Chapter 459 The Imperial Edict Has Arrived

"Madam Sui, an imperial edict has arrived!"

"This time it wasn't a messenger, but a eunuch from the capital who came personally to deliver the imperial decree. This shows how much His Majesty values ​​Lady Sui!"

"Lady Sui, hurry back to bathe, burn incense, change into your court robes, and prepare to receive the imperial decree!"

Lord Wu quickly explained the situation.

Because this matter had been brought up before, Cheng Wanwan wasn't exactly caught off guard.

She quickly returned to the courtyard, took a bath, burned incense, and then put on the seventh-rank lady's robe bestowed upon her by the imperial court. She then had Wei Hongying help her style her hair and finally put on the glittering lady's crown.

She had just finished preparing when she heard people outside talking.

"So many carriages are coming!"

"Are they really from the capital?"

"Is Aunt Dashan going to get promoted again?"

"Lord Wu said it was an eunuch from the capital who came to deliver the imperial decree, but I've never seen what the eunuch looks like before."

The villagers put down their work and all gathered around to watch the spectacle.

More than a dozen horse-drawn carriages came in a grand procession along the village road, raising a cloud of dust. Such a commotion was naturally seen by the lotus pond.

Madam Zheng exclaimed in surprise, "Such a grand procession! Has some important person arrived?"

Madam Ge frowned slightly: "Let's go take a look."

People who were originally admiring the lotus flowers also walked in that direction, all wanting to know what had happened.

The carriage finally stopped at the entrance of Cheng Wanwan's courtyard.

Leading the way were two cavalrymen, who were the messengers who had come to deliver imperial edicts on the previous two occasions.

The two men dismounted and respectfully walked to the carriage behind them, cupping their hands in greeting, "Eunuch Ming, we've arrived."

At this moment, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old with delicate features stepped out first, then helped a man in his thirties or forties get off the carriage.

All eyes in the village turned to look.

Is this the father-in-law?

He was in his thirties and had no beard. Apart from not having a beard, he looked no different from anyone else.

"Cough cough!"

Eunuch Ming coughed.

The villagers quickly looked away in fear.

"Where is Madam Sui?"

Only after he finished speaking did Cheng Wanwan come out of the house.

She was dressed in a glittering gold lady's gown, her natural elegance completely out of place in this small farmhouse courtyard.

She walked over step by step: "I am Lady Sui. May I ask who you gentlemen are?"

"Everyone in the palace calls me Eunuch Ming. I have met Lady Sui!" Eunuch Ming performed a customary bow. "I have heard of Lady Sui's name countless times in the capital. I never expected Lady Sui to be so young. Youth is good. This is a blessing for our Great Yu Dynasty. The younger Lady Sui is, the more blessings she can bring to the people of the Great Yu Dynasty, ensuring the Great Yu Dynasty's prosperity for ten thousand years!"

Cheng Wanwan slightly bent her knees and said modestly, "You flatter me, Eunuch Ming."

"I have come today to read the imperial edict." Eunuch Ming raised his hand, and a young eunuch behind him handed him the yellow imperial edict. He spoke loudly, "Madam Sui, please listen to the imperial edict!"

Cheng Wanwan straightened her back and knelt down.

Lord Wu naturally had to kneel as well, and the villagers who had gathered to watch the spectacle quickly followed suit.

Madam Zheng and Madam Ge, who had come from the lotus pond, were filled with surprise and doubt. Not wanting to stand there and become targets, they knelt down on the spot.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Since being granted this title, Lady Sui has diligently performed her duties, relieving me of my worries and difficulties, and greatly winning my favor. First, she invented the rice that could be recycled, then she resolved the plague among the displaced people, and then she invented honeycomb briquettes... In my narrow-minded view, a mere peasant woman, no matter how clever, should have reached her limit. However, Lady Sui has once again surprised me..."

