Amidst the villagers' joy, Lord Liang and his group seemed somewhat out of place.

Eunuch Qi had naturally noticed Lord Liang and his group of soldiers earlier, but the imperial edict was of utmost importance, so he had to ignore them for the time being. Now that the edict had been issued and the pleasantries had been exchanged, he finally inquired:

"May I ask who this gentleman is? And why has he brought so many soldiers to Linjia Village?"

Lord Liang was still in shock when Eunuch Qi asked him a question, and he became flustered and stammered:

"I am the Flying Cavalry Captain stationed in the vicinity. I have brought my troops here..."

The villagers then remembered that there was a corrupt official present, and they hurriedly chimed in:

"He came to steal the grain from Aunt Lin's house, oh, the grain from Huiyi's house."

"Yes, Your Excellency, Your Honor, this man is shameless. He can't even poop himself, yet he occupies someone else's latrine, and he even said he would kill the whole family if they didn't give it to him."

"Oh my god, this person is really terrifying. We came to help Fengnian's family, and this person made all these soldiers point their knives at us, wanting to wipe us out."

"Yes, yes, Your Excellency, you must do us justice! If you hadn't come, our whole village would have been slaughtered by his blade!"

“.……....”

The villagers became increasingly excited as they talked, even embellishing their own stories.

Lord Liang's face was dark with anger. He had only threatened Lady Hui and had not said he would kill her whole family or the villagers. He only wanted to suppress them and kill one or two as a warning to others. He hurriedly tried to explain.

"No, Lord Yan, it's Eunuch Qi..."

Eunuch Qi quickly interrupted him, "So it's Lord Liang. Lord Liang, His Majesty will decide this matter. I won't get involved." He then said to Song Anxin, "Huiyi, I think you can write a report to His Majesty about this matter. I can take it back to the capital for you to submit to His Majesty."

How could a mere eunuch like him interfere in matters between officials? Besides, this Lord Liang seems to be from a collateral branch of the Liang family; who knows how deep the waters run in this world.

"Thank you, Eunuch Qi. Lord Liang has humiliated me in this way, and even threatened my family and used military force to suppress the villagers who helped me. I will definitely submit a memorial to the Emperor and ask him to uphold justice for me."

Song Anxin's sharp gaze swept over Lord Liang; she would never let this man go.

Yan Shuping said, "Lord Liang is really quite arrogant. You dare to be so disrespectful to the court lady personally appointed by the Emperor, robbing, killing, and slaughtering villagers. If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were a bandit. I will definitely write a report on this matter to the Emperor!"

Upon hearing this, Lord Liang felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his steps faltering. He was doomed! No, he couldn't give up. He had to write to his master; his master would surely save him.

He trembled slightly as he said, "Let's go! Let's go!"

Lord Liang practically fled in panic. He was helped onto his horse by his guards and rushed back in a hurry. In no time, all the soldiers had left.

The villagers cheered with joy when they saw the soldiers leave.

"Oh, the bad guy is gone, the bad guy was defeated and ran away..."

"We've won..."

"You son of a bitch! Don't let me see you again. You're a corrupt official, always thinking about other people's things..."

"......."

Regardless, the potatoes were protected, the villagers didn't have to clash with the soldiers, and her family members received promotions and official titles—it was a joyous occasion, and Song Anxin was incredibly excited.

She shouted to the cheering villagers, "Everyone, today is a double celebration for my family, so come to my house for a feast! All the workers at Dafeng Factory will also have a day off!"

"Ooh!..."

The villagers were even more jubilant.

Some men from other villages asked at the winery, "Can we, who are not from this village, also attend the banquet?"

A man from Linjia Village said, "What do you mean by 'from the same village'? We've all been brothers who've been through thick and thin together. Even Aunt Lin said we're all in this together, so why can't we?"

"That's right, that's right! If you guys are willing to fight alongside us, then we're all brothers! And you were pretty fierce with that corrupt official just now..."

"Sigh, actually I'm scared too..."

"......."

At that moment, the villagers felt incredibly close to each other.

Song Anxin smiled and said to Magistrate Yan and Eunuch Qi, "Eunuch Qi, Lord Yan, this way please. I will take you to the mansion to rest for a while. The banquet may be a little late, but I will prepare some food for everyone in advance. Please forgive me."

Today's banquet is going to be a grand affair, and there's still a lot to prepare. She needs to get busy as soon as she gets back.

Both Eunuch Qi and Yan Shuping said it was no problem.

The group marched in a grand procession toward Song An's residence, everyone's face beaming with joy, and Lin Fengnian was especially surrounded by a crowd.

Meanwhile, Lin Fenghe silently lagged behind. Although he was also happy, his eyes were fixed on the direction where Lord Liang had disappeared, and there was something unreadable in them, as if he was deep in thought.

Upon arriving at the gate of the mansion, the people who had come with Eunuch Qi began unloading goods from a long line of carriages behind them, carrying boxes of goods into the courtyard. The villagers were dumbfounded, and those from other villages who had never seen such a sight before exclaimed that it was an eye-opener.

This time, the gifts were not only more generous than the last, but the jewelry, porcelain, and fabrics were also of better quality. Song Mei, heavily pregnant, counted the items with Granny Sun. She didn't feel the weight of her belly; she just felt her face was about to freeze from smiling.

Preparations for Song Anxin's family banquet have begun, and the villagers have all volunteered to help. The men in the kitchen courtyard quickly set up more than a dozen earthen stoves.

"Aunt Lin, I've brought all the groceries from my home."

"Second sister-in-law, and my family's chickens and ducks, where should we put them?"

"Then I'll wash these vegetables first."

"....."

The kitchen courtyard was a hive of activity; women brought in groceries and immediately began washing and preparing vegetables, slaughtering chickens and ducks, and so on...

Aside from pork, Song Anxin bought all other vegetables, chicken, duck, and other groceries directly from the villagers. Almost every household in the village grows vegetables and raises chickens and ducks. Buying some from each household and having them deliver it to her was more time-saving and less labor-intensive than buying from the county. Most importantly, buying so many ingredients from the county at once might not be enough to prepare them all in a short time.

Then in the courtyard.

"Heave-ho, heave-ho..."

"Everyone, hurry up and chop more firewood, Auntie's family is waiting for it!"

"The firewood is all gone..."

“I have some at home. I’ll go and get all the firewood from my house.”

"And my house..."

...

"Make sure you set up all the tables and chairs, and make sure you count the number of tables so you don't forget any." Lin Li was directing people in the front yard. Since there were over a hundred tables, they couldn't fit them all in the front yard, so they were set up directly in front of the house. When the village holds a banquet, no one cares whether they eat inside or outside.

"Bring good bowls and chopsticks, not the broken ones, or people will laugh at us."

"Village head, we all know that. We won't bring shame to our village..."

......