Fortunately, Jiayin, Jiaxi, and Jia'an ran into the house shouting, "Grandma, Second Uncle! Someone has arrived with an imperial edict!"
Imperial edict?
Li Lao Er and the old lady both breathed a sigh of relief, but still hurriedly went out the door.
Tao Hongying took off her apron as she came out of the kitchen and went to help the old lady.
Granny He, along with Shui Ling and Shui Yun, were already busy preparing the incense table.
In reality, it was nothing more than setting up a long table, moving an incense burner, and lighting three sticks of incense to express respect and awe for imperial power.
Then, the Li family opened their gates to welcome the eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree.
The Li family, young and old, knelt in the courtyard, while the villagers knelt outside, all bowing their heads to receive the imperial decree.
The eunuch didn't put on airs and loudly read out the imperial decree.
While the crowd couldn't understand the flowery rhetoric, everyone clearly understood the titles bestowed upon the old lady as a first-rank imperial consort and Li Lao Er as an earl.
So be it!
As soon as the last two words were uttered, everyone shouted at the top of their lungs, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Li Lao Er helped his mother to her feet, then accepted the imperial edict with both hands and placed it on the incense table.
The eunuch smiled and bowed, "Congratulations, Madam! Congratulations, Lord!"
"Congratulations, congratulations!" Li Lao Er's face flushed with excitement as he quickly returned the greeting. He then asked, "Father-in-law, we've been at home and haven't gone out. We've suddenly received this imperial favor; we really don't know what merit we've accumulated..."
The eunuch laughed and said, "My lord, you may not know this, but your master has obtained a high yield of new grain in the south. Today's harvest has attracted the attention of the Emperor and all the civil and military officials to join in the harvest."
"His Majesty said that such a high yield of grain is simply an auspicious omen from heaven, benefiting the country and the people, and that the esteemed lord and the lord of the Liu family will be richly rewarded. The lord of the Liu family has been granted a fourth-rank position, attached to the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and will help expand the planting of new grains in the future."
"When it came to your esteemed master, he said that he had left home at a young age and felt ashamed towards the old lady and you, his brother. Therefore, he wanted to ask for an imperial title for the old lady and a sinecure for you. The Emperor immediately bestowed upon the old lady the title of First Rank Imperial Title and upon you the title of Earl of Zhongshan, which is hereditary."
The old lady and Li Lao Er then understood.
Li Lao Er's eyes immediately reddened.
We're all brothers, how could he hold a grudge about what happened before? Besides, his elder brother was away from home and was harmed by someone. As his brother, he's too heartbroken to complain...
Unexpectedly, his elder brother had always kept this in mind, and today he even gave up everything to ask for an official position for him, just to fulfill his wish to study and become an official.
Old Mrs. Li was also wiping away tears. She had told her eldest son earlier that the Yan family had come to cause trouble, but she hadn't paid much attention. However, her eldest son felt that she had been wronged and kept it to himself.
Today, they even prayed for her to be granted an imperial decree, hoping that she would never be bullied by anyone again!
Seeing that her grandmother and second uncle were both sighing with emotion, and her mother was too busy being happy to attend to the eunuch, Jiayin quickly ran to get two fruits and stuffed them into the eunuch's hands. "Uncle, have some fruit. They're from the mountains where my family grows them. They're so sweet!"
The eunuchs had never seen Jiayin, but those who served in the palace were incredibly clever and resourceful, practically with a thousand holes in their hearts.
Almost instantly, he guessed that this was Princess Kangle of the Li family, the Marquis's adopted daughter.
He quickly bent down, took the fruit, and said with a smile, "Oh, thank you for the gift, Princess."
At this moment, Li Lao Er realized what was happening and quickly invited him inside for tea.
But the eunuch refused, explaining, "We'll come back another time to try your fine tea, Your Excellency. It's getting dark soon, and we need to hurry back to the city, so we won't disturb you any longer."
Li Lao Er didn't try to persuade him to stay and was about to send him away.
At this moment, Jiayin tugged at his sleeve and stuffed a purse into his hand.
Li Lao Er subconsciously squeezed it and found two small gold ingots inside, and suddenly felt very ashamed.
He was so happy he was confused; he even forgot to tip his four-year-old niece.
Li Lao Er quickly stepped forward, stuffed the purse into the eunuch's hand, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then saw the man off.
After holding it in for so long, the villagers were finally able to speak.
So everyone rushed forward, asking questions all at once.
"Second Master, are you now the Earl?"
"What does 'hereditary succession' mean? Does it mean that sons and grandsons can inherit it?"
"And Auntie will be a Lady of Imperial Decree in the future. I heard that a Lady of Imperial Decree doesn't have to kneel when meeting an official. Does that mean no one will dare to bully her?"
The village chief shouted at everyone, "Shut up and listen to what the Second Master has to say."
Li Lao Er was also happy and said with a smile, "My eldest brother brought back some new and improved seeds from outside in the spring, and now we have a bumper harvest."
"The Emperor was very pleased and bestowed upon my mother the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady. This title can only be granted to the mother or wife of a First-Rank official. Apart from the Empress Dowager and the Empress in the palace, my mother does not have to kneel before anyone else."
“My title of Earl is hereditary, which means that as long as our Li family does not betray the country, our descendants can inherit it and remain Earls forever.”
The villagers gasped in shock, then burst into ecstasy!
"This is wonderful! The Emperor's grace is boundless!"
"Fu Niu'er has just become a princess, and Aunt Li has also become a noblewoman!"
"From now on, you can't call me Second Master anymore, you should call me Lord!"
Grandma Li hugged her granddaughter and said with a smile, "We can't control how outsiders address us, but we're family. We'll act the same way we do now! No matter how great the Emperor's rewards are, we family members still have two eyes and one mouth, right?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"That's true, Auntie is still as straightforward as ever."
After chatting and laughing for a while, the village chief said, "Young lady, shouldn't we celebrate such a joyous occasion?"
"Of course," the old lady had been thinking about this.
"It's too late today, let's have a feast tomorrow and liven up the village. Let's invite the village heads of Big Locust Tree Village, Big King Village, and Little King Village, as well as the villagers who helped build the archway. All three villages are Fu Niu'er's fiefdom, so they'll be considered half family from now on!"
"Alright, everyone go back to eat and sleep. Get up early tomorrow. We can pick the fruit on the mountain another day. Let's have some fun first." The village chief waved his pipe, thus settling the matter.
The villagers dispersed, filled with excitement.
They started following the Li family when they were in Qingshui Village, fleeing famine all the way here.
It can be said that their current comfortable life, free from worries about food and clothing, is all thanks to following in the footsteps of the Li family.
As it turns out, this was the best decision they ever made...
Although they are not surnamed Li, they share the same fate as the Li family.
Now the Li family has produced a princess, a lady of high rank, and a duke...
Who knows what even more amazing fortunes await them in the future? As long as they don't fall behind, their lives will definitely get better and better!
The Li family closed the courtyard gate, and everyone was happy.
Jia'an and Jiaxi sat together beside their grandmother, while Jiayin sat in her mother's arms.
Cat Brother clung to his second uncle, looking him over from left to right. Finally, he tugged at his second uncle's beard, and seeing his second uncle wince in pain, he said with satisfaction, "Second Uncle is still Second Uncle, he hasn't become some kind of earl!"
The old lady couldn't help but laugh, "Earl is an official title. Your second uncle will just be an official from now on. Does he think he'll turn into a monster?"
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