Aftermath

"The two princes have returned to the residence~~~"

Clad in blood-red robes and wearing a blood-red jade crown, several ferocious iron-black flood dragons coiled across the crimson robes. A belt of black jade was fastened around the waist, from which hung a blood-red jade seal. Dressed in this full regalia of princely rank, their wide sleeves fluttered in the wind, making for an imposing sight.

Lin Qi and Hu Tu walked forward shoulder to shoulder. Wherever they passed, the stewards, servants, and attendants throughout the Hu Family residence beamed with delight and repeatedly kowtowed in greeting.

To those stewards and servants who did not know the Hu Family's true background, their master being elevated to princely rank and granted several provinces as a fief was a sign of the family's flourishing fortunes. Perhaps in the future, their own sons and nephews might hold high office and noble titles within their master's domain? Who could say?

That was what the senior stewards and housekeepers were calculating. The little happiness in the servants' hearts, however, was far simpler—surely their wages would rise by a huge margin now? Five provinces of fiefdom, five whole provinces; their annual tax revenues were astronomical. The Hu Family did not even have that many servants. Raising their monthly pay three or fivefold would be effortless.

Following behind Lin Qi and Hu Tu were Hu Ye, Hu Xinzhu, and a whole crowd of Hu Family descendants, all wearing broad smiles.

This time, Ying Zheng had been generous and forthright. Lin Qi, that lucky fellow of mysterious origin who had abruptly been elevated to princely rank merely because he recognized a Life Tree, was one thing. But Hu Tu, an old servant of the dynasty, being invested as a king was something no one had expected.

Not only had