As soon as the villagers saw her, they surrounded her: "Caiping, some high-ranking officials are looking for you over there, go and see them quickly."
Ye Caiping was about to go over when, unexpectedly, she heard the sound of a carriage behind her again. Prefect Qin poked his head out of the carriage window: "Wait for me—"
Ye Caiping was speechless.
Once the carriage came to a stop, Prefect Qin scrambled off it.
Prefect Qin felt like he was working himself to death.
The trial just ended, and the criminal was dealt with.
As soon as he returned to the inner hall and took off his official robes, a yamen runner came to report that the official envoy who was to bestow honors upon Ye Caiping had arrived.
Prefect Qin had no choice but to put on his official robes again and rush over here without stopping.
"Madam Ye, my apologies. I shall take my leave now." Prefect Qin smiled.
"My lord, please." Ye Caiping gestured with her hand.
Prefect Qin strode toward the officials, recognized them, and immediately bowed, saying, "This humble official greets Minister Shen."
Minister Shen nodded: "No need for formalities. Where is Lady Ye?"
"Over there."
Ye Caiping and the others had already stepped forward.
There were three officials there. One of them was dressed in a red robe. Although he was a civil official, he exuded a majestic and imposing aura. He was handsome and dignified.
The other two were both wearing black robes.
Prefect Qin quickly introduced, "Madam Ye, this is Minister of War Shen Zhiqiong, this is Minister of Agriculture Zhu Bing, and this is your newly appointed magistrate of Yue'an County, He Qiu."
Minister of War? Ye Caiping was a little surprised. Shouldn't the Ministry of Works be in charge of agricultural production? Why was there a Minister of War here?
Without a second thought, she quickly knelt down: "Greetings, Lord Shen, Lord Zhu, and Lord He."
In addition, all the villagers present knelt down.
Minister Shen: "Rise, all of you."
Ye Caiping and the others then stood up and looked up, only to see Minister Shen staring at her with a smile.
She was very beautiful, tall, and had a great presence. She was no less beautiful than the noblewomen of the capital.
Ye Caiping was completely bewildered by his stare. "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you staring at me?"
Standing behind, Shen Zhiyan turned her face away speechlessly, pretending not to know him.
After examining the scene, Minister Shen was quite satisfied and said, "Proclaim the imperial decree: Kneel again."
Ye Caiping and the others immediately knelt down again.
A messenger stepped out from behind Minister Shen; this was the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict. He read in a high-pitched voice:
"By the grace of Heaven, His Majesty decrees: Ye Caiping, with her discerning eye, has discovered that cassava is edible. This is a blessing from Heaven, benefiting all people. Now, she has cultivated a non-toxic yellow-fleshed cassava variety. I am delighted and hereby bestow upon her 30,000 taels of silver and grant her the title of Seventh-Rank Yiren. I hope that she will uphold her original aspirations and make new contributions to the prosperity of our nation and the well-being of our people. So be it."
After the eunuch finished reading the decree, he smiled and said, "Please accept the decree, Lady Ye."
Ye Caiping quickly accepted it, saying, "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."
After receiving the imperial edict, Ye Caiping stood up, and the surrounding villagers also stood up, but dared not make a sound.
Then, two officials carried over a treasure chest, opened it, and found it filled with silver, which made the villagers gasp in surprise.
My God, I've never seen so much silver in my life! It's all gleaming white!
Then, two more old women came forward carrying trays covered with red silk. These were Ye Caiping's official robes and hat, also known as a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe.
Ye Caiping was in a good mood: "Thank you."
As she spoke, she turned and glanced at Yang Ma. Yang Ma quickly led Gui Xiang forward, her hands trembling, and took the two trays.
Ye Caiping smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen and father-in-law. Please come to my humble abode and have a drink to relieve your fatigue."
The eunuch smiled and said, "Wait, there's more. Lady Ye discovered cassava last year, which solved the famine problem for half of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Several nobles have asked me to send things to Lady Ye."
He clapped his hands as he spoke.
Then someone came forward with two trays, and the eunuch said with a smile: "The old lady of the Marquis of Dingguo and the Princess of Xuanhe will be rewarded with a set of jade headdress and a set of bright gold pearl headdress."
Ye Caiping glanced at it and saw two sets of luxurious headdresses on the tray.
Ye Caiping wondered, "Madam Xie...Princess?"
Is this a lady or a princess?
And should I really accept gifts from these people? What if I do? Will they try to win me over or something?
Thinking about it, she turned back and glanced at Shen Zhiyan questioningly. Seeing this, Shen Zhiyan leaned closer and put her hand next to her face.
"Don't worry about keeping it. This is my mother. She has two titles."
Ye Caiping: "..."
The eunuch continued with a smile, "Next, Prince Qi'an will present Ye Yiren with two precious horses, Red Hare and Red Hare."
Shen Zhiyan said in a low voice, "Don't worry about that, he's my uncle."
Ye Caiping: "..."
Two people were seen leading two horses over.
The eunuch continued, "The Empress Dowager bestowed a pair of jade ruyi scepters upon us."
Upon hearing the words "Empress Dowager," Ye Caiping accepted the Ruyi with trembling hands. She was the woman who stood at the very top of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
Shen Zhiyan said in a low voice, "That's my eldest sister."
Ye Caiping was stunned: "Your biological child?"
"Um."
Ye Caiping's lips twitched slightly. So the entire imperial court was his home base! No wonder he always acted so elegantly and arrogantly.
At this moment, Minister Shen walked over with a smile: "Brother Yan, it's been a long time."
Shen Zhiyan replied coldly, "Hmm."
Minister Shen pointed at him: "Hahaha, that's just how he is... he never pays attention to me."
Ye Caiping felt the Minister was quite embarrassed and looked at Shen Zhiyan: "And this gentleman is..."
Shen Zhiyan: "Oh. My elder brother is the Marquis of Dingguo, and also the Minister of War in the current court."
Ye Caiping quickly curtsied and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency."
Minister Shen, or rather, Marquis Dingguo, quickly offered a helping hand: "Sister-in-law, there's no need for such formalities."
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