Chapter 254 The Women Are Rewarded
The girls walked forward, but met Keqing who was also hurrying out.
Although Keqing was a generation younger than them, she was a few years older than them. Moreover, Keqing had a gentle personality and was loved by everyone. They often played together on weekdays, so when they saw her, they hurried forward to say hello.
"Is my niece-in-law also going to receive the reward?" Tanchun asked, holding Keqing's arm.
Keqing was shy in her heart, but she didn't show any abnormality on her face. "I don't know what the situation is, but the ancestor sent a message to let me go."
When Daiyu heard this, a look of suspicion appeared on her face, but Baochai looked at Keqing with a smile.
The women came to the front hall, bowed and knelt on the ground.
In fact, the imperial edict had already been read out, but the rewards for the women had not been given out because they had not arrived yet.
Seeing the women coming, Xia Shouzhong looked even more respectful, even more so than to the old lady. After all, who knows which of these people will be the future master?
Even when the ladies were bowing to him, he just stepped aside unnoticed.
Afterwards, Xia Shouzhong had the rewards brought by the Queen distributed to all the ladies. Xiangyun, Baoqin and Sanchun received a set of dresses tailored to their sizes and a box of pearls, while Daiyu and Baochai received an additional set of gold and jade head ornaments.
As for Keqing, in addition to the dress and pearls, there was also a pair of exquisite earrings and a hairpin. The queen even found a reason, saying that she gave Keqing a cup of tea when she came to the palace last time, so she gave these things. It was good that it was so, otherwise, as the only daughter-in-law who received the reward, it would really be confusing.
After receiving the rewards, all the girls withdrew. After all, it was not appropriate for them to stay in such a scene.
After returning to the inner courtyard, they looked at each other with the various gifts in their hands.
"Speaking of the embroiderers in the palace, their stitches and craftsmanship are truly incomparable," Yingchun said in admiration.
Xiangyun looked at the round pearl in her hand and said, "Pearls of this quality are rare even in the hands of the old lady. This time we are lucky enough to have the help of Third Brother."
After saying this, she suddenly turned to Daiyu and Baochai and asked, "Take out your head ornaments quickly so that we can also open our eyes. The Empress treats you two the best and has rewarded you more than your sisters."
"There are so many nieces-in-law now!" Xiao Xichun looked up and reminded Xiangyun.
Everyone was slightly stunned, but Baochai smiled and said, "The Queen is kind and benevolent. I received a cup of tea from Keqing last time I entered the mansion, so we have a connection. If I am lucky enough to see the Queen again next time, let me serve her tea. The Queen will definitely give me many rewards."
Everyone was laughing and teasing Xichun. Keqing subconsciously cast a grateful look towards Baochai, but when she met Baochai's smiling gaze, her heart skipped a beat and she quickly lowered her head in silence.
…
Jia Cong stayed in Suzhou City for five days. After helping Wei Qi stabilize the situation in Suzhou City, he bid farewell to Wei Qi and led his troops to leave Suzhou.
When he met Xing Xiuyan again in Huqiu Town, Jia Cong was somewhat surprised.
When I first met Xing Xiuyan, she was dressed in rags, and even her face was covered with mud, obscuring her true appearance. But now, she was as beautiful as a lotus emerging from clear water. Even though she was still wearing a simple grey dress, it still couldn't conceal her elegance and beauty.
At first glance, she is just like her name, like a white cloud or a wisp of mist in the mountains, exuding an elegant and otherworldly aura.
"Greetings, Marquis Guanjun!" The family of three bowed down in greeting.
Jia Cong nodded, and then said, "There is still a war in Jinling that has not been settled, so I have to go to Jinling first. However, Second Sister-in-law Lian came with me to Jiangnan this time and is now staying at Uncle Lin's house in Yangzhou. After arriving in Jinling, I will have someone send you to Second Sister-in-law Lin's house. After all, it is a bit inconvenient to follow me around."
"When the war is over, we will return together."
Naturally, the few of them had no objections. Being able to travel the same journey with Jia Cong was already a rare blessing, and they did not dare to ask for anything else.
Afterwards, the three of them got on the carriage that Jia Cong had brought specially, and followed Jia Cong towards Jinling.
Because of the carriage of Xing Xiuyan's family, the journey was much slower. Fortunately, the distance to Jinling was only about 200 miles, so they arrived in Jinling on the fourth day.
Jia Cong dispatched a team of soldiers to escort Xing Xiuyan and her family across the river to Yangzhou, while he himself led his troops to the outskirts of Jinling City.
Now, except for the scouts sent out to various places who have not yet hurried back, all other troops have gathered here. Of the original 25,000 troops, five or six thousand were lost in these several battles, so there are less than 20,000 left.
Shang Xin welcomed Jia Cong into the camp, "Is the battle in Suzhou City going well?"
Jia Cong smiled and said, "They have been attacking Suzhou City for days, and have already lost thousands of soldiers, and they are tired. The troops I brought with me are all cavalry, so naturally it went smoothly. Now, there are no White Lotus rebels in Suzhou, and all places are gradually stabilizing."
"My master has already sent officials to Wuxi to pacify the people, so we don't need to worry about it."
"What's the situation in Jinling City?"
Shang Xin scratched his head and said, "According to the commander's order, we didn't rush to attack, but we kept making feint attacks every day. And now we have enough soldiers under our command. I will divide the soldiers into several parts and attack the city day and night. We will attack the west city today and the east city tomorrow. In short, we must not let the other side figure out our route."
"However, since there was no fight to the death, the damage on both sides was not great."
"We lost more than a thousand soldiers, and the enemy also lost three to five thousand defenders! Moreover, before you left, you asked us to build more ladders, catapults, and the like, and I had already ordered people to do it. So far, we have more than a hundred catapults and more than thirty ladders."
"Even if we attack now, we may not be unsure."
Jia Cong nodded, "Does the army have sufficient food and grass?"
"I forgot to mention it!" Shang Xin slapped his head, "Five days ago, Lord Lin Ruhai of Yangzhou sent a grain transport team to replenish us with a large amount of grain and grass. The day before yesterday, the people we sent to Jinling also came back and also brought back a lot of grain and supplies. Now, even if we fight until the end of the year, we will not be short of grain and grass."
"In addition, news came the day before yesterday that Lord Lin Ruhai has temporarily settled the people in the cities in Jiangbei and has now arrived in Danyang."
"It can be said that Lin Ruhai is quite resourceful. After entering the city, he first posted a notice to reassure the people, and then sent a large number of people to register all the people. Needless to say, the locals were sent back home directly. If they were refugees from other places, they were temporarily settled and then sent back to their hometowns..."
