When the wooden box was opened and the contents were seen, Fang Er was completely stunned!
It was filled with marriage certificates!
The topmost one was his and Changle's, the names signed with the blood of Li Shimin, which had faded from bright red to purplish-black with the passage of time.
"Huh? When did this small text appear here?"
Picking up the marriage certificate with a puzzled expression, he saw the words written on it:
"Betrothal gifts: five steel fishing vessels, five destroyers, five aircraft carriers of the Little Eagle class, fifty Black Hawk attack helicopters..."
"The text is too long, see attached pages for details!"
Damn it, there are attached pages?
He quickly flipped through the subsequent pages, all of which bore his own signature.
The things listed as betrothal gifts left him speechless.
Gold-dredging ships, spore-class spaceships, Eternal Storm-class spaceships, Emperor-class spaceships! kanδん
Almost everything he owned, and everything the Great Tang did not, was mentioned on the gift list!
Not only that, but the last page even listed ten habitable planets (excluding parallel worlds)!
Fang Er almost spat out blood on the spot.
"Father! Your son-in-law does not acknowledge these!"
"When the engagement was signed, these things were clearly not there!"
Before Li Shimin could even speak, Li Xiaogong beside him shook his head with a look of disdain.
"Anzhi, how can you go back on your word? This is rather disappointing to Grandfather Jiu!"
Li Jing, Chai Shao, and others also started to chime in.
"How could there not be? Big brother watched His Majesty write these things himself, and you signed only after agreeing. There's no mistake about it!"
"Exactly, Anzhi. Your family is so prosperous, why are you reluctant to part with a few trivial items?"
"Could it be that in your eyes, Changle, that obedient girl, is not worth this much?"
"Alas! It's fortunate that Changle wasn't here today, otherwise, who knows how sad that girl would have been!"
"That's right. If you think marrying only Changle isn't enough, we brothers will marry our unmarried daughters to you! We won't ask for much in return for the betrothal gifts, you just need to fulfill what's written here!"
"........."
A group of people were all chattering, accusing Fang Er.
Only Cheng Yaojin was drinking with a dejected expression. Brother, it's not that I'm not helping you, it's just that His Majesty is giving too much!
The Emperor had said that the betrothal gifts on the list would later be distributed to the nine Grand Governorates.
Feeling a kick under the table, he quickly got up, put his arm around Fang Er's shoulder, and said,
"Brother, just yield to the Emperor Emeritus!"
Fang Er: .........
Damn it, it really is a feast of Hongmen!
He didn't blame Li Xiaogong and the others, as it was clear they were acting on Li Shimin's orders.
With things having reached this point, there was no need to hide anything.
He looked at Li Shimin with a conflicted expression.
"Emperor Emeritus, aren't you afraid I'll turn hostile?"
Li Shimin, far from being nervous, even stood up with a smile.
"What, Anzhi, do you think I haven't sired enough daughters?"
"Or do you not intend to honor the agreement?"
"Or perhaps, I'll have a hundred more, and you can continue your family line for the Fang family?"
"As for turning hostile, well, go ahead!"
"I've said it before, if you ask for it, the throne is always yours."
Fang Er shivered at these words.
Frankly speaking, besides the Emperor-class spaceship, the items on the betrothal gift list meant little to him.
He could understand why Old Li would do something like this.
A retired emperor is still an emperor. If he can't afford what he wants, causing some trouble behind the scenes isn't too excessive.
Moreover, he didn't ask for much in terms of the Emperor-class spaceship, only listing one Black Emperor on it.
The thought of the Old Li family constantly giving him daughters-in-law, and his sons, ten or twenty years later, looking pale and surrounded by a harem of beautiful girls, gave Fang Er a chilling feeling.
Damn it, that's people's kidneys, not dog kidneys!
Empress Dowager Changsun, seeing his expression turn strange, and fearing that further conversation might lead to a rift between ruler and subject, quickly tugged at Fang Er's sleeve.
"Anzhi, ignore him. Your father-in-law is a bit much. Come, come, eat more dishes!"
"Here, Mother will serve you."
Saying this, she picked up an entire yellow croaker and placed it on Fang Er's plate.
"You, don't take your father-in-law's words to heart. He's just a poor man who hasn't seen much of the world, and wants to grab anything good he sees."
"You also know the financial situation of our Great Tang, how can we afford the items on this gift list?"
"To put it bluntly, your father-in-law is also afraid that one day aliens might attack, and you won't be here, leaving our Great Tang without the ability to defend itself."
"Mother will vouch for you. Whether you give these betrothal gifts or not is up to you."
"If anyone dares to say anything, Mother will go find the Grand Princess and see if her legs aren't broken!"
"Come, come, eat quickly. After you finish, Mother will serve you again."
These two, one playing the bad cop and the other the good cop, were working in perfect harmony.
Thinking back to his own naive ignorance when he first arrived in the Great Tang, and the tolerance these two had shown him, he casually took out his seal from his chest and tossed it to Li Jing.
"Duke of Wei, take this and have someone go to Australia to complete the handover!"
"Everything on the gift list is readily available in Australia!"
Li Shimin was overjoyed at this: "Hahaha, as expected, a worthy son-in-law is a worthy son-in-law!"
"This magnanimity is far beyond that of ordinary people!"
"I have decided that from today onwards, your title of Prince Kun is restored!"
Fang Er: .........
As if he cared about being Prince Kun!
Empress Dowager Changsun also finally let go of the stone that had been hanging in her heart, and busied herself with her chopsticks.
"Didn't I say so? Our Anzhi is indeed sensible!"
"Eat quickly, eat quickly, Mother will serve you again."
Since he had agreed to the matter, Li Xiaogong and the others immediately changed their attitudes, acting like servants catering to a distinguished guest, toasting Fang Er with cups from the left and right.
"Well, brother, don't be angry with Grandfather Jiu. You know, Grandfather Jiu had no choice in this matter."
"Exactly, exactly. We are brothers!"
"Yes, yes, speaking of which, my Yuan Shuang has been in Australia for so long, why isn't her belly growing?"
"And my Fengzhu, she's been staying with you all this time, when can I hold my grandson?"
"........."
These people were getting more and more outrageous, and before they knew it, they had shifted the topic to Fang Fengzhu, Zhang Yuanshuang, and the others.
Fang Er quickly waved his hands: "Stop, stop!"
"I have nothing to do with them, don't talk nonsense!"
"It doesn't matter for me, a man, but you can't ruin your own daughters' reputations, can you?"
Zhang Gongjin curled his lips: "Tch, what reputation! I just want you to call me Father-in-law!"
"Think about it, Chang'an is full of father-in-laws, and all of them are princes and dukes. How cool would that feel?"
"So, won't you consider it carefully?"
Fang Er: .........
Consider your uncle!