Chapter 67: Rewarding the Entire Army and Meeting Lingguan

"Your Majesty~"

Hearing the voice, Chu Yan looked up, and two beauties in palace dresses came into view.

One of them was Jia Yuanchun from the Twelve Beauties of Jinling. She was wearing an apricot-yellow printed soft gauze *beizi* (outer garment), with a white cross-collared undergarment inside, matched with a pleated skirt, giving her a gentle and tender appearance.

The other was the former Princess Qinghe of the Shun Dynasty. She was dressed in a moon-white cross-collared long robe, paired with a mamian skirt (horse-face skirt). Unexpectedly, her face was veiled with a white gauze scarf, concealing her delicate, palm-sized face, revealing only her smooth and graceful forehead and a pair of bright, shy, and sparkling eyes.

Because they were leaving the city to meet the numerous soldiers, neither of them was elaborately dressed. Their hair was simply coiled into a topknot, adorned with a single hairpin, and their clothes were worn neatly and tightly, not even exposing much of their fair necks.

Chu Yan stared intently at the veiled, delicate, and graceful princess, and commanded, "Remove your veil and let me have a look at you!"

With the veil on, Princess Qinghe exuded an air of mysterious beauty that sparked a desire to explore.

Yuanchun looked slightly startled.

A mixture of shyness and indignation flickered in Qinghe's eyes. After a long moment, she helplessly extended her fair hand, her slender fingers pinching the edge of the veil, and gently lifted it off.

Her tender and obedient face flushed deeply, fully displaying the bashful coyness of an unmarried maiden.

Chu Yan smiled, "It's only been a few days, and I almost forgot what you look like, Qinghe. As expected, you are still as pretty as ever!"

Qinghe lowered her head, tightly clutching the removed veil in her hands.

"Let's go, we are heading out of the city!"

Chu Yan stood up, walked over, took both of their hands, and led them outside.

The carriage was already prepared outside, and the ministers of the new dynasty were waiting not far away. Led by the hand, Qinghe walked to a golden silk-curtained imperial chariot drawn by two fine steeds.

Lowering her head, Qinghe leaned on his hand and stepped into the carriage.

The palace maids lifted the curtains, and Chu Yan smiled at her, "Actually, I didn't ask the Empress to accompany me tonight; I only called the Virtuous Consort."

Qinghe suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked at him, but Chu Yan had already vaulted onto a horse and ridden ahead of her.

(...)

Sitting inside the imperial chariot reserved exclusively for imperial consorts, Qinghe felt a whirlwind of complex emotions.

She truly didn't know what to make of this man. On one hand, he had imprisoned her and her imperial sister-in-law within the palace, forbidding her from marrying; yet on the other hand, he showed her meticulous care in many ways, even personally helping her into the carriage, drawing the gazes of all the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs.

Unable to make sense of it, Qinghe looked out through the gauze window and saw King Qian riding on horseback right in front of her carriage.

He traveled with imperial carriage protocol: a formation of banners, drums, wind instruments, pennants, canopies, and streamers, followed by palace maids and eunuchs holding incense burners, palace lanterns, dust whisks, handkerchiefs, and spittoons. The entire procession matched the standards of an emperor's journey, yet he himself rode a horse freely, and no one dared to say a word.

Departing from Linjing Hall, they were followed by more than thirty of King Qian's personal guards. Once through the Meridian Gate, hundreds more guards joined the procession in orderly succession. Beyond the main palace gates, the streets on both sides were lined with rows of soldiers.

Civil and military officials were countless. Seeing that King Qian was not riding in the grand imperial chariot, they too dismounted their sedan chairs and switched to horses.

King Qian's grand procession marched imposingly onto the main streets of the capital. People had already sprinkled the street with clean water and paved the path with yellow earth, identical to the scenes Qinghe remembered from times she had accompanied her imperial father out of the city.

Upon reaching the city gate, thousands of people ahead raised a clamor.

Startled, Qinghe looked out again and realized that the city-garrison soldiers, seeing King Qian's carriage arrive, had swarmed around, eagerly vying to share a drink with King Qian.

Chu Yan stopped the personal guards from blocking them, rode his horse forward, and smiled at the garrison soldiers, "Today we reward the three armies! Unfortunately, I lack the art of division, so I can only head outside the city to celebrate together with the brothers camped out there!"

The soldiers burst into loud laughter and continued to enthusiastically urge him to stay.

Chu Yan waved his hand, "Bring me wine!"

The crowd vied to offer wine. Chu Yan dismounted, took a jar of wine, slapped the seal open, and said loudly to them, "I shall drink this first as a toast! Tonight, let us all drink to our heart's content!"

Tilting his head back, he raised the wine jar and poured the fine wine down his throat. Over a thousand soldiers cheered loudly.

Inside the carriage, Qinghe watched this scene with wide eyes. More than half of the wine spilled from his jar, staining his robes and violating decorum, yet it possessed an indescribable boldness. No wonder these soldiers disregarded military discipline to crowd around him.

After finishing the drink, Chu Yan tossed the jar back, remounted his horse, and gave the order, "Chu Ming, Li Changjin, the two of you shall remain in the city in my stead to reward the three armies!"

The two acknowledged the order and stayed behind in the city.

The garrison soldiers finally cleared the path, watching respectfully as King Qian's carriage departed the city.

There was no curfew tonight; King Qian was not expected to return until late into the night, and the city gates would remain open.

