Chapter 679, Changing the Door Lintel
The Yan family became famous because of the loyalty archway awarded by the emperor and because of the 200,000 stones of medicinal materials donated.
You know, the emperor would not easily grant a memorial archway, which is a symbol of merit and can be used for inheritance, let alone personally inscribe the words "loyalty and righteousness" on it.
Officials had different reactions.
Those who are open-minded are secretly envious.
Those who were narrow-minded and jealous would report the Yan family to the court.
"Your Majesty, the Yan family is a family of farmers and scholars. How could they possibly come up with 200,000 dan of medicinal herbs? Yan Zhigao must have been corrupt and accepted bribes. Your Majesty, please punish Yan Zhigao severely."
The emperor quietly looked at the righteous Censor Shi, who was pushed out by the Jiang family. He looked at him until he was sweating profusely. Then he slowly said, "My dear minister, you speak so righteously, but do you have any evidence?"
Censor Shi had no evidence. He just felt that even an established family might not be able to come up with 200,000 stones of medicinal materials, let alone the Yan family, who came from a humble background.
Before Censor Shi could think of a response, Wu Jingyi stood up with a grin, "Your Majesty, I am in charge of the collection of medicinal materials. After learning that Prefect Yan wanted to donate the medicinal materials, I began to investigate the source of these herbs."
"The Yan family has indeed acquired a lot of farmland over the years, but except for a small portion of fertile land, most of these lands are obtained by reclaiming wasteland."
"Everyone knows that the land in Ningmen Prefecture is barren. After Yan Zhigao took over as prefect, he saw so much wasteland lying around and felt so bad about it, so he took the lead in reclaiming it."
"Most of the tax revenue increase in Ningmen Prefecture is due to the reclamation of wasteland."
An official questioned: "The wasteland is barren. Even if medicinal herbs can be grown there, it's impossible to grow so many."
Wu Jingyi smiled and said, "Have you all forgotten who invented the high-yield wheat variety that is now widely planted in Daxia? Censor Shi also said that the Yan family comes from a family of farmers and scholars. They are better at farming than we are. We must acknowledge this."
After hearing this, the officials fell silent.
It's simple, their fields are now planted with high-yield wheat seeds.
At this time, the emperor spoke: "The border is in urgent need of medicinal materials. When I hoped you could share the burden, you all acted like turtles. Now that someone has stepped forward to donate, you jump out and accuse them of corruption and bribery. What kind of thing are you doing? Are you just trying to turn the tables?"
As he said this, he looked at Censor Shi coldly.
"The Censorate is responsible for monitoring court officials, but that doesn't mean you can slander them at will. With a single word, you label a good official who has made many contributions to the court as corrupt and bribe-taking."
"Hmph, employing a censor like you is a grave danger to the imperial court. Come, strip Censor Shi of his official robes and throw him out of the palace. You will never be employed again."
Hearing this, Censor Shi's legs went weak and he fell to his knees with a thud. He looked at Prince Jiang with despair on his face, but before he could say anything, he was dragged out by two guards.
Prince Jiang lowered his head and looked at the floor beneath his feet. The emperor's undisguised angry gaze made him a little unsteady.
He was the one who pushed Censor Shi out. He just wanted to test the emperor's reaction. After all, the Jiang family had made the emperor look very embarrassed when collecting medicinal herbs this time.
Neither he nor his father thought of going too far. As long as the emperor was willing to accommodate them, they would be willing to help collect medicinal materials.
Just as the game between the Jiang family and the emperor was about to reach a critical juncture, the Yan family suddenly appeared and donated 200,000 stones of medicinal materials, catching his family off guard.
I wanted to teach the Yan family a lesson, but I never expected the emperor to react so strongly.
Why.
This time they failed to help the emperor collect medicinal materials, which finally angered the emperor. It was their mistake.
Ningmen Mansion.
When the emperor's commendation and the arrival of the craftsmen who came to build the memorial archway arrived, the Yan family was shocked. Not only the Yan family, but also the officials of Ningmen Prefecture and some well-informed officials in Zhongzhou were greatly surprised.
When they heard that the Yan family had donated 200,000 stones of medicinal materials to the court, they all fell silent.
There is no other reason, they cannot receive this reward.
Yan Zhigao received the imperial edict in a daze. He enthusiastically invited the eunuchs and craftsmen who delivered it to the front yard for tea. During the tea, he took a moment to ask Madam Li, "They say our family donated medicinal herbs to the court. What's going on?"
Madam Li was also confused, but then she suddenly thought of something and slapped her head. "Oh, it's Daohua. The girl told me about this last time she came back. I thought she was joking and didn't take it seriously."
