The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 33 I’ll Reward You with a House

"Your Majesty, your servants, greet Her Majesty. Your Majesty, the Queen."

Everyone bowed together.

The ceremony of enthroning Fu as empress had not yet been held, but the emperor's edict to confer the title of empress had already been issued. Now all that was left was to go through the formalities, so it was okay for everyone to call her empress.

"Stand up." Chai Rong said.

After everyone stood up, Fu turned to look at Chai Rong. Seeing him nod slightly, she said to everyone:
"I am just a woman, I don't understand military affairs, nor can I help Your Majesty with his worries. I can only pray to the Buddha in the palace every day, hoping that everything goes smoothly during the expedition."

"It is thanks to the hard work of the ministers and the dedication of the generals and soldiers that we have been able to assist Your Majesty in repelling the powerful enemy."

Everyone hurriedly said, "We are not worthy of this."

Fu continued, "I have nothing to reward you with. I can only save some money from the inner palace expenses and give it to you as a token of my appreciation."

Li Yi felt that Fu's words were very insightful. After all, the emperor had already bestowed important rewards such as official positions and honorary titles.

As the queen, she naturally had no right and no ability to reward these things, so she could only give some money and treasures to everyone.

At the same time, Fu also told everyone that in order to reward them, she had tightened her belt and saved money from the daily expenses in the palace.

Look at what these polite words said... Li Yi secretly glanced at the emperor above him.

The emperor just smiled and said nothing.

It seems that Chai Rong wanted Fu to show his favor, and everyone should naturally be grateful for the reward from the queen.

"Carry the things up." Fu whispered to the people around her.

Soon, more than a dozen large boxes were carried into the tent.

After opening it, it was filled with gold, silver, jade, glass and porcelain, each of which was exquisite and extraordinary.

Li Yi took a quick look and found that apart from gold and silver ingots, most of the items were utensils, such as bowls, plates, bottles, pots, and even pens, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Those framed papers should be for calligraphy and painting.

It seems that all the treasures in the palace were taken out and given away as rewards.

This inevitably reminded Li Yi of another famous queen in the Five Dynasties period - Liu Yu Niang.

Liu Yu Niang was the queen of Li Cunxu, the Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang. Rumor has it that she was the daughter of a wandering doctor.

Perhaps it was because she grew up in a poor family and had lived in poverty for too many days that she became greedy and stingy.

When the Weizhou mutiny broke out, the ministers begged the emperor to use the money in the palace treasury to reward the soldiers.

But when Liu Yu Niang found out, she refused to do so. She pushed her young son in front of the ministers and asked them to sell the prince for money.

It was not until the situation became irreversible that Liu Yu Niang rushed to take out the money, but it was too late.

The soldiers cursed bitterly, "Our wives, children, and elders have all starved to death. What good is it to reward us now?"

I can only say that there are strange things every year, and there are especially many in the fifth generation.

In comparison, the Fu in front of him was more like a queen who was the mother of the country.

However, Fu came from a military family, and her ancestors were all high-ranking officials and nobles. Her vision and bearing were indeed not comparable to those of the daughter of a traveling doctor.

After displaying the wealth, Fu began to reward everyone one by one.

Of course, the things are not given to you on the spot. Usually someone will deliver them to you after the event.

"Li Yi, the Inner Palace Commander-in-Chief and Governor of Qianzhou."

Not long after, Li Yi's name was called, and he hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

"Envoy Li is truly young and promising."

Fu's beautiful eyes darted around as she examined him. "Not only did he protect the emperor, but he also slew Zhang Yuanhui, the foremost general of the pseudo-Han army, and repelled the Liao reinforcements. News of his deeds has spread throughout Kaifeng. I'm afraid he's famous throughout the world."

As she spoke, Fu leaned forward slightly and whispered something into Chai Rong's ear.

Chai Rong burst into laughter. "The Queen has seen too little. Men as tall as Li Dushi are not uncommon among the imperial guards."

Li Yi heard from the emperor's words that Fu was probably talking about her height.

