On the Sky Canopy, as the single-wheeled cart got closer to the princess's residence, Zhang Erniu, sitting on the cart, grew more and more tense. Because there was already a long line in front of the residence, and Zhang Erniu felt he couldn't even count how many people were in it. Aunt Lin's husband, pushing the cart, also couldn't help getting nervous at the sight and quickened his pace. When they reached the end of the line, he hurriedly helped Zhang Erniu off the cart, afraid he might be slower than others. After Zhang Erniu successfully joined the queue, seeing that Old Man Feng was still pushing the cart beside him, he said, "Uncle Feng, there are so many people here. I don't know how long I'll have to wait. Why don't you go home first? I can wait here alone." Old Man Feng quickly waved his hand: "No, no. Aunt Lin told me repeatedly to stay with you until you're done and then take you home! You know what a termagant she is. If I don't follow her orders, she'll twist my ears off tonight!" Seeing Old Man Feng acting so obedient to his wife, Zhang Erniu understood that he was trying to help. He blinked his moist eyes, forcing back tears. Old Man Feng saw his emotion and patted his shoulder, comforting him: "Life is full of disappointments, but what can we do? A living dog is better than a dead lion!" Zhang Erniu took a deep breath, his throat moving up and down as if he had a thousand words to say, but in the end, he only softly said, "Mm." And so, Old Man Feng stayed with Zhang Erniu the whole time, pushing the cart. Since there were so many people ahead, and Old Man Feng noticed that Zhang Erniu, due to standing for a long time, was putting all his weight on his healthy right leg, causing it to tremble from soreness, he offered to take Zhang Erniu's place in line so he could rest on the cart. But Zhang Erniu firmly shook his head at this kindness, explaining in a low voice, "Everyone here is looking for work, just like me. If I rest now, the princess's people might think I can't endure hardship and not hire me." With these words, the camera panned forward, showing close-ups of everyone in the line. Among them were people like Zhang Erniu, with crippled or broken legs, missing arms, wearing eyepatches or blind in one eye, and a few with severe facial burns, their skin twisted and contracted, looking terrifying. Each had different degrees of disability, but as Zhang Erniu had said, they were all the same kind of people. They were unsung heroes unseen and unknown to the public. Under the Sky Canopy, in Wuchang City, a middle-aged woman sitting in her yard couldn't help sighing as she watched the disabled soldiers on the screen. Then she stood up, went to the kitchen, and soon came out with several brown sugar cakes wrapped in reed leaves. She handed them to her daughter, Song Miaomei, and said, "Take these to Aunt Xie's house and tell her to come visit when she's free." Seeing the brown sugar cakes suddenly offered to her, Song Miaomei, sitting on a small stool, was first stunned, then looked up at her mother in shock. Her eyes reddened instantly. She stood up, gently took the cakes, and said hoarsely, "Mother, I'm sorry for disappointing you lately." "What disappointment? The engagement was already agreed between our families. I was the one who went back on my word, acting like a petty person by wanting to call it off when I saw that her son had lost a hand in battle." "Mother, don't say that! I know you were thinking of me, afraid that if I married Brother Xie, life would be too hard." Song Miaomei's voice choked with self-blame. "But I'm too worthless. I've set my heart on him for life. I just want to be with him." "Alright, enough. Go deliver the cakes now." "Mm!" In the palace, Empress Xu was also moved as she watched the disabled soldiers like Zhang Erniu on the Sky Canopy. She turned to Emperor Jingming and said she wanted to organize a donation campaign among the consorts for the disabled soldiers. She herself would take the lead, donating ten thousand taels of silver from her private treasury. For Empress Xu, ten thousand taels was a huge sum, as the Xu family wasn't a noble clan. Yin Ning guessed that after her mother donated this amount, her private treasury would be nearly empty. However, Yin Ning believed Empress Xu knew this fact well, so she didn't object but said she could donate twenty thousand taels from her own private treasury. Ever since Yin Ning sent Cui Yanjin, who originally served her, out to manage business, Cui Yanjin had never failed her expectations. Although Yin Ning didn't know exactly how much was in her small treasury, she was confident twenty thousand taels was no problem. When Emperor Jingming heard Yin Ning casually mention twenty thousand taels, he couldn't help glancing at her, feeling he had known