Chapter 1238: Coincidence

Little An felt aggrieved. Seeing that Fourth Uncle had submitted to his father’s tyranny, he immediately felt that there was no hope in life. He could only let out a few dry cries, hoping that someone would save him.

Mu Yangling and Little Madam Xia rushed over after hearing the news. However, when they saw the furious Fan Zijin, the two of them cowered like Qi Haoran.

The three adults stood at the side and watched as Fan Zijin sent the five children into the ancestral hall to kneel as punishment. “Think about what you did wrong. Only come out when you realize your mistake!”

Qi Haoran met the children’s pitiful gazes and said meekly, “Aren’t we going to the palace to celebrate tomorrow…”

Fan Zijin said faintly, “I’m not stopping them from going. But if they go with injuries, it won’t be my fault.”

Qi Haoran immediately shut his mouth. Mu Yangling looked at the five children and sighed. “This is a classic case of extreme joy turning into sorrow.”

The dazed children were quickly escorted to kneel outside the ancestral hall.

As the five children knelt together, they reflected upon themselves. After looking around, Tiger Head asked softly, “Yes, we shouldn’t run around with our younger brothers on our shoulders. But what does this have to do with Brother Little An?”

Little An pouted.

Little Lion sighed and said maturely, “Well, it’s because we listen to Brother Little An usually. Besides, he’s the oldest, so Second Uncle blames him for not dissuading us.”

The three little ones looked at Little An together, their eyes filled with pity. “Brother Little An, I’m sorry!”

Little An snorted, but his heart began to calm down.

His father was blaming him for not fulfilling his duty as an older brother to take care of his younger brothers. This time, it was indeed his fault. Although he was unwilling to admit it, Little An was already admitting his mistake in his heart.

Because the kids were punished, the King’s Residence was quiet for the entire afternoon.

After Mu Yangling and Little Madam Xia instructed the servants to pack up the things they were going to bring tomorrow, they felt that such a quiet afternoon was really rare, so they carried Baozhu to the lake to admire the lotus flowers.

At this moment, the lotus flowers were in full bloom and the lake looked like a gorgeous sea of pink. Baozhu, who was originally a little worried and scared, quietened down when she saw the lotus flowers. She wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and asked softly, “Mother, when will Second Uncle forgive my older brothers?”

Mu Yangling touched her little face and said, “Don’t worry. Your second uncle can’t bear to punish them too harshly. He’ll let them go in a while.”

Fan Zijin scolded Qi Haoran for pampering the children, but he was not much different.

Moreover, because he was used to finding excuses for the children, he was probably worse than Qi Haoran. Still, he had always thought of himself as a strict father. It was better for them not to expose him, lest he flew into a rage out of humiliation and punished the children for real going forward.

Indeed, Fan Zijin could not bear for the children to suffer, so he asked the servants to ask the five children if they knew what they had done wrong!

Regardless of whether it was the three older ones or the two younger ones, they admitted their mistakes very quickly. Moreover, they spoke logically. One said that they shouldn’t carry their younger brothers and run around without caring about the danger. Another said that they shouldn’t pester their older brother to take them flying with no concern for safety. The other said that as an older brother, he ought to take care of and educate his younger brothers well, instead of letting them do dangerous things…

Hence, Fan Zijin asked them to kneel for another 15 minutes and recite those words 20 times in their hearts. Then, he led them to the study to continue lecturing them.

Children elsewhere who were punished to kneel for an entire afternoon or half a night expressed their envy, jealousy, and hatred for these boys.

Although they had been taught a lesson by the adults the day before, the children were still in high spirits when they set off for the temporary imperial residence the next day.

Early in the morning, Little An got up and rode his foal to King Rong’s residence with his younger brother. Tiger Head and Little Lion came out with Little Leopard and Baozhu, who were still feeling sleepy. After stuffing them into the carriage, they happily led their foal.

Little Fu didn’t even need his brother to stuff him into the carriage. He climbed in himself and found a comfortable spot in the spacious carriage to lie down and continue sleeping.

