Hidden in the court

"Lü Peng, Chen Ju, Liu Dong, and Xihe Huchen have made great contributions to suppressing the rebellion, enhancing the prestige of our country, and deterring the scoundrels. Reward..."

"Chen Xing, the son of Chen Ju, killed more than 40 enemies in three battles. He was extremely brave and was rewarded with ten thousand gold coins and was promoted to the title of Captain of the Suppression of the Enemy."

……

To be honest, the four men were not very happy. Fighting in the Western Regions was just a small test. They would wait until they fought Liang Wu.

But it was not the case for Chen Xing who had just joined the army. He became a lieutenant after just one battle, and he was so happy that he was like a fool.

Chen Ju looked at his son, knew what he was thinking, and hit him on the neck.

"Don't be too happy, little brat. You should think about how to explain to your mother. How could you kill so many enemies with a halberd in front of a tent?"

"Hehe, I've already joined the army, so I have to serve for three years. My mother can't do anything about it. Dad, do you think I can become a general in these three years?"

Chen Ju was also amused when he heard this, "Why, you want to become a general so much, what's the matter?"

Chen Xing also scratched his head embarrassedly, his face felt hot, and he turned his head away.

"Nothing, I just became a general, so I can come and ask for marriage..."

Chen Ju raised his eyebrows and said, "What do you mean, there's something wrong with you, kid? Tell me, which girl is that? Daddy will make the decision for you!"

"No, it's just me..."

Chen Ju was so happy that his face almost twitched after listening to his son's explanation. He patted his shoulder and said, "Not bad, but it will be too late for you to become a general. I will prepare in a few days. I will bring you to propose marriage in a few days. Haha, good boy..."

Royal Palace

Xihe Huchen accompanied Aiguli to her father and elder brother.

"Ayiguli pays respect to His Majesty."

As she spoke, Aiguli placed one hand on her chest and knelt down on one knee.

"Well, get up quickly. You don't have to kneel. We don't have kneeling etiquette in the North."

Xihe Tu said hurriedly, and then raised his head and glared at Xihe Huchen who was standing aside.

The second brother reacted quickly and immediately helped Aiguli up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Hey, what are you thanking me for? We are all family. How old are you?"

This made Ayiguli a little stunned. How could this be different from the etiquette she had learned in the Central Plains? Was this amiable middle-aged man in front of her really the emperor of the Northern Territory who frightened the entire Western Region?

Aiguli was stunned by her thoughts. Xihe Huchen just replied "eighteen" and didn't know what to say.

"Eighteen is good, the same age as this kid..."

The atmosphere gradually became weird. Xihe Longyao looked at his younger brother and poked his father.

Xihe Tu reacted and quickly took out two things from his arms.

A jade ruyi, carved with dragon and cloud patterns, inlaid with flowers carved from tourmaline, turquoise and gemstones, as well as peaches, fruits, ganoderma lucidum, bats and the like. The jade is flawless and exquisitely made.

"Here, this is a gift for meeting you. Take it."

Aiguli naturally understood the significance of the jade ruyi and accepted the gift with great joy.

Xihe Longyao took out a step under the gaze of Xihe Huchen...

"Silver note!"

Xihe Huchen exclaimed, it’s not that brother didn’t put some thought into it, it’s just that this is a bit too much.

A stack of silver notes, each worth 500 taels, and judging from the thickness, there are probably about a hundred pieces.

However, these banknotes seem to be both new and old, so they must have been saved by Xihe and Longyao themselves.

Something is wrong. I have plundered all the banknotes that my brother had hidden in the past two years. How come this is still here?

Xihe Huchen met his brother's scrutinizing gaze with a puzzled look on his face, but immediately changed his mind and thought, forget it, maybe the things were not looted cleanly enough, so he didn't think about it anymore.

Seeing his second son happy like a fool, Xihe Tu couldn't help but find it funny.

He also gave Xihe Huchen a strange smile and took out a whip from behind.

This whip is not an expensive thing, it is made of leather, ordinary, and even looks a little old.

But it was not the case in the eyes of Xihe Huchen, because he was too familiar with this thing.

as predicted……

"Ayiguli, take this. This whip was used by your mother-in-law to punish this kid. It hasn't been used since his mother left. From now on, it belongs to you. If he makes a mistake, you can whip him."

Then he glared at Xihe Huchen and said, "You are not allowed to hide!"

Xihe Huchen's head was buzzing, and Ayiguli put away the whip in a daze. The family went to pay their respects to the queen, and then had a meal together.

It was not until they returned to the mansion that Xihe Huchen timidly asked Ayiguli: "The whip today... um..."

Ayiguli naturally understood what Xihe Huchen meant, and replied gently: "Your Highness, don't worry. I will not do anything to you. This is against the rules."

Xihe Huchen was overjoyed when he heard this: "That's good, that's good..."

At the same time, he was somewhat lucky that he had found such a good person, who was better than Ji Jun just for this reason. His eyes rolled, and he had some small thoughts again.

"Madam, how much did your brother give you today?"

Speaking of this, Aiguli knew what Xihe Huchen was planning after a little thought. She took out the stack of banknotes and said with a smile.

"His Royal Highness gave me a hundred silver notes, each worth five hundred taels, a total of fifty thousand taels. I have a monthly salary, but it's useless to me, so I'd better give it to His Royal Highness for safekeeping."

As he said this, he handed all the banknotes to Xihe Huchen. At this moment, Xihe Huchen's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, okay, you are so sensible..."

Not sure if he was excited or did it on purpose, Xihe Huchen held Ayiguli's face and kissed her.

The scene, from a distance, looked like a blind bear holding a human head and gnawing on it.

Evening

Xihe Huchen quietly came to the study and closed the door.

He glanced at the scroll tank standing on the ground next to the Treasure Pavilion.

"My treasure, hey..."

He took out the scroll and looked at the bottom of the jar, but he was completely dumbfounded. The silver bills and small change that should have covered the bottom of the jar were only a few scattered silver bills worth less than 500 taels, and the small change was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did you go!?"

……

The story begins yesterday.

Upon learning that Xihe Huchen was able to return and bring him a daughter-in-law, Xihe Tu was naturally happy. He prepared things these days and finally chose a jade ruyi.

I also asked my eldest sons Xihe and Longyao, and together they thought that the gift was a bit simple.

"Father, this gift is too meagre."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"My mother left a whip behind, don't you remember?"

Xihe Tu's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this, "You mean..."

Xihe Longyao smiled and nodded without saying a word.

"Okay, let's do it! What about you? Aren't you prepared?"

"Don't worry, Father. I've been prepared for this."

Later, according to the recollections of the servants in the Second Prince's residence, the Crown Prince did come to the Second Prince's residence and walked straight into the study...