Less than half an hour after Zi'an returned home, the reward from the palace arrived.
This is not a reward from the Empress Dowager, but a reward from the Emperor.
Because Murong Jie had already sent his men back to the capital at full speed to report the good news brought back from the Northern Desert.
Beimo and Da Zhou officially ceased hostilities, which was great news for the emperor.
At the same time, news of victory was received from Prince An, saying that the army had won an overwhelming victory over the Xianbei with a crushing force.
The Xianbei surrendered and submitted a letter of surrender. They later became a vassal state of the Great Zhou, paying tribute every year and never daring to speak of war again.
The Xianbei people were cunning and said they would never dare to talk about war. The emperor naturally did not believe them, but it was indeed worth being happy about that the Xianbei were eliminated.
The Xianbei suffered a great defeat this time because their army’s morale was low.
Because before, Xianbei had joined forces with Beimo to conquer Da Zhou, but Chu Jing played a trick and did not inform Xianbei beforehand. Xianbei thought that Chu Jing was really defeated and could no longer resist Da Zhou. They thought that if Beimo lost its combat capability, Da Zhou would definitely do its best to deal with Xianbei. Xianbei was just a small country, how could it resist Da Zhou's iron cavalry
They suffered a psychological defeat first, and then, with Prince An's superb military skills, he arrived at the battle line five days earlier than expected and forced the Xianbei to retreat step by step. Finally, Prince An's troops were at the gates of the city, and the Xianbei king and his court officials took half an hour to discuss and quickly surrendered.
The Xianbei were also a people who could bend and stretch. If they saw a loophole, they would take advantage of it and fire a few shots. If they couldn't defeat the enemy, they would surrender. In any case, they didn't suffer any loss.
If the pro-war faction led by Chu Jing is a vicious wolf, then the Xianbei is a cunning weasel, who occasionally comes to steal a chicken without making a big fuss. It has always been like this before. When Da Zhou lost a chicken, it thought it was no big deal and did not make a big fanfare to catch the weasel. But it was like a dog-skin plaster that could not be shaken off. This time, Prince An caught the weasel on the spot. At least, Da Zhou's chicken coop is safe for the next two years.
The emperor was very pleased to receive two pieces of great news. Without waiting for Murong Jie to return to the capital, he immediately gave out a batch of rewards.
Naturally, a batch of rewards were also given to Prince An's Mansion. Since Prince An was not at home, they were kept aside first and would be sent to him when he returned.
The emperor's move also inspired the people, who all praised the emperor's way of governing by rewarding those who have made contributions, and expressed great confidence in the harmony of the royal family.
Naturally, the rumors from a while ago were quelled. A while ago, there were so-called foresighted people among the people who said that if Murong Jie returned to the court after making great achievements this time, the emperor would definitely be afraid that his achievements would be too great and would find ways to weaken his prestige. At that time, the people would be secretly worried that the external chaos would end but the internal chaos would start again.
Now, the emperor's move has calmed the hearts of many people, including some court officials who originally supported the regent.
However, some people who see things clearly are still worried.
I am worried that the Emperor is trying to paralyze the Prince first, and then find fault with him when he becomes arrogant.
After returning from a meritorious service and receiving such overwhelming favor, who wouldn't be inflated
Not long after the Emperor's reward came, the Empress Dowager's reward also arrived.
The Empress Dowager’s reward was quite interesting.
Three rolls of plain brocade silk. It was said that the princess was still in mourning and her clothes were too colorful, so the princess was given plain silk to make a few sets of clothes.
There were three silver hairpins inlaid with kingfisher feathers and white jade. It was said that the princess's head ornaments were too luxurious and not suitable to be worn during mourning, so several simple ornaments were specially given to the princess to attend major occasions.
There were three Buddhist scriptures, one Diamond Sutra, one Heart Sutra, and one Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Original Vow Sutra. He also specifically instructed the princess to recite Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Original Vow Sutra more often to redeem his father and grandmother, because they died tragically.
In addition, there are two daughters of criminals, both of whom are beautiful. They are said to have been taught in the palace and know the rules. They are born in a noble family, have a virtuous personality, can help manage the household, and are literate, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They can also accompany the prince to banquets in the future. Moreover, because they have excellent self-cultivation, if they give birth to children in the future, they will not behave in a vulgar manner.
Because they were the daughters of criminals, their original names had been taken away, and the Empress Dowager even gave them new names, asking them to serve the prince... and the princess well.
The Empress Dowager named one Wanhui and the other Wanjing, and gave them the surname Lin, so that they could become a forest and give birth to a forest for the royal palace in the future.
Ru Rong issued the decree with a slightly arrogant look, and then said to Zi An: "Princess, the Queen Mother has good intentions for you, I hope you will not let her down. These two beauties have no positions yet, and when the prince comes back, the Queen Mother will tell the prince to promote them to the position of concubines."
The implication is that these two people will have high positions in the future, so you should not bully them.
Zi'an looked at the two of them. They were indeed outstanding in appearance, especially the girl named Wanhui. She had a delicate face, fair and delicate skin, and her phoenix eyes under her willow-shaped eyebrows were so quietly flying, which made her indescribably charming.
As for Wanjing, she had regular features and although her looks were not as pretty as Wanhui, she was also a beauty.
"My two young ladies, please come forward and meet the princess!" Ru Rong said.
The two of them stepped forward and lowered their bodies in front of Zi'an, "Your servants pay their respects to the princess."
"I pay my respects to the princess."
When they met, the two referred to themselves differently. Wanjing called herself a slave, while Wanhui called herself a concubine.
Zi'an responded calmly and told Xiaosun, "Take them down and bring them back to me later."
"Yes!" Xiaosun responded, looking at the two men with hostility, and said, "Both of you, please follow me."
Xiaosun did not call herself a slave. She was unwilling to treat these two women as masters. They were clearly enemies.
Ru Rong laughed coldly, "The rules of the palace are indeed not strict. It seems that the princess should tidy up."
Zi'an smiled slightly, but his eyes were as cold as a knife, "Is that so? The rules in the Empress Dowager's palace are not strict, how dare I be strict?"
Ru Rong still sneered and retorted: "Princess, what you said is wrong. The Queen Mother governs the harem..."
Zi'an interrupted her and said coldly, "Is it strict? A palace maid dares to criticize me at will. Where does this rule come from? I will ask the Empress Dowager one day if this is the rule in her palace. As a servant, you can criticize your master at will."
Ru Rong was startled and wanted to explain, but Zi An had already raised his sleeves and said, "No need to see you off!"
He turned around and led his men back.
Ru Rong was so angry that her teeth itched. She said hatefully, "No wonder everyone says that this Regent Princess is arrogant. It's true."
She also went back angrily with the person who gave her the gift.
Zi'an knew that she would have to make up some things when she returned, but it didn't matter. Whether he offended her or not, she had no intention of giving herself a good life.
The two Wans were placed in Lanluo Pavilion, and Zi'an assigned the four slaves Chun, Xia, Qiu and Dong rewarded by the Empress Dowager to serve them.
After settling down, the two went to greet Zi'an, but Zi'an ignored them and just told them to go back and rest first.
(End of this chapter)