Chapter 917 The Emperor Departs the Capital

The two days before the Lunar New Year's Eve are generally called Minor New Year's Eve.

The people of Fengxin City, following their usual customs, began to hold small banquets at home to entertain visiting relatives and friends, called "farewell banquets." At the same time, they would light incense outside their houses, called "heavenly incense."

The rites inherited from Zhuxia to this day have differences in clothing and hairstyles between Yan, Jin, Qian, and Chu, but they still retain commonalities in the festival process.

As for the barbarians and savages in Fengxin City, who originally did not observe these festivals, they had long been drawn into the same rhythm.

But while the common people could put down a year's hard work and enjoy this rare peaceful time, some people couldn't stop.

Inside a private room on the second floor of the Shangyue Tower in Fengxin City, the leaders of a trade caravan from old Yan were gathered for a banquet.

They would definitely be unable to return home for the New Year, and would have to wait here for the next shipment of goods after the new year began.

Eastern Jin's trade was developed because of its strategic location, controlling the flow of goods between three parties. Secondly, Eastern Jin's own workshops were the origin of the most sought-after commodities of the time.

The supply of goods was tight, requiring bidding and queuing. During the Lunar New Year, productivity would inevitably decline, so it was inevitable for caravans to wait for goods.

The shopkeeper of the caravan, sitting in the seat of honor, raised his wine glass and first reminisced with his subordinates about the hardships of the past year, and then looked forward to the gains of the coming year. The process was still the same, and the atmosphere was warm after a speech accompanied by a round of wine.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, the shopkeeper called in singing girls to entertain the guests. More than half of the foremen at the table left, each with the excuse of going to the toilet, but everyone knew what they were really doing.

Not to mention the present day, even in later generations, this kind of industry could never be completely banned.

However, in Fengxin City, the "red tents" (brothels) were also operated by the government, and it was rumored that the big boss behind the scenes was a female teacher of the Prince's Mansion.

As for the relationship between that female teacher and the Princess, the rumors were not widespread, because it was difficult for the common people to imagine that their own Princess would be involved in this kind of business. Too few people believed it, so the rumors naturally didn't spread.

Therefore, in the various "red tent" industries of Fengxin City, there was basically no forced prostitution. Guests here also had to abide by the rules. Business was business, and no one could use force or go too far. The host and guests had to be polite to each other.

But it was precisely this atmosphere that gave the "red tent" industry in Fengxin City a cultural atmosphere different from other places.

And gradually, it developed a reputation that surpassed and overshadowed the famous "slim horses" and "young ladies" of the former Qian lands.

In fact, very few local women in Fengxin City entered the "red tents" anymore.

First, because Prince Pingxi established Eastern Jin with his army. First came the army, then the military towns, and then the gradual development of cities, populations, and various industries. Therefore, the proportion of soldiers here was very high.

Unlike the low status of soldiers conscripted as thieves in the Qian Kingdom back then, here, marrying a soldier, as long as he was a regular soldier, could grant one entry into the biao hu (military household) registration, and the welfare benefits were too attractive. Therefore, soldiers were absolutely popular in the marriage market, and hard to come by.

Secondly, factories recruited female workers. For example, Jian Sheng's family had been working in the factory before giving birth, which to some extent solved the employment problem for some women.

However, migrant refugees from outside have been filling this gap. From time to time, there are also mobile "red tents" from other places, entering Fengxin City in groups to provide fresh blood to this industry. Therefore, the industry has been able to maintain itself.

While others were either enjoying the singing and dancing or seeking pleasure on their own, a young man in the corner of the private room was quietly leaning against the window with a wine glass in his hand, watching the flow of people on the street.

The shopkeeper walked over and asked with a smile,

"Why don't you go and enjoy yourself with them?"

The young man smiled and said, "I have a virtuous wife at home."

The shopkeeper said, "Who doesn't?"

The young man nodded, too lazy to explain.

The shopkeeper was very polite to this young man under his command. The young man's surname was Wu, named Zhaonian. He was a distant nephew of his own master and had just come to join him not long ago. It seemed that the master was planning to focus on cultivating him.

"Shopkeeper Li often leads teams back and forth to Eastern Jin. What are your views on this place?" Wu Zhaonian asked.

