Chapter 608 will be read in a year.
Cheng Wanwan was dressed in the official robes of a fourth-rank lady, while Zhao Dashan was dressed in the official robes of a seventh-rank clerk. The two of them stood together and exuded an imposing aura.
The two bowed three times to the ancestral tablet, knelt and listened to Zhao, the village head, rattle off a long string of auspicious and blessing words, and finally set off firecrackers, thus concluding the ancestral worship ceremony.
Although it's already autumn, the lingering warmth of late summer is still there, and wearing such thick clothes, she was already sweating profusely.
After leaving the ancestral hall, Cheng Wanwan hurriedly went home to change into lighter clothes, redid her hair and put on makeup, before coming out to meet the guests.
By this time, almost everyone who was supposed to arrive had arrived.
The villagers from Ping'an County immediately started helping with the work, while the city merchants took the opportunity to chat with the out-of-town merchants who came to Dahe Village to buy goods. The guests, including Madam Shen and Madam Lin, went directly to Cheng Wanwan's courtyard to sit and drink tea.
This was a large banquet, so both the Zheng and Ge families were present.
"Congratulations, Sui Gongren!"
"I knew Lady Sui would be promoted, but I didn't expect her to be promoted two ranks this time, becoming a fourth-rank Lady Sui. Everyone is so envious."
"Sui Gongren's son has also become an official of the imperial court, and he was even personally appointed by the emperor. His future is very promising."
Lord Ge felt a pang of jealousy. He had been an official for so many years and had only been promoted by half a rank. He would probably have to work for another ten years or so before he could be promoted by another half a rank... Meanwhile, the woman from Sui'an had gone from a commoner to a fourth-rank court lady in just two years. Now, even Shen Dongming had suddenly gone from a seventh-rank county magistrate to a fifth-rank assistant minister... Why was it so difficult for him to get promoted when others did it so easily?
Madam Zheng sat in the corner, watching Cheng Wanwan being surrounded by people congratulating her, a mocking smile on her lips.
She had heard that yesterday, Young Master He from the capital came to Dahe Village and suffered a great loss at Cheng Wanwan's hands. She was just a fourth-rank woman, yet she had offended the He family. Not to mention that Young Master He was a third-rank official, the head of the He family was a powerful court official with real authority. No matter how glorious Sui Gongren's status was now, how miserable she would be when the He family took revenge in the future.
Shen Dongming was surrounded by men, including Lord Zheng and Lord Fu, who offered their congratulations.
He said with a smile, "My promotion this time is entirely thanks to Lady Sui, so please don't flatter me too much."
"Old Shen, stop being so modest," Magistrate Fu snorted. "Two years ago, our Hekou County ranked first in tax revenue every year. In the past two years, we've been surpassed by Ping'an County. Moreover, Ping'an County's population has been growing steadily without any major problems. Your promotion this time is well-deserved. When you go to the capital to serve as an official, don't forget about us colleagues."
Shen Dongming naturally continued to be modest, but he couldn't hide his pride on his face.
When he saw Lord Lin, he immediately thought of his son who was far away in the capital. There were some things that he, as the father, had to do to sound out.
So, under the pretext of inquiring about news in the capital's officialdom, Shen Dongming pulled Lord Lin to a side hall.
"Lord Lin, actually I have a personal matter to discuss." Shen Dongming coughed and said somewhat embarrassedly, "You've met my good-for-nothing son, haven't you?"
Lord Lin said repeatedly, "Your son has become a scholar at such a young age, and his future is limitless. How can you say he is not ambitious? I would like my son to learn more from your son."
"Then I'll get straight to the point." Shen Dongming took a sip of tea. "I've heard that Lord Lin's beloved daughter is of marriageable age, and my son is also of marriageable age. I wonder..."
Lord Lin understood immediately. He shook his head and said, "The marriages of our Lin family's children are all handled by the matriarch. My approval is useless; my wife must agree. Therefore, Lord Shen needs to talk to my wife about this matter."
Shen Dongming sighed. If he had a wife, he wouldn't have to bite the bullet and get involved in this kind of thing. Fortunately, his mother was still alive, so it was more reliable to leave this matter to her.
At this moment, Madam Shen was sitting and talking with Cheng Wanwan.
When Cheng Wanwan saw Shen Dongming leading Lord Lin to the side hall in a mysterious manner, she guessed that they were probably talking about the children's marriage.
She then told Old Madam Shen about Shen Zheng's little scheme.
"What?" Old Madam Shen exclaimed in astonishment. "This boy has a girl he likes, why didn't he tell his grandmother? No, how come he has taken a fancy to the Lin family's daughter? Although Imperial Censor Lin is also a seventh-rank official, his future is much better than Dongming's... No, that's not right either. Dongming was promoted to a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue. Our young master should be a good match for Miss Lin."
Cheng Wanwan laughed. "That's right. Xiao Zheng's status was a bit low before, but now that Lord Shen has been promoted and his father's official position has improved, his status as a son will naturally be different. The Lin family should not refuse this marriage."
After a while, Madam Lin indeed came over.
Madam Shen was not one to hide anything; she directly expressed her intention to arrange a marriage.
"To be honest, Madam, one of my aunts in the Lin family has been searching for a suitable husband for my daughter in the capital, but so far there's been no success." Madam Lin sighed. "Our Lin family doesn't have any high requirements for our future son-in-law, the only one is that he must be from the capital. I've met Xiao Zheng, and I like him very much, but he's only a scholar now, and nobody knows where he'll settle down in the future, so..."
Madam Shen understood what she meant. She smiled and said, "As parents, we naturally hope our children will always be by our side. If they marry far away, we may never see them again in this lifetime. Wouldn't that be a waste of our life? I understand Madam Lin's concerns. However, our Xiao Zheng has already secured an official position in the capital. He is studying and serving as an academic official at the same time. He will probably settle down in the capital in the future... But we can't say for sure now. In any case, Madam Lin is not in a hurry to marry off her daughter. Why don't we wait a year and see?"
Madam Lin smiled and nodded: "Then let's do as the old lady says."
Actually, she would prefer her daughter to marry a native of the capital, but her daughter also had feelings for the Shen family boy, and she, as his mother, couldn't just break them up... Cough, she had indeed strictly ordered her daughter not to have any thoughts about the Shen family boy before, but after Shen Zheng passed the imperial examination, her attitude was not so firm.
Now that Lord Shen has been promoted, that last bit of his toughness has slowly dissipated.
Call her selfish or hypocritical, all she wanted was for her daughter to marry a good man and live by her side...
As they were chatting, Granny Ma came in from the door and told them that the feast was about to begin.
Four or five hundred tables were set up in the square by the Big Locust Tree, and countless people came to offer their congratulations. There were naturally not enough seats, but the simple and honest people did not care. They could eat standing up with their bowls. They were just there to join in the fun and have something to talk about later.
The meal was quite lavish, since most of the guests were ordinary people, and there weren't any fancy dishes. There was braised pork knuckle, honey-glazed roast duck, whole chicken soup, roast whole lamb, large slices of twice-cooked pork, spicy boiled fish, a mixed stew of braised dishes... These meat dishes were served in huge bowls, along with some side dishes to cleanse the palate, such as stir-fried greens, pan-fried winter melon, green beans and eggplant, cold water chestnut salad, and mushroom and egg soup...
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