Chapter 603-Infanta
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
Xiong Ba's congratulations did not surprise Ouyang Shuo.
This person always did what he wanted, so why would he bother about what others would thought? The two of them could not be considered friends, and there was even a little animosity between them. However, they were the same type of person, so they valued one another.
On the other hand, Ouyang Shuo had not expected Zhan Lang’s congratulations at all.
It seems like his words during the Battle of Mobei had some effect on Zhan Lang.
……
Amongst all the bustle, the number of people who came to watch the event swarmed the streets of Shanhai City. Various media reporters had gathered in the city to fight to report on this huge wedding.
On this day, the teleportation formations of Shanhai City had completely opened to the public.
Of course, identity checks were still highly necessary. Even if some people with ill intentions wanted to use this chance to infiltrate Shanhai City, they could not escape the tracking of the Shanhai Guards and the Black Snake Guards.
Thanks to the massive financial support, the two intelligence organization had reached a terrifying scale. The number of undercover spies and officers had now reached the thousands. It was incredibly difficult for anyone to escape their eyes.
On this day, Shanhai City was revealed to the entire China region.
On the forums, rumors had circulated that Shanhai City’s prosperity would soon catch up with the imperial cities. In the player's eyes, they thought that Ouyang Shuo was just bragging.
How could an entire player territory catch up to an imperial city in just a short two years?
No one would believe that.
However, when they saw Shanhai City, they finally realized that the rumors were true.
No words could describe the shock in the hearts of the players.
One could imagine the kind of uproar Shanhai City’s appearance would cause when the news spread to the entire region through the media. The image of Shanhai City in the player's hearts would rise once again.
This was absolutely great news for the recently opened Four Seas Bank.
Moreover, this was one of the Ouyang Shuo’s intentions.
The current Shanhai City did not need to hide, and it could brightly display itself to the rest of the world. This was the decisive change that power caused.
Ouyang Shuo did not personally mind the noise and bustle of the people. However, the ritualists made him feel tortured. He was like a wooden puppet, as he was led through dazzling procedure after procedure.
At night, this unparalleled wedding reached its peak.
All the lanterns in the city were lit up, turning Shanhai City into a nightless city. The stages of the drum towers all officially played various shows and songs.
The commoners of the city surrounded the buildings to enjoy these musical and entertainment feasts.
The fireworks flew up in the various cities and exploded in the sky. Numerous children walked out of their homes and onto the streets to watch the fireworks.
The imperial city was the liveliest. In terms of just invited guests, there were two hundred odd tables for the feast. In the manor, there were eighteen tables where the most important guests sat.
As the groom, Ouyang Shuo naturally needed to drink with them.
Since there were so many tables, Ouyang Shuo naturally felt his head start to split. After a previous system update, to chase for a higher degree of realism, lighter would actually become drunk.
When night arrived, Ouyang Shuo was supported back to the resting palace.
Song Jia wore a Phoenix crown, while a red veil covered her face. She sat on the bed, waiting for Ouyang Shuo.
Reaching the resting palace, it was another whole host of customs. This lasted for a full half an hour before the other random people left one by one, leaving the two alone.
As for the Chinese custom where the guests banter with and play pranks on the newlyweds?
With Ouyang Shuo's current status, who would dare to do that?
As the sunset faded, night truly arrived.
The sun had risen high into the sky, and even if Ouyang Shuo had a strong body, after drinking for a few rounds, he felt totally drained.
Song Jia had already woken up and was brushing up.
"You awake?" Song Jia turned around.
Ouyang Shuo nodded, ready to get out of bed.
However, Song Jia asked Zisu to enter and help Ouyang Shuo change and wash up.
The just awake Ouyang Shuo was topless, and his firm muscles emitted a thick aura of manliness. In the end, Zisu was a girl, so she could not help but feel embarrassed to see such a scene. Luckily, she knew that after the Lord’s marriage, she needed to serve him, so she tried her best to calm down.
When Ouyang Shuo saw her reaction, he was completely indifferent. In the early days, he was not used to being served. After two years, he had started to grow accustomed to it. Without Zisu, he probably could not even wear his own clothes.
As a Lord, Ouyang Shuo had numerous attire. Zisu would plan out when and what he would wear. If Ouyang Shuo had to handle these matters himself, he would not even know where the shirt was placed.
The guests yesterday had all left. The gifts placed in the side hall had filled the room to the brim. Meanwhile, the entire Shanhai City had regained its normality.
A massive wedding was like a wave in a river; it arrived abruptly and ended quickly too. The only change was that the people's sentiments had risen by 3 points.
After the wedding, Ouyang Shuo could not get any rest.
