“Empress, is this really all for me?” Yu Guan breathes out in awe. This amount of gold was enough to feed his parents and siblings for years to come, yet you were rewarding it to him without a single bat of an eye. “I had merely fulfilled my duties in battle. It is undeserving of such a…such a grand honor.”

He glances at you uncertainly for a brief moment before bowing in a sign of respect and appreciation, albeit a little too deeply. Despite his clumsy actions, his face flushes in pride.

Coming into the palace to serve you as a soldier and now a general from a rural village had been quite the cultural shock, though Yu Guan was certain he was adapting fairly well. Or at least by his own standards.

He straightens from his bow, his eyes glistening in delight and his own reservations long forgotten. He clasps his hands together as his gaze remains fixed on the ornate chest of gold.

“This…I could buy my parents new clothes for the winter. I could even send my siblings to school with this money…or, or…relocate them closer to the city. Give them a better, warmer home,” he rambles before catching himself.

Ah…he’s being so unsightly. His uncertainty returns as his head snaps back to you in slight fear. You wouldn’t…punish him, would you?