The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 122: Marquis and Relatives Become Enemies
Emperor Longde heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the retired emperor had compromised and only allowed Zhou Boyi to retire and return home.

Not only was Zhou Boyi's life saved, but the Zhou family's children in the Jinyiwei were also not implicated.

For the Zhou family, this is the best outcome.

Believe that those on your side will be very satisfied with the result.

Emperor Longde bowed to his father and said "yes".

After the father and son had finished their discussion, the retired emperor immediately lost the mood to continue chatting with Emperor Longde.

He got up and returned to the Daming Palace.

Li Jingxiao also successfully received Qin Keqing, who was wearing a third-rank imperial robe.

One of them is handsome and the other is beautiful. When they stand together, they are a match made in heaven.

Many ladies who saw this felt jealous, but they also couldn't help but sigh that the two were indeed a perfect match.

Even Lady Jia, Lady Xing, Lady Wang and Sister You thought Qin Keqing was three times more beautiful than Yuanchun.

Especially since he was so young and had a third-rank imperial decree, he looked elegant and noble.

She surpassed countless noble ladies in Beijing.

There was a charm in her eyes and eyebrows, and she thought to herself that it was no wonder that Jingyou would pick up his wife outside the Qianqing Palace.

Qin Keqing was naturally moved and wanted to throw herself into her husband's arms and have a good time with him.

Resisting the urge, she walked over to Li Jingxiao, bowed, and said in a gentle voice, "Sir, it's getting late. You should go home early to celebrate the New Year."

When Li Jingxiao saw his daughter-in-law's affectionate look, he knew that she was very touched.

While secretly happy in his heart, he complained that it was unreasonable to go to the palace for a banquet on New Year's Eve.

Qin Keqing hurriedly pulled Li Jingxiao's sleeve, fearing that her words would be heard by the eunuchs and palace maids.

Li Jingxiao didn't care at all. Some things could not be said.

There are some things that even if the emperor knew, he would just laugh it off.

But when he thought about the evening parties in later generations, which were also held on New Year's Eve, Li Jingxiao felt relieved.

He nodded to his wife, but did not leave in a hurry.

Instead, he brought Qin Keqing to Jia Mu and others and bowed deeply.

"I've met my grandmother, my eldest wife, my wife, and my eldest sister-in-law."

When Lady Jia saw him in a dragon robe, she felt as if she saw her former husband Jia Daishan. While feeling nostalgic and regretful, she became more and more satisfied with Li Jingxiao.

He extended his hand to support Li Jingxiao and helped him stand up with a smile.

He warned, "Jingyou is responsible for the safety of the imperial city, so you must not neglect it."

Li Jingxiao smiled and said, "Don't worry, old lady. My son-in-law has already received permission from the Saint and His Majesty, handed over his duties, and will return home to celebrate the New Year."

As soon as these words were spoken, Lady Jia, Lady Wang and others could tell that Li Jingxiao was deeply valued and loved by the two majesties.

I was so happy.

Li Jingxiao bowed to Madam Wang again and said, "Mother-in-law, since it's on the way, I'd like to take you, the old lady, the eldest wife, and the eldest sister-in-law back home."

Mrs. Wang suddenly felt honored, especially as many of the wives of the nobles around her, the old ladies of the princes and dukes' families, and the princesses all whispered with envy.

The smile on his face became more amiable.

As for Qin Keqing, although Mrs. Wang did not like her, she knew that she had to curry favor with her for Yuanchun's sake.

He smiled and nodded, praising Li Jingxiao a few words.

Then she took Qin Keqing's hand and said to Lady Jia, "Old lady, I see that even Yuanchun is not as good as her sister."

To be honest, Qin Keqing is indeed more beautiful than Jia Yuanchun, but Chu Xiangqian has met Jia Yuanchun several times and knows that the difference in their appearance is actually very small.

In her previous life, she would have been a top-notch beauty.

Moreover, Yuanchun has a round face, which looks plump, dignified and generous. This kind of girl makes people feel friendly when she smiles.

When it comes to choosing a daughter-in-law, Yuanchun is the best choice in the eyes of the elders.

Grandmother Jia also guessed what Mrs. Wang was thinking. Otherwise, how could her daughter-in-law praise another family's daughter?
He pretended to look carefully, looked left and right at Qin Keqing, then smiled with satisfaction and nodded.

"She is indeed better than the eldest daughter. From now on, Madam will need to take care of my eldest daughter."

Qin Keqing quickly knelt and saluted, "Madam, I am sorry to trouble you. I will certainly serve you well together with Sister Yuanchun."

Lady Jia, Lady Wang, Lady Xing, and Sister You were very satisfied with this answer.

At least Qin Keqing did not rely on her status as the eldest wife to suppress Yuanchun.

Li Jingxiao didn't want his wife to be embarrassed by the four women of the Jia family, so he smiled and interrupted, "Old Madam, it's not convenient to stay in the palace for long. Why don't you get on the sedan chair and leave the palace first?"

Grandmother Jia looked around and saw that the palace maids, eunuchs and guards were all staring at her.

