Chapter 289: Dumplings and Wine, the More, the Better!

"Mr. Wen, all the books, not a single one missing, have been brought back.""This is great!" Mr. Wen patted Li Lao Si's shoulder and smiled, "You guys have been through a lot, haven't you Are you hurt...The Emperor glanced around, seeing no one, and then said to his cousin, “Cousin, this heavy snowfall portends a bountiful year. Next year, there will certainly be a good harvest, wouldn’t you say”

"Of course, Your Majesty," the Marquis also smiled, reaching out to take a few flakes of snow. "Heavenly blessings, it is a sign of the revival of Tianwu. There will come a day when all mountains and rivers under heaven will return to your feet."

The Emperor turned his head to look at him, and couldn't help but ask, "Brother, are you really not going to get married and have children The Ye family's incense…"

The lord shook his head. "Right now, all I want is to reclaim my territory. If I live to see victory, then we can talk about these things. If I die in battle, please ask the emperor to give everything to Fu Niu."

The Emperor sighed helplessly, "Letting you lead troops into battle is truly a blessing or a curse, I don't know."

The Marquis laughed, "Of course it's a good thing, I haven't been so happy in my life."

Having said that, he glanced at the sky, bowed politely, and changed his address.

"Your Majesty, this subject must return. By now, my family has likely finished making dumplings and is waiting for me to eat them."

The emperor hadn't seen him like this before, almost like a child rushing home from school. Curious, he asked, "Is the soup at Li's place good Are the dumplings well-made too"

"Of course," the Marquis added with a hint of pride in his eyes, "I'll be sure to bring some for the Emperor to try when the opportunity arises."

The Emperor nodded, “Go ahead, rest assured, I promise you, I will definitely do it.”

The Marquis threw open his robe, kneeling on one knee. "My subject thanks your Majesty for your great grace. From this day forward, my life will be dedicated to serving you. I shall give my all to reclaim our lost territories and restore the glory of Tianwu!"

Without waiting for the emperor to help him up, he stood up and strode out.

A young eunuch hurried after him, clutching a box in his hands.

The emperor's trusted chief steward, seeing from afar, dared to step forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, the hour has arrived. Should we set out the meal"

The Emperor pinched his heavy sleeves, nodding and ordering, "First, get rid of all those flower pots and things on the study floor. Make sure there's no trace left behind. Then set out wine and dishes, I have something to celebrate today."

The chief eunuch immediately flashed a smile and replied cheerfully, “Yes, Your Majesty, please wait a moment. This old slave will make the arrangements right away.”

The Emperor turned and returned to his bedroom, carefully taking out the golden corncob from within his sleeve. He placed it in a lacquered box and hid it in a secret compartment of the dragon bed.

After finishing all of that, he sat steadily on the dragon bed, his eyes bright as snow, as if before him lay a thousand miles of rivers and mountains...

Li's courtyard was bustling with activity at this moment. Many people were eating dumplings, and many others were busy making them.

When such a time comes, the village head and his wife, along with the three members of Liu's family, are all invited to gather together.

More than twenty elders, including Zhao Shu, were there.

The women were kneading dough and preparing the fillings for dumplings. After everything was ready, they set up a large table in the main hall.

The men also helped out, chatting and wrapping dumplings together, all with smiles on their faces.

The house manager was left by the old woman to eat dumplings, and at this moment, he also rolled up his sleeves to help.

It's a pity that his first attempt at making dumplings was quite underwhelming.

Looking back, even little Fu Niu was wrapped up so neatly. He couldn't help but blush and quickly tried his best to learn.

The old woman occasionally raised her head and smiled, saying, "Manager, don't worry. Come a few more times later and learn slowly."

The steward was delighted and said with a chuckle, "Oh my! Then I'll listen to Madam's words and visit often. The Marquis's mansion is too quiet; it's much more lively with us around."

As they were talking, the Marquis's carriage returned.

The courtyard immediately became more lively, with the village head and others inviting the Lord to sit and chat.

Jia Yin ran over holding her two chubby hands and hugged her godfather's leg.

