Chapter 68, Joy
Yan Zhigao tightly grasped the appointment documents and official seal in his hands. His hands were shaking because he was too excited. It was not until he returned to the post station that his mood calmed down a little.
"Congratulations, sir!"
Master Xiao was standing in front of the courtyard gate. As soon as he saw Yan Zhigao, he bowed and congratulated him.
Yan Zhigao had been feeling tense while outside, but now that he was back in his own territory, he could no longer suppress his inner joy, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise: "Master, have you received the news?"
Master Xiao smiled and nodded. "Brother Shounian knows some people in the government office. He sent someone to tell me early this morning that the master might be moving up. Now looking at the master's complexion, I think it's done."
Yan Zhigao couldn't hide the joy on his face, and said with a smile: "Let's go inside and talk."
As soon as the two entered the main room, Yan Wenxiu and his children ran over.
Yan Wenxiu was older and knew that his father's promotion was related to the fate of the family. When he heard that Yan Zhigao had returned, he hurried over with his younger brothers and sisters, looking a little nervous.
Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai didn't think too much about it, but they also knew the benefits of promotion, so they looked at Yan Zhigao and Master Xiao eagerly.
The calmest among the four was Daohua.
She was not really a child. After Xiao Yeyang gave her the jade pendant and from the attentive and considerate attitude of the officials in the post station towards her adoptive father in the following days, she had already guessed that her father would most likely be promoted.
Now seeing her father's overjoyed look, the result is self-evident.
Yan Zhigao was immersed in the joy of the promotion and did not notice the expressions of the four little guys, but Master Xiao on the side saw the reactions of the four people and could not help but secretly praise Daohua for her calmness again.
Seeing that her brothers were just staring at her without saying anything, Daohua took advantage of her young age and asked Yan Zhigao with a smile, "Father, did you get a promotion?"
Yan Zhigao coughed modestly, then smiled and handed the document in question to Master Xiao beside him.
Master Xiao took the document, read it quickly, and couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise, "Xingzhou Magistrate! Your Excellency has been promoted three levels in a row?"
Yan Zhigao nodded: "To be honest, I was also surprised when I saw the appointment documents!"
Master Xiao immediately said, "Given your qualifications and achievements over the years, you're more than qualified to be promoted to prefect! Xingzhou is under the jurisdiction of Beiding Prefecture. Beiding Prefecture is one of the fifteen prefectures in Zhongzhou Province. Although it's only a medium-sized prefecture, it faces the Grand Canal and offers convenient transportation. As long as you pay attention to the people's livelihood, you can still make achievements."
At this moment, Master Xiao was excited.
When he was young, he lost the qualification to take the imperial examination due to family reasons. He could never become an official in his life and it was difficult for him to realize his ambitions. He had been depressed for many years.
It was not until the tenth year of Yongxing that he traveled to Zhongzhou Province and saw County Magistrate Yan who personally went to the fields to encourage farming. He was touched to see him eating and drinking with the farmers regardless of his status.
After that, he took the initiative to become a disciple of County Magistrate Yan and became his legal advisor.
Unfortunately, the officialdom was complicated. County Magistrate Yan came from a poor family and had the noble character of a scholar in his bones. He was unwilling to go along with some people in the officialdom, so he was suppressed by his superiors and served as county magistrate for nine years.
Originally, he thought that County Magistrate Yan had no hope of making a comeback, but unexpectedly, the situation took a turn and the opportunity came to him.
When he reached middle age, he no longer thought about entering the officialdom. He just wanted to assist Lord Yan, who was sincerely doing practical things for the people, and let the talents he had learned throughout his life be fully utilized.
Although Xingzhou is only a lower state, it governs four counties. If Lord Yan does a good job, he may be promoted.
On the side, Yan Wenxiu and others were extremely happy when they heard that Yan Zhigao had been promoted.
Yan Wenkai: "Dad is the prefect now, so does that mean he is on the same level as the previous prefect Dong?"
No matter how reserved Yan Wenxiu was, he smiled broadly at this moment: "Yes, on the same level."
Yan Wenkai immediately laughed: "Humph, next time I see Dong Xiangrong, let's see how arrogant he is!"
"Don't cause trouble!" Yan Wenxiu glared at Yan Wenkai. "We've already reconciled with Dong Xiangrong, and Dong Zhizhou has already apologized. Don't mention this matter again when we meet in the future."
