When she called Lin over, he nodded and said, "Yes, sister-in-law, I'll go arrange it right away." Then he called for people to clean the room.
Once inside the courtyard, he slapped himself hard. The sound not only woke him up, but also startled the other cleaning women, who took a few steps back and held up their things in front of them.
Even Liu felt the same way, but then she realized it wasn't appropriate, since he was her husband. So she put the things down and carefully asked, "Father of the child, are you alright?"
Could it be that she's been possessed by some demon? If so, should she betray her own family for the greater good? But she can't bring herself to do such a thing. Maybe she should ask her two sisters-in-law; they have more ideas.
“It’s alright,” Village Chief Lin shook his head. “Mrs. Liu, my two sisters-in-law have indeed been granted the title of Fourth-Rank Lady Gong. I didn’t mishear, did I?”
Seeing his child's mother nod, confirming he hadn't misheard, he roared, "May our ancestors protect us!" and then ran out.
"Sister, is Wood alright?" asked Mrs. Dong, who was standing nearby.
Liu shook her head, "I don't know either. You guys clean up, I'll go take a look." With that, she ran out as well.
An Shuyi and Xia Hua were leading Eunuch Deng and Prefect Xiao over when they heard Village Chief Lin's shout from afar. Then they saw him run out, pass by them as if he didn't see them, and run away into the distance.
Those short legs were quite fast, and they quickly ran far away. Then, Liu Shi also came out of the courtyard. An Shuyi hurriedly asked, "Liu Shi, what's wrong with Mu Tou?"
Could it be some kind of illness? But it doesn't look like it; it was perfectly fine before.
Liu shook her head as she watched the person run away. "Sister-in-law, I don't know either. The child's father suddenly slapped himself, then said something about the ancestors protecting him, and ran outside." She then followed him out.
Upon hearing this, An Shuyi also wondered if Mu Tou was ill. "Hua Hua, you take Eunuch Deng and Prefect Xiao to the mansion to rest. I'll go check on them."
Xia Hua nodded, "Go ahead and call Doctor Liu." He's the village head; we can't afford to have anything happen to him.
“Okay,” An Shuyi and Liu chased after the village chief Lin, and on the way they asked someone to call Doctor Liu. When they arrived, they found that it was the ancestral hall, and the village chief Lin was kneeling inside the ancestral hall, looking like a madman.
Before long, everyone came to the ancestral hall. Doctor Liu was carrying his medicine box and was panting heavily.
"Sister An, Sister Liu, is the village chief alright?"
“We don’t know either, Wenming. Go in and help your uncle out so Doctor Liu can take a look.” They were women and couldn’t go in; they could only stay outside.
Lin Wenming nodded, went inside, carried the kneeling village chief Lin out of the ancestral hall, put him down, and helped him up, saying, "Dr. Liu, please take a look."
Snap
Before Village Chief Lin could react, he was carried away, surrounded by a crowd of people. "What are you doing, kid? I'm fine."
Seeing him like this, An Shuyi hurriedly said, "Wooden head, let Brother Liu take a look. You look really scary." "Look how frightened everyone has come running over."
Doctor Liu took the opportunity to check the pulse, and only put his hand down after a while. "Sister An, the village chief is perfectly fine, just the slap mark on his face is a bit heavy. Who hit him?"
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Liu hurriedly explained, "I didn't hit him, he hit himself, and the other sisters-in-law all saw it."
If word got out that she was a virtuous woman who hit her own husband, even slapping him in the face, she might not say anything, but how could she face people?
Village Chief Lin then realized that he had made a blunder because he was too excited. He hurriedly said, "It wasn't Liu who hit me. I was just too surprised and didn't react in time."
"Sister-in-law, what did you and Sister-in-law Xia do this time? You were actually granted the title of Fourth-Rank Lady. The most powerful person in our village was a scholar, but he died long ago. I never expected that you two would be Fourth-Rank Lady."
Although they had no power, they could still receive a salary and enter the palace. Many officials wanted to posthumously confer an imperial title on their wives, but it required many procedures. Yet, the two sisters-in-law became fourth-rank ladies-in-waiting without anyone noticing.
Upon hearing this, An Shuyi realized that this was the reason for his surprise and the commotion he was making. She couldn't help but laugh, "Wooden head, you're supposed to be the head of a village. Can't you be a little more sensible? Look at the others, they accepted it very quickly."
"The grain in the village was taken away. You saw the yield yourself. It was because of the high yield that the village was granted this title. But there's also a prescription to drive away locusts. You should have heard that there are locusts in the north, and quite a lot of them."
"Your habits are only at the fourth rank this time. If the rank were higher, you would be scared to death. Your ability to withstand pressure is still not good enough. You need to practice more. There will be many more such things in the future. If you continue like this, then we will replace you with someone who can withstand it as the village chief."
Liu nodded in agreement, thinking that she could accept it quickly, but her husband couldn't, and he almost caused her to be misunderstood. Her two sisters-in-law were capable of great things; not to mention the fourth rank, they would be able to become first-rank noblewomen in the future.
Village Chief Lin nodded, "I understand, sister-in-law. But for such a big event, should we set up a few tables?" No, asking his sister-in-law wouldn't help; he had to talk to his clan chief uncle.
"There aren't many tables in the village that day, so why set out any food? Hurry up and arrange for a meal. Eunuch Deng will be staying for a few days, so we can't neglect him. Prefect Xiao will also be having dinner here tonight."
Village Chief Lin nodded, "I'll go arrange it right away." Looking at the people next to him, he said, "What are you all doing instead of doing something? Get to work!"
“We’re leaving now, but Wood, if you ever need a slap in the future, you can come to me. I’m really good at it, and it sounds good too,” Zhu the hunter joked.
"Yes, and me too, Wood, I'm really good at hitting people too," Lin Changwen chimed in, looking like he didn't want to miss out on trouble.
Upon hearing this, the others burst into laughter, and for a moment, laughter echoed throughout the village.
"Get out, all of you get out!" Village Chief Lin heard the laughter, touched his face, and realized that he had done such a stupid thing.
Seeing her fellow villagers leave with smiles, An Shuyi also returned to the village with a smile. Although she said she would replace Village Chief Lin, only she knew that no matter what, she would not replace him.
This was just to help him bear it in his heart. There's still a long road ahead, and perhaps an emperor will emerge from Linjia Village. Then he would be a member of the royal family. It would be such a pity if he got too excited and scared himself to death.
When she returned to the mansion, Xia Hua and the others were sitting in the hall. When they saw her, they could clearly feel the awkward atmosphere between the three of them disappear.
Eunuch Deng stood up. "Consort An, since you're alright now, could you please take me for a walk around this village?" He had received instructions from His Majesty to see the wonders of this village.
Although he felt that the two ladies' extraordinary abilities had nothing to do with the village, he still wanted to go and see them.
Before An Shuyi could even sit down, she could only lead him and Prefect Xiao on a tour of the village. Fortunately, it wasn't long before it was time to eat. Because of prior instructions, more people were assigned to cook tonight, so the food would be prepared faster.
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