Chapter 212: Conferred the title of County Lord
The image of Xie Zhenghuai and his original wife emerged in Shen Jinyu's mind. They had met each other when they were in Beijing.
Xie Zhenghuai looked at his original wife with eyes as gentle as water, and he was also very gentle towards the two concubines in the mansion.
But he never had that kind of expression towards her. Could it be because the two concubines looked somewhat like his original wife?
But how many couples are deeply in love? Aren’t most of them respectful and polite to each other?
What's more, Xie Zhenghuai treated her well. He would only speak harshly to her when Yan'er and Qi'er had conflicts.
She was the mistress of the house, and it was her duty to contribute to the family. Qi'er was very filial to her, her husband was also very good to her, and the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was harmonious. Isn't this good? She was already happier than most people.
She took a deep breath and said, "You don't need to stir up trouble here. What I want to talk about now is you and Yan'er. If you agree to move out, I will give you money. If you don't agree, you won't have a good result. As long as Yan'er's father and I don't agree, he can't disobey his parents' wishes."
Li Wanyue knew a person's temperament, how could it change just because of a few words from others.
She only said: "I will not move. Since you look down on Anping County, just let Xie Yan go to another place to be an official. As for money, I don't lack it. Five hundred taels is enough for my expenses for a month."
As she said that, she raised her hand and made a gesture of invitation: “I still have things to do, Madam Shen, please go back.”
"It seems that you are sincerely going against my Xie family?"
"Madam, if you insist on thinking so, I have nothing to say, but I have done nothing wrong. If Madam insists on forcing me to frame you, I think there will always be someone in Jingchao who can make the decision for my family."
“You…” Shen Jinyu stood up angrily.
At this moment, a noise was heard coming from far away, and the next second Xie Yan appeared in the backyard.
He looked at Shen Jinyu with icy eyes: “What are you doing here?”
Not even a respectful title is needed.
Seeing his attitude, Shen Jinyu became even more angry: "Are you questioning your mother? I've only been here for a while, and you came here. Did someone tip you off, or do you come here often? As the head of a county, you don't do your job properly in the county government, but spend all day around a woman. Yan'er, when did you become like this?"
"Mother, be careful with your words." Xie Yan's face was gloomy. "I came here for official business, but I didn't expect to see the Xie Mansion's carriage. Mother, if you have anything to say, you can come to me directly. It's beneath your dignity as the mistress of the Xie Mansion to come here and embarrass others."
"What business can you have here? You have been deceived by her. She is married and she wants to deceive you into marrying her."
"In my mother's eyes, I am an ignorant child. Would I be easily deceived? I know everything about her. I don't need to worry about her like a mother." Xie Yan ignored her and turned to look at Li Wanyue: "Wanyue, go to the front yard to receive the order."
Li Wanyue was stunned, and so were the others.
What did they hear? An imperial decree?
Li Wanyue walked quickly to the front yard.
When we arrived at the front yard, we saw several large boxes there.
About twenty people dressed in black and dressed as guards stood in two rows, with swords on their waists and stern expressions.
Standing in front was a middle-aged man in crimson official uniform. Li Wanyue remembered that this was the Lord Han whom she had met in the county government office last time.
Standing on one side was Li Sandong, who had not been seen for nearly two months.
Village chief Li and Li Youshan and others stood on the other side, at a loss as to what to do.
Shen Jinyu and Xie Shuyan, who followed behind, also stood quietly by.
The Li family quickly set up the incense table, and Lord Han stood in front of the incense table and said, "Li Wanyue, please accept the order."
Everyone in the courtyard knelt down.
"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: There is a daughter of the Li family, Li Wanyue, who is kind and gentle by nature, has a virtuous character, is intelligent and ingenious, has extensive knowledge, has designed farm tools, offered advice on farming, has made contributions to the country and will benefit future generations, and is hereby canonized as a county lady and given the title of 'Anping'.
I also grant you one hundred ounces of gold, one hundred acres of good farmland, twenty rolls of various colored silks, a box of various jewelry, and several calligraphy and painting ornaments. I hope you will be respectful, prudent, frugal, cultivate your virtues, and set an example for others. I decree this."
After reading it, he closed the imperial edict and bowed forward to hand it over: "Lord Anping, please accept the edict."
"I accept your order and thank you for your grace. Long live the emperor."
Li Wanyue pointed at the imperial edict with both hands. The silk material was very smooth. There were dragon patterns embroidered on the bright yellow cloth, symbolizing imperial power.
This was my first time experiencing this, and I was a little nervous.
She calmed herself down and then stood up, thinking that usually people would give silver as a reward for their hard work, but Lord Han was not a eunuch.
After thinking for a while, she looked at Lord Han and said, "Thank you for coming all this way. I wonder if you could do me the honor of having dinner at home so that we can express our gratitude."
Lord Han said with a smile: "It is an honor for me to be invited by the county lady. I just wanted to ask you about the dam. By the way, according to the rules, you have to go to the palace to express your gratitude, but the journey is long. The emperor has granted you permission not to go in person to express your gratitude."
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty."
"Also, you will receive a monthly salary of thirty taels of silver and thirty hu of rice. You can go directly to the county government office to collect them when the time comes."
"Thank you for telling me, sir. Please come to the main hall for some refreshments."
"good."
Li Youshan was still standing there in a daze, his soul had drifted away to who knows where, so Village Chief Li quickly pulled him back.
Li Youshan then led everyone to the main hall.
Village chief Li wiped the sweat from his forehead, his heart beating so fast that it seemed like it was going to jump out.
Oh my God, their Li family can actually produce such a great man. Their ancestors are so grateful.
Thinking of this, he quickly followed into the main hall.
Li Sandong took the imperial edict from Li Wanyue and followed him to the main hall.
He found a tray, placed the imperial edict on it, and placed it on the table in the main hall.
Xie Yan walked up to Li Wanyue and congratulated her with a smile: "Congratulations, you are now a county lady of the fifth rank with a title. I will bow to you every time I see you in the future."
Li Wanyue said: "I want to thank you too. If it weren't for your efforts behind the scenes, I wouldn't have been able to receive such an honor. At most, I could have received some rewards, and perhaps some help from your uncle and his friends. Thank you so much."
"I'm sorry about my mother's matter. Don't take her words to heart."
"I know. We can talk later. You go and accompany Lord Han first. I'm afraid my father and the village chief can't handle it."
"good."
Xie Yan looked at Shen Jinyu who was standing aside, and walked over to Xie Shuyan and said, "Sister, take mother back first. If there is anything, wait until I get back and talk to you."
"Oh." Xie Shuyan responded, and she and the nanny helped Shen Jinyu leave.
Li Wanyue turned around and looked at Zhao Suying and Wang Guixiang who were still in a daze.
Remind them to go to the kitchen and cook.
He also asked Yuanbao and others to set up a few tables in the backyard, serve some snacks, and let the guards in the yard rest.
There were many neighbors gathered outside the yard. This group of people entered the village in a grand manner, and everyone came to watch the fun.
But seeing that the guards were not easy to deal with and there were officials present, they just gathered at the door and did not dare to enter the inner courtyard, so they didn't know what was going on.
Li Dachuan gave some candy to everyone and asked everyone to go back first. Then everyone dispersed. Some people were still sitting aside waiting to watch.
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