“No wonder Your Majesty valued the great scholar Chen so much. I didn’t quite understand it at the time, with so many talented people in the world, why did you treat him so differently?”
Hearing Consort Shu’s words, the Emperor’s mouth twitched, but he remained silent, still holding onto his anger.
“Now that I see how Mingxi behaves, I understand Your Majesty’s insight. Without the guidance of the great scholar Chen, how could Mingxi have such responsibility? When you think about it, Your Majesty actually came out ahead.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Your Majesty, think about it. To get Chen Qiting to willingly teach, Mingxi must have been extremely outstanding to catch his eye. Chen Qiting worked so hard to teach her, and now Mingxi is your daughter-in-law. What do you think Chen Qiting would think when he finds out?”
The Emperor: …
That makes sense!
The resentment in his heart immediately dissipated!
Looking at Consort Shu, the Emperor said, “What you said is right.” He paused, “I remember the Duan family also has someone who studied under Chen Qiting, and he gained some recognition, although his rank isn’t very high.”
“It’s Mingxi’s second brother, a shuzi of the family. He was introduced to Chen Qiting by Mingxi. He only studied under Chen Qiting for about a year but was able to rank in the top ten of the imperial examination’s first section. Later, he also became a shujishi, which is quite impressive.”
The Emperor snorted, “If he had come to the National Academy, he could have taught even more talents.”
But he refused to come!
“Chen Qiting is a free spirit, and doesn’t like to be restricted. He teaches at Songshan Academy, and the students he’s taught are still serving the court. Since Your Majesty is generous, we won’t hold a grudge against him.”
“Fine.” The Emperor thought to himself, Consort Shu was right—he was a magnanimous emperor. “Since that’s the case, then let the reward go to the shujishi. What’s his name?”
Consort Shu thought for a moment. “I believe his name is Duan Ning.” After a pause, she looked at the Emperor and gently spoke, “Your Majesty, this Duan family is not the same as the other Duan family. Jiangcheng’s Duan family’s honour, do you think it might be inappropriate to reward them through the Marquis family?”
The Emperor was taken aback. “Isn’t Duan Mingxi from the Marquis mansion?”
Consort Shu suddenly realized—so that portion of the reward was for Mingxi. Did that mean the Emperor didn’t intend to bestow any favor upon the Jiangcheng Duan family?
Wouldn’t that be favoritism?
Feigning sudden understanding, Consort Shu said, “Your consort was foolish, and misunderstood for a moment. Since Your Majesty is bestowing grace, naturally both Duan families should be included.”
The Jiangcheng Duan family had clearly forked out hundreds of thousands of silver taels. If they received no reward at all, it would indeed be chilling.
Truthfully, the Emperor hadn’t planned to reward the Jiangcheng Duans. Only one share of silver was contributed, so why give out two sets of rewards?
However, now that Consort Shu had spoken up, the Emperor couldn’t outright refuse. As the ruler of a nation, how could he appear so stingy?
Still—what kind of reward would be appropriate for the Jiangcheng Duans?
“Aifei, what do you suggest as a reward for the Jiangcheng Duan family?”
Consort Shu chuckled softly. “Your Majesty, the Jiangcheng Duan family is but a merchant household. It’s rare to find such loyalty and righteousness. For such a family, bestowing a plaque would already be the greatest of honors.”
The Emperor’s eyes lit up. The national treasury was running low, and he had already used much of his personal stash to cover the shortfalls over the years. Not needing to reward them with actual silver—perfect.
It wasn’t that he was being petty. The truth was, he didn’t have much left in reserve.
“You’re right. What words shall we inscribe on the plaque?” the Emperor asked thoughtfully. “Though they are merchants, they have acted with great righteousness. I shall bestow upon the Duan family the title of Yi Shang (Righteous Merchants). How does that sound?”
“Your Majesty, this reward is absolutely brilliant—like paying a thousand gold to buy a fine horse’s skeleton. If the court ever faces hardship again, perhaps more merchants will be inspired to offer their support.”
The Emperor’s eyes shone. That made sense. In that case, the plaque was well worth it!
