The Prodigal Son

That afternoon, Zhao Luan's imperial edict and the Empress Dowager's decree were delivered one after the other.

Zhao Luan enfeoffed Qin Yu as Marquis of Wuning, with a fief of 1,200 households, appointed him as General of Martial Might (a second-rank official), commanding the Wudang Flying Army, and rewarded him with 30,000 taels of gold, 1,000 bolts of various cloths and brocades...

As for the Empress Dowager's rewards, they were much simpler, mostly consisting of gold, silver and jewelry.

Looking at the huge pile of rewards, Nan Que'er and Luo Qingyi's eyes lit up.

However, Qin Yu remained completely unmoved.

For him now, no reward means much anymore!

Capturing Zhao Luan would be the greatest reward!

"Alright, stop watching!"

Qin Yu smiled casually, "Have someone move all these things to the storeroom! Later, everyone in the manor will receive half a year's salary plus a new set of clothes! Also, send two hundred bolts of cloth to the estate, and halve the rent for each household this year..."

Qin Yu quickly made arrangements.

He has received a reward, but he cannot only think of himself.

Everyone in the manor and the Qin family's farm should benefit from this.

Nan Que'er curiously sized up Qin Yu, who looked completely calm and collected. "With so many rewards, aren't you excited at all?"

"What's there to get excited about?"

Qin Yu shrugged. "You think all this gold and silver is mine?"

Nan Que'er was taken aback, then asked in a low voice, "It's not that His Majesty kept it here with you, is it?"

"Otherwise what?"

Qin Yu gently flicked Nan Que'er's nose, "You should be thanking your lucky stars that she doesn't treat the Qin family's treasury as her personal funds!"

Zhao Luan had told him about Marquis Wuning and General Wuwei that morning.

Zhao Luan hadn't mentioned the 30,000 taels reward to him.

However, given Zhao Luan's temperament, he knew Zhao Luan's wishful thinking without even having to think about it.

This isn't a reward for myself!

This is clearly him helping her with the accounting!

If she ever needs money, she'll probably have to take it out of her own pocket!

But it doesn't matter anyway!

She's all her own now, so there's no need to be so particular about the money!

Hearing Qin Yu's words, Nan Que'er pouted slightly and said in a wronged tone, "So we haven't eaten a single dish, but we still have to pay for two ounces of wine?"

Luo Qingyi was amused by Nan Que'er's words and hugged Nan Que'er's arm, giggling, "Who's going to be the one throwing themselves at whom is still uncertain!"

Ok?

Nan Que'er was slightly taken aback, then nodded with a smile...

……

In the Imperial Study.

Shangguan Youyi was still with the Ministry of Revenue people taking stock of the gold and silver treasures that Qin Yu had escorted back, so Ruan Zhi took over serving Zhao Luan.

Zhao Luan sat there reviewing memorials, but the scenes of being harassed by Qin Yu kept replaying in her mind.

Thinking of that bastard she both loved and hated, Zhao Luan felt a burning rage.

She originally intended to continue keeping their secret.

Now that bastard knows everything!

It's obvious that this lecherous bastard will definitely take advantage of me again in the future.

Ruan Zhi served Zhao Luan from time to time, glancing at Zhao Luan with a secret curiosity in her heart.

Is there anything special about this memorial?

Or is there something important in this memorial?

His Majesty has been reading this one memorial for almost half an hour!

But this is just a memorial from the governor of Jiangzhou regarding the management of the river!

Many officials now know that the imperial court has money and want to petition the court to allocate funds to local areas.

Isn't this normal?

Nothing special, right?

Or is His Majesty weighing the pros and cons?

Although Ruan Zhi sometimes served Zhao Luan, it was relatively rare.

Most of the time, when Zhao Luan was reviewing memorials, Shangguan Youyi was by his side.

Lacking experience, she saw that Zhao Luan hadn't started reviewing the papers yet and didn't know what to do. She didn't dare to offer any suggestions and could only watch.

Just as she was wondering what to do, Yun Ying rushed in, "Your Majesty, a secret report from Min!"

As Yun Ying's voice rang out, Zhao Luan finally snapped out of her daze and calmly accepted the secret report.

Upon seeing the contents of the secret report, Zhao Luan immediately frowned.