Hearing this, Yan Zhigao was neither angry nor not angry: "Why didn't you tell me about such a big thing?"
Mrs. Li said nonchalantly, "I told you, I thought that girl was joking." Then she asked tentatively, "How many medicinal herbs did Daohua donate?"
The imperial archway is not only the honor of their family, but also the honor of the entire Yan family.
Yan Zhigao's expression froze for a moment, and then he gestured the number "two" faintly.
He had no idea that his daughter was so capable!
Madam Li was surprised when she saw this: "Just by donating 20,000 dan of medicinal herbs, I can get an imperial memorial archway?"
Yan Zhigao was speechless: "What do you mean by 20,000 shi? It's 200,000 shi." After saying that, he shook his head and turned to entertain the messenger.
Mrs. Li was stunned for a long time before she came back to her senses from her daughter's donation of 200,000 stones of medicinal materials, and then she went to the old lady's yard in a daze.
At this moment, everyone in the Yan family gathered in the old lady's room, and everyone had a happy look on their faces.
The emperor bestowed the loyalty archway upon the Yan family, and the Yan family’s fortunes were changed from then on.
When Madam Li saw the old lady, she couldn't help but say, "Mother, did you know that Daohua donated 200,000 stones of medicinal herbs to the court?"
Mrs. Wu was shocked: "Where did Daohua get so many medicinal herbs?"
Old Lady Yan reacted calmly and explained to everyone, "Didn't that girl buy two hilltops before? There happened to be a large valley between the hilltops, so she planted a lot of medicinal herbs there. I even helped sow the seeds."
"The old man said there was a Medicine King Valley in the south, so that girl named it Baicao Valley." Then she smiled and said, "Listen, does it sound like a boxing match?"
Looking at the smiling old lady, Madam Li didn't know what to say. After a while, she said, "Mom, our family has been awarded the imperial memorial archway. I'm afraid we have to go back to our hometown."
Old Lady Yan was silent for a moment. "The eldest son has official business to attend to, so let Wenxiu go back. Oh, and the third son should go back too. The memorial archway that Daohua earned for our family cannot be built carelessly."
Madam Li immediately showed a look of pride, unable to hide her smile as she said, "This girl has quietly accomplished such a great thing. I will send someone to tell her right away so that she can also be proud of herself."
Old Mrs. Yan nodded with a smile.
Below, Yan Yishuang and Yan Wenbin looked at each other silently, sighing in their hearts.
In this life, they are afraid that they will never be able to compare to their elder sister.
Since the concubine was released from the ban, she has not been as favored as before. For this reason, she often tells them to catch up with their older brothers and sisters.
Now that the eldest sister has even won an imperial archway for the family, how can they surpass her?
At the provincial government, after the Su family learned the news, Master Su San laughed so hard that he couldn't stop, and said frankly that the Yan family had made the right choice in marrying.
Mrs. Su San went to Su Shiyu's yard and saw her daughter sitting in front of the window in a daze. She walked over and asked with a smile, "Are you thinking about Wen Kai again?"
Su Shiyu blushed slightly and said coquettishly, "Mother, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Madam Su San teased her daughter for a few moments, then sighed, "When I betrothed you to Wen Kai, I was a little worried. Now the Yan family is getting better and better. I just have to wait for Wen Kai to make achievements in the Northern Frontier, and then I won't have to worry about you anymore."
Because it was not convenient to keep the messengers and craftsmen waiting for too long, Yan Wenxiu led everyone back to his hometown the next day.
Han Xinran came to see them off with her big belly. Nanny Han was worried that she was tired and kept persuading her to go back.
"Mammy, I'm not tired. I don't know how long my husband will stay when he returns. I want to see more."
Looking at Han Xinran's rosy and relaxed face, Nanny Han said nothing more. Noticing the envious looks from the people around her, she smiled and said, "Young lady is truly blessed. You have made the right choice to marry into the Yan family."
Han Xinran touched her belly, smiled and nodded: "Isn't it."
Even among the noble families in the capital, only a few families can obtain the Imperial Archway.
The most important thing is that the emperor himself wrote the words "loyalty and righteousness". With this reputation, the Yan family will be looked up to wherever they go in the future.
When she thought about her life after marrying into the Yan family, where her mother-in-law was sensible and her sister-in-law was easy to get along with, and there were almost no worries, the smile on Han Xinran's face grew deeper and deeper.
Peach Blossom Village.
Daohua was very happy when she learned that the emperor had bestowed the memorial archway upon her. She said to Gu Jian, "This time the emperor finally kept his promise."
Gu Jian glanced at his apprentice and was about to ask when the emperor broke his promise, but he couldn't help but think of the search for gold mines.
This girl is still thinking about becoming a county lady.
(End of this chapter)
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