very little about this daughter. He recalled himself at eighteen; although he was the crown prince then, he couldn't have been as generous as Yin Ning, casually giving away twenty thousand taels. Of course, after both Empress Xu and Yin Ning offered donations, Emperor Jingming naturally couldn't lag behind. When he said he would privately donate forty thousand taels, Yin Ning estimated that with donations from other consorts, the total would be at least one hundred thousand taels. Although this huge sum, when distributed among the disabled soldiers, wouldn't make them rich overnight, it would improve their living conditions. Thinking this, Yin Ning's initially low mood lightened. On the Sky Canopy, the video showed Zhang Erniu finally reaching the front of the line. When the princess's maid in charge of registration asked about his former unit and battalion, he answered immediately, as if this information was etched into his bones. Under the Sky Canopy, in Wuchang City, at the Marshal's Mansion, Su Lei sighed after seeing this: "He's a good soldier! We've failed them!" Wen Changrong said, "But we haven't forgotten them. Look at the roster in that maid's hand. I doubt the princess could have obtained such confidential military information without your or the Young Marshal's approval." Su Lei: "It's only right. If we can't do it, we should let those who can." On the Sky Canopy, when Zhang Erniu heard that he was hired just after providing his information, his face lit up with joy. He bowed repeatedly to the maid to thank her. The maid smiled and stopped him: "Don't thank me. Thank the princess. She's the one running this. Alright, go home now. I still have to register the people behind you." Hearing this, Zhang Erniu quickly withdrew from the line with his cane. Seeing him come out, Old Man Feng, who was waiting nearby, immediately pushed the cart over. "How did it go? No problem?" Old Man Feng asked eagerly before even reaching him. Zhang Erniu nodded heavily with a smile: "I was hired. They said to report at the city gate at exactly seven in the morning the day after tomorrow!" "Oh, that's wonderful! Your family's hard times are finally over!" Zhang Erniu's smile grew even brighter. Clearly, finding work had lifted his spirits. Although his right ankle was swollen from standing so long, he smiled happily as if he felt no pain. The video then used montage editing to show, through a series of short shots, Zhang Erniu and others clearing land, sowing seeds, and carefully tending to flowers. As time passed, the screen soon showed a vast, dreamlike purple lavender sea. When the wind blew, continuous waves of flowers surged, like a flowing purple oil painting. Amidst this stunning sea of flowers, Zhang Erniu and the others, with their dark faces and many with missing limbs, looked conspicuously out of place. But although they appeared rough, when picking flower spikes, they were cautious and gentle. Such contrasting images gave viewers a sense of "In me the tiger sniffs the rose." The lavender spikes they picked were soon transported in bulk to a very spacious wooden house. There, it was also bustling, but unlike the flower fields, the workers were mostly women, quickly handling the spikes. Under the Sky Canopy, Yin Ning watched the people on the video with a smile in her eyes. She hadn't expected that her three years of grassroots work in a northwestern village in her past life could play such a role in Great Jing. In her previous life, when she went to the northwest, the region had unique natural resources like water, soil, sunlight, and heat, so the fragrance industry was already booming. Many locals had greatly improved their economic conditions by growing flowers and producing perfumes, essential oils, and aromatherapy products, while also boosting the local economy. On the Sky Canopy, the video now showed everyone collecting their monthly wages. After Zhang Erniu received his pay from the supervisor, he immediately went to a pork stall and said robustly, "Boss, cut me half a catty of pork belly!" "Coming right up, sir, please wait!" The pork seller chuckled. He quickly cut a strip of pork belly, weighed it, and said with a smile, "A little over half a catty. I'll just charge you for half a catty!" "That's great, thank you, boss!" The pork seller: "You're welcome. I bet you work for the princess, right?" "How did you know?" "Haha, you're the fifth customer like you I've had today. All us small traders know that the princess's residence pays wages today!" Zhang Erniu scratched the back of his head and laughed: "I see. So everyone wants to eat something good after working hard for a month. I told my wife this morning that we'll have meat porridge tonight and stir-fried cabbage with pork slices." "Oh, that sounds good. Your wife is lucky to have