The sharp yet solemn voice was like a boulder crashing into my heart, silencing the noisy courtyard abruptly.
Everyone turned their heads in unison, looking in the direction of the mountain road. They saw a group of guards wearing yellow jackets and riding bright red horses escorting two large carriages. The leader was a white-faced, beardless man holding a whisk.
In his right hand, he held a bright yellow scroll aloft.
The villagers were so shocked that their eyes widened and they dropped their hoes and rakes to the ground with a clatter.
An imperial edict? They had never seen an imperial edict before. They had only heard the storyteller in the town's teahouse mention it a few times, and knew that an imperial edict was called an imperial edict. But how did an imperial edict end up in their Shanghe Village?!
Jun Qingcheng looked at the leader, Eunuch Gao, and immediately waved for the group of guards to retreat.
He then instructed Su Chengde, "Village Chief, hurry up and set up an incense table to receive the imperial decree."
She hadn't expected her father and mother to act so quickly, not only sending secret guards but also having her uncle summon Eunuch Gao to arrest her and take her back.
"Set up...set up an incense table?" Su Chengde was already sweating profusely from fright. Now, seeing the imperial edict, his mind was completely blank. Set up an incense table...he knew that he had to set up an incense table to receive the imperial edict, but Shanghe Village had never seen a single imperial edict, let alone one.
Now that this is the first time a young woman has been married, she has absolutely no idea how to set up the altar or what items to include.
Jun Qingcheng frowned, then decided to ignore him and led Cai Die to kneel down, saying, "Your subject, Jun Qingcheng, receives the decree."
Meng Yun'er's eyes lit up, and she quickly knelt down behind the Jun family master and servant.
She was Jun Qingcheng's savior, and the debt of saving her life was greater than the heavens. When Jun Qingcheng returned to the capital, she would definitely go with her. From then on, she would be a true resident of the capital, completely transformed, and no longer be comparable to these peasants.
At this moment, Eunuch Gao had already led a team of messengers to the courtyard gate.
Looking at Jun Qingcheng kneeling upright on the ground, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Then, he smiled and said, "Princess Mingzhu, please rise. This decree is not for you."
Jun Qingcheng stood up hesitantly. If the decree wasn't for her, then who was it for?
Meng Yun'er was overjoyed. In this Shanghe Village, apart from the princess who was a member of the royal family, everyone else was a farmer who toiled in the fields. Who else would need to receive an imperial edict?
Could it be that the old eunuch delivering the imperial decree is blind and has taken the wrong route?
The villagers who were about to kneel down hesitated and only stretched their knees halfway after seeing this scene.
Princess Mingzhu has already stood up, so should they kneel or not?
Su Chengde, who was frantically preparing to set up an incense table, was even more confused. Since the imperial edict wasn't addressed to him, should he set up the incense table or not...?
With a flick of his whisk, Eunuch Gao smiled and glanced at the crowd. "I've come today to deliver an imperial decree to the Su family of Shanghe Village. May I ask which direction the Su family is heading?"
Everyone was shocked. The Su family?
There are two Su families in Shanghe Village: the old Su family at the end of the village and the village head Su Chengde's family. If we were to further subdivide, Su Erhu's family, which separated from the old Su family, could also be considered a Su family.
Before anyone could figure it out, a deep, cold voice rang out from the carriage, "Eunuch Gao, the Su family is at the end of the village, so I will lead the way for you."
Eunuch Gao turned his head and smiled: "In that case, I will trouble General Zhennan."
"No need for such formalities, Eunuch Gao." Xiao Jinhan nodded slightly, lowered the carriage curtain, and fixed his gaze on the sky-blue figure in the center of the crowd, his eyes filled with unyielding tenderness.
It has been almost twenty-five days since she left Shanghe Village. I wonder if she misses him.
The villagers, listening to the conversation between the two, thought they had misheard, until they saw the carriage curtain flutter and a chiseled face slowly appear. It was none other than Xiao Jinhan, whom they hadn't seen for a long time!
Upon seeing this, everyone gasped in astonishment. The young war god general, whom everyone knew and admired, had actually been right beside them all along!
This is simply unbelievable!
Moreover, they've now brought officials from the capital to deliver an imperial edict to the Su family.
For a moment, the villagers felt completely overwhelmed. If it weren't for the pain from the hoes and rakes hitting their feet, they would have thought they were dreaming.
The Zhao family members were also filled with astonishment and doubt. It took them a while to come to their senses. They subconsciously looked at Su Hua and asked, "Hua, Hua'er, what should we do now? Do we have to burn incense and bathe after receiving the imperial decree? Can I rush back to boil water now...?"
"It's too late. Let's not waste our time and keep things simple." Seeing this, Su Hua immediately told Qingdai to go back to the courtyard to prepare, while leading the family to the end of the village.
The villagers followed suit in a flurry of activity, heading towards the end of the village.
As Meng Yun'er watched the procession gradually disappear on the mountain road, all the joy in her heart vanished. She hurriedly jogged to catch up with the procession, praying in her heart as she ran that what was delivered was not an edict of reward and official appointment, but an edict of confiscation of property and extermination of the clan!
"Brother Zichen! It really is Brother Zichen! He looks exactly like Uncle Xiao!" Jun Qingcheng took a long time to come to her senses. She wiped her eyes, her pretty face full of undisguised joy. "Caidie, quick, quick, help me to see Brother Zichen..."
She had only taken two steps when she suddenly stopped. "Cai Die, can you check if my clothes and hair are messy?"
My hair must be a mess from all that fussing with these people. Help me redo it, make it into a flying phoenix bun, and put on that plum blossom snow-playing hairpin. Also, I need to change this dress; the hem is all covered in dirt..."
Cai Die bit her lip and glanced at her mistress. Seeing her mistress's tearful eyes and shy expression, she didn't dare to say that the other woman hadn't even looked at her. She could only agree in a low voice and quickly went to get her clothes and jewelry to redo her makeup.
At the end of the village, old Su's house.
With the incense table set up, the Su family and a group of villagers knelt down. Su Baishi and Danfeng rushed back from Zaozhuang, and before they could figure out what was going on, they were already being pulled to kneel upright.
Eunuch Gao stood before the table, unfurled the bright yellow scroll in his hand, and said in a clear voice:
"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Since the founding of the country by Yu the Great a hundred years ago, the territory has been unobstructed and the weather has been fine. However, the livelihood of the people is what I am always worried about."
I have heard that Su Hua, the youngest daughter of the Su family in Shanghe Village, Qingshui County, Tangshan Prefecture, has found a sweet potato in the deep mountains and forests. Its yield far exceeds that of rice and wheat by several times. Moreover, it thrives in water and soil, and is suitable for both dry and wet conditions. It is truly a miraculous creation of nature.
Obtaining this beneficial resource is a great fortune for Yu the Great and a blessing for the people.
"I have decided to bestow upon Su Hua, the youngest daughter of the Su family, the title of Second-Rank County Princess, the title of Le'an, and grant her a thousand taels of gold, eighteen pieces of jewelry, eighteen rare antiques, and eighteen bolts of silk and satin..."
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