The village chief took a deep breath and looked at the paper that Jiang Luli had written on for more than ten pages. He suddenly felt that this preventive measure was not necessary.

"Jiayue." The village chief turned his gaze to Gu Jiayue beside him, and there was a hint of subtle temptation in his voice, "How much did it cost to get these things?"

Gu Jiayue lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a small shadow under her eyes, and her fingers were counting quickly: lime, wormwood, linen...

"The village should have a lot of things. We can buy them from the villagers. We need to buy herbs and other things. It will probably cost around one thousand taels, right?"

The moment she finished speaking, she was stunned and her fingertips curled up subconsciously.

One thousand taels is enough for an ordinary farmer to live for several lifetimes.

She quietly glanced up at the village chief, and seeing his brows furrowed slightly, her heart began to hang in the air. She was wondering whether to say she would cover the cost first. At worst, she could just take out all the profits from the paper mill, and they would eventually make up the difference.

Unexpectedly, the village chief heaved a sigh of relief, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from him. "Oh, only one thousand taels. That's acceptable."

He patted his thigh and said cheerfully, as if to say that the weather was nice today, "I'll go greet the villagers and pack up the valuables at home first."

Um?

Gu Jiayue was stunned, her eyes slightly widened, her pupils filled with astonishment.

One thousand taels is acceptable?

She blinked, wondering if she had heard correctly.

When did the village become so rich?

The village chief saw her stunned expression and understood what was going on. He couldn't help but laugh, "You've been too busy lately. Have you not checked the accounts of the paper mill?"

Gu Jiayue shook her head honestly, a guilty blush appearing on her cheeks.

Ever since she handed the account book to her sister-in-law Zhao Xing'er, she really hasn't touched it again.

Zhao Xing'er was meticulous and careful in her work, so she was completely confident and devoted all her attention to the children.

"The paper mill has been receiving a huge amount of orders lately," the village chief said, his voice barely concealing his pride. "Our orders are booked until October, and the village dividends are still generous, so we can still afford the 1,000 taels. We were just planning to build the road this year, but we'll have to wait."

Gu Jiayue smiled when she heard this, and her eyes and eyebrows were filled with warmth, like the sunshine after the rain: "As long as people are alive, the road can be repaired at any time."

The village chief nodded heavily, his eyes sparkling. "Yes, as long as people are alive."

He stood up as he spoke, his footsteps so eager that they made a gust of wind. This matter needed to be reported quickly, and people had to be arranged to patrol the bamboo forest at the entrance of the village and the cliffs behind the mountain. There couldn't be any mistakes.

"Village chief, wait a minute!" Jiang Luli suddenly spoke, and the tip of his pen paused on the paper, leaving a small dot of ink.

The village chief suddenly stopped and turned around, his face full of confusion: "Chief Jiangshan, is there anything else?"

Jiang Luli put down his brush, lightly swiped his fingertips across the inkstone, and raised his eyes to look at Gu Jiayue solemnly. "Well, I have an imperial decree for Gu Shanchang. Where should we set up the incense table?"

What?

Imperial edict?

The main room suddenly became so quiet that one could hear the sound of raindrops hitting the window.

The smile on Gu Jiayue's face froze, her pupils suddenly contracted, and her heartbeat seemed to be suddenly grasped by something, pounding so hard that it made her eardrums ring.

She had originally thought that the emperor would at most reward her with some silk and silver, or grant her a tax exemption, but she had never expected...

It was actually an imperial edict!

The Gu family was even more exaggerated. The pipe in Grandpa Gu's hand fell to the ground with a "click". Aunt Gu covered her mouth, gasping in her throat, and her body trembled uncontrollably, like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind.

The village chief's face turned red instantly. He tried to help Grandpa Gu in a panic, but his legs were so weak that they were shaking.

How many people can see an imperial edict in this lifetime? Not to mention old peasants like them who have no power or influence.