However, judging from the behavior of Chai Rong and Fu, their relationship must be quite deep, otherwise they would not be talking and laughing in front of everyone.

Li Yi said modestly, "Thanks to the soldiers' desperate efforts, I dare not take all the credit for myself." At this time, Chai Rong interrupted, "The credit is yours. Are you afraid that I can't reward you enough?"

Li Yilian said he didn't dare.

Chai Rong added, "I was most pleased with the battle you fought against the Liao army. You helped me to dampen the Khitans' spirit. Those Khitans were ambitious and supported the Han people to contain our Great Zhou."

"They are clearly still trying to take control of the Central Plains, just like they did during the Jin Dynasty."

At this point, Chai Rong sighed and said, "If the Jin Dynasty had not lost the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, how could the Khitans have been able to enter and exit the Central Plains so easily?"

Chai Rong had great ambitions and he thought deeply. In his opinion, the biggest enemy was still the Liao Kingdom in the north.

Li Yi replied at the right moment, "Your Majesty possesses the spirit of a sage ruler. Our dynasty will surely reach the northeast, shoot the wolf in the sky, and avenge our previous shame!"

He took the opportunity to flatter the emperor. After all, saying nice things didn't cost any money, and if the emperor was happy, he might even give him more rewards.

As expected, Chai Rong burst into laughter: "Look to the northeast, shoot the wolf in the sky... well said!"

"The Khitans call themselves the wolves of the grasslands. I will be the one who shoots the wolves. One day I will wipe out the Khitans!"

Chai Rong was an emperor with great ambitions, as history has proven.

Li Yi's words hit the nail on the head.

Then, Chai Rong praised Li Yi a few more times and then signaled the queen to continue.

Fu's voice rang out again: "Considering Envoy Li's contributions, this reward from me is rather stingy."

After a pause, she continued, "I heard that Envoy Li still has no residence in Kaifeng City?"

"not yet."

Li Yi didn't know why Fu asked this, but it seemed that the other party should know about his situation.

He then quickly added, "I live and eat in the army, and I don't have a wife or children to support, so there's no need for me to buy real estate."

Li Yi specifically stated that he did not purchase real estate because he had no demand.

He can't say he doesn't have money to buy it, right?

Doesn't that mean that the emperor is mistreating his capable soldiers?

Sometimes speaking requires emotional intelligence...

"Then I will reward you with a house." Fu looked at Chai Rong, "Your Majesty, do you think this is a good idea?"

"I've already said it, the Queen has the final say."

Chai Rong nodded, then pondered, "I remember Fan Aineng has two houses in Kaifeng, so let's choose one of them."

During the Battle of Gaoping, Fan and He fled from the battlefield, and Chai Rong executed them along with more than 70 of their officers.

However, considering that He Hui had previously made great contributions in defending Jinzhou and was helped to escape by Fan Aineng, Chai Rong did not implicate his family. He also gave him a coffin and sent people to send him back to his hometown for burial.

But Fan Aineng did not receive such treatment. All his relatives and family members were exiled, and his property was confiscated.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Highness the Queen, for your grace!"

Li Yi hurriedly thanked him.

Not long ago, he was thinking of bringing his uncle and his family to Tokyo to enjoy a good life.

Now that's good, I don't have to worry about the house problem. I think the house given by the queen can't be too stingy.

"Envoy Li is already of age, and it's time for him to consider marrying and having children. If there's a girl you're interested in, I'd be happy to act as your matchmaker."

Fu finally said this casually.

But the speaker may not have intended it, but the listener took it to heart. Chai Rong became interested and said, "Madam Fu Er is about the same age as Li Dushi and is still unmarried. Why not ask Prince Wei what he thinks?"

Fu's beautiful eyes flickered, and she shook her head gently, "My second sister is arrogant... My sixth sister, on the other hand, is well-behaved and obedient, but she's a little young, only fourteen years old."

Listening to the emperor and empress worrying about their marriage.

Li Yi didn't know how to respond.

Fortunately, Chai Rong and Fu Shi only had a brief conversation and did not go any further. After Li Yi thanked them, he returned to the line.

(End of this chapter)