The village headman was surprised to see that it was the county magistrate. He immediately led everyone to kneel down.
"This humble subject pays his respects to Your Excellency, the County Magistrate!"
Magistrate Yang glanced at Gu Lili kneeling in the crowd and smiled, "This is Eunuch Zhang, who is before His Majesty!"
Magistrate Yang's original intention was to introduce Eunuch Zhang to the villagers, but seeing the villagers' worried expressions, the magistrate was somewhat puzzled.
Fear filled everyone's faces, and they were all shocked. Why would someone from the Emperor's court come to this small Gu Manor? What had happened?
The village headman crawled forward on his knees in a panic and asked cautiously, "Your Excellency, has something happened to our Gu Village?"
At this moment, the village headman's mind raced, trying to recall what they had done to warrant the arrival of people from the capital.
He even thought about where he should be buried.
It wasn't that the villagers were guilty; it was just that they had never done anything that could alarm the emperor, so everyone assumed the worst.
After thinking about it for a long time, I still couldn't figure out what crime their village had committed.
Therefore, I went from being fearful and uneasy to feeling lost.
The leading eunuch smiled and looked at the bewildered villagers, saying, "Who is Gu Lili? Come here and receive the imperial decree!"
Gu Lili, who was wondering what the Emperor's people were doing at the manor, was suddenly called by name, and her mind went blank for a moment.
Gu Lili stood there stunned for a moment, until Han Mingyue quietly patted her, and she finally came to her senses.
She quickly crawled out on her knees and knelt in front of the crowd.
Gu Erniu, Gu Huanhuan, and Gu Sigou watched Gu Lili step forward, and they couldn't help but feel worried for their sister.
Gu Huanhuan and Gu Sigou were so anxious they were almost in tears.
Seeing that Gu Sigou was about to cry, Gu Huanhuan quickly covered his mouth to stop him from making a sound.
People at the bottom of society have a deep-seated fear of those in positions of power.
Moreover, it was an imperial edict, a decree personally issued by the current emperor.
Eunuch Zhang stood at attention and took the bright yellow imperial edict from the little eunuch following behind him.
Gu Lili glanced up and saw the imperial edict in Eunuch Zhang's hand. She was startled and understood what it was about.
Her breathing became rapid. She had only ever seen the scene of the imperial edict being proclaimed on television before, and she never thought that one day she would be able to witness it in person.
Moreover, it was an imperial decree given to him personally; the emperor's sense of oppression was truly immense.
Even a cold, impersonal decree can make one break out in a cold sweat without realizing it.
Eunuch Zhang cleared his throat, opened the imperial edict in his hand, and read in a high-pitched voice, "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Gu Lili, daughter of Gu Village, is of noble character and selfless in her conduct..."
She offered up her family's medicinal formula, relieving my worries and sparing the people from the plague, thus preventing the entire nation from suffering its ravages. This is a great plan for the country and its people. Therefore, I hereby bestow upon Gu Lili the title of Lady of Yongning Township, granting her one hundred acres of fertile land, two hundred taels of gold, eight bolts of silk, and a brocade landscape painting..."
So be it!
As Gu Lili listened to the long list of rewards, she unconsciously swallowed.
She didn't think much about it when she gave the prescription to the county magistrate.
They simply didn't want ordinary people to lose their lives.
I am sure that my receiving the Emperor's reward today is inextricably linked to Magistrate Yang.
This Magistrate Yang is truly selfless; anyone else would have taken the credit long ago.
Even if she really did take someone else's place, Gu Lili, a girl of thirteen or fourteen, couldn't cause any trouble.
"Princess Yongning, what are you waiting for? Quickly accept the imperial decree!" Eunuch Zhang said with a smile.
Gu Lili then realized what was happening and took the imperial edict from Eunuch Zhang's hands with both hands.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!" Gu Lili quickly knelt down to express her gratitude.
The villagers all followed Gu Lili in expressing their gratitude.
They thought that Gu Lili's prescription had saved their lives, and receiving the county magistrate's reward was already a remarkable thing.
Unexpectedly, I have received a reward from the current emperor.
They didn't know what the Lord of Yongning was, but just hearing about the two hundred taels of gold he would be rewarded with was enough to make everyone's jaw drop.
Gold, something they had never even seen before.
Everyone stared in disbelief at Gu Lili kneeling in front of them; it was truly the spirits of the deceased Li Xihua and Gu Shan appearing before them.
Those who offended the siblings either died or went mad.
Now, to receive such an enormous reward is truly remarkable.
Gu Lili knew that the title of "village head" was usually reserved for distant relatives of the emperor, but she never expected to receive such an honor herself.
Seeing Gu Lili accept the imperial edict, Eunuch Zhang smiled and said, "Princess Yongning, fellow villagers, please get up quickly."
Although this eunuch was a close attendant to the emperor, he had absolutely no airs.
Gu Lili, who was initially a little nervous, gradually relaxed.
Everyone watched as Gu Lili stood up before daring to stand up themselves.
Looking at the food the villagers were eating behind him and smelling the aroma, Zhang Gonggong unconsciously swallowed.
Although he was a eunuch in the palace, he had tasted all sorts of delicacies, since his master would often reward them with leftovers.
However, looking at the food on the table in front of me, it seemed even more delicious than those delicacies.
Gu Lili noticed Zhang Gonggong's subtle actions and said with a smile, "Eunuch, Magistrate, I don't know if you've had lunch yet. If you don't mind, please stay and have some simple food."
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Yang was somewhat troubled.
It wasn't that she disliked the food, but she was afraid that Eunuch Zhang wouldn't want to eat it, which would be a disappointment to Gu Lili's good intentions.
"In that case, I'll have to trouble Lord Yongning." Eunuch Zhang nodded and said.
Zhang Gonggong was sent to the palace to become a eunuch when he was eight years old, but what he misses most is the carefree time he spent in the countryside before he was eight.
Therefore, looking at the people in front of me, I felt a sense of kinship and unconsciously wanted to join them.
Under Magistrate Yang's astonished gaze, Eunuch Zhang, with an eager expression, let Gu Lili lead him forward.
Han Mingyue quickly walked up to Gu Erniu and said, "Brother, quickly find some clean tables and chairs to set up so that these distinguished guests can have a meal."
Although Gu Erniu didn't like Han Mingyue, what he said made a lot of sense.
He quickly went to find tables and chairs, and Li Qingshan, seeing this, also rushed to help.
Gu Lili directed the two to set up tables and chairs in the main room. Although there was no roof yet, it was at least a separate space arranged for Eunuch Zhang and his group.
This way, the dignitaries can dine in peace and quiet. Secondly, if they stay to eat outside, no one else will dare to eat.
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