Shopkeeper Li smiled and said, "As early as when Prince Pingxi was enfeoffed at Xuehai Pass, I came here roughly every six months. From Xuehai Pass to Fengxin City, every time I come, I feel like it has changed.

"When I first walked this road, Eastern Jin, apart from Xuehai Pass, was truly desolate and empty. Now, looking at it again, the atmosphere of life is so strong.

"In the eyes of outsiders, our Great Yan's Prince Pingxi is the military god of the world, but in my opinion, the Prince's governance of this place is truly miraculous."

Wu Zhaonian nodded slightly and said, "Therefore, Prince Pingxi's Mansion can rely on Eastern Jin, a corner of the world, to possess the prestige to stand against the Chu Kingdom."

At this moment,

A wedding procession came downstairs, playing music and very festive.

But strangely, there were two sedan chairs in this procession, one was a bridal sedan, and the other was a green curtain sedan.

Marrying a wife and taking concubines was the trend of this era. For those with idle wealth, it was normal to take a smaller one, but there was only one official wife, just like the Twin Princesses of Pingxi Prince's Mansion, which was also an honor specially bestowed by the Emperor to allow for two equal wives.

Ordinary families, even wealthy and noble families, would not dare to play like this.

The most interesting thing was that this procession actually stopped at the entrance downstairs. One must know that this was Shangyue Tower. No matter how nice the name was, it still couldn't change the fact that this was a place of brothels.

The groom was a very young lad, wearing armor and a red flower on his chest.

In Eastern Jin, soldiers had a high status, and on the day Prince Pingxi conferred the title of the two Princesses, he also wore black armor onto the ceremony platform. Therefore, here, in folk marriages, the groom who was a soldier also liked to wear armor.

Shopkeeper Li smiled and said, "Is he marrying a prostitute?"

Wu Zhaonian shook his head and said, "There is a bride in the wedding sedan."

The young groom got off his horse, walked to the wedding sedan, and led out the bride with her head covered from inside.

"You, come here." Shopkeeper Li summoned a subordinate, "Go down and find out what's going on."

"Yes."

After instructing his subordinate, Shopkeeper Li guessed to Wu Zhaonian, "It can't be that he's marrying a wife and then taking a prostitute as a concubine on the way back, right?"

Wu Zhaonian didn't speak.

Below the Shangyue Tower, it was crowded with people, all watching the fun.

Before long, a young girl from Shangyue Tower came out and replied to the groom.

The groom's expression was solemn, and he said something very seriously. Then, holding the bride's hand, on this day of their wedding, in front of Shangyue Tower, the newly married couple knelt at the entrance.

Shopkeeper Li smacked his lips, looked back, and finally waited for the person he had sent down earlier to return.

"Did you find out?"

"I did, Shopkeeper."

"Tell me quickly."

"It's like this, Shopkeeper. This groom was recently recruited into the Prince's Jinyi (Brocade-Clad) Personal Guards."

"Oh, that's a good future." Shopkeeper Li said.

People familiar with the situation in Eastern Jin all knew what kind of existence Prince Pingxi's Jinyi Personal Guards were. When the Prince went out, he was basically guarded by the Jinyi Personal Guards. When the Prince went on an expedition, they were the personal guards of the commander's tent.

Whether it was always being a personal guard and mixing with the Prince's connections or getting the opportunity to be sent out, in short, the future was extremely bright.

"Today, he is marrying the daughter of a Colonel."

"Then why did he come here?"

"It's like this, Shopkeeper. This groom was originally an orphan. When Prince Pingxi was in Shengle City, he opened a free school to take in orphans to attend school.

"Soldiers who died in battle or other civilians could donate money to the school and choose from the adopted children to change their surnames to the surnames of the memorial tablets offered."

This model was originally because the compensation for the soldiers who died in battle could not be received by relatives, so they simply chose one from the orphans in the school to inherit their surname, and the compensation was used as living expenses for the child.

In essence, the Prince's Mansion did not pay anything extra for this. The compensation was supposed to be given anyway. These orphans were selected by Blindman early on to be taken in as a foundation for the future.

Therefore, it was nothing more than a formality;

But it also attracted many outsiders to donate.

"There is an old madam in this Shangyue Tower who entered the 'red tents' in Shengle City. She donated a sum of money at that time to sponsor an adopted child, who is this groom.

