Marrying a concubine and swallowing her dowry? The mistress turns around and marries a high-ranking

Chapter 254

This was within Shen Lingjun's expectations, and she didn't care.

The servants who ran away before are gone, so it's good that they can all be replaced by her people from now on.

Shen Lingjun went for a walk inside the Marquis's residence.

Because of the lack of servants to take care of it for the past two or three months, the Marquis's mansion looks somewhat desolate. The fallen leaves in the courtyard are left unswept, and weeds have grown in the corners.

But to Shen Lingjun, this scene was incredibly pleasing to the eye.

Now the entire Yongning Marquis's mansion finally belongs to her completely!

Qin Shaoze, Old Madam Qin, Qin Xuanrui, and Yao Sujuan have all left, and on the surface, they are all dead and will never come back.

There's no need to worry about anyone trying to take Qin Chuyao's position as heir. As long as we wait peacefully until he comes of age, he can inherit the title of Marquis of Yongning.

The next day, Shen Lingjun had the brokerage firm send over a group of servants. She selected about thirty people and assigned them to various parts of the Marquis's residence.

Now that she's the head of the Marquis's household, it's not appropriate for her to continue living in the remote Yufei Courtyard. So she had Weixia Courtyard cleaned up, all the furnishings were replaced, and she moved back in.

She brought that young soldier from the Western Qi all the way back from the Northwest and settled him in the Marquis's residence for continued treatment.

Not long after returning to Kyoto, Shen Lingjun was summoned to the palace by the emperor.

The emperor looked at her with a rather complicated expression.

"Shen, you donated a large amount of grain and fodder to the Beiyi army during this war, which shows your great sense of righteousness and is truly commendable. You also developed an improved explosive formula to enhance the firepower of Beiyi's munitions, making a crucial contribution to the victory at Tenghu Mountain and making great contributions. You deserve to be rewarded."

Shen Lingjun bowed: "Your Majesty is too kind. As a subject of Bei Yi, it is only right and proper for me to serve Bei Yi wholeheartedly."

She could tell that the emperor's tone wasn't purely one of praise, but rather one of conflict and helplessness.

This is not surprising, after all, she was helping Shen Wei, and Shen Wei's great victory made the emperor very wary.

However, Shen Lingjun had done nothing wrong. As a noblewoman, she made great contributions to the Northern Yi Army, and her merits were real. Therefore, even if the emperor only wanted to show the world, he had to reward her.

The emperor said, “There is no need to be modest. This reward is well-deserved. I hereby bestow upon you the title of Second-Rank Imperial Lady, plus a reward of three thousand taels of gold. I hope that you will become a model for all noblewomen in the world and make further contributions to Bei Yi.”

Shen Lingjun quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Nowadays, there are very few second-rank imperial consorts in the entire Northern Yi region, and they were all granted the title because of their husbands' official positions and ranks. They are mostly old ladies in their fifties or sixties with white hair.

Shen Lingjun is so young, and he is the first person to be awarded this title purely based on his own achievements.

Although the emperor may not have been very willing, he still treated her with great respect and dignity.

After returning to the Yongning Marquis's residence, the rewards that followed arrived.

Three thousand taels of gold, along with various imperial gifts, pearls, fabrics, and other valuables, filled eighteen chests. The gold was dazzling, and the pearls were glittering, almost blinding.

Shen Lingjun had them all carefully stored away in the warehouse.

Receiving such a generous reward should have been a joyous occasion, but Shen Lingjun was not particularly happy because she was still worried.

Her reward has been finalized, but the punishment for Shen Wei is still pending.