I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Chapter 103 Celebrating the New Year and Giving Gifts

Over the next few days, news kept coming in.

Two thousand Longxiang Guards marched straight from east to west into Shangshan Prefecture. The Shangshan Prefecture troops gathered to besiege Dulong Fortress. Master Zongjian, the abbot of the Sumeru Courtyard of the Great Vajra Temple, personally challenged Zhong Yulei to a duel.

In a great battle, Zhong Yulei was seriously injured and fled, and Dulong Fortress was destroyed.

"Tsk tsk, the Great Vajra Temple has finally made its move."

"I heard the Emperor issued an imperial decree requesting the Great Vajra Temple to intervene?"

"I don't know. Even if there is one, it would be a secret decree, and it might even have made some promises."

"There's no need to make any promises. Just destroying Dulongbao will be enough for the Great Vajra Temple to gather the refugees heading north and use them for spring planting."

""

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yingjie suddenly understood, "I knew why Dajingang Temple was getting involved; it turns out it was all for their own farmland."

"Although he received some criticism, it was Zhong Yulei who slapped him in the face first, so Zong Jian's intervention is understandable," Wang Yu commented with a smile.

Zhao Rong glanced at the intelligence gathered by the Prince's Palace's men. "It's said that only three million coins were recovered from Dulong Fortress; the rest was taken by Zhong Yulei."

"Another two million gone?" Wang Yu asked in surprise.

Zhao Rong explained, "Zong Jian didn't kill him, Zhong Yulei didn't die, and of course the Longxiang Guard should also get a share of the spoils from the trip."

The Dragon Guard and the Tiger Guard were the emperor's personal guards and the two most elite guards of the imperial court.

Zhao Yingjie chuckled and said, "I'm familiar with this. Every time someone handles it, they peel off a layer of skin."

Wang Yu glanced at him sideways. "Really?"

Zhao Yingjie raised his hand and shouted his innocence, "I only know the ins and outs of it, but I didn't embezzle anything! I live in the Prince's mansion, so embezzlement wouldn't have helped!"

Wang Yu rolled her eyes at him. "Look at you, so pathetic. If you don't take a little risk, how will you marry Feifei and raise the next generation?"

Zhao Yingjie remained unperturbed, saying, "The gifts from all sides are enough for me to marry Feifei."

The two openly discussed issues of embezzlement and kickbacks, while Li Yunxiu, standing beside them, remained expressionless, silently flipping through the intelligence reports in his hand.

When Wang Yu turned back that day, Li Yun did not comment.

In her view, Dulongbao had not yet raised its banner and was merely a Jianghu force, which was not difficult for the imperial court. Dealing with Dulongbao did not necessarily require the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion, and they did not need to expose their attitude of blindly following the emperor's lead.

But she never expected that the Longxiang Guard would dare to embezzle two million Loulan treasures and then pin the blame on Zhong Yulei.

These are the emperor's personal guards!

Li Yunxiu sighed. She suddenly realized that there were many people with connections in the Emperor's personal guard, with imperial relatives and high-ranking officials behind them. No wonder they were so bold.

In addition, she didn't just look at Shangshan Prefecture, but also the Sichuan-Western Road.

In order to cope with the unrest in the southwest that has not yet subsided, both southern and western Sichuan have increased taxes in recent years. As a result of these layers of taxes, many people have been unable to survive and have become refugees.

Li Yunxiu frowned. Even though Sichuan and Shu were known as the Land of Abundance, they couldn't withstand such turmoil. How could a place that should have been the rear area become the front line?

"Most of the rebellion in the southwest last year has already been quelled. Now only two tribes remain undefeated. How could such a big commotion have occurred?" Li Yunxiu asked, puzzled.

But Wei Gutong answered his question, "It seems that the Five Poisons Sect has made a move."

Li Yunxiu's pupils contracted. "Didn't they say they had an agreement with the founding emperor?"

