Song Anxin greeted him with a smile: "Lord Liang, congratulations on your promotion. This is just a small gift."
Granny Wei presented the congratulatory gifts, and the servant beside Lord Liang immediately came forward to take them.
Lord Liang laughed heartily, "It's an honor that Madam Hui has come. Come, let me introduce you. This is Magistrate Lu of Qi'an County, and this is Magistrate Dai of Gaokai County..."
Song Anxin greeted each of them politely, thinking to herself that Lord Liang was quite straightforward and unpretentious. Logically, he was one rank above her, so there was no need for him to be so courteous and introduce her to all the officials.
"I've long heard of Lady Hui's great reputation, and seeing her today, I can confirm her extraordinary bearing," said Magistrate Lu of Qi'an County.
Magistrate Dai of Gaokai County also said, "Yes, I heard that it was Lady Hui who persuaded the bandit leader to join the bandit suppression this time. Lady Hui must be quite capable."
"....."
This was Lady Hui, who had achieved one political success after another, and the magistrates of several counties naturally wanted to befriend her.
Lord Liang was immediately left out in the cold.
Madam Liang walked up to Lord Liang and said in an annoyed tone, "Why is my lord so polite to a mere seventh-rank lady? This is clearly your promotion banquet, but this Lady Hui has stolen the limelight."
Lord Liang's face immediately darkened, and a hint of gloom, different from before, appeared in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said:
"You're being too kind. Have you forgotten the letter from the master a while ago? We finally got the master's favor, and whether we can be transferred back to the capital depends on this Lady Hui. You must make sure to get on good terms with this Lady Hui, do you hear me?"
Madam Liang's eyes flashed. After her husband was promoted, her main family in the capital suddenly sent a letter, asking them to cultivate a good relationship with this Lady Hui, find out what she was up to recently, and report back to them in a timely manner.
Their Liang family had lived in this remote place for many years, and if they wanted to climb the social ladder sooner, they would have to rely on the support of their master's family. Thinking of this, she suppressed her displeasure and replied:
"Yes, sir."
Meanwhile, Song Anxin, facing the compliments from a group of officials, naturally maintained a polite smile and responded humbly, though she felt her face was starting to stiffen from smiling.
Fortunately, a servant informed us at that moment.
"Magistrate Yan of Ningdu County has arrived!"
Immediately following was a hearty voice: "How lively! I'm not late, am I? Congratulations, Lord Liang!"
Lord Liang immediately stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Magistrate Yan, congratulations to you!"
When Magistrate Yan saw Song Anxin surrounded by a group of officials, he joked, "Who do we have here? It's Madam Hui! Madam Hui has truly deserves credit for this bandit suppression. To be able to persuade the fierce bandit leader on your own, that courage is truly that of a heroine. Madam Hui shouldn't be in this small village; she should be on the front lines!"
Song Anxin: "......-_-||" Do you want to hear what kind of nonsense you're spouting?
The officials surrounding Song Anxin were immediately embarrassed. Although they acknowledged that Lady Hui was capable, this woman going to the battlefield...
"Hey, Lord Liang, today is your promotion banquet, you must drink until you drop..."
"Yes, yes, Lord Liang cannot escape today..."
The officials surrounding Song Anxin immediately turned away, laughing it off, and went to find Lord Liang.
Yan Shuping walked over and whispered to Song Anxin, "See, they won't bother you anymore."
Song Anxin: "..." Thank you.
Yan Shuping laughed and started the conversation, saying, "However, I think that Scholar Lin is very suitable to go to the front line. With his intelligence and strategy, he might be able to gain military merit after a few experiences on the front line. What do you think, Madam Hui?"
This Magistrate Yan really won't give up on persuading me. She countered with, "And what does Scholar Lin think?"
"......"
"......"
Let's stop chatting here.
At this moment, Madam Liang came over and warmly took Song Anxin's hand, saying, "Madam Hui, come, come, let's go to our women's table. These men are always talking about court affairs, it's so boring."
Song Anxin was pulled to the table of women by Madam Liang. This table was full of the families of various county magistrates. As soon as Song Anxin arrived, they stood up to greet her, since she was the only woman with an official title here.
Mrs. Liang thoughtfully introduced each of the ladies and young women present to Song Anxin, who felt that the couple were truly hospitable.
After sitting down, everyone started chatting.
“Madam Hui, your name has long been known among us ladies of official families. You are a role model for us ladies who were able to obtain the title of Lady Hui on your own.”
The one who spoke was Madam Lu, the wife of Magistrate Lu of Qi'an County. Madam Lu was quite old, rather plump, and looked like a very kind old lady.
As soon as she opened her mouth, all the ladies and young women echoed her sentiments.
Madam Liang said, "Yes, Madam Hui's talent is truly admirable to us ladies. I slept on your earthen bed last year, and it was so warm."
Upon hearing this, Madam Lu exclaimed, "Yes, this old man of mine managed to get through a good winter sleeping on that earthen bed. The people also praised the earthen bed. Madam Hui, you have truly brought blessings to the people."
"Madam Hui is truly talented, able to come up with so many things that benefit the people. I wonder what good things Madam Hui has come up with recently? I find these things very interesting."
Madam Liang found out by chance.
Song Anxin laughed and said, bringing up her previous excuse: "I don't have any talent. I was just young and ignorant and liked to read all sorts of books. I just stumbled upon these things by chance. Now that I'm older, I can't remember many things."
Madam Dai, the magistrate of Gaokai County, immediately replied, "Madam Hui, you don't look old at all. In fact, we, the families of government officials, have long wanted to befriend you. When we learned that you were coming today, we were wondering what you would look like. We never expected you to be so young."
Today, Song Anxin wore a light purple dress, her hair simply styled with a single tassel hairpin. Since she was attending a banquet, she wore only a light touch of makeup, and under the candlelight, she looked extremely gentle.
Everyone had only heard that Madam Hui was a peasant woman from the countryside, and they imagined that she must have a face full of wrinkles and be very dark. They were quite surprised to see that Madam Hui was so young and beautiful.
Song Anxin smiled and said, "My eldest daughter-in-law is already four months pregnant, and I'm about to become a grandmother. I'm not young anymore."
Upon hearing that the woman about to become a grandmother could maintain such a youthful appearance, and upon closer inspection, finding not a single wrinkle on her face, the ladies couldn't contain their excitement.
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