The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Gong Yu picked up a clean cotton cloth and gently dried Su Qianqian's feet, one stroke at a time, without ever touching her clean little toes.

Su Qianqian propped her head up and leaned against the bed, feeling a bit heavy-headed, wondering if she had caught a chill.

"I'm not feeling well."

Su Qianqian grabbed Gong Yu's left hand, successfully making Gong Yu blush.

Gong Yu helped Su Qianqian cover herself with the blanket and said, "I'll go and call the imperial physician."

Su Qianqian quickly shook her head, "No need, I'll be fine after a nap. Could you pour me a glass of water?"

It's just a minor ailment, not enough to warrant calling the imperial physician from the palace.

After drinking the water, Su Qianqian lay down in bed.

Gong Yu was worried. "I'm not leaving tonight. I'll stay here and watch over you."

"No need, we have fragrant tea."

Gong Yu insisted on staying, so Su Qianqian didn't try to shoo him away.

She fell asleep quickly, but when she woke up in the middle of the night, she found that Gong Yu was still by her bedside, probably because he was worried about her.

That's so silly. Spring nights are still quite chilly. Su Qianqian was worried that Gong Yu would catch a cold.

"Brother Gong, why don't you lie down in bed with me?"

Seeing that Gong Yu blushed, Su Qianqian pulled him into the bed and said, "Hold me."

One of Gong Yu's best qualities is that he never disobeys Su Qianqian and is exceptionally obedient.

Their bodies were huddled together, it was so warm, even the air felt hot and sticky.

Su Qianqian sleeps really well; she fell asleep again in no time.

Gong Yu was so worried that he couldn't sleep. Every now and then, he would touch Su Qianqian's forehead with his hand, afraid that she had a fever.

Thankfully, my forehead doesn't burn at all.

Gong Yu was so worried that he didn't sleep all night. When he found that Su Qianqian was breathing normally and her forehead was not hot to the touch in the morning, he was finally relieved.

He was so tired that he had to hold his back as he went out of the house, and was seen by the Lady of the Marquis.

Lady Hou excitedly grabbed the Marquis's arm and said, "That's wonderful! We'll soon have a grandson, so we must arrange their marriage as soon as possible."

Today, Su Qianqian, along with Minister Qin and others, visited the demobilized soldiers in Gu'an County, a suburb of Beijing.

Here stands the Rongyangtang, built with funds raised by the Qin family, specifically for accommodating retired veterans and disabled soldiers.

It covers a large area with more than two hundred rooms, housing over a thousand demobilized soldiers, both old and young.

When Magistrate Li of Gu'an County heard that Minister Qin was coming, he arrived at the gate of Rongyang Hall before dawn to wait for him.

There was no other way; the Qi Dynasty had a strict hierarchical system, and subordinates had to be this obsequious to their superiors.

Just as the reddish half of the sun was peeking over the horizon, Minister Qin and his entourage arrived.

Magistrate Li rubbed his eyes, feeling that there was something wrong with them.

Qin Shangshu holds such a high official position, yet he lets a little girl walk in front of him?

In the Great Qi Dynasty, the rule was always that those with high official rank walked at the front.

So who is this young girl? How come she can walk ahead of Minister Qin?

Oh, Prince Gong is here too, and he's walking behind the little girl. So the little girl's identity is definitely not simple!

Could she be a princess? Or perhaps from the royal family?

Magistrate Li noticed that Minister Qin was following behind the young girl, constantly introducing Rongyangtang with great enthusiasm and respect!

He looked her over carefully and found that the little girl was extremely beautiful.

But the most striking feature of the young girl is not her appearance, but her demeanor.

He felt ashamed of himself just by looking at her; he felt that the little girl was like the bright moon in the sky, someone he could only look up to.

The little girl didn't even make any arrogant gestures, but she still made people feel that she was unapproachable.

Magistrate Li felt that only today had he truly witnessed what a real noblewoman was like!

His every move exuded nobility, and his expression was authoritative even without anger.

Seeing Minister Qin and his entourage stop at the gate, Magistrate Li quickly stepped forward to bow and greet them, "Minister Qin, you must be tired from your journey. Minister Xue, you must be tired. Minister Chen, you must be tired..."

Minister Qin quietly pulled Magistrate Li aside and whispered, "Didn't you read the letter I sent yesterday? You should greet Miss Su first."

Minister Qin wrote a letter in advance to inform Magistrate Li of the guest's identity and to instruct him to treat Miss Su with utmost respect.