The lord wore a teal robe and was immediately branded with two white handprints.

The Lord wasn't at all put off. He scooped Jiayin onto his lap and called over Mao'er, the little boy who had been chasing after his sister.

He opened the box in his hand and took out a pair of red agate cat figurines, handing them to the young boy.

The little cat was overjoyed and bowed to express his gratitude before running to show off to his father.

While Jia Yin embraced the remaining box, her joy was almost unbearable.

The box was filled with four pairs of solid gold bracelets, all handcrafted.

Everyone peeked and understood.

"Fu Niu must have made a fortune!"

This child loves gold and silver the most. He must have been a little fairy who sat under the god of wealth in his past life.

"I think it's a Pixiu, only letting things in, not out!" Old Madam Li came out and couldn't help but tease her granddaughter, then scolded the Marquis, "She's just a child, you shouldn't always give her these precious things. You're spoiling her rotten!"

The lord laughed and admitted his mistake, "I promised the child before, I can't go back on my word, so there won't be any more."

The old woman didn't believe this at all. Every member of her family, when faced with Fuku-niou, couldn't resist her cuteness and charm.

As long as this girl is happy, nothing else matters.

Soon, the dinner table was set with plump, white, and glistening dumplings. Accompanied by a few sour-sweet or savory side dishes, everyone gathered around, enjoying the delicious feast.

The village head and several old men each poured themselves half a bowl of wine. They took sips of wine and dumplings, laughing heartily.

Dumplings with wine, the more you have, the better they taste.

But after the dumplings were finished and they had each had half a drink, the elders grabbed the Marquis and wiped their eyes again.

"My Lord, when can we retake Jiangbei We old bones don't know how long we have left. Will we be able to return to our ancestral burial ground on the hillside"

"Yes, Suijin Beach is good, but I can't help but miss my hometown. These past few nights, I've been dreaming of the locust flowers on the hillside."

The lord was not impatient, and patiently soothed them, "Soon, it won't take three years, we will definitely retake the Jiangbei."

"Alright, we can't afford to brandish swords anymore, but we have diverse crops and plentiful produce. When the time comes, we will contribute grain and manpower to support the Lord!"

The old men, having had their heart's content, went back to sleep.

Li Zhensheng borrowed an excuse to get a book and followed the Marquis to the next courtyard.

Just as Ye Shan hurried back, he bowed and reported: "My Lord, the Wang family can't hold on any longer. They sent another letter to our residence."

Having said that, he held out a letter with both hands.

The Marquis opened it and, reading it in one glance, couldn't help but sneer. "This is how people are; when hardship doesn't befall them personally, they'll never know pain. Now that he's experiencing it himself, Wang Bo'wei has finally panicked."

Li Zhensheng was curious, so he asked, "But because of my thing"

The Lord shook his head. "No, the third son of the Wang family was thrown into the Dali Temple and hasn't been released. Perhaps it's because he caught a cold in the prison, no one treated him, and now it's gotten serious. The Wang family is anxious now. They plan to donate two hundred acres of land to provide for the wounded soldiers in exchange for me speaking up and clearing the third son of Wang from the assassination case."

Li Zhensheng's heart warmed as he listened. Although the Marquis claimed it wasn't because of him, he still made Wang San Ye relive his experiences, from beginning to end.

This is such loyalty, only someone who truly considers him and the Li family as their own would act like this!

The lord personally poured two cups of tea and continued, “That person means to agree to your joining the caravan, but the transportation and planting of seeds have to be handled by ourselves. He only wants to see the results next autumn.”

"Transporting the seeds is easy enough, but planting them is a bit of a headache. Firstly, Suijin Beach isn't suitable for growing corn and potatoes. It's either rocky mountain terrain or riverbeds. Secondly, our Hou family has been following the court wherever it goes, so we haven't acquired any farmland around here. Today Wang family gave us this two hundred mu of land, which solves our immediate problem."aroma of cooking began to waft from the kitchen...A chilly north wind carried the fragrance, wafting it into the air and over the high walls into the palace. By the time it reached its destination, th...