Wei Gutong shook his head, "Forty years have passed. Since war has broken out again, all agreements are null and void."

The Five Poisons Sect is the largest sect in the Miao region of Southwest China. It stands alongside the Snow Region Tantric Sect in the Southwest as one of the two major sects outside the region. In contrast to the Snow Region Tantric Sect's practice of cultivating the Three Channels and Seven Chakras, the Five Poisons Sect practices poisonous arts and Gu insects, which is very different from the martial arts of the Central Plains.

When the new dynasty attacked Tiannan, the Five Poisons Sect and the founding emperor had an agreement: the Miao people would submit but govern themselves, and the court could collect taxes but not station troops. The two sides lived in peace for decades, but the war reignited last year.

Li Yunxiu nodded. "Since it was the Five Poisons Sect that made the move, then it's not surprising."

The Miao region is mountainous and densely forested, making it inherently difficult to conquer. Furthermore, the Five Poisons Sect masters are elusive and can use poison invisibly, making it very difficult for ordinary armies to achieve victory.

Even so, the fact that there were refugees fleeing from western Sichuan was still going too far.

However, Li Yunxiu was not in the court at the time, but in the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion. Naturally, she had no right to interfere in these matters. She could only shake her head and sigh, secretly dissatisfied, while recruiting more refugees to bail out the court.

"Fortunately, at least there are still three million left, and they can be transported back to the capital before the New Year, so it won't delay the celebrations." Wang Yu stroked his chin. "The Emperor shouldn't go crazy over this, right?"

"His madness is all about finding Zhong Yulei, it has nothing to do with us," Zhao Yingjie laughed, then a thought crossed his mind, "Did Zong Jian deliberately spare Zhong Yulei's life to let him suffer the emperor's wrath?"

Zhao Rong slapped Zhao Yingjie on the back of the head.

Zhao Yingjie turned around in a daze, "Dad! Why did you hit me?"

Zhao Rong said irritably, "I'm beating you for not studying properly and for making a fool of yourself with your words."

Wei Gutong explained with a smile, "Although the Great Vajra Temple acts quite domineeringly, it does not kill easily."

It was snowing on New Year's Eve in the twelfth lunar month.

I don't know how others had a good New Year, but the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion was filled with laughter and joy this year.

Although the death of Zhao Zheng, who dominated the Northwest and was like the pillar of the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion, at the beginning of last year caused some chaos in the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion, Zhao Rong quickly stabilized the morale of the army and waited for Wang Yu to take over.

Because of the new prince's reputation, many people, including those within the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion, thought that the mansion was about to decline. However, to their surprise, the mansion seemed to be on a fast track after the new prince took office.

With a princess managing government affairs so well, the entire Northwest Three Prefectures began to operate smoothly.

A princess used both kindness and authority to win people's hearts within the palace, giving the atmosphere there a completely new feel.

Of course, there's also the most important prince, who invented perfume, blast furnaces, and glass. The Prince of Zhenxi's mansion started making a fortune, and the servants in the mansion were given extra bonuses several times.

With the five major bandits of Qishan wiped out, trade routes in the northwest were unblocked, and Longshan Prefecture became even more prosperous.

The Prince's Palace began acquiring land, taking in displaced people, and organizing farming, and the lives of ordinary people improved.

It is said that the prince also wiped out a group of Black Qiang cavalry in the Western Regions, which made the Qiang people in the north dare not invade the border, and the security of the northwest region was also improved.

A year later, the people of the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion suddenly discovered that the mansion was not declining, but was getting better and better.

Red lanterns were hung inside and outside the Prince of Zhenxi's Mansion, and even ordinary people bought two extra catties of meat and half a catty of sugar. The sound of firecrackers began to echo sporadically inside and outside Longshan Mansion.

Inside the Prince of Zhenxi's mansion, the sounds of mahjong tiles clattering filled the air.

