The next day, at daybreak, an imperial edict shattered the silence of the capital!
"The imperial edict says!" the eunuch shouted loudly.
At the entrance of General Guan's mansion, a crowd of people had gathered. Guan Hongsheng and Guan Shang exchanged glances, both bewildered by the situation. As generals, they were not required to attend court every day, and this sudden imperial edict had completely stunned everyone.
"Marquis Ping Le, receive the imperial decree!" The eunuch who read the decree looked at the Guan family members who were standing dumbfounded in the courtyard and said with a kind smile.
Guan Hongsheng was completely bewildered. Was there a mistake in calling him the Marquis of Pingle? He was just a general, so how could he be the Marquis of Pingle?
"Eunuch, isn't this a mistake? This is the General's Mansion, not the Marquis's Mansion!" Guan Hongsheng looked at the eunuch delivering the imperial decree with a blank expression.
The eunuch said with a smile, "General Guan, quickly kneel down to receive the imperial decree. After you do, won't you become the Marquis of Ping Le?"
As soon as the eunuch spoke, the Guan family members present immediately knelt on the ground.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Guan Zhiyue, a daughter of the Guan family, has cultivated a grain variety that yields a thousand catties per mu, benefiting the people of Nanding Kingdom. Therefore, I, now the Empress, hereby bestow upon her family member Guan Hongsheng the title of Marquis of Pingle, a hereditary title. It is hoped that the Marquis of Pingle and his family will continue their efforts and loyally protect the country... So be it!"
After the eunuch finished reading a long passage of the imperial edict, the junior eunuchs behind him carried in several large boxes, leaving the Guan family dumbfounded.
"Lord Ping Le, receive the decree! I'm waiting to return and report!" the eunuch urged again.
Guan Hongsheng belatedly realized what was happening and quickly shouted, "Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
He Shilian quickly gestured to the steward beside her, and Uncle Guan hurriedly took out money to give to the eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree.
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree reached out and took it. He weighed it in his hand and found it very light, probably a silver note. He smiled with satisfaction and looked at Guan Hongsheng, saying, "Marquis Ping Le, the Imperial Workshop is still ordering your family's plaque. We'll deliver it to you when it's finished."
Guan Hongsheng bowed and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "In that case, I'll have to trouble you, sir."
"Please come in and have a seat, and have a cup of tea before you leave!" Guan Shang invited.
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree looked at Guan Shang and said, "Oh, Grand Tutor Guan, I won't sit down. I have to rush back to report to the Emperor. I'll congratulate you in advance."
Guan Shang didn't try to stop him, and said, "In that case, I won't keep you any longer, sir. You must come to our residence for a cup of tea when you have some free time another day!"
"Of course, of course, we'll definitely come when we have time." The eunuch delivering the imperial decree left happily with a few junior eunuchs.
Before leaving, He Shilian had someone deliver a purse to her father-in-law.
After everyone left, Guan Chengheng snatched the imperial edict from Guan Hongsheng's hand, looked it over from head to toe, and said, "What high-yield grain has my sister cultivated that has even led to our family being granted titles and honors?"
Guan Shang slapped Guan Chengheng on the back and laughed as he scolded, "What do you know? It must be that your sister's harem mountain has a bumper harvest."
"Oh, really? Do you have fish dishes too?" Guan Chengheng remembered that Lan Shanqi had told him that Guan Zhiyue had asked him for a lot of fish fry a few months ago and wanted to work with him to develop some fish recipes.
“Rice paddy fish!” Guan Chengzhuo said.
"Yes, yes, it's rice paddy fish. Is the rice harvest complete? You're amazing, young lady! You managed to produce a thousand catties of rice per mu. In our country, a mu of rice can only produce five hundred catties, at most eight hundred catties."
"Young lady, you actually made them produce over a thousand catties! That's enough to feed so many people in our Nanding Kingdom!"
"Dad, our family deserves this honor! We deserve it!" Guan Chengheng happily spun around in circles, repeatedly saying that his family was worthy of this favor!
"Yes, we can accept it, we can accept it!" Guan Shang echoed.
He Shilian's eyes also reddened with emotion. She held Guan Shang's hand and said, "Our poor granddaughter, she worked so hard to cultivate the grain, but all the credit went to the Guan family!"
"But she herself is still in the cold palace. She's been married into the palace for almost a year now. What kind of life is she living?"
“We’re old and useless now, and we can’t help anymore even if we wanted to,” He Shilian said.
After hearing He Shilian's words, everyone fell into deep thought!
——
The Cold Palace.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty~ Something terrible has happened!" Shiliu ran in from the doorway, shouting in an exaggerated manner.
Guan Zhiyue poked her head out from the kitchen and looked at Shiliu, saying, "What's wrong? What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry? Slow down."
Shi Liu rushed over and said excitedly, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
"What's there to congratulate me on?"
"Your Majesty, did you know? Your maternal family's General Guan has now been enfeoffed as the Marquis of Ping Le!"
Guan Zhiyue's eyes widened in surprise. "The Marquis of Ping Le" now has a title!
"What's going on? Did my dad do something?" Guan Zhiyue asked, bewildered.
Shi Liu said excitedly, "It's because of you, Your Majesty! The rice you planted on the back mountain yields a thousand catties per mu! That means so many families in our Nan Ding Kingdom can have enough to eat! The Emperor went to deliver an imperial edict to Marquis Ping Le with gongs and drums as soon as it was light today."
"It is said that the rice you planted has brought food and clothing to the people, and since you are now the Empress, second only to the Emperor, this reward has been given to your family."
"Moreover, this title can be inherited without fail, which means your elder brother can also inherit it," Shi Liu explained to Guan Zhiyue in a flurry of words.
Guan Zhiyue nodded with satisfaction, then said arrogantly, "Hmph, at least he still has some conscience, knowing to reward my family."
"Today we're having a big feast in the Cold Palace to celebrate the reward from my maternal family!" Guan Zhiyue said to Shi Liu with a wave of her hand.
Shiliu was about to run away happily when Guan Zhiyue pulled her back and said, "Prepare the rice paddy fish from the back mountain for my father and my uncle's family. We'll send them over when we can leave the palace later."
"Let them have a taste too. Also, have someone notify Lan Huangshang and tell him that we've caught all the fish, tens of thousands of pounds of them, and that he should process them quickly."
"Yes, this servant will take care of it right away!"
In the capital, there was a lively discussion about this rice seed that supposedly yielded a thousand catties per mu. On his way to the capital, the Crown Prince of Ningjian Kingdom heard his servant's report, and the smile on his face grew increasingly sinister.
Yes, that's right, this person is the Crown Prince of Ningjian Kingdom. This time, he suddenly came to visit Nanding Kingdom. In fact, he is a good friend of Li Qiji. He came out incognito to visit his old friend. He didn't expect that before he even arrived in the capital, he heard that there was rice with a yield of 1,000 catties per mu.
His good friend really does keep everything a secret!
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