CH 157

When they arrived in the capital, it was already the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month. After Tang Tianyuan handed over the gold to the Ministry of Revenue, he brought Tan Lingyin, Qingchen, and Zheng Shaofeng to meet with the Emperor. 

Ji Heng was already made aware of their arrival, and he was naturally very happy to see them back. He decided to reward them heavily. So he asked one by one what they wanted.

When he asked Tang Tianyuan, Tang Tianyuan replied, "Your Majesty, you can give this humble official’s wish to Tan Lingyin."

When he asked Zheng Shaofeng, Zheng Shaofeng replied, "I want a wife."

Ji Heng then asked Tan Lingyin.

Tan Lingyin was at a loss. It seemed that she didn’t particularly want anything. At first she was very excited to find out she would be able to ask the Emperor for favors. She was calculating how much money she wanted, but when she saw that so much gold was allocated to the state treasury, she felt that this money would be going to be put into good use. This way, the gold could be used for the development of this country. That was fine, it was not that she lacked money to spend anyways...

Tang Tianyuan kept winking at Tan Lingyin, encouraging her to speak boldly.

Tan Lingyin said, "Why don't you give Lord Tang a promotion?"

Although moved, Tang Tianyuan was tickled by Tan Lingyin’s thoughts. At such a critical time, his Yinyin was quite foolish. Needless to say, the emperor would naturally give him a promotion even if she didn’t request one. This was not how one should be asking for benefits. Tang Tianyuan regretted not communicating with Tan Lingyin in advance. He also didn't expect the Emperor to ask so directly.

Ji Heng felt that the answers of these three people were very boring. He glanced at Qingchen, but finally didn't ask him. What if Qingchen wanted Tan Lingyin...

So Ji Heng said, "A Chen, your sister misses you very much. You should go and see her."

Qing Chen followed an eunuch and left.

The imperial palace was very big, Qingchen walked for a long time before reaching Kunning Palace. It was only later that he found out that his elder sister was actually the Empress. Although she was his own elder sister, her identity was there, so when Qing Chen saw her, he wanted to kneel down.

Before his knees hit the ground, Ji Zhao helped him up. She had the others retire and talked freely with Qingchen. Ji Zhao was not a long-winded person, but when the older sister saw her younger brother, it was inevitable that she would be a little naggy.

The Ji Residence’s mansion was still standing, and it had already been tidied up. Once you move in, if you want to change or buy anything, just tell the servants. As a biological sibling of the Empress, you will be allocated a certain amount of spending money every month. It may not be enough to spend, so I will give you this much property that I have on hand. Everything will be handed to you. The Emperor will also grant you another property. If you are bored, you can make more friends. However, there are some hedonistic nobles who specialize in leading people down the wrong path, you stay away from them. You can also find something to do, do whatever you like...

Qingchen nodded while listening, and finally gestured with gestures: Thank you.

Ji Zhao's eyes turned red, "As siblings, there is no need to be so courteous."

Qingchen nodded again.

Ji Zhao said, "And your throat... Don't worry, I’ll definitely cure you."

Qingchen nodded once again.

Ji Zhao could feel that Qingchen had something on his mind, so she asked, "Do you have something you wanted to say? Or did something happen? Did someone bully you?" As she asked, she imagined poor A Chen was being bullied. She couldn't help feeling a little peeved, "Who has the galls to bully you?!"

Qingchen quickly comforted her: No one bullied me. But... I have one request.

Ji Zhao hurriedly asked what he wanted.

Qing Chen suddenly left his seat and knelt down. He seldom asked people for favors, so he felt somewhat ashamed.

Ji Zhao wanted to help him up, but he refused to get up. Ji Zhao asked, "What do you want? Just tell me. Even if you want the moon, I will pick it for you."

Qingchen didn't want the moon. He wrote a few words.

After reading what he wrote, Ji Zhao looked at her younger brother with a concerned and inquisitive gaze.

Qingchen's eyes were full of magnanimity.

—

In the evening, Ji Zhao asked Ji Heng, "Does A Chen really like Lingyin?"

Ji Heng didn't answer, but asked instead, "Why ask again?"

"He told me today that Lingyin and Tang Tianyuan's family backgrounds were not compatible enough."

"Oh? He wants you to oppose the marriage?"

Ji Zhao shook her head, "No, he wanted to ask you to confer a title to Lingyin. This way..." This way, Tan Lingyin's background will be strengthened, and the possibility of being wronged in the Tang Residence will be reduced.

"Grant a title? I can only grant titles to unmarried women if they are from a long standing clan."

"I know, but I've already promised Qingchen." Ji Zhao lightly tugged at the corner of his sleeve, "Is it okay?"

"You know I can’t deny any of your requests if you act so coquettishly." She didn't leave any room for resistance.

Ji Heng's eyes were smiling. No man disliked his woman acting cute.

Ji Zhao was very happy. "Then what title will you give her?"

"District Mistress*?"

She pushed him lightly, "Stingy!"

Ji Heng clasped the hand she was about to take back and smiled at her. "Daughter of Commandery Princess*?"

Ji Zhao pouted, "Still so stingy."

"How so? Usually only daughters of the Commandery Prince* can be granted the title of Daughter of Commandery Princess."

"She had managed to find you so much gold, is it only worth a title?"

"Tang Tianyuan had found it." Ji Heng suddenly recalled that Tang Tianyuan had said to give Tan Lingyin his credit and then thought about his brother-in-law’s request… Sigh… they were all so single-minded.

Ji Heng sighed and said, "Why don’t I give her the title of Commandery Princess. She is A Chen's foster sister, so she is also your foster sister. In addition, she has made great achievements, so it makes sense to be a Commandery Princess."

Ji Zhao still wanted to bargain. "You can also recognize her as your younger sister. How about just letting her be an Imperial Princess?"

Ji Heng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "You think having the title of Imperial Princess is a good thing? If the wife’s background is too firm, there may be estrangement between husband and wife."

Thinking he was making a lot of sense, Ji Zhao nodded, "Then the Commandery Princess is fine. You are the supreme ruler, so you can't go back on your words."

Ji Heng took advantage to squeeze her earlobe, "Don't worry. I’ll never break any of my promises to you."

Ji Zhao smiled and took his hand.

Ji Heng suddenly pulled her into his arms. He rubbed his thumb against her lips with a cunning look in his eyes, "For example...you said you wanted to ride a horse last time."

Ji Zhao was taken aback by his sudden change of subject. "Yes, you said you would take me horseback riding. But it’s now Lunar New Year, so let’s wait until spring."

Ji Heng lowered his head, rubbed his chin against her smooth forehead, and said in a low voice, "No need to wait till spring, you can ride tonight."

"..."

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*Note from Pure, the translator: All of these are titles I took from the Chinese-English Dictionary of Ming Government Official Titles. You can find the PDF- https://escholarship.org/content/qt2bz3v185/qt2bz3v185.pdf?t=qdkgvt