As he spoke, Yan Wenxiu also looked at Daohua and Yan Wentao.
Yan Zhigao and Master Xiao watched from the side, both with satisfied expressions.
Master Xiao smiled and said, "The eldest young master is becoming more and more like an elder brother!"
Yan Zhigao didn't say anything, but his face showed agreement.
At this time, a servant ran in and said that an official came to pay a visit.
Yan Zhigao and Master Xiao exchanged a quick glance.
"In the capital city, news spreads really fast!"
Yan Zhigao turned around and told Yan Wenxiu to take Daohua and the others away, and then he went out to greet them with Master Xiao.
In the next two or three days, the courtyard where Daohua and others lived was never idle. Every day, officials came to visit Yan Zhigao, regardless of whether they knew him before.
A few children were lying by the window, watching Yan Zhigao and Master Xiao coming and going with great interest.
Daohua: "Brother, should we go back?"
Yan Wenxiu nodded. "Dad's term of office is limited, and he needs to go back to take over. It should be within the next two days. You should also prepare yourself so that you won't be too busy when he leaves."
Daohua asked again, "By the way, big brother, have you written to mother to tell her about father's promotion?"
Yan Wenxiu smiled and nodded. "I wrote back the day Dad got his appointment documents. Mom should have received the letter by now."
At the same time, Linyi County Government Office.
Mrs. Li took the letter with excitement to Old Lady Yan's Songheyuan. When the people from the second and third rooms received the news, they hurried over.
"Mother, great news! Master has been promoted to the governor of Xingzhou!"
Old Madam Yan was just thinking about the number of rice flowers. When she heard this, she stood up and said, "Really?!"
Madam Li quickly handed over the letter written by Yan Wenxiu: "It is absolutely true. Look, this is a letter from Wenxiu!"
"Brother really got promoted?"
As soon as Yan Zhiyuan entered the yard, he heard Mrs. Li's words. He immediately ran into the room in two steps and quickly came to the side of Old Lady Yan.
Old Mrs. Yan was holding the letter and reading it word by word. Since she didn't know many words, she read very slowly.
Yan Zhiyuan was dissatisfied with the slowness and was anxious to snatch the letter away: "Mother, give me the letter and I will read it to you."
Old Mrs. Yan glared at her second son, but when she saw that her daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter were all waiting anxiously, she threw the letter to Yan Zhiyuan.
Yan Zhiyuan first read the letter himself to confirm that his elder brother had really been promoted, and then he read the letter to everyone with a happy face.
“Okay, okay, okay!”
After hearing the letter, Old Lady Yan said several good words, her eyes reddened: "Zhi Gao is a fifth-rank official. I will have the face to see your father after I die."
Seeing the old lady crying with excitement, Mrs. Li and others hurried forward to comfort her.
Sun smiled and said, "Mother, this is just the beginning. In the future, my eldest brother will definitely become a higher official. Besides, there are Wen Xiu and others. You can just wait to become a noble lord!"
The old lady burst into laughter and said, "You are the only one who can talk. I've been waiting for you!"
Seeing that the old lady was well, Madam Li continued, "The master will be in office for a while, and he should be back in a few days. I think we should start packing now, so that we don't run out of time later."
Yan Zhiyuan agreed: "Sister-in-law is right, Xingzhou is still some distance away from us."
After talking for a while, everyone came out of the old lady's yard and went back to their rooms to pack up.
Shuangxinyuan.
"Have you found out? What happened? Why is it so lively in the old lady's yard?" Aunt Lin asked her maid.
The maid shook her head: "I didn't dare get too close. I just knew that it was the master who wrote back. Seeing how happy the Second Master and Second Madam were, it must be a good thing."
Aunt Lin was somewhat dissatisfied with the maid for not getting the exact news, and was about to blame her when she saw her brother rushing into the yard.
"Why are you here?"
Master Lin was delighted: "Sister, great news! My brother-in-law has been promoted to the rank of fifth-rank prefect, jumping three levels!"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Lin was shocked at first, then ecstatic: "Really? Who told you that?"
Master Lin suppressed his joy and said excitedly, "The news has spread all over the county government office now. You know, Zhu Jiaoyu's family has connections in the provincial capital. What he said must be correct."
(End of this chapter)
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