The scout carefully presented the memorial from General Qian, the Duke of Lu, to Emperor Chengping.

The memorial recorded the battle with the Tuhun soldiers in detail.

Emperor Chengping read the memorial carefully and exclaimed "good" three times. He immediately ordered his personal attendant to serve him brush and ink. He was going to personally draft the imperial edict.

Receiving such great news at the end of the year, the palace was especially lively for this year's New Year's Eve.

On the morning of New Year's Eve, Emperor Chengping's reward arrived at Count Jing 'an's estate.

Matriarch He led the estate's people to kneel behind the Drooping Flower Gate in the front yard to receive the edict. She was shocked, nervous, and happy. She had never thought that the greatest contributor to the war in the north would be her youngest grandson, He Sanlang!

The Great Wu Dynasty was extremely stable. Now that the emperor was a wise ruler and a prosperous era was at hand, there were very few opportunities like this to earn military merits.

Nowadays, military officials of the same rank in the imperial court were far inferior to civil officials. It was extremely difficult for the descendants of noble families like Count Jing 'an, who had relied on their military exploits to make a name for themselves. Those with ambitions would probably need at least ten years to gain a foothold in the imperial court.

Her uncle had passed away very early, and Duke Jing 'an was stationed at the faraway border of Ming Province. Matriarch He was originally very worried about the past lives of her three grandchildren. She never expected that He Changdi would be able to make it out of the Northern Territory with just one trip!

She was truly pleasantly surprised.

The imperial edict was written very simply. It seemed that the rewards would have to wait until He Changdi returned to Shengjing to arrange in detail.

But these simple words stunned the old matriarch.

Emperor Chengping had bestowed a title of nobility to He Changdi.

Marquis Dingyuan!

It was actually a rank higher than her uncle's!

Even Matriarch He, who had been through a lot, couldn't recover her wits.

The one announcing the edict was Emperor Chengping's favored personal attendant.

He smiled. "Matriarch, this is great news. When the Marquis returns to the capital, this lowly one will come ask for a cup of wine."

Matriarch He was pulled back to her senses by these words. She immediately set aside all her conjectures and focused on dealing with the attendant announcing the edict.

"Then this old one will wait for Gonggong."

Old Matriarch He accepted the imperial edict and all the rewards on behalf of He Changdi. She also had Liu mama deliver a gift of thanks. The personal attendant rushed back to the palace to report and tactfully refused Old Matriarch He's invitation to stay.

After the people in the Palace had left, Old Matriarch He was still holding the Imperial Edict in a daze.

Their Duke Jing 'an Estate now had two nobles?

Other than the previous dynasty, there had never been such an honor since the founding of the Great Wu Dynasty.

This also meant that Duke Jing 'an's estate had leapt from being a second-rate aristocratic family to one of the top clans in the capital.

Matriarch He had always doted on He Changdi the most. Count Jing 'an's title would definitely be passed on to Eldest Lang, He Changqi, in the future. As for Second Lang, who spent his days in the Dragon-Tiger Guards and was unwilling to get married, the matriarch couldn't be bothered to care about him. She had originally planned for He Changdi to take the imperial examinations and become a civil official.

Although it was a little difficult, with the support of Count Jing 'an's estate, he would be able to make a decent living if he worked hard for a few more years. Who knew that he would secretly run off to the Northern Territory?

The more worried Matriarch He was at the beginning, the more happy she was now.

Now that He Changdi had a title, even if his children split up in the future, she would be able to relax a little.

Now, the person she was most worried about was the leftover man, He Erlang.

Her son was more promising than his parents and grandparents, so Countess Jing 'an, the Liu matriarch, was naturally very happy.

Eldest Lang, He Changqi, had always known his own limitations. He knew that he wasn't bad, but compared to his outstanding third brother, he felt inferior. His third brother had made a great contribution to the Northern Territory this time. As a member of the He family, he was naturally proud of him.

The only person in Count Jing 'an's estate who was unhappy was Eldest Sister-In-Law, the Zou matriarch.

She wasn't as well-liked as Chu Lian in the first place, and now that the third branch's title had surpassed theirs, she didn't even have a legitimate son. In the future, her situation in Count Jing 'an's estate would only become more difficult.

With Senior Servant Qiao's support, she lowered her head slightly. No one else could see the jealousy and hatred in her eyes.

As for He Ying and Cousin Pan Nianzhen, they were first shocked, but then they were wild with joy.

He Ying was the eldest grandaunt of Count Jing 'an's estate. The higher the status of Count Jing' an's estate, the higher her status would naturally rise as well.

When He Sanlang returned to the capital, according to His Majesty's imperial edict, he would probably be placed in an important position again. At that time, Count Jing 'an's estate would be able to easily rise among the noble families in Shengjing.

Her older brother, Count Jing 'an, was still around, so Count Jing' an's estate couldn't split up so quickly. If she wanted to keep this glory and wealth forever, the best way was for her daughter to marry into her mother's family.

Eldest grandaunt's slender eyes shone brightly.

At the same time, Emperor Chengping's imperial edict was quickly sent back to Liangzhou City.

However, it was still winter, so it would take at least ten days to travel from Shengjing to Liangzhou City. By the time the news reached Liangzhou City, it would probably be after the Lantern Festival.

After New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year, the days after the new year passed quickly.

Liangzhou City was still sealed in ice and snow. Now that they were going on a long journey, they still had to ride on the Lu Zhou that Chu Lian had ordered people to make.

