Chapter 356 Rewards based on merit
Chu Li entered the house and respectfully called him "Grandpa".
General Mu looked up at her, "Are you not hurt?"
"Ah."
"That's good, sit down." General Mu had already heard about what happened on the long street. If those things were planned by Chu Li.
Chu Li is already capable enough to deal with Emperor Qingyuan.
"Thank you, Grandfather, for letting Pei Ye help with the military rations issue."
General Mu smiled, "That boy is very nice to you."
"Yes, he has treated me very well since I was a child." Chu Li replied.
General Mu was stunned at first, and then Chu Li took off the hairpin on her head, and her jet-black hair fell down.
“Grandfather, I’m Chuchu.”
General Mu's pupils dilated and his eyes instantly became sore.
He stood up and looked at Chu Li, looking her up and down, "Who do you say you are?"
"Grandfather, it was my elder brother who died when I was ten years old. Since then, my mother has asked me to pretend to be my elder brother. I was afraid, very afraid, so I always dressed as a man and didn't dare to make any mistakes. Later, my mother passed away, and I had no choice but to continue pretending."
General Mu almost couldn't stand. He had mixed emotions, including surprise, joy, sadness and pain.
How could his daughter do such a thing?
Let a child bear the crime of deceiving the king!
"Chu Chu, still alive..." General Mu shed tears and touched Chu Li's head.
Chu Li choked up, "Yeah, still alive."
General Mu’s favorite grandchild is Chuchu.
Therefore, she absolutely couldn't bear to tell him that she was no longer the Chu Chu of the past.
General Mu restrained his emotions and said carefully: "Don't let your father know about this."
"Yes."
General Mu analyzed: "It is difficult to be an empress. The conservatives will not allow a woman to become an empress."
Chu Liming was enlightened.
"The Third Prince is nothing to be afraid of. The Sixth Prince probably has no intention of stealing the throne. On the contrary, the Second Prince is hard to figure out. You should be more careful."
Chu Li was completely relieved to know that General Mu supported her.
"As long as my grandfather doesn't object, I am confident that I can make the people of Da Chu live a better life than they do now."
General Mu has seen everything Chu Li has done in recent years.
He believed that Chu Li would definitely be a good emperor.
The biggest obstacle at the moment is Emperor Qingyuan and her daughter's body.
"Child, I have always felt that the Second Prince was not simple. He was not involved in the struggle for the throne at all. It was not until you went to the war that Prime Minister Jiang Qingyuan and his party focused on training him."
"The eldest prince was demoted to a commoner, the fourth prince was exiled to the frontier, the third prince was insignificant, and the sixth prince was abandoned by Emperor Qingyuan. He must have some ability to be favored by Emperor Qingyuan."
Chu Li agreed. She always felt that the second prince, who was difficult to understand, was the most dangerous.
"Until the Second Prince makes no mistakes and reveals his true colors, he will still be your strongest opponent. Even if you have military merits, you must remember not to expose your female identity."
Chu Li told the truth, "Grandfather, many people already know about it. Except for Chu Yue, most of them are our own people."
Chu Li was sure that Chu Yue must know.
But she didn't say it. Maybe Chu Yue was waiting for her to fight with the second prince so that no one would have an easy time.
General Mu thought for a moment and said, "Although Chu Yue committed a capital crime, she has made contributions to the Great Chu after all. Emperor Qingyuan will not kill Chu Yue and will definitely find a way to save her life."
Chu Li agreed with his grandfather's point of view that as long as Chu Yue didn't continue to do stupid things, he could barely survive.
General Mu continued his analysis.
"Chu Yue wants to be the empress, so she certainly wants to see you fight the Second Prince. She wants to see if you can defeat the Second Prince and eventually sit on the throne. Whether she wants to sit on the mountain and watch the fight or just want to know the result, she will not take the initiative to expose your female body to anyone."
Chu Li nodded, "Even if she tells Father, I will counter her moves."
General Mu looked at Chu Li with pity.
As a woman, she had endured so much hardship and survived so many disasters in the cannibalistic harem of the previous dynasty over the years before she became the crown prince respected by all officials and the people.
He said in a deep voice: "Child, remember, you are no longer alone. If you encounter difficulties, your grandfather will stand behind you."
"Yes, Grandpa."
Chu Li’s confidence increased. It felt great to have the protection of his elders.
She is no longer as cautious as before.
Because now she has many people around her to help her reach the top.
......
The next morning.
In the Jinluan Palace.
Emperor Qingyuan sat on the dragon throne and looked at Chu Li and others who had returned from the border town.
Didn’t Ye Hanting come back with you?
He heard from the spies that Ye Hanting went to the border town after leaving Jiangnan, where he met up with Chu Li.
Well, it's better if he's not here.
On the surface, he was all smiles as he awarded rewards one by one in front of all the civil and military officials.
"The crown prince's triumphant return and the withdrawal of the Golden Scale Army are truly a blessing for the Great Chu and the people."
His eyes swept over Chu Li and others one by one.
"You have fought bravely to protect the Great Chu. Today I have decided to reward you according to your merits."
He suppressed his displeasure and looked at Chu Li, "Prince, for your great achievement, I will grant you a royal villa and a reward of ten thousand taels of gold."
Chu Li said calmly, "Thank you, Father."
Emperor Qingyuan looked at Mu Feng again, "Mu Feng is granted a mansion and awarded a second-class merit."
"I thank Your Majesty." Mu Feng expressed his gratitude.
"Xie Jingchuan, you are brave and resourceful. You have a successor for the Jingyang Marquisate. You are awarded second-class merit and a thousand taels of gold."
Xie Jingchuan didn't care about these. He stepped out to express his gratitude and stood next to Jiang Ge.
Emperor Qingyuan continued, "The Sixth Prince is very smart. He boosted the morale of the soldiers in the army and signed a ceasefire agreement with the Golden Scale Kingdom. He was awarded a second-class merit and a hundred koi fish."
"Thank you, father. I will work harder." The sixth brother smiled on the surface, but he was scolding his mother in his heart.
Emperor Qingyuan, you stingy old pervert, should abdicate immediately and let Brother Li take over.
Then, Emperor Qingyuan's eyes fell on Jiang Ge's face.
His pupils shrank and he finally found Chu Li's fault.
He said in a cold voice: "When the prince was recruiting soldiers, didn't he realize that Jiang Ge was Mu Jiangge? This is a crime of deceiving the emperor!"
All the ministers looked over and saw Mu Jiangge standing straight.
"Isn't that General Mu's daughter?"
"She is General Jiang Ge. She is standing there so heroically. I thought she was a man!"
Xie Jingchuan, who was beside Mu Jiangge, immediately looked at her.
His good brother Jiang Ge turned out to be Mu Jiangge, a woman!
When he was a child, his grandfather often praised the eldest daughter of the Mu family, Mu Jiangge, and said that he wanted him to come and ask for marriage when he grew up.
He suddenly remembered that he kissed Mu Jiangge, and his whole body went numb instantly.
Mu Jiangge didn't want to implicate Chu Li, so he stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, it is inconvenient for me to join the army wearing women's clothes. I can still defend my country by disguising myself as a man. I don't think there is anything inappropriate about it. This is something I did alone. There is no need to vent my anger on His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."