How much money the national treasury had, Fang Er could guess more or less even if he didn't know the exact amount. If it were completely emptied, how would the Great Tang continue to function?
So, he stepped forward to defuse the situation for the two of them.
"Mother-in-law, there's no need for that. The national treasury doesn't have that much money right now. The hovercraft and helicopters can wait."
Li Xiuning glared, her eyes like lightning bolts, and said to Fang Xuanling, "Listen to him! My son-in-law is so sensible, how can you bear to bully such a young boy? Just as he said, the money for the hovercraft and helicopters can be set aside for now, but for the other accounts, don't even think about reducing a single copper coin! Otherwise, I'll visit your mansion tonight and have a good chat with your wife about your past deeds."
Fang Xuanling couldn't help but shiver and quickly agreed, "No, no, Princess, absolutely not! I'll go back and sort out the accounts right away, and I'll have someone send the money to Fang Family Village tomorrow."
Li Shimin, seeing that she had agreed to Fang Er's suggestion, let out a long sigh of relief.
"Hahahaha, Sister, don't make things difficult for Duke Fang. Come, let's go back to the palace!"
Li Xiuning nodded proudly and then patted Fang Xuanling on the shoulder.
"You're wise. Go and get busy!"
With that, everyone walked together towards the Ganlu Hall.
From afar, a eunuch ran over, crying and wailing.
"Your Majesty~ you're finally back, this servant has missed you so much these past few days!"
*Bang!*
Li Shimin kicked the rushing Deng Dengjie, sending him sprawling. He then looked at him with disgust.
"Who are you saying that to!"
"Make arrangements, prepare the things, I'm going to take the Princess to Xianling!"
When preparations are complete, have Chai Family's eldest son inform the Ganlu Hall.
Deng Dengjie, feeling wronged, got up from the ground and bowed. "Yes, this servant understands."
After Li Shimin walked past him, Deng Dengjie quietly winked at Fang Er.
Seeing this, Fang Er smiled at Chai Yue, who was holding Fang Xin.
"You go with your uncle and the others first. I have something to discuss with Eunuch Deng."
"Mm."
Chai Yue nodded and, along with Changle, followed behind Li Shimin and the others.
Pulling Deng Dengjie to the side, Fang Er looked at him curiously. "Does Eunuch Deng have something to say?"
Deng Dengjie glanced around and then said with some embarrassment, "My Lord, the little thing you gave me last time... it's not moving anymore."
Fang Er was stunned for a moment before remembering what it was. He laughed heartily and took a few AA batteries from his pocket, stuffing them into Deng Dengjie's hand.
"Hahahaha, I forgot. Here, take these!"
"When you get back, carefully examine that thing. If it can be opened, take out the same kind of thing inside and replace it with a new one, and it will work."
Deng Dengjie was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly to Fang Er.
"This servant thanks my Lord for the gift. If you need anything in the future, just send word."
Fang Er merely nodded slightly and then hurried to catch up with Li Shimin and the others.
National affairs are paramount, whether in rituals or military affairs. For rituals, especially those involving Li Shimin, the Ministry of Rites has established procedures.
The group didn't wait long in the Ganlu Hall. Chai Zhewei rushed over, his face filled with emotion. After paying his respects to Li Shimin and his wife, he stood before Li Xiuning and stared blankly at his mother, whom he had only seen in dreams.
After a while, he suddenly burst into tears.
"Mother~"
The cry was heart-wrenching, tears streaming down his face, and he couldn't stop trembling. His mother, who had died seven years ago, reappeared before him. How could he not be emotional?
"My son!"
Li Xiuning hugged her eldest son, her eyes also turning red.
Mother and son embraced for a long time before separating. Li Xiuning wiped the tears from Chai Zhewei's eyes and said with a smile, "My son, don't cry. Mother is back. Let's go and see the late Emperor together."
"Mm!" Chai Zhewei nodded heavily.
The preparations were complete. Led by the Minister of Rites, Dai Li, and accompanied by his officials, a grand procession departed from the Anfu Gate and headed towards Xianling.
The matter was sudden, and the tomb keepers were not notified in advance. By the time they reached Xianling, the soldiers guarding the tomb only then knew that someone had come to pay respects to the late Emperor.
Li Yuan's tomb chamber was still quite simple. Although he had been buried for two years, the outer structures were still under construction. It could only be blamed on his hasty death.
To his left was the tomb of Empress Dou, and to his right was Li Xiuning's. Looking at her own tombstone, Li Xiuning felt very awkward. After paying respects to Li Yuan and his wife, she walked to her own tomb not far away and stood there.
"You, you, you~~~"
An aged, sharp voice came from behind, filled with trembling shock.
Li Xiuning turned at the sound and saw an old eunuch with white hair, leaning on a cane, looking at her with disbelief.
After recognizing the old eunuch's appearance, Li Xiuning asked excitedly, "Are you, Old Le?"
The person was the same old eunuch Fang Er and Chai Yue had met last time, Eunuch Le, who was guarding the princess's tomb.
Eunuch Le walked shakily to Li Xiuning's side, examined her repeatedly, and then fell to his knees with a thud. Overcome with emotion, he choked back tears, "Yes~ it is this old servant! This old servant has guarded you here for a full seven years!"
"Princess, how... how did you come back to life!"
Looking at his aged face and white hair, Li Xiuning couldn't help but shed tears. He was a servant granted to Li Xiuning by Li Yuan after the founding of the Great Tang, always by her side. Although they only had six years together, he had served Li Xiuning diligently, handling all her affairs. After Li Xiuning's death, he could have returned home, but he chose to guard her tomb. Li Xiuning could guess the reasons behind it, even without it being explicitly stated.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Li Xiuning helped Eunuch Le up and said, her voice choked with emotion, "You've suffered all these years!"
"You will accompany me later and serve by my side as before."
"Mm! As long as the princess does not mind, this old servant is willing to serve by your side forever!"
Eunuch Le nodded heavily, his tear-streaked face wrinkling all over as he smiled. After saying this, he stood up and followed closely behind Li Xiuning, never leaving her side.
This was not a place for reminiscing. After only a few words, Li Xiuning turned her gaze back to the stone monument engraved with her name. Stroking the characters on the tombstone, she casually called Fang Er over.
"Anzhi, come, push this monument for me!"
Fang Er: ???
Seeing him standing there frozen, Li Xiuning urged him on.
"It looks inauspicious. Push it down. When I die, you can erect a new one then!"
This stunned Chai Shao and the Chai Yue siblings who had followed behind. Li Shimin also came over. After hearing Li Xiuning's words, he fell into thought. He looked at the tombstone, then at Li Xiuning, and made a decision.
"Anzhi, listen to your mother-in-law. Push the monument down. Also, take some people from the Ministry of Rites in and bring out the coffin."
Fang Er: ???
"Holy cow! This is too much! Not only pushing down the monument, but also bringing out the coffin? What, do you want to open it and see if anyone's inside? This pair of siblings, neither of them has a normal brain!"