84_84041The old lady was confused by the sudden good news and asked anxiously, "What good news is it?"
The girl said: "Old lady, please go to the front hall and check. The eunuch who delivered the decree is already waiting in the front yard!"
When she heard about the imperial edict, the old lady shuddered reflexively. The Feng family had received more imperial edicts in the past six months than in the previous twenty years, but there was no good news every time. Since it was a good thing, it must be from Feng Yuheng. After thinking about it, she naturally felt that it should be an imperial edict sent to Feng Yuheng, so she quickly ordered the servants: "The second young lady may not have gone far, you should go and catch her back and let her go to the front yard to receive the edict."
The maid who came to deliver the message stamped her feet and said with a smile: "Oh! Old lady, this decree is for you! It's great news!"
Madam Zhao immediately sensed something was wrong and asked quickly, "Tell me more carefully, what good news is this?"
The maid then said, "The imperial edict has come from the palace, and it is for the old lady, to confer the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady! The old lady, please go to the front yard quickly to receive the edict!"
"Ah!" Both of them were stunned, and then they showed surprise. Zhao Mama immediately ordered the maid, "Hurry up and ask people to go to each courtyard to notify the concubines and young ladies to come out to receive the decree. Oh, and invite the second young lady back as well. She just left a short while ago."
"Hey!" The girl ran out happily to pass on the message.
Madam Zhao helped the old lady to stand up, and while she was fixing her clothes and hair, she said, "Our family is going to marry the eldest princess of Qianzhou Kingdom soon. I think His Majesty must think that the old lady cannot be suppressed without the imperial edict. But speaking of it, I still think that this imperial edict comes too late. Old lady, you are the mother of a first-rank official, and you should have been conferred the title long ago."
The old lady was so overjoyed that she didn't care about these things. She kept urging Zhao Ma to hurry up and said, "It doesn't matter if it's early or late, it will be conferred after all. If the emperor insists not to confer the title, then there is nothing we can do!"
Madam Zhao said casually, "Alas, considering that Madam Yao has a first-rank imperial decree, I feel sorry for the old lady."
The old lady also felt aggrieved about this matter: "Huh, Ah Heng knows to ask for an imperial decree for his mother, but my son doesn't have me in his heart at all!" When this was mentioned, the old lady's face immediately darkened.
Zhao Ma was so scared that she quickly apologized: "It's all because I don't know how to talk. Old Madam, please don't be angry with the master. The master is the prime minister, so he must set an example for all officials. If he is like others who only seek benefits for his family, that will not work!"
The old lady thought about it and realized that this made sense, and her complexion looked better.
Zhao Mama secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was a close call just now. If she made the old lady angry with the master because of her words, she would be guilty of a great sin. She quickened her hands and combed the old lady's hair again, then said, "Okay, old lady, let's go to the front yard quickly!"
The old lady led a group of servants to the front yard, and people from other courtyards of the Feng family were also rushing to the front yard. Feng Yuheng was intercepted on her way back to Tongshengxuan. She was not surprised by the sudden first-class imperial edict from the old lady.
Feng Jinyuan was already a prime minister, so it was only a matter of time before his mother was granted an imperial title. Moreover, the title of a royal concubine was just a reward from the court to the officials' families, and had no practical significance at all.
But Huang Quan analyzed, "Does this mean that the old lady shouldn't lose face in front of Princess Kang Yi?"
Feng Yuheng laughed, "Maybe he wanted her not to lose face in front of me."
"Huh?" Huang Quan was puzzled. "The Emperor has always been on the side of the young lady. How could he allow the old lady to suppress the young lady?"
"How do you know it's the emperor's intention?" Feng Yuheng raised the corner of his lips and said wickedly: "I'm afraid someone is flattering and trying every means to show favor to the old lady!"
"Miss, are you talking about Princess Kang Yi?"
"Just wait and see!"
The two of them had already walked to the front yard while talking. People from various courtyards also rushed over from different directions. It was not until the Feng family members were all present that the housekeeper He Zhong whispered something to the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict. Then the eunuch cleared his throat and said loudly, "Old Madam Li of the Feng Mansion, accept the imperial edict."
The old lady hurried forward, knelt down first, and said loudly: "I accept your order."
As she knelt, all the people in the Feng family knelt on the ground. The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict displayed the imperial edict in his hand and said loudly: "The old lady of the Feng Mansion, Mrs. Li, is a person of noble character and well-mannered. She is now granted the title of the first-rank imperial edict and the first-rank imperial court dress. I decree this!"
The old lady was so happy that her heart blossomed. She immediately shouted, "I accept the order and thank you. Long live the emperor." Then she raised her hands high above her head and took the imperial edict in her hands. The maid beside her also came forward and handed back the imperial edict and court dress.
Zhao Ma helped the old lady up, and then at the old lady's signal, she gave a small purse to the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict. The eunuch picked it up and smiled with satisfaction: "Congratulations, old lady Feng, I wonder if the old lady has any other instructions, if not, I will go back to the palace to report the imperial edict."
The old lady said quickly: "Thank you for troubling me, eunuch. I didn't invite you to come in for a cup of tea."
"Oh! No need, no need! Please stay, old lady. I'll take my leave!" The eunuch did not stay a moment longer. He announced the decree, took the reward and left in a hurry.
