Yue Jiuyue: \(◎o◎)／!
Others: d(?д??)
To the surprise of others, the widow of the Lin family was actually granted the title of Ninth-Rank Lady by the emperor!
Although they didn't understand what "孺人" meant, they understood the words "九品" (ninth rank).
A ninth-rank official! Although it's the lowest rank, it's still a rank! While it's not as high as a seventh-rank county magistrate, it's much better than a village head or neighborhood chief!
"Lady Yu, receive the imperial decree!"
After the eunuch finished reading the long imperial edict, he immediately reminded Yue Jiuyue.
Yue Jiuyue knelt down and shouted:
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!"
Then he respectfully accepted the imperial edict.
The eunuch immediately offered his congratulations:
"Congratulations, Madam Yu!"
Yue Jiuyue hadn't watched TV dramas and read novels for nothing; she immediately slipped him a thin purse. It contained silver notes that Yue Jiuyue had specially exchanged with someone in town, and because she heard that the emperor was bestowing a lot of silver, she specially slipped him an extra note.
Both sides were delighted and politely deferred to each other as they entered the main room.
The villagers watching the commotion outside the courtyard were immediately in an uproar. They had thought that the emperor would only give Widow Lin a few hundred taels of silver or some cloth and jewelry, but they never expected that he would directly appoint her as a "ninth-rank" official!
"Sigh! You mean, from now on, Widow Lin will be a person of status. Does that mean we can no longer call her whatever we want like before?"
"Absolutely! We'd have to greet her politely when we see her, after all, she's a lowly official!"
"Sigh! If I had known that finding something to eat could get me a 'ninth-rank' official position, I would have done whatever I could to get something to eat. Maybe I could have found it before that widow Lin!"
"What are you saying! You can find it even earlier? It's not like you'd dare to eat anything you don't recognize. Aren't you afraid of being poisoned?"
"That's right, that's right, stop being so sour, it's too late now! Also, she's a ninth-rank Lady Yu now, you can't keep calling her 'widow' anymore, or she'll charge you with disrespect and throw you in jail!"
A group of people were both envious and jealous. Some made sarcastic remarks, while others remained rational, but everyone envied Yue Jiuyue.
They were all unsure whether Yue Jiuyue had become an official, after all, that "ninth rank" was too intimidating!
The words "Ninth Rank" stunned everyone so much that they forgot to listen carefully to the long list of rewards that followed. Jade ruyi, jade jewelry, and various fabrics were all far more shocking than the words "Ninth Rank."
And what about Yue Jiuyue?
She squinted with joy.
Five thousand taels of silver!
That's five thousand taels of silver!
She had anticipated that the emperor would bestow upon her a great reward this time. After all, putting everything else aside, the cotton she presented would surely satisfy the emperor, provided he wasn't a fool or a tyrant.
Unexpectedly, the emperor was so generous that he gave her five thousand taels of silver, which was ten times the original amount!
She thought that the two or three thousand taels of silver she had expected would be a lot, and sure enough, the richest person in the world was the emperor. He could easily give her five thousand taels of silver, not to mention other rewards that were no less than five thousand taels of silver. She was in an extremely happy mood!
She even regretted that she shouldn't have "accidentally" kicked and cracked the biggest watermelon a few days ago because the fourth prince was greedy for watermelons. The emperor was so generous, she shouldn't have been so stingy with these people who came from afar to give her rewards!
No, let's cheat then. Since the watermelon is cut into pieces, no one will know whether it's one or two pieces. After all, my family has only eaten it once, and even then, it was eaten separately. We have no experience with this.
"Congratulations, Madam Yu!"
The eunuch offered his congratulations again.
What Yue Jiuyue disliked most was this kind of endless polite talk, going back and forth, over and over again, it was so annoying!
Thinking this way, her previous idea of cheating so that everyone could taste the watermelon faded away. Whatever, it's her fault for not being able to please this person.
After having a simple rural lunch, the group was taken to a wooden cabin for a nap. Afterwards, Magistrate Tang and Lin Chaonan led them on a tour of the village. Some people stayed in the wooden cabin, while others stayed in the newly built staff dormitory at Yue Jiuyue's house. That's how they got through the night.
The next day, those people left Linjiagou Village with the things Yue Jiuyue had prepared.
Of course, Yue Jiuyue guessed that they couldn't possibly go back so early. Maybe they would go to the county town or the prefectural city to have some fun and then go back. After all, this kind of thing happened in every era.
It's also possible that Yue Jiuyue was being petty. Anyway, she was just guessing. If she guessed wrong, she guessed wrong. There was no prize if she guessed right.
"Phew... finally..."
"Cough cough cough! Cough cough cough!"
Before the fourth brother could finish speaking, Yue Jiuyue, who was at the very front, interrupted him with a cough.
Then he looked up and saw that his mother didn't react much, but the clan leaders, elders, and other seniors in front of him were all glaring at him.
"Forehead……"
Lin Chaobei touched his nose, wanting to explain, but then he saw them all turn around and crowd around his mother, their faces all crinkled with laughter, which surprised him greatly.
No, it was a ground full of eyeballs; he wasn't the only one frightened by those old people.
"Chao Dongniang, congratulations!"
"Why are you still calling her 'Chao Dong Niang'? She should be called 'Yu Ruren'!"
The villagers also crowded around, chattering and saying nice things, which pushed Lin Chaonan and Lin Chaobei, their own son and granddaughter, to the sidelines.
Lin Chaobei also noticed that even the clan chief and elders were almost knocked over by the crowd, and only Yue Jiuyue's side was empty, with no one daring to push her.
"Nine ranks, huh? They really are quite effective."
Yue Jiuyue felt her face was about to freeze from smiling, and even considered whether she should take this opportunity to separate from these people in the future, or directly take this opportunity to show her status and become a cold and aloof "Jade Lady".
That's right, it's not really suitable!
They are from the same village, and they share the same ancestors. If she really puts on airs like a "Lady Yu," she won't have a good life in the village.
Then we can only stay the same as before, although everyone knows very well that things are no longer the same no matter what.
"Oh! We're all family, all members of the Lin family. Why call me 'Madam Yu'? Just act like before, do what you always have to do!"
Yue Jiuyue forced a smile and spoke politely.
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