The old marshals, one by one, smacked their lips, picked their teeth, patted their bellies, and prepared to leave with laughter and conversation. Yun Ye gritted his teeth while putting on a smile to see off the old marshals.

“The Yun family’s food is good, just that chili pepper thing was put in a bit too much. However, it suits this old man’s taste perfectly. Tomorrow, send a cartload of chili peppers to my household. At such a young age, you don’t understand any courtesy. You only give when your elders ask—not one bit filial.”

“Boy, considering you’ve had a joyous addition to the family today, I’ll let you off. This is giving face to my little grand-nephew who was just born yesterday. Think carefully about what you should do in the future. Don’t hide away good things—always keeping some trump card. As long as we old fellows live one more day, we won’t let the Yun family fall into ruin.”

“Boy, when you have nothing to do, keep a few more bells, marry a few more wives. Our family has a pile of granddaughters all waiting to marry into the Yun family. If you fancy our daughters, just speak up. Send the betrothal gifts and tomorrow we’ll carry them through the door. Our family’s people are famously good at bearing children.”

Every old marshal had to mutter a pile of things when leaving. Anyway, by the time Old Niu went out the door, if Yun Ye wanted to marry wives, he could have filled the back courtyard long ago. He also received a huge pile of requests for things—requests for chefs, and shameless ones even preparing to partner with the Yun family to open restaurants.

“Boy, you’ve been wronged this time, but being carefully schemed against by Li Jing is also a kind of honor. We’re about to enter the palace to discuss with His Majesty about advancing into the Western Regions. Prepare to be summoned. They’re all palm and back of hand—you’d also be heartbroken if the soldiers suffered losses, right? So don’t harbor resentment. Once we’ve opened up the Western Regions, we’ll see your boy’s methods—how to empty those barbarian kingdoms’ treasuries. That’s what shows your brilliant methods. We old fellows are at most just road-openers.”

Old Niu worried Yun Ye felt wronged and specially stayed behind last to counsel him.

“Uncle Niu, this thing was just finished being drawn. I originally planned to present it to His Majesty to prepare for the army’s western campaign. I didn’t expect to be tricked by General Li. Next time I need to be more careful. Jianhu’s child will probably be born in these next few days. Keep this thing safe. When the mother-to-be’s strength fails, mix it with water for her to drink. It will replenish her strength.”

Toward people like Niu Jinda, Yun Ye couldn’t get angry. Sometimes noble character truly makes people blindly trust them. This feeling comes from the heart, not controlled by reason.

Niu Jinda took the small porcelain bottle and patted Yun Ye’s shoulder, saying: “You’re a good child, always have been. Stay far away from the imperial court, don’t fall into it. Standing on the shore, you’ll always be a clean person. This old man likes seeing you clean and pure.”

The large troop all left. On the winter dirt road, dust rose. If things went smoothly, when the green grass sprouted, this dust would spread westward until the ends of heaven and earth.

Once tricked, don’t think too much about it. This was Li Jing’s open and aboveboard challenge. Struggles between great personages had long surpassed the level of trading blows—battle of wits was the main theme.

Losing to Li Jing wasn’t shameful. Old Niu was right—this was almost a beautiful tale. There weren’t many things in this world worth Li Jing using his wisdom to obtain. It was just that playing the role of the duped one in a beautiful tale was truly uncomfortable.

From far away, he wanted to shout that they’d see who won next time, but didn’t have the guts. Beside him, Old Qian was craning his neck, face full of admiration and worship as he saw off those old fellows.

“Old Qian, go prepare a carriage. The Crown Prince is drunk. Now that he’s married, he must return to the Eastern Palace.”

Old Qian quickly called out for servants to harness the horses and prepare to send the Crown Prince home.

The simple and kind Great Tang Crown Prince, for the first time in his life at the bottom… This gave his fragile heart a thread of comfort.

What he needed now wasn’t a comfortable nest, but to be placed in turbulent currents to be tempered. After suffering several more blows, he’d become much smarter like Yun Ye. This was a good thing, not a bad thing.

To become mature, one must first start with self-discipline. Going home to sleep every day, even if already drunk—though just an inconspicuous detail, it would increase his attachment to home. With attachment, he wouldn’t be interested in those messy things outside. To be a good ruler, start by being a good family head. For a consolidating ruler, emotion was his greatest, most powerful weapon.

The Li-Tang dynasty had too much killing. Li Er’s throne was subject to much controversy. You couldn’t just cancel out your bad deeds with one stroke because you were a good emperor. This influence was far-reaching. From history, the Li-Tang throne’s bloody struggles showed what a terrible precedent Li Er had set.

Li Chengqian muttered as he was carried onto the carriage. His most trusted guard captain personally drove. After thanking Yun Ye, he also returned to Chang’an.

The Yun family estate became much quieter. Even the merchants on the street stopped their hawking. If someone with a loud voice said two sentences, they’d immediately attract disgusted looks from everyone.

The young mistress and young master were sleeping. If they disturbed the young master and he cried endlessly, wouldn’t they unintentionally become villains?

The Yun mansion was very large. Even with the loudest voice, after the sound traveled five hundred meters, there wasn’t much commotion. So Yun Ye would rather take this behavior as a kind of respect for the Yun family than regard it as a kind of fear.

