Tiger Owl

Chapter 311 Military Recognition
The next day was the first day of the Lunar New Year. Just as dawn broke, the sound of firecrackers from all around woke Gan Ning and Sun Shangxiang, who were sleeping in each other's arms. Gan Ning kissed Sun Shangxiang and said with a smile, "Happy New Year!"

Thinking of their passionate encounter the previous night, Sun Shangxiang felt a mix of sweetness and shyness in her heart, and softly replied, "Happy New Year!"

She noticed that it was already daylight outside, so she quickly got up and said, "I need to make tea for my husband. What kind of tea would you like to drink?"

On the first morning of their wedding, it is customary for the bride to brew a cup of tea for the groom, a tradition found in many parts of southern China. Gan Ning thought for a moment and said, "Brown sugar ginger tea, and if possible, add a few red dates as well."

"of course can!"

Sun Shangxiang quickly put on her clothes, then draped a thick fox fur cloak over her shoulders. She got up and opened the door. She opened the courtyard gate first, where three personal maids were already waiting outside. "Good morning, Madam!" the three maids greeted her, bowed together, and entered the courtyard.

The morning began with some activity. Several strong women brought over a charcoal brazier, while Sun Shangxiang started brewing brown sugar ginger tea for her husband and took out a jar of red dates.

While the water was boiling, Sun Shangxiang helped her husband get out of bed and helped him wash and dress.

After washing up, Sun Shangxiang placed a steaming cup of brown sugar ginger tea in front of Gan Ning, along with three swollen red dates.

Gan Ning has always loved red dates. In his previous life, there was a decades-old jujube tree in the courtyard of his old home, which was full of bright red dates every year. For this reason, he had a special fondness for red dates. He even transplanted a thirty-year-old jujube tree in the central courtyard and several more in the back garden. Red dates were never in short supply in his family.

After drinking the brown sugar ginger tea, his stomach felt warm and cozy. He smiled and said to Sun Shangxiang, "Let's go wish my elder sister a Happy New Year first, and then come to my study together."

The customs for every household on the first day of the Lunar New Year are the same: first, go and pay New Year's respects to the elders. Gan Ning's family has no elders, only Yang, the mother of Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, who lives with them. However, Yang is a devout Buddhist. On New Year's Eve, she and several old nuns would chant Buddhist scriptures in the temple all night. They would go to bed at dawn and not get up until the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year. Therefore, there are no elders to pay New Year's respects to on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Although there are no elders, there is an elder sister. Xu Wei, Xiao Qiao, and Sun Shangxiang are going to pay New Year's respects to Da Qiao, as this is a sign of respect for the legal wife.

Xu Wei and Xiao Qiao were already chatting in Da Qiao's room when Sun Shangxiang came in. Xiao Qiao quickly went up to her, took her hand, winked, and asked with a slightly ambiguous smile, "What time did you go to sleep last night?"

Sun Shangxiang's pretty face immediately turned bright red, and Da Qiao waved her hand, "Ayu, don't joke like that!"

Xiao Qiao sat back down with a smile, and Sun Shangxiang quickly gave a curtsy, "Big sister, Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!"

After saying that, Da Qiao stood up and said with a smile, "Let's go! We have a lot to do today, so let's hurry up and go ask for our rewards first!"

"A reward?" Sun Shangxiang didn't understand at first.

Xu Wei whispered with a chuckle in her ear, "Didn't you also receive twenty taels of gold last year?"

Sun Shangxiang immediately realized what was happening, and a sudden warmth filled her heart, along with a strange sense of anticipation.

The four women arrived at Gan Ning's study. The desk in the study had been cleared out, with four large red envelopes on it, and a brocade box on top of them.

Gan Ning stood to the side, smiling as he looked at his wives.

Da Qiao, along with her three younger sisters, gave her husband a deep bow and said, "My dear husband, Happy New Year!"

Gan Ning also bowed and said, "Happy New Year!"

He pointed to the four year-end bonuses and said with a smile, "These are this year's year-end bonuses. I hope you like them!"

"Thank you, husband!"