"This groom graduated from school last year and trained in the army for a year. Not long ago, he was selected into the Prince's Jinyi Personal Guards, and he was also valued by a Colonel, who took him as his son-in-law.

"Today is his wedding day, but this groom insisted on bringing his mother back to the mansion today."

"Bringing his mother on this day?" Shopkeeper Li was confused.

"Yes, a... mother with no blood relationship. In fact, the groom had come several times before, wanting to take his mother out to live with him, but this old sister felt that her identity would tarnish his future and refused to leave with him.

"But who would have thought that today, on his wedding day, the groom would bring his bride to pick her up. The old sister had sent someone to send a sum of wedding money earlier, but refused to go home with him again.

"This groom is stubborn,

"So he knelt at the door with his bride;

"And said,

"That his life was half given by the Prince, and if the Prince needs it in the future, he will spare no effort to give his life for the Prince;

"The other half of his life was given by his mother. Now that he is an adult and has been married, how can his family not have his mother sitting there to drink a cup of tea offered by the new bride?

"He said that if the old sister doesn't come out, he won't get married today."

After listening, Shopkeeper Li sighed and said with some emotion, "This groom is a loyal and righteous man."

As he spoke, Shopkeeper Li looked at Wu Zhaonian beside him.

Wu Zhaonian reached out and gently patted the window sill.

At this moment,

Seemingly due to the groom's persistence or even "threat,"

Finally, the woman could no longer refuse.

An obviously older woman walked out of the Shangyue Tower. The groom and bride stood up and sent her to another sedan chair.

Then, the groom jumped on his horse and shouted to the surroundings with high spirits:

"From today onwards, I, Zhou Chang'an, have both a mother and a wife!"

"Good!"

"Well done!"

The surrounding people of Fengxin City praised him, and no one ridiculed or mocked him.

Wu Zhaonian remembered that a high-ranking official of the Qian Kingdom once fled to the island to avoid persecution from his enemies, and died after being his teacher for three years.

He once said a sentence to himself that he still remembers vividly.

He said that so-called honesty, simple folk customs, trustworthiness from top to bottom, loyalty, filial piety, propriety, and righteousness are all nurtured in living water, while the Great Qian has already become a stagnant pool.

Looking at the current folk customs of Fengxin City and the current situation of the Yan Kingdom and Eastern Jin, Wu Zhaonian finally understood the meaning of his teacher's words.

When he went north, he met his younger brother Wu Xiang. His unfortunate brother was captured by Prince Pingxi in the Qian Kingdom and later released.

In his brother's description, Prince Pingxi was a true hero.

Hearing is believing, and seeing is believing.

Since entering Eastern Jin, what he has seen and seen is not a hero at all. Looking through history books, which founding monarch could have been as solid and stable as this Prince Pingxi when he started his career?

It's a pity,

The Yan and Jin lands are too far away, and the Wu family is at sea. This opportunity for investment is not a question of whether the Wu family is willing to join in, but rather, does he bother to look at you squarely at this time?

Lost in thought, Wu Zhaonian noticed that Shopkeeper Li was still looking at him, and immediately smiled:

"He's a good man."

…

"He's a good kid."

The Prince was practicing archery, listening to Xiao Yibo reporting some new things that happened in Fengxin City today.

An arrow was shot out, hitting the bullseye.

The Prince asked again;

"Which family is his father-in-law from?"

"It's Colonel Xu."

"Oh, I have a little impression." The Prince continued to draw his bow and arrow, "What was his reaction?"

He thought he had chosen a son-in-law with unlimited potential, and also an orphan with no parents. His daughter wouldn't have to suffer the in-laws' air and be bound by the rules after marrying.

Who knew that a relative would appear halfway, and with such an identity.

"He's very angry."

"Haha." The Prince laughed. This arrow was a little off, but it was still in the center of the bullseye. "And then?"

"Colonel Xu wanted to bring people to demand an explanation, but General Jin stopped him."

"Is Jin Shuke also there?"

"He was eating at the banquet."

"Oh."

The Prince knew that since Jin Shuke was there, that Colonel couldn't make any waves.

