"I heard the imperial decree has been issued, and the eunuch is announcing it at the village entrance!"
"Then let's hurry and inform Miss Lu and the others!"
"It's not our place to inform them; the doctors are all waiting for orders at the village entrance!"
"Hehe, let's go check out the fun."
As they spoke, the two villagers hurried toward the entrance of Tianxin Village.
At this moment, Lu Qiqi had already been summoned from the fields to the village entrance to receive the imperial decree.
Seeing that Lu Qiqi was covered in mud, the doctors, fearing they would be accused of disrespecting the emperor, sent her back to change her clothes before coming back.
Lu Qiqi had no choice but to comply. After all, in this era of imperial power, such disrespectful behavior would be seized upon by someone with ulterior motives, and if they were to report her, it wouldn't just be her problem; her whole family would likely suffer.
Upon arriving at the village entrance again, the eunuch saw Lu Qiqi arrive and began to announce the imperial decree.
Everyone knelt down, including Lu Qiqi. Although she was still reluctant, she had no choice but to comply.
However, she took a clever approach, clasping her hands and kneeling in a military salute.
The official glanced down at her, assuming she was just a crude countrywoman who didn't know etiquette, so he turned a blind eye and continued reading.
The yellow silk was unfurled, and the eunuch read it aloud.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees that Lu Qiqi, a female physician from Luzhou Prefecture, has rendered meritorious service in treating the plague and is hereby awarded two hundred taels of silver. She is specially granted the title of Township Head of Heshun Prefecture, with a stipend of one hundred shi of grain, and is granted the fiefdom of five villages: Tianxin Village, Tianshui Village, Tianlong Village, Tianping Village, and Tianmiao Village in Heshun Prefecture. Her title is Township Head of Kangle."
"So be it."
Upon hearing this decree, Lu Qiqi was truly overjoyed.
This emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty must have been born an accountant, he's got a knack for scheming.
"Is the Princess of Kangle so happy that she forgot to accept the imperial decree?"
Reminded by the eunuch, Lu Qiqi slowly said, "This humble subject accepts the decree."
Lu Qiqi accepted the imperial edict with both hands.
The official then said, "Each of the doctors who came from Luzhou Prefecture will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver and the inscription 'Benevolent Heart of a Physician' as a sign of commendation."
Upon hearing that the emperor had bestowed upon them calligraphy, the doctors kowtowed in gratitude, their faces beaming with joy.
Only Lu Qiqi thought to herself, "This emperor must be so poor that he's giving away his calligraphy as a reward."
After the eunuch finished reading the imperial edict, he made a move to leave. Two doctors stepped forward and invited him to come into the village for a cup of tea before he left.
The official glanced at them indifferently, his smile unwavering, and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but I have important matters to attend to, so I will not stay any longer."
Lu Qiqi wished he would leave quickly. If she had known this would happen, she would have run away without waiting for the reward.
Seeing Li Changlong step forward, she quickly said, "Please wait, Your Excellency."
Seeing that Lu Qiqi was so ungrateful and lacked basic manners, the eunuch was furious and left with a flick of his sleeve.
Li Changlong turned around, took out the small purse in his hand and gave it to Lu Qiqi, "Qiqi, didn't you ask me to deliver the small purse to the eunuch? I haven't given it to him yet, why did you let him leave?"
Lu Qiqi said, "How could a country bumpkin like me understand so many principles? It's better to keep this money for ourselves than to let outsiders benefit from it."
Li Changlong still had some confusion, and Lu Qiqi didn't want to explain further. She turned around and saw the words unfolded in the hands of the doctors.
A doctor's heart is full of compassion.
The four characters, written in a flamboyant and elegant style, made Lu Qiqi chuckle inwardly. Before she could even utter a sound of laughter, someone came to offer their congratulations.
"Congratulations, Miss Lu, on being granted the title of Township Head."
"Congratulations, Lord Kang Le."
Doctor Huang and Doctor Qin clasped their hands together to congratulate Lu Qiqi.
As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Doctor Huang and Doctor Qin sincerely congratulated Lu Qiqi, and Lu Qiqi naturally returned their thanks.
Next, the doctors came over to offer their congratulations, and Lu Qiqi thanked them one by one, her face almost stiff from smiling.
Fortunately, after a busy morning, everyone's stomachs were empty. Lu Qiqi kindly reminded them before they went home.
As soon as she returned to the room, Lu Qiqi put the imperial edict on the table, poured herself a bowl of water, and drank it all in one gulp, as if she had been thirsty for three days and three nights.
Li Changlong sat in a chair, his back hunched, his eyes level with the imperial edict, staring at it intently. He said, "I never expected that after we came out, Qiqi would actually become the village chief."
He suddenly remembered something, straightened up, flashed a set of white teeth at Lu Qiqi, and said, "Qiqi, should I call you Lord Kang Le from now on?"
Lu Qiqi put down her bowl. "Call me whatever you used to call me. There's no need to change how you address me. No matter what my status is, you'll always be my second brother."
Li Changlong laughed even more heartily upon hearing Lu Qiqi's words, but Zhou Yi asked, "Now that we've been granted the title of Township Head, are we going to stay here?"
This was the first time he had ever heard that a township lord in the Great Jin Dynasty had a fiefdom. Even county lords in the entire Great Jin Dynasty only had a salary and no fiefdom.
Lu Qiqi can be considered the first township lord with a fiefdom in the Great Jin Dynasty.
Upon hearing Zhou Yi's words, Li Changlong's smile froze, and he asked, "What do you mean? You've been granted the title of Township Head of Heshun Prefecture, but you can't return to Luzhou Prefecture?"
The decree did not specify that the village head could not leave his fiefdom. After all, the fiefdom consisted of only five villages. If he could not leave, it would be no different from imprisonment.
If that's the case, then it's not a reward, but a punishment.
“That’s not the case,” Lu Qiqi said. “It’s just that we can’t go back for the time being.”
Li Changlong became anxious, "What difference does it make? We still can't go back to Luzhou Prefecture!"
Lu Qiqi asked, "Do you know why the emperor would grant a female physician a fiefdom?"
Li Changlong thought for a moment, "Isn't this because you cured the plague, and the emperor specially granted you this fiefdom?"
That being said, the emperor's goal was not merely to bestow rewards.
"Could there be some other intention?" Zhou Yi asked.
Lu Qiqi said, "It's as clear as day!"
"Now the five villages in Heshun Prefecture that were afflicted by the plague have recovered. Instead of properly resettling the villagers, the imperial court has granted me a fiefdom, so that I can lead the villagers to rebuild their homes."
She just couldn't understand why the emperor thought she had this ability.
Just as she was puzzled, she turned her head and saw the hoe behind the door, still covered in mud, and then she understood everything.
It must have been that she led the villagers to grow medicinal herbs, and the news reached the emperor's ears, which led him to come up with such a wicked idea.
Li Changlong said, "So many villagers have been released from prison after suffering serious illnesses, doesn't the emperor care?"
Lu Qiqi snorted coldly, "When we fled all the way to Luzhou Prefecture, if the emperor had been more effective in his supervision, the disaster relief grain would have arrived, the people would not have starved to death, and the Tartars would not have trampled the border."
Li Changlong's face grew increasingly grim, but he had no choice but to accept the fact.
He said, "Then what do we do? Five villages, so many people, we simply can't manage them all!"
Looking at the bright sunshine outside, Lu Qiqi said, "Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. If the emperor won't give us any real money, then we'll earn it ourselves!"
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