According to Wu Lihan, who had lived in the Northern Territory for decades, the snow and ice would only melt in February. At that time, more than half of the snow-covered grasslands would become swamps.

It would also be fraught with danger.

Currently, Wu Lihan and her two children were living in the He Estate. After spending some time with them, Wu Lihan could basically speak the official language of the Great Wu Dynasty. Although her accent was still a little strange, there was no problem in communicating normally.

Chu Lian, Wu Lihan, and her two children had gone through many trials and tribulations together, so their relationship was very good. Wu Lihan only had two sons and no daughters. Chu Lian was even younger than her eldest son, Mu Ren, so she simply treated Chu Lian like her own daughter and doted on her.

The barbarians were straightforward and didn't have as many formalities as the nobles of the Great Wu Dynasty. Chu Lian was a good girl who had been raised under the red flag, so she got along very well with Wu Lihan. It was as if they were relatives who hadn't seen each other for many years.

After the New Year, Na Song, who was eleven years old, had a sumptuous meal and medicinal soup at the He Estate. His body gradually recovered, and now the two brothers were working under Steward Qin.

Chu Lian had discussed with He Sanlang that when they returned to the capital, they would bring the three of them with them.

The usually somewhat 'stingy' He Sanlang had generously agreed to Chu Lian's suggestion this time, causing Chu Lian to think that he hadn't heard her clearly. Only after confirming it again did she realize that he wasn't joking.

Chu Lian sat by He Changdi's bedside and was about to feed him some medicinal soup. She asked in surprise, "He Changdi, why have you suddenly become so easy to talk to?"

He Changdi swept a glance at her and then slightly narrowed his eyes, quickly concealing the trace of emotion in them. His low voice didn't change at all. "When have I not been generous?"

Chu Lian stirred the bowl of medicine with a spoon and rolled her eyes. "When have you been generous? Whenever I stay with Sister Hui for a while, you get angry for a while when I come back."

He Changdi's ears reddened. He simply pursed his lips into a thin line and didn't say a word.

Although they didn't stick together all the time, they still shared the same bed and pillow. They ate three meals together every day, so they were very familiar with each other and understood each other very well.

Chu Lian had always been a meticulous person. Now, she increasingly understood how awkward her husband could be.

Now that he pursed his lips and didn't say anything, it was possible that he had already defended himself a hundred times in his heart.

The corner of Chu Lian's mouth twitched. She wanted to push the bowl of medicine in her hand to him.

He Sanlang purposely didn't move. In the end, Chu Lian could only compromise. After all, he was still a patient!

Resigned to her fate, she used a small spoon to scoop out a spoonful of medicine and brought it to He Sanlang's mouth.

Only then did He Changdi lower his eyes and open his mouth to swallow the bitter medicine.

Chu Lian was speechless. She had also tasted the medicine he was drinking out of curiosity. It was extremely bitter. If she didn't have no other choice, she wouldn't even drink a single mouthful.

Wouldn't it be better to drink such a disgusting medicine in one mouthful?

Yet, he wanted her to feed him mouthful by mouthful. Had He Sanlang lost his sense of taste?

He drank it rather happily. He was simply a freak.

After drinking the last mouthful of medicine, Chu Lian finally began to discuss business with him.

"I'll be going out in a bit and will probably only be back in the afternoon. The old physician will come to the manor to change your dressing today. Tell Laiyue to take care of him."

He Sanlang was originally in a good mood, but when he heard his wife say this, he immediately became unhappy.

His expression didn't change because he always had that handsome and cold face. However, his eyes darkened, and the aura around him unconsciously made people tense up.

"Where to?"

Chu Lian knew that his habit of imagining things was acting up again. She comforted him, "Then tell Laiyue to come with me. I'll have Wenqing and Uncle Mo stay at the manor to take care of you."

The two of them were husband and wife. She didn't want to hide anything from him, so she might as well lay everything out in front of him. Laiyue was his attendant. If he came with her, he would know everything about her.

In the end, He Changdi agreed. However, he didn't forget to remind her, "Bring more guards and family warriors."

Chu Lian smiled and suddenly kissed the corner of his eye. Then, she quickly withdrew and left.

The inner room still echoed with Chu Lian's bell-like laughter before she left.

He Sanlang was shocked by Chu Lian's sudden action. He only regained his senses when she was out of sight. However, his entire face was more than half red.

Fortunately, there were no servants in the room at the moment. Otherwise, if they saw the Third Young Master, who was known for his cold expression, blushing in front of Third Young Madam as if he had been molested, they would definitely think that he was possessed.

Manager Qin had already prepared Lu Zhou to go out.

Chu Lian was helped onto Lu Zhou's carriage by Wenlan. She rode with Wenlan and Li Yue.

Laiyue and Manager Qin rode together.

The two or three points they were going to today were not far. The nearest point was only an hour away.

When they arrived, Chu Lian slightly lifted the curtain of Lu Zhou's carriage. She could see five or six sturdy tents not far away.

From time to time, there were barbarians coming from all directions around the tents.

Most of these barbarians were herding cattle, horses, and sheep. Some were also carrying sheepskin or yak skin. However, they had one thing in common, which was that they were thin and haggard.

Experienced people could tell at a glance that it was because of a lack of daily necessities.

It wasn't necessarily because of a lack of food.

It could be because they hadn't eaten salt for a long time. It could also be because they ate meat for a long time. It could also be because of the lack of coal and bonfires.

This small gathering of tents was a small market prepared for them.

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