As for the ladies who were granted imperial titles, many people envied them, but were unwilling to look at them too much, for fear that the more they looked, the more jealous they would become.

More than half of them had already boarded the sedan chairs and were heading out of the palace.

Along the way, Grandmother Jia took the initiative to let Qin Keqing's sedan chair follow her and talk.

The more we talked, the brighter the smile on his face became, but he sighed secretly in his heart.

Qin Ye's official position was not high, but his family education was excellent, and the daughter he raised was no worse than the daughter of a wealthy family.

Grandmother Jia has been in charge of the Jia family for decades, so she still has some vision for people.

Of course, it is basically limited to women.

Whether he is good or bad, smart or confused, you can basically guess the general idea after just a few words.

Compared with this Li Qin, his family's first wife, Lady Xing, the second wife, Lady Wang, and Zhen Ge's daughter-in-law, Lady You, are much worse.

When Mrs. Wang married into the Rongguo Mansion, she was considered stupid and brainless in the eyes of Lady Jia.

The new daughter-in-law secretly wanted to seize power, so Grandmother Jia turned around and gave several of the maids around her to her second son Jia Zheng as concubines.

From then on, most of Mrs. Wang's thoughts were on those concubines.

How could he have the time to compete secretly with Lady Jia?

Liu Laolao once said that when Mrs. Wang was young, she was not only beautiful, but also very good at dealing with people, and she seemed to have the shadow of Wang Xifeng.

But Mrs. Wang, who is now middle-aged, is taciturn and appears to be kind-hearted, but this is only because she has been hit hard by reality.

Lady Wang and her niece Wang Xifeng are not kind-hearted people, which shows that the girls in the Wang family are not good people.

Let’s look at Qin Keqing again. She asked her personal maid who came with her dowry to serve her husband very early on.

I heard that Jingyou is now served by two maids who came with his dowry.

In Jia Mu's view, Qin Keqing is not only smart and resourceful, but also generous.

The mother of a family should be like her.

If Yuanchun marries him in the future, it will be difficult for her to surpass Li Qinshi.

Maybe, she would be suppressed by Qin Keqing and dare not have any other thoughts, and could only be the second wife peacefully.

When I heard Qin Keqing say that she had a 5-year-old younger brother.

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but feel moved.

He smiled and said, "They are the same age as Baoyu. If you have time, let the two children walk around more. After all, they are both Jingyou's brothers-in-law."

Everyone couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

Qin Keqing was a little embarrassed, fearing that her brother would feel inferior in front of Baoyu because of his background, or would not dare to speak.

But it was difficult to refuse Lady Jia's invitation.

She could only smile and nod in agreement. As for when to go to the Jia family, Qin Keqing had no intention of taking Qin Zhong there.

If Jia Baoyu ran to the Li family himself, then they would all be brothers-in-law, and there would be no distinction between high and low.

Besides, since the official likes Brother Zhong so much, he will definitely not show favoritism and allow the young master of the Jia family to bully Qin Zhong.

Along the way, everyone from the Palace Guards saluted Li Jingxiao when they saw him, and was also very respectful to Lady Jia and the others.

Even those from the Imperial Guards Department would politely clasp their fists and address him as "Sir".

This made Lady Jia, Qin Keqing and others proud and happy.

The other ladies couldn't help but feel envious again.

When they arrived outside the palace gate, Jia She, Jia Zheng and Jia Zhen sat in the sedan chair to avoid the wind and cold and waited for Jia Mu and others to come out.

Seeing Li Jingxiao personally escorting them, Jia She and the other two nodded in satisfaction.

Then he praised Li Jingxiao heavily.

However, what surprised Li Jingxiao was that Jia Zhen, this lustful ghost, just glanced at Qin Keqing when he saw her, and then turned his head away and dared not look again.

Li Jingxiao was surprised, but after thinking about it for a while, he understood.

Although Jia Zhen was blinded by lust and was licentious, he was actually much smarter than Jia She.

Anyone who is not stupid will know that it is impossible to hook up with Qin Keqing.

If there was any disrespect, Li Jingxiao would not have to do it himself. He could just send someone to Xuanzhen Temple to complain to Jia Jing.

Given Jia Jing's obsession with Taoism, he would immediately send someone back to Ningguo Mansion to break Jia Zhen's legs.

For a woman he has no chance of getting, a normal man would only think about her in his heart but would not dare to take any action.

Li Jingxiao couldn't help but feel secretly happy. As long as he could control Jia Jing, Ningguo Mansion would pose no threat to him.

After chatting with Jia She, Jia Zheng and Jia Zhen, Jia Mu and others learned that a tense incident had occurred in the hall before.

Qin Keqing looked at her husband with great worry, as he was being controlled by Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen, and seven or eight others, such as Baoling Hou Shi Nai and Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding.

Niu Jizong, Liu Fang and other noble family heads who had been waiting specially gathered in the middle and talked non-stop.

