I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 181 Turkic Civil War
At the end of December, Liulifang completed the last batch of custom-made glass windows and announced its closure.

The Sichuan merchants were greatly surprised and pressed for an explanation.

Wu Shier honestly replied, "The princess has already presented the glasswork to the Empress Dowager as a birthday gift."

The Sichuan merchants looked at each other and thought, "Wouldn't that mean the imperial court would control the production and sale of glass? How would they make money then?"

"We'll earn money however we want!" Wu Shier said nonchalantly. "A little less is better than nothing!"

The Sichuan merchant's smile was bitter.

With officials at every level offering bribes and flattery, and eunuchs inside and outside the palace fawning over them, profits were severely squeezed. What was most fatal was that the business in the palace and the court had always been divided up by merchants from Luoyang and Jiangnan, leaving these Shu merchants with no chance to even smell the aroma.

"Twelfth Master, could you please make an exception and let us order less?" the Sichuan merchant winked. "We'll do it secretly."

Wu Shier was very tempted. Since he took over the Glass Shop, he had been handling hundreds or thousands of taels of silver every day! Since the installation of glass windows in the Protectorate General's Mansion and the Xuan Prince's Mansion in October of this year, merchants have been scrambling to place orders, and the daily turnover of the Glass Shop has reached tens of thousands!
If we were to ask who would be most reluctant to close Liulifang, it would naturally be him and the employees of Liulifang.

But Wu Shier dared not and could not disobey the young lady's orders, so he decisively shook his head, "We dare not disobey the princess's orders."

Disappointed, the Sichuan merchants, carrying their last batch of stained glass windows, left this heartbreaking place with long faces.

"Manager, Liulifang has closed down. What are we going to do?"

As soon as Wu Shier returned to the workshop, he was surrounded by employees who kept asking him questions.

Wu Shier shouted, "Don't worry, everyone, don't worry, the princess won't abandon you."

Hearing this, the employees felt a little calmer, but many questions remained.

"So what kind of work will we be doing next?"

"Did you earn more than you do now?"

"Are there still performance bonuses?"

"..."

Seeing Wu Shier's face darken, the questioning voice gradually decreased until it disappeared.

"What, you dare to start something again?"

"No, no," the employees waved their hands.

"It's best if you don't dare!" Wu Twelve sneered. "Remember this, the Princess will certainly not mistreat you, but don't take advantage of her kindness and make exorbitant demands!"

"Otherwise, if the Princess can make sure you and your families are well-fed and clothed, she can also send you back to the days when you were starving, cold, and had no work to do!"

The employees looked frightened and dared not ask any more questions.

"The New Year is almost here. The Princess knows everyone has worked hard, so she has specially prepared a lot of New Year's goods." Wu Shier gave a stern warning and a sweet treat. "Go to the accounting office to collect your wages and New Year's gifts, go home early to rest, and have a reunion with your family."

"Thank you, Princess!"

Although they hadn't heard any definite news, everyone was content knowing there would be work after the New Year. They happily received their wages, bonuses, and performance bonuses, along with braised food, flour, and soybeans, and went home smiling.

"Shopkeeper, is there anything else?" The craftsman in charge of the furnace was about to go home when Wu Shier called him back.

"You cannot rest; the princess has something for you to do."

"What is it?" The craftsmen were delighted.

"You secretly start the furnace and make all these things, like distillation flasks, glass rods, and conical flasks, according to the data on this paper."

Wu Shier instructed, "Keep it quiet tonight, don't tell anyone."

"Okay, good!" The craftsmen put down what they were doing and gathered together to study it.

Within a single day, the once bustling Liulifang became deserted.

Everyone either regretted or rejoiced that Tang Zhao had lost such a large business as Liuli Fang, but Tang Zhao felt no reluctance at all. He even felt light as a feather, as if he could not feel the gravity of the earth.

"Is the little girl drunk?" The Ghost Doctor asked excitedly, like a child who had just received a toy. "No!" Tang Zhao sat up straight, patting her chest to vouch for her drinking capacity, "I've only been drunk once since I was born!"

"Hmm, this is the second time now," Dr. Zhong said coolly.

Tang Zhao protested, "I didn't drink!"

"With such a high concentration of alcohol in the air, what difference does it make whether you drink it or not?" Dr. Zhong sighed. "A proper young lady should be learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Instead, she spends all her time brewing wine and forging knives. What kind of behavior is this!"

Tang Zhao covered his ears and leaned back in his chair, muttering, "I won't listen to this bastard's chanting."

"What?" Dr. Zhong didn't hear clearly.

The ghost doctor kindly said, "She's insulting you."

Dr. Zhong was blowing his beard, and the two started arguing again.

As Tang Zhao listened to the two arguing, he became increasingly sleepy. In his drowsy state, he felt himself being picked up, and then his body sank into the soft, warm blankets. He tilted his head and fell asleep completely.

When she opened her eyes again, Gu Ci's handsome face suddenly came into view.

"Oh my god!" Tang Zhao was so startled that he sat up abruptly.

"When did you get back? Why are you in bed?"

"I left the camp yesterday afternoon," Gu Ci adjusted his position to lie more comfortably. "The ground is too hot, I can't sleep."

Too hot? Tang Zhao slapped her forehead. That's right. Before she went to Luoyang, she had someone install underfloor heating in all the rooms of the Protector General's Mansion. In winter, the heat made people sweat profusely.

In contrast, the temperature on the bed was actually lower.

Tang Zhao accepted this explanation and lay back down. "Then how many days off can you take?"

"I'll go back after the New Year."

"So long?" Tang Zhao asked suspiciously. "Did your father give you special treatment?"

"I suppose so," Gu Ci said, his voice languid and relaxed. "The room is warm and cozy, and my father has arranged for his soldiers to take turns going home to reunite with their families."

Tang Zhao was surprised, "The Turks are not on guard?"

“Not for now,” Gu Ci said. “The Turkic Khan is seriously ill, and all the princes are busy returning to the royal court to attend to him.”

Tang Zhao exclaimed, "Truly filial!"

Inside the Turkic royal court, all the concubines and adult princes stayed by the bedside of the Turkic Khan, weeping, but the Turkic Khagan was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is the Khatun?" the Great Yabghu asked the palace servants.

“He’s keeping vigil for the eldest prince in the inner palace,” a palace servant whispered. “It’s been three days, and the Khan hasn’t even had a drop of water.”

Upon hearing this, Da Ye Hu avoided the crowd and, under the cover of night, made his way into the inner palace.

The Great Protector, looking at the Turkic Khagan who seemed to have aged ten years overnight, cried out, "Elder Sister!"

The Turkic Khagan knelt silently before the memorial tablet, as if his soul had left his body.

"Having lost the eldest prince, do you want to lose the sixth prince as well?" Da Yehu knelt before the Turkic Khagan and stared cruelly into her eyes. "Now that the Khan is seriously ill, the struggle for the throne has reached a critical moment."

"The victor is king, the loser is villain. The second prince and the Geshu clan hate our Ashide clan to the core. Once the second prince ascends the throne, let alone our current wealth and glory, we won't even be able to keep our lives!"

Seeing that his elder sister did not react, Da Ye Hu continued, "Elder sister, don't you want to avenge the eldest prince?"

The Turkic Khagan raised his head, his eyes filled with hatred.

　Sorry everyone, my eyes haven't been feeling well lately, and the doctor advised me to limit my screen time. So I probably won't be able to update for the next few days.

　　The author promises that updates will resume immediately once the system is restored.

　　Love you all!
　　(End of this chapter)