you!" "I think I'm the lucky one to have married her. The life I had before can't compare to now. She didn't even despise me back then." "True, but you're really fortunate to have met such a kind princess. From now on, life will only get better!" "As our lives improve, your business goes up too, right?" "Hahaha, that's true! I'm even thinking of hiring an assistant soon." "Boss, cut me half a catty of lean meat." Seeing a new customer, Zhang Erniu, who had already paid, picked up his pork belly and was about to head home. But as he turned and saw the new customer's face, his face lit up with surprise: "Sister-in-law, you're buying pork too?" The young woman, who had been looking at the meat on the chopping board, turned at the sound of Zhang Erniu's voice. Seeing him, she immediately broke into a smile: "Erniu, it's you! How are you and Xiaolan doing? Everything okay?" Zhang Erniu quickly nodded: "We're fine. And you, sister-in-law? Are you getting along well working at the perfume workshop?" The young woman smiled broadly: "The sisters there are very kind to me. Thank you so much for coming all the way to tell me about the job! Otherwise, I would have missed such a great opportunity!" Zhang Erniu waved his hand with a smile: "It's nothing. It's what I should do. When I was in the army, Big Brother often took care of me! Besides, the princess's perfume workshop gives priority to the families of fallen soldiers. Even if I hadn't told you, you would have gotten the news eventually!" He then turned to the pork seller and said, "Boss, how much for this half catty of lean meat? I'll pay for it!" "Oh, no!" The young woman quickly stopped him. "Erniu, please don't make me feel bad! I've been thinking of inviting your family for a meal to thank you for your help! If you pay for my meat, when will I ever repay your kindness?" "What repayment? Don't be so polite, sister-in-law! Big Brother once saved my life. Now that he's gone, if I don't take care of you and the child, how will I face him in the afterlife?" Saying this, Zhang Erniu quickly asked the price and immediately handed the money to the pork seller. The young woman tried to give her money to Zhang Erniu, but he, despite his cane, nimbly disappeared. The young woman had no choice but to smile helplessly at the pork seller: "I'm sorry for the trouble. He was my husband's old comrade. Earlier this year, when my child was sick and I couldn't afford medicine, he and his wife sent money without hesitation." The pork seller smiled and said nothing, but silently adjusted his knife and cut a larger piece of lean meat. The young woman felt the weight was off and looked up at the seller. He smiled and said, "I'm just a commoner selling pork. I don't have the princess's ability to provide for families of martyrs. But I know who has brought us peace and stability. This is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it. Let the child eat more meat and grow up healthy and safe!" Hearing this, the young woman's eyes reddened, and her hand holding the meat trembled slightly. Under the Sky Canopy, at the Marshal's Mansion, seeing Su Lei beside him crying uncontrollably and sniffling, Wen Changrong was silent for a moment before finally saying, "Can you stop crying? Both my sleeves are soaked. Can't you use your own sleeves?" Su Lei shook his head, eyes red, and said with a straight face, "If someone sees I've been crying, how will I maintain my fierce marshal image?" Wen Changrong was exasperated: "If you're afraid of being discovered, then don't cry!" Su Lei said pitifully: "You've known me for so long. Don't you know I'm fearless except for having a low cry threshold?" He then grabbed Wen Changrong's sleeve again and wiped his tear-streaked face. Wen Changrong: "...It's a pity a gentleman uses words not fists, or I'd really hit you right now." Su Lei: "Just sit down. Last time you tried to kick me, you dislocated your big toe and I had to put it back." "What did I do in my past life to deserve meeting your household of weirdos?" Wen Changrong shouted at Su Lei in exasperation. Su Lei was indignant: "Why are you comparing me to Su Yu? I'm much easier to get along with than him!" "Shut up! I don't want to hear anyone from your family talk right now!" "I'm serious! At least I'm less trouble than him, right? All these years, when have I ever sneaked off to the capital without the emperor's permission like he did? If Yin Kai found out about his behavior, he'd never tolerate such insubordination from a military officer!" "...Su Lei, if I die before you, it'll be because you've shortened my life! Do you think I don't know how troublesome this is? Do you have to remind me again?" [1. Reference from "Jin Shu · Yang Hu's Biography"; 2. Reference from: "In Me, Past, Present, Future Meet" by Siegfried Sassoon]