The oldest elder from the estate sat in a chair in the Yun family’s reception hall. At his feet was a basket of eggs, dyed very evenly with red pigment. In front of the old matriarch were already some eggshells—she’d already eaten one.

“The eggs from our estate are really rich with oil. When you bite open and look, the yolk is like gold. They’re not good in Chang’an city—the yolks are pale. My grandson bought some and I couldn’t eat them at all.”

Grandmother spoke homey words to Old Hao with a face full of smiles. Farming folk most liked hearing that their things were better than others’. Hearing the old matriarch’s praise, he grinned foolishly with his mouth open.

“The old madam praises too highly. The chickens on our estate all grew up eating bugs and meat. They can’t compare to those chickens in Chang’an city that scratch for food in dirt piles, eating one meal and missing the next. The young mistress has now added an heir to the household—this is a great joyous occasion! Farm households don’t have anything good, just a basket of eggs for the young mistress to nourish her body with, to raise the young master robust and strong. Our whole estate is hoping for the Yun family to be lords and marquises for ten thousand generations! We farm folk can follow along and live a few good days too.”

Praising the old matriarch now wasn’t as good as praising her great-grandson who’d been born just one day ago. As long as she received congratulations, she immediately smiled like Maitreya Buddha. Though the farming folk’s gifts were light, their human feeling was deep.

Entering the hall, he paid respects to Old Hao. When someone sat in the reception hall, they were an elder, a congratulatory guest—they mustn’t be slighted.

“Grandpa Hao, these eggs are all the same size—rarely seen. You didn’t pick them out one by one yourself, did you?”

Yun Ye took one from the basket, cracked it on the table, peeled off the shell and ate a mouthful, then nodded.

Old Hao smiled even more happily: “Marquis, you eat delicacies from land and sea every day—you also like eating our family’s eggs? Life on the estate is easier now. Before, we guarded the chicken’s rear waiting for eggs to come out. When there was no salt or rice, we wanted to reach in and pull them out. Now it’s better—when the children at home crave them, they can eat a few. The family raises many chickens—every two days is a basket. Some ‘Convenient Shop’ in the city even comes to collect them every two days, but they always wait until the end of the month to pay, which makes people uncomfortable.”

“Grandpa Hao, eating big fish and big meat every day easily hurts the spleen and stomach. I just hope to return home to drink millet porridge. A bowl of millet porridge in the belly—that comfortable feeling can’t be described. Now when I see wine and meat, I feel nauseous, but these banquets never stop. When His Majesty bestows a banquet, who dares not go?”

Yun Ye was bragging, but the villagers liked this kind of bragging. Saying it outside was all glory—their own marquis was always being given banquets by His Majesty. This was the whole estate’s glory. If they followed a marquis nobody invited to banquets, they’d have no face either. In their view, marquises were naturally born to live in luxury and debauchery, with throngs of wives and concubines being waited on. The emperor using golden hoes to till fields, the empress eating scallion pancakes every day—these were the most extravagant lives in their eyes.

Old Qian took the eggs down, then filled the basket with various pastries and candied fruits, saying they were for the children at home to taste.

Yun Ye estimated that by the time the children ate them, either the pastries would be hard as bricks or they’d be spoiled—otherwise they wouldn’t get to eat them.

The villagers came in an endless stream to the Yun family to congratulate them. Earlier, seeing the mansion full of high officials and nobles, they didn’t dare visit. Now it was fine—they were all from their own estate. When merchants wanted to mix in, they were driven out with stern faces. When the young master was born, what business did merchants have joining in? When these words came out, He Shao’s face was black with lines—it seemed he was one of Chang’an’s famous merchants.

The gifts were all fancy steamed buns, preserved meat, live chickens. Wealthier households leading a sheep could look down on all.

Though the gifts weren’t precious, the smiling faces were sincere. Yun Ye never minded having too many such gifts. Seeing something tasty, he immediately ate some, and a few words of praise caused the farm folk to roar with laughter.

They came with full hands, and left also fully laden. Old Qian had long prepared massive amounts of pastries and candied fruits—whoever came received some. He repeatedly told the villagers to come to the mansion to drink when the child reached a hundred days—the whole family should come, not one person less.

The landlord family and tenant farmers actually got along with mutual affection and righteousness. Who said one exploited the other?

Yun Ye had long since become a member of feudal society’s warm big family, smugly superior, not soft-handed in exploiting them either. Watching the tenant farmers push cartloads of grain into his own granary, happiness rippled through his whole body.

Xinyue woke up, holding the child and nursing. Na Rimu lay beside her drooling, looking like she really wanted to drink, then turned her head to see Yun Ye smiling at her. Her face immediately flushed red with shame as she buried her head in the blanket, not showing it.

After giving birth, Xinyue became much bolder. Before, to see her breasts required great effort. Now, feeding the child in front of two people, she felt no shyness whatsoever.

Other families’ women generally only had milk two or three days after giving birth. Xinyue was very proud—she had it right after giving birth. Moreover, she stubbornly refused the family’s suggestion to hire a wet nurse. She said she’d raise her own child herself—what was the point of finding an unrelated person?

The room was full of sour, stinky smells. She seemed not to smell it, her eyes only on her tiny child.