"Grandpa Gu? Village chief? Please make a decision quickly." Jiang Luli looked at them and urged them in his tone.

According to the rules, the decree should have been announced the moment he saw Gu Jiayue, but the emergency had delayed it until now. Now that we were in a safe place, we couldn't delay any longer.

The village chief suddenly came to his senses, as if someone had poured a basin of hot water over his head, and his blood began to boil: "Why set up an incense table? Just open the ancestral hall!"

Gu Jiayue's cheeks flushed, and she waved her hands helplessly: "Village Chief, isn't that a bit exaggerated?"

Grandpa also waved his hands quickly, his voice trembling. "Village Chief, this isn't right. Jiayue is just a woman, how can she enter the ancestral hall?"

He was not pedantic, but it was a rule passed down from generation to generation that women were not allowed to set foot in the ancestral hall. This was a reverence engraved in their bones.

"No, no, that's not an exaggeration!" The village chief waved his hands anxiously, his voice rising eight octaves. "This is the first imperial edict our Gu family has ever received. We must treat it with great care!"

He didn't even give Gu Jiayue a chance to refuse. He turned around and shouted into the inner room, "Auntie, please kill a chicken quickly, and get the fattest one! I'll go gather the elders and buy a pig's head from Butcher Zhang!"

Before he finished speaking, he rushed out like a gust of wind, and his straw sandals splashed a string of water in the mud.

No wonder he was so excited.

That is an imperial edict, an imperial edict from the heavenly family to the Gu family!

What? The imperial edict is for Gu Jiayue?

Then isn’t Gu Jiayue a member of the Gu family?

If you round it up, it’s for the Gu family!

These details are not important. What is important is, how many people in the entire Annan County can receive this honor?

The news seemed to have wings and spread throughout Taohua Village along with the rain.

Men, women, young and old who had been hiding at home from the rain, whether they were women holding children or old people leaning on crutches, all put on straw raincoats and hats and rushed to the Gu family ancestral hall.

The rain soaked my trouser legs and mud splashed all over my shoes, but no one cared.

Who doesn’t want to see with their own eyes what the imperial edict looks like?

The heavy wooden door of the Gu family ancestral hall is only opened on New Year's Eve when people worship their ancestors.

But the village chief was thoughtful and had people cleaning the hall all year round. At this moment, when he pushed open the door of the hall, a scent mixed with sandalwood and old wood hit him in the face. The floor was swept clean, and there was not a speck of dust even in the gaps of the altar.

The incense table is set up below the ancestral tablet, and the three animals and six rituals are neatly arranged on the rosewood offering table.

A fat and tender whole chicken lay on a white porcelain plate, with a shiny pig's head staring with round eyes. Next to it were fresh fruits and a pot of rice wine. Curling green smoke rose from the incense burner and slowly swirled between the beams.

The village chief smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were squeezed into flowers. He said to Jiang Luli earnestly: "Chief Jiang, that's enough."

Jiang Luli nodded, took out a bright yellow scroll from his arms, pinched the two ends of the scroll with his fingertips, and slowly unfolded it.

"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, decrees:" Jiang Luli's voice was steady and powerful, echoing in the silent ancestral hall, and every word was like pearls falling on a jade plate.

"Since ancient times, virtuous individuals have been judged regardless of their origins, their achievements to be known throughout the world. Here is Gu Jiayue, a peasant girl from Juzhou. Though born in the countryside, she harbors a heart for the good of the world... Her skills benefit the country, her teachings benefit the people. Though a woman, her achievements are comparable to those of a good minister. I have observed her virtue and commended her wisdom, and I have specially conferred the title of 'Princess of Wenxing County,' bestowing upon her a golden seal and a fief of 200 households. I have also authorized the construction of a shrine in her village to honor her achievements. I hope that from now on, you will continue to pass on your skills and promote education, so that the world will know that even among the common people there are pillars of society. I decree this. April 20th, the 17th year of the Jianyuan era!"