Sitting in the imperial chariot, Qinghe passed through the city gates and witnessed along the way the lingering traces of the siege from a few days prior: the moat had been filled in at multiple points, crisscrossing trenches had been dug into the ground, and the city walls bore numerous scars from bombardment.

Jia Yuanchun also saw this and couldn't help thinking of her family.

His Majesty had said that the Jia family members would be sentenced to corvée labor in the capital; they must be the ones assigned to repair the city walls and dredge the waterways.

Arriving at the camp, another wave of thunderous cheers greeted them. The camp was already filled with the rich aromas of meat and wine, awaiting King Qian's arrival.

Amidst the cheers, the delicate and tranquil Princess Qinghe and the poised Jia Yuanchun stepped down from the carriage together and came to Chu Yan's side.

Surrounded by the gazes of numerous men, Qinghe had put her veil back on, but her face remained flushed as she clung closely to Chu Yan, terrified of getting lost.

There were actually quite a few women in the camp as well—troupes of actors summoned to perform. Most of the theater troupes in the capital had been invited, and temporary stages had been erected throughout the camp. At that moment, the actors were applying their makeup in tents behind the stages, preparing for the show.

"This general pays respects to Your Majesty!"

Hundreds of officers of various ranks came to pay homage to King Qian. Yuanchun took Qinghe's hand and retreated to the side, not daring to accept the kowtows of these soldiers.

"Rise!"

Seated on a chair placed outside the commander's tent, Chu Yan smiled and asked first, "Has a patrol been arranged for tonight? Although we are celebrating, we must not lower our guard."

Someone immediately replied, "Your Majesty, this general has dispatched extra patrols. We shall not slacken our vigilance tonight!"

Chu Yan nodded and said to them, "Let us dispense with idle chatter. Not only you, but I am also waiting to drink and celebrate. Let's get straight to the rewards:

For the dual merits of breaching the city this time and the previous major battle against the Shun army, combined, every man shall be rewarded with fifteen taels of silver!"

Joy lit up the faces of the officers.

The more rewards ordinary soldiers received, the more generous the titles and bounties bestowed upon their commanders would be.

Chu Yan smiled, "Because the city was breached smoothly and taken in just a single day, there is an additional reward: everyone who participated in the combat on the day of the siege receives an extra five taels of silver!"

Just as the officers were about to kowtow in gratitude, Chu Yan continued, "We are not done yet. Tomorrow, upon my ascension to the throne, I will issue another decree rewarding all officers and soldiers in the army with farmland, allowing you to settle down and establish your households!"

"This general kowtows and expresses boundless gratitude for Your Majesty's heavenly grace!"

Radiating joy, the crowd bowed in thanks. An estate of farmland was far more precious than a few pieces of scattered silver; land was the fundamental root of settling down and making a living!

Chu Yan laughed, "Return to your posts and tell the soldiers to drink to their heart's content tonight!"

All the wine in the city had been hauled over to reward the three armies.

The officers returned to their respective camps and conveyed King Qian's rewards to the soldiers. Instantly, the massive camp of one hundred thousand soldiers erupted into a frenzy of continuous noise, laughter, and cheers.

After finishing the distribution of rewards, workers began erecting a theater stage on the open ground outside the commander's tent, positioned directly facing the tent so Chu Yan could retreat to rest at any time.

Everyone bustled about busily.

Yuanchun and Qinghe followed by Chu Yan's side when they suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure and hurriedly called out, "Are you Lingguan?"

Lingguan?

Chu Yan remembered. This was one of the twelve young actresses from the Grand View Garden, rumored to resemble Lin Daiyu somewhat.

However, Lingguan did not come over; she was busy holding a bundle of theatrical costumes, having just moved them from a carriage to the tent behind the stage. Hearing someone call out, she merely glanced back, but failing to recognize who it was, she simply walked away.

Yuanchun was temporarily left speechless. Without her noble consort attire, even Lingguan failed to recognize her.

Qinghe covered her mouth and smiled—even though she was still wearing her veil.

Chu Yan also smiled and asked the close ministers trailing behind him, "Who are the actors summoned to perform for me tonight?"

"They were specially selected by the chief clerk from the Jia family troupe, specifically to perform for Your Majesty!"

"Was this Chu Ming's doing again?"

With a smile, Chu Yan ordered someone to summon the twelve young actresses from the tent.

"Why are they calling us? Can't they see we're putting on makeup?"

"Exactly! If no one goes on stage to perform later, we'll be punished again!"

"Who on earth is calling us out?"

"It is His Highness King Qian calling for you! Hurry outside!"

Amidst the chaos, the twelve young actresses were brought before Chu Yan. Most of them had not finished their makeup yet; their small faces were daubed with rouge and powder, looking rather amusing.

Realizing Chu Yan's identity, the ones who had been reluctant just moments before now stood obediently in a row with lowered heads.

Upon seeing them, Yuanchun was deeply moved, tears welling up in her eyes once more as she recalled the time she had returned home to visit her parents and listened to theatrical performances with her mother and grandmother.

"Which of you is Fangguan? Which is Lingguan?"

Chu Yan asked them, his gaze falling upon the most slender and graceful figure among the twelve.

She stepped forward and softly replied, "I am Lingguan."

It really was her!

Chu Yan commanded, "Lift your head and let me have a look."

Lingguan slowly raised her head, revealing a delicate face with brows knitted like vernal mountains and eyes yearning like autumn waters.

Lin Daiyu had not been seen, but someone somewhat resembling her had appeared.

If Lingguan already possessed such a pitiful, fragile beauty akin to a sickly beauty, just how breathtaking must Sister Lin herself be?