Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 44

“Lord Xiao, please rise. His Majesty has specially permitted your family of three to receive the decree standing.”

Sixi hurried forward in quick little steps and firmly caught Xiao Huan by the arm, stopping him before he could kneel.

Then he began to read the imperial decree.

“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

“The Xiao Family has created alcohol, bringing benefit to the nation and its people.

“We are greatly pleased. We hereby grant Xiao Huan the honorary title of Rongshen Official and restore him to his former post.

“Furthermore, your benevolence has brought aid to many. Through charitable giving, you donated silver and grain to relieve want and famine, extending imperial grace beyond its former reach and rescuing the Zhenbei Army from dire peril.

“You are hereby promoted by one rank and appointed Minister of Revenue.

“Respect this decree.”

Everyone in the Xiao Family cried, “Long live His Majesty!”

“Lord Xiao, congratulations!”

Xiao Huan had only just returned to the capital after escorting the alcohol shipment all the way there. His skin was tanned so dark it shone.

At Sixi’s words, he broke into a grin, revealing a row of white teeth.

“Thank you, Eunuch Sixi.”

He pressed the purse in his hand toward him.

“Lord Xiao, you’re putting this servant in an impossible position. This servant merely came to deliver His Majesty’s words. Your official robes have been brought along as well.

“Now that the message has been delivered, this servant won’t disturb you further. Rest well today, Lord Xiao. You may attend court tomorrow.”

How could Sixi dare accept silver from this man? His Emperor would hang him upside down and beat him when he returned.

The moment he finished proclaiming the decree, he made a swift retreat.

Xiao Huan supported Madam Xiao and Xiao Yaqing, his heart surging with emotion. For a moment, he did not know what to say.

“Husband…”

Madam Xiao had only spoken one word before her sobs overcame her.

“You’ve both suffered.”

Xiao Huan’s eyes reddened as well.

The Xiao Family had served as officials for generations. When they were maliciously framed, the late emperor stripped Xiao Huan of his position and expelled their family from the capital.

He had resented it. He had even fallen into despair for a time.

During that period, he neglected his wife and Yaqing and spent his days drinking.

Though their noble house had fallen, they still had some money left, so he had not thought much about the future.

Then one day, he saw his tiny daughter struggling alongside her mother to stir the brewing mixture.

Half drunk, he asked what the two of them were doing. His daughter glanced at him and replied,

“Yaqing is afraid we’ll sit around until our savings are gone. The family has no income now. Since Father loves drinking so much, Yaqing thought we could make some wine ourselves.

“Father can drink it, and later we can sell it for money.”

That had been the most humiliating and shameful day of his life.

He had studied and served as an official for so many years, yet his seven-year-old daughter had been the one to remind him that wealth would run dry if they only consumed it.

How could he leave his wife and child to worry about their future livelihood?

From then on, he mended his ways, pulled himself together, and tried his hand at small businesses.

He suffered plenty of losses at the beginning.

Once, he had been a prominent lord known throughout the capital. Now that he dealt with merchants, some of them did not even wish to acknowledge him.

Few people on the Southern Border recognized him. Most took him for a landed gentleman with a little money.

They cheated him whenever they could.

In the end, it was by trading cotton and furs that he gradually found his footing.

Winters in the south were different from those in the north. The cold was wet and penetrating, and washed clothes took a long time to dry.

That very year, people from his old home in the north happened to tell him they had acquired a large quantity of hides and asked him to help sell them. He made a considerable profit from the transaction.

Later, his daughter truly did manage to brew wine. When he tasted it, he felt that even the fabled nectar of the gods could be no better.

It was spring at the time, so he named it—

“Drunken Spring Breeze!”

The moment it went on sale, it stood out among all the mild, watery wines of the south.

Making wine required grain, and their vividly colored fruit wines also became popular with women.

Their household began trading grain and fruit as well, and little by little, the family made its fortune again.

Later, the new emperor ascended the throne and declared a general amnesty.

At last, their family had the chance to return to the capital.

Even the grain Xiao Yaqing had used to support the Zhenbei Army had originally been meant for shipment north to make wine.

Both her parents had known about her decision, and they had supported it.

Xiao Huan had watched Mingxu grow up. How could he stand by and let the child die?

He had simply never expected Mingxu to follow in his father’s footsteps in the end.

Looking back over his years in business, Xiao Huan suddenly felt that his demotion had not been entirely wasted.

He had seen the lives of ordinary people from north to south. Returning to government now, he possessed a very different state of mind from the one he had before.

And now Guangji had even promoted him by a rank.

Ha! More than ten years had passed, and that little child had become the Emperor.

Tomorrow, Uncle Xiao would attend court and thank Guangji for his grace. He wondered what expression Guangji would make.

The thought of Dongfang Wei’s solemn, prematurely mature manner as a boy made Xiao Huan want to laugh.

The children were all grown now!

When the family finally calmed down, Xiao Huan turned apologetically to Xiao Yaqing.

“Your father truly rose on Yaqing’s merits this time. You donated the grain, and you developed the alcohol.

“Now I’ve regained my post and even been promoted one rank. It’s all thanks to Yaqing!”

“Father, what are you saying? When I donated the grain, you and Mother supported my decision after you returned.”

Xiao Yaqing’s face turned scarlet.

“Besides, I only began studying alcohol for amusement. All these years, you and Mother have supported everything I wanted to do.

“Glass bottles are so expensive, yet Father never even blinked. When I wanted to give up halfway through, Mother said that if we could make such a valuable thing, it would save many lives.

“And even after I succeeded, Father handled all the business. You’re giving your daughter far too much credit!”

Xiao Yaqing was genuinely happy for her father.

She knew he might also have experienced happiness as a merchant, but it had felt more like finding joy amid hardship.

The Xiao Family had served as officials for generations. Many times, she had seen her father kneeling before the ancestral tablets at night, calling himself unfilial for severing the family’s glory.

Now, that glory had finally returned.

As a modern person, experimenting with such things came naturally to her.

Whether her father held office had never mattered much to her.

Back then, she had truly started making wine because she felt Father could no longer be relied upon.

After all, she had not really been a seven-year-old child.

But once she succeeded and handed the business to him, she rarely concerned herself with it again.

Sometime in the past two years, while experimenting with new wines, the idea of alcohol had suddenly come to her.

To her surprise, her parents supported the idea the moment she mentioned it.

What other family would let an unmarried daughter handle glassware worth a fortune every day, not to mention ruin so much wine in the process?

But when she carefully recalled the contents of the imperial decree…

Judging by the timing, the alcohol had indeed been sold on the Southern Border for a while after she developed it.

However, because it evaporated easily and could be dangerous, transporting it in large quantities was difficult.

It had only just gone on sale in the capital.

That was why her father had been worried enough to escort this shipment personally.

How had that person learned of its uses so quickly?

At the thought, Xiao Yaqing lightly bit her lower lip.

If he had truly been watching her all this time, why had he not sent a single word in all these years?

“Good, good! Today is a joyous day for our Xiao Mansion! Wuyue, go buy firecrackers—the thousand-cracker kind!

“Everyone will receive double their monthly wages today!” Madam Xiao announced grandly.

“Thank you, Madam!”

“Congratulations, Master! Thank you, Madam!”

The Xiao Mansion filled with celebration.