Because Eunuch Tang had always been kind to them. Even when Duke Gu Qing was just a prince, Eunuch Tang, who was then in the good graces of the emperor, had treated them well. So even though he was a eunuch, Mei Qingxue never regarded him as an outsider.
Since she knew that Duke Gu Qing was in the imperial study, things would be easy. When Mei Qingxue approached the door of the imperial study, she saw Eunuch Tang basking in the sun not far away.
"Eunuch Tang, there's no need to attend inside. I have something to talk to the emperor about..." As Mei Qingxue got closer, Eunuch Tang was about to stand up. Hearing her words, he sat back down.
Pushing open the door of the imperial study, Mei Qingxue walked in. "Your Majesty, it seems you're quite busy?" So busy that he didn't even have time to look at her, yet he had time to write an imperial edict.
"Not at all." Duke Gu Qing quickly explained and was about to stand up and pull Mei Qingxue into his arms. But at this moment, Mei Qingxue was full of grievances and wouldn't let him get close. She immediately glanced at him sideways.
"I heard that Your Majesty is very busy?"
"Not busy." Duke Gu Qing reached out to pull his wife, but Mei Qingxue dodged.
Duke Gu Qing was puzzled as he didn't know what had made Mei Qingxue angry, but he didn't dare not to appease her. "What's wrong, Xue'er?"
"Just now, I saw a little eunuch going out of the palace. Your Majesty, tell me what he was going for?" If it was about taking concubines or inviting prostitutes, she would disappear immediately...
Duke Gu Qing immediately understood that Mei Qingxue was deliberately making trouble. He couldn't help but laugh first. "Didn't the general send a letter last time to recall the empress dowager and the retired emperor?"
"Yes, so what?" As soon as Mei Qingxue heard this, she knew there must be something interesting. She immediately perked up.
"I've found a job for this capable general." Duke Gu Qing laughed. That guy was so annoying. He would make him recall the hard times.
"Oh?"
"I told him to go to the military camp to write family letters for the soldiers in the front line. After all, many soldiers are illiterate." Before Duke Gu Qing finished his words, Mei Qingxue immediately understood what he meant. It was so much fun and he didn't even tell her. It was just writing letters. It couldn't really punish that guy.
"Good idea. It would be even better if you told him to go around the camp and mend the soldiers' uniforms. The soldiers are dressed in rags. How can they look like soldiers?"
"Xue'er is the most understanding." Duke Gu Qing immediately added an imperial edict and sent a little eunuch out with it.
In the military camp, the general didn't dare to ask someone else to do it for him. Under the scorching sun, he was writing family letters one by one for the illiterate soldiers. He was sweating profusely, but even so, he didn't dare to say a single word of complaint.
"The general is so kind!"
"Yes!"
"Thank you, General. Have some water!"
The general was extremely thirsty from the sun. A soldier brought him a bowl of water. The attendant behind the general was about to say something impatiently when he saw the bowl, but the general snatched the bowl and gulped down the water.
He didn't know how many family letters he had written today. They were all about asking about the old people, the children, and the harvest in the fields. But when he took the chipped water bowl, his heart warmed, and then his nose turned sour.
The soldiers were risking their lives for the country, and their requests in the family letters were so simple. While he was drinking water, his attendant looked at his lord in disbelief for using such a dirty and broken bowl.
The soldiers were very quiet while the general was drinking water. Although many of them wanted to write letters home, seeing the general under the scorching sun, none of them made a sound. They were quietly waiting for their turn.
Duke Gu Qing's second imperial edict arrived. The general's face became solemn. He didn't expect that his soldiers were dressed so shabbily.
His eyes couldn't help but get a bit moist. "You... don't have new uniforms?"
"Reporting to the general, we do, but we're just reluctant to wear them!" A soldier looked a bit shy. He still had a childish look on his face. He was just a kid.
"Why are you reluctant?"
"Training usually wears out the clothes a lot. It's okay to wear the old ones." The soldiers' words made the old general's eyes gradually moisten. Originally, he thought the emperor sent him to the camp just to punish him, but now he really felt sad. He remembered that when he was a little soldier, it was just like this. Later, he was promoted to a small commander, a lieutenant, and then a deputy general. He had left the camp for many years. The soldiers were changing year by year like leeks. These young and childish faces looked similar.
"Don't be reluctant. There will be new ones in the future. I promise!" The general's beard trembled slightly.
"I've rested. Those who want to write family letters, line up voluntarily."
When the general's hand was so sore that he couldn't lift it anymore, it was already getting dark. The attendant lit the lamp. The soldiers who received the family letters were all beaming with joy. In the past, no one helped them write letters, so they didn't know how to convey their words to their families. The general also promised that he would send someone to deliver the letters to their families, but they had to clarify the addresses.
The general had written letters for a whole day. When he left, he collected a big bag of letters. Looking at the expectant and a bit disappointed faces of the soldiers, the old general felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He knew what he should do.