Da Qiao took the first one. Actually, it was pretty much the same every year. Da Qiao's red envelope contained a receipt for 1,000 taels of gold, while the other three received 500 taels of gold. What was different each year was the gift inside the box. The four of them eagerly opened the box, and the gift was always the same: a piece of extremely smooth and lustrous mutton-fat jade.

Da Qiao's eyes lit up. "Husband, how did you come to have this treasure?"

During the Han Dynasty, scholars and officials were fond of jade, but most of them mainly used Xiuyan jade, Lantian jade, and Dushan jade, and it was rare to see Khotan jade sent from the Western Regions.

Da Qiao also loved jade, but her jade was mostly Dushan jade produced in Nanyang County. She rarely had white jade, and mutton fat white jade was a legendary item that only emperors and nobles could possess.

So when she saw the mutton fat white jade that her husband gave her, she was overjoyed. The white jade that Gan Ning gave them was the finest white jade pebble material from Khotan, as white as mutton fat, warm and delicate, thick and mature, and with a bright red skin, without any flaws.

The four women were overjoyed with their gifts, completely ignoring the gold in the red envelope.

Next comes the distribution of annual bonuses to the servants, which is the most anticipated moment for everyone in the mansion. Madam Da Qiao's kindness and generosity will give each servant a generous reward. This is not only money, but also a form of respect and recognition of the servants' hard work throughout the year.

Although Xu Wei was pregnant, with Sun Shangxiang's help, the distribution of the annual rewards went very smoothly this year.

At this moment, a maid came and bowed to Da Qiao, "Madam, the Marquis requests your presence in his study."

Da Qiao nodded and quickly went to her husband's study, where Gan Ning was waiting for her.

"Did my husband need to see me?"

Gan Ning smiled gently and said, "I'd like to take you to the banquet at the military camp!"

Da Qiao was taken aback. "To the military camp?"

Gan Ning nodded. "I used to go alone. I thought about it and realized that you are my wife, so you should attend with me. That way, you can gain the army's recognition and support."

Da Qiao suddenly understood that her husband was further consolidating her position as the principal wife. Her status as the principal wife was not only recognized within the family, but also recognized by the entire Western Chu regime, including the most important military.

"Okay! I'll go change my clothes now and give the wet nurse some more instructions."

The army held a New Year's feast in every barracks, where soldiers could drink and eat meat to their heart's content and celebrate the New Year. However, in reality, many soldiers went home for the New Year, leaving less than half of the soldiers behind. Gan Ning then proposed to reward the soldiers who stayed behind and celebrate the New Year with them.

This system has been in place for a long time. In the beginning, it was not systematic, and Gan Ning would always return drunk after being plied with alcohol by his soldiers.

Now it's becoming more and more organized, and the rough, wheel-like toasting is gone. Instead, it's a highly ceremonial toasting ceremony by representatives of soldiers and generals.

This year's ceremony was even more elaborate. When Gan Ning and his wife Da Qiao entered the military camp in a roofless carriage, tens of thousands of soldiers cheered. This was the first time they had seen their mistress. Da Qiao's stunning beauty and gentle demeanor immediately won the hearts of all the soldiers.

Gan Ning took Da Qiao's hand and led her to the main seat, where they sat alone. About ten feet to either side were two long tables for the civil and military officers. To the right were three military advisors and a dozen or so civilian officials, while to the left were over twenty officers of the rank of colonel or higher, the first being the veteran general Huang Zhong.

"Dong!" A bell rang, signaling the time was up. Gan Ning gave Da Qiao a wink, and the two of them picked up their wine cups and stood up. The soldiers and civil officials also stood up, raising their wine cups high.

"In the past year, we defeated Cao Cao's invasion and defended the dignity of Western Chu. In the new year, we need to sharpen our swords and train our soldiers to be more elite, so as to make full preparations for our upcoming expansion. Here, as is customary, we offer our first toast to all the fallen soldiers."

Gan Ning poured the wine on the ground, and Da Qiao followed suit, spilling her wine as well. All tens of thousands of soldiers offered the first cup of wine to the fallen soldiers.

(End of this chapter)