"The fourteen prefectures of the North are rich in coal. Coal is a vital tool of the nation, but mining it is extremely dangerous. Countless lives have been lost on the coal mines... This matter has always been a pain in my heart... Lady Sui, with the people at heart, has risked her life for the country... She is hereby promoted to the rank of Sixth-Rank Lady, and is hereby granted one hundred taels of gold, one hundred bolts of brocade, one hundred acres of fertile land... a mansion, several servants, and a Sixth-Rank Lady seal... This is my decree!"

Eunuch Ming read the imperial edict in one breath.

Madam Zheng and Madam Ge, who were kneeling in the distance, looked up with disbelief on their faces.

Especially Madam Ge, whose lips parted slightly: "Promotion...she's been promoted again, three ranks in one year, what makes her so special..."

Her husband had been an official for over ten years, starting as a seventh-rank official and rising to the sixth rank. In just over a decade, he had only been promoted by half a rank... But this widow's promotion was too fast, so fast that it was completely unbelievable!

Cheng Wanwan had no idea what Madam Ge was thinking. She knelt down and thanked the emperor, saying, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

She raised her hands and respectfully accepted the imperial edict.

Eunuch Ming smiled and said, "Please rise, Madam Sui, and everyone else as well."

As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and people from the dozen or so carriages behind him jumped down and began carrying things into the courtyard.

The gifts this time were even more generous than the previous two. Huge boxes were carried in one by one, in more than a dozen carriages, so you can imagine how much stuff was there.

After the goods were carried away, a dozen or so servants came in and knelt down in front of Cheng Wanwan.

“Mrs. Sui, oh no, I should call her Sui’an now. Here are four old women, four maids, and four guards, twelve people in total. They will stay in Dahe Village to serve Mrs. Sui. Here are their indentures.” Eunuch Ming presented the indentures and turned to say, “You haven’t greeted your new master yet!”

The twelve people immediately bowed in greeting.

Cheng Wanwan looked at the twelve people who had been given the reward. Whether they were old women, maids, or guards, they were all dressed in silk, even better than what she usually wore. How could she possibly order them around...?

"His Majesty also bestowed a mansion upon the people of Sui'an. Since a suitable house could not be found in Huzhou, His Majesty's intention was to build one, and it must be completed within half a month. For this reason, I brought several craftsmen from the capital here," Eunuch Ming said with a smile. "Where to build it is up to the people of Sui'an themselves. However, before coming here, I did take a look in Huzhou. There was a house there that was quite nice, but it was a bit old. How about I have it demolished and rebuilt on the same spot?"

The villagers were initially very excited when they heard the imperial edict, but upon hearing these words, they felt as if they had been doused with cold water.

"What? Grandma Mountain is moving away?"

“Grandma Dashan is from our Dahe Village. How can she move away?”

“Aunt Dashan is now a sixth-rank official. Have you ever seen a sixth-rank official who lives in a village all the time?”

"People naturally strive to move to better places, so Aunt Dashan will naturally move to the city."

"We've already benefited a lot from Aunt Dashan, are you going to stop us from moving?"

"..."

That's what they said, but the villagers still looked frustrated and sad.

Old Man Zhao and Old Woman Zhao, in particular, seemed to have lost their souls, their lips agape for a long time, not knowing what to say.

The village head sighed slowly. "Old Lady Dashan was never meant to be an ordinary person; she should have moved away long ago."

He walked over, cupped his hands and said, "We'll discuss building the house later. You and everyone else have come from afar and must be hungry and tired. The village is preparing lunch now, so please don't mind."

Grandpa Ming laughed heartily, “I’ve heard that Dahe Village has a lot of delicious food, so how could we possibly complain? Today, I’ll shamelessly stay here and have a feast.”

Cheng Wanwan looked at the crowd gathered outside the courtyard and said, "I am being promoted today, which is a joyous occasion. I am hosting a banquet for everyone. Please stay and have a meal, fellow villagers."