It was relatively rare for all the officials to gather at Shanhai City. Hence, they could not just hurry back after the wedding. Using this chance, they naturally wanted to report to Ouyang Shuo about the work they had accomplished.
Apart from that, they needed to keep a close relationship with the four bureaus.
Without mentioning other matters, the Four Seas Bank had obtained thirty million gold in just a few short days. Naturally, Shanhai City would use a portion of this sum.
With the current healthy finances of Shanhai City, they could take a five million loan without a problem.
With the addition of such a sum of money, the Financial Bureau would need to make some adjustments to the budget. It was a challenge to allocate the new budget.
Hence, how would the various governors dare to treat the officials of the four bureaus without seriousness and respect? The current Governor-General House already had the aura of an ancient imperial court. The officials were all famous and high ranking individuals that the people worshipped.
As the territory map adjusted, the concept of territories and imperial courts grew clearer and clearer.
Financial Director Fan Li had become an extremely popular existence.
The various governors were not fools, and they were extremely clear that the Lord was the one who truly controlled the finances. Hence, during their reports, they confidently described their plans.
Ouyang Shuo's attitude was mainly supportive.
During the rest period of the first half of the year, it was the best time to relax on internal administration and allow them to perform as they wished. Ouyang Shuo’s only worry was that the governors would lack the drive and creativity to do more.
For the week after, Ouyang Shuo was swamped with a load of administrative matters.
Since Song Jia received the title of Lady, she was officially pushed onto the administrative stage of the territory. Normally speaking, Song Jia would handle matters such as invitations to feasts and opening ceremonies.
As a daughter of an aristocratic family, Song Jia was well-equipped to deal with such work.
In just one short week, she had established her image as the Governor-General Lady in the city.
This matter naturally delighted Ouyang Shuo.
Making use of this chance, Ouyang Shuo adjusted the status of his three sisters. He officially named them Infanta and gave them a unique position in the territory.
The imperial decree named Cui Yingyu as the Ying Yuechang Infanta, Qing'er as the Qing Yangchang Infanta, and Bing'er as the Xue Yuechang Infanta. The rank of the Infanta was similar to the 2nd rank.
Apart from the title of Infanta, they were also gifted land.
Needless to say, the entire Qiongzhou Prefecture was Bing’er’s enfeoffment land.
The Qiongzhou Prefecture Governor Tian Wenjing returned at this time for two reasons. Apart from visiting the Lord, he especially went to visit the little princess.
Bing'er was still young. Naturally, she did not have to bother about administrative matters. Tian Wenjing had specifically come over with a large number of toys and also some young spirit beasts as gifts to Bing'er.
When the little brat saw these presents, she was naturally delighted.
The enfeoffment land of Cui Yingyu was chosen to be the Yanluo House in Leizhou Prefecture. As for Qing'er, it was the Shuitai House in Zhaoqing Prefecture. Of the taxes of these two houses, they would obtain 20% for their daily expenses.
The title of Infanta undoubtedly acted as a dominant protection talisman in the field of officials. In the future, be it officials or the people, the rumors regarding Cui Yingyu would completely die down.
One must know that insulting a noble was a wrongdoing of the highest degree.
Under Wei Yang’s leadership, the Internal Affairs Department had started to let the people realize the existence of law. The territory laws had entered its adjustment period. After the lantern festival, they would officially push out the law system.
Toward the stingy Qing'er, with a piece of land, she would have no monetary problems and could focus on tailoring. She even sold her factories to the Cui Chamber of Commerce for 150 thousand gold.
As for their original shares in the Sangu Restaurant, the two sisters had backed out long time ago and left it to Gu Sanniang to handle. Their actions left Gu Sanniang extremely touched.
As Shanhai City prospered, as the first restaurant in the city, the current Sangu Restaurant was a money-making machine. It has been a long time since had she needed to personally cook, and she could just focus on being the boss.
Rumors had it that Gu Sanniang intended to find a good guy and rebuild a family.
Such situations were actually quite common in territories. After settling down and gaining prosperous lives, the wilderness refugees would want to rebuild their families and have a good life.
As a result, these people were filled with worship and thanks toward Ouyang Shuo. To them, he was undoubtedly the parent of their new lives.
……
Apart from enfeoffment, the Construction Division also built Infanta Manors in Shanhai City. Cui Yingyu and Qing'er had both come of age, so after the lantern festival, they would leave the Governor-General Manor to live in their own manors.
With that, they could rid the worries of the people.
Before this, Cui Yingyu and Qing'er staying in the manor might have caused people to think that the Lord was keeping girls in the house in the name of making them his god sisters. Such rumors had stained the reputations of both Cui Yingyu and Qing'er.
The establishment of the Infanta Manor would stamp out all these rumors.
As for Bing'er, she was still underaged, so she would stay in the Governor-General Manor.