But before Li Jingxiao could finish his perfunctory speech, Xia Shouzhong came out of the palace with a dozen eunuchs, big and small, smiling and holding a bright yellow imperial edict.

He shouted to Li Jingxiao, "Imperial edict, Li Jingyou, receive it."

Li Jingxiao was stunned for a moment, then he realized that the emperor couldn't wait even a day and promoted him overnight.

After receiving the imperial edict, not only Li Jingxiao, but even the officials and ladies who knelt down on the scene looked at Li Jingxiao with envy and jealousy.

After Xia Shouzhong finished reading the imperial edict, he placed it in Chu Xiangqian's hand with a smile.

After bowing, he congratulated, "Congratulations, my lord. Congratulations, my lord."

Li Jingxiao reacted and couldn't help but smile brightly.

Being a marquis is easy, but being a hereditary marquis is hard to come by.

Although the Ning and Rong mansions were so prosperous, the title of duke was not hereditary.

If you really think about it, it's actually not as good as the two marquises in one family in the history of history.

They are all hereditary marquises.

However, a high title actually means a high status, not great power.

Shi Nai, Marquis of Baoling, had a high title and it was hereditary.

But because he has no ability, no proper job, no power and naturally no money.

They were so poor that the women in the family and Shi Xiangyun had to embroider at home to supplement the family income.

If this were to get out, I would definitely die of laughter.

It can be seen that the title is nothing more than a fixed salary.

Only those with a title and a high position can be considered first-class dignitaries.

Of course, for ordinary people, the title is enormous power.

I can crush them to death with just a flick of my finger.

There is also the saying "Feng Tang is easy to grow old, but Li Guang is hard to be granted a title".

It is not easy to be awarded the title of Marquis.

But saving the emperor is definitely a great achievement.

Moreover, he saved all the civil and military officials in the court. Not to mention that some people would object, some might even try to curry favor with Li Jingxiao.

But for Li Jingxiao, a non-hereditary duke is not as good as a hereditary marquis.

He took the imperial edict, stood up and bowed to Xia Shouzhong who announced the edict to express his gratitude.

By the way, a silver note worth five hundred taels quietly fell into Xia Shouzhong's hands.

Previously, this old eunuch had used the rewards from the palace to select the best rewards.

So Li Jingxiao was generous for once and gave five hundred taels.

This is called give and take, and it’s not difficult to say goodbye.

Xia Shouzhong took a secret look, and the smile on his face became even brighter.

After the two men finished their pleasantries, Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen, as well as Jia Lian and Jia Rong, who were waiting outside the palace to pick them up, arrived.

Shi Nai, Shi Ding, Niu Jizong, Liu Fang and others hurried forward to congratulate them.

Niu Jizong and Liu Fang were even more envious, and they couldn't hide the expressions on their faces.

Although one of them is the grandson of Duke Zhenguo and the other is the grandson of Duke Liguo.

But no matter how great the glory of their ancestors was, in their generation, each of them was a first-class uncle.

A first-class son has long lost the glory of his ancestors.

Moreover, this title was obtained by the two of them fighting on the battlefield.

Otherwise, he would definitely be like Jia She and Jia Zhen, one a first-class general and the other a third-class general.

However, if the descendants of the two families do not make up for their shortcomings, they will only struggle for two or three more generations.

It would be like the Jia family, which went from being a family of dukes to a family with no title to inherit.

Although the brothers Shi Nai and Shi Ding were both hereditary, one of them had no job and was unemployed at home.

Although he held military power, he was the third-rank commander of the Left Guard in Xuanfu.

The retired emperor would not let Shi Ding take charge of the military power in the capital. Finally, the emperor compromised and arranged Shi Ding to go to the border town of Xuanfu to take charge of an army.

However, compared to Li Jingxiao, the 'Deputy Commander-in-Chief' of the Palace Front Department who stayed in the palace all day and was responsible for the safety of the palace.

The importance of the Commander of the Left Guard of Xuanfu is extremely different.

Even though the deputy commander of the Palace Front Department is of the third rank, the greatest benefit is that he can see the emperor all day long.

Now that Li Jingxiao has become a marquis at such a young age, his future is bright.

Lady Jia, Mrs. Wang and the others also had their eyes shining with excitement.

Mrs. Wang even felt that her master Jia Zheng was very discerning.

Choosing Li Jingxiao as the son-in-law will not only bring benefits to the Rongguo Mansion in the future, but the Wang family will also have a reliable helper.

If Li Jingxiao knew what Mrs. Wang was thinking.

I will definitely laugh at you in my heart.

What does "Wang family's helper" mean?
Now when Wang Ziteng sees him, he has to take the initiative to greet him and try his best to curry favor with him.

Otherwise, he would have been transferred back to the capital from the position of 'Commander-in-Chief' of Taiyuan Town.

How can he plan for the position of 'Jingying Jiedushi'?

However, Li Jingxiao would definitely be the biggest obstacle for Wang Ziteng to go to Beijing at this time.

Unless he is hopelessly stupid, he would not help Wang Ziteng plan for the position of 'Jingying Jiedushi'.

(End of this chapter)