Staying up all night on New Year's Eve, then it's New Year's Day.

"Happy New Year!"

Wang Yu, along with Li Yunxiu and Qianqian, began distributing red envelopes to everyone in the Wang Mansion.

"Thank you, Your Highness and Your Highness!"

"May Your Highness enjoy boundless happiness and longevity!"

The three of them handed out red envelopes along the way, and even Aldet received one, which made her very happy.

Upon encountering Wei Gutong and Yan Ziyu chatting with Yuan Feifei, Wang Yu's eyes lit up. He took a brocade box from Zhao Shan behind him and was about to hand it to Wei Gutong.

Wei Gutong chuckled and waved his hand, "Thank you, Your Highness, but I lack nothing."

"Don't be so quick to refuse, senior." Wang Yu winked at Wei Gutong. "I gave Uncle Rong the same gift yesterday, and he was very happy."

Wei Gutong raised an eyebrow, curious. He took the brocade box and opened it, and saw three familiar porcelain bottles lying flat inside.

Wei Gutong remained expressionless, seemingly casually closing the brocade box. He didn't mention anything more about not lacking anything, but instead placed the box beside him and nodded calmly, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your thoughtfulness."

Yan Ziyu asked curiously, "What is it?"

Wei Gutong waved his hand but remained silent.

Wang Yu smiled and said, "It's just a small token of my appreciation, nothing much. You two seniors accompanied me on a trip to Daxing Prefecture, and I would feel really bad if I didn't offer any thanks."

After saying that, he turned and left without giving Yan Ziyu a chance to ask any more questions.

Yan Ziyu looked at Wang Yu, then at Wei Gutong, her eyes full of suspicion. When did her husband and the Prince of Zhenxi become so in sync?

On the way out, even Li Yunxiu was a little curious, "What exactly did you give Mr. Gutong? How could it change his mind?"

Wei Gutong appears indifferent but has a proud heart. He has never been heard of accepting any gifts from others. The reason he can chat and laugh at the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion is entirely due to his relationship with Yuan Feifei and Zhao Yingjie.

Wang Yu didn't answer, but Qianqian next to him laughed.

Li Yunxiu turned around. "You knew?"

Qianqian smiled and said, "Of course I know."

Li Yunxiu was puzzled. Of course, she didn't believe that Wang Yu had told Qianqian, because if Wang Yu had told Qianqian, he would have told her as well.

But Qianqian guessed it.

This, on the contrary, fueled Li Yunxiu's competitive spirit.

"You also gave Zhao Rong a gift yesterday, and he accepted it happily," Li Yunxiu whispered. "I thought he was just being polite and respectful, but it turns out he was genuinely happy."

17

"What could possibly make them both accept it so readily?" Li Yunxiu began to ponder what Wang Yu might possess. Logically, she should know everything Wang Yu had.

Then she had an idea.

Li Yunxiu looked at Wang Yu incredulously, her eyes wide with disbelief, astonished by his audacity. "You didn't give them the Three Yang Strengthening Pill, did you?"

Wang Yu nodded matter-of-factly, "Yes!"

The Sanyang Zhuangqi Dan, a pill given to him by the Dajingang Temple, is for strengthening the body's vital energy and nourishing yang. Of course, it can also be used as an aphrodisiac. It is a good medicine with obvious primary and secondary effects.

But Li Yun felt something was off when she gave it to her elders and her easygoing friends, which was something she hadn't considered before.

But considering Wei Gutong's performance just now—

Li Yunxiu rolled her eyes at Wang Yu. "Men are all the same, none of them are any good!"

"Didn't you guess it already?" Qianqian chuckled, then hooked her arm around Wang Yu's arm, her waist slender and her eyes alluring. "I like Yu-gege like this. If you don't like him, then don't bother him."

Li Yunxiu didn't answer, but instead took Wang Yu's other arm.

The three argued amongst themselves, each trying to outdo the other, and gradually walked away.