What use is this Yu Jing?

He drags his feet when getting things done; he doesn't seem like someone who was once a prince at all!

Qin Yu had finished rectifying the salt administration, and also dragged out the Shi family who had plotted to harm the crown prince, and suppressed the chaos in various places!

And what about Yu Jing?

So far, the salt road has only been barely opened!

The roads are blocked, don't they know to forcibly conscript laborers to repair them?

Mindi has so many natural salt fields, why didn't he open a few more?

I sent him to do something, not to be a benevolent official!

Zhao Luan closed his eyes, pondered silently for a moment, and then instructed Ruan Zhi: "Draft an imperial edict!"

Ruan Zhi dared not delay and quickly retrieved a blank imperial edict.

"The current prime minister, Gao Yi, has served for many years, devising strategies for national stability and planning with far-reaching vision..."

Zhao Luan dictated the imperial edict, and Ruan Zhi wrote it down.

Before long, an imperial edict was written.

Looking at the contents of the imperial edict, Ruan Zhi was somewhat bewildered.

Zhao Luan took the imperial seal and stamped it on, then instructed Ruan Zhi: "Go to the Prime Minister's residence immediately to deliver the imperial decree! The Prime Minister is old; there is no need for him to kneel to receive the decree!"

"yes!"

Ruan Zhi came to his senses, respectfully picked up the imperial edict, bowed, and took his leave.

"Wait!"

Zhao Luan suddenly called out to Ruan Zhi, who was about to leave, "If the Prime Minister wishes to reward you, you can keep it!"

"As you command!"

Ruan Zhi accepted the order and bowed again to take his leave.

Inside the Prime Minister's residence.

Gao Yi and his son received news immediately that Zhao Luan and the Empress Dowager were bestowing lavish rewards upon Qin Yu.

"Marquis Wuning?"

Gao Dan frowned deeply. "What does His Majesty mean by this? Has he really granted Qin Yu a marquisate?"

To grant a marquisate to the only son of the Duke?

This sounds like utter nonsense!

"Great news!"

Gao Yi chuckled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "Your Majesty seems unsure how to reward Qin Yu. Perhaps you could simply bestow upon him a marquisate to avoid the reputation of failing to reward merit!"

As for the second-rank Martial Might General, it was entirely within Gao Yi's expectations.

Everyone knows that the reason why the Wudang Flying Army has been without a commander for so long is because the position has been reserved for Qin Yu!

Now we're just giving Qin Yu what should have been given to him long ago!

The only thing that surprised him was the 30,000 taels of gold!

That's three million taels of silver!

However, the fact that Qin Yu brought so much silver to the national treasury this time, completely solving the financial shortage problem for Da Ning, makes the reward of three million taels of silver really not much!

All things considered, Zhao Luan was actually quite ungrateful this time!

To put it bluntly, even a dog would deserve such a reward if it had made such a great contribution as Qin Yu!

Even a commoner who uncovers the truth behind the assassination of the crown prince should be granted a title!

"That's true!"

Gao Dan nodded in deep agreement, "However, I'm worried that Qin Yu's men will be richly rewarded afterward! The Qin faction is already quite powerful; if His Majesty continues to reward them, their power will only grow..."

Qin Party!

This is a new term that has emerged recently.

Most of the important officials in the court today are Qin faction members!

Xue Chengdao and Du Zhiwen should be considered Qin's faction within the Iron Gang.

Feng Shinan was able to be promoted to Minister of Works largely thanks to Qin Yu, so he could be considered half a member of Qin's faction!

Below them are Yang Jichun, Xu Kui, Xu Wan, and Shen Jue.

Zhu Songlan, who is about to be transferred to the court, was directly rescued by Qin Yu, so he must also be a member of Qin's faction!

"It's good that the Qin faction is powerful!"

Gao Yi disagreed, saying, "It is precisely because the Qin faction is powerful that we are needed to balance the power in the court!"

Compared to the Qin faction, they are certainly weaker now.

But being weak also has its advantages!

Since they are weak, Zhao Luan will not focus her vigilance on them, and may even support them!

As the father and son were talking, the household steward rushed in, "Master, His Majesty has sent someone to deliver an imperial decree!"