Before Situ Yan returned to the capital, a long line of officials eager to curry favor with him had already formed.
The gatekeepers received a stack of invitations daily. Lu Nian Fu, once looked down upon as a merchant's daughter, now, through her husband's status, had suddenly become a target for the elite to fawn over.
Naturally, there were even more families wanting to offer their daughters as concubines to Prince Rui.
Fortunately, Lu Nian Fu had her pregnancy as a shield. Citing her need to rest, she declined all banquets and visitors, quietly preparing for the New Year.
Lu Fei, Madam Li, and Feng Xin Yao came, and Ji Jin even joined the festivities for the New Year's Eve dinner. Lu Nian Fu's year was not entirely lonely. Yet, lying in bed, listening to the sounds of firecrackers and fireworks outside, Lu Nian Fu couldn't help but miss Situ Yan. She wondered how he was doing.
Situ Yan, whom she was thinking of, was actually doing quite well. The soldiers with him were laughing so hard their gums were showing.
The Prince had declared that they would receive some bonuses during the New Year. Within five days from today, any property seized from captured mountain strongholds would not be confiscated and would be theirs to keep.
It would be distributed equally, with everyone getting a share.
Ever since those three mountain strongholds in Taiyuan were taken down, this desolate place had become increasingly treacherous, with assassins appearing wave after wave without respite. Fortunately, Prince Rui had been prepared; otherwise, he would likely have been carried back to the capital in a coffin by now.
If they were even more unlucky, there might not even be a corpse. A lavishly expensive agarwood coffin would then contain only two pieces of clothing. A young general, not killed on the battlefield, but murdered by court officials, and his body dismembered. It was enough to make the listeners weep and the onlookers sigh.
After that, the five thousand troops who had left the capital were divided into four groups, laying ambushes everywhere, a strike here, a sweep there. First, to confuse the enemy and prevent them from discovering Prince Rui's true hiding place. Second, to deal with the various bandit dens in Shanxi.
Meng Chang Dong, carrying a wine pot, found Situ Yan, who was eating roast meat. "Boss, those brats are ecstatic. Su Xun just reported that there's a Fengyan Mountain two hundred miles away..."
"Already stumbled upon it?"
"You bet! Your motivational methods are truly excellent, but is this really within the rules? If the capital finds out, they'll probably impeach you again."
"Let them impeach. It's the New Year, and they're risking their lives out here. How can I not offer some reward? If they impeach me, that's even better. I'll just have a word with Father Emperor. It's a grave insult to life itself that civil officials who just talk and generals who fight in blood receive the same salary. If the soldiers' pay had been raised earlier, recruiting would not have been so difficult when I was in Jiangnan!"
The soldiers listened to this with tears in their eyes, but Meng Chang Dong put on a mournful face, "Your subordinate also just talks."
"Nonsense, doesn't the strategist use his brain? Don't compare yourself to those useless eaters and drinkers."
"Boss, just shut up. If someone overhears you, you'll offend every civil official in the court. After we finish dealing with the bandits, we're not going to establish ourselves as kings here; we're returning to the capital!"
Situ Yan was unfazed. "How little have I offended them? Civil officials are simply too idle, which is why they have time to scheme and hoard money. If it weren't for these vipers in Shanxi, I'd be with my wife and children by a warm hearth right now, instead of freezing out here in this forsaken place."
Meng Chang Dong: ...
No wonder he sounded like he was spitting gunpowder. It turned out he missed his wife.
That kind of man, when displeased, was not to be trifled with. Meng Chang Dong could already foresee an unpleasant future for the officials in Shanxi.
The royal family had its own rules for celebrating the New Year.
On the first day, they would pay respects to the Emperor and the consorts. On the second, they would visit their maternal families, and only then could they exchange visits freely.
Emperor Chang Wu had issued an edict early on, telling Lu Nian Fu to stay home and rest, not to come to the palace. Although Xiao Qi was not in the capital, the attention he had garnered had completely overshadowed the Crown Prince and Prince Ning, especially the Crown Prince, whose face was thoroughly slapped.
With Empress and Noble Consort Jian being such foolish women, they were undoubtedly plotting something to take their anger out on Xiao Qi's wife.
He wasn't showing concern for Lu Nian Fu out of kindness, but rather thinking about his own useless son's devotion to his wife. If she wasn't protected properly and got hurt in some way, who knew what kind of scene he would create when they returned to the capital?
Since the Emperor had excused her from paying her respects, it was naturally inappropriate for her to visit the residence of Marquis Pingning. Thus, she opened the storehouse, selected many valuable gifts, loaded them onto carts, and had them sent over.
Of course, the residence of Marquis Guangling was not forgotten.
Although it was known throughout the capital that Marquis Guangling's residence had not treated Situ Yan well, he had been raised by them for a time, and to completely ignore them would seem unfeeling. Besides, these were mere material possessions, and the now wealthy Lu Nian Fu gave them without any hesitation.
These gifts were quite valuable, yet Madam Fang was still displeased.
She had intended to use Lu Nian Fu's visit to offer New Year's greetings and then to promote her niece to her. But Lu Nian Fu hadn't come at all.
She slammed the box shut angrily, "Such a disrespectful creature, not even coming to pay her respects during the New Year. Does she have any elders in her eyes?"
Gu Rong was looking at the gift list. The two ancient calligraphy paintings on it were ones he had longed for. Hearing her words, he glared at her. "The Emperor himself has excused the Princess Consort Rui from paying her respects, yet you have the audacity to expect her to kowtow to you? Aren't you afraid of shortening your lifespan?"
Madam Fang stubbornly retorted, "The grace of birth is not as great as the grace of upbringing."
"Is that what you call upbringing? It's called mistreatment. If the Emperor hadn't been mindful of Prince Rui's reputation, our family's title would have been lost long ago."
Madam Fang knew this in her heart, but seeing her former stepson, who used to be under her thumb, living so prosperously made her truly uneasy. She deflated for a moment. "Then, Marquis, we did raise him for a time. Now that Prince Rui's mansion is flourishing, they're leaving us aside, not even sharing a sliver of their glory. Are you content with this?"
Gu Rong was actually quite satisfied.
He was not someone who was good at scheming. Now, thanks to his adopted son, he had been promoted to the third rank. Although the Emperor did not favor him, Prince Rui treated him with great courtesy. His life in officialdom had improved immeasurably compared to before.
As for his two sons.
Ha, children and grandchildren have their own fortunes.
Such good days should not be ruined by this foolish woman. So, he gave her a serious look. "Think carefully. He is now a Prince. Sticking close to him is equivalent to taking sides. Are you planning to oppose the Crown Prince and Prince Ning?"
Madam Fang shivered. How could she possibly do that?
Immediately, all her thoughts vanished.
Gu Rong was very pleased with this. He ordered someone to find the two ancient calligraphy paintings to admire.