Chapter 82: Rewards

Jinling.

Xiangli Courtyard of the Imperial Palace.

Zhao Heng stood before a writing desk, holding a large brush in his hand and painting.

From time to time, he looked toward the stark-naked, pretty palace maid on the bed opposite him.

The palace maid's eyes were filled with desire, and the look she cast at Zhao Heng was entirely flirtatious, without a shred of shyness.

For them in the deep palace, there were only three kinds of fates: either they grew old and lost their looks, and were dismissed from the palace upon reaching a certain age.

Or, like those old matrons, they grew old alone in the palace.

And the third kind was extremely rare, which was also what they craved the most.

That was to receive the Emperor's favor and become someone above others from then on.

Therefore, even for the slightest hope, they would exhaust all their efforts to please the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, Prince Chun has arrived." Liang Cheng appeared at the doorway.

Zhao Heng nodded slightly without speaking, his hand not stopping with the brush; a quarter of an hour later, he placed the final stroke and then raised his hand to wave.

The palace maid understood, put on her clothes reluctantly, and left the room with lingering glances.

Once the palace maid had left, Liang Cheng gestured to the stout man standing outside, "Please, Your Highness Prince Chun."

The man straightened his clothes and hat, and walked in slowly.

Upon seeing Zhao Heng, his face immediately filled with a simple and honest smile, and he said, "Your younger brother pays respects to the Emperor."

"No need for formalities, no need for formalities. Prince Chun, look, how is the painting I made?" Zhao Heng pulled Prince Chun over and pointed to the beauty in the picture.

Prince Chun was not surprised.

Everyone close to Zhao Heng knew he had this hobby, which he called: Jade Maiden Painting.

"Your Majesty's painting skills are becoming more and more masterful; this woman is truly lifelike, as if she could jump right off the paper." Prince Chun gave a thumbs-up and praised him incessantly.

Liang Cheng nodded repeatedly from the side.

Zhao Heng's face showed pride, but it instantly turned into regret, "The women in the palace are beautiful, but..."

Having said this, he pretended to ponder.

Prince Chun gave a low laugh and leaned close to Zhao Heng, "Since the Imperial Brother had me come, I understood. Before coming, I had already brought Miss Xiao to the villa."

Zhao Heng revealed a satisfied expression, "Prince Chun truly understands me."

After laughing twice, he added, "During this time, you should take a trip to Yan Commandery to see Yan Wang. This time, I spent quite a bit of effort to secure the matter of military supplies for you; it must not be bungled."

"Go to Yan Commandery?" Prince Chun pulled a bitter face, "Imperial Brother, that Yan Commandery is a remote and desolate place, how boring. Can't I just send someone I trust to go?"

Zhao Heng glared at him, "This is your first time procuring military supplies; you must put on a show for those ministers to see."

Picking up the painting from the desk, he admired it while saying, "By the way, send the items to Yanguan as well to reward the soldiers of Yanguan on my behalf."

"Yes, Imperial Brother." Prince Chun replied.

Zhao Heng nodded, handed the painting to Prince Chun, and sighed, "I have no choice either. I want imperial wealth and honor, and you want to eat, drink, and be merry, but the prerequisite is that the Great Song's empire is stable and secure. Currently, what I worry about most is the Northern Di, so I have to be on guard against the Yuan Family of Yanzhou."

Prince Chun shook his head, "These matters are too complicated; your younger brother is dull and doesn't understand. However, whatever the Imperial Brother tells me to do, I will do."

Hearing this, Zhao Heng revealed a satisfied smile.

Just as they were speaking, a young eunuch arrived at the door and whispered to Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng hurriedly bowed to Zhao Heng to offer congratulations, "Your Majesty, Tong San has returned. This time he also brought back over a hundred Northern Di captives. It is said that this was achieved because Yan Wang ambushed a caravan smuggling military weapons with the Northern Di."

"Oh?" Zhao Heng was overjoyed.

Over these years, the battle reports sent from Yanzhou always made him feel irritable.

The reason was that the Great Song army was repeatedly defeated in front of the Northern Di people.

This undoubtedly made him, the Emperor, lose face.