Qi Xiuyuan was very happy that they took back the lost territory without expending a single soldier. After the West Xia envoys left, he waved his hand and designated the day of lost-land recovery as a holiday. Every year, the country would take three days off to celebrate.

This was the first year.

Some courtiers had submitted a memorial, requesting to hold a state banquet so that the courtiers and ministers could share in the joy.

However, after seeing the scouts report the situation of Zhongxing Prefecture and Xiliang Prefecture, Qi Xiuyuan decisively rejected them.

Although they managed to avoid a military disaster by peacefully reclaiming the lost land this time, West Xia also took all the valuables they could bring with them when they retreated.

If not for the fact that Great Qi was unyielding, they would probably also rob the commoners before they left. Therefore, the four prefectures that they had just taken back did not have any public funds, and the ordinary commoners were so poor that each family only had one set of outerwear.

Since they were so poor, wouldn’t the government have to provide relief?

Construction and relief required money. Where would the money come from? From the national treasury and inner treasury, of course!

The money for the Emperor and ministers to celebrate together was enough to provide relief to the commoners in one prefecture, so the stingy Qi Xiuyuan expressed that there was no need to hold a state banquet. The capital would be open for festivities for three days. The palace would be decorated with red banners to mark the celebration, while the people were free to organize their own performances. The authorities would simply be responsible for maintaining security.

As soon as this was said, the big merchants in the capital started to hold promotional activities for various products. Some philanthropists even donated rice and porridge to the needy. Mu Yangling took every opportunity to set up donation boxes everywhere in the capital and asked the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace to personally watch over them. She expressed that all donated funds would go towards helping the local people rebuild their homes on the recovered territory.

Because the Great Zhou Dynasty lacked military talents, even the kids and elderly knew the song ‘Lost Home’ by heart. Constantly thinking of recovering their lost territory, now that Great Qi had recovered the last piece of lost land, the people naturally erupted with intense enthusiasm.

The commoners along the way, even if their families were very poor, would take out a few copper coins and throw them into the donation box when they saw the suffering of their compatriots drawn on the wooden board.

The commoners threw in one copper coin each, while the rich merchants donated boxes after boxes. Even the palace maids and eunuchs in the palace put some money into the box. Later, even the imperial concubines started donating.

The officials and aristocratic families had no choice when they saw this. Seeing as even the commoners, wealthy merchants, and the imperial concubines had donated, wouldn’t they be criticized if they didn’t do their part?

They could only donate money, too.

This time, not only Mu Yangling, but even Qi Xiuyuan opened his mouth in shock.

Faced with the questioning gazes of Qi Xiuyuan and his brothers, Mu Yangling solemnly pointed at the sky and swore, “I really didn’t think of this. I just saw that those rich merchants were holding large-scale events, and the people who went to collect the donated rice weren’t actually leading hard lives. I then thought of the commoners in the west who resort to eating leaves now, so I thought that instead of donating the rice in the capital, it was better to transport it to the west. That’s why I asked Royal Sister-in-law to allocate a few eunuchs and palace maids to solicit donations outside the palace. Really! I definitely didn’t expect so many people to donate money!”

Qi Xiuyuan asked suspiciously, “Then why didn’t you send the servants from the King’s Residence instead of the palace maids and eunuchs?”

Mu Yangling said in embarrassment, “You also know that there are very few servants in my residence. Considering manpower has to be allocated in various places in the Imperial City, the inner city, and the outer city, I don’t have sufficient manpower. Anyway, I’m sure the eunuchs and palace maids would like to go out and see the blue sky and white clouds outside, so…”

Qi Xiuyuan’s face darkened. Weren’t the blue skies and white clouds outside the same as what you’d see in the palace?

She made it sound like he was abusing them.

“Aren’t there still staff from the government office?”

Mu Yangling muttered, “The commoners are afraid of the authorities. Moreover, the things that enter the government office might not be sent to the west…”

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