After all, in this day and age, to receive an official position and an imperial edict personally bestowed by the emperor was something that ordinary people could not obtain; it was an immense honor.
Especially since this is just a small county town, there aren't many truly powerful and wealthy families here; most of the powerful and wealthy are in the capital.
If this had happened in the capital, it probably wouldn't have been so grand, since there are plenty of families in the capital who have imperial edicts.
But in a small county town outside the capital, things are completely different.
It's like a drop of water suddenly falling into a pot of boiling oil, which immediately starts to boil.
The journey from the county government office to the Lu residence takes at least thirty or forty minutes.
If they started marching here from the county government office with gongs, drums, and firecrackers, they would definitely be followed by many people who wanted to join in the fun, and the whole town might even know about it.
After all, their forces were quite large, and the county town and the Lu residence were in two different directions.
Furthermore, since the group was dressed in official robes and was coming this way, they were bound to attract a lot of curious onlookers along the way.
If one person tells ten, and ten tell a hundred, then the momentum is created, isn't it?
Fortunately, Xu Han had someone clean the house overnight and prepare everything that needed to be prepared. Otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to handle the situation and would have made a fool of ourselves.
The group sat for a while longer. Yunhua, worried they might be nervous, even joked with them. As the sound grew closer, they finally went into the courtyard to prepare to receive the imperial edict.
The front door had already been opened. Xu Han was worried that too many people at home would cause too much chaos, so she left a few of her closest and most adaptable people around to help with the preparations.
The first to enter was the county magistrate. The couple were quite familiar with him. Lu Chuan said, "You've had a hard time, sir," and then said nothing more.
The county magistrate knew this was not the time for pleasantries, so he said a few simple words and then accepted the imperial decree.
The person who came to deliver the imperial edict was not the pale-faced eunuch that Xu Han had seen on television in her previous life, but an imperial envoy specifically responsible for delivering imperial edicts from afar.
Under normal circumstances, as eunuchs who served the emperor closely, they were most likely to be tasked with conveying imperial edicts, but this was limited to the capital city.
In more distant places, imperial envoys would deliver the imperial edicts on behalf of the emperor. They would carry the edicts to represent the emperor's authority and convey his will, regardless of whether it was a reward or a punishment.
At Yunhua's prompting, the couple knelt down according to the rules Yunhua had taught them the day before.
The imperial envoy opened the imperial edict with great ceremony and read a long, rambling monologue, all in official jargon.
As Xu Han listened, she automatically translated in her mind what she was hearing. It was basically a bunch of official jargon and praise about how Xu Han herself had made a great contribution by developing a method for composting manure, which increased the grain harvest of the entire Yuanqing Kingdom by 30%.
Finally, the current emperor, recognizing her merits, bestowed upon her some special rewards.
Xu Han was specially appointed as the Third-Rank Agricultural Envoy, receiving a monthly salary of 30 taels of silver, 700 mu of official land, and 300 shi of rice annually, in addition to clothing and fabrics equivalent to his rank.
The imperial edict also specifically stated that, considering her special circumstances, the Emperor granted her special permission not to attend court.
The excuse was that she should continue to study at home how to improve agricultural production and strive to contribute to the country again.
In addition to these benefits equivalent to official rank, the current emperor has also bestowed some other rewards.
The improved national grain harvest likely pleased the current emperor, who bestowed very generous rewards upon him.
In addition to one hundred taels of gold, she was also given a thousand acres of fertile land, the location of which she could choose at will.
Xu Han was stunned by the contents of the imperial edict. She didn't come back to her senses until Lu Chuan tugged at her sleeve.
They hurriedly began kowtowing to express their gratitude, and when they kowtowed, they really didn't hold back at all; each kowtow was solid and sincere.
His Majesty has given us so much; we have no way to repay him but to kowtow a few more times.
After receiving the imperial edict, Xu Han carefully put it away before speaking with the imperial envoy and the county magistrate who had come to deliver it.
The county magistrate spoke first, “The location of the land bestowed by His Majesty and the official land for third-rank officials is not specified. His Majesty means that you can choose for yourself. There is quite a lot of land in our county now, and there are many places to choose from. I have also brought the map. Do you want to choose now?”
Xu Han smiled slightly, "Thank you for your trouble, Magistrate. I will settle things at home first and then make the selection when I have time."
The magistrate laughed and said, "Haha, I was so happy that I got confused. Now is definitely not the time."
Xu Han smiled slightly and said nothing more. She then invited the imperial envoy and the county magistrate to the main hall. Lu Chuan and Yun Hua followed to entertain them. Xu Han then instructed Li Wen and Ju Xiang to distribute reward money to the onlookers outside.
The messengers who came to deliver the imperial decree were also given a copy; it wasn't much, but everyone received one, mainly for the sake of creating a lively atmosphere.
Li Wen and Ju Xiang were still a little dazed, but fortunately they knew what was important and called on the others who were also dazed to start distributing reward money.
The reward money had already been exchanged, a total of ten taels of silver, all of which were converted into copper coins. Han Qi jumped onto the wall and scattered the coins outwards, making sure everyone got a share. The outside was bustling with activity.
After distributing the reward money, Xu Han had tea and pastries served, and also asked Wei Yan to start preparing lunch.
It's already this late, and the county magistrate and the imperial envoy are both at home, so we should invite them to stay for lunch.
After giving all the instructions, Xu Han quickly followed behind and entered the main hall.
As soon as everyone was seated in the main hall, Xu Han entered and took her seat at the head of the table.
The reason is simple: she holds the highest official rank here, even though it's a nominal position, it's still far higher than the others present.
After everyone was seated, they began to exchange pleasantries. Yunhua and the imperial envoy had come together and had been traveling together for so long that they were already familiar with each other.
Moreover, Yunhua and he had known each other for a long time; in fact, Yunhua had recommended him, so the two were naturally familiar with each other.
The county magistrate and Xu Han had already met once, and had a pleasant conversation, becoming quite familiar with each other.
Apart from Lu Chuan, everyone else was a talkative person, so the atmosphere wasn't awkward, and everyone chatted and laughed.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the imperial envoy brought the topic back to the present, telling Xu Han a few more words about the Emperor's instructions and expectations, which Xu Han nodded in agreement.
After chatting for a while, the magistrate saw that it was still early and there was still some time before lunchtime, so he simply took out the map again.
They wanted to use this time to have the people present determine the approximate locations of the official fields and the reward fields.
Xu Han originally planned to buy some land near the county town next year, but now the Emperor has given it to her directly, saving her a lot of money.
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