Zheng Fan shot another arrow,

Then he put down the hard bow, twisted his neck,

And ordered:

"Send a congratulatory gift in the name of the Prince's Mansion."

"Your subordinate obeys."

"In addition, let Li Qing send a head ornament to the groom's mother."

"Your subordinate understands."

"Finally, let Xian Ba hold my Prince's decree and take the whip to Colonel Xu's door and whip him ten times for me.

"That witless thing, no matter how uncomfortable he is in his heart, he has to hold it in, doesn't he? His daughter is much more sensible than him."

In fact, there were many more meanings in this.

Whipping the father-in-law and rewarding the son-in-law had the intention of exaggerating the matter, which was conducive to shaping social customs.

Moreover,

The Righteous Sons Army is the foundation of the Prince's Mansion's future development. Since he is the Prince of these Righteous Sons, he is also their Headmaster, and he must protect them.

When they are young, he protects their food and clothing. When they grow up, he protects their faces;

That way,

They will willingly… sell their lives for you.

Of course, the Prince's thoughts were not so mercenary. Colonel Xu was uncomfortable in his heart, but if he whipped him ten times to show his position, he would have face, and his colleagues would not only not laugh at him, but would also envy him for getting a good son-in-law who was of good character and was valued by the Prince.

Whipping was not a big deal. They were all soldiers in the army. Being kicked by the Prince was called affection.

Xiao Yibo went down to do things;

At this time,

Blindman walked over with a letter in his hand.

"My Lord, the Wu family from Haidong has sent someone. They came mixed in with the trade caravan. The person has arrived in our Fengxin City."

"Oh, you go see him."

Zheng Fan really wasn't interested in seeing the Wu family from Haidong now. The Wu family was a royal merchant on the sea in the Qian Kingdom, with a large force at sea, but they were detached from the overall situation of Zhuxia.

To put it bluntly, the Wu family was not as useful as a certain big chieftain in the southwest of the Qian Kingdom.

The Wu family would only be truly useful when the Great Yan army completely broke through the north of the Qian Kingdom and turned the Qian Kingdom into Southern Qian. But that was just to knock on the sidelines and cut off the financial resources of the Southern Qian Dynasty.

"Okay." Blindman agreed, then picked up the letter, "My Lord, there are two other things, both about Yanjing."

"Say."

"News has come from Yanjing that they will change the era name next year."

"Change again?"

"After all, there was a war last year. Changing the era name again is considered to be seeking a good omen."

"Oh, what's it called?"

"Ying An."

"That's really an easy-to-understand era name." The Prince said with a smile.

Just by looking at this era name, you can tell that the Emperor plans to vigorously restore people's livelihood, accumulate national strength, and replenish the treasuries at all levels.

Blindman also smiled along.

"What about the other thing?"

"Actually, there are two things, but we received the Emperor's secret decree first, but the big news should come in a while."

"Let me see."

Zheng Fan reached out and took the letter,

And glanced at it.

Zheng Fan skipped over the nonsense of Little Sixth in the front.

The main content was in the last three paragraphs.

The first paragraph was: Zheng, my Empress misses her son, and I miss my son too. Is my son doing well in Eastern Jin?

"Beast."

The second paragraph was: Zheng, I'm so bored living in the Imperial Palace. It's not like before, when I could be demoted by my Imperial Father and wander around. Now, I feel disgusted when I see the golden bricks and glazed tiles in the Imperial Palace.

The third paragraph was: So, I plan to personally pick up my son and bring him home. When I pick up my son, I can also stroll around and see things.

Zheng Fan frowned,

And said:

"The Emperor is, going to make an eastern tour?"

"Yes."

In fact, Blindman really wanted to reply: We can turn it into an eastern hunt.

After all, with the Emperor coming, the Crown Prince is already here with us. Well, the imperial father and son are all here.

Throughout history, which vassal town has rebelled with such a perfect opening?

But Blindman didn't say that, because he knew that his Lord would not agree, especially when that Emperor was so frank and Zhuxia was not yet unified. Therefore, Blindman would not ask for trouble.

Fortunately, he still had Zheng Lin to look forward to, and he had more time to enjoy the process.

"Is he really tired of staying in the Imperial Palace and wants to come out for a walk?"

"Your subordinate thinks that the Emperor is..."

"Is what?"

"Is missing you."