The Gilded Cage - Chapter 173

Pregnancy (1)

Near Ganzhou, the flames of war between Great Liang and Beirong continued to burn for half a year.

General Liu Jiping, commander of the Ganzhou Army, under the permission of Emperor Xiao Kezhi, did his best to prepare for the war over the past ten years. Finally, at the end of winter and before the spring of this year, the Beirong people were completely defeated and driven into the desert. In the depths, the scourge that had plagued the border of Great Liang for decades was completely resolved.

When the news came out, the government was overwhelmed, and even the common people were delighted.

For many years, Great Liang emphasized culture and despised martial arts. Apart from the deliberate actions of the royal family and several noble families, there was another reason for this, that is, for the past twenty or so years, the territory of Great Liang had been peaceful, with few wars and few borders. Although there were frictions from time to time, no large-scale war broke out. There were many military officers in the court and throughout the country, but none of them were useful.

Today’s great victory in the north was indeed the first time in more than 20 years. The common people cheered proudly, while the courtiers looked at Liu Jiping and other Ganzhou generals with admiration, regardless of martial arts.

Of course, the courtiers were more in awe of the Emperor.

After all, everyone knew that the Ganzhou Army was drilled by Xiao Kezhi for several years.

When Xiao Kezhi heard the news, although it was expected, he was still overjoyed. He immediately issued an order to invite General Liu Jiping to return to the court and celebrate his achievements at the New Year’s Day banquet.

This was a major event for the whole country to celebrate, and Chu Ning would naturally handle it well.

A while ago, the preparations for the establishment of a female officer’s school in the palace were almost ready. Now Cuihe has been promoted to be a female official, and she was in charge of the female official school, and has shared a lot with Chu Ning. However, in this way, she had to move out of Ganlu Hall, living near Yeting Palace with other female officials, and she spent less and less time with Chu Ning.

Now, the two people who were originally facing each other day and night were busy with their respective affairs, and it took four or five days before they finally had time to see each other.

“This is the list of the first batch of maids who entered the Women’s Academy. Please take a look at it.” Cuihe, dressed in a neat female official uniform, held the prepared roster in both hands and presented it to Chu Ning.

Chu Ning reached out to take it, spread it out on the desk, and read it carefully bit by bit.

In the thin booklet, apart from the fifteen maids of Yeting Palace, their birthplaces, time of entering the palace, family background before entering the palace, and general experience after entering the palace were listed. Each piece was detailed and thorough, and it was obvious that the preparation is very meticulous.

“You have arranged very well, just follow this list.”

She put down the list, and praised with a smile, “Come on, sit down quickly? Now, you are getting busier and busier, so it’s harder to see you, but you can’t leave so soon.”

There were only two or three serving maids in the hall, and there was no one else. Seeing this, Cuihe was not shy, and after saluting slightly, she sat down beside her generously, “You can’t blame this maid, who is only in charge of arranging the school. Your Highness is in charge of the entire Taiji Palace, Changan City, and even the affairs of officials and women in all of Great Liang, and Your Highness shall prevail. Your Highness is much busier than this maid.”

Hearing what she said, Chu Ning couldn’t help covering her lips and laughing, “You girl, you’ve become a female official, and you’re getting better at talking. I finally saw your full person.”

A maid brought up a plate of freshly made pastries and brought up two cups of iced cream. The two of them talked while eating the pastries.

After a while, there was a sound of footsteps outside the hall, and the maid said, “Your Highness, someone from the Imperial court has come to fetch a letter of approval written last night for Your Majesty.”

“Understood, let them come in.” Chu Ning raised her voice to respond, but she saw Cuihe, who was standing beside her, suddenly freeze. His gaze turned to the direction of the palace gate eagerly, as if she were expecting something. When she saw that the person who came was Liu Kang, she bowed his head in disappointment.

Even though he was the emperor, Xiao Kezhi was like an ordinary person when he returned to the empress of Ganlu Hall every day, and he never hid his wife’s knowledge when dealing with official affairs. Therefore, Chu Ning just rummaged through a stack of books beside the case and found it quickly.

“Is this old slave bothering Your Highness?” Liu Kang smiled and bent down to salute. He took the approval document from Chu Ning with both hands, and nodded at Cui He, leaving in a hurry without staying.

“Cuihe, who did you think was here?” Everyone in the room retreated, and Chu Ning didn’t hide the narrow smile on his face, “Did you think it was General Jin?”

Although she didn’t hear Cuihe mention this matter, she caught the clue from the few words of other maids.

Cuihe is the closest maid to her, the Empress. Jin Jiang, as General of the Qianniu Guard, was the personal guard of the Imperial Guard. They didn’t see each other much on weekdays.

Cuihe’s age was almost the same as hers, and she should have found a good man to marry, but because of the inconvenience of following her into the East Palace, she had never met a suitable husband. Her skills had been wasted, and now there was a marriage candidate, she was naturally happy to see it happen.

But Cuihe only blushed, and there was a flash of disappointment and hesitation.

“Your Highness was joking. The maid was just a little distracted, why would she think about anything else?”

Chu Ning had been with her day for more than ten years, and when she saw her like this, she knew there was something hidden in her heart, so she couldn’t help but say seriously, “If I don’t ask you about this, you won’t… tell me? General Jin, what’s the matter with him? I heard from His Majesty a few days ago. He asked General Jin if he had a favored lady. He said yes, but hesitated and refused to reveal who it was, why is that?”

Jin Jiang was the commander of the guards of King Qin’s Mansion in Ganzhou at the beginning, but he has been conscientious all these years. He has been close to Xiao Kezhi and has a close relationship with him.