Chapter 689: Reward
It was fortunate that the world map survived it and that they were lucky enough. Otherwise, this peerless treasure would have been lost a long time ago!
Xie Qiao said that on purpose to make people think that the Xie family did not care about the world map.
It was terrible for an official who came from a bandit background to hold this thing in his hands. Since she was going to give it away, she had to do it to make others feel more at ease. The dumber her father was, the better it would be for the Emperor.
Even though the Emperor was not a suspicious person, as a subject, it was still better to be self-aware.
Xie Qiao pretended to be foolish with a serious face.
Even at this moment, she was looking at the world map calmly, without the slightest bit of nostalgia.
“It is this humble one’s honor that the Emperor and the Empress like it. My father has always been simple. He has always wanted to give the best to the Emperor, but he’s uneducated. That is why he has kept this treasure in the box for so many years…” Xie Qiao pretended to be obedient, she looked very sensible. “Now this thing is out in the world. Although it has some creases, it hasn’t been bitten by any creatures. We’re considered lucky.”
When the teachers heard the word “creatures”, they felt even worse in their hearts.
Fortunately, the Xie family was not too poor…
The Emperor looked at his daughter-in-law. As the saying went, love the house and its crow. The more he looked at her, the more he liked her.
At first, he blamed Xie Niushan for being too foolish and mishandling such a good thing into such a state. However, now that he thought about it, Minister Xie was extremely innocent.
Xie Niushan had never gone to school, so it was normal for him not to recognize the treasure.
Moreover, this young lady also said that there was nothing on this sheepskin in the past. It only appeared after it was on fire.
It was understandable!
No matter what, was the item not given to him now?
At this moment, the Emperor was thinking about how to reward this lady.
It was certain that she would be rewarded with some items. However, she was already the future Princess Consort, and there was no way for her to rise in rank. Thus… he could only place his gaze on the other members of the Xie family.
Xie Niushan’s position as a general had real power, and he had just been promoted. It was hard to promote him again…
Young Lady Xie’s younger brother and sister…
The Emperor glanced at Xie Xi’s direction and sighed.
She was too young, so it was inappropriate to give her benefits rashly.
After thinking about it, he could only give Xie Pinggang something. It would be embarra.s.sing that he was promoted due to a gift, so the Emperor had to think carefully about the reward.
“How old is your eldest brother this year?” The Emperor suddenly asked.
“Your Majesty, my brother is 20.” Xie Qiao told the truth, and she had some vague guesses in her head.
“Twenty? At this age, he hasn’t taken a wife yet, right? Which family’s young lady does he fancy? I can arrange a marriage for them.” The Emperor asked again.
Xie Qiao forced a smile, “Your Majesty, my brother is busy with official business every day, so he doesn’t care about starting a family. Also… some Taoist masters said that he has a lethal fate to his future wife, and it’s hard to find someone with the same fate, so the marriage has been delayed until now.”
With that said, the Emperor was also in a difficult position.
He initially thought that Xie Pinggang was quite capable. In the royal family, if he chose a decent young lady to bestow the marriage, he would be able to raise the status of the family.
However, his lethal fate to his wife…
The Emperor did not doubt Xie Qiao’s words.
This girl was not a fool, and the grand preceptor was also proficient in this technique. If she lied, she would definitely be exposed in the future. By then, it would be a crime of lying to the Emperor, so there was no need to do so.
As such, it would not be easy to reward the Xie family. If he really wanted to reward them, he could only give the Xie family the n.o.ble t.i.tle.
However, this t.i.tle could not be given randomly.
In terms of marriage, the Xie family only had a Princess Consort. They were not even married yet.
In the future, if Xie Qiao became the Empress, it would not be too late to give the Xie family the n.o.ble t.i.tle. Moreover, the Xie family had a different family name. Even if they were to be given the n.o.ble t.i.tle, it would be inappropriate. He was worried that someone in the capital would stir troubles.