Meanwhile, at the Marquis Residence, good news arrived first—Duan Ning had been promoted to Compiler at the Hanlin Academy. A joyful event indeed.
Not long after, the Duan family received the imperial reward—a plaque inscribed with the golden characters Yi Shang. Bold and majestic.
One good thing after another—who wouldn’t know where all these blessings came from? Clearly, it was all thanks to that 400,000 taels in military funds.
As a woman of the inner court, the Emperor couldn’t directly reward Mingxi, so he bestowed benefits upon her family instead.
If anyone was displeased, it was Madam Jiang and Duan Huirou. Logically, the reward should’ve gone to the shizi of the Marquis Residence. Why did it go to Duan Ning instead?
But from the elderly master and madam all the way down to the younger generations, even Duan Yu didn’t complain. So the mother and daughter didn’t dare voice any dissatisfaction either.
Duan Ning came to thank Mingxi personally. Yang Yiniang almost knelt in gratitude, once again convinced that siding with the eldest young lady had been the smartest choice she ever made.
As for the Jiangcheng Duan family, having received the imperial plaque of Yi Shang, Duan Pingchang was still a merchant—but now at the pinnacle of all merchants. Even ordinary officials wouldn’t dare offend him lightly.
After all, this was someone praised by the Emperor himself.
It was like having an extra life-saving talisman.
Tong Gaozhuo had originally planned to follow up with further moves, but seeing how things were going, he had no choice but to report back to the Eastern Palace to suspend the plan and wait until the storm passed.
The Crown Prince: “……”
Truly cursed by fate. How unlucky could he be?
Those who used to mock Mingxi for being foolish with too much money now all shut their mouths.
For 400,000 taels to bring such honor and official titles—who wouldn’t be willing?
Mingxi was a little dizzy from all the unexpected blessings raining down. She really hadn’t anticipated that such benefits would land in her hands.
Later, upon learning from Hu Momo that Consort Shu had played a part in this, she became all the more grateful, silently marking down this favor in her heart.
With all the joyous news, more than half a month quickly passed. Still, Duan Wang had not returned. And with that, rumors and criticisms about the marriage between Mingxi and Duan Wang began to spread.
Mingxi knew—the matter of delaying the wedding would soon come to light.
Sure enough, a few days later, His Majesty brought up the memorial from Duan Wang in court: due to the urgency of war, the wedding must be postponed. Remembering the silver Mingxi had donated, the Emperor made an exception and had a reward sent to her as consolation.
He made it clear: once Duan Wang returned to the capital, the wedding would proceed.
With Duan Wang’s wedding delayed, naturally the weddings of Qi Wang and Kang Wang would also be pushed back. But neither those Wangyes nor their future Wangfeis received any comfort or rewards from the Emperor.
Zheng Siyu didn’t mind; she was only worried for her father in Yuxiang City and prayed for his safe return.
But the mother-daughter pair from Xingqin Marquis household were full of resentment. They dared not speak against the Emperor, so they simply grew more displeased with Mingxi.
Mingxi had no idea, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have cared.
Time flew by, and the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching again. The excitement from last year was still vivid in everyone’s minds. This year, Mingxi didn’t even need to take the lead—dragon boat teams had already entered the betting pool, and wagers were coming in fast.
The Marquis Residence would be participating once more. This year, Duan Jin was in charge.
The second madam was busy preparing for her son’s wedding, and just before the festival, Duan Jin married Ma Minyi.
This marriage brought mixed feelings for the second madam, but fortunately, once Ma Minyi entered the household, her behavior was very different from her mother’s. She was upright and composed, respectful to elders, kind to peers, and gentle in both words and deeds. She quickly won over everyone in the Marquis Residence.
Mingxi wasn’t surprised. In her previous life, Ma Minyi and Duan Jin had lived well together too. Though the Marquis Residence had split then, and the second and third branches had moved out, Ma Minyi was capable at managing her household, and their days were never difficult.
In this life, without the split, and with Mingxi intentionally assigning Duan Jin to handle the Dragon Boat Festival this year, the young couple would likely work well together.
She had once been unlucky in marriage, but she still hoped others in the world would find their right person and live happily.
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