Feng Yuheng wanted to laugh when she saw the old lady holding the imperial edict in her hand. She could almost imagine the impatience of Emperor Tianwu when he issued the imperial edict. Such a simple imperial edict, just a few words, and not even willing to give more compliments, it can be seen that this imperial edict was not something that Emperor Tianwu was willing to confer.
Come to think of it, Feng Jinyuan had been the prime minister for so many years and had never asked for an imperial decree for his mother, which was enough to show that Emperor Tianwu did not like the prime minister's family very much. And why did he wait until Kang Yi was about to marry before conferring the title, she could easily figure out how this imperial decree came about.
Sure enough, after the eunuch left, the maids who followed him did not leave. The leader walked up to the old lady and bowed, "I greet you, old lady, and congratulate you on receiving the imperial decree."
The old lady carefully identified the person and said, "Are you Qian Zhou's maid?"
The girl said, "That's right, the old lady has a good eye." As she spoke, her enthusiasm was so strong that it made people shiver. "I wonder if the old lady is satisfied with this gift from our eldest princess?"
The old lady was stunned, "What gift?"
The girl smiled and said, "It's this imperial edict! Our princess said that the old lady is the head of the family and should always be superior, so she went to ask His Majesty Dashun to confer the old lady a first-rank imperial edict."
The old lady was stunned. This imperial edict was actually requested by Kang Yi for her? Thinking about it again, it was true. If Feng Jinyuan went to ask for it, he would definitely tell her in advance. This imperial edict came suddenly. She was only happy before, but now she felt a little strange.
Seeing that the old lady had been thinking for a long time without saying anything, the girl hurriedly said, "Our eldest princess said that because her relationship with Lord Feng happened suddenly, and Qian Zhou is too far away from Dashun, there is no time to prepare a dowry. The eldest princess wanted to do something for the old lady and not let her down. Also, our Princess Rujia wants to give you something!"
As she spoke, she waved her hand, and immediately two maids came over, each holding a wooden box. The box seemed very heavy, and the maids could not lift it, so they had to lean on their bodies for support.
"These are two rolls of Guanghan silk that His Majesty Dashun gave to Princess Rujia on the first day of the new year. The princess said that she felt close to you the first time she saw you. After staying in your mansion for a few days, the more she got along with you, the more she felt that you were her grandmother. Now her wish has come true. The princess said that this is a gift for the old lady!"
This time the old lady was really happy. Not only did she get the imperial edict and court robes, but now she also got two more pieces of Guanghan silk. This really surprised her.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the two wooden boxes. She kept saying, "You two princesses are so polite."
The girl was quite talkative: "We will be a family soon. The princess will pay her respects to you, old lady." She ordered someone to hand over the two rolls of Guanghan silk to the servants of the Feng family, and then said: "We servants have to go back to the palace to report to the princess, so we won't stay any longer. The old lady, please take care of yourself. The princess said that when she marries into the Feng Mansion, she will accompany you every day and serve you personally."
The maid's words were so sweet that the old lady was delighted from the bottom of her heart. Her original hostility towards Kang Yi was completely eliminated once again, and she changed from being on guard to full of expectation.
After Qian Zhou's maid left, only the Feng family was left in the courtyard. Seeing that the old lady's joy had not yet faded, Feng Chenyu rolled her eyes and took the initiative to step forward, kneeling on the ground and saying, "Granddaughter congratulates grandmother on receiving the imperial decree!" After saying that, she kowtowed.
How could others just stand by and watch her when she was like this? An quickly pushed Xiangrong, and Xiangrong also knelt down behind Chenyu.
Feng Yuheng and Feng Fendai knelt later, but they followed the crowd. After them, several concubines kowtowed, including Han, who was still pregnant. She knelt on the ground, but the old lady didn't ask her to stand up.
Although it was not the first time that the Feng family members knelt to her, the significance of today was different. She also had an imperial decree of rank. From now on, she no longer had to envy other women's families, and she no longer had to feel embarrassed to attend banquets because she did not have an imperial decree.
With such vanity, she made everyone kneel for half an incense stick's time before she said, "Alright, everyone, get up. It's just an imperial edict. There's no need to kowtow like this." It was obvious that her words were not in her heart. Even a fool could see that she had been smiling for a long time.
After getting up, Chenyu took two steps forward and said with a smile: "Grandmother will be a lady of imperial decree in the future. When she has the chance to enter the palace, she will have to wear court dress, which is so majestic! I didn't expect the eldest princess to be so thoughtful. Grandmother has a first-rank imperial decree. Even if she is Princess Qianzhou, Qianzhou is a vassal state. In this way, her rank is lower than yours." After speaking, she lowered her voice and said in a volume that only the two of them could hear: "Grandmother is a first-rank imperial decree, and second sister is a second-rank county lady. The eldest princess has good intentions!"
The old lady's eyes lit up. Yes! She had always been wary of Feng Yuheng's status as the county lady. Now that she had an imperial decree, she was severely suppressed by her!
When she thought of this, the old lady's smile deepened.
Feng Yuheng stood aside, and although she didn't hear what Chen Yu said, she saw her lips move clearly, and immediately understood the content of the words. She couldn't help but laugh secretly, a nominal imperial decree wanted to suppress her, a county lord with a fiefdom, what on earth was this family thinking?
...
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