The ceremony of presenting captives outside the Meridian Gate had not been held for a long time.

The news Tong San brought back undoubtedly perked him up.

This time, he could stand on the wall of the Meridian Gate again,

execute these captives, and accept the praises of officials and the common people.

Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth could not help but lift.

"Let Tong San come in; I want to ask him personally," Zhao Heng said.

Liang Cheng immediately sent the young eunuch away.

Before long, Tong San entered and reported what he had seen and heard in Yan Commandery truthfully to Zhao Heng.

"Yan Wang's Prince's Personal Army is actually this formidable?" Zhao Heng showed a look of surprise.

It had been only two months since Yan Wang recovered from his illness, which truly surprised him.

"It is absolutely true. Yan Wang's Personal Army is now commanded by Chang Wei; they are well-trained and equipped with fine gear. They are truly a fierce force," Tong San praised.

Having received silver from Zhao Xu, he naturally had to speak for him. He knew that this Emperor had always been fond of grand achievements, so he continued, "Moreover, the people of Yan Commandery all praise Yan Wang highly, feeling grateful that Your Majesty sent Yan Wang to Yan Commandery to save them from fire and water."

Hearing this, Zhao Heng became even happier, "Hahaha, I am just cherishing the people of Yan Commandery. After all, the twenty-one commanderies of Great Song are all my subjects."

Tong San then told Zhao Heng about the warhorses and military weapons he had seen.

"Hmm, Yan Wang has indeed inherited my caution, otherwise he would have been the one ambushed by the Northern Di people instead," Zhao Heng said with his hands behind his back, looking smug.

Liang Cheng echoed, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. If it weren't for inheriting Your Majesty's brilliance and martial prowess, how could Yan Wang have achieved such a feat?"

Prince Chun also cupped his hands in praise, "It is still the Imperial Brother's good training. Although Yan Wang was a fool for three years, the training skills the Imperial Brother used before did not fall behind."

Listening to the flattery of the three, Zhao Heng suddenly felt that the image of Zhao Xu in his mind was becoming clearer and clearer.

This ninth son of his was not bad after all.

He was at least more worry-free than those Imperial Princes in Jingshi who fought back and forth for the position of Crown Prince.

At least, he had done real work for the Imperial Clan in Yan Commandery, giving him face.

Thinking of this, he said to Liang Cheng: "Tell the Ministry of Rites that the presentation of captives will be held at the Meridian Gate tomorrow, and have them prepare the ceremony."

He then added: "Yan Wang has rendered meritorious service and should be rewarded; in consideration of his success in killing the enemy, I grant him permission to expand his Personal Army to thirty thousand men. Prince Chun, you may take the imperial decree with you on this trip."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Prince Chun replied.

The next day.

In the morning, the hundred officials and numerous members of the Imperial Clan and nobility gathered outside the Meridian Gate.

They had received notification from the Ministry of Rites yesterday that captives were to be presented at the Meridian Gate today.

Upon learning this news, everyone began to inquire about it.

Only then did they learn that these were captives sent from Yan Commandery.

At the same time, some news spread from the palace; it was said that in his joy, the Emperor had permitted Yan Wang to expand his Personal Army to thirty thousand men.

Although some officials with backgrounds in the Yuan Family vehemently opposed it, more ministers expressed their support.

They had long been deeply worried about the Yuan Family's influence in Yanzhou.

Naturally, they felt more at ease the stronger the Imperial Clan's influence in Yanzhou became.

After all, no one wanted trouble in Yanzhou to lead to an invasion by the Northern Di.

If that happened, no one would be able to live a good life.

"Brother Crown Prince, look at Zhao Fang's expression."

The crowd was lined up according to rank, and at this moment, Eighth Prince Zhao Zha nudged First Prince Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang looked over and, seeing Sixth Prince pulling a long face, could not help but chuckle softly.

"Hehe, this ninth brother recovered from his illness at just the right time; the Yuan Family will have a hard time ahead."

Thinking of something, Zhao Gang said sternly: "Also, do not call me Crown Prince in the future, lest someone hears it and slanders me before the Emperor again."

Zhao Zha nodded and chuckled twice.