Verdant Green Maiden's smile faded.
"Whatever Your Imperial Majesty thinks I should be given, give me that. Everything is at the emperor's discretion. I'm not picky."
The moment she said this, Li Yuan's expression turned somewhat surprised.
Not only him—court officials also looked toward Verdant Green Maiden, as though none of them had expected such an answer from her. In their eyes, as a Cultivator, she ought to have declined outright and refused any reward.
In truth, Li Yuan had indeed not decided what rewards to give Verdant Green Maiden.
But now that the words had been spoken, it would not look good for him, the emperor, to take them back.
After pondering for a while, Li Yuan came up with an idea.
"How about this? I shall have your Heavenly Maiden Temple expanded. In addition, I will send gold and silver to Maoshan to repair its sacred grounds, and have Maoshan erect a divine statue for the Heavenly Maiden. What do you think?"
In his view, things such as temples and divine statues were all that Cultivators liked.
After he said this, Verdant Green Maiden gave a soft laugh but did not reject the proposal.
"Yes."
"Everything shall be at Your Majesty's discretion."
After the rewards came the matter of dealing with Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong. Li Yuan had originally intended to execute them both, but Li Shimin had already promised to spare their lives. Besides, the two had surrendered of their own accord. If he killed them outright, it would likely be difficult to convince the masses.
After much consideration, Li Yuan ultimately did not execute them.
But they would merely be spared from death.
Li Yuan placed Dou Jiande under house arrest in Chang'an, while Wang Shichong was demoted to a commoner and temporarily settled in