“This is an imperial edict, not some old hen or rooster from our village. How can we just touch it like that?” Before Su Bai could speak, Mudfish Mother had already pulled Widow Liu aside with lightning speed. “Being able to see it from afar is already a blessing we’ve accumulated over three lifetimes!”
“Mudfish Mother is right. This is a gift from the Emperor, and we can’t just touch it. We definitely can’t touch it with our hands.”
"Yes, I heard that imperial edicts must be placed under the household gods and worshipped like ancestors, with three sticks of incense burning every day!"
"The storyteller in the teahouse always says that thunder, rain, and dew are all imperial favors. Not only must the imperial edict be worshipped every day, but it must also be brought out on every festival, with the whole family kowtowing and worshipping it. If you just touch it casually, aren't you going to touch away the imperial favors..."
Widow Liu blushed and quickly hid her hands behind her back. "I... I just wanted to share in the good fortune. This is the only imperial edict we've ever received in Shanghe Village in hundreds of years! It's not like I'm the only one who wants to touch it. I don't believe any of you aren't itching to get your hands on it?"
Everyone blushed, their hearts itching with desire, but they only dared to sniff and take a closer look; they absolutely dared not touch it.
On this joyous day, Madam Su Bai didn't argue with her. Instead, she smiled and teased, "Isn't your Chun Niu getting married the day after tomorrow? And he's marrying a girl from the tofu shop in town. You already have enough joy in your own family. If you add any more joy, be careful that the roof doesn't fly off from your happiness!"
As he spoke, he carefully rolled up the imperial edict scroll and had Danfeng put it away along with the rewards.
As for how to make offerings, they would have to ask Jinhan for advice. In any case, whether it's three incense sticks a day or bringing them out on every festival, the Su family can afford it now.
Upon hearing this, the villagers burst into laughter, their attention shifting from the imperial edict to Liu's new daughter-in-law.
Widow Liu smiled slightly in agreement. The girl from the tofu shop in Cangwu Town was indeed quite nice. If it were a few months ago, she would have been so happy that she couldn't sleep at night.
But the family business was getting better and better, and it was comparable to the tofu shop. Moreover, compared to the county princess bestowed by the emperor and the benevolent family, the tofu shop was like heaven and earth, completely different from each other.
Of course, that's all Chunniu is capable of. If he really marries Huaya into the family, she probably won't even dare to raise her head in front of her daughter-in-law.
Now, just looking at Hua Yatou makes her old knees go weak involuntarily, and she just wants to kneel down.
The thought had barely formed when a soft laugh suddenly reached her ears, "Congratulations, Aunt Liu, on this joyous occasion!"
The woman looked up and saw the beautiful figure of a young girl striding out from the backyard. Her knees fell to the ground before her brain could process it, and she cried out, "This humble woman... no, this humble woman greets the Lady of Le'an County! Congratulations, Lady of Le'an County!"
After he knelt down, the villagers followed suit and knelt down one after another.
"Greetings, Princess Le'an! Congratulations, Princess Le'an!"
Seeing this, Su Bai instinctively pulled Zhao and the others to kneel down—
Su Hua's lips twitched as she pulled the person back, then smiled at the villagers, "In our own village, we don't follow the royal customs of the capital. Uncles and aunts, please call me Hua'er as usual!"
While they were talking, they quickly had Danfeng and Qingdai help the person in front of them up.
He smiled at the villagers and said, "Today is a joyous day for our Su family. We should have held a banquet to treat everyone to a good meal, but the investiture was too sudden and we didn't have time to prepare anything."
Today I'll treat everyone to hot pot, with unlimited beef, lamb, and rice. What do you all think?
Upon hearing about hot pot, everyone subconsciously began to drool.
Some of them had eaten at the restaurant when it opened, while others had heard family members who had eaten there mention it from time to time. Eating hot pot is much more tempting than eating anything else!
Old village chief Su Chengde swallowed hard and shook his head. "Beef and mutton are rare commodities. Even if we could buy them, with over 500 people in Shanghe Village, if each person had a bite of meat, it would cost a mountain of gold."
"The Lady of Le'an County has a fiefdom; our entire Qingshui County belongs to her."
Moreover, the Emperor just bestowed several plates of gold, and we'll only eat some beef and mutton; at most, we'll eat a fingernail full of gold nuggets." Widow Liu peeked out from behind her two youngest sons, not daring to look at Su Hua, but only smilingly glancing at Su Chengde and his group.
"If you don't like hot pot, hurry home! My wife has been craving it for ages!"
Since they couldn't get their hands on the imperial edict, they had no choice but to accept it. In any case, they had to attend the Su family's wedding banquet. As long as they could get even a little bit of the joy from the Lady of Le'an County, it would be enough to make the Liu family rich.
After all, their previous livelihood was entirely due to the good fortune of the Lady of Le'an County.
Although Su Bai felt a little heartbroken, this was a momentous occasion to bring glory to the family, and inviting the entire village was essential; she couldn't be stingy.
He immediately raised his hand and made the decision, "It's settled then! Everyone hurry home and bring your families to the end of the village for hot pot!"
However, eating hot pot requires both a pot and a table. Since we didn't have enough, everyone had to bring over a few pots and tables. The older women and their wives helped me cut meat, wash vegetables, and wash rice, striving to have a hot pot before dark!
Upon hearing this, the villagers cheered wildly and ran home as fast as they could.
Su Bai pursed her lips. "Hua'er, goat meat is easy to buy; you can just go to the shops in Cangwu Town. But beef might be hard to come by. How about we buy a pig instead?"
Seeing that the courtyard was empty, Qin Yucheng stepped forward and took over the conversation, "Auntie, don't worry about that. I happen to have a batch of cattle at my Qichi estate, and I need a few. I'll just have Ah Cai bring some people over."
“Qichi Manor is far from here; it would take several hours to get there and back,” Su Hua said, shaking her head in polite refusal.
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