What the general had done in a day soon reached Duke Gu Qing's ears. Seeing that the old general finally understood his duty and no longer got entangled in the matter of the beauty pageant, Duke Gu Qing forgave the old man and allowed him to take people to help write letters, because there were really too many soldiers who needed this service.
Duke Gu Qing also learned about the soldiers' clothing situation from this. He immediately allocated a batch of uniforms to be distributed. He also issued an imperial edict for the general to supervise whether the military pay in various places was delivered on time and the follow - up lives of the wounded, disabled, and deceased soldiers.
The general got busy. In his high position, when had he ever forgotten his origin? At that time, he was just a beggar. Joining the army had changed his whole life, and now his good fortune had even benefited his descendants.
"Qing, the military pay every year is really a huge amount. We need to find a way." Mei Qingxue wanted to tell Duke Gu Qing the principle of garrisoning troops for cultivation and defending the border, but she was afraid that he would ask how she knew. Although she was part of the time - traveling group, she didn't want to show off.
But seeing Duke Gu Qing worrying about the huge military expenses, she told him about garrisoning troops for cultivation and defending the border.
"Garrisoning troops for cultivation and defending the border?" Mei Qingxue just mentioned it casually, but Duke Gu Qing immediately understood what she meant. There was no need to waste words explaining.
"Good idea!" Duke Gu Qing clapped his hands and looked at his wife with admiration in his eyes.
"We won't know until we do it." Mei Qingxue wasn't sure if this method was suitable, but self - sufficiency was a way to solve the military expenses problem. Farm work could also train the soldiers.
In just a few days, the new policy of garrisoning troops for cultivation and defending the border was promulgated. The officials led by the general, who had always been eyeing Mei Qingxue's belly, now knew that the emperor favored the beauty over the throne. So they no longer urged the emperor to take concubines. The general also gathered his old subordinates, and the implementation of the policy of garrisoning troops for cultivation and defending the border went extremely smoothly.
When they were not training, they were farmers. When there was a war, they were well - equipped and well - trained soldiers. The grain they planted could feed their own soldiers. They planted mulberry trees, raised silkworms, and wove cloth by themselves, which solved a lot of the military expenses problem.
"Brother wants to guard the border. Should I agree or not?"
"Don't agree. Our family's power is already quite prominent. Brother has good intentions. He can take turns training the soldiers, but guarding the border is out of the question. It's taboo to have more merits than the lord."
"He's your brother. How could I blame him because of his great merits?" Duke Gu Qing didn't understand Mei Qingxue's meaning.
Mei Qingxue had read a lot of books in her previous nine lives, but now she couldn't explain it to Duke Gu Qing.
"Just don't approve. There's no need for so many reasons."
Duke Gu Qing's questions were mainly because Mei Qingxue couldn't answer them.
"Xue'er, then how should I write the comment?"
"Just find something for him to do!" Was it really that difficult?
"Okay." Duke Gu Qing thought for a while. The sandstorms seemed to be getting a bit stronger these years. Mei Qingxue had once mentioned that they could plant trees. So he decided to let Mei Haoxuan go plant trees. Anyway, it was around the capital. He could ride a horse home when he was free.
Duke Gu Qing picked up his pen and quickly wrote the imperial edict. Mei Qingxue saw his smooth writing. She leaned over to take a look and almost laughed out loud. Duke Gu Qing had clearly written down the row spacing and plant spacing that Mei Qingxue had mentioned in the imperial edict.
"Good, good, that's right!"
Duke Gu Qing learned and applied quickly. Mei Qingxue was very happy to see the content of the imperial edict.
"Really good?" Duke Gu Qing asked. It was the first time he had asked his wife's elder brother to plant trees, but this was his only legitimate wife.
"Really good!" Mei Qingxue nodded.
It was time for her to do her own thing.
"I'm going out of the palace. You take good care of our family, including our parents, brother, sister - in - law, and Yi'er."
"Okay." Duke Gu Qing knew that she was going to do her own thing. That so - called Master Songhe had already been captured by Mei Qingxue. It wasn't Mei Qingxue's style not to punish him.
"Just be careful. I can't accompany you." Duke Gu Qing couldn't leave the palace casually now. There were so many eyes watching him. He had to consider the common people even if he didn't think about their small family.
"Don't worry." Mei Qingxue patted Duke Gu Qing's hand. Looking at the concern in his eyes, her heart felt warm. She could only feel at ease after dealing with her own matter.
The injury that An Ying suffered couldn't be in vain.
Mei Qingxue had already made preparations. Feng Ying wrapped his arms around Mei Qingxue's waist and quickly leaped out of the palace without being noticed. In a secret base of the Qingya Snow Pavilion, Master Songhe was brought there.
Mei Qingxue wouldn't act rashly. She had invited a so - called highly respected and extraordinary senior in the martial arts world to preside over justice.
There was a host, witnesses, evidence, and the victim.
Even if Master Songhe had a hundred mouths, he wouldn't be a match for Mei Qingxue, who had made full preparations. Moreover, this most beautiful woman was actually an old monster who had lived for a thousand years.