianwei, while the other one was bestowed the t.i.tle of second-rank General Longhu. With the addition of the Duke of Zhenyuan, all three generations of the Zhao Family continued to prosper.
The emperor even graciously allowed the father and son from the Zhao Family to rest in the capital for an extended period of time. They couldn’t leave the Zhao Estate unattended without a man in charge, so General Longhu stayed in the capital with an official position. General Jianwei, old General Zhao, returned to the northwest after resting for half a year to protect the Great Ming Dynasty’s borders. In addition to that, his loyal and hardworking apprentice, Fang Zizhen, General Fang, went with him.
Fang Zizhen had been idle in the capital for many years and now, he finally had the opportunity to achieve his ambition. Even if there wasn’t any war on the northwest border, it was better than idling at home and taking care of some trivial matters. Moreover, this was an opportunity for him to gallop through the battlefield with his master. He was undoubtedly overjoyed by this opportunity!
The only regret he had was that he was going to be separated from his wife and son in the future. He wondered if his son, Fang Haolin, would still recognize that he was his father the next time he returned to the capital. His wife doted on their child too much. It seemed like he needed to ask his daughter to visit her family frequently to make sure that his wife didn’t raise his son into someone useless.
After Zhu Junyang was conferred the t.i.tle of Imperial Prince Xu, rumors of the two princes from the Jing Estate spread far and wide. Imperial Prince Jing returned to the estate and happily held his princess consort in his arms and proudly said, “This prince’s t.i.tle was only bestowed on me because this prince was the previous emperor’s son. When our child was young, I didn’t think that he would achieve much. But now that he's older, not only does he have a prosperous future, but he also depended on his own abilities and contributed military merits to the country and earned the t.i.tle of n.o.bility! No wonder he’s my son!”
“What are you talking about? Stop acting so shameless!! Prince, you don’t need to be so humble. You are also a pillar of the country and one of the emperor’s most trusted aides! You deserve your t.i.tle.” Princess Consort Jing was also elated by the news, but nevertheless, she still took her husband’s feelings into consideration and comforted him by saying a few pleasant words.
“Hahahaha!” Prince Jing laughed happily for a long time. “Not only did the emperor redivide Yang’er’s fief, but he also rewarded him with a large estate. The estate in question is said to belong to one of the corrupt officials in the previous dynasty. I have seen the estate and the estate is grander and more majestic than our Jing Estate. The estate was originally reserved by the emperor for his elder brother as a retirement house, but the emperor’s elder brother said that he was used to living in his current house. He didn’t want to move, so the estate was left empty. Although the house was built during the previous dynasty, it was still being repaired over the years. There are even people who have been a.s.signed to take care of the house. They can move in anytime they want…”
A lonely expression appeared on Princess Consort Jing’s face. She sighed softly and said, “Is it necessary for Yang’er to move out of the Jing Estate? If he moves out, then there will be fewer opportunities for him to visit us. I was even thinking about helping him raise his kids after he has a child. When I visited Dongshan Village, I saw that it was always the grandmother of the family who helped raise the children…”
“We have so many maidservants and senior servants working in our family, why would you need to raise the children yourself? When the time comes, we can just send the couple a few hardworking and capable senior servants. It’s time for him to separate from the flock. Yang’er has been bestowed with the t.i.tle of an imperial prince, so it’s no longer suitable for him to live with us. Let’s take his elder brother for example, will Yang’er need to greet his elder brother first, now that he received a t.i.tle?”
“Don’t be disheartened. Their new estate isn’t far from our estate. It will only take a quarter of an hour by carriage for them to come here. Xiaocao is a filial child, so she will definitely encourage our son to come and visit us often. Besides, if you miss the kids, you can move to their estate for a couple of days. You can also move into their estate for a few days when I’m busy or if I don’t have time to accompany you because of work. I feel at ease if Xiaocao is there to accompany you.”
Imperial Prince Jing tugged Princess Consort Jing’s hand and comforted her carefully. Under the candlelight, it seemed as if her beautiful pair of phoenix eyes were twinkling with reflections of waves of sunlight; it was extremely charming. In the beginning, it was her beautiful and moving pair of eyes that had captured his heart and his heart still belonged to her after nearly thirty years.
Ever since Xiaocao produced the anti-wrinkle skin rejuvenation cosmetic cream and sent some over, the princess consort looked much younger after using it for less than half a year. Her skin became dewy and delicate and the fine wrinkles around the corners of her eyes had magically disappeared. She was around forty-five to forty-six years old, but she looked like a woman in her early thirties. If the princess consort stood next to her daughter-in-law, they would look like a pair of similarly aged friends.