As a result, Magistrate Li continued to act perfunctorily, which greatly disappointed Minister Qin.

Magistrate Li: ? ? A letter from Minister Qin?

He tried hard to recall, and finally remembered that Minister Qin's letter seemed to mention Miss Su, the renowned female war goddess.

Look at that imposing presence; no wonder people dare not look directly at him.

However, Miss Su has not yet been granted an official position, so Minister Qin's treatment of her is far too respectful.

Minister Qin once again instructed Magistrate Li, "I am not important at all; the most important thing is to take good care of that Miss Su."

This time, more than 200,000 taels were raised, and it was all thanks to Miss Su who carried the lion's share. Therefore, everything must revolve around Miss Su.

Magistrate Li nodded, "Yes, sir. I will do everything with Miss Su in mind."

He decided to take remedial action and properly greet Miss Su.

As soon as he got closer, he saw that a peach branch that Miss Su had touched had been cut off.

It was cut by Lord Xue of the Ministry of Rites, who also wrapped the peach branches tightly with red silk cloth, making it look particularly solemn.

Magistrate Li was filled with questions, feeling that the officials from the capital were treating Miss Su with almost insane fervor.

He even treated the tree branch that Miss Su had touched as a treasure, wrapping it in silk. He was a master of flattery, making him feel inferior.

Magistrate Li extended his right hand in a gesture of invitation, "Miss Su, please come in!"

A group of officials followed Magistrate Li into Rongyang Hall.

Su Qianqian stood beside the peach tree, carefully examining the interior of Rongyang Hall.

She discovered that the courtyard of Rongyangtang was very large, with many fruit trees and vegetables planted inside.

That's great. Once the peaches are ripe, the veterans will be able to eat them for free.

However, the house has a lot of problems; it looks very dilapidated.

The retired soldiers in the compound mostly have various disabilities.

Some of them had lost their family members, while others had family members struggling to make ends meet and unable to care for them, so they all moved into this Rongyangtang (House of Honors).

There are five other large Rongyangtang clinics like the one in Gu'an County, near the outskirts of Beijing, all built by Minister Qin through gradual fundraising.

Some of these remaining soldiers were washing clothes, some were weaving bamboo baskets, and some were planting vegetables.

A bearded man who had lost his right arm saw Minister Qin, dropped the hoe in his left hand, and ran over.

"Minister Qin—"

Minister Qin was the Minister of War, and he had led troops in his youth, so many veterans knew him.

Minister Qin introduced the retired soldiers around him, saying, "This is Miss Su. Miss Su has donated a large sum of money this time, intending to improve your lives."

The bearded man was very excited. "I never thought that someone would still care about trash like us. Thank you so much."

Su Qianqian noticed that Big Beard's clothes were still too thin. It was still a bit chilly in spring. His clothes only covered about 70% of his hands and feet, leaving a large portion of his arms and legs exposed.

She turned her head and looked around, and found that many of the wounded soldiers were barely clothed, dressed like beggars, only much cleaner.

Moreover, they were all pale and thin, clearly suffering from malnutrition.

These soldiers are heroes who protect their country; they shouldn't be living such a miserable life.

Su Qianqian came to visit and inspect the site in person mainly to see where the money should be used.

"Minister Qin, make two sets of clothes for each person first."

Minister Qin agreed with the sponsor's suggestion, saying, "Alright, I'll allocate funds to Magistrate Li later so he can make two sets of clothes for each person."

Magistrate Li was overjoyed; once the money passed through his hands, he would be able to rake in a large sum of money.

Su Qianqian looked Li, the county magistrate, up and down. He was fat and had big ears, and looked like a corrupt official.

People die for wealth, birds die for food; it's hard to find an honest official, but corrupt officials are everywhere.

We must give Magistrate Li a heads-up, otherwise the clothes he makes might be made with inferior materials.

Su Qianqian threatened Magistrate Li, saying, "I own a clothing workshop and know the prices of clothes very well. Magistrate Li, these retired soldiers are heroes who protect the people. If you dare to embezzle their money, I will make you spit it out tenfold or a hundredfold."

Gong Yu quickly stepped forward, echoing his wife's words, "Magistrate Li, if you dare to embezzle this kind of silver, I'll have you torn apart by five horses."

Magistrate Li broke out in a cold sweat. "I understand, I would never dare to embezzle."

He had long heard of the reputation of this Inspector General, who was the Emperor's cousin and was known for his impartiality and incorruptibility!